Out-of-school Education and the Five-day Week at School

Out-of-school education makes a significant contribution to the fulfilling of the fundamental tasks of school, such as bringing school close to life, educating citizenship- conscious citizens, adoption of a certain style of life including leisure activities, etc. Out-of-the-classroom form of the educational process is becoming more important in the period of transition to the five- day school week. It enables us to make up for the loss of free Saturdays by raising the effectiveness of the educational process provided for by the school; moreover, it contributes, in a decisive manner, to communist education by lea ding the pupils to independence, initiative, team-work, and forming habits of useful and planned work as well as recreation when there is no classroom instruction. The results of out-of the-classroom education are very much appreciated by educationalists in the socialist countries, e. g. in the U.S.S.R., being aware of its importance, they are introducing the office of ≫organizer of out-of-the-classroom and out-of-school education≪ at schools. Educationalists in the West, too, usually introduce five-day school week under the conditions of all-day-care. Gradual transition to the five-day school week in Czechoslovakia is under way. Therefore it is essential to think over and experimentally check up on the following: suitable measures regarding the staff (including management), material requirements as well as the effectiveness and extent of the research into this field, which is so important but sometimes a little underestimated in our country.