Nagy 193 rica cher IN THIS ISSUE sY, Vv Persis Brooke Edward C. De Briae William Green Dr. H. E. Kleinschmidt F. Melvyn Lawson Raymond F. Lowry Aileen W. Robinson Russell L. Wise oo So a OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AMERICAN FEDER TION OF TEACHERS» ee NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1934 NO. 2 } ha i | rt a ” | The New Merriam-Webster | | a | iy : PROCEEDINGS AP | ue The new Merriam-Webster, . HE now ready, is the most im- - Hite! portant contribution to edu- Hie . , i cational’ equipment in 25 Eighteenth Annual Convention i years. Hi OF THE t Easy to use and its ency- 4 clopedic treatment of thou- American Federation of , sands of topics makes it T h i indispensable to all. eachers | H WwW b t | Price 50 Cents eoster Ss. Mew International | oe ~ ° os AT THE Dictionary Second Edition The work of outstanding authorities. 600,000 entries. _. , = Magnificent plates in color and half tone. Thousands National Office of new words. 12,000 terms illustrated. Thousands ; : . of encyclopedic articles. 35,000 geographical entries. American Federation of Teachers 13,000 biographical entries. 3,300 pages. - 506 South Wabash Aven Write for free illustrated booklet with specimen . — pages. Chicago, Illinois G. & C. Merriam Co., Springfield, Mass. The A. F. of L. and Public Education William Green 3 The New Technique of Democracy Russell L. Wise 4 The Milwaukee Union Initiates ‘ Education for Democracy....... Edward C. DeBriae 5 A Critical Evaluation of the American a Protect 1 hem Federation of Teachers................. ..Atleen W. Robinson / Cc } Learning Made Easy in Su itzerland. — Pe) sis Bro rhe 11 : Saad are the . parents, the rope ot the nation, and the concern of So This ge EOS OR Ee 12 all. One of the perils that beset them on ES EP A . 14 the road of life is tuberculosis. Your . x purchase « f Christmas Seals to decorate The President’s Page. eeree o- . o 6 : vs .Raymeond F, Lo ry 15 your holiday pene and ded “a CE eee 16 help protect them from it. Teachers Strikes Misunderstanding Again or Misrepresentation In Defense of the Married Woman Teacher Organized Labor Staunch Friend of the Schools.. Tuberculosis Levies a Tax......... Book Reviews News from the Field............ ee cece ..F. Melvyn Lawson 20 Dr H. E. Kleinschmidt 23 24 7 , — : , . bf The National, State and Local Tuberculosis wd Z - Associations of the United States Z, WH, 3 52 Buy CHRISTMAS SEALS UBLISHED bi-monthly, except August, by the i American Federation of Teachers, 506 South Wabash Ave.. Chicago, Ill. Entered as second | class matter October 18, 1933, at the post offce at 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. 4 1 H 4 ‘ Editorial Office 506 South Wabash Ave.. Chicago, Illinois. BE 20 in 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 postal money-order, express order, draft stamps or check. ! eH losis ALS —_——_——— ————— $1.10 xpira- Sub- ice of ma draft. THE AMERICAN TEACHER Vor. XIX NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1934 No. 2 The A. F. of L. and Public Education Labor Must Fight to Protect Teacher’s Right to Tell Truth William Green President, American Federation of Labor if American Federation of Labor views with alarm the dismissal of qualified teachers from their posts, because’ they do not meet with the approval of certain groups of the particular community. Our concern in this matter is two- fold. This practice is bound to destroy the effi- ciency and the true social purpose of the American public school, and in the second place, it denies to the teachers, workers who are doing a good job, the right to continue on that job. We in the labor movement regard the public schools of this country as our peculiar trust. We played a major role in establishing free public schools and we have, since that time, fought their battle. A school system’s work to the community is determined to a large extent by the high profes- sional qualifications of its teachers. These quali- fications are of wide scope and influence. While rich academic training supplemented by courses in pedagogy are essential to sound professional train- . ing, we hold that the professional status of each teacher is not determined by these factors alone. Quite as much, we insist that the teacher’s profes- sional worth is determined by his ability to make his classroom a source of inspiration and training for citizenship; unafraid and unhampered because of any political or economical pressure upon him. Teachers whose positions are threatened by a particular social, religious, or political group or faction at the moment in power cannot, in the true sense, be good teachers in a democracy. A school system in which teachers are appointed and are retained for any reason other than professional fit- ness is a school system which is destroying itself as an organ in a democratic society. As citizens devoted to the preservation of our democratic institutions and to our democratic form of government, we in the American Federation of Labor shall fight for the maintenance of our schools, as the chief agency through which to preserve our democratic government and our democratic institu- tions. Thus vigilantly must we safeguard our schools to make sure that they will not become the mouth- piece or the open organ of any cult. To this end we must protect true academic freedom. Adequate state-wide teacher tenure laws are ab- solutely essential to insure a teacher’s right to teach the truth: to train citizens, unafraid, for their re- sponsibilities in our democratic nation. The Amer- ican Federation of Labor and its affiliated state and central bodies are fighting vigorously for the adop- tion of the teacher tenure laws through which to protect the professional integrity of the school and teacher. The American Federation of Labor at its recent convention in San Francisco declared: We are facing the passing of the public schools. In fact, the public schools have passed in many sections of our country. A program of retrenchment in public education has reduced school efficiency and educational opportunity beyond the point of retrenchment to the point of extinction. An economy wave has swept over our schools, leaving in its wake a devastation appalling to be- hold. Two thousand rural schools in twenty-four states failed to reopen in 1933. A like situation pre- vailed in the cities where the increase in school population was met, not by additional classes and teachers, but by increased enrollment in the already overlarge classes. Nearly one million children in rural states went to school less than six months during the year 1934. The per pupil cost of educa- tion was cut 22 per cent last year. The teachers in service were reduced 5 per cent. The school year has been shortened in a large number of cities. The so-called frills, in reality the essentials of sound education in our modern world, have been elimin- ated or excessively curtailed. The sale of textbooks dropped 16.8 per cent in 1931-32, as compared with the low level of the previous year. The building and repair program fund for schools in the United States has dropped 57.6 per cent in cities in the last two years. Salaries have been reduced from 10 per cent to 75 per cent. This arbitrary educational retrenchment with its inevitable result of limitation of educational oppor- tunity is abhorrent to the American Federation of Labor. The American Federation of Labor in re- lation to public education has a long and noble tradition to maintain. Organized Labor was the one social body which gave its whole-hearted sup- port to the free, tax-supported public school, some- thing over one hundred years ago. It founded, fostered, it protected, it developed this great social institution. Labor’s children form the great ma- jority of the pupils of the public schools. The workers within the school system are our fellow workers with a common cause, common objectives, and common enemies. And now the Organized Labor Movement of America, the American Fed- eration of Labor, whole-heartedly and unreservedly pledges itself to the defense of the public school system of America, to its full and complete restora- tion, to the maintenance of educational standards for the development of character, culture, and citizen- ship, and to the principle of equal educational op- portunity for all the children of America regardless of race, creed, or social status. It pledges itself to the preservation of the public schools for democ- racy ; it pledges itself to the preservation of democ- racy in which public education can and will func- tion for the building of a saner economic world and the good life for all. oa aa Aang Gu gee TEACHER THE AMERICAN A New Technique of Democracy Russell L. Wise 4 T !s a major concern in the America of today that the democratic way of life shall prevail. Governments of major political units have changed their forms overnight in these recent months and the usual selection has been dictator- ship. Democratic forms have vanished in nations where, according to popular belief, democratic pro- cedures were well established. It is not mere dream- ing to recognize that even the democratic forms themselves could disappear from the American scene. Thoughtful persons know that as a nation we fall far short of accomplishing democratic standards of living. Even under democratic forms we have seen the development of our own brand of exploiting tyrants and most of us recognize the skill with which these exploiters have subjected democratic ways of thinking to subversive influence. However, we have no faith in dictatorship as a means of arriving at democratic standards of living or as a means of removing subversive influences from our demo- cratic thinking. As a nation we are committed to the democratic way of life and we propose to retain democratic forms and to renew our struggle to attain the democratic standard of living. It is a purely practical consideration that democ- racy must have a program of vigorous activity in terms of the problems of the present age. Failing such program, it is not unthinkable that democracy may disappear in America as it has disappeared in other major nations. Democracy needs a new tech- nique, a technique adequate to secure full and fair consideration of all points of view and adequate also to secure vigorous action in the solution of major problems of our society. Certain proposals for an emergency program of education which came before the convention of the American Federation of Teachers and which have more recently been before the convention of the American Federation of Labor suggest a line of development of this new technique and advocate its vigorous use, These proposals were developed in the belief that “intensive study of problems that con- front the nations” is new as a technique of demo- cratic government and they advocate, therefore, in- tensive study of the problems that confront the nation by as many of the people of the nation as it is humanly possible to include in a study program. The action taken by the American Federation of Teachers was embodied in a resolution setting forth the background of necessity for such a tech- nique and recommending and requesting “an ade- quate emergency federal appropriation for educa- tion (including adult education) concerning the so- cial, economic, and political problems of the day with effective safeguards to secure fair presentation of all sides of controversial issues, such appropriation to be partly allotted to the states on some appropri- ate basis and spent by the states for projects and purposes approved by the federal government and partly retained by the federal government to super- vise, coordinate, and promote the state expendi- tures”. The action of the American Federation of Labor convention is covered by the education committee report stating that “we favor a well-informed and enlightened citizenship and believe the people should have the opportunity to secure the fullest information on all social, political, and economic questions” and requesting consideration and appro- priate action by the executive council of the Ameri- can Federation of Labor. Members of the executive council the education committee in a special hearing to discuss the proposals presented before the commit- tee report was brought before the San Francisco came before convention, A booklet of detailed discussion of practical next steps in the use of such a new technique of democ- racy was submitted to the American Federation of Teachers by the Men Teachers Union of Chicago. The resolution of this convention quoted above in- cluded a statement submitting this booklet to the American Federation of Labor as supporting data, Copies of the booklet are in the hands of the execu- tive council of the American Federation of Labor. The booklet presents the following ten proposals suggestive of the possibilities for vigorous use of this new technique of democracy: 1. Make available on a wide scale printed materials that touch all sides of current controversial issues. 2, Develop the public interest in a vigorous program of study of controversial issues, and help build the inclina- tion of people to participate in such a program by a continuing series of conferences including every inter- ested person in the nation. 3. Develop a program in the study of significant problems for all grades in the schools. 4. Develop a program for adult discussion and _ intensive study of significant problems confronting the nation ona scale wide enough to reach the nation. Utilize available agencies to the end that no person who wishes an education shall be deprived of the opportunity for college training. 6. Furnish assistance to high school students having diffi- culty in getting an education to the end that no young person shall be denied a high school education because of economic difficulties. 7. Assist local communities and local areas to revamp their educational programs to meet modern needs. 8. Develop such necessary printed materials as already available through direct arrangement central office of this program of education. 9. Develop moving picture materials dealing with the con- troversial issues and arrange for their use to the limit of possibilities. 10. Develop an adequate radio program for the nation im fair presentation of controversial problems. ws are not from the The vigorous implementing of these ten proposals would tax our educational leadership to the utmost A close inspection of these ten proposals by persons with imaginations adequate to suggest the scope of social, economic, and political problems in the modern world will disclose the possibilities of a colossal program in the intensive study of the prob lems that confront us. It is difficult to think im terms big enough to cover the case for the United States if we were actually to make a serious af tempt to reach as many of the 123 million as it would be humanly possible to reach with some a pect of the program of intensive study. NovEMBER-DEcEMBER, 1934 xt C= of rO. in- he ta. or. als of that of ina- 'y a iter- ems isive ma who inity diffi- oung ‘ause their not 1 the con- limit yn in sals nost ‘sons cope . the of a yrob- ik im nited s at as it ie as- The major concern of everybody who sees the possibilities of operating such a new technique of democracy is that there should be adequate safe- guards for the full and open discussion and the fair consideration of all sides of controv ersial issues. It is not an idle fear that the machinery of such a program might be so perverted in its use as to furnish the means of perpetuating any brand of tyranny that might happen to be in control. It is a major concern that any legislative enactments in the directions suggested shall include these safe- guarcs. However, we cannot dodge the issue of permitting tyrannical power to perpetuate itself by refusing to employ this technique of democracy. Members of the American Federation of Teachers are well aware of the struggle by utility interests and other similar aggregations of power to use our present educational system for purposes subversive to the general good. We have not, therefore, advocated the abandonment of public education. We have rather girded the loins to battle those subversive influences to the end that the democratic purposes of public education shall be served. The smrit of the proposal for the use of this technique of democracy is that it seems sensible to 5 do our vigorous work to preserve the democratic wav of life by intelligent, peaceful means rather than to wait for another world war or to wait for a Fascist or Communist dictatorship at home as the proper signal for vigorous activity on our part. ‘The wisdom of action in the direction of the ten proposals listed above has been recognized and is being recognized, Activities being promoted, among which are: the establishing of lyceums by the Bureau of Education, the development of workers educaticn as a part of federal emergency relief ac- tivities, and the development of a work relief pro- gram for college students. The pitiful thing about all such moves it that their entire scope is so very sm:ll compared with the scope of national and world preblems and the immediate importance of these problems for all of our 123 million people. The American Federation of Teachcrs has lent its influence already in these beginnings. Further organized activity can make the more far-reaching program possible. The democratic way of life democratic standards of living and thinking, and the democratic form of government must not vanish from the earth. America is the logical place for the development of this new technique of democracy. The Milwaukee Union Initiates Education for Democracy Edward C. DeBriae ECENTLY many of us witnessed the phenom- enon of the President counseling the people of this country to beware of wild speculative rumors, and statistical figures with exaggerated in- terpretations calculated to spread a vicious propa- ganda. That there is need for such a warning goes without saying, but the cause which has produced this need is one which as troubled progressive edu- cators tor years. That a democracy can endure and flourish only through an intelligent and well informed electorate is a truism. To this end our forefathers founded the institution of the public tax supported school. Many of us realize only too well, however, that such a well intended move is not a perfect guar- antee per se of a state of affairs which will produce a democracy functioning to the ends of social justice. Our schools may aid the process, or they may frustrate it if they become the victims of propa- ganda or the luckless servants of a powerful but selfish minority. As educators our task in a demo- cratic state is clearly defined. Ours is the task of insuring our democracy against collapse because of failure to nourish the very elements upon which the survival of our body politic depends. To the casual observer it would seem that we are doing our duty. He sees everywhere children trudging to school and fine school buildings dotting the landscape (some closed to be sure, and many more faced with closing). He can smile and say, “Surely, America is educating the finest type of citizen for a democ racy. But can he? We have proceeded blandly content with the theory that any kind of learning will give us what we seek. This is particularly true in our elementary and high schools, many of which are still limited to a narrow scholasticism, based on the assumption that they exist as a means for providing a restricted source of supply for higher institutions of learning. That they exist for the purpose of educating for a citizenship capable of directing the affairs of a po- litical and industrial democracy bothers us but little, if we can judge by what is taught and offered in the school. Surrounded by a vast and intricate industrial civilization we entrust the important task of de- veloping individuals capable of living intelligently in this society to an ill adapted and archaic curric- ulum. Like the motto on our coins, we trust that our pupils will somehow secure an understanding of the economic and political forces which they must inevitably face after leaving school. To insure an approach to this understanding is the moral obligation of every teacher who is worthy of the name. Many have assumed and are now assuming this obligation. The Milwaukee Public School Teachers Union has assumed the iniative in effecting such a change in Milwaukee. Our secondary schools exemplify the type of curriculum which has assumed a static and rigid mold, divorced of all reality in so far as changing social and economic conditions are con- cerned. Even elementary economics is no longer taught. Perhaps this has been a blessing in dis- guise, considering what has been offered in the past in some schools, but it also is fraught with danger. A liberalized approach to the social studies char- acterized by dynamic teaching, is the goal set by the local union. To achieve this goal the loca! has attempted to direct a two-fold movement, that of the organized teachers working through adminis- trative channels, and that of the large body of parents whose children are to be educated in the public schools requesting the board to make needed adjustments. Teachers are fully aware of the unpopularity which such a movement may incur in certain circles. They are also fully conscious of the studied methods some school administrators may take to discourage any such revision. Such attitudes are to be expected here as elsewhere, since teachers in Milwaukee were openly warned against joining any organization affiliated with labor when our union was being formed. It took a long fight to secure recognition of and the right to join the union last year. Parenthetically, it is interesting to note that, backed by organized labor, the teachers union se- cured the adoption of a resolution insuring freedom from any discrimination against teachers joining the union or any teacher organization or their own choosing. The Milwaukee local’s ideas regarding the social science curriculum are not novel, since they are the orderly outcome of recent trends. The Milwaukee local does feel, however, that it is breaking new ground in seeking such adoption. Many teachers feel as we do, but either have lacked the organiza- tion for a coherent program, or through natural timidity have hesitated to antagonize “the powers that be” in urging the necessary action. This has been particularly true in the larger systems, where rigidity of curriculum is the rule, and where the name of radical is abhorred by all those seeking promotion. Last April the union sent a communication to the high school principals, which made the request that they, the principals, consider such a change. The letter outlined the reasons for making the re- quest and sought to establish a central theme which might determine, on a broad basis, the content of such a curriculum. The following quotation, taken from that letter gives an indication of the program sought: Now Therefore Be It Resolved, That the Milwaukee Sec- ondary School Curriculum should be administered, (and if need be reorganized), so that social and economic studies may be given such prominence as will seek, above ail things, to establish a broader social and civic consciousness in youth —which will more conclusively show the solidaritv of society and the interdependence of all its parts—which will seek more effectively to check exaggerated individualism as a menacing tendency ‘of modern times—which will searchingly, impersonally, examine our social institutions and public polli- cies with a view to bettered socialization—which will enable youth to get social points of view not yet clearly reflected in most text books in regard to the labor problem, the problem of women and children in industry, the problems of produc- tion, distribution, and consumption of wealth—the problems of conservation of natural resources and of city and rural life—the problem of war and paths to peace—the ideals. hopes, and program of American Labor, and other related matter pertinent to education for democracy. The principals replied, as was to be anticipated, advising the local of the rules regarding changes in texts and curriculum and requesting additional data. Our answer was the following letter, stating specifically the nature of the studies we considered THE TEACHER AMERICAN vital to a secondary curriculum shaped to meet the needs of our industrial society. On April 26 the Milwaukee Public School Teachers Union addressed a communication to you concerning needed re- visions in the social science curriculum. You referred the same back to us for more explicit statements. We are sub- mitting this reply in the hope that it may satisfactorily clarify the situation. In presenting this request we are acting in the interests of a better citizenship and better to meet the needs of all those boys and girls who leave our schools to live in a highly industrialized society. We are aware of the fact that complete silence on the part of educators about controversial issues and avoidance of a vitalized program embracing the social and economic questions confronting our country today constitutes a form of educational propaganda quite as much as does the advocacy of special “isms”. Educators are under a moral obligation to present the facts to children to the end that they may have an intelligent concern about the social, political, and economic issues which they must face when they assume the duties of citizenship. We do not want it charged that our schools are of the type described in the Wisconsin Journal of Education, issue of September, 1934. “Propaganda, as we see it, has two aspects. Inwardly it is considered as a positive and direct attempt to shape the think- ing of people or children toward predetermined ends by feeding them everything said or written upon one side of a question. On the other hand, it seems just as propagandist to proceed with a policy of omission—to say nothing about trends in economics, politics, or taxation. One might confine student opportunity to a narrow scholasticism and say nothing about the rapid changes which are piling upon each other. To exclude from students the present reality of things would be a short sighted and deceitful procedure at least.” In order to provide a type of secondary education which shall comprehensively deal with problems of present day civilization it is desirable, we believe, to organize as a minimum an eight semester program of integrated social science studies, preferably to be increased to twelve semesters in order to embrace both junior and senior high school levels. These courses might include among others such studies as (1) American Industrial History, (2) Political Economy, (3) Social Problems, or Problems of Democracy, (4) Eco- nomic and Labor Problems, (5) Comparative Studies in Political and Industrial Democracies, and (6) Parenthood and Worthy Home Life. To this list will be added others which will afford the student an opportunity to understand the forces with which he must deal in his effort to adjust himself to our industrial civilization and to have a better understanding of international relationships. The better text book publishers are prepared to supply up-to-date material designed to meet these demands. We feel that the administrators who are charged with the re- sponsibility of reorganization and construction of secondary school curricula can carry on the work necessary to fulfill this request in behalf of the great body of citizens whose children are to be educated in our public schools. Therefore, we respectfully submit this petition in the ex- pressed hope that the Milwaukee high school principals will initiate the necessary steps to the end that a program of this nature will be presented to the Board of School Directors for their subsequent action in January, 1935 Of course we could stop here, and sit back like many another teachers’ organization, smugly con- tent with what had been done, and reassure our- selves that we were progressive educators. The truth is the battle lines have just been drawn. The real fight only begins at this point. How to prod a not too willing and a not too sympathetic admin- istration into action is our biggest task. We do have organized labor solidly behind us. There are thousands of intelligent and thinking people who see the implications of such a program, and who are painfully cognizant of the shortcomings of our present social order and the somewhat ineffectual efforts of the schools to meet them. On these we must rely for support ; happily many of these people are wholeheartedly backing the movement. (Turn to page 30) 1e on we he ib- ily sts all a rat ial the lay ich cts ent ich lip. ype of t is nk- ling ion. eed in lent out To yuld nich day s a cial ters vels, ; as my, =CcO- in ood hers tand [just etter pply We re- dary ul fill hose ; CX- will this ctors like con- our;r- The The prod min- a do > are who who our -tual e we -ople NoveMBER-DeceMBeER, 1934 7 A Critical Evaluation of the American Federation of Teachers A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Education at Smith College, May, 1934 Aileen W. Robinson CHAPTER III. AIMS OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS N ATTEMPTING to evaluate any teachers’ organ- ization certain questions seem to me fundamental. Why did it organize? What are its stated aims? This chapter is an attempt to determine the aims of the American Federation of Teachers by an examina- tion of its constitution and the convention proceed- ings, for the constitution outlines the broad aims, and at the conventions the aims are translated into a program. Article II of the Constitution of the American Federation of Teachers (67, 3), adopted at the seven- teenth convention held at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in June, 1933, contains a statement of the aims as follows: The objects of this organization shall be: 1. To bring associations of teachers into relations of mu- tual assistance and co-operation, 2. To obtain for them all the rights to which they are en- titled. 3. To raise the standard of the teaching profession by se- curing the conditions essential to the best professional service. 4. To promote such a democratization of the schools as will enable them better to equip their pupils to take their places in the industrial, social, and political life of the community In the attempt to understand these aims more fully, the writer took each one separately and endeavored to follow its development through a study of the pro- ceedings of the organization. 1. To bring associations of teachers into relations of mutual assistance and co-operation. (Art II, Sec. 1.) The type of organization of the American Federa- tion of Teachers seems particularly well adapted to the character of American education. Forty-eight States and their law-making bodies determine the character of that education, and authority in many matters goes back to an even smaller unit—the coun- ty, city, or town. It follows, therefore, that an effec- tive teachers’ organization must be in close touch with these small units which are determining the local policies. The American Federation of Teachers, through its system of local, autonomous units, able to act on their own initiative, is able to be active in and informed of the local situations. (23, 5.) That this is a most effective type of organization seems clear, for in 1933, Mrs. Preble, the president of the Department of Classroom Teachers of the National Education Association, called upon teachers to organ- ize, “first locally, then on a state-wide and finally on a national basis, in groups composed of classroom teachers only,” which is an excellent statement of the exact setup of the American Federation of Teachers. (39, 93.) Moreover, the idea of limiting membership, in the interest of mutual assistance and co-operation, to classroom teachers is fundamental to the Federation. In the constitution the word teacher is defined as “any public-school teacher who has classroom work, and who does not have disciplinary or rating power over other teachers.” Historically this seems a sound position for, according to Mrs. Preble (39, 93), there is evidence in regard to the National Education As- sociation that teachers are mute in the presence of their supervisors, and organizations not functioning on this basis are in danger of being captured and run by the administrators. When one considers the con- trol of the administrator over the teacher as to sal- ary, transfer, rating, recommendation, and promotion, it is not to be wondered at that the teacher does not dissent from the opinions of the administrator, when they meet in the same association. (71.) The supervisor, principal, college professor and private-school teacher are not, however, excluded from the American Federation of Teachers, but may organize in separate locals, so that the integrity of opinion and action of the classroom teacher will be safeguarded. (67, 3.) All these various locals are then brought into co- operation, sometimes by a state federation which can consider state problems and take state action, but always by membership in the National organization, which considers local problems and formulates the national program on the basis of local as well as national needs. In addition to forming locals and linking them into a national organization, the Federation seeks affilia- tion with other organizations in the attempt to bring assistance and co-operation to the teachers. Most outstanding is their affiliation with the American Fed- eration of Labor, which is written into the Constitu- tion and is permanent, but they have also affiliated with the World Federation of Education Associa- tions. At times they join forces with such organiza- tions as the National Council for the Prevention of War, or the League of Women Voters, etc., to pro- mote ends in which they have a mutual interest. (42, 6.) In order to be effective in direct attack through political channels this policy of securing the aid of non-members is a wise one. (13, 138.) 2. To obtain for them all the rights to which they are entitled. (Art. II, Sec. 2.) Looking back into the history of the American Federation of Teachers, it appears that it was organ- ized to make a more effective fight for teachers’ rights. In 1916 it was the civil right to belong to an 8 organization affiliated with Labor which was fore- most, but there are other rights which receive an equal amount of attention in the program beside civil rights; namely, the right to an adequate salary, aca- demic freedom, and tenure for the teacher. Adequate Salary Due to the fact that the salary scale varies with each locality in the United States, as do also the amount of academic freedom, civil liberty, and secur- ity of tenure granted the teacher, these aims receive varying emphasis. Few cities, however, have an ade- quate scale, from the point of view of the American Federation of Teachers, and in 1925 the national organization recommended that “our locals inaugu- rate in their respective localities intensive campaigns for salary increases,” apparently feeling that there could not be too much activity in this line of en- deavor. (40, 30.) There are four principles for which they stand in regard to salaries. First, they believe in equal pay for equal professional qualifications and experience regardless of sex, of grade taught, or of social status, as in the case of married women teachers. Secondly, they advocate a $2,000 minimum, for any teacher not worthy of that salary should not be teaching. Third- ly, they recommend a maximum salary which will insure a cultural wage enabling teachers to provide for the “Hazards of life, for travel, and for pro- fessional improvement.” Lastly, they believe that “This maximum should be reached in not more than ten definite annual automatic increments, regardless of ratings.” (43, 103.) Academic Freedom Academic freedom may be defined as the right to express one’s opinion in school on controversial is- sues. This freedom is denied to teachers, sometimes by state legislation which regulates what shall be taught in the schools, sometimes by the school board or influential community groups. Teachers of history and the social studies are particularly apt to find their freedom of expression circumscribed. The Ameri- can Federation of Teachers holds that freedom in teaching is a condition necessary to good teaching it- self and indispensable to the development of pro- fessional character among teachers. (43, 91.) Civil Liberty The civil liberty of teachers is violated on so many occasions that many teachers never think of claiming for themselves the full rights of citizens—freedom of speech and action outside of the school. Many of the tyrannies and restrictions are petty, but they are none the less annoying. They may be incorporated in the state code or statutes, they may be written into the contract or they may be unwritten rules of the board. (14, 391.) A review of some of the restrictions shows that the Federation has grounds for complaint. Cigarettes are prohibited by law to teachers of Tennessee. A Mis- Sissippi contract states, “No teacher is expected to attend dances at home or away when in the employ of this board.” In Ottawa, Kansas, the school board dropped eleven high-school teachers in June, 1929, because they had gone to a dance at the local country club in spite of a prohibitory board rule. (14, 391.) Marriage might be considered a social crime for the women teachers of America. One-eighth of all THE AMERICAN TEACHER public schools have contracts forbidding marriage dur- ing the school year, while a much larger fraction do not employ or re-employ any woman who marries, Four-fifths of the city schools in Ohio have definite rules against employing married women, and the trend is increasingly in this direction, (14, 392.) In in- teresting contrast is the policy in several foreign coun- tries, where married women are considered the most desirable teachers, and are given two months leave from school during confinement on full pay, with an extension of time, if it is found to be necessary. (7, 562.) Teachers are also required to sign “yellow dog” contracts. (14, 394.) This type of contract em- bodies the statement that the employee is not a mem- ber of any organization affiliated with Labor at the time he signs the contract, and further states that -he will not join such an organization, under penalty of losing his position. This, of course, is a direct attack on the American Federaion of Teachers. One of the most flagrant violations of the civil liberty of the teacher occurs when he attempts to express himself on controversial issues outside of the classroom. One teacher wrote a definition of Socialism for a magazine which was conducting a contest, and «nfortunately the definition was so good that it won the five-dollar prize. Requests came pouring into the local school board to dismiss the teacher for his rash act. (56, 16.) Moreover, sus- picion of radical tendencies is frequently reason for non-promotion, for according to one assistant super- intendent of New York City, “The teacher has not the same right as other citizens to print, publish, and declare his thought and opinion.” (14, 395.) In the face of such facts, the American Federation of Teachers states, “We believe that teachers must insist upon the fullest exercise of their rights as citizens as well as teachers. We further believe that questions of professional conduct should be deter- mined by the teaching profession and not by lay (43, 108.) persons.” Tenure Lack of security of tenure is what deters teachers from insisting upon academic freedom and civil liber- ty, and it is such an effective weapon that teachers are known as the “most tight lipped and timorous crea- tures of any profession in the country.” (14, 395.) Because tenure is fundamental to freedom of thought and action, the legislative committee of the Federation in 1931 advocated that all locals work for the enactment of the following legislation in their respective states: 1. Tenure, after the lapse of a probationary period not to exceed two years, should be made permanent during efficiency. 2, All dismissals, both during and after the probationary period, should be for cause definitely embodied in the law, such as immorality or inefficiency. 3. After the probationary period, dismissal for any cause should be only by a trial board chosen as follows: Three by the school board, three by the teachers, these six to select a seventh, who is not to be either a mem- ber of the school board or of the teaching staff and who will act as impartial chairman. At all hearings, teach- ers shall have the. right to be represented by counsel. Appeals may be taken to the courts or to the commis- sioner of education, where the teachers shall have the right of review on questions of law as well as of fact. (43, 100) —_ ~~ FR i vil to of of r a 0d me the us- for er- not and ion lust as that ter- lay hers ber- are rea- 95.) of the vork heir ot to uring ynary 1 the cause lows: these mem- | who each- unsel. nmis- e the fact. NoveMBER-DeceMrerR, 1934 3. To raise the standard of the teaching profession by securing the conditions essential to the best pro- fessional service. (Art. II, Sec. 3.) That the American Federation of Teachers has as one of its chief aims the raising of the standard ot the teaching profession is a fact which needs much emphasis, because it is constantly criticized for not putting —— emphasis on “professional ideals.” (33, 191. It has been called (61, 43) “tainted with TE social aims,” and it most assuredly is, for it feels that the economic and social conditions under which a teacher labors determine to a large extent the type of professional service which the teacher renders. How can one talk of raising the standard of the profession while ignoring the conditions of economic insecurity and social tyranny which surround it? This is the point of view of the Federation. (42, 68.) The organization has been accused of selfish motives in seeking higher wages, tenure laws, academic free- dom, social and civil liberties. Its defense is that inasmuch as these benefits free the teacher from worry and repressions, conditions essential to better professional service are being established. The Federation states, moreover, that present standards in American education prevent teaching from being a profession, for a profession requires that its members in addition to being trained, and to de- voting themselves to public service, shall be allowed to determine their own standards of conduct. More- over, a cultural standard of living, which teachers do not enjoy, is expected of professional people. They also must seek to raise the standard of their particular profession and must devote themselves to bettering all phases and aspects of the work which they have elected to perform. (31, 7.) In an attempt to meet these requirements, the American Federation of Teachers has framed its pro- gram, It charters only professionally qualified teach- ers. It affiliated with Labor because it felt that it could, with the assistance of organized allies, better serve the public. It admits that teachers do not de- termine the standards of their profession, but, in an attempt to make teaching a profession, it is a for the rights of teachers. John Dewey said (17, in an address before the Yale Local on January 8 1933 : All of these other teachers’ organizations are very valu- able. They raise the standard of teaching in the field of scholarship and improve methods of teaching. But there is none of them that I know of except the American Federation of Teachers that stands constantly, openly, and aggressively for the realization of the social function of the profession and for raising the moral, the intellectual, and the social level of the profession as a profession on the basis of the social rights and the social responsibilities of the group of teachers as a professional group in the community. The Federation also believes that the economic and social standards of the profession are so low that those pre-eminently fitted for teaching seek more lu crative fields. (43, 100.) Therefore, it follows that any attempt to better the profession must be con- cerned not only with the educational and academic aspects of the profession, but also with the economic and social aspects. So, when administrators claim that the American Federation of Teachers does not sufficiently empha- size the “professional improvement” of teachers, the criticism arises out of a difference of viewpoint, for the Federation believes that until the economic and 9 social position of the teacher is improved, teaching is not worthy to be called a profession. 4. To promote such a democratization of the schools as will enable them better to equip their pupils to take their places in the industrial, social and political life of the community. (Art. II, Sec. 4.) It is interesting, in view of the fact that “Democ- racy in Education; Education for Democracy” is the motto of the Federation, and that it is an aim for which they have been struggling since the foundation of their organization, to note that in 1933, Mrs. Preble, the president of the Department of Classroom Teachers of the National Education Association, in addressing the annual convention (39, 91) called for more democracy in education, saying, “Democracy has not been tried.” The Federation makes some very definite suggestions for achieving democracy in the schools. These suggestions seem to fall into three divisions; namely, democracy for the school board, for the teachers, and for the school child. Democracy for the School Board At the Chicago meeting of the American Federa- tion of Teachers in June; 1931, New York Local No. 5 introduced a resolution which said in substance that, since partisan domination of the school system results in the promotion of teachers who are subservi- ent conformists rather than those who possess a critical attitude and social outlook, the American Federation of Teachers should oppose every attempt at partisan domination of the schools, and should bring about the establishment of elected boards of education who will represent the various vocational groups in the community, so that educational policies will have the benefit of varying viewpoints and af- filiations. (43, 124.) Several interesting questions are raised by this resolution. Is there partisan domination of the board? Are the school boards elected? Do they represent various vocational groups in the community? Are these important problems from the viewpoint of dem- ocracy in the school? Dr. George S. Counts, in 1927, published a mono- graph on The Social Composition of Boards of Edu- cation, which is a detailed study of the foregoing questions. He says these problems are real and vital for: The fundamental character of public education in the United States, is, in the last analysis determined by the board that controls the school. The,teacher is the creature of the board of education and in his behavior both within and without the school, he must conform to standards agree- able to the board. To a degree and in a fashion seldom grasped, the content, spirit, and purpose of public education must reflect the bias, the limitations, and the ex- perience of the membership of this board. The quali- tative advance of public education must depend as much on the decisions of the board of education as on the develop- ment of the science and philosophy of education. (5, 1) Dr. Counts found that the most striking fact re- garding the method of selection of board members was the diversity of practice. Alniost any conceiv- able method could be found employed somewhere. In nearly three-fourths of the cities studied, how- ever, the members were elected at large, and the con- sensus of opinion of students of school administration seem to favor an elective board for administering education in the smaller area (city). (5, 16.) But in a good many cases, where the school board is ap- pointed by the mayor, it becomes a tool of partisan politics, as in Chicago. 10 The fact that there are many anti-democratic prac- tices to be eradicated, Dr. Counts revealed. For ex- ample, in several cities in the South, where the Negroes were in the majority, boards were named by an act of legislature and given the power of self- perpetuation, thus removing education from Negro control. In this particular case the school board was not only partisan but chosen entirely from the minor ity party in the community (5, 16). Dr. Counts also found that with respect to voca- tional groups, the school board is narrowly selective. (5, 81.) This he holds to be particularly significant for American Education, because occupation is in- strumental in shaping one’s social philosophy, and data on the occupations of board members provides a measure of the breadth and variety of interests and points of view represented on boards of education. (5, 95.) Our boards are composed of business men (5, 94.) Labor and minority races and religions are given slight representation. Said Dr. Counts: The time has arrived when we should cease to deceive out selves with the pleasing, fiction that the ordinary board mem ber, or member of any legislative body, represents the gen eral public, whatever that may be. This was impossible even in the simple and relatively homogeneous community of the past. In the great industrial city of the present it is a patent absurdity. It is a pious fraud. (5, 96) Hence the American Federation of Teachers seems justified in adopting a resolution which calls for elected school boards, representing various vocational groups, in the interest of obtaining democracy for the schools. Democracy for the Teacher Several points relating to the undemocratic prac- tices forced upon teachers have been discussed namely, dictation of conduct, restrictive measures in contracts, lack of academic and civil freedom, etc When teaching becomes a profession these autocratic regulations will be removed, for anything which en courages timidity and narrowness in teachers makes for the worst possible influence on children. At still another point, however, what the school does is a better indication of its principles than what it professes, for it practices autocracy while giving lip-service to democracy. This is in the field of school administration, where in most cases the teach er is allowed no voice. Mr. Redefer, executive secre- tary of the Progressive Education Association, writ ing in Tue Nation’s Scuoors of February, 1934, characterizes our education as an “attempt to educate youngsters for democratic citizenship in schools or- ganized on autocratic principles and ruled by mon archs and miniature Mussolinis.” (44, 24.) Against this practice the American Federation of Teachers has always stood. It applies John Dewey’s philos ophy of “learning by doing” to the teacher as well as to the child, and states that if the teacher is to he an effective citizen in a democracy he must be al- lowed to practice democratic living in the school. This means teacher participation in administration and control. It means that the teacher should have a voice in curriculum making, textbook selection, in determining working conditions and school policies. (62, 7.) It means applying the philosophy of the new education to the teacher, as well as to the child. Democracy for the School Child At the fifteenth 1931, annual convention in the THe AMERICAN TEACHER American Federation of Teachers reasserted its belief in the “righteousness of equal educational opportunity tor all children, regardless of race or other classifica- “school (43, tion” and reaffirmed its devotion to equality, both for teachers and fof pupils.” 143.) As one means of achieving this equality of op- portunity the Federation has for many years recom- mended the establishment of a Federal Department of Education. This Department, it says, should give Federal aid to the states, “‘making sure that the ad- ministration of this fund be left to the states, on the principle of guaranteeing to all the persons an equit- able opportunity to share therein.” (43, 13.) From these recommendations it will be seen that the Federation feels that every child in the United States should have equal educational advantages, re- gardless of race or of the ability of different states to finance education. One familiar with American edu- cation knows that real equality of opportunity does not exist, and yet a superintendent of schools begins his criticism of the American Federation of Teachers by saying, “The greatness of our public schools springs from the fact of their wide open door of equal opportunity for every child.” (67, 45.) Of course he cannot see that there is any place in Amer- ican education for such an organization as the Fed- eration, for he disagrees with it on a fundamental premise, namely, the reality of equal educational op- portunity in this country. In addition to this democratization of opportunity, the American Federation of Teachers recommends “A thorough-going reconstruction of our educational aims, methods, equipment, and curricula so as to bring them into harmony with present day life. Such a change will make it possible for our schools to func- tion more effectively in the preparation of boys and girls for social living.” (43, 110.) It has adopted whole-heartedly the principles of progressive education, and recommends their adoption into the public school system. Stanwood Cobb’s “Ten Planks of Progressive Education,’ which follow, it recommended as the basis of advice to locals, and of turther articles in the AMericaAN Teacuer. (43, 120.) Ten Planks of Progressive Education 1. Health must come first 2. Learning comes from doing 3. The classroom should be freed from unnatural restraints and exterior compulsions transformed into inner com- pulsions. t. Adapt child. Group-consciousness and social mindedness should be developed in children; social adjustment and character training are as important as academic progress. 6. The child should have abundant opportunity for creative expression 7. Enable the child to acquire thorough control of the tools of learning rather than merely to acquire facts. 8. Introduce into academic work the method of creative expression, so that education shall be joyous. 9. Abolish the tyranny of marks and examinations 10 ider and guide, not a task- education to the differences of the individual Jt The teacher should be a le master These measures, which the Federation has taken, have been in an attempt to democratize the school im the interest of teaching children to think, that they may be better equipped to take their places in the (Turn to page 30) ; hat ited re- ; to du- loes yins 1eTs pols of § Of ner- “ed- ntal Op- ity, -nds onal ring hoa unc- and 5 of tion ‘Ten v, it d of 20.) raints com- , idual ld be ractef eative f the icts. eative task- aken, ,01 if they n the NovEMBER-DeEcEMBER, 1934 Learning Made Easy in Switzerland Brooke Persis WITZERLAND has a wide and deserved reputation for being the World’s Playground, but she might equally be called “The Classroom of Europe”. The high standard of education prevail- ing in this country is not a thing of recent growth, but has been the subject of just pride to the Swiss nation for the last thousand years. Already in the Middle Ages there existed such a high degree of scolastic achievement, introduced by The School of Commerce at Lausanne on lake of Geneva, Switzerland the various monasteries, especially in St. Gall, that Switzerland was considered to be the centre of Eu- ropean culture. In the 15th and 16th Centuries, certain cities, notably Basle, possessed brilliant universities to which the youth of surrounding countries flocked in large numbers. The 17th Century was famous for its architects and painters, beautiful examples of whose work are to be found in St. Gall and Einsiedeln, whilst the 18th Century produced a galaxy of famous scien- tists, artists, scholars, and writers who laid the foundation for the tremendous cultural movement in the 19th and 20 Centuries, which brought Switzerland to the fore- most ranks of cultured peoples. The tradition according to which the “grand tour” of every well-bred young man must include a stay in Switzerland, is not only maintained but developed and amplified. The hundreds of State and private schools which flourish in the country and find their culminating point in the seven fine Universities—one for every 570,000 inhabitants—and two technical Colleges, offer convincing proof that Switzerland, combining all that is best in ancient and modern times, remains true to tradition in an unbroken chain of service to culture. Owing to the keen competition which exists between the Cantonal schools on the one hand and the State and private schools on the other, educational estab- lishments in Switzerland have attained A a remarkably high standard of perfection. Not only are the schools equipped in the most modern man- ner, great attention being paid to all that pertains to health and hygiene, but they are also, in most cases, very fine buildings situated on a lovely site, from where the best view can be obtained, as the Swiss firmly believe in the beneficial influence of natural beauties on the mind of the child. The peculiar composition of the Swiss nation, which comprises four different races, speaking as many tongues, has resulted in the entire Swiss scho- lastic system being based on a unity of purpose and a diversity of methods, the elasticity of which ren- ders them particularly valuable for dealing with foreign pupils. There is less rigidity and more un- derstanding than in most other countries, the rela- tion between teaching staff and the pupils being less official and more friendly. The atmosphere in the schools is essentially a happy one. Class rooms are bright and airy, living rooms (in boarding schools) are homelike and gay with chintz and flowers. Games and sport of every kind play a very important role in the curriculum of all the schools. Physical culture is an important item and—in the case of girls’ schools—there is every possible mod- ern appliance for the study of domestic science, The entire system of Swiss education is con- structed on thoroughly practical modern lines, the main object pursued being the preparation of the child for a healthy, useful, happy life. There is comfort, but not luxury, good food, invigorating air, beautiful surroundings, every facility to study lan- guages, art, music, embroidery, dress-making, cook ing, etc., plenty of work, but also plenty of fun, winter and summer sport, concerts and lectures for the older pupils and above all the highly specialized -I would almost say inherited—pedagogical talent of the Swiss teaching staff, worthy followers of the great Pestalozzi. The University of Geneva, Switzerland. Voters Oust Strikebreaker from School Teacher Job.—David Tallman, a school teacher of Gilles- pie, Ill., is said to have worked as a strikebreaker at the Laclede Steel Company, inAlton, during the summer. Rehired as a teacher at the beginning of the school term, the students called a strike, refusing to attend his classes. A special election of the Gillespie High School District was called and the result, just an- nounced, shows the taxpayers voted 1,660 to 1015 against rehiring the strikebreaker as a teacher. Alice Citron Gets Permanent Appointment.—Miss Alice Citron, secretary of the Unemployed Teach- ers’ Association, New York, was granted perma- nent appointment by the Board of Education. Last year, Miss Citron was “called on the car- pet” by the Board’of Superintendents for alleg- edly hitting a policeman with an umbrella during the disturbance at the school board meeting of May 24, 1933. She was exonerated, but her sal- ary increment was withheld because she failed to defend the board from attacks made upon it at a public meeting at which she was one of the speakers. Teachers Must Take Oath to Get Salary.—New York City teachers who had not taken the loyalty oath October 22, the day the pay roll leaves the auditor's office to go to the office of the City Pay- master, would not receive their October pay check, it was announced by Associate Superin- tendent Stephen E. Bayne. Dr. Bayne said that notarized oaths are due in his office no later than Monday, the 22nd. Columbia Summer Roll Up 10%.—Registration for the 1934 Summer session at Columbia University showed an increase of 10 per cent over the 1933 figures, according to the university authorities. The six-week session which ended Aug. 17 ai- tracted an enrollment of 10,250. Every State in the Union, as well as Alaska and many foreign countries, was represented in the student body. Teachers Favor Strike for Unpaid Salaries.—\ ig- orously protesting because the school boards re- fused to pay them back salaries, 146 teachers in two Lackawanna and one Luzerne county com- munities threatened to join the strike already de- clared by thirty teachers and close the schools until the salaries are paid. Over 900 school chil- dren are already on “vacation” because of the thirty teachers’ strike, and the proposed walkout * will release 4,000 more boys and girls from classes. Depression Hasn’t Hit This High-Salary Group.— The forty ranking executives, including officers and directors, of the T. Eaton Co., Ltd., received salaries and*bonuses totaling $1,357,300 last year, an average of $33,900, the Parliamentary Mass Buying Committee was told by its investigating auditor, W..L..Gordén, Toronto. The average in 1929, the peak veag.for the vast retail and mail order house, was $54,800. So This Is America! AMEK:.AN TEACHER THE School Officials Get Pay Slash.—Recently estab- lished salaries of administrative officials were re- scinded by the San Antonio, Texas, Board of Ed- ucation which placed the salaries on the basis of an approximate 45 per cent restoration of the average 36 per cent salary cut ordered two years ago. This places the administrative officers on the same basis as class-room teachers with regard to percentage of salary increase, for the board also adopted a salary schedule for teachers and prin- cipals which allows them a 45 per cent restora- tion. This action of the school board permits the fol- lowing proud salaries for the “molders of Young America,” the “guardians of childhood,” the “bearers of culture,” the “saviors of society.” Classroom teachers, $900 minimum for proba- tionary and first year teachers without diplomas to a $1,781 maximum for teachers with 10 or more years experience and an M. A. degree. Manual training teachers, $1,046 minimum to $1,781 maximum. Vocational teachers, $1,194 minimum to $1,929 maximum. Health education teachers, $1,046 minimum to $1,781 maximum. Senior principals, $3,305 for schools, $2,559 for negro schools. Assistant directors and junior school principals, $2,077 minimum to $2,820 maximum. Vice principals of senior schools, same as jun- ior school principals. Elementary supervisors and principals with 500 or more enrollment, $1,892 minimum to $2,559 maximum. Dean of girls, senior schools, $2,,262. Elementary principals with less than 500 en- rollment, $1,524 minimum to $2,15lmaximum. Censorship of Movies Opposed.—In the field of censorship, the Civil Liberties Union reports it fought a federal movie censorship bill, contested Chicago and Detroit political censorship of the movies, tried to secure repeal of the New York state censorship. The Union investigated the charges of radio censorship and urged a thor- ough re-examination of radio control. Examina- tion of the charges of press censorship revealed that the government had great power but had not misused, it. “So far under the New Deal there has not been a single case of exclusion of a paper from the mails nor denial of second class mailing privileges—a considerable improvement over the records of the Hoover regime.” Pay Increase in Goose Creek, Tex., Schools.—More than 100 teachers in the Goose Creek independent district system will receive larger pay checks this month as a result of action taken by the trustees. An increase of 6 per cent was voted to teachers except those in the junior high schools and those who received raises in salary adjustments last summer. Under the new system no teacher will draw more than $180 per month. Where the six per cent would increase salaries above that figure the pay will be $180. school white of it red the ork the ofT- na- led not ere per ing the ore ent his ees. ers ose last will six ure NoveMBER-DeceMBER, 1934 Academic Freedom Violated.—V arious cases of the violation of academic freedom are reported by the American Civil Liberties Union. Professors were arbitrarily dropped at Rollins College, Fla., and at McAlester College, St. Paul, Minn. A liberal history teacher in LeRoy, New York, was refused a renewal of his contract because of his “radical” opinions. A student newspaper at Oberlin College, Ohio, was suppressed. “In Syracuse University, N. Y., the established policy of suppression of liberal student activities continued, unmatched so far as we know in any university.” Student opinion on controversial issues, the American Civil Liberties Union said, is suppressed and “vellow dog” contract must be signed, agreeing to dismissal with or without cause at Syracuse. $33,000 Saved in Teachers’ Pay.—The department of education, Bridgeport, Conn., has effected sav- ings in salaries during the present fiscal year amounting to more than $41,000, it was stated in a communication to the board of education from Supt. T. J. Condon read at yesterday’s meeting. Of this total, said the superintendent, almost $33, - 000 was saved in teacher salaries and the rest in salaries of other employes. Teachers Plan to Add Strength to Their Strike.— Striking school teachers of Old Forge conducted a rally on Oct. 7 in Central Park for the purpose of enrolling additional property owners in their campaign for reinstatement. The teachers were dismissed some time ago by the school board when they refused to return to class rooms until back salaries are settled. At the rally session leading officials of the bo- rough were speakers. The striking teachers contend that fully ninety per cent of the children are not attending sessions despite reports to the contrary made by the school board. It will be recalled that the teachers first went on strike last May after their president, Joseph Connor, had been dismissed for urging the direc- tors to pay the teachers their salaries, then seven and a half months overdue. Six Cents an Hour.—John Fdelman, an organizer for the Full-Fashioned Hosiery Workers, in- forms the Editors of The Spectator that in a gar- ment factory in Eastern Pennsylvania women have been employed at six cents an hour to sew on NRA labels. Extending Continuation School Periods.—Through the efforts of New York Labor two bills were in- troduced, one requiring part-time schools to be in session for at least eight hours each week, and that employed minors spend at least eight hours instead of four each week in these schools, and another extending to 30 hours a week attendance by unemployed minors. El Paso, Tex., Council Votes for Salary Restoration Effective on Nov. 1.—The city council restored five per cent of city employes’ pay reductions and allotted an additional $9000 for a two per cent increase in city teachers’ pay for a total annual payroll increase of approximately $50,160. The pay restoration, applying to firemen, police, other city appointees, water works employes and day laborers, becomes effective Novy. 1. The increases affect 1171 employes, laborers and teachers. 13 Nearly 90,000 Pupils of Alabama Schools Find Doors Closed.—With no funds left in the treas- ury of the state department of education, nearly 90,000 Alabama rural school children faced closed doors when the 1933 school term opened on Janu- ary 2, 1934. Figures compiled by Dr. Dale S. Young, statis- tician for the state department of education, show that 826 rural schools, with an enrollment of 64,- 070 elementary and 21,692 high school pupils, have closed. These schools are in twenty coun- ties. About 2,500 teachers are involved. In addition to the rural schools the towns of Dothan, Fort Payne and Russellville have closed their schools on 4,500 pupils. Schedule for Holidays Is Revised.—The Bridgeport, Conn., Board of Education formally approv ed the the 37-week calendar for the city’s schools but not until after Commissioner A. L. Scanzillo had pro- tested the omission of the three prominent legal holidays, Columbus Day, Lincoln’s Birthday, and Washington’s Birthday. He also said that elec- tion day and Armistice Day should be included in the list of school holidays. The question of teachers’ salaries was discussed from two angles. Supt. Worcester Warren said that under the 37-week payment plan some of the teachers whose salaries were in the lower brack- ets would be brought under $1,000 annually. The Board of Apportionment has stipulated that no teacher is to receive less than $1,000. Supt. War- ren suggested that the salaries of this group, num- bering 77, be adjusted so that their weekly checks would be on the basis of $1,000 yearly. Academic Freedom Group Fights Loyalty Oath Bill.— Attacking the campaign of the Daughters of the American Revolution to straight-jacket educators with loyalty oath legislation, the Aca- demic Freedom Committee of the A. C. L, U. vigorously opposed such a bill in New York as “an unjustified reflection on the loyalty of the teaching profession, striking at freedom of thought and belief among teachers. “This seemingly harmless bill could easily be twisted into an instrument of suppression by pro- fessional patriots, lobbyists for munition manu- facturers, organized groups that make a liveli- hood out of red-baiting.” Last year campaigns by the D. A. R. and sim- ilar organizations to pass such legislation requir- ing loyalty oaths of teachers were defeated in the nine states where they were undertaken: Dela- ware, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, New Mexico, and Vermont. Union Pacific Clerks Defeat Company Union — George M. Harrison, president of the Brother- hood of Railway Clerks, affiliated with the Amer- ican Federation of Labor, announced that the railway clerks on the Union Pacific west ot Oma- ha had, by vote, defeated the company union and favored the Brotherhood. Teachers’ Pay Increments for Years of Service Will Be Abandoned.—Two steps toward determining teachers’ salaries for the school year 1934-35 were taken by the Pasadena, Cal., Board of Education. Salary increments, which accrue through length of service, were eliminated and School Superin- tendent John A. Sexson and the staff were asked to submit a revised salary schedule. STATE Courtesy, N. Y. Daily News Suffer Little Children Child Labor Day January 26-28, 1935 Following a custom of nearly thirty years, the National Child Labor Committee has designated the last week end of January for the observance of Child Labor Day. The keynote this year will be ratification of the Federal Child Labor Amendment. The abolition of child labor in the major industries of the coun- try through the NRA codes has won universal approval. But the codes are temporary—for the peri- od of the emergency only. It is unthinkable that a single inch of the ground gained during these years of depression should be lost. Yet if the Amendment is not ratified and Congress thus empowered to pass a Federal Child Labor Law, a return of child employment must be expected when the codes ex- pire. As soon as employers are once more free to hire children and pay them as little as they please, “cheap” child labor will flourish again. For well over a century, effort has been made to control child la- bor through state legislation. But while some states have forged ahead, others have lagged far be- ‘hind in measures to prevent child exploitation. Even today there are -nine states which, through harmful exemptions in their statutes, per- -mit children under the age of 14 in some industries, ‘to work in industries, manufacturing «cases even during school hours. Eig/:t states permit children under 16 to work from nine to eleven hours per day, and evelen states permit children under 16 to work wntil & p.m. or later. Not even the spectacle of mil- lions of unemployed adults clamor- ing in vain for jobs which mean bread and butter for their families has induced the states to take chil- dren out of the labor market. They fear to take the step alone and thus subject their industries to competi- tion with those of states which still permit “cheap” children to be em- ployed. As recently as 1933 when unemployment was at its peak, bills to raise to 16 years the age for full-time employment were intro- duced in 11 states and rejected in all but 2. But only a few months later when 16 years was established as the minimum age for employ- ment on a national basis through the emergency industrial codes, it received the unanimous acclaim of industry everywhere. Federal legislation applying equally to all parts of the country is the only effective method of se- curing the permanent elimination of child labor from this country once and for all. Twice Federal Child Labor Laws have been pass- ed, but the United States Supreme Court has held them unconstitu- tional. The Federal Child Labor Amendment, now before the states for ratification, is merely an en- abling act specifically empowering Congress to legislate on the subject. Child Labor Dav is a fitting time to arouse public interest in this measure, which has been ratified by 20 states. Its progress has aroused those who see their right to employ children placed in jeop- ardy, and a tremendous campaign of misrepresentation has _ been launched which must be overcome by making known the correct facts. The National Child Labor Com- mittee whose headquarters are at 419 Fourth Avenue, New York City, will send a poster, leaflets and other material on the Amend- ment on receipt of 25 cents for postage. A. F. of L. On Child Labor The American Federation of La- bor at its recent convention in San Francisco adopted the following statement and resolution on the subject of the Child Labor Amend- ment. The Executive Council reports that fourteen states ratified the Child Labor THE TEACHER AMERICAN Amendment in 1933, and that twenty states now have ratified the amendment, leaving sixteen more to be secured be- fore it can become a part of the Con- stitution. This partial has aroused the opponents of the amend- ment to conduct a most bitter campaign to prevent other states from ratifying, with the result that ratication failed in Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, New York and Massachusetts President Green has been continuously and vigorously active in the campaign for amendment, and your committee de- sires to express the most generous ap- preciation of these efforts. It rejoices in the progress made against this crime against the childhood of the nation—Child Labor—under the National Industrial Recovery Act, but desires, with the Executive Council, to urge that it be kept clear in the minds of all who oppose Child Labor that it can only be prevented and prohibited on a national basis through the enactment of a Federal statute made possible by the inclusion in the United States Con- stitution of the Child Labor Amend- ment. It recommends concurrence in the recommendation of the Executive Coun- cil that all organizations of labor and all members of Organized Labor unite in the effort to secure the ratification of the Child Labor Amendment by a sufficient number of state legislatures during the coming year to guarantee the adoption of the Child Labor Amend- ment to the Constitution of the United States. success Resokiution Wuenreas, The present dearth of posi- tions has placed the children in industry more directly in competition wth adults than ever before; and, Wuereas, The inevitable result of this competition is to lower wages and standards of living of all; and WHEREAS, Early forced labor is de- structive to the health, education, and happiness of children: and Wuereas, No civilized nation tolerate the spectacle of wealth created can for the few by the labor of children; and WHEREAS, Twenty States have al- ready ratified the proposed Child Labor Amendment to the Constitution; and Wuereas, The provisions of the NRA relative to child labor are but temporary; therefore be it Resolved, That the American Federa- tion of Labor emphatically favors the adoption of the Child Labor Amend- ment and calls upon its members to work for its ratification in their respec- tive states, and for the passage and enforcement of more adequate child labor laws. The twenty-fourth annual meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English will be held in the Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D. C., November 29-December 1. Tradition and innovation in the teach- ing of English in time of accelerated social change is the general topic. All who are interested in educational progress and especially in the teaching of English are invited to attend the convention whether or not they are members of the National Council. n d NoveMBER-DeceMBER, 1934 Law of the Jungle CERTAIN statement in a recent book by Dr. Halford E. Luccock, of Chicago, contains a world of mean- ing. It is perhaps in its origin a gem of oriental philosophy clothed with all the mystery and keen insight of the Fast. To the occidental mind he states that it is “The first law of the jungle— Never let go with your paws before you have caught on with your tail.” At first glance such a warning seems still more properly to belong in the phil- osophy of the conservative, unprogres- sive civilization of the orient and to be incapable of adoption into the thinking of an enlightened, forward-looking re public. And yet, in a word, it someway accounts for the ostracism of coconuts which must have been showered upon the first tree dweller who dared to re- linquish his grasp, leap to the ground, and walk in an upright position. It hints of the prosaic, conservative indi- vidual who looks out upon a rapidly changing world and accepts life as he knows it, tenaciously clinging to a pass ing order. Such an ideology, when ac- cepted by the leadership of a nation, breeds stalemate and stagnation. To so consider belongs not to the progressive, to the courageous and daring. On the other hand, some element of this philosophy must needs cling where confidence is lacking; disciples of the past are required by the evangelists of the morrow as the grindstone is the ad- junct of the sword and the keel a ballast to the vessel. Educators must know and be familiar with the facts of history But to know the truth does not of neces- sity postulate freedom. As someone has said, “It is not the pursuit of truth alone but the use of truth that counts.” Youth is looking for the latter; it dare not any longer be satisfied with only one side of the picture. In fact the present crisis in every social state and level of living cries out for the cour- ageous experimentation of those who should make. some attempt to arrive at a solution. The immediate laboratory is not within the halls of government but in the columns of the press, the voice of the radio, the pages of books, and the dwellings, buildings, and schools where young and old assemble Battle of Special Privilege The challenge, even in part, makes dangerous the task which the educator and puslicly minded citizen must per- form. Toward our schools and colleges, The President’s Page Raymond F. Lowry as even now, even more so will be di- rected the concerted flight of criticism and suspicion, more hard to be borne than the barrage of jungle apples. Softened by the bounty of the recent age, as the monkey amid the plenty, recipients of special privilege will battle to mtaintain their hold in the tree tops above the valley and by threat and in- timidation force the more daring to re- turn to the false security of the branches. Greed and _ selfishness will even more strenuously employ the agencies which they control to prevent the enfranchisement of society. And even stranger than fiction, for they seem to fail to realize how their attitude strengthens the very forces which are seeking the overthrow of the present system of public education, many leaders within the schools will contend that the members of any organization which militantly opposes the forces of entrenched privilege are forgetful of the position of service which they have sworn to render. They do not think through to the true source from which they receive their credentials of service and from which even the revenue of their support is garnered as well as created. Dr. Counts phrased this thought very succinctly in the statement that the teacher owes his loyalty to the great body of the laboring population—to the farmer, to the industrial worker, and to other members of the producing classes of the nation. “They owe nothing to the present economic system except to improve it; they owe nothing to the privileged class except to strip it of its privileges.” And then these from within the pro- fession will project the further argu- ment that the movement which this peri- odical serves is only interested primar- ily in bettering the economic position of the teacher. Splendid men, with fine records of public service, will be most conscientious in their stand that the profession of teaching must have its recompense in service rendered; that any attempt to secure economic security through the enactment of state and fed- eral legislation will eventually destroy the very spirit of sacrifice which has made the position of teacher an elevated one. They might be right if they spoke thus from the ranks and not from the administration. They should know better the character of those among whom they are still to be numbered. Universal experience has proved that the teacher serves the children and not themselves. The depression has taught us that, if nothing more, about our great profession. Economic Insecurity Affects the Schools Economic insecurity, however, is de- veloping three serious conditions. First, it is detracting from the efficiency of the teacher—they are only human. Sec- ond, it is denying to the child the right to fuller instruction in creating over-sized classes, shortening hours, ab- breviating school terms, and lessening supplies. Third, through the enforced adoption of retrenchment programs the very maintenance of a democratic re- public is being destroyed at its very source. No patriotic citizen can stand idly by while the schools receive into their very vitals the attacks of those who so soon have forgotten what American institu- tions mean even to them. Wealth must be accumulated for use and not abuse. This age does not love heroics. And yet any- one knows it is more difficult to fight for peace in times of peace than in the event of war. But if the enactment of legislation is necessary to maintain the economic security of the schools, then the teachers will come out of the class rooms and fight in the fuller expression of their social responsibility, heroically if need be. They will shake off the lethargy of years and the accrued effeminacy; they will cease to pander and actively participate in government. Those who would selfishly maintain an increasingly insupportable condition in society will find in the teachers an or- ganized opposition. Not in heroics but in grave earnest the educator will give voice to truth through action for a truly representative democracy. The Answer It is most gratifying to realize that in Utah, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, the New England States, Illinois, New York, in fact, north, east, south, and west teachers are coming to discover that it is not too late to awake and avert tragedy. Friendly organizations every- where are pledging their support. An attack on the schools has awakened civic pride. The only great barrier to prevent victory is the strangle hold of politics on the institutions of government. Par- tisan activity prevents uniformity of program except through one affiliation. That affiliation is made possible through even a minority organization of edu- cators in any community with the Amer- ican Federation of Teachers. fn er SP Bir 16 THE TEACHER AMERICAN Democracy in Education American Federation of Teachers Organized April 15, 1916 Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor 506 South Wabash Ave., Chicago, III. President Raymonp F. Lowry, Toledo Local 250 219 Fifteenth St., Toledo, Ohio. Secretary-Treasurer Florence Curtis Hanson, 506 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, IIl. THE AMERICAN TEACHER Official Organ Apvisory Epiror1AL Boarp Lucie W. ALLEN Chicago Local 3 New York Local 5 Mary C. BARKER HENRY R. LINVILLE Atlanta Local 89 New York Local 5 SELMA M. BorcHarptT A. D. SHEFFIELD Washington Loca! 8 Wellesley College JOHN M. GRAYBIEL CHARLES B. STILLMAN San Francisco Local 61 Chicago Local 2 Florence Curtis Hanson, Executive Editor Publisher H. G. Aparr Printine Co. 107 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago, IIl. Cold Facts Regarding the Serious Conditions of Our Schools The school budget of the na- *¢ tion has been reduced by about $378,000,000 a year, and this when enrollments have in- creased more than a million since 1930. Approximately 3,000,000 Amer- ican children are without educa- tional opportunity, mostly from the effects of poverty and the slashing of educational budgets. More than 20,000 schools, af- fecting more than 1,000,000 chil- dren, will have terms shorter than six months this year. More than 2,000 rural schools failed to open this year even for one day. More than 400,000 school chil- dren are improperly housed in school buildings. There are about 30,000 fewer teachers at work this year. One teacher out of every six will re- ceive less than $450 for the school term, and in many cases teachers’ salaries are being deferred. What we put into the schools today will come out in the national life tomorrow. The school is the House of the People. Let us use that house to rear a generation of young people worthy of the great traditions of America. RutTH GILLETTE Harpy , . Teachers’ Strikes The American Federation of Teachers early in its existence as an organization adopted a non strike policy. At its convention on January 1, 1920, it passed the fol- lowing resolution: \n- Fed- endorses its resolved, that this Fourth the American again Be it nual Convention of eration of Teachers non-strike policy. This policy was reaffirmed at its last convention. President Gompers, of the American Federation of Labor, issued the following statement on December 16, 1919: The American Federation of Teachers is an International Union having abso- lute contro! over its own policies and actions. No Local or State Central La- bor Body nor the American Federation of Labor has the right or the power to call upon the teachers, under any cir- cumstances, to strike. Therefore, since the American Federation of Teachers does not use the strike, the affiliation with it of local federations of teachers cannot in any way involve the teachers in a strike. While it is a matter out- side the jurisdiction of the American Federation of Labor, the non-strike pol- licy of the American Federation of Teachers meets with our approval. The Federation has two basic beliefs: 1. That the teacher is the great- est conserver of the public interest 2. That the teachers’ grievances must not, and cannot, be remedied by any method that inflicts injury upon the children upon whom the future of the nation rests. No teachers’ union has ever gone on strike. Many groups of teach- ers not organized and_ affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers have used the strike wea pon. There have been a number of strikes of non-union teachers in Pennsylvania; there has not been one of union teachers, The most conspicuous strike and the longest in duration this year is that of the teachers of Old Forge Twp., Penn. This group is not a union group; it is not connected in any way with the American Federation of Teach- ers. The teachers are members of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, connected with the N. E. A. This is not pointed out in any sense as a reproach to these organizations, but merely to empha- that it is not the teachers’ American Federation size unions, the of Teachers, that strike. The unorganized teachers have no recourse but to strike. The or- ganized teachers depend for results upon the power of organized num- bers, upon the support of organ labor, upon political action, and upon an aroused and educated public opinion. Therefore, teach- ers’ unions have no need to strike. The press continues to announce that educators teachers’ unions(and some, not by any means all, do) and follows with a state- ment regarding “Strong Disapprov al of Strikes.” The implication is plain that unions and strikes go to gether, while as a fact the opposite is the case. Despite the authenticated facts, despite this and repeated explana tions, the fiction that the American Federation of Teachers advocates the strike still lives. Every Member Can Help to Organize very member can help to or ganize; every member should help to organize. Everywhere we find for organization, and even more do we find a need for organization. There seems to be, however, a lack of organizers, or persons who will help the unorgan- ized to get started. An organizer is simply a person who talks or- ganization, educates individuals and groups in the value and pur- pose of organization, and when the proper education has been given and received, brings the person or groups into the proper organiza- tion. There should be no dearth of organizers in our organization. Every union member should be an organizer, talking to his fellow teachers and showing them the real benefits of being a member of a union. If the enemies of public educa- tion are to be confounded, if the retrenchment program is to be stopped short of utter destruction of the public schools, if we are to build a better school on the wreck- age of the old, we must be con- tinually working for more and bet- ter organization. A sound, effec- tive organization will come when all do their share To help others to organize is to help ourselves. Our program for state and federal aid, our crusade for Democracy in Education—Fdu- ised oppose a desire NoveMsBer-Decemper, 1934 17 Education for Democracy cation for Democracy are certain of accomplishment when the teachers are organized and joined with their friends, Organized Labor, working together for the common cause. Some wise man, a few years ago, declared: “A fellow who says a thing cannot be done frequently has to step lively to get out of the way of the one who is doing it.” It is a grand idea to have no sidesteppers in the American Fed- eration of Teachers, but Every MEMBER AN ORGANIZER. Misunderstanding Again or Misrepresentation Under date of July 10, 1934, the secretary of the Ohio State Cham ber of Commerce sent out a cir cular letter containing among others this false and malicious statement—— This is the same Lefkowitz who, ac- cording to a Bulletin of the patriotic organization known as Americaneers, quoting the “Red Network”, was dropped as a teacher from the New York schools for his untruthful and un- patriotic utterances. The records of the Board of Education of New York City would seem to be more reliable than the notorious and discredited “Red Network.” The facts regarding Dr. Lef- kowitz are that the paper carrying the false statement of his dismis- sal made a public apology for its libel; that he is now teaching in the public schools of New York; that he has been promoted and is now head of the Civics Department of the High School of Commerce; that he has been appointed to im- portant official committees by the Superintendent of Schools of New York City; and that he has been recognized and honored by the teaching body of New York City for his signal service to the schools and the community. One proven lie in any statement discredits the whole. It is, there- fore, not necessary to continue the case and prove the malicious false- hoods in this and other declarations from the same source. “A conservative is one who wor- ships dead radicals.” Reaction Seeks to Destroy Tenure At a time when the crisis con- fronting the nation demands a fearless, impartial but critical dis- cussion of basic economic and po- litical issues the beneficiaries of the status quo seek to prevent such discussion by their insidious attacks upon tenure. Without permanent tenure for the fully qualified teach- ers there can be no academic free- dom, and without academic free- dom there can be no real teaching and no true education. We may train littke human animals to do what they are told, but not to think. In the light of the woeful lack of critical social thinking upon the part of those who dominate our industrial life the insidious attacks upon tenure which have the im- plied support of the State Depart- ment, call for action. The teachers of New York State have been relying upon the State Department of Education and the Roard of Regents for protection. Their activities in these critical times indicate that not only have we been relying upon a very weak reed, but that the responsible State Department officials have failed to perform their full duties because they have failed to look upon prob- lems from the viewpoint of what is best for public education. Is not this serious indictment fully justified ? In January, 1933, the State Edu- cation Department and the Regents aided Governor Lehman to put over a 10% cut in State Aid by stating that such a cut would not affect the efficiency of education in this state. And yet that cut neces- sitated, in the richest city of the state, very serious educational cur- tailment that should never have been made, and an increase in pu- pil-load which made real teaching decidedly difficult and in many cases impossible. We could do nothing but expose the children to knowledge and call it, for want of a better name, “education”, In July, 1934, the Regents publicly suggested that the Legislature might empower localities to cut sal- aries below the present mandatory protective schedules to balance their budgets. The last step in the betrayal of education was recently taken by the State Department of Education which desires to substitute for life- tenure a fake and futile tenure for five and ten year periods. Such a substitute would destroy the basic purposes of tenure. If the State Department were honest it would frankly advocate a repeal of the tenure law in place of this substi- tute which deceives the public by leading them to believe that they are proposing tenure protection for teachers when in reality they are destroying it. Already one of our associate su- perintendents was quoted as advo- cating an increase in the probation- ary period to five years—a first step in undermining of tenure. Else- where the probationary period is two years or three years. We have a three-year period in New York State. If the supervisors cannot tell a good teacher within three years, they will be unable to do so within five years. What the times demand is a strengthening and not a weakening of tenure. The fight for free thought with- in education is on. This attack up- on tenure, coupled with the loyalty oaths, indicates a definite and de- termined plan to prevent a full and free discussion of debatable prob- lems when such discussion is most needed. —The Union Teacher, New York. In Defense of the Married Woman Teacher No evidence that justifies a poli- cy of discrimination against mar- ried women teachers as a class has yet been established, is the conclu- sion of Dr. David Wilbur Peters, after a careful study of the subject, recently published by Columbia University. Any blanket rule which arbitrarily eliminates any group of individuals as a class levies a high tariff on training and talent in his opinion. In reaching these conclusions, Dr. Peters stud- ied the records of 1,320 married women teachers and the same num- ber of single ones with comparable backgrounds, and teaching approxt- mately the same types of work. When the ratings of the two groups by their superintendents, supervisors, and principals were examined, the differences found were too small to be significant. Lae te eee ee ee ae SO ee ees Se 18 Another type of comparison in- cluding such items as years in the system, number of positions held, days of absence per year, credits for different types of advanced study—again revealed slight aver- age differences. Vested Interests in North Carolina Throttle Aca- demic Freedom The American Federation of Teachers and the Teachers Union regard academic freedom as indis- pensable to social and _ efficient teaching. This vital principle of education was violated at the behest of the Duke Power Company and the Reynolds Tobacco Company in Asheville, N. C., when, by the sub- terfuge of consolidation, they brought about the dismissal of Mr. Tom Hunt, a principal, because or his strong sympathy for labor and the unionization of teachers. An equally flagrant violation of academic freedom took place in Winston-Salem, N. C., when Mr. James M. Shields, a junior high school principal, incurred the en- mity of the anti-union tobacco 1n- terests and their banking and tex- tile allies, by the publication of his book “Just Plain Larnin” in which he assailed the suicidal policy of retrenchment in education. This policy was inaugurated at the be- hest of the wealthy predatory groups in the state who seek to es- cape their just share of public tax- ation and who want to confine edu- cation to the Three R’s for the public school children of North Carolina. The Central Labor Union of Winston-Salem states that Mr. Shields by his devotion to the interests of the children and co-operation with the parents had endeared himself to the working people comprising 90% of the population of that section, but that he had earned the hatred of the monied groups who engineered his dismissal. Organized labor regards the action of the school board as one that “threatens the verv foun- dation of Democracy and progress of our educational system by deny- ing our public educators the rights of free expression of their views and observations of any and all matters related to school methods.” We call upon the American Fed- eration of Teachers and its affili- ated locals and upon organized la- bor to wage a militant campaign to break the power of the tobacco oligarchy by forcing the restora- tion of those dismissed teachers to their position, and thus to free teachers from the paralyzing fear that is being engendered by the widespread attacks upon academic freedom. The Union Teacher, New York. Age Limit for Teachers The American school system is setting an age limit between thirty- five and forty years for the hiring of school teachers which threatens ta make many able teachers un- employable, Robert C. Woellner, assistant professor of education and executive secretary of the Board of Vocational Guidance and Placement at the University of Chicago, asserted at the Confer- ence of Administrative Officers of Public and Private Schools at the University of Chicago last sum- mer, We are setting between 35 and 40 years as the upper limit for the hiring of teachers, with no thought or feeling for the possible reality that chrono- logical age does not correspond with the individual’s functional growth o1 deterioration. Just when chronological age starts to affect adversely the faculties of a teach- er, we do not know. At best we think in terms of the average when dealing with individual cases, and play safe at the expense of society, in the loss of many competent workers. Before the board of education passes regulations setting upper age limits of teachers who may be employed, the superintendent should invite them to read Pitkin’s “Life Be gins at Forty,” and Thorndike’s “Adult Learning.” Present economic and social con- ditions have made the always dif- ficult task of selecting good teach- ers even more perplexing for su- perintendents, Professor Woellner said, particularly because political pressure is heavier to give incom- petents the jobs. When a vacancy occurs during those times, the friends and relatives of applicants, including board members, prominent citizens, politicians, and some- times one’s own colleagues, are certain to make recommendations. Many who are recommended in this way are not trained either for the specific position involved, or for any professional service in education. The reduction of the standards to the levels implied by such practices is distasteful to school admin- istrators Another difficulty in selecting good teachers is that the reduction of the teaching staff, especially in the small sized schools, places up- on each teacher a wider range of THE AMERICAN TEACHER courses and other activities to be supervised. According to the stand- ards set by the accrediting associa- tions, very few are equipped for as great a variety of subjects as many of the positions demand, Professor Woellner said. Quoting data of the National iducation Association, Professor Woellner told the conference that an increasingly large number of school systems are prohibiting the employment of married women, al- though investigations indicate that married women are just as effec- tive teachers as unmarried women, The regulations prohibiting the em- ployment of married women have been stimulated by the unemployment situation of the past several years. As public institutions, the schools always will be called upon to consider social situations aside from their own problems. How- ever, when school administrators must take many extraneous factors into ac- count, the first and primary purpose for which the schools are being operated becomes subordinated Professor Woellner also hit at the growing practice, particularly since the depression, of employing inexperienced teachers at low or no salaries. There is value to a young teacher in being gradually in- ducted, provided that he gets com- petent supervision, the Chicago educator said, but an additional year without pay, after four or five years of college, would prove an unsurmountable obstacle to many promising young men and women. Discrimination Against Married Women Of the 6117 women who were or had been married and who re- ported as to whether they had been discriminated against because of marriage, about one-fifth (1133 women) reported such discrimina- tion. Some of these married women reported discrimination against them in the teaching pro- fession, in clerical pursuits, in nursing, in trade, and in other lines. Several stated that they had received unfavorable treatment due to marriage in more than one pursuit, A few examples of teachers who had been discriminated against be- cause of marriage follow here: A woman of a little more than 30, a resident of a Middle Atlantic state, separated from her husband and with a 6-year-old son to sup port, felt “emphatically” that she had been discriminated against because of marriage in teaching, for which her training had pre 1 ER » be ind- C la- T as lany SSOr : ynal ssor that of the , al- that tec- nen. em- been ition tblic l be ions low- nust ac- for ated at rly ‘ing no ere re- iad use 133 ied ion in 1eT iad ent yne be- an tic nd ip- she nst ng, re- NoveMBER-DeceMBeR, 1934 pared her. She had taught for only one school year since her marriage in 1921. A woman of around 30 years, with one child and two adults de- endent upon her, and living in a West North Central State, had taught school for nine years before marriage. She had a _ bachelor’s degree in education, but since her marriage she had been able to secure onlv substitute teaching. A married woman about 35, liv- ing in the West, had held several teaching positions before 1928. At the time of filling in the ques- tionnaire she was in an entirely different line of work. In office work many women re- ported discrimination because of marriage. Such statements as these were noted on the question- naires in reply to the inquiry as to the field in which discrimination had occurred: Stenographic positions for pri- vate concerns. Clerical—bank. Secretarial work or office work —large corporations do not em- ploy married women. Telephone company will not em- ploy married women living with husbands. Railway office. Bookkeeping. Stenographic. Clerical work. City civil service and teaching. Of the women who had received unfavorable treatment because they were married, 935 reported as to family responsibility. Though more than one-fourth (26.3 per cent) had no dependents, as many as 689 women had one or more. Almost one-third (30.8 per cent) had the entire responsibility for other members of their families, well over one-half (55.6 per cent) shared the responsibility with others, and about 1 in 8 (13.6 per cent) were entirely responsible for some and only partly responsible for others—Bulletin of the Wom- en’s Bureau, No. 117, U. S. Dept. of Labor. PARTS REPAIRS ALL MAKES 25 Years Experience Send in your broken parts, or write, telling your troubles Most Complete Stock of Replacement Parts in U. S. PHONOGRAPH REPAIR SHOP We Repair All Makes 315 So. Wabash Avenue CHICAGO, ILL. Oppressed Teachers Need An “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” Says Writer Teachers have the most op- pressed occupation in America. They should be delivered from their “slavery.” Therefore, the time is ripe for an Uncle Tom's Cabin dealing with the teacher's life, writes Elsie McCormick in The New York World. People have been informed repeatedly concerning the petty chains which com- munities forge on her tastes and opin- ions, and some citizens have even gone so far in their sympathy as to make clucking noises with their tongues. Still, nobody has become greatly aroused about pedagogical slavery, for Americans have a way of not believing what they are told regarding any so- cial conditions until they see those con- ditions portrayed in fiction. As soon as the school teacher has her Uncle Tom's Cabin there will arise a mighty chorus to demand that she be given at least half as much personal freedom as the average office clerk. Meanwhile a good start has been made in propganda fiction by Lola Jean Simpson, author of Treadmill. As far as I know, it is the only American novel given over to the problems faced by a teacher in a narrow and nosy com- munity. I do not believe, however, that Tread- mill is quite the Uncle Tom’s Cabin for which pedagogues have been scanning the horizon. Gale Walters, the teacher whom gossip drives to her death, is neurotic and reckless enough to have merited a mausoleum in any profession. The book also presents a craven prin- cipal, afraid to permit any discipline of the popular football hero. There is, too, a somber janitress—a person with a great fondness for peering around after school hours and reporting her findings to the wife of the president of the board. Miss Simpson, who taught for many years in the California schools, men- tions a number of the annoying restric- tions met with in the small towns. If a teacher wears a red dress, she is asked by her principal to resort to quieter plumage. She must not be seen at the movies on school nights—this is a bad example for the children, and besides, the community expects her to be home correcting papers. To appear at a public dance is to invite complaints from every woman of larger girth and more dubious com- plexion. A teacher playing tennis on Sunday brings shrieks of protest from everybody, including all the Sabbath golfers on the Board of Education. Petty dominaton over the private lives of school teachers is quite general throughout the country. The _ idea seems to be that instructors must avoid all semblance of bad habits or a hu- man desire for gayety because of their possible example to the young. Yet parents, who have a much closer con- tact with our youth, are hardly at all inclined to mould their own lives ac- cording to the stern pattern that they hold out to teachers. 1Y _ A father who would go straight up into the atmosphere if he saw his son's manual training instructor edging into a speakeasy is likely to serve cocktails directly under the boy’s nose. A mother who deplores the influence of teacher's cosmetics on her little girl may have enough rouge on her bureau to paint a yard of frescoes. Probably this community baiting of educators has its roots in the same sadistic impulse that made people gather around the pillory. Besides, ladies with susceptible husbands give enthusiastic support to the idea that pretty school- mistresses should be compelled to wear long dresses and forego the help of rouge. In Santa Paula, Cal., pedagogues are still forbidden to bob their hair. In Hazelport, Mich., all teachers were or- dered last year to wear ankle-length skirts. In a town in Montana school ma’ams must sign a contract making their resignation effective if they have even one date on a week night. Men teachers meet an attitude which is almost as censorious. In addition they are given the idea that their profession is sissified and quite unworthy of any red-blooded citizen. There are few small towns in the country where a male instructor dare enter a poolroom for an innocent game of billiards. For him to go down the street smoking is equivalent to handing in his resignation, this being true in spite of the fact that most of his pupils’ fathers could give an imitaton of a factory chimney. Sometimes it hardly seems surprising that the teaching profession is losing members at the rate of more than 100,000 each year. The following pronouncement from New York City was given as official by a writer in The American Mercury: “In determining whether or not a teacher shall be promoted the Board of Super- intendents is obligated to take into ac- count the history of the teacher, the persons with whom he associates, and his attitude toward governmental ques- tions. “As a teacher he has not the same rights as other citizens to print, publish, or declare his thoughts and opinions. He may at any time emancipate him- self from the shackles of the depart- ment and exercise his full rights by re- signing his position.” It is indeed time Tom’s Cabin were written for the American teacher. I, for one, am look- ing forward to a scene in which Eliza crosses a Board of Education. that’ an Uncle And James M. Shields wrote Just Plain Larnin’. Perhaps not the needed Uncle Tom’s Cabin, but a vivid, forceful story of the auto- cratic control of the schools. The inevitable happened—he was fired. Also the tragic happened. Every teacher in the Unieed States of America did NOT rise up in protest. The first thing we want, is in- controvertible knowledge. This alone is a reliable basis for action. 2U Organized Labor Staunch Friend of the Schools F. Melvyn Lawson History, too often, has been writ- ten from the standpoint of the in- dividual leader who initiates or acts as the spearhead of great movements, Little stress or credit has been given to those groups in society who have supported such movements. This has been true of history writing in general, but par- ticularly has it been true of his- tories of education. Historical ma- terial on the public school in the United States .abounds with the names of Horace Mann. Henry Barnard, Calvin Stowe, and others, but small space is devoted to those legions in society whose faith and untiring support has made possible the above leaders’. immortal] achievements. One such group, whose loyal support of the move ment for free public schools has done much to make possible pres- ent democratic opportunities in America, is organized labor. Throughout the long struggle in this country for a greater distribu- tion of educational advantages, the laborer has been the partner of the educator. Nor has he been a silent partner. A study of the facts show that labor no less than the teacher has been the constant champion of the child. Labor proclamations and manifestos, from the beginning of the workers’ movement in this country to the present time, have been outspoken in their demands for the right of every child to the educational “good things” in life. The great modern movement for the organization of labor in the United States began during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Early pronouncements of labor’s opinions on_ educational matters were indelibly plain. “Our government is republican, our edu- cation should be republican also,” cried one of the first manifestos from the workers in Philadelphia during this period. In 1828, when the first voluntary association of workingmen was formed in Phila- delphia, education was made an important part of its program. Within a year, a workingmen’s committee which had been ap- pointed to study the whole State school system recommended that (1) public schools be erected in every locality in the State; (2) school boards be popularly elected, and (3) an “Open Ladder System of Schools” free to the children of rich and poor alike be established. Five years later, a great conven- tion of trades unions, meeting in New York City, urged “the neces- sity of an equal, universal, repub- lican system of education.” Labor did not merely pass res- olutions embodying its support oi public school training for all. It backed up such a principle at the ballot box, and used every avail- able means to bring about a real- ization of this democratic ideal. Candidates for state legislatures were supported or opposed accord- ing to their stand on educational questions, Governors and legisla- tures were petitioned to support those measures which would in- crease educational opportunities for the youth of the land. In fact, one historian maintains that a per- usal of source material on this question shows that the “vitality of the movement for tax supported schools was derived not from the humanitarian leaders, but from the growing class of wage-earners.”’ Consistent with this contention, Mary Beard claims that “to the agitation of organized labor in the 20’s and 30’s, we owe the beginning of the public school system.” Time witnessed an increase ot Labor’s demands in the education- al field. Immediately following ithe War of Secession labor came out strongly in favor of a com- pulsory school attendance law for “all children between 7 and 15 years for at least 10 months a year, and the furnishing of free text- books at State expense.” It was at this period in our history that the Industrial Revolution had taken a firm grip on the country and many of the social, economic, and the educational problems that are so acute today were beginning to nake themselves felt. As a result of the founding of the American Federation of Labor in 1881, the workers enlarged their political effectiveness to a hitherto unparalleled degre. Within 25 years after its inception, the Federation claimed more than a million and a half members. By 1920 the num- ber had grown to four million. A plank in labor’s platform now car- ried behind it considerable organ- ized political power. The politi- cian tuned in on the “Voice of Labor” with increasing regularity. Child labor laws, state compulsory school laws, vocational educational labor representatives enactments, THE AMERICAN TEACHER” on local school boards, and other similar statutes and activities are monumental evidence today of la bor political power in the educa. tional realm. But, labor went even further in its cooperation with the teachers of the public school. In 1916, it took into its ranks the American Fed- eration of Teachers for the “mu- tual advancement of those stand- ards of democracy in education for which labor has stood down the years.” Since this fusion of the organizations of the workers and the educators of America there has been more cooperation between these two groups than ever before, In the present crisis, organized labor has been the school’s staunch- est friend. Even in the face of un- told suffering to the working class in society, confronted with loss of income, home, and purchasing power, faced with complex eco- nomic problems not always clearly understood, labor has clung stead- fastly to its historic attitude to- ward the public school. It has fought valiantly for those political candidates who seek to maintain present educational standards in the midst of a devastating depres- sion, and it has challenged bitterly those office seekers pledged to cur- tail equal school opportunities for all. Labor supported the public school when the very idea of free education for everyone was con sidered radical and a mere vision- ary’s dream. Those who toil have lent not merely their voices to this cause, but also their votes, and they have ardently and _ consistently backed the public school movement in its ever broadening phases, nut merely in the sunny springtime ot prosperity, but also in the gioomy winter ot depression. In the words of the present president of the A. F. of L., “Labor requires funda mentally not a fuller pay envelope, but fuller opportunities. Labor seeks not a living, but a life. These aims are the high aims of educa tion and correspond to human as piration wherever it is nobly ex pressed.” To organized labor should go all the respect and gratitude that can be mustered by those who hold dear the continuation and ad- vancement of that great corner stone of American democracy—the public school. —The Teachers’ Voice, Sacramento, ther are - la uca- Tr in ‘Ss of took Fed- mu- and- | for the the and has veen ‘ore, ized nch- un- ‘lass s of sing eco- arly ead- omy »rds A. ope, bor 1ese 1Ca- as- ex- yuld ude who wer- -the . NovemBer-Decemper, 1934 Tintic Teachers Union Local 285 Replies to Dean Milton Bennion Eureka, Utah, September 28, 1934. Dr. Milton Bennion, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. Dear Dean Bennion: The members of the Tintic Dis- trict Teachers’ Union Local 285 of the American Federation of Teachers regret that it becomes necessary for them to denounce your stand upon the wisdom of teachers organizing and affiliating themselves with other groups of workers for mutual protection and benefit. Inasmuch as the teachers of the Tintic District are now or- ganized and affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Labor, they feel justified in mak- ing this attempt to formulate an answer to your recent article, printed in the Public Pulse Col- umn of the Salt Lake Tribune. A failure to make such answer might be interpreted as an admission of error on their part. It is their opinion that they have taken a step in the right direction; and further, they feel that all teachers of the state will join the American Fed- eration of Teachers when the per tinent issues have been presented to them in a fair and unbiased way. It is unfortunate when one takes upon himself the responsibility of guiding the teachers of the state without having first made a care- ful study of the principles govern- ing the American Labor Move- ment. That part of your discus- sion delivered to the teachers of the Granite School District dealing with the dangers of, and the ob- jections to, the use of the strike weapon, if used by teachers and when used by teachers, must have resulted from lack of information rather than from an understanding of the facts in the case. The Amer- ican Federation of Labor does not advocate strikes by teachers, neither does it tolerate strikes by teachers. To make use of this strike scarecrow would place a per- son in a position of one who sounds an alarm when there is no fire. Published in the Salt Lake Tri- bune under the heading Stand Clarified on Teachers’ Labor Unions, is your article containing the following: The Labor Union officials may claim the advantage of collective bargaining If such bar- for teachers’ federations. gaining is desirable, I see no reason why it may not be secured through the local teachers’ associations. The same is true of any other desirable activity on the part of organized groups of teachers. fhe above statements deal in generalities only. They fail to take into consideration that there are desirable activities that never have been and never can be attained by local, state, or national unaffiliated organizations. To be specific, consider the teach- er tenure problem. Perhaps you are not aware of the fact that most of the teachers in the state are in- secure in their tenure of teaching. A feeling of insecurity is detrimen- tal to the best interest of the teach- ers and of the children whom they teach. You, no doubt, will admit that an activity to bring about se- curity in teacher tenure would be desirable. The present condition relative to teacher tenure has ex- isted ever since the organization of schools in this state, yet nothing has been done to correct the situa- tion. True, tenure problems have been discussed and talked about and resolutions have been passed in favor of solutions for teacher tenure; yet nothing constructive has been accomplished by the un- affiliated groups of Utah. The Tintic District teachers maintain that the failure of these groups to cope with this question is due to a lack of power to accomplish the job, rather than to a lack of desire. If the above reason for failure is not true, it is just possible that teachers have been placing too much confidence in their leader- ship. Leaders who live in an atmo- sphere of security may have difh- culty in placing themselves in the position of teachers who are less fortunate. Probably these leaders have never had the experience of being unjustly dismissed from a teaching position by a bigoted su- perintendent or an_ unthinking board of education. Teachers have belonged to local, state, and na- tional organizations. They have paid their annual dues regularly. They have attended meetings re- ligiously. They have done all other things necessary to promote their own professional growth. Yet, through lack of power on the part of their organizations nothing has been done to solve the problem. (Refer to Utah Educational Re- view for September-October, 1933, pages 28-29.) 21 Power came to the American Federation of Labor through the force of numbers united in a com- mon cause. The weakness and in- ability of the Utah Educational As- sociation to accomplish results lies in its small enrollment of fewer than five thousand members, In addition, it stands alone and does not have the proper setup to get from other organizations the co- operation which is necessary to se- cure justice through legislation. Another vital problem that has never been satisfactorily solved in the interests of the underpaid teachers of the state is the salary problem. There are too many teachers. The old economic law of supply and demand _ operates against these teachers in their ef- forts to secure a living wage for their services. The market for this class of workers has long since reached the point of saturation. An additional increase in the num- ber of teachers is undesirable and detrimental to the best interests of teachers and of the public that they serve. ‘lhe state association, with its present setup of leadership, can never solve this problem. The eco- nomic interests of that part of the dominating leadership of the state association whose business it is to produce more teachers, naturally opposes a program that has for its aim the curtailment of teacher pro- duction. It would seem then that the interests of the masses of teachers of the state is diametri- cally opposed to the interests of that group of teachers whose busi- ness it is to turn out more teachers. The records will show that the few teacher producers of the state have held and now hold a dominating position of leadership in the state association. It is unreasonable to believe that these few leaders will practice self-abasement to the ex- tent of sacrificing their own eco- nomic interests in behalf of the teachers in the outlying districts of the state. Thus the lower paid teachers of the state stand power- less to get needed economic assist- ance through the state association. You spoke of the lack of neces- sity of being a member of two parallel organizations. You prob- ably have reference to the Utah Educational Association and the American Federation of Teachers. The teachers of the Tintic District maintain that these organizations are not parallel. The sphere of activity of the one organization is 22 necessarily academic and _ profes- sional; that of the other is eco- nomic. The Utah Education As- sociation has done much to raise educational standards of the state and to improve the professional status of its teacher members. Yet it has been practically powerless to cope with the economic betterment problem of the teachers. Following is a statement of the reasons why the Tintic teachers joined the American Federation of Teachers: First: The Utah Education As- sociation, with its less than five thousand members and its ineffec- tive leadership, has been unable to secure needed teachers benefits through state legislation. Second: Affiliation with the la- bor organizations of the state places the teachers in a position to fight the so-called State Taxpayers Association with something more than just talk. The Utah Educa- tion Association has talked con- siderably about the adverse work of this association against the schools of Utah, but nothing con- structive has been accomplished to combat their adverse influence. The State Federation of Labor, with its membership, is in a strong, stra- tegic position to meet and combat those predatory: organizations that have for their purpose the weaken- ing of the public school. Third: This affiliation places the teachers in a position to secure bet- ter cooperation not only with the labor organizations but also with the farm bureau and other wel- fare associations composed of the common people. Fourth: Teachers are laborers. 'n most cases they draw laborer’s salaries. They should therefore as- sociate themselves with other la- borers in a common cause. Fifth: Tintic teachers see an op- portunity to increase their useful- ness and effectiveness in commun- ity and state affairs by joining a group that is vitally and actively interested in the public schools and teacher welfare. Sixth: To be politically effec- tive the Tintic teachers think care should be exercised in electing men to the legislature who are favor- able to the public schools. This can be better accomplished by sit- ting in caucus and conference with those who have the interest of the schools at heart. At present the two local teach- ers’ organizations, those of Tooele and Tintic, have succeeded in get- ting the Utah State Federation of Labor behind Teacher Pension and Tenure Legislation, Pension and Tenure bills will be sponsored by the State Federation of Labor at the next session of the state legis- lature. The teachers of this district are enthusiastic about what has already been accomplished, and are opti- mistic about what will be done in the future. Respectfully yours, Tintic District TEACHERS’ Union 285, Heven B. O'Hare, President. GoLtpIE WHEELER, Secretary. Fads and Frills The New York Teachers Union and the Teachers Union Auxiliary held its eleventh annual October conference at the Hudson Guild Farm, Netcong, New Jersey, Oc- tober 5, 6, and 7. The chief topic of discussion was Fads and Frills in the Education Field. John L. Loftus, a district super- intendent in New York, spoke at the opening session on the philoso- phy, history, and present status of fads and frills. He declared: “The central tendency in American life is rapidly changing, and it is diffi- cult to say what the needs of the future will be.” He made a plea that the “schools become a minia- ture of the outside world.” Boris B. Bogoslovsky of the Dalton School developed the phil- osophical background and the dif- ference between civilization educa- tion and culture education. The Saturday morning session was devoted to a discussion of the obstacles to the introduction and development of fads and frills as presented by the organized oppost- tion of colleges, parents, educators, teachers, business, and industry. Dr. Agnes Snyder said of the op- position that three forces were at work, puritanism, the old discipline idea of education, and profit and economy. On the closing day a defense of the so-called fads and frills in education was made by Dr. V. T. Thayer, education director of the Ethical Culture Schools, The ac- tivities usually grouped under this designation, he declared, “repre- sent an effort to introduce more realistic material of learning and approaches to learning the so-called essentials in education.” He de- THE AMERICAN TEACHER clared that the fads and frills should be made an integral part of the old-time curriculum. It was very well for us in the old days to have children learn arithmetic by manipulating what were essentially verbal symbols either as a written of as an oral process. We could do this because the living experiences of chil- dren outside of the school caused them to deal concretely with objects that gave meaning and significance to the verbal symbols. 3ut when children live as they do today in an environment that impover- ishes them in this respect, it is essential that the school give them first-hand, concrete, active experiences that make possible building up arithmetical con- cepts—a sense of space relationships and the like—that are absolutely basic in understanding the processes of arith. metic. And in so far as we are genuinely concerned with thoroughness in educa- tion, we check ourselves on every hand to make sure that the verbal concepts taken in and expressed by the child do reach down into real experience. The function of non-academic experi- ence, in other words, in the classroom in so far as it affects a subject such as arithmetic, is to lay the basis for the later free movement of the child into the realm of this non-academic and the more purely intellectual. What is true of arithmetic is, of course, equally true of other subjects. Thorough education today centers very definitely upon utilizing plural routes for learning. The fads and frills con- stitute many of these routes. The arts, the crafts, music, dramatic play are merely many ways in which children secure and express for themselves ideas which deepen understanding, and in this sense vitalize academic education. He who believes a city child can dispense with these first-hand accesses to knowl- edge only deceives himself. What we have hiterto called fads and frills thus take on quite a different color. They are nothing less than op- portunities for each student to utilize his peculiar interests and capacity to the fullest possible extent. They mean for him the possibility of finding his life's satisfaction through the powers of dis- covering the many-sidedness and _ the numerous radiations of subjects hitherto standardized and rigid in its content. Other speakers included Alex- ander Fichandler, principal of Brooklyn School 189; Margaret Holmes, acting director of kinder- gartens of the Board of Education; Mrs. Henry S. Pascal, chairman of the governing board of the United Parents’ Association, and Mrs. Frances D. Pollak, chairman of schools committee of the union auxiliary. There were demonstra- tion groups in art, music, dramat- ics, and dancing. Life is a grindstone, and whether it grinds a man down or polishes him up depends on the stuff of which he’s made. [TERS rills t of - old netic ‘ally n or this chil- them gave erbal do »ver- ntial land, nake con- - and c in rith- inely juca- hand ~epts 1 do peri- ‘oom h as the into | the . of ects, very utes con- arts, are dren deas this He ense owl- and ‘rent Op- ilize » the for ife’s dis- the erto lex- of aret ler- on; nan the and nan ion tra- nat- and or the NoveMBeR-DeceMrer, 1934 Tuberculosis Levies a Tax Dr. H. E. Kleinschmidt Have you ever seen a tuberculo- sis “spot map” of your city? The enterprising health officer gener- ally has such a map in his office. Each black pin shows where a death from tuberculosis has taken place. The pins are usually found grouped into “nests” with here and there isolated pins scattered about. If you know your city you will recognize these places as the resi- dential quarters of the poorer people. Whether tuberculosis begets pov- erty or vice versa has often been the subject of unsettled debate. The practical fact is that both are in- terlocked tuberculosis causing poverty and poverty in turn caus- ing more tuberculosis. For 50 years we have known that the sole direct cause of this disease is a germ, the tubercle bacillus, and that this minute but destructive enemy is no respecter of persons, social position, or geography. Yet we know also that in the drama known as tuberculosis, the setting or environment is just as impor- tant as the leading actor himself Environment, by which we mean not simply the neighborhood in which one lives but one’s entire milieu, including housing, occupa- tion, nutritional status, mode of living, mental attitude, etc., largely determines whether the tubercle bacillus will gain the upper hand over bodily resistance, or will be kept down as an innocuous parasite by the superior defenses of the dy. The unholy alliance between pov- erty and tuberculosis affects not only those who have the disease, but all of us. Any merchant ap- preciates that people sleeping un- der the sod contribute nothing to civic welfare, produce no wealth, and buy no goods, (And their number is considerable, for tuber- culosis is still the leading cause of death during the age period 15 to 45.) But that platitude tells only half the story. For a tong period before the spade turns the earth, tuberculosis steadily takes toll both from the victim and from society. Tuberculosis is a long-drawn-out, enervating disease. Those who are doomed to struggle with it soon become handicapped in earning power. Luxury goods are out for them. If they are able to pay the doctor and the merchant for life’s bare necessities, they consider themselves fortunate. As_ time goes on, even these ordinary needs are beyond their economic reach. The burden then falls on harried creditors and kind friends. Strug gling against odds, the morale of the family suffers, careless habits creep in, the children become in- fected and stand a poor chance of overcoming the infection because of poor living conditions. Sooner or later the family is likely to be come a liability—a liability which must somehow be liquidated by the community whether it likes it or not. The widows and orphans left in the wake of the destroyer consti- tute another economic dead weight which no decent community would escape even if it could. Add to that the depression of spirit, the discouragement and the shadow oi futility which is bound to oppress not only the sick but also those who live in close contact with them, and we begin to see that tuberculosis is the supreme robber of civic well-being and economic progress. Work it out from another angle. It costs on an average of $1,656 to educate a boy through high school That is only a fraction of our in- vestment in a single future citi- zen; we invest in him also a sub stantial sum through public and private expenditures for play- grounds, police and traffic protec- tion, and the numerous citizen building advantages now provided for the youth, We expect the in vestment in this citizen to pay divi- dends. We expect him to bear his share of taxes, consume his quota of goods, and add his bit of com- mon wealth. If he is cut off be- fore his time, the investment col- lapses. One out of each 140 high school graduates dies of tuber culosis before the age of 25. Fortunately the vicious circle can be broken. Tuberculosis can be, and is, being conquered. For each three fatalities from tuber- culosis in 1900 there was only one in 1932 (in the United States). And there is good reason to believe that the number of persons sick with the disease has declined in corresponding ratio. The achieve- ment that has been accomplished thus far did not just happen. It has cost money; money for sana- toria and clinics, for health de- partments and public health nurses, money for education and propa- ganda. Thus far we have salvaged 23 untold wealth formerly robbed, confiscated, wiped out by the old enemy tuberculosis. The theft is still stupendous, but it can be stopped by a decent expenditure of energy and money. Modern methods of diagnosis and treatment sustain our faith that the disease can ulti- mately be wiped out. Intriguing as a discussion of the dollars and cents values of tuber- culosis control is, we are neverthe- less brought back to a consideration of the human values and costs that cannot be tangibly expressed. What about the sorrow of the widow, the wistful longing of the orphan, the frustrated hopes of the ambitious youngster looking for- ward to a career? These are spir- itual blights, the cost of which no one can calculate with the comp- tometer. And even though tuber- culosis never crosses my own threshold, or yours, these blights have their effects upon us. These problems inextricably bound up in the fight against tu- berculosis, are met with daily by the nurses, physicians, and other workers who compose the army that fight the disease throughout the year in every part of the United States under the banner of the Christmas Seal. Everyone can and should help in this fight by using Christmas Seals on their holiday letters and packages, Municipal Ownership “Does municipal ownership of utilities pay?” asks a Cedar Falls, Iowa, correspondent of “Labor,” and he continues: “Citizens of this city of 7500 inhabitants an- swer with a resounding ‘Yes!’ “They have just been voted free gas, electric, and water service for two months, because publicly- owned utilities supplying them, worth $750,000 and free of debt, do not need the revenue. “Mind you, this is in face of the fact that two reductions in the light rates were made last year, with rates already lower than are charged by private companies in other lowa communities.” From the lowest depths there is a path to the loftiest heights. The tendency to persevere, to persist despite hindrances, discourage- ments, and impossibilities, distin- guishes the strong from the weak. The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder.—Thomas Carlyle. BOOKS “There is no frigate like a book To bear us lands away.” —Emily Dickinson Charles A. Beard and George H. E. Smith The Macmillan Company, New Tue Future Comes. York, N. Y. 178 pp. $1.75. Re- viewed by Michael B. Scheler. The first chapter in The Future Comes is a brief but brilliant ex- position of the forces which led to the development of the present de- pression and which contributed to the fertilization of the ideas of the recovery program in President Roosevelt’s mind. The next few chapters are devoted to one of the simplest and clearest descriptions of the emergency acts introduced by the Roosevelt Congress. In a brilliant chapter on the Recovery Program the authors reveal in what manner and how far the Recovery Acts depart from the time-honored precepts of American institutions. One of these departures, of course, is the much debated Section 7a of the National Industrial Recovery Act which grants the right to labor to organize and select representa- tives of their own choosing, thus endowing the foremost principle of organized labor with the sanc- tion of the federal government. The other departures from our traditional rugged individualism may be seen in President Roose- velt’s legal appeal to the millions of profit-bent merchants and cap- tains of industry to cooperate with him in adjusting production, fix- ing prices, and in establishing pro- gressive working standards through the voluntary adoption of indus- trial codes. The capitalistic method of distribution of wealth is at- tacked by the Recovery Program's “price and wage fixing” provisions ; by its repudiation of the idea that “the misery of the unemployed poor is due to their improvidence” ; by its introduction of the novel and socialistic features of nationaliza- tion, such as control of banking, credit, public corporations, taxes upon processing, etc.; and in its “implicit call” to the American pub- lic for a changed conception of capital and labor relationship. In several prophetic passages (this book was written late in 1933) the authors forewarn us of the sources from which opposition may emanate first against the NRA —from banking circles. And the recent opposition on the part of famous bankers to the enacted Se- curity Act has confirmed the au- thor’s prophecy. While the authors regard Roosevelt’s program as “the beginning’ of a transition,” its course and destiny will be decter- mined by the unfoldment of causes and forces beyond our present grasp. At any rate, the authors leave no doubt in the reader’s mind that the best of the Recovery Pro- gram may only be perpetuated by the constant vigil of the progres- sive minds in our nation. PiIcTURESQUE Worpb OricGIns. From Webster’s New International Dictionary 45 Drawings. G. & C. Merriam Co. $1.50. sehind the forbidding name ‘etymology” there has been hidden a subject brimming over with the most unusual human interest. Let’s bring this really fascinating sub- ject out into the light for the bene- fit of the average reader! This is the purpose of the unusual book which recently was published by G. & C. Merriam Company, Pic- turesque Word Origins. How many people realize that the word neighbor once meant “a near-by farmer”; that the broker was originally “a vendor of wine” that curfew means literally “cover the fire’; that the original candi- date was “one clothed in white” that assassin meant “a drinker of hashish?” These are only a few of hundreds of picturesque word origins revealed in this extraordi- nary book. The “life words will reader as a ‘ stories” of come to the fascinating novelty. Picturesque Word Origins will open a new world of entertain- ment and information to all intel- ligent people. English average Horry Book TrRatts. Hobbyhorse book shows for boys and girls were a feature of the 1934 Book Week program in many schools, public libraries, and book- shops. The dates of this sixteenth observance of the Week were No- vember 11th to 17th. There has been a great deal of discussion recently of hobbies for grown-ups, to fill up new leisure hours, but less attention has been given to children’s hobbies. The great variety of special interests followed by the younger generation of hobby riders were shown in the Book Week displays, along with the informational books which are THE AMERICAN TEACHER indispensable aids in pursuing q favorite hobby in all its ramifica- tions. Books of science, history, travel, and fiction also were shown tales of the sea and the fascinat- ing byways of the history of navi- gation flanking books on ship model building, for instance, with examples of student craftmanship in this field. Several booklists which will be of interest in connec- tion with school reading programs throughout the year are: interesting The Bookshelf for Boys and Girls, list of books selected by Clara W. Hunt, Superintendent of Children’s Work, Brooklyn Public Library, Ruth G. Hop- kins, librarian of the Polytechnic Prep- aratory School, Brooklyn, Franklin K. Mathiews, librarian of the Boy Scouts of America, and Evelyn O’Connor, Boys’ Life. Order from R. R. Bowker Co., 62 West 45th St., New York. 5 cents. Inexpensive Books for Children, titles priced at one dollar or less. Grouped according to ages, three to eight and nine to fourteen years, and under sub- ject headings. Prepared by the Child Study Association of America, 221 West 57th Street, New York. 10 cents. The Choice of a Hobby, a descriptive list of books offering a stimulating guide to hobbies and the wise use of leisure time, by Anne Carroll Moore, Superin- tendent of Work with Children, New York Public Library. Order from F, E. Compton & Co., Compton Building, 1000 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. 5 cents. The Newbery Medal Books, 1922-1933: Their Authors, Illustrators, and Pub- lishers, by Muriel E. Cann. Biograph- ical and descriptive sketches forming an interesting survey of distinguished chil- dren’s books of the present day. Or- der from Public Library, Boston, Mass, 25 cents: Man’s Long each country’s Climb, books showing contribution to the growth of knowledge and human achievement Order from The Book- shop for Boys and Girls, 270 Boylston St.. Boston, Mass. 10 cents. 7 Books of the Year for selection made by the Book Committee of the Child Study Association of America, 221 West 57th St., New York. Order from Association. 10 cents. (Ready Dec. 1, 1934.) Books for Home Reading for Senior High Schools, and Leisure Reading for Jumor High Schools. Order from The National Council of Teachers of Eng- lish, 211 West 68th St., Chicago. 2 cents each Children, a Who Wins anp WHO Maynard C. Krueger. (Issues of the Day Series, No. 4.) Chicago: Socialist Party of America, 10c. Under inflation, says this pamph- let, “prices go up the elevator while wages climb the stairs.” And while the farmer is given some help in the reduction of his debts, “‘infla- tion will raise both his buying and selling prices and will not eliminate INFLATION LOosEs ? -ER Eg @ hca- ory, oWn nat- avi- ship vith ship lists nec- ams rirls, ‘unt, ork, lop- rep- | K, outs nor, vker . = itles iped and sub- hild Vest tive uide sure rin- Vew 1. F, ling, »nts, 933: »ub- iph- y an ~hil- Or- ‘ass. ving the man 0k- ston a ttee of ork. nts. nior for The ‘ng- NoveMBER-DecemMper, 1934 the difference between the two. This means that the farmer would get only a temporary relief from his debts because they would in- evitably pile up again.” The au- thor is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago who earned part of his college expenses by raising prize winning pigs. The pamphlet is a_ broadside against money “tinkering” from the socialist viewpoint. “Inflation has been tried in practically every country in Europe. It has never succeeded in solving a depression problem.”” And again, “There is no sound system of money and credit in an economic system which is unsound at its very base.” He quotes the English economist G. D. H. Cole: “Our task is to socialize the machinery of production, and to bring the fixing of both prices and incomes firmly under socialist con- trol.” Aside from its argumentative passages, the pamphlet gives a very clear explanation, in question and answer form, of exactly how changes in money affect the price level. Such questions .are con sidered as: “What causes infla- tion? Is it caused by going off the gold standard? What function did gold serve? Is inflation caused by putting more money into circula- tion? Do increased government expenditures lead to inflation? Can the budget be balanced by inflation ? Will the remonitization of silver bring about inflation?” PEOPLE AND Arnold THe AMERICAN THEIR GOVERN MENT. J. Lien and Merle Fainsod, Appleton-Century Co. $5.00. Reviewed by Mark Starr. To sum up the administrative machinery of a variegated conti- nental area such as the United States and to supplement that de- scription with an analysis of how public opinion is created and hu- man consent engineered and with concrete suggestions as to how lo- cal, state, and federal government can be improved is a big and diff- cult job even in a book of over 600 pages. Fortunately this book is designed not only for students in introductory college courses but for the “active electorate,” and _ its style and manner of treatment save it from being the usual dull and Stodgy text in this topic of gov- ernment administration. Neither the American people nor their gov- ernment is static. They have been and are now in process of growth. The authors realize this and their book begins with an analysis of the origins of the population, how it grew, and what it does to make a living. Also to the authors’ credit is their international ap- proach: Furthermore, since in the world of today there is in fact no national isola- tion, the inclusion of a study of the contacts of the American people with other peoples and of the aims that are common fo all peoples seems absolutely necessary if any balanced sense of reality is to be obtained. Similarly true must sound to all but Nazi morons their assertion in a discussion of population growth: The battle of the scientists with their microscopes and antitoxins against life- destroying bacteria and disease breeders have been wars far more romantic and useful than those fought by armies and navies. And they might well have added that the fight against cancer, tuber- culosis, yellow fever, and the like is waged by conscious international cooperation. In their picture of the economic position of the majority of Amer- icans, the authors give official fig- ures to show the gross inequality of wealth and income between the two nations of rich and poor, and they obviously favor unemploy- ment insurance and other reforms to ease the lot of the unemployed. Not everywhere in their text- book are the authors on the side of the angels. They gush over the Imperialism of the United States as “one of the most romantic tales in all history.” Their own account of the expansion of the American Empire contains such incomplete descriptions as “In 1904 the Re- public of Panama ceded” the Canal zone. Colombians would certainly wish to add some unromantic de- tails to this “ceding.” In describing the American in vestments in Cuba and the Philip pines there is no attempt to link foreign investments with the pov- erty of the masses at home and the disturbing increase in naval arma ments shown elsewhere in the book. The general viewpoint of the book behind its competent descrip- tion of the courts, and of the legis- lative and executive bodies from the tiny precinct to the federal gov- ernment and the president—is that of liberalism in its best sense. The authors with a too easy optimism 25 dismiss Fascism and dictatorship as a mere backwash to the forward tide of democracy and enlighten- ment. If government and party suffer from corruption, they imply the electorate must educate itself and clean it away. Given free dis- cussion of all ideas, the right ones will survive. Oddly enough the authors, who do make the vital connection be- tween the frontier and democracy, do not recognize that in its decay the capitalist system openly scraps the parliamentary game and its lip service to democracy. Contrarily Mr. Lien and Mr. Fainsod paint an inspiring picture of how public opinion will be turned upward and onward. Take for example what they expect from the ideal teacher: The teacher is not only a storehouse of information upon which the student draws, but he has the much more re- sponsible task of determining the atti- tude of mind with which the student will approach his problems. The good teacher not only presents facts objec- tively and without bias; he encourages in his students an open-mindedness and a critical attitude toward all views and opinions, whether popular or unpopular. Teachers who treat the student as a receptacle into which to pour ready- made arguments may produce docile and obedient servants of the state, but they are killing the spirit of free in- quiry, creative citizenship, and mental independence upon which great civiliza- tions are built. Only a strong American Federa- tion of Teachers, immeasurably stronger than it is at the present moment, would permit such an ideal teacher to function for long: only a society free from exploita- tion could encourage this desired critical attitude. But that takes us into the question of the American workers and their own future gov- ernment and outside this book. HANDBOOK OF Revo._utions. Roger Shaw. Review of Reviews Cor- poration, N. Y., 1934. 175 pp. $1. Reviewed by Michael B. Scheler. Revolution is a term that gen- erally conjures awe and is recoiled from. Yet there is hardly an im- provement in the modes and man- ners of human life which was in- stituted without a revolution. Sim- ilarly not a single institution or society known to history has been introduced without revolutionary upheavals: without the destruction of preceding institutions or socie- ties. In a word, in perusing care- fully the pages of this Handbook, we become aware that revolutions 26 are the birth-pangs of human evolution and progress. The Amazons, whose existence is still a debatable question, pre- sumably revolted against the rule of the maie sex and established an independent feminine kingdom in which the male played a menial role. Next in recorded history came the revolt of the gladiators in the year 73 B.C., led by Sparta- cus. They rose against the intol- erable conditions of the arena and “spread a red terror throughout the Italian peninsula.” Though they were cowed into submission, their trail was taken up by the Sparta- cans of Germany in 1919. Our present movement against the em- ployment of children in mines and sweatshops had its beginnings in the Children’s Crusade of 1212, when thousands of children, roused by a sudden religious impulse and fervor, descended upon Palestine from all parts of Europe “to aid the ‘Seigneur Christ’ against the paynims who beset him.” Then came the numberless peasant ris- ings of the Middle Ages which re- leased the forces that doomed feu- dalism in later centuries. In 1642 the Puritans began to stir against the rigid formulas of orthodox re- ligion and they set in motion forces which were destined to free the human mind from the shackles of superstition and from the fears of man-made gods. In 1750 the Industrial Revolution raised its head and released the arrested human emotions and _ capacities stifled by centuries of ignorance and dogma. In 1775 the American Revolution extended the vital ef- fects of the Industrial Revolution to the political and social life of a great portion of mankind. In 1789 the French Revolution in- jected the same liberating forces into the life of a good part of Europe. In 1848 nearly all of Eu- rope was in the grip of revolutions and for the first time the modern proletariat raised their voices against the economic injustice of infantile capitalism. The wave of revolt spread to Latin America where many peoples pined for cen- turies under the oppression of for- eign despots. One after another they rose, sundered apart the shackles of foreign domination, and established independent repub- lics. In 1863 Abraham Lincoln plunged the American nation into a fratricidal war against the last strongholds of American feudal- ism, chattel slavery, and thus opened the country wide for the operation of the forces of the In- dustrial Revolution. In 1871 the proletariat of France made its first attempt to seize control of the state in the Paris Commune. They failed, but in their failure the leaders of the Bolshevik revolution in November, 1918, learned many a valuable lesson. In 1911 the slumbering yellow race showed signs of political awakening in the Chinese Revolu- tion. In March, 1917, the most powerful stronghold of monarch- ism in Europe received its fatal blow in the first Russian Revolu- tion of March, 1917, and the firs serious casualty sustained by mod- ern capitalism occurred in the sec- ond Russian Revolution of No- vember, 1917. In 1922, however, the pendulum swung backward. The cause of human freedom and justice received a serious setback in the Fascist Revolution of Italy, and it suffered another rude shock in the Hitler Revolution of 1933 in Germany. But that the forces of democracy are still vital may be seen in their revival in the Spanish Revolution of 1931, despite the vi- rulence of the wave of fascist re- action throughout the world and despite Spain’s proximity to Fas- cist Italy. And even the Fascist revolutions, though distinguished by distinctly reactionary tendencies, seem to continue the revolutionary trend of earlier revolutions by di- recting their attacks on time-hon- ored traditions and practices of greed, profit, and human exploita tion in industry, and by substitut ing state control for private initia- tive in the production and distribu- tion of commodities. Mr. Shaw concludes his lucid sketches of his- tory’s revolutions with a brief ac- count of the Roosevelt Revolution of 1933 which, though bloodless, has initiated industrial reforms and social principles which are decided- ly revolutionary in theory and ap- plication. And so we come to be aware of the fact that revolution is not a term to recoil from but signifies the signpost of the epoch- making eras and changes in the history of mankind. As Mr. Shaw says in the concluding remarks of his book: Somehow humanity moves on through the years despite a host of disturbing factors. If one is inclined to doubt it, let him look backward over the course of revolutions. He will discover that each one made its unique contribution in THE AMERICAN TEACHER®™ the long march to happier times. Spar. tacus, and Gandhi, and Robespierre, and Lincoln did not live for nothing. Crom. well, and Lenin, and Hitler, and Dr Sun can not be accused of haying wasted their lives. Wars between nations, save _ those waged for national independence, haye ever been futile affairs; but revolutions have generally proved to be beneficial despite reigns of terror and committees of public safety. Lands have been freed, women and slaves have been emanci- pated, social classes have won for them- selves greater rights. There is still much to be done, but things are on the move It is safe to predict that the year 2,009 will be a vast improvement over the not- so-bad year of 1900. New F eotures for SCHOOL LIFE Four pages more of important information will appear every month this year in ScHoor Lure, monthly journal of the Federal Office of Education. Union of the Federal Board for Vocational Education and the Of- fice of Education makes ScHoot Lire the official mouthpiece for the principal Government activities in the interest of education. Following features of ScHoor LIFE service are announced for the coming year: A month to month account of the Federal Emergency Education Program. I-duator’s Bulletin Board—list- ing new visual aids, educational radio programs, forthcoming meet- ings, new Government publications, maps and films useful to teachers, theses, pamphlets, and books. Aids for debaters: Since Federal Aid is the high school debate sub- ject Scnoor Lire will supply use- ful references and data. Other Countries Tell Us—a ser- ies of artices based on reports to the office of Education. Vocational Summary—notes and news of vocational education in agriculture, trade and _ industry, home economics, commercial sub- jects, and rehabilitation. Schools Report — news _ from State and city school systems re ported to the Office of Education. C. C. C. Education—Reports of progressive practices in the camps, and bulletins to camp educational advisers. The new Commissioner of Education, J. W. Studebaker, has just been sworm into office. His policies and program as they develop will, of course, be reported in ScHoo. LIFE Due to the increase in the number of pages and increase in printing costs the Superintendent of Documents, Govern ment Printing Office. has announced 4 new price for ScHoo.t Lire; 10 cents per copy, $1 per year for 10 issues. Spar- . and ‘rom- Dr asted those have tions ‘ficial ittees reed, anci- hem- much nove, 2,000 not- dL ‘tant very IFE, leral for Of- [OOL the S in 100L - the of tion list- onal 1eet- ons, ers, eral sub- use- ser- s to and in try, sub- rom re- 10n. ; of nps, onal tion, yorn n as rted r of . the ern- da ents LER” NovemBer-DecemBer, 1934 News from the Field —_—_—— New Locals The American Federation of Teach- ers welcomes into membership and its crusade for school protection and so- cial betterment 16 new locals. Baltimore Teachers Union...Local 340 Mercer County, W. Va., Fed- eration of Teachers...... Local 341 Wyoming County, W. Va., Federation of Teachers...Local 342 Perry County, Ark., Teachers ER Local 343 Delaware County, Pa., Fed- eration of Teachers....... Local 344 Parma, Ohio, Federation of I teh, Bi als we gee Local 345 Union of Chicago Teachers of Adult Education....... Local 346 DeKalb County, Ga., Teach- ere Association ...........- Local 347 Jordan, Utah, Chapter....... Local 348 Bay Counties, Cal., Federation TEESE onc ccsetcnsae Local 349 Raleigh County, W. Va., Fed- eration of Teachers. . Blea e ee Local 350 Provo, Utah, Federation of a. Lae es a Local 351 Salt Lake City Federation of a tee Local 352 New Orleans Classroom Teachers Federation ...... Local 353 Stout Institute, Wis., Teach- ers Association............. Local 354 Park City, Utah, Federation of EE en a ne ae Local 355 New York Local 5 The New York Sun reports as fol- lows on the program of the New York Teachers Union. Opposition to any attempt to make alertness courses a condition of continu- ing tenure for teachers, as well as to any other effort to weaken permanert tenure, is one of the main features of the legislative program for the coming year approved by the delegate assembly of the Teachers Union, meeting at the Manhattan Industrial High School on “7 26. n this connection the proposal made by the State Department of Education to transfer teacher-clerks from the juris- diction of the education law to that of the civil service law will be fought by the union, it was decided. It was pointed out that such transfer might be an en- tering wedge in the attempt to weaken the tenure rights now held by teachers. Another feature of the legislative pro- gram approved yesterday calls for op- position to a subway tax and to other proposed methods for financing unem- ployment relief in the city and substitu- tion of a three-point program of taxation. (The tax proposals submitted are: A city-wide graduated income tax double the amount of the income tax now proposed. A tax on public utility profits above 6 per cent. A tax on rentals of more than $2,000 a year.) In addition to the fight to maintain permanent tenure and to reorganize the tax structure, that part of the union's legislative program adopted at this meet- ing includes a continuation of the attack on the city’s agreement wrth the bankers and attempts at further modification of Same. The balance of the organization's legislative program, as prepared by Dr. Abraham J. Lefkowitz, its legislative representative, which lists among other Proposals a campaign to restore 1932 Salary schedules and end all furloughs, was not acted on for lack of time, but was referred to the executive board for its action. That section of the adopted program which deals with tenure rights of teach- ers proposes to work for repeal of the Ives loyalty oath law, enactment of legis- lation giving teachers the right of appeal to the courts from a decision of the Com- missioner of Education, and modification of local by-laws with respect to hearings before the Board of Education. The tax program of the union, In ad- dition to the suggestions for financing un- employment relief, includes opposition to the 1 per cent gross income tax on the ground that it is a “bad” tax and that coupling it specifically with education tends to bring education into disrepute. Sacramento Leos 31 Sacramento Local 31 is publishing the seventh volume of its paper, THe TEACHER'S Vo‘ce, this year. The pub- lication is attractive in form and most interesting and valuable in content. It is now financially a self-sustaining pub- lication. The article by President Murphy, The More Wires You Put On the Stronger The Fence Will Be, is a clear and logi- cal argument for the sound, effective organization of teachers, and for sup- port of Local 31 and the American Federation of Teachers. Organized La- bor Staunch Friend of the Schools by F. Melvyn Lawson is reproduced else- where in this number of the AMERICAN TEACHER. The major issues of the political campaign were discussed by F. Melvyn Lawson of the Social Studies Dept., Sacramento High School, at a meeting of the local on October 11. Secretary Hanson was the guest of the local and spoke of the educational and social pro- gram adopted at the American Federa- tion of Labor Convention in San Fran- cisco. She stressed the understanding and interest of the Convention in the public school crisis, its continuous and consistent support of public education, and its opposition to school retrench- ment resulting in limitation of educa- tional opportunity, the lowering of edu- cational standards, and the reduction of salaries and living standards. She spoke particularly of the concern of the A. F. of L. delegates for the maintenance of educational standards. Memphis Local 52 Approximately 300 teachers and prin- cipals turned out for the open meeting of the Memphis Teachers’ Association, Local 52, on October 16 to hear ad- dresses by Prof. J..L. Highsaw, of Tech; Congressman-elect Walter Chandler; J. J. Simpson, member of the school board; and Miss Genevieve Oakley and Vivian Poindexter, members of the union. The meeting was held in the Tech High School auditorium. Mr. Simpson’s address was one of the highlights of the gathering. He told the meeting that in his opinion every teacher in the city sould join the fed- eration, which is affiliated with the Memphis Trades and Labor Council and the American Federation of Labor. In a forceful address, Mr. Simpson outlined the benefits derived from trade unionism by both employer and employe. Mr. Highsaw pointed to the need of federal aid for schools in his ad- dress. 27 talked of the local tax situation as it affects Congressman-elect Chandler the school system. He said that the payment of back taxes by property owners would relieve the schools of their financial worries. An aggressive program, as outlined by the union, was explained in detail to the meeting by Miss Poindexter, who is president of the Association. The tenure bill, which will provide for the continued employment of teach- ers after they have given satisfactory service to the system for a number of years, was explained by Miss Oakley. Herbert Drane, chairman of the open meeting, presided. Others on Mr. Drane’s committee were Misses Virginia Alexander and Helen Hamilton. The place that Local 52 has made for itself in the civic and educational life of Memphis is indicated in the following from the Memphis Press— Scimitar, a leading newspaper of the South. Memphis Teachers’ Association Courageous, untiring, the members of the Memphis Teachers’ Association have worked thru the years to safeguard the interests of not only themselves, but every teacher in the city school system. Small in numbers but sane-thinking and hard-working, they have accomplished much. But other teachers have stood by too long silently cheering the efforts of this comparatively small group. They've been too willing to let the association fight their battles for them. Now it’s up to them to attend the open meeting of the association at Tech High tonight and show how they stand on these questions: 1. The tenure bill, which would make a teacher’s position permanent after three years to five years’ satisfactory service. 2. Federal and state aid for schools. 3. Restoration of teachers’ salaries to the 1930 level. San Francisco Locals 61 and 241 On the evening of Friday, October 5, the San Francisco Federation of Teachers extended gracious hospitality and warm welcome to the A. F. delegates to the A. F. of L. convention, President Lowry and Secretary Hanson, in a dinner at the Maison Paul, Super- intendent Lee, and Deputy Supts. Cloud, Hardy, and McGlayde warmly wel- comed the visitors. President G. M. Klinger presided in his usual happy manner and Ray D. McCarthy, chairman of arrangements, made the occasion one perfect in all its details. The gathering was large and enthusiastic. Mr. Lowry and Mrs. Hanson spoke on the growth and program of the A. F. of T. On Monday, October 8, the San Fran- cisco locals held an open meeting in the beautiful Health Auditorium, at which Mr. Lowry and Mrs. Hanson were the guest speakers. The Federation of Elementary Teach- ers, Local 241, gave a very delightful dinner for the National ofhcers at the Hotel Whitcomb on Wednesday, Octo- ber 10. The locals have established a Credit Union under the direction of C. A. Davis. The chief item on their agenda for the year is tenure legislation. J. M. Graybiel is legislative chairman. The opening of an office in the busi- ness section is being considered. 28 Brookwood Local 189 The importance of social legislation as a weapon for the labor movement was emphasized by Dr. Abraham Epstein, of the American Association for Social Security at the opening exercises of Brookwood Labor College at Katonah, N. Y. Epstein traced the change in atti- tude of the American labor movement to social insurance, showing that the tradi- tional reliance upon purely economic pressure is being wisely modified to meet the need for social security. “Whereas the A. F. of L. formerly opposed insurance in the hope that its absence would strengthen workers’ loy- alty to unionism,” Epstein said, “now it recognizes the importance of govern- mental protection if strong unions are to be built. Workers are less willing to risk the dangers of unionism and strikes when they lack the protection of old age pensions and other forms of social se- curity.” People today are more willing to strike, Epstein asserted, because of a hope that the sympathy of the government is with workers in their efforts to organize. “But before an effective trade union move- ment can be built,” he added, “workers must be protected against the perils of social insecurity.” In both Germany and England, he said, the trade unions grew rapidly after the enactment of social insurance. In the drawing up of a program of so- cial insurance, Epstein said, an apprecia- tion of realities is necessary. “It is better to build slowly and soundly than to build fantastically or to dream without build- ing at all.” If social legislation is to be of any value, he asserted, it must build a better world for labor. Workers from 23 different trades, 17 different unions, 16 states and 2 foreign countries make up the fourteenth resi- dent student body to be enrolled at trookwood. Most of the present stu- dent body have held important offices in their unions. All have participated actively in the labor struggles of the past year. Mark Starr, Extension Di- rector of the college, announced to the students in the resident training course that hundreds of workers were being enrolled for the opening of the field branches of Brookwood in New Jersey and Pennsylvania this week, indicating the growing demand for workers’ edu- cation. James H. Maurer, veteran labor leader of Pennsylvania, and Fannia M. Cohn, of the International Ladies Garment Workers, another pioneer in the work- ers’ education movement, both Labor members of the board of Directors of Brookwood, told the new students that the American labor movement faced a challenge this year calling for an un- usual degree of thoughtful preparation and militant action. Leo Sitko, Chairman of the Fellow- ship of Brookwood Graduates, warned the assembled workers that entrance to the Brookwood family involved a sol- emn obligation to fight for a social order run by and for workers. “Brookwood has always stood for a genuine new deal for workers. As a non-factional school it does not side with any faction in the labor movement, but is open to all who want to train themselves for construc- tive service. While in the classroom we examine, analyze and criticize present labor policies and tactics, both on the economic and political front.” Tucker P. Smith, the Director of s,rookwood, announced the addition to the faculty of Dr. Lazare Teper, former- ly of Johns Hopkins University, who will teach Economics; Dr. Joel Seid- man, who will handle Trade Union History; and John Martindale, who has been placed in charge of the Brookwood branches in the Pittsburgh area. ° Philadelphia Local 192 Local 192 is pleased to report several successes in the six months since its reorganization. The growth in member- ship has been unusual. We are con- fident of continued expansion in the coming year. Largely as a result of our efforts, the price of milk to public school children in Philadelphia has been reduced from four cents to three cents a half pint. A delegation sent by our Union to Chester was instrumental in securing the renewal of the contracts of fifty negro teachers in that city We have obtained a large number of signatures to our petitions for the restoration of our salaries to the 1933 schedule. This campaign is still in progress. \ banquet held in June as part of our extensive membership drive was attended by approximately three hun- dred teachers who were moved to en thusiastic applause bv the © stirring address of Dr. Edouard Lindemann. The union has already planned a full roster of activities for the coming sea- son. An intensive campaign is undet way to secure public sentiment for the restoration of our salaries. We are undertaking the organization of citizen groups to cooperate with us in our fight against retrenchment in the public schools. A series of radio broadcasts is being projected in the course of which a number of prominent speakers will address the public on maters of vital interest. Various committees are at work on the following problems: t< 1. The achievement of real tenure 2. The Retirement System. 3. The School Code. 4. The drawing up of a question naire to be presented to all political candidates, to determine their stand on matters of concern to teachers. We expect to report continued prog- ress in the very near future. Milwaukee Local 252 The growth of the Milwaukee Public School Teachers Union has been some- what slow. There are several reasons for this. Milwaukee teachers have fared rather well during the present depres- sion. Salaries were cut five per cent in 1932, and an additional six per cent in 1933. Promotions to higher salary classifications were stopped. However, the yearly salary increases were con- tinued, so only teachers at the maximum of the various salary classifications suf- fered appreciable pay cuts. No teachers have been dismissed. Teaching loads have been only slightly increased. Added to this was the stand taken by the school administration. High school teachers were advised by the THE AMERICAN TEACHER High School Principals’ Association not to join any organization affiliated with Organized Labor. The legislative com- mittee of the Union took this up with the Board of School Directors and after some months of effort backed by the local labor organizations and mem. bers of the Board that were sympa- thetic, succeeded in having the Board pass a resolution that no teacher was to be discriminated against for j ining any teacher organization. This resolution lifted one bar to membership recruitment. However, most teachers in Milwaukee were already members of local teacher organizations and did not feel that another was necessary. Events taking place during the past summer seem to have brought about a change of sentiment. The Union felt that the time was right for an attempt to restore the pay cuts, and made plans accordingly. The Milwaukee Federated Trades Council, with which the Union is affiliated, was appealed to for help. This organization went on record as being 100% in favor of a full restoration of pay cuts for teachers The secretaries of the Wis- consin Federation of Labor and_ the Milwaukee Federated Trades Council and Mr. DeBriae and Mr. Fitzpatrick of the Union appeared before the f- nance committee of the Board asking for pay cut restoration. The committee, after much stalling, voted three to two to recommend to the Board a one per cent restoration. Fina] disposition would be made by the Board in four days. The legislative committee of the union then canvassed the indivdual members of the Board. Seven directors readily agreed to vote non-concurrence on the finance committee’s report and to sup- port a six per cent restoration which was to be proposed at the Soard meet- ing. OF the other eight directors, one refused to be seen, others were non- committal, and only one seemed to give the matter serious consideration, How- ever, when the matter of restoration came to a vote this director and one other decided to allign themselves with the seven already in favor and the vote was nine to six in favor of a six per cent restoration in salary cut. The the efforts of the Union in securing this restoration and the fact that its efforts were whole heartedly backed by a large, well or- ganized group of laymen created a fa- vorable impression. A considerable in- crease in membership is looked for in the immediate future. The Union is at present engaged in success oft an attempt to secure a revision of the Social Science curriculum. This will be described in a short article now in preparation. Other interests of the or- ganization will be described in subse quent news letters. SEVERIN SWENSEN, Press Secretary. N. D. State College Local 265 The North Dakota State College Lo- cal has announced that its main ob- jective this year is to contact people of the state for the purpose of acquaint- ing them with the needs of the teach- ers and the schools and the usefulness of the organization to teachers, schools, and community. Dr. Herbert C. Han- son, secretary of Local 265, writes, “Many of us believe that the A. F. of HER m not with com- with and, ed by mem- yMpa- Soard * Was ining r to most ready itions was uring ught was > pay The uncil, was ation favor > for Wis- the uncil trick e fi- ‘king ittee, two per ‘ould lays. nion ibers adily the sup- hich 1eet- one non- give low- tion one with vote per the and ole- ofT- fa- in- r in y. Lo- ob- of int- ch- ess ols, an- es, ” NovemBer-Decemrer, 1934 T. is the best organization to meet these needs.” The first meeting of the Local was held October 17, at which time com- mittees were organized and a program for the year adopted. Cleveland Local 279 Support of Cleveland Local 279 has been given to school, city, and county levies which will be on the November ballot. At its meeting at Metal Trades temple on October 11, the teachers voted en- dorsement of the levies and opposition to the proposed constitutional amend- ments limiting the amount and use of the gas tax. Charles H. Lake, superintendent of Cleveland schools, was the speaker of the evening and discussed the special levy. “We've got to vote for all of them,” declared Superintendent Lake, urging support of the levies. “All are for necessities of government. We are still, remember, not spending anything like the amounts we spent during the war.” All Cleveland teachers were invited to attend. Valley City, N. D., Local 281 Miss Jeannette Harter, secretary of Valley City State Teachers College Lo- cal 281, has been elected vice-president of the North Dakota State Federation of Labor. She is the first woman to hold office in the State Federation. West Allis Local 272 Classroom teachers in the West Allis school system, 234 of them to be exact, are getting an average yearly salary of $1,369.21, a recent survey reveals. Of this number 204 or 87 per cent receive less than $1,250 and 12 of them receive only $950 yearly. For purposes of com- parison it is interesting to note that the average salary of janitors in the schools of our city, exclusive of the superintendent janitor, is $1,532.80. Principals, supervisors, and department heads are not included in the list of 234 classroom teachers; however, their salaries which have likewise suffered a 24 per cent reduction are startlingly low, especially when the time and money spent to qualify themselves for their positions is taken into consideration. First year police patrolmen and first year firemen receive $1,860 less, of course, 10 per cent which represents a voluntary cut taken by the majority of city employees when an economy pro- gram went into effect. This program was authorized when the bottom of the city treasury first came into view. One teacher-coach in the high school, to mention only one specific example, has had four years of college prepara- tion and six and one half years of teaching and coaching experience but still he receives less by a considerable sum than men who are serving their first year in the police and fire depart- ments. Teachers feel that they have been discriminated against in the matter of Salary cuts. They feel that the 24 per cent total salary reduction which has been handed to the teachers is sadly out of proportion to the 10 per cent voluntary cut taken by city workers— many of the elected officers have not taken their 10 per cent cut. To go still further in the matter of salary statistics, it has been determined that of the 234 classroom teachers 219 receive less than $1,748 yearly under the prevailing 24 per cent reduction for members of the school system; 122 re- ceive less than $1,387; 62 less than $1,178; 37 less than $1,064; 20 less than $988: and 12 less than $950. Comparing the salaries of aldermen with this last group it is found that the councilors receive $900 yearly—$75 per month for two meetings of their group and the work incidental to their mem- bership on various committees. Some of the aldermen have agreed to the 10 per cent voluntary cut, recommended by the council as an economy measure. Patrolmen and firemen who have had two years of service receive $1,920, which does not include the 10 per cent voluntary cut, and members of these departments who have served three vears receive $2,040. These figures, even deducting the voluntary cut, are in ex- cess of yearly salaries paid to some principals in the school system who have had years and years of experience West Allis Star Youngstown, Ohio, Local 291 The Youngstown the launching of the eration of Teachers, article reads: Anthony Marino, who left the business field to go back to his first love, teaching, heads the Youngstown chapter of the American Federation of Teachers. Telegram Youngstown Local 291. reports Fed- The He represents one of the oldest and most irntluential families in the city. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ma- rino, Youngstown residents for a half century. He is one of six children. Mr. Marino was born here and attended Raven high school and then obtained his three degrees at Ohio State university, bachelor of arts, bachelor >of acience, and master of arts. His high scholastic record gave him one of the best prizes of the year, a $300 scholarship. For two years he taught in the university department of educa- tion. For four years he taught at East Tech in Cleveland and then returned to his home town to teach four years at South high school. In 1926 he went into the automobile business in New Castle and remained in it for five years. But his heart was in teaching and in 1931 he returned to Youngstown to teach mathematics in East high school. le is president of the Italian Professional club and was vice-president of the New Castle Lions’ club. “In studying education,” Mr. Marino said, “I have found that labor has done more for education than any other group. I believe in the Teachers’ Federation be- cause in union there is strength and the teachers and those interested in educa- tion must unite to preserve the best things in education for those who will follow.” Mr. Marino points out stitution of the American Teachers prohibits members on strike. “We are not a trouble-making group,” he pointed out, “but a constructive force working for the best interests of the education advantages of the children.” Evening Shade, Ark., Local 333 that the con- Federation of from going The Evening Shade Local 333 was organized May 25, with thirty-one charter members. Since that date we have taken in new members at each meeting until our membership is now fifty-seven. We believe in the principles for which the organization stands, and sincerely hope it will affect even us here in Sharp County, Arkansas. 29 We are striving to bring other coun- ties into the organization and the cam- paign for teachers and school protection. Our officers are: President, J]. W. Tay- lor; Sec.-Treas., J. A. Eubank. J. A. Eueanx, Sec.—Treas. Wyoming Co., W. Va., Local 342 Much progress has been made in the growth of The Wyoming County Fed- eration of Teachers since its organiza- tion on August 31, 1934. At that meet- ing a temporary organization was set up and application was made for a charter from the American Federation of Teachers. The temporary organization consists of Chairman, J. Ward Farley, of Hern- don; Vice Chairman, Hayes Cook, of Oceana; Financial Secretary, Sidney McGraw, of Mullens, and Recording Secretary, E. W. McLain, of Pineville. The charter has been received along with other supplies. A general meeting was held at the Pineville High School building on October 10. Every teacher in the county desiring to affiliate with the organization was invited to be present at this meeting. A permanent organiza- tion was established and individual mem- bership cards were handed out at that time. Other important business matters also came up at this meeting. On Thursday night, September 13, a sectional meeting was held at Herndon to explain and answer questions per- taining to the organization, and was attended by almost 100 per cent of the teachers of Barkers Ridge District. A similar meeting was held at Mullens on Thursday night, September 27, with a fair representation of the teachers around Mullens being present. A By- Laws committee was appointed at the Mullens meeting to draft a constitution for the organization. The following were appointed on this committee: G. B. McGraw, Mullens; J. C. McCoy, Tip- ple; Claude Lefler, Herndon; E. W. McLain, Pineville; and William C. Wor- rel, of Pineville. The committee will meet in the near future and draw up a constitution for the organization. Bay Counties Local 349 The Bay Counties Federation of Teachers held an open meeting for teachers and other interested persons at International House, University of Cali- fornia campus, Berkeley, on the evening of October 10. The A. F. T. officers in atendance at the A. F. of L. convention in San Francisco, President Lowry and Secre- tary Hanson, were the guest speakers. They were introduced by J. L. Ker- chen, labor education organizer of the University of California Extension Di- vision, Mr. Lowry spoke on “Thinking To- gether,” while Mrs. Hanson’s subject was “Teacher Organization in America.” . John W. Hughes, president of the Bay Counties Federation of Teachers, presided. He also spoke on “Teacher Organizations in California.” Logan County, Ark., Local 301 Tue Locan County FeEperaATION oF TEACHERS REPORTS A 25% INCREASE IN SALARY. in any field. selves.” (26.) for Democracy project. formulating the final program. Critical Evaluation of A. F. T. (Continued from page 10) (To be continued. ) (Continued from page 6) Milwaukee Union Initiates Education Many lead- industrial, social, and political life of the community. The Federation believes, with President Robert Hut- chins of the University of Chicago, that the way to equip them to be effective citizens is them or to amuse them, or to make them technicians It is to teach them to think, straight if possible, but to think always for them- “not to reform to think The Federated Trades Council, representing 55,- 000 union workers, has presented a formal request similar in objective to ours to the school board. committee on education, consisting of laym educators, cooperating with the Teachers Union Committee, is giving careful consideration to the We anticipate the aid that the state uni- versity and the state teachers colleges can give in The Milwaukee local knows the magnitude of the project, but the challenge is worthy of its best efforts. ing educators and publishers throughout the coun- try have endorsed the goal and have expressed the hope that the Milwaukee experience may inspire other locals to engage in similar activities of shap- ing dynamic educational policies. an and THE AMERICAN utive committee, TEACHER Teachers Ask Pay Donations End January 1.—The Syracuse Teachers’ association, through its exee- has asked the city administra. tion to discontinue its policy of collecting salary donations from all city employes after January i. A. F. of T. BADGES AS PIN or BUTTON Pins with a safety catch or buttons for coat lapels of Rolled Gold, either red or green gold, like the above cut in design and size, may be obtained at 50 cents each, $5.00 per dozen, or $38.00 per hundred. Enameled by request at slight extra cost. Order from AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS 506 South Wabash Avenue Chicago, Illinois and power of perfect voice expression if = develop and st: en your vocal organ. 00% IMPROVEMENT GUARANTEED Our meted is not an experiment but an exact science, ex- plained in clear, simple manner that will enable you to make use of all the vocal fete nature bas given you. Solve your voice problem w aieer, it is a defect in ue epeesh ing voice—or of progress in y vocal ‘aught by m a Yetce Book ay PERFECT VOICE EXPRESSION | jethod Sent on Ges ofyyour voi voice. s. Find v Voice insTrtUTE, studio 23.68 0. Michigan Ave., "Chicago, in The issue of ScHOOL Dixon Ryan Fox, College article treatise on education.” ence in Chicago. the journal. New York, N. Y. October 20 includes addresses president of , and Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, president of Columbia University, The New York Times says in an editorial “together make a tractate, deserves to have place with Milton’s brief The number also contains an extensive account by dent Raymond Walters, of the University of Cincinnati, of the recent radio confer- THE SCIENCE PRESS Grand Central Terminal School and Society Edited by J. McKeen Cattell AND Society for by Dr. Union which which Presi- A copy of this number will be sent free so long as the supply lasts to any one who may care to consider subscribing to The H. G. Adair Printing Company Established 1897 107 North Wacker Drive Chicago, Ill. os