, | era vipRA OCT ~_ AMERICAN ‘TEACHER nell IN THIS ISSUE Frances Perkins Frank Morrison Clarence Darrow President Linville Teachers’ Codes RGAN OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS CHICAGO COOK COUNTY and SUBURBAN TAX WARRANTS ALL ISSUES BOUGHT and SOLD Enyart, Van Camp & Feil, Inc. *‘Chicago’s Best Known Tax Warrant House”’ 39 S. La Salle St. Andover 2424 Educational Tax Warrants 1931 - 1932 - 1933 WwW F. M. ZEILER & CO. Members Chicago Stock Exchange Members Chicago Curb Exchange Associate Member New York Curb Exchange Central 5387 Room 929 209 S. La Salle St. TAX WARRANTS Our Specialty WE BUY — SELL — QUOTE 1929-1930-1931-1932-1933 Warrants HAROLD GOULD & CO. Suite 1801 -- 208 South La Salle St. TAX WARRANTS 1931 - 1932 - 1933 Bought and Sold WwW Paul H. Davis Co. Members New York and Chicago Stock Exchanges Telephone Central 4922 37 South La Salle St. Franklin 8622 Table of Contents ; e ' Page Page Challenge of the Economic Situation to Organize: a _—s on mn Ps cde débeoceccccconguoccvece Dr. Henry R. Linville 3 rege : gh a , Pa ae : ede, ‘I , 4; a a Code for Public Schools and Public School Teachers wo ee ee ae ees 8 TRS RS ps eyo fice: ccsacscceacss ca ee . 2a eo ee Code of Fair Standards for the Education Workers Eager to Join A. F. L...... | ook ly OC EE ee ee EE rnin, Sans cee eesen*Accenscccncescesecs 1] We, the People—Mark Starr Letter to N. ee a ee ee Ue. det ckebebene 1] Call to Teachers of the Nation—Bertram Fnos en ctw cc cccscectvscccscsccs 11 Rainbow’s End OS SE eee see : ee ee B. Scheler meeer Day, 1933.........- ee ee ee eeeee iatiletka—Michael B. Scheler Secretary Perkins savsety Sate Wheat William Green 300k Week, 1933 S a age ay ola 14 News from the Field ) SS PPC C eS CET EE Ee Natal iki oat ait oe 4 Editorials SO ee re 16 ane phate “ec eal aia a Sa nah latent daa ial ~ Teachers, Wake Up! Seattle SOSCCCeCESEHSSCHEHBESH ESE SEEECS ‘ 27 Right to Organize cm =r EE Re a ee nseasee sce Raising Money for Union Activities wee 9 eke ar Sill are teal oes hild Labor - « tLe, AN Nese e creer tcessreerseeraserereceseces “ Chi ‘ Ns tere cciahesecienyadena¥ boul 28 Would Numbers Have Helped: , ae > ee Can Go to School in Adult Style ee I BW Ol ¥ Vc cen ci cvecnscscscssaudcypeee sen U. S. Chamber of Commerce—Its Proud Position nn, ea Maihnd sib h uienae as es gee olece 2, 30, 31 P UBLISHED bi-monthly, except August, by the American Federation of Teachers, 506 South Wabash Ave., Chicago, Ill. Entered as second class matter October 27, 1926, at the post office of Chicago, Ill, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Acceptance for ’ mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Sec. 1103, Act of Feb. 28, 1925, authorized Nov. 3, 1926. Editorial Office 506 South Wabash Ave., Chicago, Illinois. S20 S UBSCRIPTION $1.00 for the year—Foreign $1.10 —Single copies, 25c. At the time of expira- tion, a bill will be found in the copy. Sub- scribers are requested to give prompt notice of changes of address. Remittances should be made in postal money-order, express order, draft. stamps or check. - () = VOLUME XVIII—NOS. 1-5 Vol. XIX, October, 1934, No. INDEX THE AMERICAN TEACHER OCTOBER, 1933 — JUNE, A D Mo. Page Dangers Threatening Education. James P. Barron. .Dec. Se A, cl oe ean ae © @ & wart oe eee Dec. 29 IN, A, on a wd nin kat be Ole 6 6 ark ae aa Dec. Academic Freeaom, Basic Factors in. Editorial by Declaration of Paith tm Music... ....cccsccccccccses Apr. I ok a a og hb oer ae ee June 20 Discrimination Against Women Workers Condemned I I Ee i Si en wae atk wate a0 oe Apr. 3, June 18 Se en ES 5g cance caedcesaecbeseeennen une Age Limit for Federal Employes, Editorial......... Dec. 21 Disorganized Opinion. Editorial by Bertram Bnos. . Dec. All Workers in Unions, Editorial.................. Apr. Se Mis 6 8 bce 0 cee ssi cccastaweauawes ct. BW, GE Ee, GI Ge MII onc cccccccccccscocceces Dec 6 RB. We GE Ee CORPOIEO Bee BOOB. 2c occ cc cewcccccs Dec. & E ie ee Oe ee I ES ccctenses ceeeewasecoas Oct. 21 ‘Sa. ¢-¢™ ¢ Ss 0 Serre rrr a Oct. 21 Mo American Federation of Labor. By Lewis L. Lorwin. Economy in Education. By Wm. J. Cooper. Book Reviewed by Michael B. Scheler............... Feb. 25 ee OS) Ere ‘eb. A. F. T. Eighteenth Annual Convention............. June 19 Educational Conférence in North Carolina.......... Apr. American Federation of Teachers, 17th Annual Education for the Status Quo. ne eee Dec. TE: ccwkccncaneonshbseeeeeeteseee Oct. 3, Oct. 12 Educational Crisis Southern Illinois............... Dec. ms i ee Dk at ceed Keiser scwenneannds Oct, 1l Educational Frontier. Reviewed by Mark Starr...Feb. American Year Book. Bditea by Albert Bushnell Educational Recovery. Editorial by James C. Adell. Apr. Hart. Reviewed by Michael B. Scheler........ Apr. 24 End of a Century of Progress. Freeland G. Stecker.June Annual Report of the Guidance Department of the Pe Ses 6.0 wad 6G0564605h400ER bn se cue Feb. 26, Oct. Samuel J. Tilden High School, New York. By Elsa G. Becker. Reviewed by Florence E. Clark. Apr. 25 a a eer ee rr ee Apr. 23 F Anthology of English Prose. By Herbert Read and Paes: eee. Cee, sso. vcawsewsenaane ens es nue Oct. Bonamy Dobnee. Reviewed by Michael _ B. ON. I Soe ie eee nl Dec OO ESS wee e eee ee ec eeseeeseces Feb. 27 Federal Office of Education Service................. Dec. Appeal to Teachers. Editorial..............05e0e0es June 20 Federal Taxation and the Schools. Irving Brant... Dec. RP ee, pN<62ccc0be eee beeekne ow eke cecetaeeee Apr. 29 Ne Te I ee a a ceanus Gath eae ee Apr. BEG Tan Basa T Walker By Bee ccciccccsvcesesen Apr. 22 ae ag SEE ie 5 DE AEN LSE SR WANS Siw RAR ETE RE Oct. Ss Ws 6 444 6e bean de eeeeddeteaneeensaeéaweus Apr. 30 ON : CR in nnn suns duases waanns ae June Frances Perkins Hits Forty Year Job Ban. Editorial. Dec. B Franklin County Teachers’ Code...........esseceee-. Dec. Functions of a School Board. James A. Mullenbach. . Feb. Background Study of Negro College Students. By Dr. Ambrose Caliver. Revi ewed by Mandelle G ih DEE | « cavndeeanbeebnd whbee o08e6heneueee Apr. 24 TG, GD Dec cncésvevncedevosencoeseeeseananee Dec. 10 Gandhi—That Strange Little Brown Man. By Fred- ee. -o MELSA+ 0: coneuessartscasooesyen goes Gala — 3s —“- = or. Reviewed by Michael B. Scheler. Dec. OOMUINMBCTON, Lh, www wee e nen c ance scvercneced pr. ,» June : Gran i i Mh 66465600460 senna thhences anak June oe Over the School. Henry Craig —_, ‘ qoane ee er Feb. 30, Apr. 30, June BE ce ee OSC COE HEEHHO SSO HC SEOEHSCOSO SESE -EHC8EE une ranite City aa hie oo wie eee on a te ee ee Feb. 28, June NT OT eee ee Dec. 16 IS Oct. 13, Oct. mae Teachers’ Winter Reading. Michael .. » 24 Greetings to American Federation of Teachers from Scheler .......ccccescecccccccceccessecseseses “eb. WO EEE | ho ccuchans bs60630000R Gans eases en Oct, eer rs ee Dec. 28, Apr. 26, June 27 I | SE i eae Feb i i Ss os cu ee ae ome + a's aa eee eee Oct. 24 ES PTT CC TT TT ore eee Apr 24 Dn BONE caucobedcvctoascesesoessedtinn June 21 H EE oa Bi a etal de ca al eel Be oe ealaaen ae aan Dec 11 Hanson, Florence Curtis..............ceee-. Oct. 12. Feb. Breckenridge, Sophonisba iia: cu te on daria im dau os Glia Ge Dec. 13 Harap, Dr. Henry Se ee ee eee ee Si REY hee gS. : . Apr. Brewer, John ies ¢eSu de bebneudees ans oneness saeuuee Feb. 16 SO eee June Brookwood Te OP Te er ee eee eee ee ye Apr. 28 ee te weecdaull June BRU, Mdward BMoOry.....ccccccccs errr ee Apr. c History of Socialist Thought. By Harry W. Laidler. - Bag ho A ss i, Bs .v+eneeeeenan Ne - en er Se, «cee eeseconecses ean ‘eb. CII, .. 0 5.4 kn dh 48b505-0600 05h Sb 508 605 e senna Feb. 31 : ; + as aN Call to the Teachers of the Nation. Progressive = ely! ys ” eee PES ORAS OE CHS SSS SAE SSr le ic | ea Association. Reviewed by Bertram ct 22 How to Use English. By Frank H. Vizetelly. Re- . I a a ee ae Dec. 27 oo aa Ny “nue -_ ~. Scheler........-+..+- “8 _— Century of Retrogression? John M. Brewer....... Feb. 16 ULCHINS, SLODSTE BEAYMALG.. 2.2 eeserecsssecsmccsees c Challenge of the Economic Situation to Organized Teachers. Dr. Henry R. Linville.............. Oct. 3 I-J Chamber of Commerce Confessions................. Oct. 20 . 2 ON, RRS ee Ey eae Oct. 28, Apr. BO ED 66 oh cn Ghbny 460045406 0 den ne anndaes dencaceen Feb. Chattanooga—Hamilton County Local 246.......... ee I Ere ee ee Dec. aed Ge ack au aad Baka eee Dec. 29, Apr. 29, June 29 Bmtemepemce Repmreved Dr That. . .o.ccsccccccccesecs ccm CRS on do a ecm Oct. 25, Feb. 28, Apr. 27, Apr. 28, June 28 International Book of Names. By Cc. O. Sylvester Chicago Federation Women High School Teachers. . Dec. 29 at ne, Mt aot oe A 7 ee . gg SE as Colemm Bete TORT We. « 66000 6osecenestesces Dec. 29 nternationa fear ook. eviewec ”y Michae : Ghlenme on Parade. By Herman O. Duncan. Book Dn -» dons onde e eatas 04645400 Ons BA eee eee ee une Dt <0+ caine eee age h40tes66kbb eke shea eae Feb. 27 os to Biclogy. By Elbert C. Cole. Book Cee Bee, «i os cn awanaseesesetseascbanect Oct. 19 De Nacknakeeebbabsess siccukeeodnawakeeel ec. Child Labor Amendment. Franklin D. Roosevelt....Apr. 19 < : Children Can Go to School in Adult Style. SEE, Te. oe 6 K60es d 6400465 6500804500050 RN June i «cme hem daie G6 Mba aM ane 26s oad a oes Oct. 19 Children of the Depression. By M. E. Haggerty ee rere mr ree rrr ee Pe pr. 25 CO Te Ps caste tegnscecceqeensasirenss’ Apr. Oe We I ain oes ndiscdsbananasuscaeks bb00 een Apr. Children—Why Do We Have Them. By Dora W. is la ia ge ele ue a gee te etiam aes eee Feb. B. Russell. Reviewed by Bertram Enos........ Dec. 27 SM is 6 a inka no seks Kis ad Rae Apr. Chinese Teachers Strike for P@y........ccceccccees June 24 CL |. cca eee Bee 40060406 uN 06s oebeuncet — 31 Lanes ms secnadienatiate. By Lewis L. Laren, da ea hae oe nee eo da eee ec. 25 eviewe Se ee ae eb. Churches and Modern Thought. By Vivian Phelps. Caer Te er Is ove cccenccoccnweewcesen Oct. Ec ol 6 ck wd a. ee hie ween ad eae es Dec. ee ge ee eee eee Oct. ee, ee. Me kn cceeteedd ante ee end bee Apr. 25 Cer Sees. Bee Nn «ov acsenc,cccvecegeeen Oct. eS a a eee Apr. 25, Apr. 31, June 30 Labor Leader Urges Unions for Teachers.......... Feb. Code for Public Schools and Public School Teachers. Oct. 6 Labor Problems. By Gordon S. Watson. Reviewed Code of Fair Standards for the Education Industry. BP RR er ee eb. CR CUOED x vec ce cdecdé sec eccanene Oct. 9 Labor Speaks on Teachers and Unionism.......... Apr. CD. CI, ons cc o's cu weeseeeeues Oct. 9, Apr. 4 Lanes a by Delay in Enforcing Se *, Cy He, I noc ws ewsecséeceuweeeen Apr. 1 tion 7-A LS Mn G SK acthasd Che GOW0s 6 cebeteas une oe ae of a Chamber of Commerce............. Oct. 20 TE OE eee PT eee ee Feb. NE ag ad wb ie oe a0 0 ee Feb. a ee ere ee Apr. Convention A. F. T. Secretary-Treasurer’s Report. .Oct. 12 ECE ER BD Giieciwenccececs Oct. 3, Dec. 17, June Sr Te. cksecdans eebens c4uees be Oh ee eee Apr. 18 Ba Ts Gs 66 8 Gb 00 oe cadunsevebaseneee Apr. 1934 10 22 19 22 18 18 COPS COPS TO POR oor One eH ww-l 27 26 25 20 31 14 toro HRD He ~-AOawe wo Aoows. w- Mo. Pt i hee e a hee shes coe oe eeceaccee od Apr. 30, ‘June Massachusetts State Federation of Labor, Resolu- Peek da céa wee estescccenececesee Dec i oe MOONE BPR... ccccccccccecesesces Apr. (jj, jie ce cess bese cneccsecescoesse Apr. Methods of Education and Training in the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics. Arnold Levitas..... June Milk Prices Mean What. Editorial from Phila- ee eee a baee be ened bee bee s.e June Er er re Apr. EO ee Feb. ee eee | tc ceeerenseesenens Apr. Modern World: A Pageant of Today. By E. C. Knapp-Fisher. Reviewed by Mark Starr...... June ee Oct. 15, Feb. Mrs. Roosevelt Scores. Editorial..............222-04 Apr. Te ao wc OOS heehee ee ees éeee Feb. N eee Dee. ps eeascccees se0eecue Feb. National Ideals and International Idols. By Wal- lace B. Donham. Reviewed by Mark Starr..... Dec. Nation aan Rescue Its Schools. Charles B. Still- Dee tiac hes 6 eke ees une $e ehO 4048 cen Ke ee ee ene we New Bedford, Ns 6662090600 nanS Feb. 30, Apr. 30, June New Jersey Schools in Desperate Plight............ Dec. New Leisure Challenges the Schools. By Eugene T. Lies. Reviewea by Bertram Enos..........- e is +s 46500 6600646500605 Dec. 31, Apr. 27, June ee 2 ee i te eee ee heh bed hocee sake 6 ee June News from the Field—Chicago; Portland, Ore.; Seat- tle, Wash.; Florida; Charlotte, N. C.; Toledo, Di tthitepgdenaah~es dele raha ll i oh Bie Soe ew we eal ee Feb Page ] ~~ h- Qhoe tc & =) to tot tet to | ad to et a 30 30 21 29 tb or at et ED OD to Coo Wwe ~~ ohne nwo to 20 21 16 te ~1 mr won 30 19 30 ce” OcTOBER, 1933 THE AMERICAN TEACHER . XVIII October, 1933 No. 1 The Challenge of the Economic Situation to Organized Teachers HENRY R. LINVILLE Presidential Address delivered before the Seventeenth Annual Convention of the American Federation of Teachers, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 27, 1933 lating the minds of our people to analyze the factors involved in this tragic emergency. Educa- tion itself is being analyzed while it passes through the throes of disorganization in the general movement for retrenchment. In this process teachers have an unusua! opportunity to experience a wide range of social edu- cation and to view their function as teachers in relation If the reconstruction of the social Ts: present economic and social situation is stimu- to society itself. order is possible of attainment through the medium of general social education, then the public schools have an obligation that is all-important. Whether or not there is general acceptance of the idea that the schools may be of assistance in reconstruction will probably depend on the degree in which there is confidence in the leader- ship of education or in the program of education, or in the capacity of that or other leadership to formulate an educational program that contains the elements of ap- plicability to the problems to be solved. We are also faced with the problem of whether we shall give our effort to developing a specific educational program to be coordinated with a specific plan for a new social order. In meeting this question, we are faced with the issue of whether education is ready at this time to take over a share in the responsibility. There are two phases of this problem which we shall have to meet. One is concerned with the question of our existing ' leadership and personnel; the other with the educational program itself. The personnel equipment of education is, of course, governed to some extent by the Law of Gravity; it has never risen higher than the general Source level. But under this law there is nothing to prevent a better selection of the physical constituents of this personnel through some ideal application of the laws of electro-dynamics. In other words, there must \be an effort made to draw into the teaching service more completely endowed personalities than are now coming into the profession, or to reconstitute those now avail- sable. We must realize, first of all, that teaching in the Schools anywhere in the country is regarded by most persons as a job to which claim may be laid much as one would seek a place in the mills of New England, the mines of Pennsylvania, the refineries of New Jersey or California, or the garment shops of New York. Teaching is often a genteel occupation for the daughters of farmers, or of small tradesmen, or of policemen or firemen. The preparation of the potential candidates for teach- ing jobs is carried on along lines that permit a large number to qualify. thus maintaining the principle that the post of teacher is to be considered as an economic opportunity rather than as a social responsibility. At the present time we are said to have approximately 100,000 surplus teachers in this country, due in large part to the tendency of teacher training institutions to turn out a large supply of teachers, which in turn keeps their own establishments going with a full quota of employees. We note also the fact that for the most part the train- ing of teachers is largely within the range of the chief occupation of the schools; that is, teaching the tradi- tional skills with enough of effort for improvement in method and technic to enable the major purpose to con- tinue, and incidentally to discourage radical changes in program, altogether simplifying the problem of con- tinuing the schools as the chief stabilizing and conserv- ing agency of the established order. The careful, job-protecting program of training teachers chiefly in the tricks of the trade seems to pro- duce at least three clearly constituted results. One of these is the direct production of a teacher who is me- chanically equipped to do a job within specified limits, and with his mind on specific, approved objectives. Such a person has a good chance to become efficient within the generally accepted boundaries of teaching routine. I think there are two by-products of the current process of teacher-training which are also discernible. The first is the development of a job-trust especially in socially cohesive communities, where the teaching job draws persons from economic levels that also have other pro- 4 tective affiliations, such as political, racial, or religious alliances or origins. We note the fact that in certain urban communities the teaching positions come auto- matically to be divided between these racial, religious, or political groups in some relation to the number of these elements in the community, and perhaps without the actual interposition of the forces which these ele- ments represent. In rural communities where a partic- ular element of our population predominates, we find the teaching jobs held by that element alone, with the obvious exclusion of representatives of other elements. These factors set up anti-social forces which operate to misdirect and defeat the working of a social program in education. Another by-product of our system of teacher-training is the development of a leadership that is without a con- spicuous equipment of intelligence. It may be said that this is the natural development of what is expresed in Bernard Shaw’s dictum, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.” But the situation is not completely analyzed by this frequently quoted characterization. Be- sides, it is too pessimistic and fatalistic a view of a profession which may have unsuspected capacity for growth and change. However, there are other phases of the results of current attitudes toward the teaching position as a job that require consideration. Many of us must have noted in our training school graduates and also among our teachers in service a con- siderable lack of cultural equipment. We are accus- tomed to observe this shortcoming in teachers who are the members of foreign racial groups that in the second as well as in the first generation in this country find difficulty with the idioms of our speech. But we over- look the disconcerting fact that large numbers of teach- ers from the indigenous population, dating back many generations, are culpable in demonstrating many indica- tions of uncultured background, and the persistence of habits and attitudes that undoubtedly have serious mal- educative effects on the minds and personalities of children. It may be granted that the lack of conspicuous culture is not restricted to the lowly school teacher, but is prevalent among those who serve on college teaching staffs. In summing up the situation in which it may be ad- mitted that teaching as a social arrangement exists, we say that teaching is chiefly an economic opportunity—a job, to be sought and protected much as is any other job. By being a job, the training for it has been narrow and delimiting, tending toward the creation of a job- trust protected by intra-community affiliations which may inferentially develop an anti-social attitude in re- lation to the very function of the profession. It is further noted that comparatively low intellectual capacity and indifferent cultural attributes come to be considered as good enough for teachers. If the foregoing is in any degree a picture of the actual situation in our profession, it may be agreed that THE AMERICAN TEACHER we are almost wholly unprepared for the conceived task of directing education in the formulation, or even in the support, of a new and better social order. This is all the more obvious if we accept the proposition that the schools are to undertake in reality the task of training the minds of children in the ability to think. Intelli- gence is fundamental in any program of reconstruction, and it is only less essential in the support of a social order that is conceived and prepared by political forces that have gained control through a coup d’ etat than it is when a new order is coming into being through the operation of democratically controlled forces. Those who have not followed the thinking developed in the recent phenomenal book “The Educational Frontier” by John Dewey, William H. Kilpatrick, V. T. Thayer and others, may not have realized the necessity of facing two important propositions in the matter of the relation of education to the social order: First, that Education does bear a fundamental relation to the social order, whether the social order is of the laissez faire type, as is ours in America, or of the planned type as in Russia or in Italy. Second, that in view of the vast complexity of the educational and soctal factors involved, a coordinated, intelligently directed, and con- tinuously planning, not a statically planned, program of educational and social change through the democratic procedure, carries the best chance for growth and ulti- mate success. In the wake of such a coordinated pro- gram, these authors conceive the development of a new dynamic in conduct and the cooperative use of intelli- gence on a social scale in behalf of social values. It is obvious that if we take our responsibility seri- ously we face an appalling problem. In a sense the problem is as baffling as is the solution of the operation and the origins of the galaxies in the heavens. We could content ourselves with formulating the problem, and retiring from the scene without discredit. But the responsibility for further analysis and further ac- tivity lies clearly with us—the proletariat of the pro- fession. I say this because the leadership of the pro- fession in the public schools has too much vested interest in the educational status quo to desire a change. The educator groups in our college teacher staffs also have vested interests, and are subject to repressive in- fluences. Moreover, they lack the experience with the great mass education movement to give them the ideas that are needed to take further steps in this great enterprise. May I say also that I think the American Federation of Teachers itself, although a part of the proletariat, has been looking too much for inspiration and leadership from those who have made a profession of it. Should we not readjust our minds to working on the problem which most immediately faces us. It seems to me that through our affiliation with or- ganized labor we occupy a position which gives us a direct approach to one of the fundamental factors in our problem. Practically and philosophically we are —— y cs "e ——»y-— eo OcTOBER, 1933 united in a movement to bring about better working conditions in teaching which will benefit ourselves and the children in our care and increase our educational effectiveness. We have already developed our program of change in the physical and other teaching conditions in the schools by publicly and repeatedly demanding the abolition of mass-production methods characteristic of large schools, large classes, and stereotyped, regimented, and routinized methods of class management. We have proposed the development of experimentation in teach- ing based on the researches in the learning process, and have especially urged public school systems to create special schools in which experiments in creative edu- cacation may be carried on. We have proposed the extension of academic freedom to all schools as a con- dition favorable to effective and interesting teaching. We have proposed the extension to teachers of the right to participate in the administration of the schools, As evidence of our understanding of the relationship of education to society, we have expressed ourselves on the economic and social crises that have developed in the period of our existence. We have stood consistently against the war motive as a means of settling interna- tional disputes. We have favored the recognition of Russia aS a means to promoting peace in spite of our objection to its political dogmatism. We have opposed child labor and through this have opposed all exploi- tation of men on economic or racial lines. We have opposed the exploitation of the people by the economic- ally privileged class. Perhaps more than any other body of teachers we have recognized and pointed out the origin of the national movement for retrenchment, and its relationship to the organized and exploiting money power of this country. Whatever may have been the feeling within our organization with regard to the isolation of the teaching profession from the social and economic problems of our times, there can no longer be any doubt about the actuality of a close relationship. We need, however, to grapple more directly with our problem of building up a profession that shall have not only the will to take a leading part in the world-wide movement for better conditions for the human race, but also the intelligence with which to do it. If we really mean to try to develop the ability to think on the part of pupils, we shall have to prove the possession of such ability on our own part. In this connection, it is not an extravagant statement to make to point out the practical value in thinking about our own work in its relation to the social situation. Our own organization activity is among the best of our stimuli to social think- ing. But we must also develop a technic for teaching children how to think. This we could well do by demand- ing a thorough-going reorganization of the curriculum, and the inclusion of as many organizable and socially significant experiences as possible. However, whatever changes in the curriculum may be possible or essential, it is still more important for us 5 to develop some means of attacking through general education the problem that is fundamental in all our social experiences. I am thinking of the widespread and well-nigh universal political and economic immor- ality of our time. From the House of Morgan in the economic field to the Communist movement in the poli- tical field, and to the immersion of the race in crime in our great cities, we have a degradation of the mind of man that is the most appalling of all the possible problems in social education. Warden Lawes of Sing Sing Prison has said that formal education is no deter- rent of crime. We can easily believe that a great banker may develop a supreme contempt for education, while with one hand he compels the Legislature of the Empire State to reduce the salaries of teachers, and with the other accepts bonuses for the sale of worthless South American bonds, and avoids the charges of the federal income tax laws by juggling his funds with those of his wife. The jury has found him guiltless, apparently be- cause the defendant’s shrewd, highly paid superattorney was able to persuade the jury that “everybody is doing it.” The jury might have been benefited by an honest and intelligently organized education, but the banker, himself, and certainly his attorney, would not be touched by it. Similarly, in the political field, the scarcity of social morality in politics, government, and our economic life gives the opening for a political philosophy of hate, which is promoted by organized misrepresentation and the political theory that the end conceived justifies the use of destructive and dishonest means. No wonder crime itself pushes its contempt for society to the cur- rent extreme. There is no honor anywhere, and why spare anyone, man, woman, or child, in the high attain- ment of material success Perhaps the problem now seems to grow impossible of solution. But let us come back to the faith which education has in progress through the growth of human character, in the development of sound personality, and in the understanding and fulfillment of the social needs of young children. The solving of the problem of effective individual and social education of the people, like any other great problem, is likely to be attained through the application of the collective mind to its difficulties. The main thing needed is a collective determination that the American Federation of Teachers will consecrate itself to this effort. Champions of the Child “The dull train of follies set in motion goes grinding aa partly because the dislike always latent in powerful quarters for public education, as calculated to imbue common children with ridiculous notions of their own importance, finds in the catchword economy an opportunity for clothing itself with a decent drapery of public expediency. The proper people to administer the coup de grace to the monster are the teachers, who know the ruin it has worked and is still working. They have done so politely but with commendable trenchancy. Their organizations have always insisted that they exist not merely in order to protect their members but to champion the educational interests of the children and of the nation. Both have reason to be grateful to them for wise words boldly uttered.” -—Editorial, “Manchester Guardian” 6 THE AMERICAN TEACHER A Code for Public Schools and Public School Teachers Application to the National Recovery Administration E ARE presenting herewith a Code for Public Schools and Public School Teachers in behalf of the American Federation of Teachers. The American Federation of Teachers is a constituent part of the American Federation of Labor, and as such has a direct and vital interest in the success of your program for national industrial recovery. It is well known to the American people that no agency of public service has suffered greater loss and demoralization in the economic depression than have the public schools, Thousands of schools have been closed, with the result that large numbers of young children and adolescents have been deprived of their natural protective right, to become the potential prey of destructive influences. Tens of thousands of teachers have been dismissed to swell the ranks of the unem- ployed. Even at the present time, when every effort is being made by loyal citizens to cooperate with the federal government administration under the National Recovery Act, boards of education and municipal author- ities even in certain of our largest cities are continuing to close the schools. No greater menace to industrial recovery could develop than the manifestation of such indifference to public education which as a social agency is the very foundation of our civilization. In the per- petuation of our democratic institutions there can be no question of the fundamental and continuous need of the schools, operating with increasing efficiency, and led by teachers of intelligence and social understanding. To concern ourselves in the present emergency with industry alone is to disregard those basic forces of in- telligence and general education which have made pos- sible our material welfare. Of more than a million teachers all of whom are required in the general move- ment for recovery, it has been estimated that 25 per cent are unemployed. Can the country recover with this situation untouched ? The executive council of the American Federation of Teachers believes that the time has come for the nation to call a halt on the destructive activity of undermining the essential security of our basic social industry—pub- lic education—due to the effort which selfish interests have been making to perpetuate their economic control and to continue piling up profits, indifferent to the fate of the social services. Before it is too late we call upon the administration of the National Recovery Act to give ample consideration to the emergency which faces the public schools of the country, and to appeal to all industries and institutions subject to the direct control of the National Recovery Administration to bend every effort to protect and to promote the welfare of the schools. Organized labor has already manifested its concern about the schools, and will, we have no fear, respond valiantly to such an appeal from the administra- tion, for nothing less is to be expected from that body of workers which was the first social group to give its whole-hearted support to public schools in their infancy one hundred years ago. We are well aware of the possibility of the public schools deriving direct benefit under the Recovery Act in the repair of school buildings and in the erection of much needed new ones. The building industry and the trade unions in the construction field will presumably participate in the development of an arrangement one result of which may be of benefit in housing the school children. But there will still remain the unsolved prob- lem of providing the schools with competent teachers. In order that such competent teachers may be provided for the schools, and, indeed, in order that America may not be irreparably injured because the profession of teaching itself is being undermined and destroyed, the American Federation of Teachers proposes certain es- sential and basic conditions. The Federation herewith sets forth an exposition of the basic elements which are essential to the continuance of teaching as a public service in the schools of this country. Those elements are: (1) A living wage (2) Security of tenure (3) Decent working conditions (4) Right to establish teachers’ unions, and to affiliate with organized labor ; (5) Opportunity for culture and professional study (6) Maintenance of standards (7) Provision for old age The basis of the N R A is the restoration of purchas- ing power by the establishment of a living wage. As an introduction to the question of what constitutes a living wage for public school teachers we beg leave to (cite the arguments presented by a distinguished group of educational specialists, headed by Prof. George D. |Strayer, of Columbia University, which carried out a 'survey of the public schools of Chicago in 1932. We (quote from Vol. I, pp 298-9 of the Report. A Professional Wage Adequate remuneration for teaching service has two im- portant results. The primary one is basic economic security. In the trend of social thinking it is becoming increasingly recog- nized that the social structure exists for the security of the group, not only as a group, but also as individuals. In pro- fessional service this solid basis of economic support is of special significance since the teacher, like the physician, for example, is dealing with the welfare of human beings. It is of the utmost importance that her judgment, her attitude, and her procedures be not undermined by the nagging worry of the threat of insecurity. Moreover, there must be a substantial base of actual material welfare, so that the professional activity may command a measureable social respect eee A beginning of the consideration of teachers’ salaries may best be made at the general level for the competent teacher who has passed her probationary period. Two types of consideration are pertinent at this point. The first is the provision of proper living conditions for teachers. Items generally accepted in edu- cational thought as being necessary to such a provision are: (1) Basic subsistence (2) Provision for emergencies (3) Reasonable comfort and decency in living standards (4) Professional culture and study ; These items taken together indicate the need among teachers of a level of earnings comparable to those of the average profes- sional worker. It is generally known that teachers have nevef acquired any such income status. In 1840 they were paid about ct yf 1€ ly 1e ol b- ‘S. »d of he of ce 11S im- ‘ity. og- the r0- of for t is and of itial vity may who tion per -du- ds s of fes- ever bout OcTOBER, 1933 equally with common labor That teachers had not in 1926 reached the level of clerical and other salaried workers is shown in the following average income figures given by the Research Division of the National Education Association. TABLE 51 Comparison of Teachers’ Salaries with Earnings and/Incomes of various Groups of Gainfully Occupied Persons in 1926: Average Income of all gainfully occupied persons....... $2,010 Average Earnings of workers in 25 manufacturing RR oo ee ie cools eee ee a 1,309 Average Earnings of trade union members............... 2,502 Average Salary of high-grade clerical workers.......... 1,908 Average Salary of U. S. Government employces........ 1,809 Average Salary of teachers, principals, and superintendents in public schools................... 1,275 ~ Elements Relating to a Basic Salary for Teachers’ The American Federation of Teachers has always maintained that there should be no discrimination in the amount of salary paid to men and women teachers, and that payment of salary should be made, and pro- motion granted, on the basis of the servic rendered, without regard to the sex, the race, the religion, or the social status, including marriage, of the teachers concerned. The Federation holds also that for equal and required qualifications and preparation for professional work the salary should be the same in whatever grade a person may be teaching. We quote Table 52, page 306, Vol. I of the Chicago School Survey Report to indicate the range of salaries for teachers in certain large cities. Since the report was published the salaries of teachers in these cities have been seriously reduced. TABLE 52 Salary Schedule Data in the Five Largest Cities~Teachers Minimum Median Maximum ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS— ED. ci ccc an mae alte $1,608 $3,026 $3,390 Ns cc he ka ee a ee 1,500 2,125 2,500 SEP oe a 1,200 2,213 2,400 CEN a aa 1,400 2,062 2,800 I a ioe is cae eae dea nth: 2,416 ies Junior HicH Scuoors— NM ou csaeatebn cabwable $2,040 $2,879 $3,830 SE Begonia t cas wise eee 1,800 2,725 3,300 SR. . ev aeedebaceuiee 1,800 2,603 2,800 I eth of 6 ants ih's kee 1,700 2,749 3,200 SN ov wktcdvasaceeeua’ sae 2,491 Sentor HicH ScHoors RS ee eee $2,148 $3,886 $4,500 ce er oa ee 2,000 3,467 3,800 SN cscs chacbeswdvees 1,800 3,243 3,600 ES his c's races So crak aked ae 1,700 2,833 3,200 DE, ccccescaaviedebwenee’ ee 3,135 aes For a formula for providing a basic salary for teachers throughout the country in cities, towns, villages and rural sections we propose that certain elements be taken into account, as follows: 1. The salary of U. S. Government employees 2. The average earnings of trade union members 3. The average earnings of all gainfully occupied persons 4. The average income of doctors and lawyers We propose that the lowest salary paid in any locality to a professionally qualified teacher holding at least a normal school diploma shall not be less than will pro- vide him or her with the proper living conditions speci- fied or implied in this statement. We propose also that when proper basic salaries are agreed upon, they shall be protected by minimum wage laws. In practically every city, and in many rural sections throughout the country, high professional qualifications are being required of teachers varying from two years of normal school training to four or more years in professional institutions of the highest standing. Thus, the salaries which are commensurate with the income of professional men and women must eventually be paid to teachers. It is socially unjust and educationally unprofitable to maintain a class of teachers in this country who are paid an average wage many hundred dollars a year lower than is paid to other workers whose educational qualifications are much less. We propose that in sections of the country where the school funds available from real estate taxation, and from state income laws are not sufficient to pay the salaries of teachers and to maintain the schools on a scale commensurate with the needs of thé ‘community, federal grants of funds be made to bring the school personnel up to the standards herein set forth. We be- lieve that such federal participation in the support of the schools is necessary in view of the fact that the taxable wealth of the nation is not equally distributed through the states, and can only be reached by the federal government itself. Unless this is done, equal educational opportunity for all the children of America is impossible. We concede the right of the federal government to protect itself against the efforts of tax- dodging elements in every community, who might see in such federal aid an opportunity to escape their shares of the support of public education by using it as a re- placement fund instead of one supplementary to the community appropriation, and to establish such condi- tions as will compel those able to pay who now force the closing of the schools by refusing to pay their taxes. Security of Tenure The American Federation of Teachers has always stood for the adoption of adequae tenure laws for public school teachers by the states. The Federation believes that the principle of permanent tenure of posi- tion after a probationary period of two or three years should be embodied in the law of every state. Unfor- tunately, in certain states that have adopted such a law, school authorities often attempt to defeat the purpose of the law by dismissing teachers who are about to complete their years of probationary service, sometimes offering to re-employ them at the minimum wage. In every tenure law there should exist a provision for terminating the service of incompetent or unworthy persons who have gained positions as teachers. But we insist that no teacher shall be deprived of his position without “due process of law”, and that an open trial with the right to have counsel and witnesses shall be guaranteed. We call attention to the widespread disregard of contracts where the interests of public school teachers are concerned. Not alone in the present crisis, but even as a frequently exercised prerogative, boards of educa- tion and school committees, especially in rural sections, make no pretense of entering into a legal agreement with teachers, or even refuse to notify them positively of their employment until a few days before the opening of school. We insist, also, on the right of teachers to participate in social or political movements, and in other self-re- specting ways to conduct their lives as citizens without fear of reprisal from boards of education or school committees, | Decent Working Conditions The factors involved in proper working conditions for teachers, and the standards as approved, are: (1) The normal number of hours of work prevailing in the best schools, with a maximum of five (5) working hours for five days, it being understood that many more hours are required in preparation for work in school. (2) The maximum number of pupils in a class which, in the general judgment of experts, can be taught efficiently at one time. The number will vary in accordance with the work, the subject taught, and local conditions. (3) The physical conditions of school buildings should be such as will protect the health and safety of teachers and pupils against: (a) Overcrowding (b) Bad sanitation (c) Inadequate toilet arrangements (d) Inadequate ventilation (e) Fire hazards (4) Efficient health inspection is necessary to protect the personnel of the school as a whole in the inter- est of the community itself, Right to Establish Teachers’ Unions, and to Affiliate with Organized Labor The American Federation of Teachers was organized in 1916 and immediately affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. Within the period of seventeen years many attacks have been made on the organization in various parts of the country. School officials, both local and state, have attempted to prevent the formation of local unions, and have tried to destroy locals already formed. In some cases the courts have assisted the school authorities in this destructive work. With the support of organized labor, many of these attempts at hindering the work of teachers’ unions in improving the conditions existing in the schools have been defeated. But the spirit of opposition to teachers’ unions is still strong in certain parts of the country. Under the National Recovery Act we shall hope for public recognition of our professional and economic right to continue our existence and to perform our services in behalf of the public schools of the nation and the teachers who work in them. Opportunity for Culture and Professional Work The degree in which the salaries of teachers provide opportunities for improving their capacity for better educational service will determine the extent of the community’s satisfaction with its entire investment in the public schools. It will not be denied that many school systems have not yielded in educational results the satisfaction to which the communities were entitled. Sut the correction for this outcome is not in retrench- ment to the point of crippling the service, incidentally Saving some expense, but rather in a wiser investment in more highly qualified teachers and in better organized school service. Maintenance of Standards We call attention to a destructive tendency incidental to the retrenchment movement against public education where schools have not been closed nor teachers dis- missed: Needed repairs in school buildings have been postponed, the school year has been shortened, im- THE AMERICAN TEACHER portant subjects have been curtailed or eliminated, and even health education and health inspection have been curtailed. The slogan of “Balance the Budget” has been used as the excuse for the reckless slashing of necessary expenditures, many of which are the only social guar- antees we have for the maintenance of standards in education and in health and safety. We believe that only misfortune can come from the continuance of this policy. Provision for Old Age The provision which the civilized states of the world are establishing for the protection of old age are among the best proofs of our advancing civilization. Not only are old-age pensions proof of our developing altruism; they are also evidence of our growing understanding of ways to improve the public service through retirement of over-age employees. Many of the large cities of the country have adopted retirement systems for their employees on various plans of participation in creating an adequate pension fund, built upon an actuarily sound basis. Some of the states have also adopted retirement systems, But the rank and file of teachers throughout the country serve at low wages without prospect of a pension allowance, for they are not permitted to hold positions long enough to establish claim to a pension, even if one existed. In a country where even the profit-making corpora- tions provide retiring allowances for long-service em- ployees, the local and state governments should not long delay the acceptance of their social obligation to provide adequately for the retirement of faithful employees. We trust, Sir, that the principles herein set forth will meet with your endorsement, and that official action will be taken by the National Recovery Administration to call the public school situation and urgent needs to the attention of the country. Respectfully submitted, The Executive Council of the American Federation of Teachers. Henry R. Linvitte, President. FLORENCE CurTIS HANSON, Secretary-Treasurer. George F. Zook, U. S. Commissioner of Education in commenting on the Code for Teachers, said: “We are making a study of all the implications growing out of the application of a code, or codes, to the public schools, and to higher institutions, both public and private. “After we have completed this study we shall, doubtless, make some recommendation to the Recovery Administration relative to a number of points which may be raised in con- nection with this matter.” Ray P. Snyder, director of rural education in the state of New York: “Due to a scientific system of state aid, instruction has been maintained in New York in all schools of all types for the school year of thirty-eight weeks. “Few states have the resources of indirect taxation ° that New York has. Therefore, for the benefit of America, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT must find a scientifiq way to distribute school aid to the less wealthy states, and particularly to those that are largely agricultural.” wa eo ee oe or th its te up su em em the an OW 1 i. — — =e yn ew = in ut ls, ss, on on all on * nd SS sly OcTOBER, 1933 Code of Fair Standards for the Education Industry As Proposed By Commonwealth College, Mena, Arkansas (Under the National Industrial Recovery Act) ARTICLE I.—PURPOSE It is the declared purpose of the adherents of this Code to raise the rates of wages paid within the Educa- tion Industry up to such levels as are necessary for the creation and maintenance of the highest practicable standard of living; to establish the best possible condi- tions for instruction and learning in the class room; and to make such revisions in educational practice as will keep our social thinking in step with technological ad- vancement. ARTICLE II.—PARTICIPATION Participation in the formulation of or any subsequent revision of or addition to this Code shall be extended to all persons in the Education Industry: (1) teachers; (2) maintenance and office workers; (3) principals and superintendents and their assistants; and (4) members of boards of administrative control. All costs involved in the operation of this Code shall be defrayed by the Bureau of Education of the Department of the Interior of the United States Govern- ment. ARTICLE III.—DIVISIONS OF INDUSTRY For the purposes of the administration of this Code, the national Education Industry shall be divided into 48 state divisions, Each of these state divisions shall in turn be subdivided into the following five categories: (1) kindergarten and elementary schools; (2) high schools; (3) colleges, professional schools, and univer- sities; (4) vocational and trade schools; and (5) ex- tension, night, and special schools not included in the other four classes. If any state division or any category within that state fails to concur in the submitting of this Code, or to perform its obligations as provided hereunder, the National Education Committee, hereinafter described or its Board of Directors or National Executive Com- mittee, as hereinafter described, is hereby empowered to adopt a Code for the state division or subdivision or category, and may provide for the administration of that Code as if the said National Education Committee, its Board of Directors, or National Executive Commit- tee represented the division concerned. ARTICLE IV.—DIVISION REGULATIONS A.—Labor Code The labor code herein established shall be binding upon all school boards, boards of administrative control, superintendents, principals, their assistants, and all others empowered to engage or dismiss any person or persons employed in the Industry. 1. All teachers, maintenance and office workers in the Education Industry shall have the right to organize and bargain collectively thru representatives of their own choosing. 2. No employee in the Education Industry, and no one seeking employment therein, shall be required as a condition of employment to join any union or to refrain from joining a labor organization of his or her own choosing. 3. No employee in the Education Industry, and no one seeking employment therein, shall be discriminated against in terms of wages, hours, working conditions or in any other manner, because of sex, race, or marital state. 4. Minimum rates of wages, maximum hours of labor, and other working conditions in the Education Industry shall be as follows: (a) Minimum wages for (1) Teachers in kindergartens and elementary schools, $1,600 per year; (2) Teachers in high schools, $2,200 per year; (3) Teachers in colleges, professional schools, and universities, $3,000 per year; (4) Teachers in vocational and trade schools, $2,350 per year; (5) Teachers in night schools, $1,000 per year; Office workers, $1,600 per year; (7) Maintenance workers: a. Custodians and janitors, $2,150 per year; b. Mechanics and repairmen, $1,800 per year; c. Assistants to janitors, $1,400 per year; (8) Principals and assistants, $2,800 per year; (b —S Until the maximum wage for each category or classification in (a) is reached teachers, office and maintenance workers, and principals and their assistants shall receive an annual increase of five (5) percent of their wage. (c) Maximum hours for all teachers and office and maintenance workers shall not exceed thirty (30) per week, during which time teachers shall not be called upon to do more than twenty-five (25) class sessions of instruction. (d) Working conditions: (1) All employees shall be assured of not less than forty (40) weeks’ employment in one year, (2) They shall be removable only for cause and after a fair hearing. (3) They shall receive full wages when absent because of bona fide illness. (4) They shall be entitled to a full year’s leave one year in four at half the wages received in the last preceding year before such leave. (5) They shall be assured of adequate pen- sions, with retirement to begin at the age 10 of sixty-five (65), under a solvent plan in the management of which they shall have adequate representation. (6) All licensed and unemployed teachers shall be paid not less than two-thirds the wage of the classification to which they belong; if not previously employed, then two-thirds the minimum entrance wage rate for their classification, Such wages shall be paid by the official relief committees of city, county, state, or nation. These unemployed teachers shall be assigned educational work among the unemployed. (7) The number of students in all classes shall be limited to twenty-five (25). (8) Special classes shall be set up for atypical children. A.—Attendance No tax-supported school of any character shall re- quire the payment of an admission fee by any student. All persons under eighteen (18), unless prevented by physical, mental, or other ailment or by detention in state institutions, shall be required to attend school. ARTICLE V.—NATIONAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE A.—Re presentation There shall be a National Education Committee for the Education Industry, to consist of six (6) members from each state, to be elected as follows: 1. Three members to be elected by the teachers in all classifications ; 2. One member to be elected by the maintenance and office workers; and 3. Two members to be elected by the principals and superintendents and members of the boards of administrative control. The National Education Committee shall in turn elect a Board of Directors, consisting of forty-eight (48) persons, one from each state. The Board of Directors will select a National Executive Committee consisting of eleven (11) members, no two of whom shall be from one state. B.—Powers The National Education Committee shall be the gen- eral planning and coordinating agency for the Industry. Its members shall be empowered to act conclusively for the divisions they represent in respect to all matters before the Committee for consideration and within its jurisdiction. The Committee shall have powers and duties as provided herein and in addition thereto it shall 1. From time to time require such reports from School Boards, Superintendents, etc. as in its judgment may be necessary to advise it adequately of the admin- istration and enforcement of the provisions of this Code; 2. Upon complaint of interested parties, or upon its own initiative, make such inquiry and investigation into the operation of the Code as may be necessary; and 3. Make rules and regulations necessary for the administration and enforcement of this Code. The Com- mittee may delegate any of its authority to the Board of Directors, or the National Executive Committee, herein- after provided, and may designate such agents as it shall determine. THE AMERICAN TEACHER ARTICLE VI.—STATISTICS In order to provide the data necessary for the admin- istration of the National Industrial Recovery Law, the members of the Education Industry shall furnish, and the National Education Committee shall gather, statisti- cal information from all the members of the Industry. ARTICLE VII.—GENERAL Amendment to this Code may be made by the National Education Committee, subject to the approval of the membership in the state divisions, and when approved by the President shall be effective. Penalties for violation by any School Board, member of such board, superintendent, principal, teacher, mainte- nance or office worker, of any provision or provisions of this Code, or of any approved rule issued thereunder, shall be provided by the National Executive Committee, subject to approval by the Board of Directors. In order to avoid undue delay in making effective thruout the Education Industry this Code the following provisions are adopted: A. Each established division, state, or subdivision, shall, thru its representatives to the National Education Committee, approve the general pro- visions of this Code. If conditions, peculiar to a specific division or category within a division, are such as to require adjustment or coordination with the provisions of this National Code, the National Education Committee shall proceed as rapidly as practicable to make such adjustments of and coordination between the provisions of specific divisions or subdivisions as may be neces- sary to bring them into \conformity with the provisions of the National Code by: (1) consultation and negotiation between the Na- tional Education Committee representatives and the divisions or subdivisions affected; (2) its own findings after full consideration of all factors involved. B. If any division or subdivision, thru its accredited representative to the National Education Com- mittee, fails to conform within reasonable time with the Code provisions as provided in sub- section A of this Article, and if, in the judgment of the National Education Committee, such fail- ure is unduly delaying the effective operation of this Code, the said Committee is authorized to act as a divisional agency for said division or subdivision, and to submit on its behalf the necessary Code provisions which, upon approval by the President, shall be effective until the said divisions or subdivisions shall have conformed with satisfactory Code provisions. This Code shall be in effect beginning ten (10) days after its approval by the President. Teachers’ Code A code for colleges and universities is planned by Frof, Floyd B. O’Rear of Teachers’ College, Columbia ° University. “Society possesses the wealth to provide education of such completeness as has not yet been planned, for numbers far beyond present realization,” he declared in proposing the code. “Equality of educa- tional opportunity need not remain a mere phrase.” ed ys OcTOBER, 1933 Reply from N. R.A. NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION Washington, D. C. August 25, 1933. In reply refer 1717/05 Mr. Henry R. Linville, President, American Federation of Teachers, 506 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, IIl. Dear Mr. Linville: This acknowledges receipt of your letter of Aug. 22 enclosing 11 copies of your Code of Fair Competition. While the provisions of the National Recovery Act do not permit the Government to approve codes of fair competition submitted by labor organizations—the Act requiring that such codes are contracts between Presi- dent and employers—the fact remains that labor organ- izations may follow a number of courses in order to protect their interests. It is possible under Sec. 7 (b) of the N. I. R. A. Act for the employers and employees of any industry to establish by mutual agreement conditions relating to hours, rates of pay and other conditions of employment, and, when approved by the President, such agreements have the same effect as approved employer’s codes. It is also possible under Sec. 7 (c) of the Act for you to request the President to inaugurate an investigation on his own motion for a code of fair competition for an industry. In all future communications, please refer to your code by name and index number stated above. Your assistance in the work of the National Recovery Administration is heartily apreciated. Very truly yours, A. Heath Onthank, Chief Control Division. The American Federation of Teachers is continuing its efforts for the adoption of its Code on the above advice under Sec. 7(c) and is hopeful that the President will inaugurate an in- vestigation on his own motion for a code of fair competition for the education industry 11 A Letter to N. R. A. Kellogg, Idaho, August 26th, 1933. General Hugh S. Johnson, National Recovery Administration, Washington, D. C. Dear Sir:— 1. Are the public schools of the United States plan- ning to fly the Blue Eagle? If so, who will be the spokesman for the teachers? What assurance will teachers have if they form a union or become members of the American Fed- eration of Teachers which is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, that they will not lose their positions because of so doing? 4. What about a code for teachers based upon their general education, training, and experience? A code upon any other basis would be unfair. Under the present school set-up, organization in many communities is impossible without a state- ment from the NRA that teachers have the right to organize if they so desire. Can you not give the press of the country such a statement? 6. You have given out statements that labor can if it chooses, organize for the purpose of collective bargaining, etc. Would not such a statement rela- tive to the teachers be equally fair? wi uy Kindly let me hear from you on these matters. Sincerely, Tuomas B. Ketiy Kellogg Public Schools. Major Lynn G. Adams, Superintendent of the Penn- sylvania State Police: After twenty-five years of experience in police work, I find the public schools are of more value than either the church or the home in reducing crim- inal potentialities. In the long run, success in or fight against criminal gangs which are preying on our country today rests with the schools, A. F. T. Official Family The executive Council of the American Federation of Teachers has been increased by constitutional amend- ment from thirteen to seventeen. The new members are the following vice-presidents: May Darling, Portland Local 111. Vice-President Oregon State Federation of Labor; past president Portland Teachers Union; teacher of sciences, Washington High School, Portland, active in civic and political life. Harold M. Groves, University of Wisconsin Local 223. Professor of ‘social ‘Oregon; Economics, University of Wisconsin; mem- ber Wisconsin Legislature; introducer and promoter of teacher tenure, old age retirement, and unemployment in- surance laws; tax specialist; lecturer and author. Raymond F. Lowry, Toledo Local 250. President, Toledo Federation of Teachers, Local 250; A.M., Ohio Wesleyan University; instructor, Nankai University, Tientsin, China, 1920-1926; head, Department of English, Woodward High School, Toledo; instructor (part time), University of Toledo. Barbara A. McGlynn, Wilkes-Barre Local 211. President Wilkes-Barre Township Teachers Union; AFT regional representative for_the Middle, Atlantic states; secretary of committee on Education and Schools, Penn- sylvania Federation of Labor; chairman Committee on Education, Wilkes-Barre Central Labor Union; legislative representative at Harrisburg; promoted tenure law and legislation for schools and workers in industry; active in community affairs. Carlotta Pittman, Memphis Local 52. Vice-president AFT 1927-1932; past president, Memphis Teachers Association; delegate, Memphis Central Labor Union; member AFT Academic Freedom committee; teacher Roselle school. John Harold Swan, S&cramento Local 31. President Sacramento Chapter Local 31; teacher of Eco- nomics, Sacramento Junior College; active in school legis- lation and community affairs. Dorothy Weil, Chicago Women Local 3. President Federation of Women High School Teachers, Local 3, 1931-1933; chairman Publicity Committee, Chi- cago Save Our Schools Committee; delegate Chicago Federation of Labor and Illinois State Federation of La- bor; teacher Crane Junior College, Chicago; active in legislative and civic affairs. Colin G. Welles, Ph.D., Milwaukee Local 212. Chairman Milwaukee County Federation of Teachers; head Department of Visual Education, Milwaukee Vocational School; active in civic sal political life. 12 THE AMERICAN TEACHER Report of Secretary-Treasurer ABRIDGED To the Seventeenth Convention, American Federation of Teachers HE financial report submitted by the Secretary Treasurer shows that the organization has kept solvent in spite of the depression. Membership The membership condition is good and the future outlook encouraging. There has been a gratifying in crease in membership in some locals, and despite the difficulties of the times all locals have held their own Sixteen new locals representing ten states have been chartered, ranging in membership from 25 to 600. Many more inquiries and requests for literature, indicating an increasing interest in our movement, have been re ceived than in any past ten years. It would seem that at this time of attack upon the institution of public education an increasing number ot teachers could be led to see that their protection lies in their union with each other and with the staunch, de voted, and all-time friends of education, Organized Labor. The national office offers every possible assist- ance to the member locals in their efforts to educate their fellow teachers in sound organization and _ in- surance. The American Teacher. Five magazines in place of nine were published this year. The circulaion was increased by 2,000 because of the demand. The subscription price was lowered from $2 to $1 because of the fewer numbers per volume. The magazine has been used very largely for material! to meet the crisis in education. An unusual number of comments and reprints in other periodicals indicates that it is widely read. A return to our previous practice of 9 issues per year is a hope for the future. As a temporary alterna tive a small bulletin or tabloid containing local news and the most important information will be distributed in the months in which the AMERICAN TEACHER is not published. It is my considered opinion that in this present crisis the membership should have put before it frequently the more important happenings in the organ- ization and the educational world, and the point of view of the Executive Council. Defense of Teachers in Their Positions. The primary function of an organization is to protect the interests of its members. The primary interest of any teacher or other worker is g job. At this time of crisis, curtailment, and retrenchment, many teachers are being dismissed and many more are in danger of dis- missal. Especially will those teachers most courageous in pointing out the evils of retrenchment and in resist- ing the attack upon the schools be penalized by loss of position. This organization should be in a position to defend such teachers. Such defense should not be just a local matter but should be handled by the national and the local in cooperation. I recommend that steps be taken to establish a special fund for the legal defense of member teachers unjustly dismissed from their positions. Placement Bureau. The Placement Bureau Committee of last year recom- mended that at the earliest possible time arrangements be made to establish a placement bureau in the national office. I urge that this matter be not lost sight of and that in the present crisis when so many teachers find themselves in a tragic condition of unemployment, plans be made for the earliest establishment of a PLACEMEN) [-UREAU. New Literature. The propaganda literature this year has been mainly reprints from the AMERICAN TEACHER. This includes Crisis in Education, Professor John Dewey; President Green's Appeal to the Teachers of America; Two Pro- grams—Choose; The Making of a Profession, Selma M. Borchardt. A new supply of Objections Answered, Questions and Answers, Why | am a Member of the Union, Historical Setting of the American Federation of Teachers by Ruth Gillette Hardy was provided. Worth while propaganda literature is very important We are eager for ideas for such literature. Please let us have yours. Publicity. | recommend that immediate arrangements be made for the preparation of articles on the school crisis and their publication in weekly and monthly magazines, especially women’s magazines. Teachers Union Auxiliary. [ have long been convinced of the value of teachers union auxiliaries. Since visiting the New York Teachers Union Auxiliary in January I am more than ever con vinced of their value both in fostering professional standards and in promoting progressive education. Also at this time of crisis when all friends of education need to be mobilized in support of the public schools, it is imperative, as I see it, that the locals of the A. F. T organize such cooperative units in their communities now. I recommend that steps to this end be immediately taken. Conclusion. While we take satisfaction in the optimistic report of this year, we wish to emphasize that only by continued, even greater, courage and militancy may we maintain and improve our position and justify our optimism. The destiny of public education has been placed in the hands of the teachers. The deplorable conditions in the world, including the school world, have been brought about by selfishness and lack of cooperation. The Amer- ican Federation of Teachers was organized originally as a protest against the abuses of power which had grown up in school administration, as a means of com- batting the influence of autocratic domination of the schools by special interests, and as an expression of the social vision of a few teachers who were thinking in terms of community interest and social progress, and today it is taking a new energy and enthusiasm on these same basic motives. By working and pulling together, by tolerance and understanding can we achieve success, ' OcTOBER, 1933 Had the teachers of America been united in a national organization, together with the other workers of the country, the retrogressions in education would not hav made the progress that they have. If the schools are to be saved from further devastating curtailments and re trenchments, it can be done only by sound organization. by the unity and solidarity of teachers, parents, workers, of all those who cherish the public schools and gy in them. A strong militant organization is needed; it is at hand. It is not enough that teachers should concern them- selves with school problems only. It is imperative that they concern themselves with the broad social and eco nomic questions troubling the world today. As a term of reproach the American Federation of Teachers has been called an economic organization; as 13 a matter of pride it claims to be a social and economic as well as educational organization. We have pointed out for years the dangers that threatened the schools We are urging now that teachers look clear eyed at the realities of the present and to the stern responsibilities of the future. We are teachers not in the classroom only but of the public. Let us renew our slogan, “Come Out of the Classroom, Teacher”! Let me quote: ‘And in this new dispensation now upon us there will be no rights recognized unless there are strong organizations to demand them and to get them.” Unity, solidarity, courage, hope, knowledge, deter- mination. Let these be our watchwords for better schools and for a better world Labor Day, 1933 By FRANCES PERKINS Secretary of Labor We are called upon today to observe Labor Day in a more thoughtful and serious spirit perhaps than in any of the forty-six years in which it has been a holiday Never in all that time have we been faced by a condition calling for such united efforts by wage earners, em ployers, and consumers to help in solving the problems which have been so pressing in the last few years. Only by concerted action can we rout the forces which have brought want, despair, and misery to so many homes. If we will all, on this day, make up our minds to do everything individually possible to build up the purchas ing power of the Nation to balance our great producing power then Labor Day of 1933 should mark a turn toward better times and usher in a new era for the country’s wage earners, salaried workers, and employers. In other words, let us give the National Recovery Ad- ministration our whole-hearted support, for its objective is to increase buying power so as to furnish more jobs at better wages. If and when it accomplishes this purpose, we should all reap benefits with hours of labor shortened and wages and remuneration in harmony with the higher standards of living which underlies our new consumption economy. Living under such conditions we shall be able to get more education. We shall be healthier for there will be greater opportunity for proper recreation. We can do the things which build up people and which make us all better citizens and members of society. But we cannot achieve this goal unless our people have purchasing power sufficient to buy the products of the mass production system for their comfort and well- being. We want for all our people an ordinary com- fortable living—enough to eat, enough to wear, a home with average comforts at least—all of which should be commonplace in American life. All, however, cannot have them when unemployment is w ide ‘spread and con- — let us dedicate this Labor Day to pledging our “all without reservation, to unite in the drive which is now under way so that by this time next year, through increased employ ment and pay rolls, we shall again have job and economic security with the doors of opportunity open to those willing and able to work. President Roosevelt has forged the weapons with which to make the attack. The National Recovery Act furnishes them and if we take full advantage of what they promise and work whole-heartedly and unselfishly together, we should come out of this struggle in the good old-fashioned American way of victory By WILLIAM GREEN President, American Federation of Labor Labor Day, 1933, finds our nation utilizing its re- sources to carry out recovery plans. Business men had declared themselves unable to deal with the situation and banks were unable to perform their functions. Then the Administration proposed a partnership un der governmental supervision so that organized business and organized labor might join in developing rules to facilitate balanced recovery. The principle of partner- ship—joint interests—is the groundwork for our re- covery agencies. The practical effectiveness of all these plans depends upon the good-will and wisdom of those concerned and upon the degree of cooperation that develops. We have in the traditions and practices of our nation the characteristics that come from the discipline of self government. The difficulties of combating and living in an unde- veloped continent have made individual responsibility and cooperative habits of daily practice. These are qualities which we should apply to the present undertaking and incorporate in industrial rela- tionships, As a nation we have declared it is the patriotic duty of every American citizen, as employer or employe, to assume responsibility for making recovery plans suc- cessful and for identifying himself with his group and for carrying out the same principles as a ‘consumer. The new elements in our present undertaking are partnership with government and machinery to control business so that we may carry out our purposes, The business world has become so complicated and independent that unless we plan ous policies and or- ganize machinery to carry them out, we are so checked and diverted by outside forces that we make little headway. Under the Recovery Act, organization is the order of the day—organization of employers in trade associa- tions, workers in trade unions, and channels to reflect the interests and needs of consumers. (Ture to page 15) THE AMERICAN TEACHES, So This Is America! Bitter Teacher War Starts in Erie (Pa.) Area.—Non- resident instructor ruling of city board precipitates trouble. A bitter teacher employment war has broken out between Erie city and county schools. Harbor Creek district, seven miles east of here, took the lead in the fight by voting not to hire any resident of Erie and to discharge the five teachers who live here as soon as contracts expire. It was definitely stated that this policy would be in effect “as long as the non-resident ruling of Erie Schoo! Board is enforced.” Recently the Erie Board of Education told a half dozen teachers either to move into the city or give up their jobs. One of these teachers is Merrill Hughes, a member of the Harbor Creek Board of Education. Washington, D. C.—Congress passed by a large ma- jority President Roosevelt’s economy bill under which the Federal Government will reduce its cost of opera- tion around $525,000,000. The measure authorizes the President to cut the wages and salaries of Government employes 15 per cent. By this cut it is estimated the Government will “save’’ $125,000,000. The bill also authorizes the President to make drastic reductions in the compensation, pension, and disability allowances of veterans. It is estimated that this “economy” will reduce Government expenses about $400,000,000. In addition the measure contains the provision that the pay of Government employes shall be determined by the cost of living as ascertained by the United State Department of Labor. The American Federation of Labor, through President William Green, opposed both the pay cut and the cost- of-living wage scheme. Glassboro, N. J.—Decides that teachers must be re- served, and act “strictly as chaperons”’, at school furictions, and female teachers that smoke may expect dismissal. Members of the Board of Education that establish this rule will continue smoking and chewing as usual. Spokane, Wash.—Home economics and manual arts are discontinued in the fifth grade. All double-period subjects in high schools are scheduled on seven periods per week basis instead of ten. Part time schools dis- continued. Appropriation for library books reduced. Attendance office force cut. Two schools closed. Schenectady, N. Y.—Eliminated three special classes, one for non-English speaking children, one for crip- pled children, and one for anemic children. Denver, Colo.—Vacancies unfilled. Some curtailment of curriculum revision. Discontinuation of open air schoolrooms. Shortening of term in evening schools. Indianapolis, Ind.—Night schools eliminated. No summer schools. No teachers’ colleges. Appropria- tions for kindergartens greatly reduced. Detroit, Mich.—Free summer schools eliminated. No summer schools. No teachers’ colleges. Appropria- tions for kindergartens greatly reduced. The Dalles, Ore.—New contracts for school teachers contain a clause prohibiting use of alcohol, narcotics, or tobacco in any form. The action was protested by directors of the chamber of commerce. Cleveland, Ohio.—Cutting the kindergartens, night schools, summer schools and the teachers’ colleges. Minneapolis Teachers’ Pay Is Reduced 30 Per Cent.— The city board of education voted to cut the salaries of teachers and other school employes 30 per cent for the remainder of the year. Already under a 15 per cent cut in salary they also will have to take vacations of two weeks without pay. The deficit was estimated at $681,000. The total pay reduction to date for Minneapolis teachers is 53%. Socialists Raise School Age—Word comes from Co- penhagen that the Socialist ministry is about to intro- duce a bill raising the age of compulsory school at- tendance from fourteen years to fifteen. This will be urged on educational grounds and also because it will take a good many thousand youth out of the over- crowded labor market and will give employment to a considerable number of teachers. Bogan Urges U. S. Hire 500 Idle Teachers.—Supt. William J. Bogan has sent an appeal to Secretary of the Interior Ickes in Washington for federal funds to finance the employment of teachers out of work in Chicago. The money would go toward the teach- ing of classes in Americanization and English and is similar to a plan already in operation in New York. It was estimated that approximately 500 teachers could be employed to instruct more than 5,000 persons, Some of the teachers would be those now on the relief rolls and others those who will be temporarily out of work because of the operation of the school board’s economy program. A salary of $15 a week would be paid to each teacher for a minimum of twenty-two hours of service, fifteen of which will be used for in- struction and the rest for conferences, according to the plan. Classes would not exceed ten in number. Closing of Schools of Nursing.—In “very nearly all hospitals having less than 50 patients, many hospitals with less than 100 patients, and at least a good many with more than 100 patients,” is advised by Committee on Grading of Nursing Schools. The committee re- ports too many schools of nursing in the country. Miss Perkins Revokes Finger-Print Order.—Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins revoked shortly after com- ing into office the order for finger-printing incoming aliens issued by former Secretary Doak but never put into effect. She also abolished the secret service sec- tion of the Immigration Bureau. It is understood that the ruling prohibiting gainful employment by alien students is to be modified so needy ones may work for board and tuition. The Good Old Days.—Boys Do Own Cooking. Ada, Okla. To remain in school at minimum of expense, many students bring eggs, butter, smoked hams, canned fruits and vegetables from family larder “down on the farm.” They prepare own meals. East Central Teachers College has cooperative boarding house where students share expenses— money Of produce. Business Schools Closing.—Depression is said to be forcing closing of private business colleges and schools at rate of about 50 per month. One reliable estimate: 1,200 closed within past year. OcTOBER, 1933 Dictator Over Educational Institutions. —According to The Christian Science Monitor, a bill making the governor of the state virtual dictator over educational institutions has been passed by the Colorado Legisla- ture. Sponsors of the measure say it will save tax- payers more than $1,000,000 yearly. It authorizes and directs the Governor to eliminate duplication of courses offered at the various state institutions of higher learning, and to regroup, reorganize, and con- solidate courses and departments in the institutions. The Governor also receives power to close, for finan- cial reasons, any of the educational institutions be- longing to the State for a period not exceeding two years. The drastic measure was adopted following legislative hearings concerning alleged extravagant ex- penditures of some of the colleges and universities in the state. Some testimony of almost humorous ‘character brought out during the considerations, was to the effect that courses in manicuring, rouge and cold cream application, scarf dancing for boys, millinery and folk dancing were given in the colleges. It was charged that bulletins issued at considerable cost were frequently written by persons of little practical experience.—School and Society. Handicapped Children—The White House Confer- ence, appointed by Herbert Hoover, furnishes the fol- lowing alarming information about children with physical and mental handicaps: 14,400 blind, 50,000 partially seeing, 3,000,000 hearing impaired, 1,000,000 speech defectives, 300,000 crippled, 382,000 tubercular, 1,000,000 weak or damaged hearts, 6,000,000 malnour- ished, 675,000 behavior problems, 450,000 mentally retarded—a total of 12,871,000 subnormal children. Teachers’ Loyalty Oath Bills Die in Eight States.— In the 1933 state legislatures, most of which have ad- journed, the chief civil liberties issue outside of labor injunctions, revolved around bills backed by the D.A.R. requiring special loyalty oaths from school teachers. Already thirteen states have such legisla- tion. The movement apparently has been stopped, for the bills were defeated in eight states in which they were introduced, due to aggressive action by the A. C. L. U., organized teachers, and peace societies. Star City, W. Va.—Because of his socialist activities, Dr. Robert T. Kerlin, for five years a member of the faculty of Potomac State College, Keyser, W. Va., has been summarily dismissed. The secretary of the board of education did not notify Kerlin until it was too late for him to secure a position for the next term. Georgia.—Blanket Cut of 25 per cent in all State de- partments for remainder of present year ordered by Governor Talmadge. Washington.—A new system of financing education whereby the State will meet approximately 50 per cent of total cost adopted. New Jersey.—Governor Moore announces a tentative plan to allow counties to divert to school support and shore-line protection $6,835,000 from motor vehicle receipts hitherto dedicated to local highway mainte- nance. Tennessee.—Reduces salary of University president trom $7,500 to $3,000. Voted to reduce sharply sal- aries of heads of other educational institutions. Headline :—Allegany Teachers Vote to Accept Salary Cut. Cumberland, Md. Teachers in Allegany County public schools voluntarily decide to take salary cut of 10 per cent for two years. Arkansas.—University of Arkansas appropriation re- duced from $571,400 to $340,000. 1S LABOR DAY, 1933 (Continued from page 13) Without the cooperation of labor, the National Re- covery Administration would be fatally handicapped. The work experience and the needs of those who carry on production processes are essential in order to formulate the rules of the industry wisely. In order to organize this information for use, work- ers must be organized so as to collect and collate facts and judgments. The Recovery Act provides that every code must contain specific provisions assuring employes the right to organize in unions with representatives of their own choosing and to conduct their affairs without interfer- ence from employers. When such codes have been signed and approved then the law stipulates that employers must deal with repre- sentatives of their employes—chosen without coercion or interference of any kind on the part of the employer. Never did the union have a more vital or more con- structive function than it does in our national emer- gency. It is essential to the formulation of codes and to their administration so as to carry out the purposes of the recovery program. Workers organized in unions will have a part in formulating a program to provide jobs for the unem- ployed and to increase consumer buying power. Workers outside of unions will be unable to partici- pate and by their failure to participate will lessen the influence of the organized group. Wage earners need organization to help in the administration of the code for the industry, in working out problems and in sug- gesting improvements. It is to the workers the Government must look to know whether employers are living up to their con- tracts. Labor Day, 1933, finds the labor movement with new opportunities, busily trying to meet new obligations. The line of organizing activities reaches from coast to coast, and from Northern to Southern boundaries. After four years of depression and steady retro- gression, wage earners now know that only through organization can they provide the kind of economic security that will prevent a recurrence of the present breakdown. We cannot return to the business practices of 1929, and if we would have better balance in our institutions, we must be able to direct their development. Our greatest responsibility in the immediate future is to carry the message of unionism to all who work and to do our part to prevent exploitation by helping to organize business in the service of all. By FRANK MORRISON Secretary, American Federation of Labor The National Recovery Act recognizing the right of workers to join a union of their own choosing, has aroused widespread interest among unorganized workers to establish membership in the American Federation of Labor. In no other type of labor organization has the worker greater freedom to deal with questions relat- ing to conditions of labor of immediate concern to himself, than is afforded in the trade union. The practices and policies of the trade union move- ment are based on the principle of trade autonomy; in other words, the recognition of the right of workers in the same trade to decide for themselves questions affecting conditions of labor in their own /particular line of work. / / 16 THE AMERICAN TEACHER Education for Democracy Teachers, Wake Up! American Federation of Teachers Organized April 15, 1916 Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor 506 South Wabash Ave., President Henry R. Linvitte, New York Local 5; 70 Fifth Ave., New York, N. Y. Chicago, IIl. Secretary-Treasurer Fiorence Curtis Hanson, Chicago Local 3; 506 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, III. THE AMERICAN TEACHER Official Organ Apvisory EpiTror1aL Boarp Lucie W. ALLEN RutH GILLETTE Harpy Chicago Local .3 New York Local 6 Mary C. BARKER Henry R. LINVILLE Atlanta Local 89 New York Local 56 Se_ma M. Borcuarpt A. D. SHEFFIELD Washington Local 8 Wellesley College Joun M.Graysie. Cuartes B. STILLMAN San Francisco Local 61 Chicago Local 2 FLoreNce Curtis HANSON Executive Editor Publisher H. G. Aparr Printinc Co. 107 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago, IIl. Spe Are You Changing Your Address? If you intend to change your ad- dress, notify the AMERICAN TEACHER in advance, if possible. Write your name, Local number, former address, and new address on the lines below; clip this form and mail it at once to the AMERICAN TEACHER, 506 So. Wabash Ave., Chicago, III. Name (If holding office in Local give title) Local Number (OLD ADDRESS) Box or St. (NEW Box or St. No The position of the school teacher in America today is desperate. Five thousand schools completely twenty-five percent of all teachers un- employed, the remaining seventy-five percent receiving reduced salaries, classrooms overcrowded, the teaching load ever increasing, many teachers not able to count on a definite pay day, less opportunity all the time for further study, and the profession it- self growing almost daily more over- crowded. These are the immediate effects of the past four years which have been felt by all teachers. There are others. Prices steadily rising, every day ne- cessities having gone up 8.15 percent, potatoes o7 percent, butter 10 percent, and eggs 22 percent during the four week period ending August twenty- third. There are many thousands of teachers dollars still tied up, or totally lost, in the bank closings of the not so distant past. There are other thousands of teachers using their de creased salaries to support non-earn- ing, because unemployed, husbands, brothers, fathers, and other relatives In yet another way teachers see the advances made in the past decade in their chosen profession, advances made at great cost of effort and initia tive, slowly crumbling away until in many communities today instruction is on a par with that of seven and eight years ago, while in others ever in- creasing groups of powerful people cry for a dropping of fads and frills and a return to the three R’s of our grandfather’s time. If in 1926 the salaries of teachers, principals, and superintendents of public schools were below those of all gainfully occupied persons, below those of U. S. Government employees, high-grade clerical workers, and trade-union members, what must they be today with the constant and ever increasing cuts imposed on teachers by school boards in their frantic ef- forts to meet mounting costs with decreased revenues? What do these lowered salaries mean to teachers in terms of health, professional improve ment, ability to do a good job, the growth of the profession, and free- dom from worry? And in the midst of this chaos, where is the American teacher? With the exception of the few who belong to the American Federation of Teach- closed, ers, the great and vast majority of teachers are groping, confused, dis- illusioned, or else stand in splendid isolation and individualism on the tot- tering framework of their profession, Teachers—wake up! You are not divinely appointed individuals pledged to the glorious task of educating America’s youth. You received your appointments after years of education at a personal sacrifice, payment of fees to agencies, and long waiting and wondering about the position you hoped you would find, Teachers—wake up! Neither are you a small and dignified group i your community with a kind of pro- fessional dignity which cloaks you in garments of respect. You are called on to go out and sell tax-warrants that you might receive your right- fully earned pay. You are forced to haggle with the grocer over the price of eggs, to meet with shameful apolo- gies the creditor whom you cannot pay, to cover up as well as you can the loans you have been forced to make from various loan organizations, Teachers—wake up! For, while your profession is a noble one, while you have entered upon it with pride, while you realize the inherent dignity of your calling, you are subjected to the same forces that play upon the vast majority of cur population, the fathers and mothers of the very chil- dren you educate. The school teacher is a_ worker. Call him a brain-worker, a profession- al, or what you will, but basically he is a worker. Furthermore he intends to be a worker all his days. He has given up the chance to make profit, the opportunity of controlling in any way an industrial or commercial en- terprise, and deliberately chosen a profession notorious for its low pay, and with the full knowledge that no matter how long he stays in that pro- fession his lot will never be greatly bettered in any material way. The teacher is a worker, and his job is that of educating the children of the country, while his interest is as wide as all education is wide. And it is only through a full realization and consciousness of himself as a worker that his job will be saved, that the job of educating the children of America will go forward as it must, or even that he will be allowed in his own classroom to do what to hin has eff afte pro tha rea wh: nit) con met his wit Wo! hin Was nee san wh the the avo; OcTOBER, 1933 Democracy BIG INCOMES me WHY ROB —— es —— —= ae. THE KIDS BANK OF ITS PENNIES him constitutes doing his job well. The teacher cannot stand aloof. He has already seen too clearly how the effects of the past four years have affected him. The teacher cannot consider his professional dignity a higher matter than his position as a worker. His real dignity lies in being a worker, while his so-called professional dig- nity has gained him only wage cuts, contract violations, and unemploy- ment, The teacher can no longer feel that his profession makes him a _ person with different interests from other workers. He can no longer isolate himself from the millions of other wage earners in the country. His need for economic security is the same. The parents of those with whom he is most directly concerned, the children he educates, suffer from the same forces. The interests that avoid tax-payments, cry for curtail- Locomotive Engineers’ Journal. ment, shout get rid of fads and frills, are identical with those who have forced unemployment and miserable working conditions on millions of other wage earners in the country today. No, the teacher is basically a work- er. He is a man who has a job, a job of his own choosing, a job he has devoted his life to, and he must protect that job. And it is only by protecting that job that public edu- cation will prosper, that the task he has set for himself will be forwarded. For the past four years those upon whom he has relied for that protection of his job have proven their worth. The rising of commodity and con- sumption prices, with low teacher contracts in force for another year, and with the success of the latest de- vice of the government for recovery still, in the words of General Johnson himself, in the doubtful stage, show that the teacher must more than ever 17 in Education look out for himself in the interest of the schools. There is but.one resource left for the far-seeing, realistic teacher, That is to organize. To organize to pro tect his job. To organize to protect the school system built up with so much effort by the older ones among us. To organize that public education shall not become an idle dream in this country. The individual teacher can do noth- ing. His protest can be no more than a feeble voice easily stilled by the breaking of his contract. And every teacher knows this and is consequent- ly quiet among the accumulated dif- ficulties of his chosen life work. But the voices of many are strong. In our profession, and more today than ever, my interest is your interest. We must all speak together. Teachers, organize and save your- selves and the schools you have pledged yourselves to serve! BERTRAM ENOs. Right to Organize We still hear occasional whimper- ings from individuals who say it is the fear of losing their jobs that keeps many teachers from joining the American Federation of Teachers. It is not fear of losing their jobs that keeps these individuals out—for it is only through organization that teachers can be sure of keeping their jobs under the present so-called econ- omy programs which are being so ruthlessly put into practice. No—it is not fear of losing jobs—it is fear of taking the initiative. It is a short- sighted and excessive sense of caution that keeps many teachers yet on the sidelines. Under the NRA such timidity and caution should vanish. The law of the land now specifically guarantees to all workers the right to organize in unions of their own choosing. If there ever was a time in the history of American education for teachers to band themselves loyally with their brothers and sisters in the ranks of * labor—if there was ever a time for teachers to band themselves into a strong organization to protect them- selves and the schools—it is now. Teachers, act. The law is on your side. You have nothing to fear. Ban- ish timidity by joining the American Federation of Teachers—-the one or- ganization that can and will best fight for your interest and that of the American public schools, 18 Raising Money for Union Activities As the fall season approaches, each local is faced with the problem of raising funds with which to carry on the activities of the organization dur- ing the coming year. Because the matter is a serious one for all, and Local Number Eight has had seven- teen years of experience in dealing with it, the question is here discussed in the hope of helping some of the new locals or those who have had great difficulty in collecting money recently. Many ways of obtaining money ex- ist, but now, with the new school year beginning, the collection of dues from the regular members and the persua- sion of non-union members to join are of primary importance. In Local Number Eight this matter is in the hands of the membership committee consisting of a chairman and a rep- resentative from each school building in the city. Such a committee is too large to call together before the open- ing of school, so a small number in- cluding representatives familiar with Union activities meet late in the sum- mer. The president and certain mem- bers of the Executive Board offer valuable assistance on this problem also. A luncheon committee meeting sometimes serves to awaken enthu- siasm in the task. The procedure for collecting dues and obtaining new members should be carefully and defi- nitely planned. In general any success- ful procedure is based on reaching every teacher in the system with a message which both attracts and con- vinces. One excellent idea depends on a small bulletin telling in terse sentences the worth while accomplish- ments of the previous year and also outlining the plan of activities for the coming year. These statements are expressed clearly, definitely, force- fully, and yet tactfully. The bulletin may include an appropriate quotation from some educational leader on the frontispiece; it always lists the amount of dues, together with the name and address of the treasurer, and ends with reminders similar to the following: Remember— 1. To add your name to our list this year if you are not now a member. 2. To get at least one new mem- ber. 3. To economize in some other way, if you must economize, but pay your dues to help to support the _ organization which has always safeguarded your interests. 4. To take your dues to building representative. To pay as promptly as pos- sible. 6. To attend Union meetings in order to know what the or ganization is doing. your ws Enough bulletins for all teachers in a school are sent to the Union repre- sentative in each building together with a letter asking him to distribute the pamphlets, urge non-members to join, and collect dues which he is to forward to the treasurer. This mate- rial should be mailed so that it reaches the respective buildings after the first rush of school opening has passed but before the teachers receive their first pay checks. Often a followup letter is sent out to the representa- tives just after the teachers are paid for the first time. Undoubtedly the building repre- sentative is a key person, for upon his enthusiasm for the organization, his knowledge of Union activities, his per- sistence and his tact in dealing with the personalities in his building, de- pends his success in gaining and re- taining members. The representative deserves great credit for his efforts whether successful or not. To make him successful, however, is the aim of the membership chairman who keeps in close personal touch with him. One way of doing this is to call “get together” luncheons for the rep- resentatives. The state of the treasury decides whether the organization or the representative pays for his lunch; perhaps each pays part. At this luncheon, outstandingly successful representatives relate their experi- ences; the membership chairman may speak or other suitable programs may be arranged. Members of the Execu- tive Board should be present to greet everyone cordially. , 38, 192, 199, 209, 224, 237, 238, 244, 251, 263, 264, 265 266, 267, 268. ' we | ee errrS Feb News from the Field—Locals 2, . 3s. Ber 111, 189, 193, 199, 202, 2165, 246, 249 255, 256, 257, 263, 265, 270, 276, 278 DE SERS ROKHKONEC OCR CER GOONER EEE OECD TRE SEO ESS News from the Field—Locals 3, 27, 35, 38, 111, 205, 246, 250, 255, 256, 263, 265, 270, 276, 279, 280, 283, Dh McpitGera dedtaketne saute eewee Deena ME Cm TARO... oc cccccccccccesecsece a hg cia OG eek aoe ek ohne ae ed Feb. North Caroline State Federation of Labor Resolu- EE a eee re ere re Dec. Agricultural College. .Feb. 30, Apr. 30, June North Dakota es ened ee ORNS SORE OR RH SE SO SES Oct. Objectives of the A. F. T...... Objectives, Program of A. F. T...... One Way to Reduce Taxes. Dr. C. E. A. Organization of Teachers’ Unions in the \. ‘Winslow. . Apr State of Massachusetts, Resolution ........cccccscececs Dec re es see eh ECA e RON ee Rae Ce Re SE June ee i. sre rccee ce eebneen teren es Dec Ci, enide'ens oe a ee ere Feb. Our Present School Pic ture. ( 3, ee Feb. P Paint Creek Flood and Other Stories. By Alice Paddleford. Pe. 46a bao nes &% . . Dec. Pan-Sovietism. By Bruce Hopper. Reviewed by i ri ee a le wee Oct Per Capita Cost of Public Education............ Feb Perkins, Frances, Secretary of Labor....... Oct. 13, Dec RE ee Feb. 28, June Physical Education Check to Juvenile Crime........ June Michael Farbman. Reviewed by Scheler... Piatiletka. By Michael B Pictorial History of the American Ne; gro. Reviewed rr eo Sees se se bheen we a ewe ot Apr Plain Speaking, A Little. Editorial. Pe eer Te rer Dec. es cece eee ek cd aee one Oct. 26, Apr. 28, June Poverty and Education. Grover C. Ramsey...... Feb. President's Page. Dr. Henry R. Linville...Dec. 17, June Pride of Profession Hinders Unionization of Teach- ers. Meade C. Monroe... et ne eeenet ee css ch Program of Objectives -Ame rics in Federation of EEE ae ..Dec Propaganda Menace. By Frederick E. Lumley Re- EEE rere re Dec. AG ic ins wigs apiece nee mee wied 6 .Apr Purposes and Functions of a Teachers’ Feder: ition in a University. Harold M. Groves.......... Feb. R Ona M. Rounds. Activities. Book Review. Oct. Elizabeth Kohl Rainbow's End. By Raising Money for Union i ieee aes ota ak ee One eee ewes awe < Oct Ee ree. ee Feb Rejoicing. Editorial.... June Restoration of Salarv Levels. 0 EE Tune ee DOGS. . og secedoesceeeseses Oct ee eee ae oe en Cieeeeeed ees oem Feb S ET a en re June Salex Tax ee te an te eee eee ee June Sales Tax Defeated Again. Editorial...............Apr Page 28 23 23 11 Cle 31 tom > Wie wero N Mo. Sales Tax Fallacy. Editoriat j Dec. Sales Tax Most Obnoxious id vaca June Sanavers, J. M. ..... ae , . ‘ . Dec. Ban Francisco ......... ee ee Apr. Satterthwaite, W. B , oe , , Dec. Savanna, Ilil.... ae dees an cvnherds one Apr. 3t June Save City Schools from Wreckage or Buila More Jails. Clarence Darrow. By Liewellyn Jones. . Dee Save Our Schools. Edward Emory Hill... Api Scheler, Michael b.........Oct. 23, Dec. 26, Feb. 24, Feb. 27, Apr. 24, Apr. 26, June 25, June 26, June a US a hl as ae es ish ca sa ik sow da . ‘ June School Crisis in United States and Foreign Countries. Feb School Economies Going Too Far. Editorial Dec. School or Jail. Letter trom J. M. Sanders Dee School Picture, Our Present. Carl Winters Keb Schools and the Blue Eagle. Editorial. . Feb. een. Beery COME. cc cccscessenences .June RRSP EE SA eee Re ee emcee o PCE. Secretary-Treasurer’s Report to i7th Annual Con- i Mi; Mac ekds atthe eentebeesd6es 00% * 04% * Oct. Seven Sticks—McGuffy’s Third Reader... : Feb. Shall the Blue Eagle Fly Over the Little Red School is EE vg swadiacdetaeavaces Dec. Shall the People Reclaim Rac lio? Dr. Henry Hat ip. Apr Snake That Swallowed Itself. Editorial. Clyde S 0 BA a ar renee si .Apr. Something for Teachers to Think About. Editoria Apr. So This Is America. Oct, 14, Dec. 14, Feb. 18, Apr. 16, June Soviets Conquer Wheat. By Anna Louise Strong. Reviewed by Michael B. Scheler..... ; nia oa See I NS a a a a a a Feb. ee, owe ae a Waele eae iat ‘ June a IO” eee Oct. 22, Dec. 24, Feb. 26, June State Aid Is Necessary. Dr. Abraham Lefkowitz .Apr. Status Quo. Editorial by W. B. Satterthwait ~~: , We Gis cee ss tdaeweed wane June Stern Signs Agreement with Newspaper Guild June OS, Mo as oe pede wha «alae ene , Apr. Strain on the “Faith and Hope” of Te achers. Gil- SE © ko a anal G th oie al Gis a is Apr PE: Cb +evededentuues 6e0keenseeves env ees .Api T Taxation Propaganda. Florence Curtis Hanson Feb. Taxes and Tax Dodgers. By Daniel W. Hoan. Book CO rreee ee ae Bate : . Dec. Taxes and Tax Dodgers By Daniel W. Hoan Edi- | EE ere ae ee June Teachers and Union Labor. Editorial by C. L. Vestal. Feb. I I dea aaa a a rae. ile es ab Oe eG 10 .. Oct. Teachers’ Code, Franklin County............... . Dec. Teachers Receive Federal Aid.......... —ee.: * Teachers, Wake Up! Editorial by Bertram Enos... .Oct. Ten Point Program of Social Justice, A. F. of L . Ape. =” Beene . Apr. P,P oi 6 cis cee Ker ee ee Omen e we ea / . Feb. I TO a a ae a a ....-Oct. 28, Apr. 30, June I I ie iis oa ee wend .Feb. 30, Apr. 30, June Too Many Teachers. E ditorial........ Dec. Trained Woman and Her Position Myrtle Heard I Glatt eta ee a ee at Wet oti Dabo June Twenty Down—Sixteen to Go E ditoria ] Apr. Two Hundred Years of Education—1733-1933—Sa- vannah, Chatham County, Georgia. By Haygood A i non Aes ate oa oe van Dec. U-V S. Bowden. Unemployed Teachers. How Many? Editorial Feb Union Better than Laws Editorial aa : Apr. Unionization of Teachers Robert T. Kerlin Feb U. S. Chamber of Commerce Its Proud Position. Dn Kcckeree whee bees beens seen eee . Oct. Vocational Education in the Public Schools Dr William J. Bogan in ui asecaic tea ak tao ; Dec. Vocational Guidance in Engineering Lines. By Amer- ican Association of Engineers. Reviewed by D E. Carpenter . ‘ ere Dec. Voice of Youth An Anthology of Poetry Book re- Re he erin oe gs Apr. Ae en kai i a ae eal aaa Ne Oct. W-Z Washington, D. C ; .-Apr. 27, Apr. 28, June West Allis, Wis iors se raat i rine tae aera ; Feb. We, the People. By Leo Huberman. Reviewed by Mark Starr eS ee ere Pee re eee Oct. What Are Teachers? Editori: ul 7 ere cas Feb. What Is the Good Society? Norman Thomas Feb. Why Join the American Federation of Teachers? Edi- torial by James C. Adell June Why Not the Teachers? Editorial Sei June Why Teachers Get the Sack. Editorial from St. Louis Star-Times sa Dec. Winslow, Dr. C. E. A er , Apr Winters. Carl Feb Wisconsin Feh Women Who Work. By Grace Hutchins. Book re- view ee Sen oe apaenne Apr World Book Encyclopedia Reviewed by Michael B Scheler : ne June Would Numbers Have Helped? Editorial Oct Ziegler, Ill Feb Page or et re PS COR to SOREN ARKH OOwWH 9 < 9 9 “ 30 4SOn it be ar, ex- form a ~+ the o ema , ———— oe, Abs son re- ex- la the OCTOBER, 1933 — TAX WARRANTS We have orders to BUY AND SELL Large and Small Lots All Chicago, Cook County, and Suburban Issues LATEST MARKET QUOTATIONS ROGERS 6& TRACY, Inc. INVESTMENT SECURITIES 120 So. La Salle St. State 4151 We Buy We Sell CHICAGO and SUBURBAN TAX WARRANTS 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 H. B. La Rocca & Co. Incorporated 29 So. La Salle St. State 8008 TAX WARRANTS BOUGHT and SOLD J.P. O°ROURKE & CO. Room 2900 Board of Trade Bldg. Wabash 9101 TAX WARRANTS BOUGHT- SOLD - QUOTED Wittbold Securities Co. Member Chicago Curb Exchange 134 No. La Salle St. State 7500 TAX WARRANTS REAL ESTATE BONDS BOUGHT — SOLD — QUOTED INVESTMENT TRUSTS CROWLEY DOHERTY @ CO. Investment Securities 120 So. La Salle St. Franklin 8604 TAX WARRANTS Bought— Sold—Quoted Write or telephone Wabash 8686 for quotations and complete information. KNEELAND & COMPANY Incorporated Board of Trade Building Chicago a Teachers’ Tax Warrant Pool 506 South Wabash Avenue Room 530 Tel. Har. 0131 The Teachers’ Tax Warrant Pool is a co-operative marketing enterprise whose purpose is to create and maintain a better market for Educational Tax Anticipation Warrants which are issued to Chicago Board of Education employees in payment of their salaries. Teachers deposit their Warrants at our office to be sold. The Warrants are then offered for sale to dealers and large tax payers in lots of five to fifty thousand dollars. Substantially higher prices are secured for large lot sales than when the individual teacher sells a few Warrants. Also, the bad effect of distress selling is to some extent ovércome. The teachers’ response to this co-operative under- taking has been very gratifying. HERSCHEL N. SCOTT, Vice-President, ‘Men Teachers Union of Chicago. ALLEN B. CHURCHILL, Manager, Union Teachers’ Credit Union. The Teachers’ Tax Warrant Pool has the united support of all Chicago teachers’ organizations. | American Federation of Teachers 506 South Wabash Avenue CHICAGO, ILL. = The American Federation of Teachers desires to establish an intimate contact and an effective co-oper ation between the teachers and the other workers of the com- munity. The American Federation of Teachers desires to co-operate with all civic organizations for improved civic life. Groups of seven or more public school teachers are invited to afhliate with this National Organization of Classroom Teachers, for mutual assistance, improved professional stand- ards and the democratization of the schools. Our Slogan Is: Democracy in Education: Education for Democracy THE AMERICAN TEACHER is published bimonthly by The American Federation of Teachers. Membership dues carry subscription to the magazine. To all others the subscription price is $1.00 per year, 25 cents per copy. American Federation of Teachers 506 South Wabash Avenue CHICAGO, ILL. The American Federation of Teachers desires to establish an intimate contact and an effective co-oper ation between the teachers and the other workers of the com- munity. The American Federation of Teachers desires to co-operate with all civic organizations for improved civic life. Groups of seven or more public school teachers are invited to affiliate with this National Organization of Classroom Teachers, for mutual assistance, improved professional stand- ards and the democratization of the schools. Our Slogan Is: Democracy in Education: Education for Democracy THE AMERICAN TEACHER is published bimonthly by The American Federation of Teachers. Membership dues carry subscription to the magazine. To all others the subscription price is $1.00 per year, 25 cents per copy.