AIG (, 2\ Sept of Bana Lib, N22 1967 The Teacher’s Relation to Labor ... John L. Lewis eae aa se + So = Petisiecns ce TEACHER March-April, 1937 A Symposium on Organization Esther Peterson-Nancy Lea Smith-Harry Steinmetz- Mercedes Nelson-Israel Wallach } { oo! ES ik 4 2 The Educational Equalization Act - -- Mary Foley Grossman A Valiant Fight: Against the Loyalty Oath--E. Allison Grant Steel Labor Enters A New Epoch - - - - Clinton S. Golden Needed - An Educational “New Deal” For the Negro - - - - - - + - Charles H. Thompson Democracy and School Administration - - Charles J. Hendley The following publications answer in convenient form questions concerning the aims and organization of the American Federation of Teachers. They are well suited for distribution to prospective members. Samples will WHAT EVERY WELL INFORMED TEACHER SHOULD KNOW The How and Why of the A. F. T. be sent on request. 1. Information about the A. F. T. Contains facts and figures 25c per hundred 2. Six Major Pu How the A. F. T. can aid the nation’s educational program 25c per hundred 3. The A. F. T. Program of Action Adopted at the 1931 Convention 25c per hundred 4. Can Teachers Unions Be Called Out on Strike? Questions and answers on this important topic 25¢ per hundred 5. Objections Answered Will clinch that argument 25c¢ per hundred 6. Why I Am A Member of the Teachers Union Prominent educators state their views 35c per hundred 7. Six Reasons for Joining the A. F. T. (Jerome Davis) (These are also printed in “Questions and Answers’) 25c per hundred 8. Questions and Answers A convenient and inclusive resumé 35¢ per hundred 9. The Historical Setting of the A. F. T. (Ruth Gillette Hardy) A pertinent perspective 35c per hundred 10. Why I Am Glad to Be A Member of A. F. T. A message from Professor Goodwin Watson of Columbia University 35c per hundred 11. The Constitution of the A. F. T. (Correct as of February 1, 1936) Will settle that knotty question 50c per hundred 12. A Program of ye of the A. F. T. 13. or, clearly set forth 50c per hundred A Critical Evaluation of the A. F. T. (Aileen W. Robinson) A documented survey of the A. F. T. 50c per copy What we stand ———— ORDER BY NUMBER FROM AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS 506 SOUTH WABASH AVENUE CHICAGO, ILLINOIS More Non-Union Teachers should read this magazine and regard it as their own forum. Send us the names and addresses of those you believe are, or should be, in- terested. We will send a sample copy free to each. Arrangements can also be made, on request, to send additionai copies regu- larly to those who will undertake their sale in a faculty or community. * Address The American Federation of Teachers 506 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago. A. F. T. Badges AS Pin or Button Pins (with safety catch) or buttons (for coat lapel) are available in blue-enameled gold; the size ie the same as that shown in the facsimile. Prices: $0.50 each, $5.00 per dozen, $38.00 per hundred. Order from AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS 506 South Wabash Avenue Chicago, Illinois rh wy) se. ed ]S et eee — ~*~ - Ss J — J eh oe ™ AMERICAN TEACHER MARCH-APRIL, 1937 NUMBER 4 VOLUME XXI ConTENTS The Teacher’s Relation to Labor................. John L. Lewis 7 A Symposium on Organization EL, on a5 cbs decessbeescoyeccen's Esther Peterson 10 Delivering the Goods..................--. Nancy Lea Smith 11 Some Fundamental Principles............... Harry Steinmetz 11 ED cu cin en seeees be ddscessevccdigtsnnsucusenses 12 Help From Organized Labor................ Mercedes Nelson 12 Taking the Union Into the Schools............. Israel Wallach 12 International Sympathy in the Texas Disaster.................. 13 CLL, ccavkapeasteacesesteesdcd E. Allison Grant 14 The Educational Equalization Act........ Mary Foley Grossman 16 Steel Labor Enters a New Epoch............. Clinton S. Golden 17 Democracy and School Administration. ...... Charles J. Hendley 21 tees on Leads sheesh id craideewnes 23 Needed—An Educational “New Deal” for the Negro............ OT ted a taatithdensskseds woke Charles H. Thompson 24 DEPARTMENTS i eM Tenses Cindi duccsedersdeteesbheges 3 ie ska. Senedd echoes tessbeeeeeterbess 9 Re he A Ls i avaibe dbs ener een @bause cde 19 Ri cic cGpentbeseios sess btecnves Beryl Parker 27 de nad citnnntosddedbedank buasveduas 29 ES 31 ETT eae 35 ee ot sdasaWwasew'eceees 37 i eee as nenceanine bees Vs ee 39 Leading Union Labels—Third Series...................000000- 39 On Organizing The symposium on organization brings Teachers out very clearly that in the difficult task of establishing contacts in new regions, the trade unions and the Central Labor Unions are our greatest source of help. Equally clear is the need to come out of our isolation and present our program to the teach- ers within existing organizations. In the state of Wash- ington, union teachers have begun to function politically through the Commonwealth Federation. They have elected one of their number, Stanley Atwood, as State Superintendent of Schools and he is pushing the union program. Several members of the legislature are willing to introduce union bills and to speak to groups of teach- ers on the importance of these measures. The greatest help in organizing, however, is constant concern with the concrete, everyday needs of classroom teachers. . . . Estab- lishing new locals and building existing locals in an edu- cational system which is none too friendly to the idea of teachers unions controlled by classroom teachers re- quires constant effort and follow up work. Often the results are slow in coming. Yet trade unions are at the present time growing by leaps and bounds in all fields as a result of campaigns for better conditions and devoted and often dangerous work in organizing in company strongholds. With similar understanding of the needs of teachers, and similar devotion to day-to-day organizing work, the A.F.T. will grow with the rest of the labor movement. A Challenge to With understandable unanimity, Judicial Dictatorship \abor organizations have taken their stand beside President Roosevelt in his fight to liberalize the Supreme Court. Most of the truly progressive legislators and political writ- ers have expressed their support; and as we go to press, it appears that whatever opposition from other liberals still exists may be largely dissipated by the hint from Senator Robinson that the administration will later press for a clarifying amendment to the constitution, to attack the problem of judicial dictatorship nearer its roots. . . . The briefest of examinations into the identity of the belligerents, and the most casual of recollections of their former rec- ords, reveal the true nature of the battle now taking place. The tory stand on the issue taken by William Randolph Hearst was predictable and need occasion no surprise. That the Republican Party, repudiated at the polls but still speaking for the vested interests, would oppose court re- form was likewise understandable; the party leaders have nevertheless been clever enough to stay somewhat in the background and allow the fight to be led by certain lib- erals who fail to understand that by holding out for an amendment at the present time they are helping the reac- tionaries. . . . Chief Justice Hughes admitted the existence of judicial dictatorship when he said “the Constitution is what the judges say it is.” Abraham Lincoln fought the same judicial dictatorship. In one sense, as he himself stated, the Civil War was fought to overrule the Supreme Court’s mad Z : a wr “a J ¥ . , TE a ng RT, nara ~~ at med < z. “i é Se mt ee rene ls 4 shocking decision in the Dred Scott case. . . The C.I.0. is committed to judicial reform; so is Labor’s Non-Partisan League. For the A.F.L., President Green has said that the infusion of new blood into the nation’s highest court was necessary to obtain an enlightened judiciary. La- bor realizes that much of its legislative program .may be defeated in the future as it has been in the past, by the arbitrary action of a Supreme Court which has long since lost all real contact with the people of the nation, and which has arrogated to itself an unwarranted power to veto acts of Congress. Only by judicial reform can the way be opened to social and labor progress. Mrs. Roosevelt Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the guest at New Haven of honor at a dinner given by the Yale New Haven local on February 23. Dr. Jerome Davis, in his introductory remarks addressed to Mrs. Roosevelt, said: “It has been a tradition for the wife of the President to be called the ‘first lady of the land’. You, through your active concern for the good of the whole people, have won that title, not because you are the wife of the President, but in your own right.” Formerly a teacher and at present a member of the Newspaper Guild Mrs. Roosevelt expressed candidly her hopes for the labor movement, her recognition of the role that the labor movement will play in our country “in straightening out our problems”. “I am particularly glad to attend this meeting of the American Federation of Teachers,” Mrs. Roosevelt said, “because I feel that in the movement of organized labor, teachers and other groups of that kind have a particular responsibility. . . . You have the responsibility of being the intellectual leaders of the whole movement.” Speaking of teachers, Mrs. Roosevelt said: “It comes home to me that teachers have learned patience, tact, the power to be objective, to keep their prejudices out of their judgments, to think things over calmly, and any groups which have learned these things have a tremendous po- tential power in a democracy, particularly in a democracy which is groping its way through a period of growth.” Mrs. Roosevelt reemphasized the responsibility of teach- ers to join with labor and expressed the hope that “in the labor movement in this country we will find the kind of leadership we need among the intellectuals.” “We want a better civilization,” Mrs. Roosevelt said, “a civiliza- tion in which more people are happy, are better off... .A group of people who are willing to meet other people and listen to their point of view has a great opportunity to lead and a great responsibility to keep the right kind of thinking and calm attitude which we must have in a democracy.” Mrs. Roosevelt’s estimate of the intellectual qualities of teachers and her estimate of the role of leadership which it is our responsibility to play in the labor movement are The cAmsprican TBRACHER flattering and challenging. But it would be unhealthy and unrealistic for us to think of ourselves as the natural lead- ers of the labor movement. It is true that teachers are often more articulate than some other kinds of workers and possess certain skills and acquirements which can be of service to labor. Nor should we hesitate to feel that we shall furnish our share of personal leaders. Just as leadership springs from the ranks of the miners, the loom- fixers, the railroad workers, the sailors, all alike cozened and cheated by rapacious trusts and rapacious interests— so from the ranks of college professors persecuted for too undeviating a devotion to truth, from the ranks of public school teachers whose professional self-respect is outraged to see education defeated in the slick relationship between school board and board of trade—from our ranks, in short, leadership will develop. But it is hardly our part to as- The ~AMERICAN ‘TEACHER Official Organ of THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS 506 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Illinois Organized April 15, 1916 AFFILIATED WITH THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR —_ j———. President Secretary-Treasurer Jerome Davis Irvin R. KUENZLI Vice-Presidents Maynaprp C. KraugcerR Irvin R. KuUENZLI Mercepes L. NELSON Nancy Lza SMITH Harry C. STEINMETZ J. RayMonp WALSH CLAuDE WILLIAMS Sopnus Keirn WINTHER ——- <> -- — Boord of Editors Ricwarp B. Crosscup Emity IAMPpIeRi Wa ter G. BERGMAN Henry ARTHUR CALLIS FRANCIS FRANKLIN Harop J. Gissons Mary Fo.ey GrossMAN Cuar.es J. HEnDLEY Mary Herrick Dorotrny DovuciLas IL R. Georce Fincn Ceuua Lewis A. S. Hancock EstHer PErerson Sara T. WatsH J. Raywomp Wase wan ya > Contributing Editors Rosert Morss Lovett Ora McLaucHLin Se_peN MENEFEE Epwin Berry Burcum Bery. PARKER ArtHur ELDER Hotzianp D. Roperts Borts GAMZUE Cotston E, Warne Ipa GLANTZ KLINGSBERG Joun Wooprurr ————~. —_—_ Business O 114 East 16 Street 506 S. Waobeste Avenue New York City Chicago, Illinois SUBSCRIET ION $1.00 for the _— —Foreign $1.10—Single copies, 25¢. Published Vitonthly August. Subscribers are y and lead- TS are orkers an be 1 that Ist as loom- zened Psts— Ir too public raged tween short, to as- ERS IN ELI nue he year BSC. July- sted to of ad- sade in draft, Sn ae NR Ae EN March-April, 1937 sume in the labor movement anything more than a natural and honorable equality of give and take. Teachers must root themselves in the common philosophy of the trade union movement, a philosophy which Mrs. Roosevelt herself expressed with such simple clarity at the meeting in New Haven: “You join together to protect a great group of people and you think not only of the ad- vantages you are going to have from your organization, but you think of the advantage to great numbers of peo- ple who would have no strength without organization.” Rooted in this philosophy we have the responsibility to . build a strong, well managed, and effective union. In this way we protect ourselves and the children whom we teach and at the same time make the same contribution to the American labor movement that is made by any other strong, progressive union in an important industry or class of work. In this way the teaching profession as a whole can best fulfil its responsibility to American democracy and to the efforts of American democracy to build a “bet- ter civilization, a civilization in which more people are happy, are better off.” The Associations At conventions of two of the best Take Action known and most influential national teachers’ organizations, the activity of progressive forces within the ranks of education has been demonstrated in a most convincing fashion. When the Department of Superintendence of the National Educa- tion Association met in New Orleans at the end of Febru- ary, the offiial yearbook issued for the convention, by in- sisting firmly upon a determined resistance to anti-demo- cratic tendencies in the United States, called attention more clearly than ever before in the history of the Association to the dangers which threaten American education at the present time. In its analysis of contemporary problems of education, the yearbook pointed clearly to the friends and foes of education in this country. Among the former it mentioned “a strong and militant labor movement”, “courageous religious realism” and “the organization of educators”. As a menace to education was cited “the drive of Hearst, the D.A.R., the Elks and other groups against courageous educators and liberal thinkers”. Quite significantly, the freedom to discuss social problems in the classroom is recognized by the yearbook as fundamental in the teachers struggle against the infringement of his demo- cratic rights. . . . At St. Louis, the Progressive Education Association took a forceful position on immediate teacher problems by passing a resolution which termed the dis- missal of Dr. Jerome Davis by Yale University a violation of academic freedom. The Association also rebuked the St. Louis Board of Education for its yellow-dog policy in the schools, which, in terms of the resolution, “is to the detri- ment of the best interests of American education.” A sidelight on the two conventions is the action taken by the PEA in voting down a resolution for universal draft, as 5 presented by the American Legion Schoolmasters Club. This organization had better success with its resolution at New Orleans, for the NEA approved it with but five dis- senting votes. Nevertheless, with this convention, the NEA has declared itself on the side of progress. The American Federation of Teachers welcomes the support and coop- eration of both organizations on the common problems of the teacher which all progressive organized teachers must work together to solve. Conflicting Stories During the past seven months it has From Spain been difficult to learn exactly what is happening in Spain. Conflicting stories appear simultaneously in our newspapers concern- ing atrocities, intervention, the composition of the oppos- ing forces, and the general progress of the war. Six months ago, some newspapers declared with absolute certainty that the war in Spain would not last another month. News- paper accounts of the World War and its purposes have taught millions of Americans to be skeptical of war stories, and many now look upon the Spanish situation as some- thing they can know nothing about so long as Spain is in flames. However, many of us do not consider such resigna- tion justifiable. Is it really impossible for the scores of experienced newspaper men who “cover” Spain to come to some agreement about what they see? If not, why do they submit conflicting reports so consistently? A very significant answer to this question comes from George Seldes, veteran war correspondent and author of several important books on foreign affairs, who writes from Spain: “The 1936 press campaign against Roosevelt in the United States . . appears . . honest compared to the present Fascist red-baiting campaign throughout Europe directed against the Spanish Republic. . In Germany, Italy and Portugal, where the press is in Fascist Government hands, not a truthful word about Spain has ever appeared since the war began. But the fact that in Britain, France, and other democratic countries the campaign of misrepresenta- tion, falsehood and plain lying in the so-called big press should become so general, has surprised even the journal- ists. . The red-baiting campaign . . is no mere whim of indi- vidual editors but a systematic business engineered by inter- national Fascism, and, in the case of hundreds of notorious papers, actually paid for in Fascist cash.” Concerning the usual falsehoods, Seldes states that the Spanish government is democratic, “that it has done nothing but preserve churches and churchmen”, that “it has freed hostages, left the political prisoners untouched, spared soldiers and civilians . . whereas the massacre of hostages, the execution of union labor leaders and the murder of the wounded have been committed by order of or with the approval of the rebel leaders.” He also claims that the talk about street fighting in the big cities is nonsense. Certain silent retractions are observable in reports now appearing in the newspapers favoring General Franco. ree , ee ee? “3 J ay i 9 Boe “! ae te! Pio: wang | 4 ae |, A} b> ie. + a £ miki if +h 7 vy ip ue, ed 4 ] wn : 4 a ie » + . = - ~~ —o CPR OR ORL Ee Tes . Winn Saat eee. 4 ri ae a >o4 & 6 They now at last call the rebel forces Fascists. Any other name is inadequate in the face of such news dispatches as: “A mighty foreign army of 120,000 trained Italian and German troops was sweeping down on this war torn city [Madrid] tonight.” (United Press, March 12) These newspapers now seldom call the Loyalists “a handful of Reds”. It is obvious that the Spanish government could not hold out against these well-equipped foreign armies unless it had the support of the overwhelming ma- jority of the people of Spain. However, the fact that the present Loyalist government was democratically elected by the national plebiscite on February 16, 1936, these pro- fascist journals simply fail to mention. The Very Rever- end Francis Underhill, Dean of Rochester, England, who has just returned from Spain, where he led a deputation of ministers to investigate the position of the Church, states: “It is of the uttermost importance that the gov- ernment should win, for . . they are the lawfully elected government; a democratic one which represents the will of the people. My own views are that if Fascism suc- ceeds in Spain then it is simply a preface to a fascist up- rising in France.” Seldes is of the same opinion: “One thing is obvious from the moment you enter Spain to the day you may be plodding through the front line trenches at Madrid; that the people . . are wholeheartedly, and with a spirit that welcomes death if an ideal is attained, fighting against international Fascism”. In the face of scores of similar testimonies, it is not strange that United States Congressman John T. Bernard, Farmer Laborite of Minnesota, declared in Congress concerning United States “neutrality”: “We broke a precedent of 150 years. For the first time in our history we placed an embargo against a friendly, democratically elected government.” A Challenge to 1938 As we go to press, Nebraska’s “No” in the matter of ratifying the proposed child labor amendment has crushed the hope of its adoption in 1937. Eight more “Ayes” are needed, and only seven legislatures meeting during 1937 have not yet voted. . . . Opposition to the bill has come from two sources. The reactionary interests have of course been activated solely by industrial expediency, and have fol- lowed steadily the bright star of profits. The other source of opposition has been motivated by the fear that the amendment would bring about interference with parochial school education, or with relations between parents and children. A forthright statement on this last point was made by Governor Lehman, of New York, in his radio address of March 5. “If I thought that the amendment could possibly be construed as a grant of power over education, or would limit the freedom of secular or re- ligious education, I would oppose it as strongly as any person in the state. I am certain that it does not do so.” . . . Assistant Secretary of Labor Edward F. McGrady said at the hearing on ratification in Massachusetts: “The The cAmprican TeAcHer amendment gives Congress power to ‘limit, regulate and prohibit’ the labor of children under eighteen. It has noth- ing to do with education. Let that be clear. If it was in- tended by this amendment that Congress could affect the education of children in any way it would have said so.” . .. These ungrounded fears led to the pressure which caused the defeat of ratification in several states... . In New York, the Herald-Tribune reached a nadir of political acro- batics, when it suddenly urged a state child labor law, after having bitterly fought ratification in fair and unfair ways, including the trick of referring to the amendment as “Youth Control” in both editorial and news columns, a device well calculated to stir fear. ... The extent to which legislatures taking unfavorable action represent the will of their constituents is not definitely known, but an indication may be derived from the situation in New York, where the legislature voted 102 to 42 to defeat ratification; yet a sampling of public opinion indicated that 83% of the people of the state favored ratification. . . . In Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Vermont and Rhode Island the issue will arise this year. In these states this year, and in all states that have not yet ratified next year, let us make unyielding opposition to child labor our cause, and remove forever at least one shadow cast by the zeal for profits. Welcome to New Locals No. 479 Cincinnati Federation of Teachers No. 480 South Bend, Indiana WPA Teachers No. 481 Essex County, New Jersey Federation of Teachers No. 482 Paterson, New Jersey Teachers Union No. 483 Washington Educational Employees Union, Olympia, Washington No. 484 Springfield, Massachusetts Federation of Teachers No. 485 Pasadena, Texas Classroom Teachers Asso- ciation No. 486 Cambria County, Pennsylvania Federation of Teachers No. 487 Schram City, Illinois No. 488 Adams Township, Pennsylvania Federation of Teachers No. 489 Inter-County Teachers Association, Pierce and King’s Counties, Washington No. 490 Douglas County, Wisconsin Federation of Teachers ne re a — ne en ——— _ Ma: saeepeBeapagsgs ae e 0@ @® @ TBACHER late and las noth- t Was in- ffect the said so.” h caused In New -al acro- or law, 1 unfair ment as imns, a tent to ent the but an N York, cation; of the lorida, ermont n these ratified 1 labor ast by f nd March-April, 1937 The Teacher’s Relation To Labor JOHN L. LEWIS passing has adversely affected the economic status of the vast majority of Americans. It has been like one of the great plagues of history and, as in the case of such catastrophes, it has fallen hardest upon the poor and the weak. T= GREAT depression through which we have been The evil done has been colossal, and much of it can never be undone. We can never hope to repair the broken lives and broken hopes of millions of our citizens. But at least we can try to profit from experience, however bitter such experience may be. To do this, we must re-examine not only our eco- nomic system, but also our very ways of thinking. This means among other things, that we must inquire into our whole system of education. The American public school system is, in large part, an outgrowth of the American labor movement. In the early days of the Republic there was no great fervor for educating the masses on the part of the propertied and commercial sections of the population—the large landlords, the business men, the slave owners, the well-to-do gener- ally—those who at that time, as now, tended to have a dominating influence in public affairs. This group was seriously and intelligently concerned with the education of its own members, and this interest was manifested in the early establishment of many excel- lent institutions such as Harvard and William and Mary Colleges. Probably few of his colleagues agreed literally with Sir William Berkeley, Colonial Governor of Virginia, who thanked God that there were no printing presses and no free schools in Virginia, but most of them had little interest and certainly no enthusiasm for real educational opportunities for the working classes. In other words, in spite of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, there was no true concept of political democracy, much less of industrial democracy. The existence of slavery, especially in the southern colonies where it was most profit- able, was, of course, in part responsible for this. It is true that Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, afforded a striking exception to this general situation, by establishing the University of Virginia, a State institution, financed through taxation and opened to all citizens of the State. Jefferson, however, practically stood alone among the colonial public men in his realization that the success of democracy practically depended upon uni- versal education. ay, = puatet The free workers in post-Revolution days were very con- scious of the fact that the education of wage earners was not in favor among the financially privileged. So far as they were articulate, they kept demanding a real public school system. But the demands of the free workers which gradually became more insistent did not meet with serious recognition until the decades immediately preceding the Civil War. Efforts toward labor organization were con- stantly and bitterly opposed, and it was only very slowly that labor won the right of assembly, especially on a more than strictly local and craft basis. But, in so far as labor organizations and assemblies could and did function, the matter of free education was constantly under discussion and pushed zealously as a principal plank in labor’s plat- form. To these efforts on the part of labor is to be attributed probably more than to any other influence the early spread of our public school system. During the years that have intervened, the trade unionist has continued his intense interest in the public schools. His concern has been a very personal one. It was his chil- dren and the children of his fellow workers who filled the schools, and in the education offered by the schools he had the hope that his children might get a little more out of life than had been available to him. Therefore, he has always been in the forefront of those appearing before public bodies to urge more liberal school appropriations—better buildings, better equipment and, not the least, more and better teachers. For this reason, the labor movement may be regarded as possibly the earliest and most constant friend of the teacher. I am not quite sure that this friendship was always reciprocated in days gone by. Teaching was what is now called a “white-collar job”, and like the holders of other “white-collar jobs”, there was a tendency perhaps among its members rather to look down upon the labor trade union, composed as it was almost entirely of manual workers. But this attitude, if it ever existed in the crude way I have described it, has passed, and the present depression has given it its death blow. The depression has brought out more vividly than ever before the fact that all employed workers, whether paid a wage or a salary, or whether working with hand or with brain, are, economically speaking, in the same boat, and must sink or float together. When, in 1930, employment began its catastrophic decline, the salaried worker suffered just about as much as Sigs? os tase ee - aa bat’ a % die | a) A) Ss va hie | MI a 8 Be. ‘ gh ‘7 tae CS ee fi ¢ & - ae i “A , - "a ‘ % ) Be pie 4 er ' . " = ad ay ee x if ; , 3 ™ \ * ! 5 t => ' ae eR x Marae o 3 ~ ot ie. : f : 2 - : x 3 3 | — Ba ete Sh ee erence gt ¥ i ee re * es ’ Re A Sa EE EE ROTO | Anas a Facet a AER ee ee eR aii Rete Su I he TAS atte Sr RM ae BR —- : a Se na ay — - ~— . 7 ; - Pe a w ¢ ‘ , 7 2 P ». / the wage earner. Furthermore, when payrolls tumbled, the two groups suffered about equally. Likewise, when the relief rolls began to expand so rapidly, the names of salaried workers were just about as frequent as the names of wage earners. To the white collar workers generally there came the bitter realization that theirs was no preferred status, and also the hopeful realization that organization was as bene- ficial in their own case as in that of manual workers. For it is one of the lessons which the depression offers to the workers, that, by and large, organized labor suffered less than the unorganized. Organization, it is true, was unable to stop the downward curve of employment for the reason that employment is a matter over which, in our present economic set-up, labor as such is permitted no control. Under the circumstances, however, organized labor was extraordinarily successful in holding its wage levels and in protecting working standards. In the organized trades as a whole there was no such decline in wage rates as occurred among the unorganized. Also, by virtue of organization, such groups were in a far better position to aid unemployed members, and to oppose successfully some of the most vicious forms of exploitation. In addition, organized labor by virtue of organization was in a position to play an important part in the framing and administration of remedial legislation. In other words, trade unionism, faced with the most serious difficulties which had ever confronted it, carried on with astonishing success. It demonstrated not only the value of organization to the worker, but also that the ideals of organized labor were socially beneficial. In this connection, from the experience of the United Mine Workers, I might cite the case of bituminous coal mining. In this industry, organized labor had formulated a very definite, constructive plan. It fought for it and would have been completely successful, had it not been for an adverse decision by the Supreme Court. And this plan, I wish to emphasize, not only had in view good wages and working conditions for the mine workers, but also envisaged raising the industry itself from a condition of profitless chaos to a condition in which the operators could make reasonable profits. With these experiences as evidence, the principles of organization received a new impetus. Its value came home not only to the salaried workers, but even to those engaged in many lines of professional work. During the past very few years unionism has spread with astonishing rapidity among those groups, who more and more are coming to an understanding that the concept of trade unionism is one that embraces all employed workers, whether manual or mental, and that the full measure of success for any group can be obtained only through the united action and support of all groups. This is as true of the teaching profession as of any other group of workers. The teachers need organization among themselves and have already recognized this need. But they also need the support of a broader, more embracing labor movement. The labor movement offers them sup- port not only on the economic front, but on the legislative front, which in the case of public servants is peculiarly important. On the other hand, it should be also emphasized that the labor movement needs the help of the teachers. Be- cause of their professional background they have something to contribute to the labor movement which the movement has often lacked—namely, scholarly attainments, a training in clear thinking and an appreciation of the cultural values of life. Their qualities will be more and more demanded in the labor movement of the future. That movement is still in its youth. As it matures, it must not only grow in size, but it must also broaden in its vision. It must develop a more definite and better-rounded social philosophy. I sincerely believe, and I say this with all humility, that the future of our country lies in labor’s keeping. If we are really to have a better world; if we are to realize a com- monwealth built on social justice; if, as the President has so well expressed it, we are to maintain our democratic institutions and also obtain a measure of economic security for our people, then I believe it can only come through a strong, effective, and intelligent labor movement. In this movement the teaching profession must and will play a part of very great importance. Also it must shoulder a great responsibility, for the reason that in very large degree the teachers have in their care the mind of the coming generation. How this responsibility shall be assumed, and how the teacher shall attempt to shape the child’s knowledge and way of thinking is of course a very difficult question to answer. It cannot be answered by a simple Yes or No. No one would oppose more strongly than I any effort on the part of a school to warp the mind of a child in any one direction. The preaching of “isms” of any kind has no place in our school system. On the other hand, I think it desirable and essential that in the teaching of children, as in the teaching of adults, more and more emphasis should be placed on the social aspects of our life. Our cosmos is changing so rapidly as to make even the bravest tremble. In such cir- cumstances, it is no less than folly to leave upon the child’s mind the idea that when he goes forth from the school he is entering a well-ordered world. It is well for him to know the truth before he leaves the protection of his school. It is still better if he can be taught that if there is ever to be a well-ordered world, it will come only as the result of clear thinking, broad social sympathy, and possibly much time, on the part of himself and his fellows, devoted to organized activity for the public good. The cAmmERICAN TEACHER BACHER among 1. But bracing N sup- islative suliarly d that 5. Be- ething rement ‘aining values anded lent is must social , that ve are com- it has cratic Curity rough 1 will ulder large f the l be e the very by a ngly mind ” ntial gz of zy so ild’s l he now _ It > be : of uch | to tg » e March-April, 1937 Presidents Page RS. FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT, on the occa- M sion of her delightful address to the teachers of New Haven, declared that such an organization as the American Federation of Teachers was indispensable if education were to fulfil its necessary place in American life. If American teachers faced facts realistically there would be no one to question this profound judgment. Un- fortunately we often become followers of myths, of fables, instead of facts. The consequence is that we are the victims of our habit patterns rather than of our creative intelligence. I want to list a few of the many myths to which we often fall victim. Here are a few to think over or explode: 1. The myth that children have equality of educational opportunity now. The average Negro school in the South has anywhere from fifty to seventy pupils of mixed ages and grades, all taught in some fashion by a single teacher. Instead of an eight months’ term, this school usually runs for four months and during the depression was often shut down entirely. About one out of thirteen Negro teachers received in 1933 in salary for the entire school year only $150 or less. 2. The myth that the teacher must not affiliate with labor because it would make him biased. For a teachers’ organization to affiliate with a labor organization does not necessarily bias a teacher; it may help him to see another aspect of truth which will correct his constant affiliation with the middle and upper classes. 3. The myth of the lofty professional status of the teacher. The fact is that the teacher has spent time prepar- ing for a career but owns neither the tools of his trade nor his equipment. For these and other reasons, he is essentially one with the skilled worker. 4. The myth that the teacher must be isolated in a narrow scholastic world. The fact is that the teacher must be in contact at many points with the real forces of the social world of which he is a part. Otherwise the attitudes and the ideas he shares with his students are likely to be unrealistic. 5. The myth that education in its essentials remains an unchanging process over the centuries. We cherish the treasures of the past, they are our heri- tage. At the same time, education must be related to the dynamic changing life stream of the contemporary scene and in some degree must change as that changes. 6. The myth that the teacher should train the student for “suspended judgment.” Pupils should be trained to live in a real world where action is as necessary as thought. 7. The myth that the teacher should always be im- partial. The fact is that the intellectual dogma of the divine duty of impartiality is invalid. The teacher should be free to become an advocate of truth and justice. Loyalty oaths, red riders, investigations, the type of text book used, as well as the general practice in the classroom, indicate that teachers are expected to be partial—to the status quo. 8. The myth that the teacher should always be pri- marily factual. The fact is that the teacher needs to be idealistic as well as factual. Crusaders for the right need understand- ing and help from the teacher. 9. The myth that the teacher is really free now. Freedom the country over is real only to the extent that teachers are organized into a powerful association, safe- guarding the most professional standards and security. Struggle and organization in an ever continuing process are always the price of liberty. American teachers can be said to have come of age only when they have adequate salaries, genuine tenure, just re- tirement allowances, and complete academic freedom. Yet today twenty-seven states have only annual contracts or no contracts at all. Tenure laws in the states where tenure does exist are often woefully inadequate. California, for instance, has a law, but one which does not affect teachers in schools with a daily attendance of less than 850. If teachers were strongly organized, the possibilities of tenure would follow immediately on a short probationary period, with no teacher eligible for dismissal except for certain clearly defined reasons stated in the law and with an op portunity for hearing and appeal. What are we doing to displace the myths of our time? Jerome Davis. A Symposium On What is the best way to establish new locals? How can one maintain and build locals already established? These are questions with which a number of locals have asked us to deal. We have therefore obtained statements from those who are actively engaged in organizational work in various parts of the country. We are printing in this issue the first instalment of these statements. Others will appear in subsequent issues. Breaking Ground Esther Peterson Organizer for New England N New ENcLanp I have found myself beginning almost below bottom in trying to bring teachers to see even the elementary relationships between their problems and those of the labor movement. In starting in a new community, I found it very essen- tial to have “leads”—as many as I could possibly col- lect. I have secured the best of these from members of existing locals in nearby towns. I found it helpful to in- terview them and act according to their advice, coupled with the advice of the labor people. It is interesting to note that in every town I have found the labor people at least as aware of the local educational problems as the teachers themselves. I think it is wise to establish contact with the heads of the teachers’ associations rather early. The “under- cover” type of securing recruits is so sure of leaking out that it is much easier to meet them in the open, imme- diately, rather than after rumors and whisperings have gone around. This naturally may not be wise in many situations, but I find it much easier to work in a rather open atmosphere than one that appears quiet and is seem- ingly on the defensive. This can be done if labor has been contacted and will give support, and if labor is strong enough to mean something in the community. In the towns where I have used this method, labor has promised to sponsor the meeting in the event that the association refused. In one case the association accepted the invita- tion to have our case presented before the teachers. In another, it promised to help with the meeting without standing sponsor for it. I cannot over-emphasize the importance of obtaining labor’s cooperation. It has been helpful to me to have introductions from other labor people to labor people in the community in which I am going to work. In two towns such contacts have been helpful, not only in speak- ing at meetings, but also in visiting teachers. Through labor contacts one can usually make both school and press connections. The latter especially is important, for unwise and premature publicity is very dan- gerous. The Newspaper Guild has been very helpful in one place. Small group meetings in respectable places; teas;—then larger and more public meetings were effective in one town. In another the order was reversed, a large meeting, then meetings with small and interested groups. Along with all the meetings, the personal interviews are most important of all. Phone calls were not nearly so effective as visits. I found that by visiting teachers briefly before school in their classrooms, I could get appointments for longer in- terviews later in the day. Teachers aren’t nearly so weary in the morning, and they are honest and keep appoint- ments, even though the appointments are rashly made. I have had to use extreme care in using the school build- ings themselves for the visits. Whenever I learned that I was being discovered, I went immediately to the princi- pal and told him what I was doing. I have found them all the way from cold and indifferent to willing to coop- erate. School directories are very essential, though often difficult to obtain. People know others interested if you have all the names handy, so that they can check them. Before meetings, visits and calls are essential. I made a big mistake with one meeting by not going into the town a few days in advance to remind people person- ally of the time and place and get their promises to be present. Some community support is essential if the organiza- tion is allowed to grow. I found that by contacting in- fluential liberals and getting assurance of their support, the teachers overcame part of their timidity. They would listen to my arguments, if I could attach them to an im- portant name. I realize that it is necessary to take them far beyond this stage, but at least it is a step in that direction. The literature is not too helpful. It is the personal contacts that really count. I have used the literature after contacts have already been made, but I have had to select it very carefully. The magazine is good or bad, EACHER oi: ee ee “t Cab se ~~ ~ March-April, 1937 11 Nn} Organization . have ple in nh two son- in- ort, uld em hat nal ure to depending on the community. I feel that good reprints labeled as from the AMERICAN TEACHER would be more effective. The literature needs re-doing both in appear- ance and content. In some places we are failing to get membership be- cause of our concern with problems too remote from those of the average teacher. Not really too remote, but too remote to begin with. In five places, this has been a major problem, the Central Labor Unions having been used, not for teacher problems, but for all sorts of worthy causes. We have become identified with causes rather than with teacher issues—and, oh! how many worthy teacher causes we could sponsor! Before we can do effective or- ganizing we must get a knowledge of the local school problems. In New England we are grossly ignorant of the situations within the school systems. There are so many things we need. Existing locals should keep constant watch for situations in nearby towns. News files and note files would be so helpful to an or- ganizer. Existing locals must assume a good part of this work. We must also try to work through regular teacher organizations. At present, we are almost completely on the outside. A constant educational drive both within and without our locals must be made. A.F.T. member- ship has moved up and down with the general progress or retarding of the labor movement. Now, with the tre- mendous push forward, we must move fast, but soundly, so that permanence can be built. Delivering the Goods Nancy Lea Smith Vice-President for Tennessee Ww: FEEL that the following methods were effective in organizing several locals in Tennessee. 1. Achievements for teacher welfare by local unions at- tracted state-wide attention. Local 246’s successful drive for a salary schedule and a tenure law for our county resulted in many requests for information. The Marion County Local recently secured a county tenure law and they have received requests about “how to do it”. 2. We have set up a booth in the exhibit hall at each of the State and East Tennessee teachers’ meetings. We distributed literature from these booths and talked to teach- ers who seemed to be interested. 3. Our locals have taken an active part within the State Association (NEA) which has been trying to put over a state program for education. The delegations con- trolled by A.F.T. locals have consistently fought for the adoption of a more adequate program and we have re- ceived support from many non-union teachers. What is more important, we have stirred up interest in the A.F.T. In closing I would emphasize that the most effective method down here seems to be proof that teachers unions can deliver the goods. Every time a local makes a note- worthy gain for the welfare of teachers, neighboring teach- ers prick up their ears and become less afraid of “labor affiliation”. Some Fundamental Principles Harry Steinmetz Vice-President Southern Pacific Coast Area HE GROUP starting a cooperative venture such as a labor union should be bound together in three ways; by a social goal, by immediate objectives, and by a prin- ciple of order. 1. The social goal is an ultimate objective, ideal, pur- pose. If it is too remote and intangible, however, it can become an excuse for function, an ivory tower retreat such as “development of personality”. Possibly, the A.F.T. goal is such to some unreflective folk, but to most of us “Education for Democracy and Democracy in Education” suggests very tangible improvements in the educational systems of the world. This goal or slogan meant so much to the people of Washington during the last election that on the strength of it they elected a good unionist, Stanley Atwood (Local 400), state superintendent of schools. 2. Immediate objectives must be of sufficient attraction to make effort worthwhile even though the final goal prove elusive. The securing of federal aid in such a manner as to equalize educational opportunity, the application of rating scales in both directions, securing of civil service tenure, equal pay for equally difficult and skilled work, freedom to teach the facts according to convincing evi- dence without propaganda or coercion or intimidation, hours and load of work proportional to efficiency and right to a personal life—these are a few of the objectives of union teachers that bind them together. 3. The only principle of order operative in a coopera- i. . ~ ws > ht gern stn er ee oe hee 2 eet & he vn ~ ~ ae Re: a =. ee yy . Em the >, . eee Ne ert eae a wet and rts to -ation igned itious This f an- sands going . and com- a { eacusr [a March-April, 1937 ’ Benteet panies, the huge profits being made, the probable effects on employment and wages of the new labor machinery being installed. Charges were filed with the National Labor Relations Board alleging violation of federal law by domination of the company unions. The hearings before the Board served as a sounding board to expose the iniquities and shortcomings of this system as an alleged collective bar- gaining device. Much evidence and material gathered by the Steel Workers Organizing Committee investigators were turned over to the La Follette Committee. Its exposure of the steel companies’ employment of labor spies and provoca- teurs and their stocking of munitions served to weaken the companies’ position and strengthen that of the Stcel Work- ers Organizing Committee. The result of all this has been to restore courage, con- fidence and independence to the steel workers; to make them conscious of their rights and importance as mem bers of society. Over 200,000 have enrolled as union members, and thousands are coming in daily. Hundreds of union local lodges have been set up on a functioning basis. Civil rights and liberties have been restored to the workers in scores of corporation-dominated communities. i9 The amazing showing of political independence in the last national election brought many allies to the organiz- ing efforts. The mobilization of hundreds of fraternal, re- ligious, benevolent and civic organizations to aid in the campaign have constituted an important factor in its suc- cess thus far. All these factors and many others, plus the ever-swell- ing ranks of the union, contributed to weaken the anti- union position of the larger companies. The signing of an agreement by the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation with the Steel Workers Organizing Committee on March 2, 1937, symbolized the breaking of the backbone of anti- unionism not only in the steel industry but in all other industries. There is reason to believe that in breaking with past traditions in the industry the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Cor- poration has come to a realization of the need of adjust- ing corporation policy to changing social and economic conditions. Profound changes in labor relations policies on the part of other steel companies and industry generally will un- doubtedly follow. American labor and industry stand on the threshold of a new epoch. Labor Notes LaBor’s PROGRAM IN THE STATES oe drafts of eight proposed bills affecting Labor organization have been sent to all state chairmen of Labor’s Non-Partisan League, with the recommendation that they be made part of the legislative program of each state branch of the League. The law as proposed in each of these eight bills is long overdue in many states, and the League is endeavoring to have enacted into law what may be characterized as Labor’s 1937 charter of rights. The eight bills offered are: (1) State Labor Relations Act, similar to the Wagner National Labor Relations Act. (The Wagner Act applies only to interstate commerce.) (2) State Anti-Injunction Act, similar to the federal Norris-LaGuardia act, prohibiting the use of injunctions in labor disputes. (3) Amti-Eviction Act, prohibit- ing eviction of employees engaged in labor disputes. (4) Civil Liberties Act, to prohibit local ordinances which prevent meetings, parades, distribution of lit- erature, etc. (5) Deputy Sheriff Act, limiting the num- ber of deputy sheriffs and requiring that their com- pensation be from public funds. (6) Licensing of De- tectives Act, requiring all persons who act as private private police, or private guards to be licensed, and prohibiting the issuance of licenses to former strike breakers. (7) Collective Bargaining for Governmental Con- tracts, requiring all persons who enter into contracts with the state to agree to collective bargaining with their em- ployees. (8) Payment of Wages Act, requiring payment of wages at least twice a month, and other regulations protecting the worker. In each of the above cases, it is clear which abuse the law is intended to correct. Labor’s Non-Partisan League was a powerful factor in the last election, and is marshaling its forces to attain the realiza- tion of these proposals. In many states, the League has already called statewide conferences with other progres- sive groups. The research and legal staffs of the League are at the service of every state group. . . . Labor is wise and will depend upon the development and utilization of its own organizational resources, and will not rely solely upon benevolent public officials. New Lasor CHAMPION seep 22, 1937, appropriately marked a declaration of independence of the legal profession. On that day there was in session at the nation’s capital the first con- vention of the National Lawyers Guild, an organization on ~— se a — = She 5-5 ee Pes 05 = : < eS Ce * Ray cd 3 =, iw, ag OY WR egg sah + Pe et. 4 ae = 20 formed to express the convictions of the liberal-minded lawyers of America. No one now seriously maintains that the long-established American Bar Association represents liberal thought in the profession, or even that it speaks for any real majority of the bar. The newly formed Guild will endeavor to articulate the principles of the ma- jority of progressive lawyers now inadequately represented. The constitution of the National Lawyers Guild differs from that of the American Bar Association in that it is far more democratic, which in turn indicates a contrast in fundamental approach. Important to labor are the principles embodied in the preamble to the Guild con- stitution, which declares human rights superior to prop- erty rights. It further places the economic security and welfare of workers and farmers at the forefront of na- tional prosperity. Cognizance of a pressing problem was taken when the delegates unanimously resolved to op- pose loyalty oaths for teachers. Prominent in the lead- ership of the Guild are such persons as John Patrick Devaney, formerly Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court of Minnesota, who is now being mentioned by com- mentators as a possible choice for the United States Su- preme Court; Morris Ernst, author of The Ultimate Power; Frank P. Walsh, noted liberal lawyer; Lee Press- man; Alexander Frye, and many others. Governor La Follette is on the Guild’s Executive Board. Labor forces everywhere will watch the Guild with the most intense interest, and future developments will be reported in these columns. Is UNEMPLOYMENT PERMANENT? HILE some business indices are already heralding the return of productive industry to “normal” or “near-normal” levels, there are still (according to the A.F.L. Monthly Survey of Business) about 9,000,000 work- ers who have no place in our industries. Outcasts of our The cAmerican TRACHER economic order, they have been forced into degrading pov- erty, and are deprived of a chance to make their normal contribution to society by creating wealth and earning a decent income. Must our nation continue to brook such human waste? A few facts gathered from the source quoted above will help us to find an answer, and will incidentally expose in bold relief the beginnings of the next depression. In manufacturing, the production of the average worker in one hour was 25% higher in 1935 than in 1929; our anthracite mines produced 17% more coal per man-day; railroads handled 20% more ton-miles of freight per employee; telephone companies have raised the number of phones in service by 53% per employee. Some of this is due to the speed-up and stretch-out, and the rest is due to technological improvement. In any case, the conclusion is inescapable that a return to 1929 levels of production will by no means bring a return to 1929 levels of employment; and even in 1929, be it remem- bered, we had several million unemployed. Since 1929, our population has grown steadily. There are today 4,500,- 000 more workers than were then seeking jobs. The present upswing will not take up more than a little of this slack; what shall be done in the next few years with all this wasted labor force? A partial answer lies in the fact that before NRA, the average work week was 4154 hours; during NRA, 373% hours; today it stands at 41% hours. A reduction in the length of the work week will spread employment; such reduction must of course be ac- complished without any loss in real wages to those now employed. This incomplete solution must be fortified by an expanded public works program. In any case, until there are jobs in industry at decent wages for those who need them, we must count on large Federal expenditures. There is no other way. The time for abandoning WPA is not at hand; it needs to be considered most seriously whether our economic order clearly points the way to abandoning it ever. The Final Report of the A.F.T. Committee which investigated the Davis case will be issued at the end of April. The Report contains much material that has not previously appeared in analyses of the case. The College Committee on Academic Freedom had interviews with al] the members of the Divinity School permanent faculty, and the evidence uncov- ered in these interviews is included. There are also unpublished documents, the comments of former and present students on Professor Davis’s work, and the statements of scholars of sociology throughout _ the country. The Report is divided into eight sections: Part I describes the procedure of the investigating com- %, ie of the Yale e succeeding sec- re holarship re teaching a anal faculty’s failure to recommend Professor Davis’s promotion, and incidents involv- ing violation of academic freedom. The vast array of evidence presented in these sections leads the committee to the conclusion that Professor Davis is being dropped by the Yale Cor- poration “because his economic views, his researches into the evils of the present economic order, and his activities in the labor movement offended wealthy alumni and members of the Yale Corporation.” Members of thé committee that conducted the investigation include Prof. Colston E. Warne (Eco- nomics) of Ambherst, Chairman; Arnold Shukotoff (English) of City College, New York, Secretary; Prof. Robert Morss Lovett (English) of the University of Chicago; Prof. Ralph Harlow (Religion and Biblical Literature) of Smith College; Dr. J. Raymond Walsh (Economics) of Harvard University. Copies of the Report may be purchased from the National Office at 10 cents a copy. ie. eta oP ee a — ” Teacuer MM March-April, 1937 21 ing pov- normal ning a ok such — emocracy ind will of the @ e@ se 1 Of the 5 thas an C/100 MINISITALION re coal ] niles of CHARLES J. HENDLEY raised ployee. ut, and OR THE purpose of this discussion it is necessary to plain that a worker does not have a constitutional right ly case, Fh sveseaning tothe term democracy. The definition, to a job and that if he has a job he does not have a con- ) levels rule by the people, is too abstract. For the details stitutional right to a living wage. In some respects the 9 1929 of administration cannot be executed by the people en modern industrial worker is more insecure than the serfs remem- masse. Obviously school routine cannot be carried out by of the middle ages, for the feudal law did recognize the | 1929, the teachers and pupils without direction. We need effi- serf’s right to subsistence on the lord’s domain. 4,500,- i managers schools. manage e » ° a ° ° The Po . Cc we & ae i patna Similarly democratic school administration does not exist ttl - : —- mn & gee ee ee ‘ except in rare instances. It does exist perhaps here and ttle of regime? The fundamental basis of democracy is the in- eos tis deme Pe age oe 2 's with tegrity and the wisdom of the masses. Democracy recog- there by default, even in the public ool systems. ut, in th » ag nel : ~% on the whole, the autocratic power of the principal and the in the nizes a dignity and an importance in the humblest mem- ; : 41% : , ial” on superintendent is taken for granted. Our social and eco- BL 7% ber of the community. Lincoln once said, “Every man ; : aoa i i ality alti t 41% is my superior in some respect.” In a democracy there nomic environment makes for autocracy in the ools. k will Sie _— ‘ ; It is thoroughly established in the custom and usage of a We is a basis on which all are equal. The strong and the piew . ; ; be ac- . " " . rican business and industry that the boss is an auto- Ss weak, the intelligent and the unintelligent, the educated . , - : : crat. His word is law. He hires and fires as he pleases, 7 on and the ignorant, the unskilled common laborer and the : : ’ ed b ao : : and has the air of an autocrat. The more powerful he is ‘ me Oy expert technician, are all recognized as having an equal the bi hi cod Se the denthe of the dl * until right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the right ee ee oe eee ee & e who li : , ; sion some executives were drawing salaries of hundreds of > Bad ne thousands of dollars. ss WPA In school, democracy means a recognition of a basis of The school administrator is an imitation of the business 2 lously equality for every one in the school, including, pupils, executive. He dresses like him, imitates him in his man- Ft = ay to teachers, supervisors, other employees, and the parents. (In ner, and in the smaller city where he has opportunity hob- b Ipos some schools parents are treated as interlopers when they = nobs with him in the rotary club and local chamber of wee | come around.) Democracy in school recognizes that the commerce. He has the lingo of the business executive. 488 Qu ‘ individuality and personality of each child is deserving of There is, however, this difference; an industrial autocrat, aN . respect and consideration, and allows for the free develop- or even an army officer, is likely to rule with more reason het, oe . ment of the personality of every child and teacher. It aims because he has to meet his equals in the stress and strain ae 4 ia t at an equality of opportunity for all, which does not neces- of the work-a-day world. He may have to meet organized por ee - sarily mean uniformity of opportunity. workmen like the dare-devils who put up sky-scrapers or ee as S ; ; : , man the ships at sea, who can give him back as good as he bay 4 . To go outside of the achosl, these is no econcame aoats can give. But the school administrator issues orders to chil- tae y for democracy in America. The great mass of Americans dren and to teachers who for the most part are of mild ae do not own land or the tools they work with. They do not temperament and are thoroughly drilled in obedience. As a have homes of their own. In the modern industrial world @ consequence of this difference in the jobs of the two auto- the worker has no claim upon industry except for his wages for the hours or days he has worked. The rate of wages is fixed by the conditions of the labor market, and he can be discharged on immediate notice regardless of whether he is left destitute or has a little surplus of wages to tide him over for a while. If he goes on strike, he is treated as a trespasser on his own job that he may have held for years. The decisions of the Supreme Court have made it crats, the school man is likely to be more arbitrary and unreasonable. The most appalling thing about our autocratic school ad- ministration is the utter lack of consciousness of it on the part of the autocrats and their subjects except when some fool administrator gets out of bounds and drives his sub- jects to desperation. The most perfect form of autocracy > a Se wn " 4 —. “ IT OTT ee eet - . eT ee a ee tai. 3 cP — 7 | — SS Tee eg ee oem 22 is that in which orders are given as polite requests and are received with a smile and curtsy and obeyed without question. We do not have space to give many examples of what we would classify as arbitrary rule by school administrators. It is well known that school administrators are hypersensi- tive to criticism, and if it comes from a subordinate, it is taken as evidence of personal disloyalty, the most intol- erable attitude a subordinate in school administration can have. A typical administrator cannot understand how a teacher owes a greater loyalty to society, to the ideals of the school, to her conception of justice than to him. Super- visors are more eloquent on the noble quality of loyalty than on anything else, and are quick to sense a mutiny on the slightest evidence. One teacher a few years ago was denied her annual increment in salary because at a pub- lic meeting outside of school the superintendents were criti- cised sharply and she did not take the opportunity she had to defend them. Our city and state school systems were consciously mod- eled after the Prussian and the French systems, perfect illustrations of bureaucracy. Now it is almost like chal- lenging the state itself to question the arbitrary power of school administrators. The school is recognized as an arm of the state, and the more the totalitarian conception of the state comes to be accepted the more autocratic will the school administrator become. We know too well how the schools are serving the state in Italy and Germany. The school, of course, is a most strategic center in society, either in a democracy or an autocracy. So we may be sure that the reactionaries will use the schools to the full limit of their possibilities whenever and wherever they come into power. Another reason why autocratic school administration is accepted without much question is the mechanical difficul- ties involved in managing the big over-crowded schools. In New York City the mechanics of putting more than a mil- lion of the population through a daily routine is appalling. The factory method of standardized mass production seems to be the logical solution. The syllabi, the text-books and the regents examinations are the blue-prints, the supervis- ors are the foremen and managers, the teachers are the workers on the line, and we have a pretty well standardized product in our graduates. The President of the Board of Education says there are over 5000 classes in the New York system enrolling fifty or more students. Yet every time the school budget comes up the Citizens Budget Commis- sion, representing our most substantial citizens, is on hand to oppose an appropriation to reduce the size of classes. We have reports that the same obstacle stands in the way of the reduction of the size of classes in all parts of the country. : What can be done about democracy in the schools? One conclusion is that we cannot do anything about it. The school, it is argued, can function only as an instrument of aoe" tepr ; 2 OF RE IIR, CHE AT FO The cAmerican TEACHER the state, and the teachers have no choice but to accept orders given to them. We are now bound by oath to support the state’s constitution, which can mean only one thing to the administrator—respect for constituted authority and obedience to it. It is easy to reach the conclusion that it is futile to talk of democratic school administration, in that we should accept autocracy and adjust ourselves to it, either as martinets and drill masters or as obedient servants. But why should a million American school teachers accept reaction without a struggle? The world is certainly not static. New social institutions will inevitably arise in the place of the old. If the human intellect has any influence in molding social institutions, why cannot a million school teachers have a part in molding the new institutions that are to come? The school will function in a positive way in the making of the social institutions of the future, and the school teachers should have something to say about what those institutions will be like. But democratic institutions will have to be built by those who have an interest in establishing them. Those who profit by the present financial and industrial oligarchy are not going to save democracy for us. We who want democratic schools will have to establish them. And we cannot do it by wishful thinking or theoretical discussion. We cannot do it by individual effort. No one, no matter how good he is or how great his prestige is, can prevail against the reactionary forces alone. Collective action is absolutely essential. Organ- ized labor has shown us the way. Labor has dared to chal- lenge the autocratic power of the demigods of finance and industry, and by actual achievement has shown that organ- ization does get results. There is a definite relation of cause and effect between the recent movement of the automobile and steel workers and their gains in pay and recognition. Teachers are beginning to count as a positive force. Their experience as employees has changed their social and eco- nomic status. In the modern school systems the teachers are having much of the same experience that employees in industry have. In the big school systems we even punch time-clocks just like factory or office workers. We are directed in our daily routine by the sound of gongs, we are regimented and disciplined very much as factory workers are. We can be summarily dismissed, as a rule, for very few of us are protected by tenure. We are subjected to arbitrary wage cuts and suffer the insecurity in illness and old age that other workers suffer. We are even subjected to the speeding up, or stretch-out, process in the increase of the size of our classes and the additions to our extra-curricular duties. Experiences of this kind have opened the teachers’ eyes to the fact that they are employees rather than learned pro- fessionals. Working together in large groups and having very much the same experiences cause workers to organize for mutual advantage, and teachers are now aligning them- selves with other workers. T BACHER ) accept support thing to ity and hat it is in that t, either S. 3 accept nly not in the fluence . school hat are ' in the nd the it what y those ) profit ire not ocratic 0 it by t do it e is or ionary Irgan- ) chal- se and organ- cause nobile nition. Their 1 eco- rs are es in punch e are ye are orkers y few itrary 1] age 0 the f the cular es to pro- ving anize hem- er cern with the trade union. “Did you distribute leaflets? ‘3 March-A pril, 1937 oe = + an Pa. : The labor union that functions democratically is a strong bulwark against reaction. In the labor movement we have both the economic foundation and the functioning machinery of democracy. In the labor movement lies our best hope for a genuine democracy. The modern, alert teachers are align- ing themselves with this progressive force. They recognize that in the schools as in industry, organization will break Hi caring On July 10, 1936, the Board of Examiners of the City of New York denied Miss Laura Liebman a license to teach English in the high schools of the city. The rea- sons given were “insufficiently meritorious service and un- satisfactory class teaching test.” Miss Liebman, a graduate of Hunter College with five years’ teaching experience, received a rating of 78.133 in the written part of the high school English examination and 13.5 in the oral interview. Besides these excellent ratings attesting Miss Liebman’s ability as a teacher, sev- eral letters from the Board of Education supervisors and principals praising her as an excellent teacher have been sent to the Board. Dr. Max Horowitz, Chairman of the English Department of Textile High School, wrote: “I’m certain Miss Liebman would be an asset to any school to which she may be assigned.” Dr. John M. Loughran, Principal of Samuel J. Tilden High School stated: “Miss Liebman is intelligent to a degree distinctly above average and is quick and energetic . . . we feel that she has the essential equipment to become a good teacher. . . .” And Dr. Frederick Ernst, an Assistant Superintendent of the Board of Education and Supervisor of the High School Remedial Reading Project observed: “Miss Liebman spoke . . . in such a very intelligent way and showed such an interest in the problems of remedial teachers, that I had her assigned as a head teacher.” As a result of pressure exerted on the Board of Exam- iners by prominent educators, trade unionists and the Joint Liebman Committee of Locals 5 and 453 of the Ameri- can Federation of Teachers, Miss Liebman, president of Local 453, was granted a hearing before the Board on February 25. It is significant to indicate that at the hearing the nature of the questions addressed to Miss Liebman on the part of some members of the Board of Examiners had a con- 23 through autocracy. They are beginning to organize, not in organizations dominated by principals and superintendents, but in their own organizations. They have caught the vision of a new frontier, the social frontier, and they prefer to be pioneers on this new frontier rather than merely to exist as beneficiaries of an old, dying order of society. Granted Have you participated in demonstrations? lieve that teachers should organize?”’ etc. Do you be- It is evident that the “insufficiently meritorious record” charge is a screen for discrimination on the part of the Board of Examiners against Miss Liebman’s excellent rec- ord as a trade unionist. Miss Liebman did participate in demonstrations and she spoke at many of these open air meetings. Miss Liebman exercised her rights as an Ameri- can citizen to protest against the injustice which the WPA workers suffered. Miss Liebman, together with others in the WPA organized movement have won the maintenance of WPA. In the course of these activities for economic security Miss Liebman took advantage of the only means available to any organized trade union group to win its demands—leaflets, demonstrations, picket lines, etc. At the hearing Miss Liebman met the questions with precise- ness, and throughout defended the rights of teachers in the trade union movement. The hearing did not cover the second charge dealing with the “unsatisfactory classroom teaching.” Miss Lieb- man, together with Herman E. Cooper, attorney for Local 5, submitted a brief covering this phase of the rejection. The brief, based on documentary evidence, points con- clusively to the fact that the charge is unsubstantiated. More than three weeks have passed since the hearing but no decision has been rendered by the Board of Ex- aminers. As one means of hastening the Board’s decision both Locals 5 and 453 are holding a mass meeting on April 16. The attendance at the meeting will show the attitude of New York teachers toward further penalization by the Board of Examiners of a teacher who exercises a citizen’s rights. It is urgent meanwhile that the locals of the American Federation of Teachers write to the Board of Examiners of New York City, requesting that a prompt decision be given and that Miss Liebman’s license be granted. Joint Laura Liebman Defense Committee of Locals 5 and 453 = _ . et pipe Some SA Ss : ~ : Sloat oi Fir wag the total population of either the Argentine, Belgium, Canada, Holland, or Hungary; equals the combined populations of Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland; and constitutes one-tenth of the total population in the United States—estimated at approximately 13,000,000 in 1936. Of this number some 3% millions are school children, 5 to 17 years of age inclusive. Relatively too few persons, including Negroes themselves, have any real conception of the struggle which this sizeable segment of our population has been and is making to secure anything approximating an equitable educational opportunity, guaranteed as the inalienable right of every American child. T= Necro population of the United States outnumbers The Legal Basis of Separate Schools Public education in this country is a function of state support and control. The public school “system” is not a system at all, but 48 or more independent school systems— supported and controlled by the individual states, conse- quently reflecting the varied mental, moral, and financial wealth or poverty of the units involved. Thus, in 19 states and the District of Columbia Negroes are forced by law to attend schools set apart for them; in three states, sepa- rate schools are legally permissive; in 12 states, they are .prohibited and in 14 states, the law is silent on the question. Since 1865, some 120 cases have been brought into State and Federal courts questioning the validity of separate schools and certain aspects related to their administra- tion. The courts have generally held: (1) that states have the legal right to establish and maintain separate schools (public and private, higher and lower) for the various races, provided that substantially equal educational oppor- tunity is afforded; (2) that where the power to establish and maintain separate schools is not expressly authorized, or is prohibited, by statute, school authorities may neither maintain separate schools, nor even separate classes which are based solely on race. Despite the rather clearly-stated conditions under which separate schools may operate, school authorities either through direct violation or evasion of the law maintain separate schools to the admitted disadvantage of the Negro. The cAmprican Teacup Needed—An Educational “New Deal” For the Negro CHARLES H. THOMPSON Typical Discrimination in Separate Schools There has been considerable misunderstanding, misin- formation, and just plain ignorance about the extent of educational discrimination against Negroes. The following examples of discrimination will be taken from the legally- mandatory separate school since it is typical. Physical Plants of Common Schools. The physical plants of the Negro separate schools are almost invariably inferior to those of the white schools in the same communi- ties. It is estimated that there are 25,000 separate Negro elementary school buildings in the country, and some 600 separate high school buildings. More than three-fourths of the elementary schools are one- or two-room structures. And, despite the building of more than 5,000 school build- ings with the aid of the Rosenwald Fund, the typical Negro elementary school building is still a ramshackle, dilapidated affair sadly in need of replacement. Nor are there enough of these to “house” the Negro pupils enrolled in school. A fairly recent survey (1932) showed that 48 per cent more classrooms than are now provided would have to be built if Negro pupils now enrolled in school were to be “housed” to the extent as white pupils in the same communities are. Moreover, the value of school plants for each pupil enrolled in school was $37 for each Negro pupil, and $157 (or more than four times as much) for each white child enrolled in school. It would take $242,000,000 just to bring the physical plants of Negro common schools up to the level of the white school plants in the same communities, even on the basis of pupils enrolled in school —to say nothing about providing for those who ought to be in school but are not. Length of School Term. Not only has the length of the Negro common school term rarely equaled the white school term in the same community, but it was relatively shorter by one-half month in 1932 than it was in 1910. In 1910, the average length of the Negro school term was 5% months; that of the white school term in the same com- munity, 634 months—one month longer. In 1932, the Ne- gro school term was 634 months; the white, 844 months —1% months longer. Common School Teachers. Separate Negro schools not only have poorer buildings and equipment and shorter chool ht to f the vhite ively . In not rter ~ March-April, 1987 school terms than the white schools in the same com- munities, but proportionately fewer teachers are provided to teach the Negro pupils enrolled. In 1900, 29 per cent more teachers were provided in the white elementary schools than were provided for the same numbers of pupils in the Negro elementary schools in the same communities. In 1930, 38 per cent more teachers were provided in the white schools. Thus, instead of a bad situation improving, it has grown relatively worse. : In general, Negro teachers are less well trained than white teachers in the same communities. One would, therefore, expect Negro teachers in general to be paid a smaller salary than white teachers. But one would also expect the Negro teacher to be paid in accord with her training and level of work. This, however, is not the case. The Negro elementary school teacher, although she has 70 per cent as much training and teaches 38 per cent more pupils, nevertheless receives only 47 per cent as much salary. In 1900, the difference between white and Negro teach- ers’ salaries was only $56; in 1930 the difference was $478, despite the fact that the training of the Negro teacher more nearly equalled that of the white teacher in - 1930 than in 1900. Again, a bad situation grows still worse. Provision for High Schools. A survey in 1932 found 230 counties in which there was at least one high school for whites in each of these counties, yet in not one of them was there a single high school for Negroes. And this, despite the fact that 158,939 Negro pupils of high school age lived in these counties, and despite the fact that in no county was the Negro population less than one-eighth of the total population. Moreover, even where high schools are provided, similar differences in school equipment, number and training of teachers, and in length of school term are found as were observed in the case of the elementary school. Common School Expenditures. In 1930, the per capita expenditure for each white child in common schools was $44.31; for each Negro child, $12.57. Some 252% more money was spent on each white child enrolled in school— with a range of 28.5% more in Oklahoma to 731.9% more in Mississippi. Five states (Ala., Fla., Ga., N. C. and S. C.) spent more than three times as much money ($5,055,846) merely to haul white pupils to and from high school as was spent ($1,667,144) on all the Negro high schools in these states for everything—teachers’ sal- aries, equipment, operation of plant, etc. In 1934-35, Lou- isiana spent more money ($1,816,266) merely to haul 121,- 341 white pupils to and from common school than it spent ($1,749,427) for both current expenses and capital outlay on the entire common school education-of all the 172,629 Negro pupils enrolled in school. But even more significant, the disparity in per capita So AE Sen 25 expenditures upon white and Negro schools has progres- sively increased rather than decreased. In 1900, only 48 per cent more money was spent on each white child en- rolled in school; in 1930, 252% more was spent. Even in states such as Texas and North Carolina this same trend is found. In 1905, the disparity in Texas was only 26% ; by 1930, it had increased to 142%. In North Carolina, it was only 35% in 1900; but had reached 155% in 1930. There is no question but that Negroes receive less of an equitable share of school funds now than they did in 1900. . Higher Education. Although the population ratio is only 3% or 4 to 1, nevertheless these states provide col- lege education for white students at state expense in the ratio of 16 to 1. Moreover, in 16 states there is not a single state-supported institution where a Negro may pur- sue graduate or professional work, yet some 15,000 white students receive such training at state-supported institu- tions. However, five of these states—Oklahoma, Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia—have passed laws providing for the financial aid of Negro students thus de- prived. But the small pittance generally provided serves more as a means to allow the state to escape the law than it does as an honest substitute for excluding Negroes from their legal right. How Educational Discrimination Is Effected In general, the same methods are used to effect educa- tional discrimination as are employed in other phases of Negro life—discriminatory legislation, evasion and viola- tion of law, intimidation, and the like. Discriminatory Legislation. This method of discrimina- tion is of two types. The first type arises because a differential in the educational provisions for whites and Negroes is written into the law itself. For example, the Public School Laws of Maryland make the following pro- visions regarding salaries of county teachers: “No white teacher regularly employed in a public school of the State of Maryland, holding a first grade certificate, shall re- ceive a salary of less than nine hundred and fifty dol- lars ($950) per school year. . . . No teacher regularly employed in the public schools for colored children in the State of Maryland, holding a first grade certificate, shall re- ceive a salary of less than sixty-five ($65) per month... .” Thus by law a lower minimum salary is set for Negro teachers in Maryland. The second type of discrimination through legislation consists in framing school laws so as to permit discrimina- tion without actually writing it into the law. The Mis- sissippi salary law (1928) is a good example of this type of legislation. The law provides that teachers with a third-grade certificate shall receive a salary between $20 and $30 a month; those with a second-grade certificate, between $30 and $40 a month; and those with a first- i : 4 a aa aa ‘iH a4 a eit Eli 7) % a a ei 1 ie > a tu Hi ‘ei 26 grade certificate, between $30 and $150 a month. Ob- serve that no distinction between the races is made in the wording of this law as is the case in Maryland, although its practical operation has the same effect. Under this law a Negro teacher with a first grade certificate may be paid as small a salary as a white teacher with a third grade certificate, while a white teacher may be paid five times as much as a Negro teacher with the same training, certification and work. It is needless to state that this is exactly what happens in many instances. Discrimination in Violation of Law. This probably is the method employed most frequently to impose discrim- inations. Numerous illustrations might be given but one or two must suffice. First, illegal discrimination in regard to high schools and colleges has already been pointed out. Second, state funds are generally distributed to the vari- ous county units on the basis of the number of children of school age in the county, regardless of race. In Lou- isiana, in 1932-33, for example, each one of the 66 par- ishes received $6 for every child of school age in the parish, white and Negro alike. In addition, the school districts of the parish supplemented this fund of $6 per child from local revenues. At the end of the school year it was found that 47 of these parishes spent less than half the money (48% ) on each Negro pupil enrolled in school that they actually received from the state fund by virtue of the presence of Negro children in the parishes. In fact these 47 parishes not only diverted to white schools, more than 52 per cent of the money brought into the parish by virtue of the presence of Negroes, but spent absolutely nothing from local funds on Negro schools. Exclusion of Negroes from Positions of Authority. Negro common schools, like all other American common schools, are controlled by state, county, and city boards of education, and to some extent, by state, county and city superintendents. Superintendents and boards of education are either elected by the people or appointed by some one who holds office through election. With few exceptions in large urban centers, Negroes in the South, either because of “custom” or for other well-known reasons, do not vote. Nor are they frequently appointed or selected as mem- bers of boards. The same situation obtains in the case of superintendents; there are practically no Negro county, city, or state superintendents. Motives Underlying Discrimination The basic motives underlying the educational discrimina- tion imposed upon Negroes are two-fold. Lack of Funds. The South is unable financially to sup- port one system of public schools, yet it attempts to main- tain two. Education, being mainly a state function, is de- pendent upon the resources of the several states. The The cAmprican TEACHER South is poor in wealth but rich in children. The average per capita wealth of the South in 1930 was $1,785 as com. pared with $3,609 for the rest of the country. The South also has 20 per cent more children. Moreover, the South expends just as large a proportion of its funds for educa- tion as the other states. And yet, if all the money for education were spent on white children alone, the school systems of the Southern states would still be at the end of the list. In such a situation, the school officials in the South, who are almost invariably white, have diverted school funds as far as possible from Negro schools to white schools. “Keeping the Negro in His Place.” The second motive underlying discrimination is the main one—“Keeping the Negro in his place.” The Negro’s “place” is a rather indefinite status, but always inferior to the whites in the same community. Unfortunately the white masses of the South have been led to believe that they can raise their own status by degrading the status of the Negro. Effects of Educational Discrimination As might be expected, the discrimination in educational opportunity which the Negro suffers in the separate school is reflected in a correspondingly lower educational and so- cial status. Just a few examples will suffice to illustrate some of the effects of these discriminations. First, the Negro school term is 114 months shorter than the white school term in the same community. The Negro child, unless he can learn as much in a shorter time, is compelled to take 912 years to complete the same cur- riculum that the Southern white child has an opportunity to complete in 8 years. The result of this situation is seen in the fact that in 1922, 17.9 per cent fewer Negro pupils were above the fifth grade as compared with the white pupils in the same community, and, in 1932, 19 per cent fewer Negroes were so enrolled—thus, indicating that Negro pupils were 17.9 per cent more retarded than the white pupils in 1922 and 19 per cent more retarded in 1932. (Note the increase.) Second, attention has .been called to the fact that not only are Negro high school facilities very inferior when- they are provided, but in many instances no high school opportunity is provided at all. Obviously, this situation reduces the educational level of the Negro group corre- spondingly. In 1910, 24 times as many white pupils of high school age were enrolled in high school as Ne- groes of high school age in the same communities; in 1932, almost 3% times as many whites as Negroes were enrolled in high school. The same sort of situation exists on the college level. In 1932, there were 4 times as many white college students in the South in proportion to the total white population of the South as there were Negro college students on a similar basis; and 5%4 times as many gearst FF se ZaeeowvdgwKRkeae & ~x~ a*« = = & & &» ~~. T BACHER average as com- ie South e South r educa- mney for > school the end s in the diverted 10ols to | Motive jing the . rather | in the ; of the se their ational - school and so- lustrate er than Negro ime, is le cur- rtunity tion is Negro ith the 19 per 1g that an the ded in at not when school ‘uation corre- pupils is Ne- es; in 3 were exists many to the Negro many March-April, 1937 st 2 AS eee ee ot Sa a white graduates as Negro college graduates on the same basis. One can easily imagine the handicap that Ne- groes must suffer in any competition which requires edu- cational competence. Third, in 1930, 19.7 per cent of the Negroes 10 years old and over in the South could not read and write, as compared with 3.7 per cent of the Southern whites of the same age. Even in the school-age group of 10 to 14 the ion was about the same—6.1 per cent of the Negro children in the South of this age group were illiterate as compared with 1.3 per cent of the white children in the The 27 Illiteracy statistics indicate definitely the differential ef- fect of various types of school opportunity. In the North where Negroes have access to much better school oppor- tunity less than 1 per cent (.4%) of the Negro children 10-14 years old are illiterate. This is considerably less than the illiteracy rate (1.3%) of white children of the same age level in the South. Not only is this true of illiteracy but also of other measures. Where Negroes have school opportunities that approximate the whites we find their educational status correspondingly approximates that of the whites. Where the school opportunities of Negroes are lower we find Negroes’ educational status correspond- ingly lower. lasstoom BERYL PARKER This department is concerned with discussions of the daily school life of teachers and pupils. It seeks to show how teachers have succeeded in bringing social procedures into the classroom and social content into the curriculum. Reports from classrooms are being collected for a series of articles that will be of special interest and practical value to readers of THe AMERICAN TEACHER during the school year 1937-1938. Articles and notes from classrooms all over the country are needed to give a composite picture of changes taking place im the elementary and secondary schools of rural communities and city districts, suburban towns and indus- trial centers. Will you take a few hours during the sum- mer vacation to write down your own experiences in mak- ing school life more democratic, and send the editor your story? Raise any questions you think should be dis- cussed by teachers who are assuming increased responsi- bility for the determination of educational policies. HIs issue continues a series of articles on The Activity Program. The first dealt with The Meaning of the Activity Program as revealed in democratic forms of school life, which permit pupils and teachers to: gain social ex- periences in the classroom and thus equip themselves for active participation in the affairs of the wider community outside. The second article discussed The Development of the Activity Program with respect to changes in school ad- ministration, pupil behavior, curricula, schedules, equip- ment and materials, class size, school budgets and the Professional activities of teachers. Resutts From THE ACTIVITY PRocRAM Schools which have reorganized classroom life to per- alt greater activity for pupils report better results in academic learning and superior social responses on the part of both pupils and teachers. For a democratic society it is important that educa- tional standards in basic subjects should rise, but it is even more vital to democracy that the social behavior of citizens should attain higher levels. Public education has a responsibility for literacy, but its ultimate goal is social intelligence and social action. Therefore, it is necessary to weigh results in social learnings as well as the three R’s. Fortunately teachers of today do not have to rely en- tirely on opinion or their own experience when they want to know whether pupils learn more or less under the Activity Program. Recent and reliable studies of learning in the “old” school and the “new” give fairly consistent evidence of the superiority of the “school of activity”, both on elementary and secondary levels. Psychologists, sociologists and educators are moving toward agreement that the total learning situation pro- vided by the socialized classroom is conducive to pupil growth in behavior, literacy, subject areas, and social effi- ciency. They are equally certain that difficulties in learn- ing and behavior problems are frequently due to the arti- ficial restraints and unsocial atmosphere of classroom life in schools which have never realized the meaning of “de- mocracy in education”. Extensive research on results was reported by Wright- stone* in 1935 when he published a comparative study of practices in “standard-type” schools and “newer-type” schools in four communities, which included suburban and industrial districts with pupils of varying socio-economic status. After devising new means of measurement, Wright- stone set out to evaluate the sociological aspect of school life which he regards as fundamental in the “newer-type” pam. J. Wayne: Appraisal of Newer Practices in Selected Public Schools. Bares of Publications. Teachers College, Columbia Caiversity. ~~ -— enw ia ghee ew — > - ~~ aad ee eee ~ i a a ge eS ee eT ore ee een. ee ee titi bd P . . ‘ . om ) aia a , ot ae, anti ma dl | os Y ia ee Pd ot ett 28 school. In addition, he applied the usual tests to meas- urement of achievement in basic school subjects. Groups in the two types of schools were equated for intelligence, chronological age and socio-economic status. It may allay the anxiety of worried teachers to know that Wrightstone found the pupils from primary grades in “newer-type” schools ranked slightly higher than those in “standard-type” schools in reading, spelling, language and arithmetic. Similarly, upper elementary grade pupils from the “newer-type” schools were slightly superior in rank on reading, language and arithmetic tests. Although the differences in achievement are not great, they are significant, because they show that basic learnings do not decline under the Activity Program in elementary schools. The trend toward superior academic achievement in sec- ondary schools using “newer-type” practices is equally clear from the results of tests in history, civics, sciences, reading, language usage, literature, French, Latin, arith- metic, algebra, and geometry. Often the differences are slight and in two sub-divisions of major subjects the “standard-type” school ranked a shade higher. From these studies it is clear that learning in the nar- row academic sense is fostered by the freer forms of school life. The superior results from “newer-type” schools are all the more striking in view of the fact that the time spent on straight academic work and formal drill is less in the activity school than in the “standard-type” school. Social responses of pupils were studied next, although they could not be measured by the usual test techniques. In order to compare the kind and number of social re- sponses made by pupils in two types of schools, Wright- stone trained skillful observers who recorded specific kinds of social behavior in the classrooms for definite periods when different sorts of school work were in progress. The results give overwhelming evidence that the “newer-type” school encourages desirable social responses, while the “standard-type” school reduces pupil responses to narrow and mechanical forms. Data from Wrightstone’s studies will suffice to show the trend in results. During social studies periods, the ob- servers recorded pupil responses under three major cate- gories. L. Initiati in preparing a voluntary report or exhibit; in extemporaneous contribution from real experience ; in extemporaneous contribution from vicarious ex- perience; in suggesting means, methods, activities, solutions. II. Other Social Responses Responsibility in preparing an assigned report or ex- hibit. The cAmmpRICAN TBRACHER Curiosity in asking questions on the topic, unit or problem. Criticism in praising or challenging the work of others, including the teacher. III. Memory in giving answers to questions on assigned academic material. The results are evident in the table below which shows percentage frequencies of pupil responses in two types of schools at three levels. Percentage Frequencies of Pupil Responses in Social Studies Periods (N.TS. indicates “newer-type” school, and §.T.S. indicates “standard-type” school) Primary Intermediate Secondary N.TS. STS. NTS. S.TS. N.TS. S.TS 3 69 8 49 14 1 15 5 24 13 16 87 27 73 For schools in a democracy wishing to fufill their avowed aims, it is clear that the “newe:-type” school, by its class- room practices, contributes much more to the development of initiative, responsibility and critical thinking than the “standard-type” schools where memorization and recita- tion restrict pupil activity seriously. The response of pupils in the classroom cannot be stud- ied apart from the teacher. It is necessary to know what teachers are doing to promote or restrain pupil activity. Wrightstone’s observers made a record of the stimulation teachers gave to their pupils during the same social studies periods. I. Orientation: The teacher allows a voluntary contri- bution; encourages a contribution; proposes a ques- tion or thesis; refers to source of information; sug- gests means, methods or activities. II. Prohibition: The teacher discourages pupil contribu- tion; recalls pupil’s attention. III. Assignment-Quiz: The teacher assigns specific sub- ject matter; gives quiz on assigned subject matter. Percentage Frequencies of Teacher Stimulation in Social Studies Periods Primary Intermediate Secondary NTS. STS. NTS. STS. NTS. STS. 3 ee 70 «(13 2 o.-s9 . 2 95 208 27,85 Clearly the teachers in “newer-type” schools are ac- tively participating in the classroom work of pupils and not merely carrying on the dull routine of assigned lessons followed by the inevitable written or oral quiz. Because pupils are so eager to make contributions and follow vari- ous interests, teachers in the activity school are actually prohibiting pupils’ responses more often than in the stand- ard school, where the passive attitude of pupils keeps them unit or | others, assigned 1 shows ypes of ates ondary 5. S.T.S. 14 13 73 avowed s class- pment an the recita- e stud- ¥ what tivity. ulation studies contri- _ ques- > Sug- itribu- c sub- ‘ter. | in adary STS. 13 85 e ac- s and cause tually tand- ~ March-April, 1987 from making suggestions. Whenever the activity program is soundly developed the class group becomes a social unit bringing pupils and teachers close together in their work on common plans and problems. Results from other investigations confirm the studies by Wrightstone. Frederick Pistor had similar results in his study at Ball State Teachers College, Muncie, Indiana. Ellsworth Collings’ report of an experiment with a project curriculum contains similar conclusions. Carleton Wash- burne and Louis Roths report comparable results for pupils from the Winnetka public schools. Thomas Hopkins and James Mendenhall, Lincoln School of Teachers College, showed that test results through a ten-year period in that activity school reveal that children achieve comparable academic proficiency with children in subject-matter schools. The experience of hundreds of teachers in their own classrooms supports the evidence gathered by research workers. No teacher need fear that her children will learn less reading, writing and arithmetic if she carries on a well organized program of activities. Every teacher may be certain that the growing social power of her pupils will make school life an experience notable for its demo- cratic values. Teachers who have become effective lead- ers and participants in classroom activities are better equipped for group work in professional and civic organiza- tions. Dismissing their anxiety about academic standards, they may now devote their energies to a fuller development of social content in the curriculum and social procedures in classroom life. It 5 Hayapen ing Now New Activities by Old Friends HE NATIONAL CIVIC FEDERATION extends its felicitations! To whom? None other than the presi- dent of the Fansteel Metallurgical Association, Mr. Robert J. Aitchison, who recently distinguished himself by his war-like means of ejecting sit-down strikers from his fac- tory. The Federation terms Mr. Aitchison’s action “the first real victory of the forces of law and order [Is the emphasis needed? ] over that communistic movement which, almost unchallenged, is making such dangerous headway throughout the nation.” . . . By the way, did you know that one of the offshoots of the Liberty League, the Ameri- can Sentinels of the Republic, was in the thick of the fight nationally against the Child Labor Amendment? Among its members are Messrs. Sloan, Du Pont, Pitcairn, Pew, Stotesbury. Aging Financiers Oppose Youth Control! Legislative Victories for Civil Liberties AMONG recent victories for the defenders of civil liberties throughout the country we may proudly point to . . . The repeal of the state criminal syndicalism law in Washington by both houses of the legislature. . . . The defeat in the House of Representatives of Arkansas of a measure spon- sored by local redbaiters in Arkansas to close Common- wealth College, located near Mena. . .. Non-partisan opposi- tion in Congress to the repeal of the red-rider, the notorious oath law in the District of Columbia, which was the pet Measure of ex-Representative Blanton of Texas, defeated last fall for re-election. The modification of the red-rider abolishes the signing of affidavits twice monthly. The Production of “Loyalty” HOW the big automobile companies produce the “loyalty” among their workers to which the newspapers gave so much publicity was exposed during the February hearings of the Senate Civil Liberties Committee. One man testified that in the interests of a loyalty display, he was given access to factory stationery, mimeographing machines, the payroll of factory names to turn out “loyalty” propa- ganda. A machine worker in Chevrolet Plant No. 10 at Flint, Mich., told the Committee that he had been threat- ened with dismissal because he would not sign a petition saying he was satisfied with his working conditions. Can Teachers Be Parents? AT Akron, Ohio, the Welfare Committee of the Superin- tendent of Schools, in the course of its work with under- privileged children, reached the conclusion that a family with two children could not be adequately cared for on less than $1500 per year. Since a survey of the Akron schools by Local 287 indicates that over one-third of the teachers in the Akron system receive less than $1500, Local 287 raises the question: “Can teachers be parents . . . either school teachers don’t need as much as other people, or they shouldn’t have children—we haven’t yet decided which!” Note for Consumers ON the economic horizon, the outlook is for rising retail prices and new increases in the cost of living, according to recent estimates. One financial writer in the New York Herald Tribune said in December: “Reflected in the family budget, the lowered purchasing power of the dollar at home conceivably may be followed by a decline in aggregate consumption and living standards.” That big chain store and other retailers are going to pass the taxes under the new Social Security Act right on to the consumer in the form of higher prices is indicated in a recent state- Be Ree ee ha I 2 Se ee ee Ssh CER IE (cae D SRS DR eS sag it ARIE Oa VO ta BO A hi RG tena ORT é ee a ae ee 30 ment of E. N. Weinbaum, manager of retail merchants’ department of Portland, Ore., Chamber of Commerce, in addressing the convention of National Association of Retail Secretaries. He said that “probably the greatest source of relief to the retailer from pay roll taxes lies in the possi- bility of passing the tax on to the consumer. In general, the opinion is that the taxes will ultimately have to become part of the sales prices of most articles!” . . . And in order to make the customer feel better when he pays the higher price, L. E. Frailey advises fellow manufacturers and mer- chants, in American Business (Jan., 1937): “Around your announcement [of higher prices], throw an atmosphere of optimism. Make your buyer realize that higher prices are only an indication that ‘happy days are here again’—good for him and good for everybody.” Plans and Zeros for War INTERESTING admissions were made by Bernard M. Baruch, the chairman of the War Industries Board during the World War, when he testified before the Military Affairs Committee of the House on H.R. 1954, better known as the Industrial Mobilization Plan. According to Mr. Baruch, the bill would mean that wages would be controlled during wartime. He also admitted that a dic- tatorship would be imposed by the President under that clause of the bill which declares “the existence of an emer- gency due to the imminence of war.” . . . In the meantime National Defense Week, February 12-22, came at a time when the seven and a half billion armament program of Great Britain had stirred our Admirals into a new affirma- tion of the need for “a navy second to none.” The current billion dollar national defense appropriation, to them, now seems like small potatoes. Washington Shows the Way HOW the elected representatives of the people respond to the demand of our countrymen for legislation which, instead of attacking the rights of labor, actually protects, secures and increases them, is now being shown in the State of Washington. With the powerful Commonwealth Federation in the lead, a bloc of progressives is shaping the course of progressive legislation in Washington. An anti-tear gas statute has been passed. Other measures backed by the bloc are a measure to lower the tuition fees of students in the State University, one to provide a state emergency youth act, another to prohibit and limit the use of state police and the National Guard in labor disputes. Preview of Fascism at War THE evacuation of Malaga after the Fascist capture of the town was termed by an eyewitness, Dr. Norman Bethune of Montreal, the “most terrible of modern times”. 150,000 men, women and children, without assistance, were forced to undertake a 100-mile journey. The most terrible aspect of the migration was the deliberate bombing of the refugees by German and Italian airplanes. . . . Could this, The cAmerican TEACHER in any way, be an illustration of Nazi scientific theory, which approves the wartime bombing of the most crowded communities, where living conditions are the worst, on the grounds that eugenic improvement results? Major Erich Suchland likens this type of bombing to the use of insecti- cides in an address to the German Research Institute for Race and Social Biology. No More Compulsory R.O.T.C. COMPULSORY military training in State universities has at last been abolished by one state, North Dakota. The Farmer’s Union was chiefly responsible for the victory. And it is to be noted that in its long campaign for the abolition of the compulsory feature of military training, the Farmer’s Union opposed it as un-American. An Exhibit in Censorship DESERVED notoriety has reached a New York City school principal. William Clarke’s propensities towards censoring were recently exhibited in his removal of Arrow- smith and Les Misérables from the shelves of the school library. Somewhat annoyed by the publicity, the prin- cipal is actually going to read Arrowsmith and decide whether it’s fit for students. NEA on the Marriage of School Teachers ONE of the statements in the yearbook of the Department of Superintendence which should be of particular interest to the teacher, married or “considering”, deserves to be quoted. Social restrictions upon the marriage of women teachers have created a definite professional weakness. Undoubtedly the turn- over in the early years due to marriage has conditioned the reward to teachers in all save the larger urban centers. This fact in turn has had its effect on the salaries paid to men and has had some influence on the quality of men who are attracted to the profession. Why Organize? SPECIAL Covenant No. 4, part of contract which all pub- lic school teachers in Roanoke, Va., are required to sign: “The School Board reserves the right to curtail or increase the teaching year or salary as affected by the amount of city or state funds available for the session, and also reserves the right to terminate your individual employ- ment at any time, with or without cause, or make such changes in salary as may seem necessary and proper.” The Board has no uniform salary scale, and no teacher knows, unless by accident, what another receives. Old, well-qualified teachers have been dismissed in the last few years and new teachers employed—evidently much more cheaply. TEACHER c theory, . crowded st, on the jor Erich f insecti- titute for sities has ta. The victory. 1 for the training, rk City towards f Arrow- e school he prin- 1 decide yartment interest ps to be rs have e turn- ied the . This en and ‘tracted all pub- to sign: rtail or by the ion, and employ- ke such or ” teacher s. Old, last few *h more P =— ae ore a +e “ aly: "March-April, 1987 31 The Teachers Union in Action NATIONAL NEWS At the NEA Convention. Irvin R. Kuenzli, secretary- treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers, repre- sented the A.F.T. at the New Orleans convention of the Department of Superintendence of the NEA at a session devoted to problems of teacher organization. He stressed the support given by organized labor to the public schools from their inception up to the present time. Federal Aid. The national legislative committee is con- centrating all its forces on the fight for an adequate Federal Aid Bill. There is a fuller statement elsewhere in this issue on the present status of Federal Aid legislation. Election. Miss Allie B. Mann, Atlanta Local 89, was elected Vice President of A.F.T. to fill the vacancy created by Mr. Kuenzli’s election to the office of Secretary- Treasurer. Proposed Amendments to Constitution At the meeting of the Executive Council on December 31, 1936, it was voted that the following amendments be sub- mitted to the locals with a recommendation that they be adopted. The amendments will be approved or rejected by the majority of votes cast and not by the number of locals voting for and against. A. In Re Per Capita Payments Amendment to Article VIII. Amend by inserting after Section 2 as Section 3, and renumbering Sections 3 to 7 as 4 to 8. A local may pay the per capita tax as designated in Section 1 for all members of the local at the average salary for the teachers of the school system—such average to be obtained by adding the minimum and maximum salaries of the salary schedule and dividing by two. If locals which adopt this plan have members on different salary schedules such as Elementary, Junior High and Senior High, they shall pay for all members in each group at the average salary of that group, such average to be secured by adding the minimum and maximum salaries on the salary schedule of the group and dividing by two. Explanation (by original sponsors—Local No. 3). The present interpretation of the Revenue Section as applying to the individual salary of each member requires an undue amount of detailed bookkeeping by the local. In the large locals this is excessively burdensome and absorbs time and energy which can ill be spared for this type of work. The _ Purpose of the graduated tax was to throw the heavy burden of the national organization on the locals of higher paid teachers who were best able to carry it. The proposed amendment will accomplish the same purpose. B. In Re Employment of Secretary-Treasurer Amendment to Article V, Section 1. Amend by adding “The Secretary-Treasurer shall have voice but no vote in Executive Council meetings.” C. Amendment to Article V, Section 3. Amend by adding after Executive Council the words “with the exception of the Secretary-Treasurer”’ so that the section reads “The members of the Executive Council, with the exception of the Secretary-Treasurer, shall be elected by the Annual Convention for the term of one year, or until their successors are elected.” D. Amendment to Article IX, Section 4. Amend by deleting “organizers and use other legitimate means to organize new locals,” and by inserting “The secre- tary-treasurer and such other employees as it shall deem necessary,” so that the section reads “The Executive Council shall employ the secretary-treasurer and such other employees as it shall deem necessary.” Amendments B, C, and D pertain to the same change in the constitution and should be voted on as a group. Explanation (by original sponsors—Local No. 3). The growing size of the organization makes it difficult for dele- gates who attend conventions to judge competently among candidates for an office which requires skill and experience. It is increasingly recognized as good organization practice to center authority in an elected council, rather than to divide it so that in essential matters there is no completely responsible agency. This method of choice of Secretary- Treasurer also gives greater security to a competent employee of the organization. Section 5 includes the significant ele- ments deleted in Section 4. Note: The Executive Council in recommending these amendments, after discussion, desires to make it clear that amendments B, C, and D, giving the Council authority to employ the Secretary-Treasurer, will in no way increase the combined power of the Council and the Secretary-Treasurer. —_——@———_ Mrs. Mary Foley Grossman has asked the Editorial Board to print this statement of her views on amendments B, C, D dealing with the Secretary-Treasurer: Because I was unavoidably absent from the Executive Council meeting in December I should like to take this opportunity to express my disapproval of the amendment to the constitution that would take the election of the Secretary-Treasurer out of the hands of the members and 4 ‘ “shy Hae 4 a ¢ Sh. OU Veer tide © ae ~ t ‘ RAD ALR RE a ARN TM A A Al MB Rtas dea 4 . ee eee ed « a place it in the Executive Council. That I spoke against the idea when it was proposed in discussion by Mr. Kreuger at the council meeting in December, 1935, will be remembered by those council members who were present then. Democracy is and should be the basis of organization in the American Federation of Teachers. While we also differ on many points of policy with other educational organiza- tions, we have been justly proud of our differences in demo- cratic procedure. We have constantly repeated that the American Federation of Teachers is administered by and for the classroom teacher. We have reiterated that every member of our organization is equally responsible for and has equal voice in the conduct of its affairs. To begin now (and I have advisedly used the word “begin”) to take from the membership its right of election and control of its officers would take from us one of our strongest claims for existence —that of democracy. I am well aware that democracy is often inefficient; that it is blundering and slow; but I am not yet willing to admit that democracy cannot work, or that, workable, it is not the best form for administering social affairs. Accordingly, though I know that the delegates of the membership in con- ventions may make mistakes, I still trust the sound good judgment of the popular will and believe its percentage of errors to be much less than that of any small group no matter how honest and capable. I know well how often comes the temptation to cut knots for efficiency’s sake, but I also know the danger of such procedure. Much better is the delay and the lengthy discussion that is invariably fruitful in crystal- lizing and unifying many divergent points of view. Armed with the certainty that the minds of many are behind him, one may make his decisions clear and his actions definite. The American Federation of Teachers needs at its helm in the capacity of Secretary-Treasurer one who is clear, definite and determined. Only the assurance that the mem- bership which has elected him will back him can give to the officer such confidence as he requires. Further, the delegates from a locality may in convention testify to the abilities of a candidate. The opportunity of knowing his colleagues’ evaluation of the candidate thus at first hand is denied the member of the Executive Council who must get his informa- tion from letters or the pleadings of a friend. Again, the Executive Council should not stand in the relationship of employer to the Secretary-Treasurer but as cooperative adjunct to his responsible executive capacity. In summary, let me say that, since the office of Executive- Secretary carries the responsibility of presenting a “front” for the entire body of the American Federation of Teachers, it requires one who is outstanding in his ability as an organ- izer, a clear thinker and a good speaker. It requires one who is loyal to the principles of the American Federation of Teachers, who understands its history, and is able to inter- pret for our friends and enemies outside our ranks the spirit of all its members. Therefore only the members in delegated The cAmsprican TRACHER convention can be properly trusted to choose one of out- standing merit to represent them to the public—one whom they recognize as a leader and will support if he follows their mandates and recall if he fails them. Fraternally yours, Mary Fo.tey Grossman, Vice President, A.F.T. NEWS from LOCALS Canal Zone Teachers Get Increase. Several years of work on the part of Locals 227 and 228, located in the Panama Canal Zone, looking toward a more equitable salary scale have at last borne fruit. In January the Governor and the Superintendent of Schools recommended increases for all members of the instructional staff with the exception of the junior college teachers, concerning whom the recommendation stated that no action could be taken until further study of the question had been made. The new scale ranges from $1750 to $3249 per year. It will go into effect in September, 1938, provided that Congress appropriates the necessary funds. Sedition Bill Defeated in Arkansas Legislature. In the previous issue News from Locals recorded the struggle of Commonwealth College, Mena, Arkansas, against con- certed attacks. The latest of these—the Horton sedition bill, the purpose of which was to outlaw Commonwealth— was defeated in the Arkansas legislature by a vote of 46 to 19. Local 424, New Era Schools, Little Rock, and the Commonwealth Local 194 led the fight against this bill with broad state and national support. School leaders describe the defeat of this bill as “a crowning victorious advance for academic freedom, civil liberty, and workers’ education in the South.” Butte Union Group Lobbies for Pension Bill. Local 332, Butte, Montana, is concentrating at the present time -upon the passage of the Buck Bill, which is to come before the legislature during the present session. The Bill is for teachers’ retirement in Montana, and will care for superannuated and disabled workers of the profession. The salient points of the Buck Bill are: 1. Costs will be shared by the teachers and the public: each teacher pays for his own annuity and the amount is about matched by the state for his pension. As soon as the teacher reaches a retirement age, the full amount will be procurable from which the allowance will be paid, such allowance not to exceed $1000 per annum. 2. Payment of the retirement allowance will be due to superannuation or disability. 3. No retirement before the age of 60 years, unless the teacher is disabled. 4. Creditable service limited to thirty- five years. A teacher may retire at the age of 60 years providing he has fifteen years of experience, the last ten of which have been in the State of Montana. Should the time of teaching be less than 35 years, a pension of 1/140 : Of out- 1e whom ws their 3MAN, years of 1 in the quitable ary the mended aff with cerning ould be 1 made. rear. It ed that In the struggle ist con- sedition ealth— 2 of 46 and the his bill leaders *torious yorkers’ Local nt time ) come . The ill care fession. will be or pays hed by reaches e from not to rement ability. the thirty- ) years ast ten ild the 1/140 ’ March-A pril, 1937 of his average final compensation multiplied by the number of years of creditable experience will be given him, together with his annuity. 5. Return of total accumulated con- tributions to the teacher or his beneficiary. 6. Provision for protecting the rights of those who have retired under the present retirement law. 7. Credit for past experience allowed. . . . Three members of the Butte Teachers Union, Miss Cecilia Leary, Miss Angeline Golubin, and Miss Mary Sullivan were chosen to represent the organization as lobbyists. The School Board gave its wholehearted cooperation by giving these teachers a leave with pay to work at the capitol in Helena until after the Bill has come up. The Buck Bill is on the legislative program of the Montana State Federation of Labor, which is giving full support to the Teachers Union lobbyists. The Bill has also been endorsed by the State and local Parent-Teachers Association, the American Association of University Women, and practically all the local civic clubs. Progressives in Akron Move Toward Union. Rumblings of revolt within the Akron Teachers Association—the “company union” or “Yes” organization of the administra- tion—reached a climax recently when a group of younger teachers formed a liberal bloc within the Association. Calling themselves the Akron Progressive Teachers Asso- ciation, they set forth to use the Akron Teachers Associ- ation as a means of improving salaries, tenure, sick leave, etc. Local 287, Akron, has actively cooperated with this progressive bloc, but the bloc has received surprisingly little encouragement from the administration. The result is that the “Progressive Teachers Association” found itself powerless to accomplish anything within the regular Teach- ers Association and is now moving to merge with Local 287. Unorganized Teachers in Durham, North Carolina, “Ready to Act.” Nearly two hundred Durham classroom teachers appeared before the Appropriations Committee of the North Carolina legislature on February 12. The hear- ings followed a flood of telegrams sent by Durham teachers to the Appropriations Committee, declaring that “the teachers of the state are ready to act unless granted a 20 per cent raise before administrators receive raises.” At the present time administrators—superintendents and _princi- pals—receive two and a half times as much pay as the teachers. The Durham teachers have been rebuked by the North Carolina Teachers Association for taking their case to the legislature without going through the proper chan- nels—namely the N.C.T.A.! Observers declare that the militant action of the Durham teachers expresses a pent up resentment against Superintendent W. F. Warren, of the Durham schools, who is the highest paid superintendent in the state, whereas the teachers in Durham receive the lowest pay in the state. Teachers also charge that Super- intendent Warren is dictatorial and high-handed. At the end of his first year as superintendent he suspended thirty teachers, many of them long associated with the local 33 school system. Reasons for suspension were “sickness, ambition, and political-mindedness”! There is no local of the A.F.T. in Durham, but there is at least one voice cry- ing in the wilderness. The Durham Sun publishes a letter signed “Pedagogue”, in which the Durham teachers are given some sound advice: “Teachers should learn that the fight for teachers salaries is wrapped up with the struggle for decent wages and unions among all workers. Teachers’ service, like manual labor, is a commodity bought and sold in the open market. Let all struggling teachers write for a free copy of the AMERICAN TEACHER, 506 South Wabash Av., Chicago. There they will learn about the American Federation of Teachers, which conducts a campaign for the teacher as a forgotten man, but one capable of help- ing himself through proper organization and publicity.” Duluth Teachers Seek Better School Appropriations. The Duluth Federation of Teachers reports that teachers and labor in Duluth, Minnesota, opposed the proposals of the Duluth School Board for operating on a $100 per pupil basis with a 20 mill limit. The representative of the Duluth Teachers Association pointed out that, when allowance was made for tax delinquency, the proposed $100 per capita would not provide for complete salary restoration and that on this basis any state or federal aid would reduce the city’s school tax instead of providing better schools. Mr. Robert Olson, president of the Duluth Federated Trades Assembly, reported the Executive Com- mittee of the Federated Trades in favor of removal of the 20 mill limit, stating that the voters had indicated that they were opposed to any limit when they rejected the proposal of the Tax Payers League for a 25 mill limit by a vote of 13 to 9. Union Teacher Discusses Chicago High Schools in Radio Address. On February 25, in a radio address spon- sored by the Federation of Women High School Teachers, Miss Mary Herrick, chairman of the Joint Board of Teachers Unions of Chicago, raised the burning question: “What’s Happening in Chicago High Schools?” In this address Miss Herrick pointed out: “All personnel adjustment work in the schools was dropped by order of the Board of Education in 1933 as an economy meas- ure. Recent experiments in Chicago offer some amelioration of the primitive lack of any guidance for pupils, but none of them is on an adequate scale, and they vary greatly in value. The enormous teaching load in Chicago high schools makes any instruction on the basis of individual curriculum adjustment within classes a haphazard and unscientific effort on the part of the most energetic and experienced teachers. In 1934-5, outside of the load of the shop teachers, who meet 120 pupils a day, the average teaching load in Chicago high schools has been between 190 and 200 per day, plus a division room group and a study hall of from 100 to 200. A few teachers were added last year, but not enough to materially reduce the load. And the abolition of the entire junior high school system in 1933 left the ninth grade in the senior high schools in a particularly unhappy state of maladjustment.” The Federation of Women School Teachers, Chicago, in its February Bulletin, points out a serious situation FO PER oo EE Wd PE eet ee ty aa Jee ea Cg COE EM Deepa Oe a aw. fg Cid 34 existing in the appointment of substitute teachers to posi- tions which should be filled by permanent teachers. A study made in January, 1937, shows that of 150 temporary appointments, 27 were to fill vacancies caused by death, retirement or resignation, and 40 were to meet the need of increased school enrolment. A study made in June, 1936, shows comparable figures, indicative of a definite tendency to appoint temporary teachers—usually inadequately quali- fied—places where the best interests of education and the rights of tenure should require permanent appointments. . . . Union teachers in Chicago joined with non-union teacher organizations to protest against the failure of the Board of Education to provide any pay restoration in the 1937 budget. This cooperative action indicates a united resentment of teachers against the discrimination they have suffered and the pressing burden of increasing costs of living. Progress in Cheyenne. The Cheyenne Federation of Teachers, Local 336, has been active during the past four months in campaigning for a Teachers’ Retirement Insur- ance. Although the measure was not passed in the Wyoming legislature, sufficient pressure was brought to bring the Bill up for a vote. Some form of teacher retire- ment will probably be enacted in the next Wyoming legislature. . . . A drive is being planned for the restora- tion of the remaining salary cut for Cheyenne teachers, who are still ten per cent off the regular schedule. The Cheyenne local is cooperating with the City Teachers Association in working for salary increases. It is felt that the strength of the labor vote is the best weapon that the teachers have in their efforts for salary restoration. During the past two years, the Cheyenne local has been instru- mental in winning the 9 per cent salary restoration that has been gained. . . . Through the efforts of the Cheyenne local, a measure at the state convention of the Wyoming Education Association providing for a delegate assembly rather than a full convention was successfully stifled. The proposed assembly would have given the administrators control of the State Association. Progress in New York. Local 5, New York, reports the following victories: 1. Complete salary restoration; 2. End of McNaboe Investigation; 3. Passage by New York Senate of Full Absence Refund Bill; 4. Passage by Assem- bly of State Aid for Kindergarten; 5. Passage by the Education Committee of the Assembly of the Schanzer Bill for increase of salaries of Junior Clerical Assistants. Toledo Union Objects to Conduct of Health Examina- tions. The weekly bulletin of Local 250, Toledo, Ohio, raises serious objections to the conduct of the Health Examina- tions of teachers in the Toledo schools. Members of the School Board have broadcast statistics of the examinations branding teachers as 40 per cent physically defective— without relating these statistics to normal standards for the adult population! The publishing of these statistics with- The cAmprican TEACHER out relating them with norms may have been the product of thoughtlessness or ignorance, but it represents a serious public injury to teachers. Further, the “secret relation which quite properly exists between a patient and his physician” has been violated on a large scale. Dr. Brock- way, in charge of the Health Examination for the School Board, promised that he alone would know the records of the health examinations by teachers’ names. This promise has been violated. The school nurses have been supplied with the names of those teachers whose examinations showed a defective hearing or the examining physician’s statement “Normal”, or no statement at all. “It is assumed,” the Bulletin declares, “that the school nurses, possibly with the help of physicians, will re-examine the teachers. . . . It seems odd that the medical profession is so incompetent that statements from its members that hearing is normal should not be acceptable. What more is needed? What standards have been set up for hearing? The examination doesn’t establish any. What physician dare arrogate the authority to declare incompetent a teacher whose hearing may be imperfect but whose success in teaching is unquestionable? We are certain now that the examination no longer is being used to protect the child from communicable diseases. Nor can it be used to establish physical efficiency until standards are set up which shall include compensatory qualities involved in all judgments of human efficiency.” . . . The Toledo local also reports that salary schedule adjustment checks have come through. Thereafter a teacher, who wishes to remain nameless, appeared at the office of the local and con- tributed five dollars to the local’s treasury, “in appreci- ation for her raise in salary and as a small token of thanks for the union’s untiring efforts on behalf of the teachers of Toledo!” Union Teachers in Buffalo Support Maintenance Em- ployees. Local 377, Buffalo, New York, has requested the Board of Education to include sufficient money in budget to restore the salaries of maintenance employees. The letter of the local to the School Board stated: ‘“Concern- ing the restoration of salaries for maintenance employees, we wish to point out that many of these are at present receiving little better than $20 a week, and that char- women are receiving what amounts to less than a sub- sistence wage, barely $15 a week.” . . . Meantime the local vigorously pushes forward its own demands for salary restoration. In this demand, the Buffalo local is supported by the Buffalo Central Labor Union, the District Council of Carpenters, the Joint Board of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers, Local 84 of the International Molders Union of America, the Buffalo Typographical Union, Local 9, and the Musicians Union, Local 43. The budgetary reduction of the last year, amounting to $906,000, resulted in the postponement of the opening of ‘the new Kensington High School, elimination of summer school, drastic reduction of night school service, reduced provision for school and textbooks supplies, inadequate | BACHER product | Serious relation and his Brock- - School sords of promise supplied inations sician’s “It is nurses, ine the ssion is rs that it more earing? lysician tent a success ww that ect the used to set up 1 in all 0 local s have remain d con- ppreci- thanks »achers e Em- ed the budget . The mcern- loyees, present a sub- e local salary ported ‘ouncil mated ‘olders Union, ng to ing of immer duced quate gees eth Oe ane ~* ' March-April, 1937 maintenance of school plants, failure to grant salary restoration long overdue. The Board of Education has proposed its budget for 1937-38 and commttees of the Buffalo Teachers Union are busily engaged in efforts to induce the mayor and the Common Council to maintain the budget intact. Seattle Union Battles University Administration. The dismissal of Mr. Hugh DeLacy, delegate of A.F.T. Local 401, Seattle, Washington, to the Seattle Central Labor Union, from his position as English instructor at the state university because of his participation in politics, brought from the union a strong statement on the civil rights of teachers. Mr. DeLacy left the university to file for City Councilman in the March election. He had been privately assured by President Sieg of the University that he would be given a leave of absence, but the board of regents found two old precedents and dismissed him. The local union in its protest pointed out that such a policy isolated the campus and deprived the public of capable servants. The statement of the local received wide publicity and the result has been that Mr. DeLacy, running on a straight Labor Civil Rights platform and backed by Labor and by the Washington Commonwealth Political Federation, was Among the Wealth of Nations MAN’S WORLDLY GOODS: The Story of the Wealth of Nations. Leo HuperMAN. Harper. 1936. 349 pages. $2.50. An’s Wortpty Goons is a history and an analysis of the rise and development of our present economic order—capitalism. It is an almost flawless example of the technique of textbook writ- ing. Most textbook authors write more with an eye to their col- leagues’ approval than for their students. Mr. Huberman has reversed the process. He has not forgotten that the learning process takes place in the student, not in the teacher or the text book. His rich, racy, colloquial narrative is primarily intended for young people but is just as useful for adults of any age who are seeking an introduction to the mysteries of our economic system. author begins his story with the early feudal manor. He to the town with the early traders and the guild craftsmen. at first but gradually more rapidly, the new system that is ined to overthrow feudalism grows and develops. The Crusades, Black Death, the Peasant Revolts, the Renaissance, the Reforma- tion and many other familiar events are presented as phases of that development. The pattern of history takes form and significance. Feudalism finally succumbs in the unequal conflict and capitalism, freed of its chains, enters the period of its own supremacy. epee? With the beginning of the capitalist era, capitalist development Proceeds more and more rapidly. We are carried through the phases crisis, depression, and revival with their inevitable accompaniment Poverty in the midst of plenty. We watch the change from the small unit to combinations, trusts, corporations, mass production, 22 through the story the sense of motion is overwhelming. One the feeling of watching a race; a race in which the runners speed as they progress, a race that is now thundering down stretch. gather the 35 elected by a sweeping vote! . . . Local 401 has also found itself in opposition to the University administration on the legislative field—especially on a bill to cut tuitions and buildings and raise salaries. On one occasion this opposition took the form of virtual debate before the Edu- cational Committees both of the House and of the Senate— an event which would have been unthinkable before the organization of the union. The University administration, which has three times refused to confer with the Union in ironing out differences, had a special meeting of the Instructors Association called on March 2. The faculty received a lecture from the president of the regents along with a ready-made resolution commending the administra- tion and disavowing the constructive efforts of the union. Though this resolution was carried under administration pressure, a lengthy debate and a strong opposition expressed by a standing vote, robbed it of its force and gave the union new prestige on the campus. Meanwhile the union claims credit for forcing the University budget up $388,000 in the appropriations committee after the gov- ernor had trimmed it down from the original figure. The union plans an open meeting to which all the faculty will be invited to hear the results of its activities at the legislature. New Books Mr. Huberman’s analysis of economic crises in the chapter entitled “The Weakest Link” is particularly fine. The sections dealing with economic planning in the last two chapters are also important. There is a splendid annotated bibliography for those who wish to pursue their studies further. This book is recommended unreservedly for high school teachers and for college teachers of freshman classes. It should be a godsend to the WPA teachers in adult and workers’ education. If not used as a basic text it should absolutely be in the first line of reference support. Joun M. Jacossen. The Meaning of English Literature THE LITERATURE OF ENGLAND. Georce B. Woops, Homer A. Watt, and Georce K. Anperson. Chicago: Scott, Foresman. 2 vols. Vol. I, 1004 pages. $3. Vol. II, 1075 pages. $3. N MANY, perhaps most colleges and universities in the United States, literature is studied in isolation from life, from other subject areas, and from world literature. Few university courses and fewer universities make any serious attempt to show that the classics which form our literature were the product of social and economic forces, and that they cannot be understood unless the relationship between the literature and the creative forces which produced them are clearly established in the minds of the students. Parrington’s three volume work, Main Currents in American Thought, constructed an outline of social movement for teachers and students of American literature. We are now recognizing that English literature does not exist in vacuo. The authors of a new work, The Literature of England, clearly state in their preface the necessity for presenting “English literature as the literary expression of a people. . . . Social cleavages, class relationship, social psychol- ogy have come to be regarded in recent years as more and more essential in any approach to literature... . The authors have tried to reveal the spirit of the people by whom and for whom the literature was created.” nee er ge saw ae 1 ee aE Se oe Rae ae Ae age | LASER" WTR BR bo PALE NG pete 2 De Se a ee ee 36 This sharp departure in building college literature materials they have attempted to achieve by architectural unitary design: selection of the material for a total effect, accompanied by systematic inter- pretation. Each chapter begins with an introductory background essay which is a carefully articulated part of the whole plan, and head notes throughout each chapter carry on the conception. The Victorian Age is discussed under such significant headings as “The Heritage of Revolution”, “Nationalism and Imperialism”, “Science and Society”, and “The New Democracy.” Eliot’s Silas Marner and Mulock’s John Halifax, Gentleman are presented as admirable incidental depictions of the rapid transformation of rural com- munities into factory towns, and Arnold’s Dover Beach and the work of Tennyson are used as evidences of the dominance of science. Kipling is catalogued as “an outspoken imperialist” and the evi- dence provided with representative titles: “Fuzzy-Wuzzy”, “Gunga Din” and “Mandalay.” Certain notes such as that on “The White Man’s Burden” point forcefully to the social significance of the literature, and carry out the promise of the preface. The strength- ening of such connective tissue in the fabric of the survey would add to the authors’ accomplishment. There are naturally confusions and exaggerations in any work so comprehensive. In the section on the New Democracy it is stated that “In this half century of legislation (1823-1885) England became a modern democracy and the workers of England shifted their status from that of clients to that of patrons” (p. 403), and earlier, “It is always to be questioned whether science is a servant of mah or man the slave of science” (p. 402). The volume ends with Galsworthy’s Strife. There is accordingly no presentation of the emerging proletarian and Marxist literature. Failure to mention this new critical and interpretative thinking is the most serious weakness of a fine scholarly effort to take literary masterpieces out of the monastery and make them available not only for understanding what life has been, but for their contribution to what we decide it must be. The limitations of The Literature of England should not prevent recognition of its progressive contribution. College teachers who use the survey approach to English literature and general readers will find these volumes an original, sharply-edged answer to their needs for meaningful materials. Hoxianp D. Roserts. New Education in Advancing Mexico MEXICO, A REVOLUTION BY EDUCATION. Georce I. SancHEz. 201 pages. The Viking Press. 46 EXICAN MELEE” is the title of the opening chapter of Mexico, A Revolution by Education. But Sanchez, on the basis of nominally independent in 1821, did not free itself from cepts until a hundred years later. The revolutionary begins shortly after the overthrow of Diaz in 1910 but it starts to function until 1921, so that the survey made by in 1935 covers, in fact, the work of fourteen years. The achievement under a program of Socialist education, however inade- quate to the total needs of a culturally undeveloped country, is prodigious, moving rapidly, because harmoniously, with the entire The cAmmrican Tracie are the Mexican masses and the curriculum is based on the life problems of the Mexican people.” To the Mexican government the whole matter of social improve- ment is urgent; but reforms in sanitation, in methods of agricy|- ture, in standards of literacy, in a whole cultural scheme cannot be imposed on a mass of people mistrustful after centuries of repression and exploitation. Growth comes through the satisfaction of present needs. If the environment of the Mestizo and the Indian is to be changed, then the materials of that environment must be used. The people are being taught, in terms of what they have, to reach standards better than those they have. The schools become the means by which to reach a new level of culture. An unprejudiced traveler, visiting a new land, learning new folk- ways, is willing to cast aside certain well-worn assumptions. Sanchez’ analysis of Mexican education as an integral part of the present dramatic growth of Mexico forces upon the reader the same vigorous attitude. A Revolution by Education is a brief study, lacking perhaps in such detailed description of cases as might add color to a vital theme, but it is very readable, informative, stimulating. For the general reader it makes a realistic contribution to the understanding of social change in the life of a geographical and political neighbor; for the teacher it has the additional value of provoking thought upon the relationship of our own schools to the economic and cultural development of our country. Berta Rantz. in Youth Activities YOUTH SERVES THE COMMUNITY. Pavut R. Hanna. A publication of the Progressive Education Association. New York: D. Appleton-Century Company. 264 pages. $2.00. Pp’ Hanna’s Youth Serves the Community is that rare thing, a book by an educator that is neither wordy, woolly philosophy nor an unprofitable elaboration of a platitude. Hanna has a stir- ring theme, the attempts by youth to better the environment. His method is to amass case studies in community improvement and to summarize in an opening and a concluding chapter his criteria for worthwhile activities. Modern teachers have needed such a survey. Steadily our pro- gressive educators and our liberals have hammered home the need for schools in which the problems of students and of today’s society are paramount, and grudgingly educational aims have been swung in the new direction. But forays beyond class discussion of the deficiencies of our times have been relatively few, as Youth Serves the Community demonstrates. Yet here is the next step in the battle for realistic learning, for we need action along with understanding. The survey conducted by Mr. Hanna and a WPA research staff shows that in a simple environment action to improve the com- munity is quite feasible. Rural projects are many and include much experimental farming and breeding and beautification of the farm or school property or small town. But the urban environment is usually controlled by “impersonal corporations, set in a complex economic and political milieu which is so impregnable that youth cannot really have free access to it.” Yet, despite handicaps, some urban groups have inspected tenements for building violations, started art galleries, publicized a threatened shutting down of libraries, fought vandalism in neighborhoods, surveyed- delinquency for city officials, crusaded for health sanitation officers, publicized the smoke nuisance, converted a slum court into a playground, regulated traffic, and worked for fire prevention. At its worst a youth activity may degenerate into an exploitation of children for the benefit of a local real estate board or a fascist state. But any tool may be abused. And at their best, youth activities may be the road to a citizenry trained in planning together and constructively working together to re-make the environment. The Progressive Education Association chose well in its first venture into the publishing world. Hanna's book mirrors the association’s progressive social and educational convictions. Wim A. Van Tu. Me SS2BRAHBBE FREE > geese wn eadauiesewueenrtawm living actors, expanded the limits of the stage to include a whole era social struggle. Borts GamzveE. —¥ Tu. Book Notes and Recommendations HE growing recognition of the drama as a means of mass educa- tion has brought with it a demand from unions and cultural groups everywhere for guidance in an art once the property of the people. To meet the new demands, the Affiliated Schools for Workers have published a useful pamphlet on “Labor Drama” which should be valuable to all amateur groups. It contains notes on the mass recitation, practical information about producing a play, and lists of essential books about the various phases of theatre work. The maga- zine Federal Theatre is another valuable contribution by the agency of the government that has done so much to return the theatre to the people and the people to the theatre. It is a handsomely illus- trated publication, rich in suggestions for spectators who would be participants. The New Theatre League has already earned an honored place for its contributions toward a vital theatre in America. Its publications are invaluable. From its offices at 117 West 46th Street, New York, it now issues, in addition to plays and play lists and useful pamphlets on the theatre, an important quarterly for more advanced students— Theatre Workshop, a journal of the theory, practice and history of the theatre arts. The emphasis in this, as in its increasingly popular magazine New Theatre and Film, is upon a theatre rooted in the life of our time. A publishing venture of great importance to teachers is the new undertaking of the National Home Library Foundation. Those who have found it impossible to satisfy their book needs because of high prices, will welcome these attractive cloth bound, well-printed com- pact books that are sold for twenty-five cents. The titles, selected by a distinguished advisory board, include The Complete Poetical Works of Keats; The Odyssey of Homer; Writings of Thomas Paine; Horace Mann by Joy Elmer Morgan, which includes Mann’s lectures on education and his “Letter to School Children”; Democracy in Denmark by Goldmark and Brandeis; Jefferson, Corporations and the Constitution by Charles A. Beard; Uncommon Sense by David Cushman Coyle; and Wealth Against Commonwealth by Henry D. Lloyd, which contains his prophetic words of 1894: “In nothing has liberty justified itself more thoroughly than in the resolute determination spreading among the American people to add industrial to political independence. . . . A new liberty will put an end to pauperism and millionairism and the crimes and death rate born of both wretchednesses.” Boris GAMZUE. Correspondence Letters dealing with issues of interest to union teachers will be printed in these columns. Inclusion of a letter does not necessarily mean that the Editors endorse its sentiments. The Geography of Concentration Camps Dear Editor: I should like to call the attention of the readers of our magazine to a map of Nazi Germany in the “Labor Chest.” This map, in my opinion, should be seen by every believer in democracy. It shows graphically the astounding number of con- centration camps, jails, and penitentiaries in the land of Nazism. From one end of the Reich to the other are dotted these chambers of torture and repression. 2 23 2D ORE SW Rta St he 7 Ny — i. mae" PA PRR Nome ae St ‘ = = oft ee —- a a ee a Aa ey ae - . - me gn eer Ys Takes pesca ee 38 The symbols used are as follows: a large black square for peni- tentiaries, a black circle for jails, and a large black K for concen- tration camps. These symbols are so numerous that they practically cover the map. This is the Germany of Hitler. What a desecration of the memories of Heine and Goethe and Schiller! Here is the stark lesson of Fascism and Reaction. Humanity is to be beaten and jailed for the crime of protesting against a dying profit system and its insanities. Not work and leisure and culture for the masses, but a life of stagnation and physical and mental deteriora- tion under the rule of Hitler and his backers. Let us determine that we will unite to prevent such a tragedy in America. Cartes WEI, President, Local 344. A Request for Trained Personnel Dear Editor: Perched on the side of one of the big Smoky Mountains of the South is a summer camp for workers’ children. Trade union and unemployed parents send their boys and girls there for a four weeks’ vacation. For some children it’s the first chance to be really care- free—to play and hike and swim and splash paint. And in the midst of this life of fun they talk about their schools, their towns, their parents’ jobs. They read stories and news of the labor move- ment. They come to understand in a measure what it means to be part of the working class. And sometimes their ideas come out in plays or pictures or stories. Sometimes the children go home to try to organize their playmates into union clubs. Adults interested in children and in the labor movement are invited to apply as counsellors at Camp Larry. There is a particular need for persons trained in nursing, dietetics, folk dancing, creative arts (music, painting, rhythm), construction and general group leadership. Anyone interested is invited to apply to Pioneer Youth of America, 219 West 29th Street, New York City. Sincerely, On the Kraus Case Dear Mr. Editor: Your readers will be interested to know that a committee has been organized to sponsor an appeal for funds for financing Professor Arthur J. Kraus’ breach of contract case against City College of New York, which is now pending in the New York courts. Dr. Kraus’ case is in the hands of a capable and experienced lawyer who is giving the case the best of attention. Members of the sponsor- ing committee include Professor Arthur A. Brodeur of the Uni- versity of California, Berkeley; Bishop James E. Freeman, of Wash- _ ington; Dr. Guy Emery Shipler, editor of The Churchman; Mr. George N. Shuster, of The Commonweal, and others. Readers of Toe American TEACHER will recall that Professor Kraus suffered most unjust treatment at the hands of the authorities at City College four years ago when, following his hunger strike to protest against the persecution of students in Polish universities, he was discharged from his post on highly dubious charges of mental incompetence. During his hunger strike Dr. Kraus’ classes were taken care of by substitute professors, and his heroism and courage in undertaking the strike were commended by his City College superiors. His superiors also invited him to return to his post after the strike. However, a few days after returning to his classes Dr. Kraus was induced to submit to a psychiatric examination, and the authorities used the findings of that examination to justify his dis- charge. Other prominent psychiatrists, including Dr. Robert W. Laidlaw, Dr. William Browning and Dr. Charles Rosenheck have testified as to the soundness of his physical and mental condition. The cAmerRican TeAchep Our purpose is to assist Dr. Kraus in obtaining a full and impartia) court review of all the facts relating to his discharge, and thus to aid in removing the stigma of mental incompetence so unjustifiably imposed upon him by the action of City College. We estimate three thousand dollars will be needed for this purpose. We appeal to all who believe in justice and fair play to respond by giving as gen- erously and as promptly as possible. Gifts may be sent directly to the Secretary-Treasurer of our committee, Mr. Edwin C. Johnson. at Lester Studio Building, Broadway at 114th Street, New York City, Joun Dewey, for the Kraus Defense Committee. The High Price of “Frill-Cutting” To the Editors: When a campaign for “cutting out the frills” in education begins, one of the first departments to be attacked is that of health and physical education. Classes are enlarged; teaching staff is cut; teach- ing load is increased; playing space is limited. Under such condi- tions, physical educators attempt to struggle on toward their main objective, which is improving and maintaining the health of the children. Under such conditions the attainment of the health objec- tive is well-nigh impossible. With huge classes of 70, 80, or 90 children pouring into a gym- nasium every hour of the day to be exercised and turned back te the class-room, what happens to individual ‘variations in physical capacity—to the too tense, undernourished, underweight child? He is carefully considered where the objectives are impressively listed on paper. With hundreds of children pouring out onto a cramped concrete surface surrounded by high brick walls (expensive structures, brick walls) what happens to the opportunity for big muscle activity? In all well-written statements on “how to attain the health objec- tive,” big muscle activity is mentioned prominently. With every period in the day filled up by the actual teaching of classes, when is the medical examination follow-up work done? How many thousands of shelves are collecting the dust of dead statistics? How many thousands of children are being denied the first right of every human being, the right to reach and maintain his fullest “capacity for activity,” which means health? When “frill cutting” groups cry “economy,” they sometimes get a saving for which children pay dearly. Much has been said about the economic burdens which huge government expenditures are put- ting upon future generations. What about the curse upon a genera- tion whose capacity for living has been wilfully stunted in the inter- ests of a false economy? Overcrowded, state-supported hospitals are only one example of the expensive results of some one’s “frill- cutting.” It is seldom that the preventive is more expensive than the cure. What is the physical educator’s responsibility when he is working under conditions which make pure mockery of the attainment of his objectives? He must attempt to change the prevailing condi- tions. What should any worker do who would change unsatisfac- tory working conditions? The history of the labor movement gives the answer in one word—Organize. If the physical educator, along with all other educators, honestly and earnestly wishes to fulfill his responsibility toward the children he teaches, he must join with his fellow workers in standing as a strong and well organized body between those children and all so-called “frill-cutting” forces. The alternative to organization, in the final analysis, is the crippling paralysis or obliteration of the physical education and health pro- gram. Wintrrep MacDOona_p, Boston, Mass. | 7 oO ics] C ~— & we => = te SS ee OO | TEACHER id impartia} and thus to injustifiably imate three ppeal to all ing as gen- directly to >. Johnson, York City, Committee. ion begins, health and sut ; teach- uch condi- their main th of the alth objec- oO a gym- d back te 1 physical hild? He rely listed 1 concrete res, brick activity? th objec- aching of tk done? of dead enied the intain his nes get a ‘id about are put- a genera- he inter- hospitals ’s “frill- ive than working ment of g condi- sat isfac- ent gives yr, along ulfill his jin with ed body ss. The rippling Ith pro- NALD, * ody mae March-April, 1937 39 | Contributors’ Column CLINTON S. GOLDEN is regional organizer for the C.1.O. in the Pittsburgh area. E. ALLISON GRANT is secretary-treasurer of the Massachusetts State Council of Teachers Unions and a member of its Educational Committee. He is a member of the Executive Committee of local 441. MARY FOLEY GROSSMAN is national legislative representative and a member of the Executive Council of the A.F.T. MABEL HAWKINS is a teacher at the Little Red School House in New York City and a member of local 5. CHARLES J. HENDLEY is president of local 5, president of the New York State Federation of Teachers and a member of the Executive Council of the A.F.T. JOHN M. JACOBSEN is president of local 189. He is an instructor in economics at Brookwood Labor College. He is treasurer of the New York State Federation of Teachers. JOHN L. LEWIS is president of the United Mine Workers of America, and head of the Committee for Industrial Organization. BERTHA RANTZ is director of the high school division of the Walden School in New York City. She recently visited Mexico and made a study of the schools there. . HOLLAND D. ROBERTS is one of the contributing editors of Tae American Teacuer. He was, until the last convention in March, president of the California State Federation of Teachers. He is president of the National Council of Teachers of English. CHARLES HENRY THOMPSON is head of the Department of Education at Howard University. He is editor of the Journal of Negro Education and has written numerous articles in School and Society, Journal of Educational Research, Opportunity and other publications. He is a member of the national legislative committee of the A.F.T. . WILLIAM A. VAN TIL is assistant professor of social science and education at Ohio State University. The Proceedings of the Philadelphia Convention of the A.F.T. are now available. Price: 75c per copy—10% discount in quantities of one dozen or more. All locals are urged to purchase one or more copies. The supply is limited. Order from the National Office. LEADING UNION LABELS THIRD SERIES Facsimiles of other labels and shop buttons will appear in subsequent issues. We suggest that A.F.T. members cut and file these union insignia. Buy Union-made goods. MEAT CUTTERS AND BUTCHERS’ STORE CARD | INTERNATIONAL . UNION MARKET Shoes are not Union Made unless they bear a plain and distinct impression of the Union Stamp. An in- distinct impression resembling our Union Stamp is likely to be a counterfeit. rr TAILORS’ LABEL If your tailor has the privilege of using the label, and all good tailors do have that privilege, it will mean that your clothing will be made in a well-lighted, clean workshop and that the men and women doing the work are getting at least living wages and an eight-hour day. rrr HOUSE CARDS OF HOTEL AND RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES’ INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE AND BARTENDERS’ INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE OF AMERICA en ee ee ne Te ee ee Why I Am a Member of the Teachers Union Defense of Common Rights I belong to the Teachers Union because I believe that teachers have economic and personal rights, which can best be defended by group organization and which, if not defended, are infringed and suppressed; because I believe the Teachers Union more than any other educational organization is fighting to maintain these rights; because I believe that the Teachers Union is fighting not only to maintain the rights of its own members but to maintain similar rights for the people generally and the children of the public schools especially; and because I believe that alignment with other workers’ organizations is a right and proper step in the common defense of common rights for the common good. NEAL BILLINGs, Local 79 The School as a Social Agency For many years I belonged to the large group of teachers who believe their interests to be so identified with those of the communities they serve, that they need have no concern about these interests; that they will be taken care of by other members of the community who recognize the importance of the service teachers render. I finally discovered that communities are not so altruistically disposed; that if teach- ers wish to protect themselves and the schools they, themselves, must work to that end. I believe the Fed- eration of Teachers is the only organization in a position to exert sufficient influence to be of real help in defending the rights of teachers and in insuring the success of the a as a social agency. For this reason, some years ago, I joined the Federation of Teachers. CaRRIE EDMONDSON, Local 79 I joined a teachers union because I believe that as a body, the teaching profession is capable of doing im- measurable good in aiding the teachers who are not so fortunate as others in securing better working con- ditions, tenures, better salaries and in building up and sustaining teacher morale. Hersert C. RETZMAN, Local 395 Self-Respect—Salary Readjustment Confidence, self-respect, support of a powerful organization are to me the equal in value of some salary readjustment which we have obtained through organization. Previously we lived in almost a state of serf- dom. Too many still do. Because of powerful support outside our own membership, we have confidence in our cause and feel the self-respect enjoyed by those who are not afraid. J. C. Cuaptn, Chairman of the Grievance Committee, Local 279 Better Teachers, Better Schools Before joining the American Federation of Teachers, I felt that life as a teacher was to a great extent bound by the four walls of the classroom. I realize now, since the formation of our own local, that my problems are not my own, but those of teachers all over the country. Organization has definitely widened the horizon, and since the A.F.T. is a classroom teachers’ organization, puts teachers in a position to con- trol educational trends. It has helped to make better teachers, better schools, and better educational policies. T. M. Buss, Vice-President, Local 279 Fighting the Good Fight Our country is controlled by pressure groups. You will be run over unless you belong to a strong group which will defend your rights. If an organization is fighting your battles and protecting your rights, you owe that organization your allegiance and your dues. I am proud to belong to the Teachers Union be- cause it is fighting the good fight. J. C. Apexi, Local 279