LIBRARY Str . > ae OURNAL | The of the NATIONAL . EDUCATION The Enlarged Pro- aS gram of the Na- tional Education ' ‘=e. ASSOCIATION Agnes Samuelson Yee der Program of iT Action for 1935-36 ine) Willard E. Givens . and e ic The Munitions In- i vestigation Bi Gerald P. Nye . ” Looking Ahead in Education Henry Lester Smith e “aaa The Joint Commis- sion Looks to the Future John K. Norton Going Forward al During 1935-36 A Symposium * Ses Page A-85 for Complete Table of SEPTEMBER ° 1935 Contents e VOLUME 24 NUMBER 6 An ENTIRELY NEW Merriam-Webster Dictionary A VOCABULARY of 38,500 words carefully selected from children’s reading matter With WORD ENTRIES in large, black type which is quickly seen and easily read DEFINITIONS, tested on thousands of pupils, so clearly presented that they New are readily understood by children Large A DICTIONARY FOR 6 CO TYPE BOYS AND GIRLS Easy for 752 PAGES LIST PRICE $1.20 1,600 ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT 162 COLORED PICTURES feren Re erence Prepared by specialists in dictionary making with the co-operation of hundreds of teachers DISTINGUISHED BY ACCURACY, CLEARNESS, AND ORDERLY ARRANGEMENT AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY New York Cincinnati Chicago Boston Atlanta Dallas San Francisco New Greés Books SHARP’S SERIES or All Published Since January ENGLISH EXERCISES 1935 The English of Business, Complete. By Hubert A. Hagar, 11 Books... A Book for Each Grade Lillian Grissom Wilson, E. Lillian Hutchinson, and Clyde [eed kkk kl tt kt ee he et price, In Use THE SHARP SERIES Essentials of Business Mathematics, Principles and Practice. in 4700 Cities Language Practice for Third Grade... .15¢ ; . . . D ae . ei Drill and Test material By R. Robert Rosenberg, C. P. A., Dickinson High School, Designed for supplemen- Language Practice for Fourth Grade. 150 Jersey City, New Jersey. . . . . . « List price, $1.20 tary use in English work in Drill and Test material - : e , , - Grades Ii through Xil. Language Drills and Tests............. 15¢ Teaching Methods and Testing Materials in Business Mathe- Each book provides ex- Fifth grade matics. By R. Robert Rosenberg. For teachers only. A ercises in language work a > he Tests............. 15¢ charge must be made for sample copies. List price, $1.20 suitable for the grade. a, 25¢ 'ssenti . : : . The books may be used Seventh grade #88 } }}©}©| Essentials of Commercial Law, Revised. By Wallace H. in conjunction with any English Exercises...................--- 25¢ Whigam, Lloyd L. Jones, and James W. Moody. List textbook. This fact, in Eighth grade price, $1.40 part, accounts for the de- ee a mea tes 28e P 7 ‘ ‘ " sirability and popularity Enalish Exercises.. > a Intensive Bookkeeping and Accounting. By Edwin H. Fearon, Gein, Wook II for High Te eee rn Peabody High School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. List price, English Exerciees....................-- 28e $1.80 Webster =, book HE for Hig School, XI ou ~ Kimball Contest Copy. By J. N. Kimball. A reprint of eight of Workbooks Book IV for High School, XII grade Mr. Kimball’s popular tests. All tests stroke-counted. De- and ae oo eo High 28e signed for typewriting speed tests. . List price, 80 cents Seatwork Books papery a aa Office Appliance Exercises. By John T. A. Ely and A. C. | 100 Titles... contains brief directions and correct > ; ~ : - e : Te . answers for each group of exercises. Beaver, Washington School for Secretaries, Washington, Millions in Use ’ . Ma - ° . These books lay great stress on the fundamen- D.C. List price, $1.60; sample copy price, postpaid, $1.00 Send for tals, save teachers’ and pupils’ time, create a . - z : ; F C | new classroom interest and add no additional Send to our nearest office for examination copies. ree Cata og cost to the pupil. All prices postpaid. The Gregg Publishing Company WEBSTER PUBLISHING CO. New York Chicago San Francisco Boston 1808 Washington Ave St Louis Mo ass = eg . 4s . Toronto London Sydney Cc ® Sey Bet the tem! first of t men of A of ¢ mea to s ven spa nev bet for eve un the ore th in: _ (QURNAL ve NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION September 1935 VOLUME 24, NUMBER 6 Between Editor and Reader— In keeping with the enlarged program of the National Education Association, this Sep- tember issue of THE JOURNAL goes forth, the first September issue since 1923. The restoration of this issue is symbolic of the forward move- ment in the Association under the new executive secretary who after eight months of thoro study of Association needs is now going into a program of carefully considered action. This restoration means a 12 percent increase in direct services to Association members; it means that the con- vention can be covered more fully; that more space can be given to Association plans for the new year; that ways of making the schools better can be emphasized. ‘lus JouRNAL is the one direct service that goes to every member, the one clearing-house for the teachers of the whole country and for every branch of the profession. It is thru the unifying force of common ideas and aspirations that America must move forward into a new order of excellence and happiness. Ler THE reading of this issue, especially the statements by the president and secretary, inspire you to lead out anew in behalf of pro- fessional organization. 5 coming of 30,000,000 youth into the schools this month is of the utmost significance. The growth of this mighty service has been so orderly, so well administered, so in keeping with the democratic spirit that we have taken it for granted. Yet it is no less important than the founding of the republic itself. Let us teach every child to appreciate the story of the schools. If you are going to plan for one year, plant grain. If you are going to plan for ten years, plant trees. If you are going to plan for one hundred years, plant men.—Chinese proverb. Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington, D. C. Acnres SAMUELSON, President J. W. Crasptree, Secretary Emeritus Mary J. Winfree, Accounts and Records Harriett M. Chase, Secretary’s Office WItLarp E. Givens, Executive Secretary H. A. ALLAN, Business Agnes Winn, Classroom Service Charl Ormond Williams, Field Service Joy Elmer Morgan, Publications T. D. Martin, Membership William G. Carr, Research JOY ELMER MORGAN, Editor S. D. Shankland, Secretary, Depart- ment of Superintendence, and Direc- tor of Administrative Service Gwladys W. Jones, Secretary, Depart- ment of Deans of Women Eva G. Pinkston, Secretary, Dept. of Elementary School Principals H. A. ALLAN, Business Manager In This Issue— THE ENLARGED PROGRAM OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION Asso- CIATION Agnes Samuelson 171 Our PROGRAM OF ACTION FOR 1935-36 Willard E. Givens 172 A YEAR OF SUBSTANTIAL ACHIEVEMENT Joy Elmer Morgan 173 THE RETURN OF YOUTH TO THE SCHOOLS 175 TEACHERS AND THE WORLD 176 LookING AHEAD IN EDUCATION Henry Lester Smith 177 THE Jornt Commission Looks TO THE FUTURE John K. Norton 179 TRANSLATING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE Paul V. McNutt 183 EDUCATION AND THE GENERAL WELFARE Edward P. Costigan 184 THE MUNITIONS INVESTIGATION Gerald P. Nye 185 PANEL DiscussIONs AT DENVER 193 CLASSROOM TEACHERS IN DENVER Daisy Lord 194 THE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS AT DENVER Irvin A. Wilson 195 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OFFICERS, 1935-36 196 THE GROWING JoB OF THE SCHOOLS 197 New Deat A ,RAw DEAL ror Pustic ScHOOLS Willard E. Givens 198 THE ELEMENTARY TEACHER MEETS THE CHALLENGE 199 Kathryn Metcalf, Louise Heim, Florence Weber A HicuscHoort TEACHER Looks AHEAD Albert M. Shaw 200 RESOLUTIONS FOR RURAL TEACHERS Eleanore Hassinger 201 W.W. Trent 202 NoTES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS 203 A STATE SUPERINTENDENT’S PoInt or VIEW The payment of $2 active membership dues entities a member to attend all meetings of the Associa- tion and its departments, to vote for delegates to the Representative Assembly, to hold office, and to receive THE JOURNAL. The payment of $5 instead of $2 entities an active member, in addition to the privileges of the $2 membership, to receive the Research Bulletins and the Annual Volume of Addresses and Proceedings. The payment of $100 gives the privileges of the $5 active membership for life. Subseription to nonmembers is $2 per year; single copies, 25 cents. Advertising rates on application. Please report at once any change of address, giving old as well as new address. THE JOURNAL is a member of the Educational Press Association of America. Published monthly, exeept June, July, and August, by the National Education Association of the United States, 120! Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington, D. C. Entered as second-class matter October 23, 1920, at the postoffice at Washington, D. C., under the act of August 24, 1912. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, act of October 3, 1917, authorized January 26, 192! A-85 | The National Education Association of the United States 1201 Sixteenth Street N. W.—Washington, D. C. | Weekly Radio Programs | N. B. C.—Red Network “OUR AMERICAN SCHOOLS” PACIFIC ROCKY COAST MOUNTAIN TIME TIME WEDNESDAY 4:30-4:45 P.M. SATURDAY 8:00-8:15 A.M. 5:30-5:45 P.M. 9:00-9:15 A.M. October 1935, through June 1936 Wednesday programs will also be given on September 11th, 18th, and 25th, one hour earlier than scheduled above. Saturday programs will begin October 5th. “Problems of American Education’”’ will be featured in the Wednesday programs and ‘‘Classroom Problems” will be discussed in the Saturday programs. Please make every effort to inform all the people in your community of these programs CENTRAL EASTERN STANDARD STANDARD TIME TIME 6:30-6:45 P.M. 10:00-10:15 A.M. 7:30-7:45 P.M. 11:00-11:15 A.M. A GIFT TO YOUR SCHOOL Schools which enrol all of their teachers in the National Education Association are rightly proud of their record. As a token of special appre- ciation for this 100 percent achievement the popular pub- lication, EDUCATION DIS- CUSSED IN LAY MAGA- ZINES, issued five times a year, will be sent free this year to all schools reporting 100 percent enrolments. Previously this publication has been available only to those who carried the annual $25 Educational Research Ser- vice. « One Hundred Percent Schools « A-86 RENEW NOW for 1935-36 The Membership Year is September | to August 3| Keep Your Name on the Active List | peenteninlnesitinam MAIL THIS TODAY —---——— - Mr. WILLARD E. Givens, Executive Secretary National Education Association of the United States 1201 Sixteenth St., N. W., Washington, D. C. Dear Mr. Givens: Enclosed please find my dues ($2 or $5*) for the new year, 1935-36. Please send my copy of THE JouRNAL to me at the address indicated below: *Life Members and those who pay $5 receive THE JOURNAL, the Research Bulletins and the annual volume of Addresses and Proceedings. | Mention THE JOURNAL when writing our advertisers. The Journal of the National Education Association es ar, he he nd iation September 1935 The Enlarged Program of the National Education Association AGNES SAMUELSON President of the National Education Association of the United States N 1857 there gathered together in l Philadelphia a farsighted little group of schoolmen. The dread specter of civil war and disunion hung over the nation’s life. Panic and want were every- where. In this time of stress and uncer- tainty forty-three educational leaders, recognizing the need for unity of spirit, organized the National Teachers Asso- ciation, the forerunner of the National Education Association. This small organ- ization—weak and ineffectual measured by today’s standards—was the rallying point for a growing body of educational ideals and purposes. For seventy-eight years since then men and women of vision and courage have poured their best into the work of the National Education Association. Thru it they have improved education and lifted the quality of American life and enter- prise. Everyone in the teaching profes- sion owes a debt to these leaders who have gone before. Thru the National Education Association they have built up public respect for education, have in- creased the effectiveness of school ad- ministration, and have improved the conditions under which teachers work. Hundreds of thousands of teachers today enjoy better salaries, security of tenure, and provision for retirement because of the work which the NEA has done. The Association has been the great pioneering progressive force in American education. It has pioneered school ad- ministration; research; interpretation of education; the preparation of teachers; the teaching of health, of citizenship, of leisure, and of homemaking. The litera- ture of the profession has found its highest expression in the publications of the Association, which supply a living stream of facts, plans, ideals, and inspi- ration. Its JouRNAL, which has the largest circulation of any professional magazine in the world, is a leading peri- odical of educational and social interpre- tation. Thru the ten-foot shelf of Pro- ceedings of the NEA runs the thread of educational thought in America since 1857. An address by John D. Philbrick at an early convention when the nation was stirred deeply by the emotions of the Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 Civil War shows the spirit which has characterized the Association ‘from that day to this: “Let us rejoice that we live in a day and at a period of unexampled opportun- ities for usefulness and honorable effort. Let us congratulate each other that we have the blessed privilege of assembling in this place, from regions widely remote, to take counsel for the promotion of the moral and intellectual culture of the whole people—the highest earthly inter- est of society. ... Let us remember that peace hath her victories, and that it belongs to us to act a strenuous, patri- otic, and heroic part for the welfare of our country, to go forth conquering, and to conquer in the domain of ignorance, achieving those peaceful triumphs which will insure our future prosperity and suc- cess, and enable us worthily to fulfill our destiny.” The past few years parallel those of the early day in that these, too, are times of stress and uncertainty. With world- wide confusion, with staggering national problems, with growing inequality of op- portunity, and with doors closed to mil- lions of youth—the need exists in greater measure than ever before for the teachers of the nation “to act a strenuous, patri- otic, and heroic part for the welfare of our country.” Great need brings corresponding op- portunity. For the teachers of today opportunities for service abound. The crucial character of this period demands all that the teacher as an individual has to give. It demands, further, all that teachers as a group have to give. The welfare of future America requires that we face our task with united strength. The National Education Association is the one agency equipped to deal with the problems at hand. With a membership of 187,000 its influence and contributions are farreaching. By achieving our goal of at least a 10 percent membership growth for 1935-36, we shall increase proportionately the Association’s activi- ties and program of service. Is it not possible for the teachers of the nation to maintain such standards in their professional organizations and to work with such energy for the general welfare as to command the enthusiastic support of the entire teaching profession and the respect and confidence of the entire nation? Is it not time for a rededi- cation to the profession which shall be expressed not only in membership in local, state, and national associations, but in some form of direct service to these associations by each member? The enlarged program of the Associa- tion calls for: [1] emphasizing the relationship be- tween education and the preservation of democracy [2] improving the services of the As- sociation to the end that all schools may render the maximum service to childhood [3] developing higher standards of educational service, including teaching, administration, and finance [4] continuing the development of an informed public opinion regarding the work of the schools [5] strengthening the Association’s program of service thru increased mem- bership and improvement in organiza- tion. The school year which lies before us is rich with unprecedented possibilities. Let us turn its potential power into a force which will lay the foundations for a new culture and civilization. Let us re- member with Josiah Royce: “You, at this moment, have the honor to belong to a generation whose lips are touched by fire. . . . The human race now passes thru one of its great crises. New ideas, new issues—a new call for men to carry on the work of righteous- ness, of charity, of courage, of patience, and of loyalty—all these things have come and are daily coming to you. “When you are old .. . however mem- ory brings back this moment to your minds, let it be able to say to you: That was a great moment. It was the beginning ofanewera. . . . This world in its crisis called for volunteers, for men of faith in life, of patience in service, of charity, and of insight. I responded to the call how- ever I could. I volunteered to give my- self to my master—the cause of humane and brave living. I studied, I loved, I labored, unsparingly and hopefully, to be worthy of my generation.” 171 Our Program of Action for 1935-36 WILLARD E. GIVENS Executive Secretary of the National Education Association of the United States HAT is the National Education \X / Association going to mean to you this year? Will it be a mere name which you will pass by? Will it be something to which you contribute a membership fee and then forget? Will it be a center of action whose various pro- jects you will follow with the interest of a bystander? Or will it be you yourself in action in cooperation with your fellows, giving not only your money but your time and your heart to the building of a better profes- sion, to the improvement of the schools, to the safeguarding of American institu- tions, to the building up in this country of a culture so fine and universal as to command enthusiasm and _ satisfaction everywhere? President Agnes Samuelson has pointed out the fivefold character of the Associa- tion’s program of action for 1935-36. In the following paragraphs are set forth the lines of action which the Association will pursue aggressively in connection with each of the policies outlined by the Presi- dent: [1] Emphasizing the relationship be- tween education and the preservation of democracy. We propose: [1] to foster the equalization of edu- cational opportunity thruout the nation [2] to provide thru the newly ap- pointed Educational Policies Commission a clearinghouse for educational planning in the United States [3] to encourage the teaching in high- school and college of the Association’s report on Social-Economic Goals for America [4] to help schools give attention to the problems of unemployed youth; to lead in a movement to provide opportu- nities for girls equal to those now avail- able for boys ' [5] to develop public education in all its phases from nursery schools thru adult education [6] to encourage the development of adequate programs of health, recreation, and medical service for all children [7] to relate the services of the school more closely to home and community life with special emphasis on cooperating with the National Congress of Parents and Teachers and other like groups. [II] Improving the services of the Association to the end that all schools . 172 may render the maximum service to childhood. The plan is: [1] to restore the September issue of THE JOURNAL and to continue the im- provement of THE JOURNAL to meet the growing needs of the profession [2] to gather, analyze, and present facts so that the entire program may be based on the best available knowl- edge [3] to improve the status of teachers, including salaries, security, tenure, free- dom of teaching, and other conditions of work [4] to encourage teacher participa- tion within the schools and within the Association [5] to expand Association services to highschools and colleges [6] to encourage the work of the Na- tional Association of Student Editors, the National Council of Student Officers, and other groups working toward civic lead- ership among youth [III] Developing higher standards of educational service, including teaching, administration, and finance. To achieve this end we propose: [1] to continue the campaign for fed- eral aid to education without federal con- trol and for a Department of Education with a secretary in the President’s cab- inet [2] to seek larger units and profes- sional administration [3] to improve educational opportun- ity for all children in rural areas [4] to improve the quality and quan- tity of preparation for teaching and to raise the standards for certification [IV] Continuing the development of an informed public opinion regarding the work of the schools. As a means of keep- ing the facts about education before the public, we plan: [1] to obtain a wider observance of American Education Week [2] to foster a year-round program of interpreting the schools to the public [3] to develop public appreciation of the work of the teacher [4] to encourage the teaching of the story of the schools and their social set- ting from the first grade thru college [5] to develop further plans for cele- brating important educational anniver- saries and events such as the Horace Mann Centennial in 1937 [V] Strengthening the Associations program of service thru increased mem. bership and improvement in organiza- tion. In this connection the plan is: [1] to bring about at least a 10 per. cent membership growth [2] to encourage democracy and teacher participation within the Asgo- ciation [3] to foster teacher growth and en- courage the study of the work of the As- sociation by school faculties that mem- bers may be informed of its plans and activities [4] to extend student membership among seniors in the teachers colleges and schools of education [5] to integrate and develop further the departments of the Association. [6] to plan more carefully the Asso- ciation’s conventions and committee work [7] to promote closer cooperation be- tween local, state, and national educa- tion associations [8] to give special service to rural schools for which a fulltime member has been added to the headquarters staff [9] to develop closer cooperation be- tween the Association and institutions of higher education. These, then, are the tasks and oppor- tunities which the Association faces dur- ing the coming school year. Their suc- cessful accomplishment depends partly upon the leadership of Association offi- cers, committees, and departments and upon the untiring energy of the head- quarters staff. But their effectiveness rests even more upon the enlightened and vigorous support of every member of the profession—upon you. Will you pledge yourself to a renewed dedication to the teaching profession, to the local associa- tion, to the state association, and to the national association? “Life is indeed darkness save when there is urge, “And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge, “And all knowledge is vain save when there is work, “And all work is empty save when there is love; “And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one an- other, and to God... . “Work is love made visible.” The Journal of the National Education Association gail tior has of \ NA acl clu pla te m . ~~ a i On’s em- iza- per- and Sso- en- As- em- and ship ges ‘ther $so- ttee 1Ca- ural has s of 0r- lur- suc- rtly offi- and ad- 1€SS and the dge the Cia- the hen ere hen hen you an- tion A Year of Substantial Achievement the National Education Association during 1934-35 made substantial gains in a number of important direc- tions. In large measure, the Association has been able to accomplish the program of work which was set forth in THE JouR- naL for October 1934. As we look ahead to the new year, it may be well to keep in mind some of the achievements of the past year. These in- clude: Ties IS inspiration in the fact that [1] Laying the foundations of educational planning {2] Federal aid for education [3] Improving the economic teachers [4] Continuing interpretation of education [5] Publication of nearly 160,000,000 pages of educational material [6] Special services to highschools and teach- ers colleges [7] Special services to states on legislation [8] Participation in the solution of social- economic problems [9] Cooperation with lay organizations [10] Service thru committees and depart- ments status of Laying the foundations of educa- tional planning—The Joint Commis- sion on the Emergency in Education, which served as a national board of strat- egy from January 1933 thru June 1935, has a remarkable record of service. One of its greatest contributions was the stim- ulating of a constructive attack on the problems of educational planning. [For further information about the work of the Commission, see pages 179-182 of this issue. | At the Denver convention an Educa- tional Policies Commission was estab- lished. This Commission will build upon the solid foundations which the Joint Commission has laid. It will focus the best thought of the nation upon the ed- ucational aspects of social and economic problems. Federal aid for education—The intensive effort of the National Educa- tion Association and cooperating groups, working thru the National Committee for Federal Aid to Education, is beginning to show results. This committee, because of whose efforts thousands of schools were kept open last year, has achieved progress toward a permanent program of federal aid to schools which will make educational opportunity more nearly equal thruout the nation. The Association has aided the commit- tee materially in achieving these results. This assistance has included financial Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 contributions; survey of needs in the drought states, of the closed school situa- tion, and of school indebtedness; and YEAR AGO the Association faced A one of the greatest changes in its history, the transfer of its leadership from the Secretary who for seventeen years had been the great builder and guiding hand. Such a change is not easy to make and much depends upon the wisdom and spirit in which it is made. It is an achievement of the first magnitude that the National Education Asso- ciation chose its new Secretary ac- cording to the best traditions of the teaching profession and provided a new leadership fully in sympathy with the old and yet with initiative and courage to undertake the en- larged program for which the new times call. gathering the first comprehensive data on schoolbuilding needs as related to the federal public works organization. Improving the economic status of teachers—lIn February, Secretary Wil- lard E. Givens wrote to President Roose- velt’s Committee on Economic Security, urging that serious consideration be given to the urgent needs of the nation’s million public-school teachers. Secretary Givens’ statement on “Teachers and Economic Security” appeared in the April 1935 JOURNAL. The March 1935 Research Bulletin presented the latest information regard- ing salaries of teachers and other school employees. The National Education As- sociation is recognized as the best source for recent, accurate, and comprehensive data on teachers’ salaries. Every two years complete information regarding teachers’ salaries thruout the country is collected. The findings of the 1934-35 biennial survey were given wide publicity thru the Research Bulletin, THe Jour- NAL, and other professional periodicals. In addition, special studies have been prepared for individual communities. These nationwide salary surveys help restore and raise teachers’ salaries thru- out the country. The following letter from a superintendent in Illinois is typi- cal: “I want to express our appreciation for the service that your bulletin on salaries has rendered to us. Largely thru the comparison we were able to make between our city average and the aver- age in the United States, we were able yesterday to secure the restoration of one-half of our remaining cut for next year.” The Association is the clearinghouse on the fundamentally important prob- lem of teacher tenure. The report of the tenure committee which was presented at the summer convention consisted of studies of court decisions concerning teacher tenure which have arisen in the last few years. A central file of court de- cisions on tenure is being established at headquarters. Continuing interpretation of edu- cation—Thru THE JourRNAL, the Asso- ciation continues to lead in the nation- wide effort to encourage the interpreta- tion of education to the entire people. There has been more progress in educa- tional interpretation during the past three years than in all previous years. This year particular stress has been laid on developing an understanding and appreciation of the schools by the stu- dents themselves. A notable series of articles by Charles A. Beard and William G. Carr, dealing with the history of the school, appeared in THE JouRNAL from November thru May. These articles have been reprinted in pamphlet form under the title, “Schools in the Story of Cul- ture,” and are being used by junior and senior highschools and teachers colleges. During American Education Week 1934, approximately 6,000,000 adult citizens in 4000 communities took part in the observance. Forty governors issued proclamations. Among Association serv- ices was the distribution of over a mil- lion pieces of literature at cost. For a list of NEA helps available for the 1935 observance, see the inside back cover of this issue. Speakers on the “Our American Schools” radio programs sponsored by the National Education Association and presented on Saturday afternoons, brought the aims and achievements of the schools to the attention of the pub- lic. Vital problems were presented in such a way as to win the support of citizens for an expanding program of education. During 1934-35 the Department of Su- perintendence furnished local communi- ties with suggestive radio programs which were adapted for use over local broad- casting stations. The Department also 173 issued 6000 calendars of nationwide edu- cational programs. [See page 204 for an announcement of the NEA radio pro- grams for the coming year. | Publication of nearly 160,000,000 pages of educational material—The . publication of books in general has fallen off nearly 50 percent since 1929. The publications of the National Education Association have increased 10 percent in that time. The NEA is now the largest publisher in the world of material on the profession of education. Material from these publications is quoted widely in lay and professional press. THE JOURNAL goes to each member monthly during the school year. It would be impossible to overestimate the signifi- cance of this common background of pur- pose and ideals which teachers obtain by the regular reading of one periodical. Research Bulletins for the past year have dealt with “National Deliberative Committees in Education” [Sept. 1934], “Modern Social and Educational Trends” [Nov. 1934], “The Nation’s School Building Needs” [Jan. 1935], “Salaries of School Employees 1934-35” [Mar. 1935] and “Creating Social Intelligence” | May 1935]. Other publications include the Pro- ceedings; reports of committees; and bulletins and yearbooks of departments. Two outstanding yearbooks of the past year are “Social Change and Education” {Department of Superintendence| and “Aids to Teaching in the Elementary School” [Department of Elementary School Principals]. Because of the de- mand for the latter, a reprint was run in November 1934. Special services to highschools and teachers colleges—Seven million young people attended highschool in the United States during 1934-35. This is seven out of ten of the young people ages 15-18 inclusive. Association services to the secondary schools have kept pace wiih the amazing growth and increasing needs of these schools. For a number of years the Association has sponsored student projects which center the attention of pupils upon school problems and achievements. Last year thousands of highschool students participated in these projects—car- toon, printing, editorial, and student writer. More than 6000 tercentenary, world goodwill day, federal aid, vitalized commencement, and American Educa- tion Week packets were sold to high- schools. In the fall of 1934 the Association began a new service to highschools and 174 ‘ colleges. The National Association of Student Editors—with its official organ, Vitalized School Journalism—was organ- ized for the purpose of unifying the school publications of the country and making them more effective interpreters of schools. The education of tomorrow depends in large measure upon the teachers colleges of today. In January 1935 the National Education Association gave seniors in teacher-educating institutions the oppor- tunity of becoming members of the Asso- ciation. Student members thus enroled receive THE JOURNAL during the last half of their senior year. This plan gives pros- pective teachers an acquaintance with the work and the significance of profes- sional organizations. Special services to states on legis- lation—The urgent need for the estab- lishment of a national clearinghouse to get the facts basic to good state school legislation led to the establishment in 1934 of a reference service in this field. Fifteen studies have been completed and sent to approximately a thousand key people who, in turn, distribute the find- ings within their own states. Among the principal publications distributed to date are: School Legislation Affecting Young Children; State School Legislation; School Finance Sys- tems; Recent Court Decisions on Teacher Tenure. Participation in the solution of so- cial-economic problems—The school year 1934-35 was marked by an in- creased participation of the teaching pro- fession in the solution of the social-eco- nomic problems of our day. Every issue of THE JoURNAL contains some discus- sion to help readers reach a better understanding of the present in Ameri- can life and education. Much of such material is reprinted and made available for classroom use and for professional groups. The November 1934 Research Bulle- tin, ““Modern Social and Educational Trends,” depicts in a series of brief, graphic statements the major social trends and their educational implica- tions. The Thirteenth Yearbook of the Department of Superintendence, entitled “Social Change and Education,” is one of the most timely and stimulating edu- cational documents of recent years. Discussions at both the Atlantic City and Denver conventions dealt with the adaptation of our schools to a changing world. At the summer meeting, the second report of the Association’s Committee on Social-Economic Goals was presented. This report provided a central finding list of some of the school systems giving unusual attention to the development of social-economic education. Cooperating with lay organiza. tions—American Education Week, of which the Association is a joint sponsor with the American Legion and the U, §. Office of Education, enlists the participa- tion of national service clubs, women’s clubs, fraternal orders, and others. The Association has cooperated with approxi- mately thirty other organizations in the campaign for federal aid. Association groups work with members of Congress on problems concerning education. In this day of national interests it is import- ant to have, in the nation’s capital, na- tional representation of the teaching pro- fession. Service thru committees and de- partments — Among significant com- mittee reports presented at the Denver convention, were those of the Joint Com- mission, the Committee on Social-Eco- nomic Goals, the Committee on the Economic Status of the Teacher, the Committee on Tenure, and the Legisla- tive Commission. Thru the efforts of the Committee on Amending Charter and the Committee on Reorganization, the or- ganization of the National Education As- sociation has been made more adaptable to new needs. An article in a future issue of THE JouRNAL will be devoted entirely to the important work which Association de- partments are carrying out. The biggest thing the Association has done during 1934-35 lies in the participa- tion of nearly two hundred thousand teachers in its activities—the fact that that many people have had an interest bread enough to include the whole na- tion; that they have had a sense of obli- gation which they have recognized to the profession as a whole; that they have kept in touch with national currents of thought and national aspirations of the profession; that they have used THE JouRNAL for discussions in their faculty meetings and as a source of material for the interpretation in their various com- munities and states; that thru this par- ticipation in the work of the Association they have come to appreciate more the greatness and nobility of the profession and its central significance in the national life and destiny! One teacher in five is doing his part in the national work. What might the results not be if every teacher were enlisted in the common cause? — Joy Elmer Morgan. The Journal of the National Education Association H. Armstrong Roberts The return of youth to the schools is an annual renewal of the national life. Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 Ideas From Denver Teachers and the World PEAKERS at the Denver convention represented diverse lay and profes- sional groups. The following ex- cerpts from outstanding addresses reveal the trends of education in relation to the life around it. They will be useful to American Education Week speakers and writers. jee I plead for at the present time is a spirit of openmindedness, a spirit of pas- sion for the welfare of men, a spirit of desire that the foundations of our blessed country on the moral, spiritual, and intellectual side shall be laid deeper than they have ever been laid. If you—who hold the key to this entire situa- tion—in your daily work and in the atmosphere of your communities, help freedom to come to its largest expression, you will have served the community in probably as high a way as ever will be possible to you—Bishop Francis J. McConnell, Methodist Episcopal Church, New York, N. Y. We the kind of teacher we wish be able and content to remain neutral? Is one who cannot make up his mind or does not reach some pertinent convictions the kind of person we wish to put in charge of our classes? For myself, I cannot conceive how a good leader of youth can be the kind of a person to study and not conclude. But suppose the teacher does have honest and growing convic- tions, can he as a rule so teach as really to conceal his convictions? Again, for myself, I have to say no. I believe the effort would so often fail that to pretend to follow it would be a sham.—William H. Kilpatrick, Teachers College, Columbia University. foamy will be accomplished by giving a per- son the right to pursue happiness without the development within him of that wellspring of action known as initiative, so that he will make an effort to realize his right? How futile it would be for an individual to be a citizen in a democracy and lack initiative—Alexander J. Stoddard, superintendent of schools, Provi- dence, R. I., and president, Department of Superintendence of the NEA. CONOMIC SECURITY has come to loom so large among the socalled civilized peoples of the earth and the evils of the organized sys- tem of individualist economics so dominant in the consciousness of great masses of people that nations are selling their souls for the proverbial mess of pottage—are bartering away freedom to dictatorship for fatuitous pledges of eco- nomic betterment.—Frederick M. Hunter, chancellor, University of Denver. | Lipeecgeies face a fourfold challenge today, that of [1] rebuilding the family as a sta- bilizing factor in modern life; [2] rebuilding a moral code of adequate living to replace the inflated postwar standards; [3] rebuilding a genuine patriotism which shall include both na- tional and international loyalties; [4] rebuild- ing a conception of dominating spiritual forces which were shattered in the grief and despair of war devastation and desolation—Irma C. . 176 Voight, dean of women, Ohio University, Athens. HREATS to our social security have for years been audible and obvious. In 1929, at the peak of the boom, the average per capita in- come of all salaried workers was only $1475. Eighteen million gainfully employed persons had annual earnings of less than $1000. At least one-third of all our people, upon reaching old age, are dependent upon others for support. Less than 10 percent leave at death an estate sufficiently large to be probated—Josephine Roche, assistant secretary of the Treasury. I* THE expanded Civilian Conservation Corps, to number 600,000 this summer, there will be approximately half a million young men 18 to 28 years old, and an additional hundred thou- sand, approximately, of veterans and older men. The median age of the younger enrolees is 20 years; their median number of years of . previous schooling is 8 years. The men work five days a week, eight hours a day, and their monthly pay is $30 of which $25 is sent home to dependents.—C. S. Marsh, associate director, American Council on Education, Washington. I* 1934 more than a million and a half young people between 16 and 21 years of age were in families on relief. In October 1934 there were on the relief rolls approximately 300,000 per- sons who had never had a job, 90 percent of whom were between the ages of 16 and 25. For the young, the unemployment problem is inten- sified —Beatrice McConnell, director, Indus- trial Division, Children’s Bureau, Washington.’ —— DEARTH of books interestingly written, with an adult point of view but not too difficult for adults of limited schooling, is one of the greatest drawbacks to more rapid pro- gress in adult education on the lower levels.— Linda A. Eastman, librarian, Cleveland, Ohio. I HAVE BEEN disillusioned on the idea of pre- paring children to be effective adult citizens. You have got to work on adult citizens at the point where the motive is strongest for learn- ing about adult problems and being good citi- zens. That is axiomatic in any simple philosophy of education —J. W. Studebaker, United States Commissioner of Education. WE cannot think our way out of a depres- sion or any other difficulty in which we find ourselves, then we will forever remain in a fog. So when the teacher teaches the child to think, forgets all about herself and is intent upon causing the child to think, then her work has been well done—Ed. C. Johnson, governor of Colorado. — CONVENTION program is not built around glittering generalities of bygone days, but it shows that educators are evaluating social trends and movements,. and instrumen- talities of good government and human welfare. It is evident also that the teachers of this country are attempting to set up concrete ac- tivities that will make for more intelligence in human relationships—Inez Johnson Lewis, state superintendent of public instruction, Colo. — is experiencing the dull pangs of not being wanted. Twenty-five to 40 percent of all homeless persons are under 21 years of age, There are 250,000 boys on the roads and “riding the rods.” Thirty-six percent of the arrests jn the United States were of those between the ages of 16 and 25. A recent study in 50 cities shows no evidence of youth’s being given any recognition in important activities of the com- munity.—Robert N. Bush, president, Associ- ated Students, Colorado State College of Edu- cation, Greeley, Colo. WOULD like to see adult education courses simple, not over and above the heads but at the level of the boy who leaves school in the sixth grade——Florence Hale, director of radio, NEA. W:? TALK a great deal about clear thinking, about learning fine workmanship, about learning to do things well for their own sake. Those lessons can be learned as well in the field of art as in any other. On that account I believe any program for art appreciation for adults should involve necessarily and essentially that adults take part in the program—lLyman Bryson, professor of education, Teachers Col- lege, Columbia University. > GREAT TASK of the school is no longer that of preparing the individual to compete for pecuniary success in a highly competitive society, for we no longer live in a highly com- petitive society. Its primary task is to give the individual a realistic understanding of society and its problems, to examine critically and to test by the democratic, ideal the various pro- posals that are being brought forward for eco- nomic and social reconstruction—Jesse H. Newlon, Teachers College, Columbia Univer- sity. Is not only of their own problems that young people are thinking. They are beginning to consider the plight of thousands of their con- temporaries and to wonder whether youth itself may have to find the answers to its questions. For several years youth has waited for con- structive help from the older generation. Now it is beginning to try to find the answers for it- self —Dorothy C. Stratton, dean of women, -Purdue University, Lafayette, Ind. ouTH to fit into his world and make it a better world must know more about polliti- cal and government realities. Our instruction has been too formal along these lines. Pupils know much about Garfield and the civil service, but little about the manipulation today of this system of appointment in public office by astute politicians —Ernest D. Lewis, Evander Childs High School, New York, N. Y. E Ses GAP between what we might produce and what we are producing has increased thruout the lifetime of all these young people and their parents. Less and less chance is open to them. The college graduate was in kinder- garten when this country reached its maximum employment.— Goodwin Watson, Teachers College, Columbia University. The Journal of the National Education Association ~- ff © ~~ eee ae not t of age, ling 3 in the ties any »ci- du- rses t at the dio, ing, out ake, ield ieve ults hat nan *ol- ger rete tive ym- the iety l to ro- yer- ion Looking Ahead in Education ings have beaten against our insti- tutions. These surgings are the cries for freedom and for control. This breaking regime, with © which we have been harried, has been the battleground of a conflict as old as the ages, the conflict between initiative, invention, freedom on the one hand; and guidance, education, indoctrination, control, govern- ment on the other. In this struggle there has been revived the false assump- tion that victory for one or the other of these factors represents the key to satisfaction. History teaches and faith reinforces that individual and social welfare develops not upon the ascend- ancy of revolution, not upon the victory of a crushing authority, not upon a hurried compromise between the two, but thru a new creation resulting from an inte- gration of these vitally neces- sary, seeming contradictions. Guidance contributes the structure of individual and so- cial stability. Initiative contrib- utes the necessary vitality of freshness of vision and ingenuity of attack. The proper amalgamation results in a social order definite enough in structure to in- sure a degree of stability that holds the social life intact while maintaining that degree of flexibility that invites promis- ing innovations until they demonstrate their strength or their futility. Lack of control means individual and social disintegration. Stricture in control chokes the sprouts of necessary change and leads to individual and social decay. A proper balance between these two must be sought and maintained. Education as a vital social agency faces the twofold task of ushering in new insights and of supporting the newly-launched venture. Freedom and control are not separate entities. They are a unity each of which is impossible without the other. In the industrial field today the ideal- ist is one who dislikes present industrial conditions and seeks to remodel or better them. The realist accepts present condi- tions as inevitable. In matters of education, the realist stands on authority and custom. Here again, he says, he must face the facts. F: SOME TIME social and civic surg- Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 Conditions are bad; politics has a hold on the schools—but we cannot afford to deny~the demands of politicians. We DITORIAL NOTE — The wisdom and goodwill of President Smith, the carefully planned programs, the exceptionally large attendance, the faithfulness of officers and delegates, the favorable weather, the energy and foresight of the local committee, com- bined with the challenge of these stirring times to make the Denver convention one of the most sig- nificant in the Association's history. Press associa- tions and newspapers covered the convention more generously than usual. Other educational journals are carrying material appropriate to their special fields. A full report will appear in the 1000-page annual “Proceedings.” This issue of THE JOURNAL aims to call attention to those phases of the con- vention most important to the Association's member- ship as a'whole. The following is from Dr. Smith's presidential address. must let well enough alone. The idealist is convinced that in education we have allowed too much stagnation. We have looked so steadily at the past that our vision has become blurred. Let us experi- ment, that we may discover and invent. In this controversy between realists and idealists it is possible to create a harmony out of the conflicting views. The conservative realist and the idealist each has his place and can contribute much to social plans and progress. The realist is right in contending that we must face the facts and conserve the good that society has built up. The ideal- ist is right in urging that we need to be awake to new methods and progressive ideas and put them into use. By the care- ful blending of the real and the ideal we may find a course of conduct which will be universally sound. It is our purpose now to point out some of the problems in education to which this principle of integration may be applied. Because of rapid disorgani- zation of old forces and methods, the stage is set for the creation of something better. An unprecedented number of problems exist and furnish abundant opportunity to make use of any prin- ciple that gives promise of furnishing solution. Many agencies are today at work isolating these problems. The Office of Education, our National Education Association, the American Council on Educa- tion, many lay and professional groups thruout our land are busy with one or more phases of this tremendous task of survey. We must hasten and expand the scope of these investigations but we must not stop with them. They show what the problems are. They give little indication of what might be done about the situation discovered. Some of the problems of education in 1935 have already been located and to a certain extent isolated. I shall point out only a few of the outstanding ones: First is the problem of what to do with the products of our schools as they are sent out by the hundreds of thousands year by year. For five years now we have turned out of our second- ary schools and higher institutions of learning thousands of youth, arrested and jailed on commencement day by a social order inflexible and insensible to the loss of creative power. Charge the loss where you may, we, the educators of today, cannot escape a fair share of responsibility if we aliow the condition to continue. A second problem with which educa- tion is faced calls for immediate attention. We have gradually passed over to the schools more and more responsibility for the moral welfare of school children. However, there has not been delegated the authority to set up proper proce- dures. We have had little control over the environment of the child except for the few hours when the child is in school. And, furthermore, the schools because of certain restraints placed upon them by society, have not taken seriously enough their delegated responsibility. There exists in our society outside the control of the schools a number of agen- cies which exert a powerful influence on the child for good or bad. The movies, the radio, the press, the church, adult social organizations, the liquor establish- 177 ments, the advertising agencies, various organi- zations for youth such as @ 2 Boy Scouts—all of these 4 4 rat agencies have little direct connection with the con- stituted educational au- thorities of a city or state. Some are contributing creditably to the educa- tion of youth; some are tearing down whatever is beneficial in the interest of commercialism, greed, and political favor. Certainly there is need for a revising of our social order so that the agencies which influence the lives of our children may co- operate to control those factors in any agency which are of known detri- ment to youth. The need for coordination of all agen- cies in education is a third problem which has increased in importance dur- ing the past two years. Our programs of kindergarten and adult education, since they were the most recent additions to the school and the most variant from tradition, were the first to be eliminated when the loss of financial support de- manded budget reductions. The loss of jobs by thousands of youth and the accompanying loss in opportunity for further vocational courses turned loose thruout the country great numbers of young people. Education did not solve the problem. Not only were funds un- available for the inclusion of many of these people in the secondary schools, but in addition, teachers and school of- ficials were unprepared to provide the proper type of training to attract such youth. Fortunately, the federal government and other agencies expanded their pro- gram to help out in the emergency. The federal government established young men’s training camps to care for thou- sands who were unemployed. Vast pro- grams of city, state, and federal recrea- tion projects have been developed. It is true that libraries, museums, art gal- leries, and other agencies for education have been established for years, but there has not been a sufficiently close relation- ship established between the regular schools and these varied outside educa- tional agencies. An integration of these various forces into a unified organization is highly desirable and entirely possible. * i) ae A ye ws © é oan aN a Pe ” . 178 % i vig: pes RECEIVING LINE at the Governor’s reception: Governor Ed. C. Johnson of Colorado; Mrs. Henry Lester Smith; President Smith; Mrs. Willard E. Givens; Secretary Givens; Mrs. Inez Johnson Lewis, state superintendent of public instruction, Colorado. Another difficult problem is that of providing a curriculum broad enough to include the social and vocational studies necessary to meet presentday needs. Those who advocate the old-style high- school curriculum centering around the classics and the tool subjects fail to ap- preciate the modern student’s dilemma as he tries to apply such a conservative course to presentday life. On the other hand, those who urge throwing out the classics and teaching only vocational subjects fail to see that the spirit cannot develop without the aid of the more spiritual subjects. The principle we have been advocating offers the practical solution of this prob- lem: namely, to select from each of these fields unified courses that will include the best and that will develop the student into a wellrounded character. A problem which is a corollary of the foregoing is that of preparing our youth to meet the onslaught of radical social views that constantly threaten essential social stability. The teachings of those who would undermine our social institu- tions often become both bold and insidi- ous. While this radical element is striving to gain the attention of youth, another group is advocating holding fast to old ideas and methods. But these opposing views go too far from a wellbalanced ideal in the solution of this vexing social question. The prob- lem and the duty of our schools today is to teach our youth that it is the part of wisdom to avoid either one of the plans that shifts too far to one side of the central span of safety, Students should be brought to see that ideals which are subversive of our gov- ernment are false ideals. Certain features, however, of these radical viewpoints may be of great service to our country if they can be made to fit into a pattern where freedom and au- thority are brought into harmony. The successful solution of the problems just dis- cussed will be of assist- ance in a further problem —the proper training of teachers. Teachers are themselves the product of the schools which they now attempt to direct. The ideally equipped teacher, therefore, is yet to come. He will be the resultant of the methods and courses that have been suggested. In order to develop such teachers, there is need for improved teaching con- ditions. For example, we must insure to those teachers who follow us a greater degree of comfort in salary, in tenure, and in social and civic leadership, than we our- selves have enjoyed. We must insure them the right of expression and the opportunity to reach independent and courageous conclusions. We can never expect that all groups of school people will see these problems from the same viewpoint. But it is pos- sible and greatly to be desired that all shall attain to that breadth of mind and spirit in which it will be possible to bring together the facts and present the differ- ent viewpoints. Then by a process of combining and unifying opposing ideas, there should evolve a practical solution. The only way by which opposing forces may be harmonized is thru con- ference. In a conference where goodwill is the prevailing note, those ideas which favor too decidedly either a repressive control or an erratic freedom, will be submerged; and those ideas which fall within the limits of sound commonsense and meet the tests of feasibility and practicality, will be accepted. —From the presidential address of Henry Lester Smith, National Edu- cation Association, Denver, Colorado, July 1, 1935. The Journal of the National Education Association ril W sc ti h ti -~ -—_ 2 ne ee oO ee 6S ty, ht ich Is. to The Joint Commission Looks to the Future JoHN K. Norton Chairman, Joint Commission on the Emergency in Education, and Professor of Educa- tion, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. gency in Education was created in the dark days of the bank morato- rium. National morale was at a low ebb. We were appointed and instructed to “do something” about the crisis facing educa- tion. Our Commission traveled from one end of the country to the other to gain first- hand information concerning the difficul- ties of the schools. We appointed and sought the advice of nearly one thousand consultants from every section of the country. By the collection of timely in- formation concerning the crisis in educa- tion and by its wide dissemination thru the press, .the radio, and by word of mouth, the country has been brought toa clear realization that there is an emer- gency in education. It had little realiza- tion of this fact when the Commission was created. A national conference dealing with the problems of state and local finance was summoned. This conference developed a Charter of School Finance which has ex- ercised major influence in a number of states. This Charter emphasizes the ne- cessity of modernizing our tax systems in order that an adequate and stable flow of revenue may be provided. It points out the responsibility and role of the state government in providing an acceptable minimum program of financial support for the schools of all localities. It indi- cates the necessity of reorganizing most of the 127,000 tiny local school districts Te JOINT COMMISSION on the Emer- . now in existence in the United States. Students of government, both within and without the profession, would probably agree that thousands of these small ad- ministrative units, established in the days of the oxcart and pony-express must be reorganized. They are both educationally inefficient and financially costly even in normal times. During the depression, many of them have demonstrated their impotence in maintaining adequate edu- cational standards and financial support. The Joint Commission in cooperation with the Legislative Commission and other groups developed and vigorously supported in Washington a program for the federal emergency relief of education. An address before the Representative As- sembly of the National Education Association, Denver, July 3, 1935. Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 Previous to the recent sessions of the state legislatures, educational leaders from every section of the country were called together by the Joint Commission, to take counsel concerning immediate leg- islative problems, as well as to begin the projection of longterm plans for the re- covery and improvement of education. Thruout the period of its existence the Joint Commission has not hesitated to speak with candor and vigor, whether meeting attacks on the schools or propos- ing fundamental reconstruction of educa- tional procedures. The activities of the Joint Commission for two and one-half years have claimed a vast amount of time and energy from its members. The emergency called for sacrifice. The Commission has given its services willingly and whole-heartedly. It has not desired or accepted material re- ward or compensation for its work. It has operated under emergency conditions and on an emergency budget. The Commission has set in motion a series of activities to meet the immediate educational crisis. The further recovery of education calls for a program of a new type. Our Commission, therefore, is mak- ing its final report at this time. This does not imply that the difficulties of educa- tion have been solved or that the emer- gency is past. Rather, it is our clear recognition that a new type of program needs to be leisurely and carefully de- veloped over a period of years, which prompts us to retire at this meeting. We are recommending the creation of a new Commission on Educational Policies. The purpose of this new Commission will be further dealt with later in this report. The Joint Commission on the Emer- gency in Education has had a rare oppor- tunity to observe and study the forces and currents which play upon public edu- ¢ation. This imposes on us the obligation to report some of the things we have seen and to interpret their significance. I hope we have earned the right to speak with frankness, and that we will not be mis- understood in saying some plain things. What counsel do we offer to the teachers of the nation? First, the future development of public education in the United States calls for a more realistic understanding by the teaching profession of the forces and groups which operate to determine edu- cational policy. There exist in American life today groups which historically have supported, and those which have opposed, the ex- pansion of free public education. These groups are motivated by self-interest and philosophical outlook. It is not possible to define these groups with definiteness. Their economic status is perhaps best indicated by figures re- cently reported in an investigation by the Brookings Institution of Washington, D. C. These figures show that in 1929, about 12 million families in the United States, or more than 42 percent, had in- comes less than $1500. They received a total of about 10 billion dollars. In the same year 36,000 families, or 0.1 percent, had incomes in excess of $75,000. They also received a total of approximately 10 billion dollars. In other words, the 42 percent of families at the bottom received practically the same as the 0.1 percent of the families at the top, of the income scale. There are millions of parents and other citizens in this country in ordinary circumstances, who recognize that the in- stitution of free public education offers their children the best route to that pur- suit of happiness for which America was founded. It is with this group that the teaching profession should cultivate closer contacts and cooperation, At the top of the economic scale, we find another group which, while it is far from unanimous in opposition to the extension of educational opportunity, nevertheless includes many of those who have organized and financed agencies which have struck at public education during the depression. Education is the most costly of our public enterprises. Revenue for its sup- port is increasingly being collected, ac- cording to the principle of ability to pay, and is being expended according to the criterion of educational need. These prin- ciples inevitably come in conflict with the vested interests of large property owners. It is no accident that the direc- tors of economy leagues and economic councils, which are the parents of the tax- payers leagues with which you all are familiar, read like a Who’s Who of Amer- ican economic power. 179 Closely related to the motivation which comes from large vested interest, is the philosophy held by many members of this group concerning the extent to which education may improve the individual and general wellbeing of mankind. Hu- man nature, they believe, sets definite and narrow limits as to what may be done thru education. Unemployment, poverty, and crime are looked upon as inevitable outcomes of the inherent de- fects of a large percentage of mankind. Education at public expense is a direct challenge to this viewpoint. It asserts the improvability of man. It places equality of educational opportunity as the founda- tion stone of individual and social well- being. I would not oversimplify this problem and indulge in easy generalizations. There are many examples of rich men who have played noble roles in the cen- tury-old battle for free public schools, and who have been exemplars of a broad and democratic social philosophy. There are many such men today. We should seek to enlist their support whenever pos- sible in developing forward-looking edu- cational programs. It would be a mistake, however, to look primarily to the owners of great wealth for support to develop a system of educa- tion, appropriate to the social needs of this century. We must look elsewhere for such support. In the future, even more than in the past, we must look to millions of humble parents whose children we teach—to the rank and file of common men who earn their bread thru work of brain and brawn. A clearer recognition of the implica- tions of this proposition will affect our contacts with the public in a number of ways. Let us be specific. As classroom teachers we will gain new respect for the parent of the average child, who comes to school to inquire concerning difficulties his child may have encountered. In this parent we will see a prototype of the average American citizen, who in the nineteenth century had the courage and the vision to establish the first universal free public-school system in the world’s history. In this parent we will see one of those who will make possible a school appropriate to this century. We will not merely wait for the parent to come to the school. We will go to the home of the child in order that better understanding and cooperation between parent and teacher may be brought to bear on his education. We will view the parent- teacher association in a new light, recog- nizing in this organization a group which has steadfastly stood by the schools dur- ing this depression and which will con- tinue to do so, if we offer appropriate cooperation and leadership. As school executives, we will continue to keep contacts with the chamber of commerce and other groups, which take their cue from big business, but we will be equally anxious to interpret the schools to labor groups, organizations representative ‘of the forward-looking womanhood of the country, and similar citizen groups. All of us in the teaching profession will make a far more serious attempt to secure, not only the understanding of, but the active participation of larger The Journal of the National Education Association nul mi thé ni th not the ing nd his nt- g- ich ur- ite ue ke rill he Ns ng lar on to of, er numbers of ordinary citizens in the deter- mination of educational policy. It is true that education increasingly involves tech- nical questions which it is difficult for the laymen to comprehend readily. But it is also encouraging, and sometimes even startling, how quickly a parent will go to the heart of an educational issue if given an opportunity. So long as edu- cation is publicly supported; and so long as we continue to be a democracy, it is essential that parents and other citizens have such opportunities. As the Joint Commission stated in its publication, Evaluating the Public Schools, we “must place the issues of education squarely be- fore the public, welcoming and encourag- ing complete, frank, and impartial dis- cussion of them by individuals and public agencies.” In short, the experiences of the past few years should have taught us that we need to clarify our thinking as to who are the friends and who are the enemies of the principle of universal, free, public education. We should realize that the in- terests and social philosophy of certain groups inevitably make them luke-warm supporters of public schools. There are other groups whose status and aspirations as certainly make them vigorous sup- porters of the schools if we intelligently seek their understanding and coopera- tion. There is a second lesson which the Joint Commission would draw from its experiences of the past two and a half years. It has learned the value of profes- sional organization. I would be the last to claim that these agencies have done everything they should have done for education during the depression. One thing is certain, however, that the public schools would be far worse off today than they are, if it had not been for our na- tional, state, and local teachers associa- tions. It seemed a tragedy to the members of the Joint Commission that at the depth of the educational crisis, the Na- tional Education Association was able to enlist barely 20 percent of the 1,000,000 teachers of the United States, and many of the state associations fell far short of complete enrolment. We are convinced that the educational picture of the future, if it is to be a rosy one, must include professional organiza- tions which are better financed and more effective both as to program and methods than they have been in the past. Superior professional leaders should occupy the legislative and executive of- fices of our associations. It is a good omen for the future that a leader of Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 the background, standing, and caliber of Willard E. Givens was recently called to take the executive direction of the great National Education Association, to the building of which J. W. Crabtree gave so many years of devoted service. Under the leadership of Secretary Givens we may expect the National Education Associa- tion to march forward toward a complete enlistment of the teachers of the nation and a position of growing respect and influence among educators and laymen alike. There needs to be both an organic and functional tie-up between the na- tional and state association which has not yet been achieved. What will we do with these better led, better organized, and better financed professional organizations for which I am appealing? They should be made into agencies which understand and do not hesitate to use realistic methods by which action is obtained in a society such as ours. Thru these organizations teachers should clarify and make their viewpoints felt on large educational and social is- sues. Political leaders should be brought to realize that teachers will not be satis- fied with the meaningless platitudes with which candidates for public office have often claimed their votes. Teachers will want to know the positions of all candi- dates for office on definite and funda- mental measures affecting the welfare of public education. They will want to know their attitude toward child labor, the de- velopment of social security programs, the modernization of tax systems and similar issues, which go to the roots of a candidate’s social philosophy. The 1,000,000 teachers of the nation, if they clearly understand the educational and social issues which are at stake and choose to put their understanding into action, can become the balance of power. We can tip the scales away from reaction and defeatism towards progress and that equality of opportunity which has been a synonym for America. Does this advice suggest that I am ad- vocating that the teachers of America shall convert themselves into another of the selfish pressure groups of which we already have too many? There is a pos- sibility that this might happen. Every agency capable of powerful action has the possibility of being used for narrow and selfish purposes. There is nothing in- herent, however, in organization which requires that it should be used for un- social ends—else we would be bad off in a social order such as ours, the very ex- istence of which depends upon a high degree of cooperative social action. The recent study of pressure groups and propaganda and their methods and influence on governmental policy by the American Academy of Political and So- cial Science finds nothing inherently un- sound in the fact that such professional organizations as the American Medical Association and the National Education Association are taking an active interest in public affairs. It concludes: In general, the pressure activities of profes- sional associations should not be viewed with alarm. In fact, the entrance of these associa- tions into the governmental field, whether on their own initiative or by invitation of different governmental agencies, appears to be a very promising way of bringing the expert into the service of the government. [Harold F. Gosnell and Margaret J. Schmidt. “Professional Asso- ciations,” in the Annals of the American Acad- emy of Political and Social Scies.>7, May 1935, page 33.] The best safeguard against becoming merely another special interest group is to recognize the danger and to create mechanisms which will provide a states- manlike program looking always to the special good. This brings us to a final and important recommendation, growing out of the work of the Joint Commission on the Emergency in Education. We have recommended to the execu- tive committees of the National Educa- tion Association and the Department of Superintendence, to which bodies we have been jointly responsible, the crea- tion of an Educational Policies Commis- sion. The purpose of the Commission would be to stimulate thinking and long- term planning within the teaching pro- fession on the highest possible level, looking toward the continued adapta- tion of education to social needs. It would be instructed to appraise existing educa- tional conditions critically, and to stimu- late thinking and action designed to the end that desirable changes may be brought about in the purposes, pro- cedures, and organization of education. It would strive to develop more effective understanding and cooperative action among various organized groups inter- ested in promoting educational improve- ment. The creation of such a Commission would consciously provide for longterm educational planning, which to date has often been more or less neglected. The objective would be to bring a higher type of thinking and statesmanship into the development of the programs of our pro- fessional organizations. We should clearly recognize that in an established institution, such as the school 181 system of the United States, certain con- ditions tend toward inflexibility. The history, which many of you know, of the past ages is that such institutions tend to become crystallized. They do not respond as they should, frequently. We also have our own vested interests. As a result, de- ' sirable changes may be prevented or un- duly delayed. It is an important respon- sibility of educational leadership to de- termine and to put into operation the means whereby essential revisions in edu- cational purpose, organization, and prac- tise may be regularly brought about. This is necessary in order that education may make its indispensable contribution to our evolving democratic society. Let us not underestimate the difficulty of giving reality to the proposal that the school shall generate within itself the forces which make for adjustment and growth. If history repeats itself, the American public-school system will not develop seeds of regeneration within it- self. An article by Alvin Johnson in the current issue of the Journal of Adult Edu- cation includes this pertinent paragraph: It is not in our time alone that the formal educational institution has found it impossible to adjust to new dynamic forces in the intellec- tual as well as in the material world. The Ro- man schools of rhetoric not only played no part in the organization of the Roman imperial sys- tem and the broadening of the intellectual out- look that came with world empire; they re- sisted these changes to the best of their ability; they became more and more archaic in material content and in style, until in the time of Marcus | ie NATH ONAI Aurelius a well-trained graduate could deliver nothing more relevant than an eloquent ora- tion on Coriolanus or Regulus in the style that antedated Cicero by two hundred years. The great schools of Athens and Alexandria had no part in the Christianizing of the Empire and the adjustment of life to the imperial com- mercial and economic system. The Renaissance, Reformation, and French Revolution owed lit- tle to the schools. British economics after Adam Smith down thru John Stuart Mill grew out- side the schools. So also did the doctrine of evo- lution. The schools consistently oppose modern movements in art, architecture, literature until they have exhausted their original impetus and become stereotyped. During the battles which the Joint Commission has waged in behalf of edu- cation for the past two and a half years, certain individuals have stated that the teachers of the nation do not have a program worthy of a profession. We have already been called a special interest group and lobby whose vision does not go beyond salaries, pensions, and tenure. If this accusation had come only from those who have historically opposed the development of public schools, we might discount it; but I have heard persons whose sincerity and intelligent devotion to public education cannot be questioned make similar charges. If there is any group in this nation which should protect itself from the cor- roding influence of narrow self-interest and limited vision, it is the teaching pro- fession. The Joint Commission knows no better way of doing this than by creating an agency which can lead us in the long- “DUCATIO term development of a statesmanlike pro. gram which will look upon education with the broadest possible social vision and will promote activities which wil] give that vision reality in practise. The Joint Commission on the Emer. gency in Education, therefore, offers as the final, and probably the most impor- tant, recommendation it has made, the creation of an Educational Policies Com- mission for the purposes which have been 4; briefly outlined. In closing, I wish to express the sin- cere appreciation of the members of the Joint Commission for the support re- ceived from many quarters. Acknowledg- ment of this help is expressed in a pam- phlet which has already been placed in your hands. The Commission has enjoyed unusual cooperation from the whole teaching pro- } fession and from thousands of lay friends of education. It has had the willing, efficient, and indispensable assistance of | the headquarters staff of the National Education Association, which has been willing to work overtime at any time, | and we wish to bring to you the definite . statement shat it is an efficient and a most willing staff. We have had the helpful support of a board of nearly one thousand regional consultants and we | thank them especially for their support. I personally wish to thank the members of the Commission, all of whom have worked so harmoniously and unselfishly, and who have offered their Chairman such effective and sympathetic support. The exhibit of the National Education Association at the San Diego exposition 182 The Journal of the National Education Association tion sion Translating the Declaration of Independence will ner- © 3 as Dor- the om- een sin- the re- edg- am- d in sual pro- | ends ling, e of © onal been | ime, inite id a the one we ort. bers have shly, man ort. ‘y & Congress who signed the Declara- tion of Independence knew what they wanted and used words in express- ing their wants which could be under- stood by king and commoner alike. Have you read the Declaration of In- dependence recently? It was not a Fourth of July oration. It was a serious docu- ment signed by serious men who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor in support of their state< ment, and who knew that if it failed they would hang, when and if caught. Do we know what we want? One great pessimist thinks not. A few days ago I reread an amazing volume entitled W ords to the Deaf by Ferrero, eminent historian of Rome. In it he wrote, “There have been epochs more uncouth, poorer, and more ignorant than our own, but they knew what they wanted.” _ “What do we want?” he asked and | then went on to say, “That is the essential } question. Every man and every epoch should keep this question constantly be- fore them, just as a lamp is kept burn- ing day and night in dark places.” Ferrero is right. This is the essential | question. To know what we want and _need and to want what we need are the beginnings of statesmanship. I believe that we do know some of the | things we want and need, and that we can translate the Declaration of Inde- pendence into terms which fit the age in which we live and thus be worthy of the men who drew it. The first count of the presentday in- dictment would be that we are permit- 1k MEMBERS of the Continental ‘ | ting one of the finest instrumentalities of ae ee lation | our national life, public education, to fall short of its best. I call upon all citi- | zens who love their country and its insti- tutions to declare in unmistakable terms this day that we shall no longer tolerate any failure to supply ourselves with men and women who shall both comprehend their age and duty and know how to serve them well, and that we shall no longer tolerate inadequate support of our educational enterprise. The fight for the first declaration must be within the schools themselves. This is the time for perfect candor, no bragging. It is necessary for us to make a critical _ and searching examination of the entire educational enterprise to see what parts, Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 HONORABLE PAUL V. McNutt Governor of Indiana if any, have outlived their usefulness. It is the business of the educational system to produce what Aristotle called free men and women capable of participating in and assuming leadership in the necessary readjustments of our tangled social and economic orders. It is not enough to produce first-rate technicians, It is necessary also to pro- duce those who will help in securing polit- ical, social, and economic orders which will assure the life, liberty, and the pur- suit of happiness set forth in the Declara- tion of Independence. This will be im- possible without adequate public support. The school children of the United States have been made to sacrifice their educational opportunities in a fashion that threatens the democratic structure of American society. [Governor McNutt then described the dilemma of the schools in meeting ex- panding enrolments with greatly de- creased resources. | It costs approximately $90 a year to< keep a child in school in prosperous times. It costs approximately $300 a year to keep a person in prison a year. The United States has spent $1,500,000,000 a year to incarcerate 5,000,000 prisoners. We are spending only $200,000,000 more than that for the education of 26,000,000 school children. Which is the better ex- penditure? At the present time there are 3,000,000 young people grouped around the ages 18 to 20 who are out of school and out of work. They have been termed “the lost generation.” For them to remain idle constitutes a gigantic loss. In this connection the President’s Youth Program is one which deserves our wholehearted support. It must be de- veloped and carried on in a spirit that will instil confidence in» youth—confi- dence of the youth in themselves and con- fidence of their elders in the youth. The program must not be set up as a charity movement, but as a definite investment by the government in its youth. The pro- gram must not be a youth movement in the sense of uprising against our estab- lished order, but a movement to allay social unrest and to preserve for the com- ing generation the ideals on which our nation was founded, namely, the right to have an education and the right to earn an honest and sufficient living. Senator Copeland’s committee has shown that the cost of crime in the United States is almost thirteen billion dollars annually. This is a stupendous figure. The surest method of meeting crime is not less but more education and better and more thoroly socialized schools. The youth of today must prepare for life in a world of intricate economic forces. These forces will overwhelm him if he does not understand them. He needs knowledge and power to think his way thru. Life everywhere today is subject to in- ternational influences. To understand these influences, to interpret them intel- ligently, requires a better education of more people. The wisdom of America’s foreign policy can be improved only in- sofar as the people as a whole under- *stand and approve such improvement. How much education does youth need? All we can give them will be too little. How much should the schools offer? The very utmost their resources make pos- sible. The welfare of the state springs out of the character and the informed purposes of the private citizen. Another related count in the indict- ment of our presentday declaration must be against our failure in a materialistic age to hold fast to a social objective. It is to be hoped that the objective so felicitously stated by the President a few days ago may be translated into ac- tion. These were his words: The social objective, I should say, remains just what it was, which is to do what any honest government of any country would do —to try to increase the security and the hap- piness of a larger number of people in all oc- cupations of life and in all parts of the coun- try; to give them more of the good things of life; to give them a greater distribution not only of wealth in the narrow terms, but of wealth in the wider terms; to give them places to go in the summer time—recreation; to give them assurance that they are not going to starve in their old age; to give honest business a chance to go ahead and make a reasonable profit; and to give everyone a chance to earn a living. The time has come for us to prove that we are worthy of the men of 1776, and to give more than lip service to their traditions of freedom. We must translate their declarations into actions which will meet the demands of this age —From an address before the National Education Association, July 4, 1935. — Education and the General Welfare E FIND OURSELVES today with \ x / an American educational sys- tem, properly and widely rooted in popular support, yet increasingly de- pendent, as are other national activities, on scientific and material help from our national government. No doubt these tendencies will con- tinue and increase, as promises to be true with respect to aid to the unemployed di- rectly and thru public works. This is the more true because many contrasted parts of our country are less prosperous than others, and our federal system of taxation serves aS an equalizer of our divergent wealth and needs. Science and invention, equally with economic forces, pass state lines without the slightest consciousness of impediments and the nation more and more becomes the unit of our common life. National power correspondingly grows with national expansion, even tho it draws its strength from all local and in- dividual sources. In a period of tragic economic stress, early in my Senate ex- perience, I discovered that such admir- able agencies of earlier days as the Red Cross and community chests were un- prepared, without fault of their own, to meet adequately our unforeseen national emergencies. Modern life is startlingly complex. Its economic crises often spread universally and rapidly, as the last six years particularly illustrate. In such hours we must, without hesitation, enlist national powers and resources if we are to avoid national disaster. Without depreciating the significance of local units, it is certain that our fath- ers obeyed a sound fundamental instinct when they sacrificed all to save the Union as the indispensable guarantee of a reasonable and contented world for them and their descendants. Today we realize, as never before, how tragic the lot of vast multitudes of our people would be if they were scattered thru separate states devoid of a national federation. It should be easy, as a sequel to the welfare experiments of the last two years, to agree on at least a partial program of national aid to state and local educa- tional agencies, based upon the sobering facts about our school conditions. [Senator Costigan then summarized the needs of the schools for adequate 184 » HONORABLE EDWARD P. CosTIGAN United States Senator from Colorado buildings and staff to care for expanding enrolments. | I bring you assurances that many pro- gressive leaders in public life stand ready to assist any well-conceived, human pro- gram of federal aid to education which your unit authority is prepared to recom- mend. Certainly we ought to be able to agree at least on such minimum federal steps as these: First, grants in aid by the federal govern- ment to states, where necessary, for free public education designed to liberalize and equalize opportunities for teachers and students, without undermining traditions of wholesome local school control and direction. Second, nationwide insistence on minimum school facilities and attendance for a period of from eight to nine months of every school year. Third, teachers in all schools adequately trained and fairly compensated for their pro- fessional responsibilities. Fourth, safe, healthful, and modern schools in all parts of the United States, with proper school and mechanical equipment, including suitable textbooks available to all pupils. In undertaking these and other experi- ments in education, as in government, we must have, of course, a sane and nat- ural merger of state and federal activities. The significance of the task justifies us in demanding from those who benefit by such an educational program both per- sonal development and dedication to community welfare. We are all partners in building and perpetuating our country and contemporary civilization. The mod- ern world, thru education and aroused morality, if it is to pay its debt to the past, must steadily eliminate such fatal flaws as weakened and wrecked earlier governmental experiments. This can be done as always by widely distributing educational resources and opportunities for rational human life, and by modern invention and scientific achievements which override the demands of human selfishness by insistence on universal brotherhood. All citizens, teachers and students alike, should have, or acquire, and faith- fully perpetuate a living interest and par- ticipation in public affairs. Perhaps it is natural, in view of my own activities, that I should conclude that no other test of truly educated men or women is so final or unerring as that of active and effec- tive citizenship. Others with higher educational author- ity than mine, leaders in your profession, have not failed to speak in candid criti- cism of the economic, social, and political failures of the modern world as the prod- uct of defective education. They know and you know—tho the fault rests in some degree on all of us who in our sepa- rate spheres contribute to the educated mind—that when civilization has failed, education has failed, and by the same token when civilization has succeeded, education has triumphed. It may be added, with equal confi- dence, that when the America our fore- fathers planned, shall have succeeded in establishing sound political and indus- trial equality and selfgovernment, and in utilizing the resources of this continent for the general welfare, American educa- tion will have come to its own. Either way, whether our banners rise or fall, the major responsibility must in the long run be borne by American educators in every walk of life. In what has been thus far said, it has been assumed that there will be little difficulty in agreeing on a modest begin- ning of a national effort to underwrite the improvement and renovation of our American educational system. If it be argued that, in so doing, we are cutting across inherited traditions and experi- ences, the answer is that the new world makes new attitudes unavoidable. We must remember that we have, un- der state and federal Constitutions, both state and national citizenship. We must, accordingly, educate every new genera- tion to meet its new responsibilities. Edu- cational leadership will certainly not op- pose the commonsense view that nation and states can only co-exist in harmoni- ous efficiency if we continue, thru educa- tion, to promote equipment for essential services and the general welfare. If we fail to achieve those ends by reason of conflicts between limited, re- spective jurisdictions, the general gov- ernment will surely find public opinion rallying to endow the nation with ample authority to grapple with important problems which states, by reason of lim- ited territorial authority, are admittedly unable to control—From an address be- fore the NEA, July 2, 1935. The Journal of the National Education Association Ass ject you wo’ wis ing thi St hor- sion, Titi- tical rod- now S$ in epa- ated led, ame Jed, nfi- ore- 1 in lus- 1 in ent Ca- her the ‘un ery 1as tle ite ur ng ri- RESIDENT SMITH, Governor McNutt, i ceaaoes, ladies and gentlemen of the Association: I come to you upon a sub- ject which I would rather discuss with you than with any other group in all the world. I am going to try to follow your wishes as to time tonight, but I want to say at the outset that man cannot, deal- ing with the conviction which has become that of the seven members of the United States Senate who for something more than eighteen months have been in con- stant investigation of the influences, the ways, and the ambitions of the makers of the munitions of war, be very brief. I was wrapped in admiration of the oratory tonight of Governor McNutt when he pictured the situation existing elsewhere in this world, where a false and insane leadership has put entire populations of people under the most distressing situations, apparently wholly unmindful of their feelings or their rights. And while we may be feeling sorry for the people of other lands, I wonder if we hadn’t better save a little of that sorrow for ourselves as Americans [applause}. I saw America sixteen years ago firm with high resolve that it would never, Never, NEVER let recur that ex- perience that the nation had just come thru, and I see that same America today, with its various classes of citizens who are saying, where men can hear: “Maybe what this world needs, maybe what we need to get out of this depression is another little war.” We have, I fear, drawn the blinds pretty tight, so that we do not see too clearly what is right and best and what is really behind our ter- rible economic difficulties today. I am reminded that perhaps we are in much the same position as that charac- ter was who never had much religion until they carried him to the hospital for his first operation. Then he did be- come upset discovering that he was go- ing to have to go under the anesthetic and to submit to a rather serious oper- ation. He wondered what his chances of recovery were going to be and he began to think how little deserving he was of anything more than the fires of Hades, and he pled with his doctors and with the nurses for the assurance that he {An address before the National Education Association, Denver, Colorado, July 4, 1935.] Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 The Munitions Investigation HONORABLE GERALD P. NYE United States Senator from North Dakota wanted—that he would come out from under the anesthetic, that the operation would be a success. He went under the Ga GeraLp P. Nye is one of the great orators of our day. This outstanding ad- dress which he delivered at Denver should be brought to the attention of ministers, editors, and other influential citizens. It should be studied in churches, schools, and community forums. anesthetic, underwent the operation, was carried to his room, and as he awakened, and as he sought to get the words out over his dry lips, he turned to the nurse and then turned back to the windows— or where he thought the windows ought to be in his room—and when he could speak he said to the nurse, “Why have you drawn the blinds so close?’”’ And the nurse said, “Well, the doctors were very much afraid of the reaction that might be yours upon awakening. There is a very severe fire blazing in the building across the street, so we took this precaution lest you would fear the operation had not been successful.” [laughter. } Sixteen years ago civilization raised its face and its hands heavenward and said: “Never, Never, NEVER again will we permit an experience like this four years of war to be visited upon this earth.” Fathers and mothers who had given of their own flesh and blood in that struggle managed on that day of armis- tice to summon a smile and to say: “Maybe the sacrifice was worthwhile after all, because this was a great war; it was a worthwhile war; it was a war to make the world safe for democracy.” Sixteen years have followed that war to make the world safe for democracy— and democracy is upon thinner ice than it has ever skated before [applause]. In the very shadow of that war to end war, we find this world more madly racing into the jaws of another war than it ever raced in times before. We came out of the war with what all wars leave in their wake—a depression. Let us not fool ourselves into believing that this depression that we are still in is traceable to anything other as the mighty factor, than four years of war [applause]. If the depression is of long duration, if it is exceedingly stubborn, let us know that it is only a reflection of the costliness, the wastefulness, and the stubbornness of four years of war [ applause]. Oh, we are wishing these days that we but had the means with which we could go forth and do for mankind those things that mankind needs done. Ni- cholas Murray Butler of Columbia Uni- versity has pointed out what we might do if we had what four years of war cost this world. If we had that cost we could go forth; build homes costing $2500 apiece; equip them with $1000 worth of furniture; build them on five-acre plots of ground costing one hundred dollars an acre; and give such a home, scot-free, to every family that is resident today in Russia, and in Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England, Aus- tralia, Canada, and in the United States; and have enough money left so that every city of twenty thousand people or more in all those same lands could have a two million dollar hospital, a three million dollar library, and a ten million dollar university. And after do- ing that, there would be a sufficient bal- ance left so that if we invested a part of it so wisely as to bring us a return of 5 percent per year, that return would be sufficient to enable us to pay salaries of $1000 apiece to 125,000 teachers and 125,000 more nurses, and then we would have enough left to go into Germany and 185 Belgium and possess ourselves of every penny’s worth of property that exists in those great lands today. And you and I are wondering where this depression came from and why it stays so long! Yet, here, in spite of our high resolve, is this world of ours now spending more money getting ready for more war, to bring on more depressions, than it ever spent in peacetime before. A world of bankrupt nations is nevertheless finding it possible, year after year, to increase its budgets to maintain armies and navies and to get ready for more war. We in America have witnessed constant in- creasing of our own budgets. Those who complain about the increased budgets during the past twenty years to maintain schools would do well to take note of what the increase has been in maintain- ing armies and navies. We have seen our own American budget leap up by bounds to a point where today we are spending more to maintain our American army and navy than we were spending to maintain all of our departments of government, including the army and navy, the year before we went into the war to end war. We say we are doing it over here only because the rest of the world seems to have learned no lesson as a result of the war. If the rest of the world would only follow our example, we could get out from under these terrific burdens of the costs of preparing for more war! If only others would follow our example! I won- der what the situation in this world today would actually be if other nations had actually followed our example. We came out of the war with a depression that grew and grew in its intensity and sever- ity. Finally, under an inspired leadership, America moved forth with a gigantic na- tional recovery program, a chief feature of which was that of public building, and hundreds of millions, yea billions, of dollars did a Congress pour out to ac- complish reemployment of men and wonien. The very first allocation, the very first penny, was two hundred and thirty-one million dollars of this public works fund allocated by Executive order—not by the Public Works Administrator but by Executive order—two hundred and thirty-one million dollars to the Amer- ican navy to build more ships, to get ready for more wars, so that we could have more war, to be followed by another depression, so that we could have another public works program, and build more ships [applause]. You may laugh; you may grin; you may smile—but there is 186 no exaggeration in what I am saying. If only others would follow our ex- ample! When the appropriation for the Office of Education was pending I wish you could have heard the economists quibble, take and whet their knives, and sharpen them, and then cut those appropriations to the bone. If when the appropriation for the State Department came before the Congress calling for a paltry thirteen million dollars to maintain that Depart- ment for an entire year, if anyone had proposed an additional million dollars to enable the Secretary of State to en- large upon his activities in the name of world peace, that individual would have been laughed off his feet and men would have stood up and eloquently declared, “What madness is this this man talks? He would increase budgets in times like these? Why, he is mad! He is not to be listened to!”” And that amendment would have been thrown aside quicker than you can say “Jack Robinson.” But the very next week there came into Congress the annual appropriations for the army and navy. Already the House of Representatives had given them the largest appropriations that America ever knew for those two de- partments in peacetime before. Our economists were as silent as the grave. There wasn’t any fear then about un- balancing the budgets. There wasn’t any fear about increasing that already large appropriation to permit the engagement of 46,000 more men in the army, at a cost not of a million dollars a year more, but forty million dollars a year more. The Senate didn’t hesitate to increase the already large appropriation for the navy to permit of a more active ship-building program during this next year. Now is there any explaining this? Yes. You teachers who are interested in Of- fices of Education, you teachers who are interested in larger appropriations to maintain your schools, why don’t you learn to call education National Defense? [Laughter and applause]. If you can substantiate education as National De- fense, the sky is the limit in the appro- priations for you [laughter and ap- plause]. - We have been taught from the time we left the cradle, “In time of peace prepare for war.’’ We have been taught to believe that the only adequate insur- ance against war is large preparation for it. And yet the truth is that for every mile of fortified international boundary existing in this world that has prevented war, there can be trotted out into exhibi- tion a thousand miles of international] boundary that has never had a mounted gun, a fortress, or a patrolling soldier upon either side of it, and yet a border that has never had a war | applause]. Such a border is common to our country and to Canada—3000 miles of it—anq during all the lifetime of these two great nations, not so much as a patrolling sol- dier upon either side of it. And now men and societies are building monuments upon that border, not to Generals astride great bronze steeds, not to war, not to great military victory, but beautiful gar- dens. Fifteen hundred acres of gardens on each side of that border are being developed by CCC camps and others— many beautiful flower gardens, commem- orating all these years of peace without any display of military strength upon either side of that border. I suppose that is a bad kind of a monument to have. I suppose 3000 miles of border like that is a terrible example to have in this world. And as if it were, Generals and officers of our own army, out of our War Department, within the last six weeks went before the House Military Affairs Committee in Washing- ton and there, in what they thought to be an executive session, gave testimony relative to their plans and to the need of appropriations to enable them to further those plans. Plans for what? Plans for fortifications “upon the Canadian border; plans that would enable us to reach out when trouble came and seize the British pos- sessions that were about us. You all read of that. And when Canada and Britain read of what had occurred, they sat up straight and then they began to ask, “What is the meaning of this? What have we done to invite a thing like that?” And so serious became the international situation that the Commander-in-Chief of our army had to offer an explanation publicly, and then gave to the press a statement chastising men. Chastising whom? The officers who had come and given that testimony? No. If these of- ficers weren’t speaking the mind of this government of ours as some insisted, why weren’t they courtmartialed, for men can do few things more serious than they did? [Applause]. Did the Com- mander-in-Chief chastise those Generals for saying what they had said before that committee? No. Whom did he chastise? He chastised the Chairman of the House Military Affairs Committee for letting that testimony become public [laughter]. If only others would follow our ex- ample! The Journal of the National Education Association mor! with the mov up | Sta! abl; mal ing Wz lon bu the stl i le ee ae les Dle re, ny, the 1g- ny 1er Ns lat en )S- ad in up k, at ?”? al ef on 1g id f- ‘is ? or n- Is it ? 8 ¢ What would you and I say tomorrow morning if the Denver News came forth with blazing headlines announcing that the Japanese navy in its entirety was moving eastward over the Pacific to take up its position off the coast of the United States, not for anything serious prob- ably, but to do its signal practise and maneuvering ? Why, we would have the wires burn- ing up by noon, the wires running into Washington, asking Washington: “How long are you going to permit Japan to bully us in that way?” And yet, as if the minds and hearts of the Japanese were any different than our own, we have had during recent weeks our entire naval strength thousands of miles across the Pacific, doing its annual maneuvering and signal practise, and, as the Japanese were made to feel, right under their very noses. If only others would follow our ex- ample, what a happy world this might be! [Laughter]. Oh, I suppose the people of Japan will understand. One of the spokesmen for them said they didn’t like it very well, but that they were going to try to forget it. Japan would do her annual maneuvering with her navy in the month of June, and they were going to stay right around their own shores, because their own preparation was one of strictly an adequate national defense. Maybe we can make Japan feel that sending our fleet a long ways away from home like that to do its maneuvering was only reflective of the great Amer- ican habit to do things in the biggest way and the most expensive way. It costs more to maneuver a long ways from home than it does close to our own shore. If they won’t accept that explanation, we can surely convince them four years of drought in America have resulted in so severely reducing our water levels in the Atlantic and Pacific that there is not sufficient depth of water to accommodate our navy. [Applause. | If only others would follow our ex- ample! Now it is true every power on the earth since the year before the World War came, up to 1930-31 has increased its budget in prepafation for more war. Russia, Italy, France, and Great Britain have increased theirs all the way from 30 to 40 percent. Japan, to maintain its army and navy, has increased its budget 141 percent. And your peace-loving Uncle Sam, over the same identical years, for the same identical purpose, has in- creased his budget only 197 percent. Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 To a body which finds your country and mine spending more money getting ready for more war than is being spent by any other nation on earth, and to whom we say, “Isn’t it too bad the rest of the world doesn’t follow our example!” [laughter|—how will we explain this madness? Is there any explanation of it? Most assuredly there is, and the record today offers that explanation. Men and institutions have come to learn that there is very large profit for them in these mad programs of prepar- ing for more war. Men and institutions that aren’t as alarmed about more war as the rest of us may be have learned by experience there is one thing more profitable than preparing for war, and that one thing is war itself, and that for them and their kind of business profit flows thickest when blood flows most freely upon fields of battle. The answer to this madness that is upon the world is in the fact that our policies and our national defense bill is being left very largely in the guidance and in the hands of some of those who were numbered among the 22,000 Amer- icans who became millionaires as a re- sult of the four years of World War [applause]. The answer is to be found in the satisfaction which munitions makers breathe at their annual stock- holders meetings. No one is more jealously interested in my country’s maintaining adequate national defense than am I. But I am sick and tired of things that are being done in the name of national defense. The burden that is being borne by the people of America in the name of national de- fense is sickening, and is going to destroy America before she has a chance to try her national defense on anyone, if she continues the mad pace upon which she is engaged at the present time. Our national defense plans year after year, our appropriations for the army and navy, are not to provide those prep- arations which will permit us to repulse any foe that might be so foolish as to attack us, but our appropriations are builded around blue prints that the army and navy have been ten years making, blue prints that call for the transporta- tion of three million men across thous- ands of miles of deep blue ocean water to fight in the name of national defense on somebody else’s land. And I say that is not national defense [applause]. Yes, yes, someone says, but you are overlooking something, Senator. What would you do if and when Germany and France go to war again, and American merchants load up a cargo of $50,000 worth of supplies, load them onto a boat —an American boat, carrying the Amer- ican flag—and that boat starts out for France to make delivery of this cargo, which will mean a profit of five or ten thousand dollars to the American mer- chants? Then a German submarine spies this ship out on the high Atlantic, dis- covers that it is carrying supplies to France, an enemy, and Germany sinks the ship, drives to the bottom of the sea the cargo, the ship, and above all else the grand old American flag; then what? Are you not going to wish then you had more adequate national defense, one that would enable you to go out and defend our rights upon the high seas, one that would let us go out and make right the insult to the flag that had there been administered? I suppose we would because it has been our policy, and remains our policy, to defend those rights and defend our flag against insult. But I ask you this: Because it has been our policy: in the past, why if we can change it with honor, why don’t we change it? How can we change it? Why, by simply providing the policy, adopting the policy of making it unlawful to fly the American flag on any cargo whose destination is a nation engaged in war [applause]. But when that is suggested, spokes- men for our army and navy, and our profiteering munitions makers, stand up and say: “That is a mollycoddle policy. That is a coward’s act.” Yes. In order to accomplish the delivery of a $50,000 cargo of munitions, you would jeopardize the future, the life of 120,000,000 people. That is the brave thing to do, I suppose. If we adopt a policy like that, some- one says: “Oh, you are closing the door. Other nations that don’t close the door will get all that business from countries that are at war.” That kind of a policy wouldn’t close the door. I don’t know how serious it would be if it did. But it wouldn’t close the door. It would simply be a notice to nations that went to war that Uncle Sam had decided to go on a cash and carry basis. We would sell them what they wanted but they would have to come and get it and take their own chances of getting it back to their own nation [ applause }. Then it would undoubtedly be said: “Oh, yes, that is fine; that policy would undoubtedly save us a lot of trouble, but look out for Japan. Look out for Japan!” For ten years I have sat upon the Senate Appropriations Committee. For 187 ten years without a miss in any one year I have heard an annual scare of war with Japan. And today I can trace back and know that I am speaking the truth when I say to all that these annual war scares come just before the introduction of the annual appropriation bills for the army and navy [laughter], and when those bills are enacted into law, the relations between Japan and the United States are quite fine again [laughter]. The sad thing is this, that while you and I as Americans fervently say, “We have got to look out for Japan,” the same identical forces that contribute to our education in that direction are the forces that are at work in Japan, and they have the people of Japan saying with equal fervor: ‘““We have got to look out for Uncle Sam!” The result is that Japan and the United States are engaged in the maddest naval race civilization has ever witnessed in peacetime before—six- teen years after the war to end war. Is there any danger of trouble with Japan? President Roosevelt, when As- sistant Secretary of the Navy, wrote an article that was published in the maga- zine, Asia, in which he said there wasn’t any likelihood of war between these two countries if there remained five cents worth of commonsense in either coun- try. He said that in that kind of a war we could not hope to win a decisive vic- tory or battle; that that kind of a war would come to an end only when and if one or the other of the two countries bled to death thru the pocketbook; that the danger of war between Japan and the United States was nothing more than an apprehensive habit of mind. The same man today, glorious tho has been his leadership in those direc- tions where the interests of humanity are involved, on this question of a bigger navy, seems to have quite forgotten what he told us about the absence of danger of war with Japan, for today under his leedership we are convinced that our very life and our very future depend upon a larger, Larger, Larger, ever LARGER navy—how large no one knows but larger—because we have got to look out for Japan! [laughter] But I say to you this: If war comes with Japan—make a note of it—as you and I, our boys, our sons, our sweet- hearts move westward across the Pacific to meet our foe, we sooner or later will become targets of the gas and shrapnel and shell manufactured in the United States of America, and sold to Japan to some American’s profit [applause]. And if you don’t believe that, go to the re- 188 : turns, the statistics in the Bureau of Commerce, and there you will discover that there is one business in America which thru these depression years has increased both its domestic and its for- eign trade, and that is the business of manufacturing munitions of war. Day after day there leave our ports huge cargoes for Japan and other nations that might some day be our foes in war— cargoes of munitions. This is nothing new—you needn’t be staggered by information like that—be- cause that kind of a game has been go- ing on as long as the game of war has been going on. Munitions makers are not particularly jealous of any one flag. They really seem to like best the flag under which flow the easiest orders for munitions of war. During the World War when French munitions makers ran shy of ingredients they needed, do you know they got their supply from German manufacturers, who delivered the part they wanted over in Switzerland—reciprocity even in those days—and when the German munitions makers ran shy, the French munitions makers took care of their needs. Do you know that for four long years, with a pretty definite line of battle, France on this side, Germany on that side, within range of opposing guns on each side were mines of coal and ore, without which neither side could have lasted long in that war, and yet thru those long four years a shell never once fell on any of those mines. What! Am I charging collusion, agreement they would not destroy each other’s mines? No, I am not. I would like to but I can’t. I can’t prove it. But this very year, January 4, 1935, an eminent American military authority went before Town Hall in New York and undertook to answer a speech that I had made there two weeks before of- fering some of these things. I never dreamed that the time would come when a military authority would admit neither side had tried to destroy the other fel- low’s mines. Their shells went over the mines and reached hospitals, cathedrals, and homes and destroyed them, but not the mines. And here is your military authority’s explanation, quoted in the Army and Navy Journal: Perspective is hard to maintain amid wild claims and counterclaims. We have heard the argument that collusion by munitions men indi- cated in the World War because French and Germans did not fire on coal and iron fields. A little thought will throw light on that. Naturally each side desired to save such fields, believing it had a chance to take them for its own use, an accomplishment that would have ended the war in a hurry. “An accomplishment that would have ended the war in a hurry!” Who is the authority quoted here? Major Genera] James E. Harbord. Now, Major, now General, tell us, if you can end war in a hurry by taking the other fellow’s mines away from him, why can’t you end war with equal hurry by destroying the utility of those mines to your enemy? There must be an answer to it I haven’t heard altho I have asked this question time and time again. During the closing days of the war some of the nations were reaching right into the very cradles for the boys who were to take the places of those falling in lines of battle. British youth in one community, Bedford, were organized, trained, and then sent to France, where within a matter of hours they found themselves in- an engagement with a German company that lasted for five days. The Germans were strong in that battle because of the efficiency of one particular gun that they had. Many Brit- ish youth laid down their lives before that gun, and that battle ended only after the British had captured this gun and taken it away from the Germans. Then they thought how nice it would be if they could have that captured gun back in their community erected as a monument to their comrades who couldn’t go back home with them. It stands in their community there today. Here is a photograph of it, a great, pow- erful instrument, and on one side of the barrel of that gun they have engraved the names of the British boys of that com- munity who laid down their lives before it, and on the butt end of the gun, as shown in a second photograph of it which I have with me, is the trademark and name of the British manufacturer who manufactured and sold that gun to Ger- many. A monument to British youth who laid down their lives before it! What a monument it could be if only its significance could be made to take hold of the mind of civilization that civilization might come to know that war and these mad games of preparing for it are not the great, holy, political games that they might be; that they aren’t games of making the world safe for de- mocracy altogether. What are we going to call the next war that is coming? We can’t call it a war to make the world safe for democ- racy. I suggest this in the light of the The Journal of the National Education Association fields, Or its have have 3 the 1era] now ina Lines war ility here eard time ight who ling one here und ha five that one srit- fore nly gun ans, | be yun Sa vho It lay. ow- the the ore as ich ind rho er- Tho ily ike iat yar for 1eS n't le- xt C- he On record that has been made—in the light of the fact that the DuPonts are only reflective of the large munitions industry —let us call the next war the “war to make the world safe for DuPontcracy.” [Applause]. You get what I mean? The facts are, my friends, that national defense in some minds, hearts, and pock- etbooks has become nothing more than a mad racket for profit, an international racket, which finds the munitions makers of Europe, the munitions makers of America, the munitions makers of Japan sharing in the profits of that game, wherever sales are made. Sir Basil Zaharoff, that mystery man of Europe—you have all heard of him— nothing mysterious about him because he is nothing more than a successful sales- man who learned one day that by selling Greece one submarine, the next day he could sell Turkey two, and then the third day go back and sell Greece at least two more because Greece would never let Turkey have more submarines than Greece had. Then he expanded his busi- ness and went into the field of muni- tions making and selling of all kinds, and armed all Europe with the same identical instruments of warfare. The war over found Sir Basil the richest man in all Europe. The President of the United States in 1919 paid tribute to Sir Basil for his service to mankind. Sir Basil in 1919 had pinned upon his breast medals by every crowned head in Kurope, when in- stead every crowned head in Europe ought to have crowned Sir Basil with a baseball club, because no man was more responsible for the four years conflagra- tion than was this one man. Then we say: “O, we are lucky. We don’t have his kind to deal with in America.” Don’t fool yourselves. We have got some pretty good competition coming along for him, pretty fair; they are getting along fairly well. But if that weren’t true, you should still be re- minded that Sir Basil is a stockholder in American munitions plants, taking profits out of the sales that are made in the name of national defense to the Ameri- can government and to the other gov- ernments of the world that will buy of him. Of course these munitions makers are patriots. No one denies that. For weeks the entire DuPont family sat before our committee giving testimony and when- ever anyone referred to the profits of the DuPonts as a result of four years of war, they burned and squirmed and wiggled. Do you know what their profit was? As Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 a result of four years of war the rate upon their invested capital was a paltry 400 percent. And one day when he was smarting and burning, Philip DuPont rose up before our committee and said in effect: “We earned that. That wasn’t an unreasonable profit.” Then shook his finger at us and said; “If it hadn’t been for our service to the Allies, before and after the United States entered the World War, the United States today would have been a German colony.” The*sad thing was to look into that man’s face and know that he meant and believed what he was saying, that some- how we could have got along without men in the trenches, who bled, and died and suffered and all that, but without the DuPonts we should have been a German colony today. Patriots! Yes, sir. While our sons, our brothers, our fath- ers were giving their service on fields of battle, with death stalking at every side, your government went to the DuPonts and said, “We must have additional powder manufacturing capacity and we want you to build it for us, but the gov- ernment will furnish the money to do the building. After it is built, we will pay you well for operating it for us.’’ Do you know that for three long months, while our men were bleeding and dying in the trenches, the DuPonts absolutely refused the request of our government? We turned to Colonel Harris of the War Department, who sat directly across the table from the DuPonts when this testimony was taken, and we said, “Col- onel, to what one thing are we to attribute this failure or refusal of the DuPonts to respond to the request of their govern- ment in that trying hour?” And Colonel Harris said, “Senator, there was a dif- ference of opinion between the DuPonts and the government as to what the Du- Pont’s margin of profit should be for constructing the plant and what their margin of profit should be for operating iy And those were the people who saved us from becoming a. German colony. Patriots? Yes. Remembering their 400 percent profit, I am going to give them large credit. They are 400 percent pa- triots [laughter]. You can call ther one thousand percenters if you wish. But to me the sad and heart-breaking thing* is this, that they and their kifd go to Washington annually and have the ante raised in the way of pfofit for their kind of patriotism. How many men quibbled with their government when their coun- try called on them during the war, quib- bled about what they were to be paid, or what their families were to receive in their absence? How many? The DuPonts are a little better class of citizens I sup- pose. Engaged in a business that we couldn’t dispense with, they must dic- tate, they must have a hand in dictating the policies of this government of ours. We have a double standard of patriotism in time of war, it should be noted. Before any member of Congress knew that ship-building was to be permitted under the public works program, the ship-builders knew it. They had a lobby- ist by the name of Homer, who during those early weeks of the public works program came and planted himself there in Washington and went to work. On March 14, 1933, less than two weeks after the public works program had been enacted into law, here is a letter Mr. Homer wrote to the ship-builders, presi- dents of companies: What do you think about the Commander- in-Chief now? From what I can gather we are going to go ahead to full treaty strength of the navy and going to do it quickly. We are on our way and the other nations had better watch their step, because we have found our- selves again. I think it would be very wise for you to come down to Washington and talk things over with the gang. “Talk things over with the gang!” And we said, “Mr. Homer, whom do you mean by ‘the gang’?” And for an hour he refused to answer. Finally he asked to be excused long enough to confer with his counsel. We agreed to take a recess to let him do that. But before we took the recess we reminded him that other witnesses before Congressional commit- tees had declined upon the advice of counsel to answer questions; that for refusing, the counsel had never had to go to jail, but the man who refused and who had taken the advice of counsel did go to jail [laughter]. We cited him the notable example of Mr. Harry F. Sin- clair of oil fame. Then we took the recess for five minutes [laughter]. Mr. Homer conferred with his counsel in less than five minutes and came back and said he was ready to tell whom he meant by “the gang,” and he named admirals and com- manders in the American navy, officials in the Navy Department. ‘) Do they deserve being called “the gang’’? Well, let’s see.A number of ship- builders came dgwn to Washington in those trying days. For what purpose? Well, one of them wrote a letter, which is now a matter of record, in which he refers to the descent of the ship-builders upon Washington in those days. He lik- ened it unto something or other, and he 189 said, “These ship-builders are all there with their tongues hanging out’—their tongues hanging out! —‘‘fighting for their share of the plunder’”—p-]l-u-n-d-e-r ! That is what the ship-builders insisted this public works program was, plunder —and plunder it was and is | applause]. Mr. Bardo, the president of one ship- building company, one of the Big Three in the ship-building industry, came and spent weeks there, but before the bids were opened on the first one hundred million dollars worth of ships under con- tract of the public works program, he wrote to the chairman of his Board of Directors. Here is his copy, not a copy of it but the original: I know from my talks [he doesn’t refer to “the gang” ]—I know from my talks with some of the representatives of the navy that they are desirous of finding substantial reason for awarding this work to the largest possible ex- tent to our private yards rather than to the government’s own ship-building yards. There was also expressed to us the desire that the builders themselves get together and agree, as far as we could, upon what each would bid, and then bid on nothing else. Our own navy helping these plunderers ruin their Uncle Sam! Got Uncle Sam stretched out across a barrel, his pockets turned inside out, then looted him. Took the last red penny insofar as the navy was able to permit these plunderers to do it. In this same letter, before these bids were opened, Mr. Bardo undertook to explain to his company just what ships the Big Three would get under this allo- cation of funds, the bids of which were to be opened ten days later. He broke it down into dollars and cents, and said, “This would mean for Bethlehem twen- ty-eight million dollars, Newport News thirty million dollars, and for the New York Ship Building Company twenty- eight million dollars.” Twenty-eight, thir- ty, and twenty-eight million dollars! I defy any of you to take a pie or cake and cut it into three more equal parts than that. When the bids were opened ten days later, it was revealed Mr. Bardo had not missed his guess by a single solitary ship. And why should he when he and the other ship-builders were only doing what the officials of the Navy De- partment asked them to do? When they each knew what they were bidding on and what they were going to get? Up went the prices. Why, prices in 1934 went up by leaps and bounds over 1933. And we asked Mr. Bardo to ex- plain it. He took his pencil and paper and went to work. “Why,” he said, “the cost of labor on a single cruiser in 1934, . 190 the cost of labor and material, was $700,- 000 more in 1934 than it was in 1933. Prices had to be higher.” He had to bid higher. He hasn’t yet answered the ques- tion: “Then why did you increase your bid in that year $4,200,000 per cruiser?” No answer. No explanation. And there isn’t going to be any other than this—those who have learned to play this national defense racket know what they are doing, at every turn of the road. They bribe public officials, pay commissions to those men who stand close to the public officials who must buy the national defense machinery for their country. Of course they don’t have to bribe any- one in America to get these programs, and recommendations and appropria- tions across! But here is a little letter, written right after this public works epi- sode, by a member of Congress, who had helped put it across so that the ship- builders could get something out of it. Here is the letter. He wrote the same identical letter to the presidents of three different ship-building companies: As you perhaps know, a Congressman must derive some of his income from other sources than being a member of the House of Repre- sentatives. And he went on to explain what kind of business he was in that the ship-builders could patronize that would help put dol- lars in his pocket. That is not bribery. It is just good business. It is against the law. There are statutes against it, but it is just good business, and besides it is in the name of national defense—don’t forget that. There is a difference. These racketeers maintain lobbies in the capitals all over this world. They maintain an expensive one in Washing- ton. The record now on file contains let- ters written by the gunmakers to their lobbyists in Washington, telling them just who to see, just what officials of the government to approach to prevent em- bargoes against the shipment of arms down to one point or another; letters they wrote to try to prevent the passage of the Nye resolution calling for the munitions investigation. The munitions makers go to wreck the Disarmament Conference, and wreck them with method ‘and purpose. Mr. Eugene Grace, the president of the Bethlehem Ship-building Company, . : : appeared before our committee and testi- fied: “I don’t like war at all. I think we are mad in these terrible preparations for more war. I think another war will wipe out civilization. I don’t want more war.” He told us what his salary was during the war: $12,000 a year was all he got, The next day it was revealed that the same corporation, in addition to his sal- ary, had paid him a bonus in those two years of $2,600,000. Then you should have seen the stom- ach-ache written all over that man’s face, when he explained what happened to the two million dollars, that the goy- ernment had taken pretty nearly all of it away from him in wartime taxes, and left him with only a measly, paltry one million dollars to try to get thru two years on. He didn’t want more war; he couldn’t understand why anyone would want it; he was sure every business man in America would have done with these mad naval races if they had their way about it. Then we said, “If you feel that way, Mr. Grace, how do you account for the fact in 1926 you contributed one-third of the cost of sending Mr. Shearer to Geneva to wreck the Disarmament Con- ference in that year?” He had forgotten all about that; he didn’t remember it. Mr. Shearer testified, you will remember, that it wasn’t the steel makers that sent him over there; it was the navy, officials in the Navy Department who gave him secret documents and instructions to go to Geneva to accomplish the wrecking of any disarmament there. The navy told him to go and the ship-builders paid the bill. That seems to be the way of it. A fine racket isn’t it? A fine racket! In 1927 our delegation left for Geneva under the leadership of that grand old statesman, Theodore Burton. The dele- gation hadn’t any more than arrived at Geneva before letters began to come back to the gunmakers and ship-builders to the effect, “Don’t worry; nothing is going to be done over here that is going to hurt your business.” Some of those letters that came to the munitions makers from Geneva said in effect: Poor old Burton,—a grand old man but he is getting too old. He doesn’t know what it is all about. Now if there is anything I can do for you over here, write to me and tell me what it is. Write me in care of the American Embassy. I have been appointed a confidential adviser to the American delegation. Signed by John P. Tellison, at that time the leader of the majority party—of my party—in the House of Representatives. And you and I wondering why these Disarmament Conferences prove failure after failure. It will continue that way, my friends, so long as we and other na- tions continue to send to Geneva men who wear gold braid, men in whose minds The Journal of the National Education Association ki a an a 2 ee, ing ot. the ird eTS san tial ne ny es. ire Ly, a- en ds on ' is the training of West Point and Anna- polis and training in the art of war and not of peace, training in the art of arm- ing and not in the art of disarming. They will continue failures so long as we con- tinue to keep sending stockholders in the munitions works to our Disarmament Conferences. Don’t hope for anything from them until you can accomplish con- ferences by men and women whose first interest, whose first wish, is peace and disarmament [applause]. These racketeers go out over this world and build up the hates, fears, and sus- picions that build war, that drive people into war, and then getting them there, they keep them there as long as they can. Why, within the last two years American ship-builders—it is now a mat- ter of record—have written letters to newspaper publishers urging them to publish stories about the danger of war with Japan, so that there would be news- paper clippings to send to their Repre- sentatives in Congress that would con- vince them that there ought to be a larger ship-building program on Ameri- ca’s part in order that we can take care of Japan. One American firm for years had as its representative in South America, selling munitions, one Frank Jonas. They trans- ferred him two years ago to Cuba, with instructions to sell munitions to the rebels who were trying to overthrow Cuba. He sold a lot for them. His company paid him a fine commission for all he sold. The same company paid a little higher com- mission when he sold the same supplies to the Cuban government that was try- ing to put down the rebellion. And Jonas when he appeared under oath before our committee frankly con- fessed his interest and the interest of his company was dependent upon and re- quired the prolonging of that uncertain trouble there in Cuba. We said to Jonas finally, ‘““Aren’t there moments when you wish you might be in some other line of business? Aren’t there times when your conscience bothers you?” He shook his head and said, “I can’t remember any such times’ [laughter]. To remind him that there was a time when he thought he had a conscience, we had to read him a letter that he had writ- ten to another munitions salesman on the day after Christmas in that ancient year of 1933. Here is his letter: We certainly are in one hell of a business, where a fellow has to wish for trouble so as to make a living, the only consolation being that if we don’t get the business somebody else will. It would be a terrible state of affairs if my Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 conscience should start to bother me right now. | Laughter. ] And in this hellish business of which Mr. Jonas spoke is your government and mine, as a part of these munitions mak- ers, helping them sell their wares all over this earth, and our army and our navy stand up and wave a flag and shout that that is good policy. Why, they say, we ought to want to in- crease our markets abroad for American- made munitions because in that way we can have capacity for production here at home that will meet our needs if and when we have to go to war. Another way of putting it, without exaggerating, is this: we must go on selling American- made munitions to other countries over this earth that may some day be our foe, so that we can have that adequacy of production to resort to if and when the rest of the world decides to use what we sold them against us. A good policy! Fine! Don’t alter it. Don’t rock the boat! Why, here a few years ago, in 1928, our American munitions crowd went to work down in Peru and got the people of Peru all worked up into a lather about the inadequacy of Peru’s national de- fense, and Peru sent word up to Uncle Sam, a good adviser and neighbor, “Won’t you help us plan a national de- fense?” Uncle Sam would d¢ it, and Uncle Sam sent down a commission of naval experts, who recommended among other things that Peru ought to have a fleet of submarines and destroyers. The orders were placed with American ship- builders for these destroyers and sub- marines. Peru got the submarines. When she got them, she went on parade with them. All of a sudden Colombia, Peru’s neighbor, awakened one morning to dis- cover that she, Colombia, did not have a national defense against Peru’s sub- marines. I don’t suppose there were any American munitions representatives in Colombia at that time. But they all woke up at once. And Colombia said to her good friend and neighbor, Uncle Sam, ‘““Won’t you help us plan a national defense against Peru’s submarines?” And Uncle Sam said he would, and sent down another commission of naval experts, who recommended, among other things, that Colombia should have some submarines to defend herself against Peru’s national defense of submarines. And one day we will send boys down there again into troubled waters to straighten out a trouble that no one is more responsible for than we are as a neighbor [applause]. The great ordnance manufacturers of big guns like that one I showed you here, pretty heavy instruments, in 1928 and 1929 produced one our navy thought so much of that it bought enough to equip a number of its vessels with. Then they sent their representatives over to Europe to sell some of the same guns over there, and Europe wouldn’t buy without seeing what they were buying. So these salesmen thumbed their noses and said, “We will go down to Turkey. They are not so particular down there.” And down to Turkey they went, and night after night they staged parties for the admirals and generals of the Turkish navy, but the latter wouldn’t budge with- out seeing what they were buying. They wouldn’t spend the public’s money. “Too bad you haven’t got a sample with you. If you could just demonstrate what this gun is, we could all do business and be happy. We want guns but we couldn’t buy them without seeing them.” Well, here they were all sitting down on the wharves in Constantinople one day. Here in the center are the American salesmen, on their right the admirals and generals of the Turkish army and navy, on their left the Minister of War him- self, kicking their heels up against the posts at the back of the wharf, smoking cigarettes and patting one another on the back: “If we only had a sample! Isn’t it too bad?” One of them casually looked up across the harbor, and what he saw stiffened him out like a board, struck him speechless. He couldn’t believe what he saw. The disturbance was such the rest of them knew something must have occasioned it, and they all looked, and what do you suppose they saw? They saw an American battleship, one of the very few American battleships equipped with this new gun, actually coming into that harbor. Naturally they wondered if it was going to stop there. Imagine their sur- prise when it did stop and drop anchor, and when it lowered a small boat and sent that boat ashore, and when that boat came right up to the very dock where these men were sitting, and invited them to get in and come out and see the new ship and the new guns. And they got in, and went out, and our navy proceeded to demonstrate what a fine gun this new gun was. The salesmen wrote out orders for the Turkish navy, which makes of our navy in that and other instances that might be named, nothing more than a salesman’s sample case for these guns that cost your Uncle Sam all the way from fourteen to forty million dollars apiece. But it is good business. It must 191 be because they go on year after year building more and more of them—of course in the name of national defense. Now then, my friends, I hasten to an already too long delayed conclusion. Is there anything we can do, or that ought to be done about it? I think it is rather unusual that this investigation has done something more than investigate. It has pending in Congress at the present time a legislative program which, if enacted into law, would meet this challenge which is ours, which is given civilizaton: First of all, there is the neutrality pro- gram—three resolutions—one forbidding the issuance of passports to Americans who insist upon going into war zones in times of war | applause] ; the second reso- lution forbidding the issuance of loans or credits by Americans to any nation or the people of any nation engaged in war fapptausé]; and third, a resolution for- bidding the exportation of any munitions of war to any nation engaged in war, and when contraband other than munitions is involved, the resolution gives notice to those nations at war: “We will sell you if you want, but you come over and get it, and wrap it up in your own flag, not ours, and take your own chances in getting it to where you want it” [ap- plause |. Oh, I see from some faces here the thought, “Well, how is there a chance of that kind of thing becoming a law?” Do you know that last week the Foreign Relations Committee approved and sent to the Senate two of those resolutions, with a recommendation that they be passed, [applause] and that that Com- mittee will consider the third resolution on Wednesday of next week? What of the rest of the program? First and foremost, is that bill known as the War Profits Bill, which if enacted into law will do what we have heard so much about of late—take the profit out of war [applause]. It is a drastic meas- ure which levies a 99 and 100 percent tax upon all a man’s income during war in excess of ten thousand dollars a year |applause|. The greatest taker of profit out of war that the world has ever known, Mr. Bernard Baruch, when he read that bill said, “Why, if we go to war again under that kind of a law, America will lose the war because American business won’t cooperate in winning the war if their profits are going to be so strictly restricted.” Does Mr. Baruch know what he is ta]k- ing about? Yes, especially in a business like that of the gun manufacturers of which I told you. But if that is the case 192 i with American business generally, isn’t it high time we knew about it and made those preparations that would let us win the next war without the help of their kind? OME QUESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL S STUDY OR CLASSROOM DISCUSSION —What parts of Senator Nye’s ad- dress impress you most? Why is it difficult to get such facts before the people? What can you do to help spread such information? What can you do to help mobilize public opin- ion against war and unnecessary war preparations? What other kinds of business, besides munitions makers, are interested in fostering war be- cause of the large profits involved? How would you find out some of the lines of business in which the 22,000 Americans who became millionaires as a result of the World War, were engaged? What bills are pending in Congress which if passed would les- sen the probability of America’s participation in war? Where could your students find material to sup- port the facts in Senator Nye’s ad- dress? What conditions in Ameri- can life today would make it easy for young people to take part in war? What conditions are there to make young people reluctant to participate? Then there will remain after that is done—and that bill, by the way, has al- ready been approved and recommended for passage by the Senate Military Af- fairs Committee and waits now upon the Senate Finance Committee—then will come one, in just what form I do not know, but a bill designed to take the profit out of preparing for war |[ap- plause]. It may be that it will have to go so far as to make the government the manufac- turer of its own national defense machin- ery. But is that dangerous? | Applause]. Is that dangerous? If governments have a right to be in any business, what bus- iness more than that of providing for their own national defense? Now then, is there any hope for that kind of a program? Greater by far than you may believe. It isn’t a cure-all for war, but I swear that in the light of the record that has been made that kind of a program will remove 75 percent of the danger of America’s ever having to par- ticipate in another war. Is it worth jt? | Applause }. Someone says, “It is a great challenge all right, and we admire the spirit of those who carry on, but we can’t Save ourselves from the next war. We can’t do it. Now why waste our time in hope. less considerations like that? We just can’t get anywhere with it.” Does that sound like the American? No. If it were true, and it isn’t, that we could not save ourselves from the next war, we still owe the same degree of large obligation, larger than to ourselves, to the boys and girls whom we are responsible for bringing into this world. If we care about them, as we say we do, we will make of ourselves builders, like that old grey-haired man who— . . traveling a lone highway, Came at the evening, cold and gray, To a chasm deepvand wide. The old man crossed in the twilight dim, For the sullen stream held no fear for him, But he turned when he reached the other side, And builded a bridge to span the tide. “Old man,” cried a pilgrim near, “You are wasting your strength with building here, Your journey will end with the ending day, And you never again will pass this way. You have crossed the chasm deep and wide, Why build a bridge at your eventide ?” And the builder raised his old gray head, “Good friend, on the path I have come,” he said, “There followeth after me today A youth whose feet must pass this way, This stream which has been naught to me, To that fair haired boy may a pitfall be. He, too, must cross in the twilight dim, Good friend, I am building this bridge for him.” And if I am not mistaken this is the spirit of America, without a miss; it is the spirit of American educators and teachers. And so to you I say those things, and I am glad of the opportunity of coming to you above all others to talk about those things which certainly con- stitute the most important issue con- -fronting civilization today. What does recovery mean? Supposing we found employment for every unem- ployed man and woman in America to- morrow; suppose we would give to the third of our population residing on the farms the largest income they have ever had, would that be recovery? Yes. But what would it be if we should still leave the power where it is [in the hands of the few] to coax, bribe, drive, to tease civilization back into another war? We would destroy in a jiffy whatever recov- ery might have been so painfully ac- complished as it is being accomplished these days. Thank you. [Applause]. The Journal of the National Education Association a nm nite te & . it? enge t of Save an’t Ope- just t we next arge ) the sible Care will old n, side, lding lay, de, said, ey for the t is and lose ity alk on- ing >m- to- the the ver till nds ase We OV- ac- 1ed ion Panel Discussions at Denver in the extent to which members took part. The six jury-panel discussions, wid Wednesday, July 3, gave opportu- sity for sixty-two speakers representing wery level of the profession to partici- sate, and in addition for members of the juidience to comment or ask questions. Personal problems of teachers were chief among the issues which included (1] academic freedom; [2] the economic tatus of the teacher; [3] the teacher as , citizen; [4] education’s oldest chal- enge—character; [5] credit unions; [6] the teacher’s health. The ubiquitous question of academic ieedom had already been debated by in- formal groups and at the general sessions. Mrs. F. Blanche Preble, leader of the panel on this subject, defined the prin- tiple of academic freedom “as protecting ateacher from any pressure which would hinder him from studying, discussing, and teaching facts about truth.” After lively discussion by speakers and audience, the panel was forced to adjourn leaving a flood of questions like the fol- lowing unanswered: Tin DENVER CONVENTION was unique What would you do as a teacher if your shoolboard and community objected to your teaching the achievements as well as the defi- ciencies of the Russian government ? Who is going to determine what is truth or what is indisputable fact ? Is academic freedom a thing of the past in Europe today ? As chairman of the NEA Committee on the Economic Status of the Teacher, B. R. Buckingham, editor, Ginn and Company, presided over the panel on this subject. He reported a study made by his committee in which about 2500 teachers participated, having an average salary of $2000 and an average teaching experi- ence of fifteen years. The net value of property owned by single women was $4400 and for married men was $5000. “There is some indication in the Com- mittee’s figures,” he said, “that at the end of a teaching career of thirty to forty years, women employed in the larger Cities of the country may expect to have net assets of about $9000 while men may expect to have about $16,000.” In opening the panel on the teacher as a citizen, Harold C. Hand of Stanford University maintained that teachers are restricted, first, in their freedom to bring their own views into the classroom; second, within the school teachers have little freedom to criticize school policies; Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 third, teachers’ personal conduct is often much circumscribed; and fourth, it is fre- quently fatal for teachers as citizens out- side the school to discuss the numerous critical social and political problems now pressing for solution. “Americans believe in freedom of speech, as- sembly, and press. How can teachers teach the love of freedom of speech to students when they are not permitted either in or out of the school to practise it themselves ? How can teach- ers secure the allegiance of pupils to this value when they see teachers as cowed, subservient, and uncritical ?” Character education was described as the center of school life by Superinten- dent A. L. Threlkeld of Denver, panel leader on this subject. He summarized the panel discussion under the following points: Character education should be integrated with the school program, not taught as a for- mal subject. Children should be permitted to work out a code of ethics for themselves, rather than to rely on ready-made codes. The character education program should pro- vide actual experience in living thru the cooper- ation of pupil, teacher, parent, and community. Schools must be responsible for an increasing share of the character education formerly as- sumed by the home. “Can teachers be their own bankers?” was a question decided affirmatively in the panel on credit unions for teachers led by C. R. Orchard, director of the credit union section, Farm Credit Ad- ministration. Methods of operating credit unions were evaluated. Mrs. Georgia B. Parsons cited a few cases illustrating the teacher’s need for the credit union: Mary C. was promised a promotion to teach in the demonstration school if she would study at Columbia University this summer. The Credit Union loaned her the money for her trip and tuition. A Los Angeles highschool teacher felt the need of a vacation on the open road. The Credit Union loaned her $150 to buy a trailer, believing that her pupils will have a richer experience next year because of the teacher’s refreshing vacation. Geraldine F., a conscientious young colored teacher, mother of two children, whose husband raises vegetables on a small ranch, was loaned $100 by the Credit Union for an irrigation well. She paid the loan promptly and is borrowing again for other improvements to the small ranch. Dr. Thomas D. Wood, Teachers Col- lege, Columbia University, led the panel discussion on the teacher’s health. Fail- ure to secure a sufficient amount of big- muscle activity was mentioned as the health habit which teachers more than any other group tend to neglect. It was recommended that teachers make use of school recreational facilities such as gym- nasiums, swimming pools, and tennis courts. Plans of teachers organizations to sponsor group medical service at low cost were evaluated. This new school building at Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, was recently built with PWA funds 193 Classroom Teachers in ACK IN MINNEAPOLIs at the 1928 B NEA convention, one of the long line of buses which had taken the delegates on a sightseeing tour of the Twin Cities stopped nearby. One said to the other, “Who are all those folks?” The other boy replied, “Why, don’t you know? They are teachers. There’s fifteen thousand of them over in Minneapolis.” Awe-stricken, his comrade exclaimed, “Fifteen thousand teachers! Let’s run.” Had these same boys stood on a cor- ner in Denver on Friday, July 5, 1935, and watched the automobiles and buses as they left for the wonderful mountain trips so generously provided by the teacher hosts, they would have exclaimed again at the size of the attendance. But they really need not run away either in St. Paul or Denver! The hospitality of Denver and Colo- rado will always remain with NEA mem- bers as they recall this year’s convention. Classroom teachers attended the Den- ver convention in perhaps greater pro- portion than ever before. They worked side by side with all groups in the pro- fession and took prominent places on the main and departmental programs. The Department of Classroom Teachers functions better each year as each group of officers adds to the strong foundation built for it by its earnest, farsighted pio- neers. Let us just relate a few of the things done this year by classroom teach- ers and by their Department. Thruout the week open house was maintained at classroom headquarters when officers, assisted by many Denver teachers, received and conferred with visitors. The tea on Sunday was one of the events of the week, and headquarters was crowded from five to seven oclock. One of the most interesting meetings of the week was the conference of local association presidents on Sunday after- noon. Those present found the meeting so interesting and helpful that on two other afternoons they continued this giv- ing and receiving of ideas on how prob- lems had been met and solved in other places. At the first regular meeting of the entire department, on Tuesday, a timely address, ‘““Evaluating the Planned Econ- omy,” was given by A. D. H. Kaplan, professor of economics, Denver Univer- sity. It was an excellent introduction for the panel, “What Next in Legislation?” in which the following members of the 194 : department participated with the west- ern regional director, Albert Shaw, act- ing as chairman: Robert H. Wyatt, Fort Wayne; Freda A. Libbee, Seattle; Wini- fred Jones, Cincinnati; Rush M. Cald- well, Dallas; Edward B. Couch, Los Angeles; Frieda L. Hayes, Kingston, New York; Dr. E. Temple, Tulsa. Perhaps the trend of this panel can best be gleaned from the opening re- marks of the first participant, Mr. Wyatt: The question, “What next in legislation?” can best be answered by reference to trends in other phases of social progress. Our increasingly interdependent type of living and the growing complexity of our social problems demand that the group undertake to meet the emergencies of the individual. No civilized community will live together cooperatively and then leave some of its members to meet their emergencies, or fail to meet them, alone. Truly the theme of modern professional organization is individual security thru group action. The business meeting, with reports of officers and committees, was held on Thursday afternoon. Outstanding resolu- tions dealt with child labor, federal aid, tenure, academic freedom, loyalty oaths. The committee on academic freedom ended its report of an active year with the following recommendations: That the Department of Classroom Teachers prepare publicity material on academic freedom for use of the local associations; that the com- mittee on academic freedom be empowered to investigate violations of cases of academic free- dom and to take such action as it seems feas- ible; that the committee be further empowered judiciously to publicize such cases; and that this report be printed in the News Bulletin. This year the Department elected as its president an elementary-school teacher, Mary Ralls, of Kansas City, Missouri, who has been midwestern di- rector for the past three years. The other officers are: Vicepresident, Mary D. Barnes, Elizabeth, New Jersey; secretary, Frances Jelinek, Mil- waukee; midwestern director, Myrtle Hooper Dahl, Minneapolis; western regional director, Albert M. Shaw, Los Angeles; eastern regional director, Emily Tarbell, Syracuse; and director exofficio, Daisy Lord, Waterbury, Connecticut. The classroom dinner, an outstanding social event of the week, was a “‘western dinner,” with Colorado wild flowers; western songs sung by a cowboy quartet; and a printed program decorated with a western mountain scene and contain- ing the words of western songs we all love. At each plate was a silhouette of a Denver cowboy or an Indian made by a Colorado artist, Hayton Robison. One of the guests of honor, a classroom teacher, was Estelle Philleo, the composer of “Oy where the west begins” and other west. ern songs. From the beautiful invocation given by Rev. William D. McCarthy to the last words, “till we meet again,” jt was an interesting and varied program, The address by Miss Josephine Roche, assistant secretary of the United States Treasury, who flew from Washington to attend, was listened to by several hup- dred teachers and citizens outside [the hotel having arranged amplifiers] who were unable to get tickets for the dinner, Governor Paul V. McNutt of Indiana; Henry Lester Smith, president of the NEA; Alma Krusen, president, Colorado Education Association; Willard E. Giy- ens, executive secretary of the NEA; Georgia Parsons, president, National League of Teachers Associations; Colo- rado’s superintendent of public instruc- tion, Mrs. Inez Johnson Lewis; Denver's superintendent, A. L. Threlkeld; and NEA Secretary Emeritus J. W. Crabtree all extended greetings. Under John C. Kendel, song leader, the group singing was enjoyable and well-done. The dinner closed with the introduc- tion of the new President and the singing of “The Star Spangled Banner,” but the guests departed reluctantly, many lin- gering for an hour longer in the genial atmosphere. There were two other department events that must just be touched upon: First, the breakfast and first conference of the Advisory Committee which was attended by members from twenty states. Second, the joint breakfast and confer- ence of the officers of the Department ’ and the League of Teachers Associations. As the work of the Committees on the Amendments and Reorganization occu- pied much of the business sessions class- room teachers were glad to find many members acting, taking a prominent part on both of these. Many teachers took part in the panel discussions and held prominent places on Association committees. Altogether, the classroom teachers held many important places. Classroom teachers were proud of class- room teachers at Denver —Daisy Lord, president of the Department of Class- room Teachers, 1934-35. The Journal of the National Education Association capab prook schoo princ’ thruo to m Jems In Den' stres ition The Elementary Principals at Denver School Principals has moved for- ward during 1934-35 under the apable leadership of President M. Emma grookes. Since the direction which the ghools go depends very largely upon the principals of the nation, Miss Brookes hruout the year has urged the principals i) meet squarely the educational prob- lems of the day. In building the program for the Denver convention, President Brookes stressed the necessity for elementary shools—in the face of forced economies —to meet the individual needs of chil- dren, and in line with this emphasis she prepared the Monday afternoon pro- sam. Not only elementary principals, but teachers, superintendents, and other educators crowded the Central Christian Church to hear this panel discussion on the subject, ““The Environment of the Child and Its Relation to the School.” §. D. Shankland, executive secretary of the Department of Superintendence, and chairman of the panel skilfully guided the discussion of such problems as “How best may teachers and principals make favorable contacts with the home?” and “What are the educational implications of the neighborhood stores?” The Denver and Colorado principals were in charge of the Tuesday afternoon program, with Rose Bland, Colorado Springs, as chairman. A motion picture showing the history of Denver was pre- sented by E. H. Herrington and George McMeen, both of Denver. Mrs. Bernice T's DEPARTMENT of Elementary |S graced W. Lyon, new president of the De- partment of Elementary School Principals Ardourel, soloist, and her accompanist, Helen Harvot, made us realize we were “Qut where the west begins.” Nellie V. Lind then discussed music appreciation. The activities of the Department at a convention are not all work. Principals and friends assembled at the Shirley- Savoy Hotel for the usual Monday morn- ing breakfast. Here they were honored by having the three candidates for the NEA presidency as their guests. A. J. Stoddard, president of the De- partment of Superintendence, was the speaker at the semi-annual banquet Tuesday night at the Brown Palace Hotel. “What about this question of academic freedom?” he asked. “If it means that both teachers and pupils shall voice their Gpinions on all subjects, let them go ahead. Any superintendent, principal, or teacher ought to be allowed to say anything he wants to, at any time, providing he takes full responsibility for the results.” The Rhode Island educator brought out the distinction between aca- demic freedom and progressive educa- tion. “Progressive education never has stood for undirected freedom,” he de- clared. “It does not involve the absence of curriculum, nor the idea that boys and girls should have no guidance. True progressive education recognizes a period of childhood with its inherent rights. Boys and girls have the right to live and act as boys and girls.” A successful convention does not just happen. Much careful and thoughtful preparation goes on behind the scenes. The local and state groups are largely responsible for this success. A report of the activities of the Department at Den- ver would be incomplete unless mention were made of the gracious hospitality of the Denver and Colorado principals under the direction of the local chair- man, Mrs. Margaret Mendenhall Smith, president of the Denver Principals and Directors Association. For a list of the new officers of the Department see page A-90. —Irvin A. Wilson, La Grange, III. 5 baw PANEL DISCUSSION GROUP of the first session, Department of Elementary School Principals, at the Denver convention, discussed “The Environment and Its Relation to the School.” Reading from left to right, the members were Mabel E. Simpson, president, New York State Teachers Association, Rochester, N. Y.; Ben G. Graham, superintendent of schools, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Irvin A. Wilson, La Grange, Ill.; Walter D. Cocking, state commissioner of education, Nashville, Tenn.; S..D. Shankland, executive secretary, Department of Super- intendence, National Education Association, Washington, D. C., chairman; Paul R. Hanna, associate professor of education, Stanford University, Calif.; Mrs. Edith B. Joynes, principal, Washington-Gatewood Schools, Norfolk, Va.; William G. Carr, director, Research Division, National Education Association, Washington, D. C.; Harley W. Lyon, principal, Longfellow-Burbank Schools, Pasadena, Calif.; Mrs. Lois Coffey Mossman, associate professor of education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, N. Y. Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 195 National Education Agnes Samuelson, President, State Superintend- ent of Public Instruction, Des Moines, Iowa Willard E. Givens, Executive Secretary, 1201 Sixteenth St. N. W., Washington, D. C. J. W. Crabtree, Secretary Emeritus, 1201 Six- teenth St. N. W., Washington, D. C. R. E. Offenhauer, Treasurer, Superintendent of Schools, Lima, Ohio HONORARY PRESIDENTS John Dewey, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Columbia University, New York, N. Y. Mrs. Susan M. Dorsey, 1506 Arapahoe St., Los Angeles, Calif. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Agnes Samuelson, President, State Superintend- ent of Public Instruction, Des Moines, Iowa Henry Lester Smith, First Vicepresident, Dean, School of Education, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind. Joseph H. Saunders, Chairman, Board of Trus- tees, Superintendent of Schools, Newport News, Va. R. E. Offenhauer, Treasurer, Superintendent of Schools, Lima, Ohio Caroline S. Woodruff, Member by Election, Principal, State Normal School, Castleton, Vt. BOARD OF TRUSTEES Joseph H. Saunders, Chairman, Superintendent of Schools, Newport News, Va. Agnes Samuelson, President, State Superintend- ent of Public Instruction, Des Moines, Iowa Edgar G. Doudna, Secretary, Board of Normal School Regents, Madison, Wis. Joseph Marr Gwinn, 4021% Park Blvd., San Diego, Calif. A. L. Whittenberg, Secretary, Illinois State Examining Board for Teachers’ Certificates, Springfield, Ill. VICEPRESIDENTS Henry Lester Smith, First Vicepresident, Dean, School of Education, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind. Paul Munro, Superintendent of Schools, Selma, Ala. Norman Hamilton, Principal, Carbon High School, Price, Utah Bertha C. Knemeyer, Principal, Elko County High School, Elko, Nev. Vierling Kersey, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Sacramento, Calif. E. W. Butterfield, State Commissioner of Edu- cation, Hartford; Conn. Raymond H. Snyder, President, Albion State Normal School, Albion, Idaho George T. Avery, Head, Department of Educa- tion, Colorado Agricultural College, Fort Collins, Colo. L. P. Terrebonne, Superintendent of Schools, Plaquemines, La. Charles Carroll, Chief, Division of Promotion and Supervision, State Department of Edu- cation, Providence, R. I. Mary Eva Hite, Supervisor of Elementary In- struction, State Department of Education, Columbia, S. C. John Callahan, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Madison, Wis. 196 » Agnes Samuelson STATE DIRECTORS ALABAMA—J. D. Williams, Principal, Avondale School, Birmingham AtaskA—C. H. Bowman, Superintendent of Schools, Douglas Arizona—Emil L. Larson, University of Ari- zona, Tucson ArKANSAS—W. E. Phipps, State Commissioner of Education, Little Rock CaALirorniA—Frank A. Henderson, Superintend- ent of Schools, Santa Ana Cororapo—W. B. Mooney, Executive Secre- tary, Colorado Education Association, Denver Connecticut—Helen T. Collins, Principal, Ezekiel Cheever School, New Haven DELAWARE—H. V. Holloway, State Superin- tendent of Public Instruction, Dover Dist. of CotumspiA—Edith Louise Grosvenor, The Iowa Apts., Washington FLoripa—James S. Rickards, Executive Secre- tary, Florida Education Association, Talla- hassee Gerorcia—M. D. Collins, State Superintendent of Schools, Atlanta Hawau—J. W. Garrett, Secretary, Education Association, Honolulu IpAaHO—W. D. Vincent, Superintendent of Schools, Boise Ir~trmvois—John W. Thalman, Superintendent of Schools, Waukegan Inp1aNA—Charles O. Williams, Secretary, In- diana State Teachers Association, Indian- apolis Iowa—Fred D. Cram, Associate Professor of Education, Iowa State Teachers College, Cedar Falls Kansas—F. L. Schlagle, Superintendent of Schools, Kansas City KEenTucKy—William S. Taylor, Dean, College of Education, University of Kentucky, Lex- ington Hawaii Association Officers, 1935-36 Louis1ana—P. H. Griffith, Director of Gener) Extension, Louisiana State University, Bato, Rouge Marne—William B. Jack, Superintendent 9; Schools, Portland MaryLanp—William Burdick, State Supervisor of Physical Education, Baltimore MassacHusETts—Annie C. Woodward, Teacher. High School, Somerville MicuicaAn—Edith A. Bader, Assistant Super. intendent of Schools, Ann Arbor Mrinnesota—Harry Wahlstrand, 824 Third Street East, Willmar MississipPI—H. V. Cooper, Superintendent oj Schools, Vicksburg Missourr—Thomas J. Walker, Associate State Secretary, Missouri State Teachers Associa- tion, Columbia Montana—Martin P. Moe, Executive Secre. tary, Montana Education Association, Helena NEBRASKA—G. F. Knipprath, Omaha Technical High School, Omaha Nevapa—Mrs. Hazel B. Denton, Teacher, Pub- lic Schools, Caliente New HAMPSHIRE—Lyle Wilson Ewing, Teacher, English Department, Claremont New JerseEy—Raymond B. Gurley, Principal, Barringer High School, Newark New Mexico—Vernon O. Tolle, Executive Secretary, New Mexico Educational Associa- tion, Santa Fe New York—H. Claude Hardy, Superintendent of Schools, White Plains NorTH CAROLINA—T. Wingate Andrews, Super- intendent of Schools, High Point NortH Dakota—L. A. White, Superintendent of Schools, Minot Oxnto—William A. Evans, Rothenberg Junior High School, Cincinnati OxLaHoMA—M. E. Hurst, Central High School, Tulsa Orecon—Austin Landreth, Superintendent of Schools, Pendleton PENNSYLVANIA—J. Herbert Kelley, Executive Secretary, Pennsylvania State Education As- sociation, Harrisburg RuopeE Istanp—Charles Carroll, Chief, Division of Promotion and Supervision, State Depart- ment of Education, Providence Soutn Carotrna—A. C. Flora, Superintendent of Schools, Columbia SoutH DaxKota—S. B. Nissen, Editor, South Dakota Education Association Journal, Sioux Falls TENNESSEE—S. L. Ragsdale, Principal, L. C. Humes High School, Memphis Texas—Rush M. Caldwell, Woodrow Wilson High School, Dallas Utan—James T. Worlton, Assistant Superin- tendent of Schools, Salt Lake City. VERMONT—Joseph A. Wiggin, Principal, Brat- tleboro High School, Brattleboro Vircinta—Mrs. Edith B. Joynes, Principal, Washington-Gatewood Schools, Norfolk WaAsHINGTON—Samuel E. Fleming, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Seattle West VirciIn1a—W. W. Trent, State Superin- tendent of Free Schools, Charleston Wisconstin—Amanda Schuette, 220 S. Van Buren Street, Green Bay Wyvomrinc—Henry H. Moyer, Principal, High School, Rawlins The Journal of the National Education Association H 920 935 Genera) y, Baton ident 9 IPETVisor Teacher, - Super. - Third ident of te State Associa. : Secre. Helena echnical T, Pub- Teacher, incipal, ecutive \ssocia- tendent Super- endent Junior School, ent of -cutive on As- ivision epart- -ndent South Sioux L. © Vilson perin- Brat- cipal, k istant erin- Van High 1tion RIRIRAARIARIRAR TT Masa atatatalaatatatalaltatatal tll 10h 935 HE GROWING JOB OF THE SCHOOLS PUBLIC SCHOOL ENROLMENTS, 1900 -1935 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL HF Ashaltalctatolaatastalalatostalaell LLU 1U Each Completed Figure = 1 Million Children National Education Association HE JOB of the public schools has almost doubled since 1900. Children enroled in elementary schools have increased from about 15 million to more than 20 million ; those in highschools from one-half million to almost 7 million. Students in public higher institutions increased from 91,000 to 496,000 Thus, the elementary- school enrolment has increased 1 1-3 times; the highschool enrolment 13 times; and that of other educational institutions more than 5 times. Equally important is the great gain shown in the number of children attending school regularly. In 1900 only 69 percent of the children enroled were attending school daily. By 1920, this figure rose to 75 percent and by 1932, to 85 percent of the enrol- ment. Not only have more children entered the schools but more children have stayed in school for a longer period. Thus the highschool, with its more expensive program, has been growing much faster than the elementary school. Reasons for this trend are found in social, economic, and educational changes. Among these are the force of public opinion favoring education rather than work for children, a greater need for adequate and com- plete schooling, better enforcement of school attendance and child labor laws, provisions within the schools for special classes, programs of health education, and, in rural areas, better transportation facilities. The material on this page developed for the Joint Commission on the Emergency in Education and presented at the Denver Convention is typical of the work which the National Education Association is constantly doing on a large scale to spread among the people an understanding of educational con- ditions. It is from a booklet, Schools and Taxes, which may be had from the Association at 25 cents per copy. Discounts for quantities: 2 to 9 copies, 10 percent; 10 to 99 copies, 25 percent; 100 or more copies, 3314 percent. Cash must accompany all orders for $1 or less. Use this page on your bulletin board. Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 Wittarp E. Givens, Executive Secretary people in America is more in sym- pathy with the social ideals and ob- jectives of the New Deal than are teachers, it becomes increasingly diffi- cult to understand the raw deal given to the public schools. When the disposing hand of the fed- eral government began a program of financial aid to farm, factory, home, mine, and crippled business institutions, the schools closing by thousands asked for help. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration came to the rescue by or- ganizing more schools—nurseries, adult classes, vocational training, parent edu- cation and rehabilitation centers—in- stead of aiding already organized insti- tutions. Altho emergency assistance was given to rural schools, the program was administered in such a way as to incur the disfavor of school officials and teachers. In October 1933, President Roosevelt, after paying tribute to the schools, said, “We need to make infinitely better the average education which the average child now receives.” Instead of following this policy of improving the everyday educational offering of the average child, the New Dealers invented plain and fancy schooling, managed in a way to give the jitters to educators whose policy it is to shun waste. While a few young- sters were being taught harmonica play- ing, fancy lariat throwing, and boon- doggling, some hundreds of thousands of less fortunate ones thruout the United States were being denied a decent health program or were doing without a full year’s work in arithmetic, reading, and history. The millions expended in build- ing a parallel system of education for re- lief purposes have done some good, but better results could have been achieved more economically by strengthening the already-established school systems. The Works Progress Administration now announces that it, too, is to enter the field of education. Its July 25 bulle- tin, No. 19, advises the State Works Progress Administrator to “consult with the State Superintendent of Education” in outlining a program of utmost im- portance to local education and which wholly ignores—beyond the consultation point—the authorities which the people have themselves legally chosen to direct the schools. We quote from this bulletin: Se it is known that no group of 198 ‘ . . . The full responsibility for the success- ful state administration of Emergency Educa- tion is placed upon the State Works Progress Administrator. ... From time to time the Works Progress Administration at Washington will prescribe the qualifications for and au- thorize the designation of certain State Super- visors of Emergency Education to have charge. . . . Final approval of State Assistant Direc- tors and such state Supervisors of Emergency Education as may be authorized and appointed is with the Education Division of the Works Progress Administration at Washington... . It is not permissible to place unemployed teachers in the regular public schools as “help- ing teachers” to relieve socalled “over-crowded” conditions. . . . The possession of teaching cer- tificates is not required for this program. Thus once again the schools have been repudiated and their officers and their teachers placed among the untouchables of the present depression. Thus once again are the schools overshadowed by a Washington-centered political institu- tion with an educational title, entirely removed from state or local control. If anyone thinks that the wresting of educational administration from the hands of educators is a temporary move in a crisis, let him read the educational provisions of the Social-Security Act. This Act places in the Department of Labor responsibilities for handicapped children, and appropriates annually nearly $3,000,000 for services already performed for years in our best public schools. No new agency was needed to provide for these children. Why was this money not allocated to states thru the United States Office of Education, the federal government’s agency for educa- tion since 1867, to be expended, not by a bureau in Washington, but thru the legally established educational agencies of the states and localities? The government now steps forward with another proposal to aid young peo- ple from a central office in Washington. It had long been pointed out by educa- tional leaders that between two million and four million boys and girls were without educational opportunities and without jobs. These leaders urged the United States Office of Education to out- line a program for these neglected youth. The program was duly outlined by the Office of Education, accepted by the Emergency Administration—and then placed in the joint control of the United States Treasury Department and the Works Progress Administration! With the $50,000,000 provided for The Journal of the National Education Association New Deal a Raw Deal for Public Schools |! K jurin; quest 1 ferent this service much good, no doubt, wil] be accomplished, but it is quite eviden that this work could be done more eco. nomically thru the United States Offic of Education and the State Departments of Education. The cost of the new ag. ministration is estimated as high ag $2,225,000 and in the Washington office alone will perhaps reach $225,000, which is 80 percent of the cost of the entire ona Office of Education exclusive of voca- ae tional education. With $50,000 ad. ¥ pot « ditional appropriation the Office of Edu. } jevis cation could manage the new program, J] ind But the extravagance of the program quire is not its worst fault. It is being built } nini around a staff of federal and state work- } jeacl ers who are politically appointed. Their } once responsibility to the people is so indirect } year as -to be almost negligible. The long. } trib established politically-free methods of } emb school administration are being circum- J cooy vented by the New Deal. part The National Education Association] I: believes in federal aid to education with- } anc out federal control. It asks that financial } js m assistance be given to already-established } gre: schools. It believes that in the prepara- | psy tion of young people for the duties of } mai citizenship, reading, writing, and arith- } nur metic should take precedence over har- | mu monica blowing, lariat throwing, and | wit boondoggling. It would keep education } hor in the hands of educators and formal } eco educational opportunity in the schools. ] 1] It is unalterably opposed to politics in ] ize education. The experience of certain | pl: foreign countries shows plainly that political domination of the schools and political administration of youth are inimical to democracy. They are dan- gerous steps to be taken by a people devoted to popular government. Educators are aware of the danger, and yet the schools watch the stepchil- dren of a new poutical ideal fed and nourished while they starve with neglect. In the face of continued repudiation, is the voice of educational leadership to be only a plaintive wail or a vigorous de- mand for the rightful place of the Amer- ican public schools in our democracy? There is courage and stamina and profes- sional backbone in the men and women who have made the American school sys tem what it is. They will protect it and lend their support only to those who befriend it. bri h , a I Going Forward During 1935-36 , |The Elementary Teacher Meets the Challenge t, will Vident e eCo- Office ‘Ments WwW ad- gh a | Office which entire voca- 0 ad. f Edu. ‘am. Ogram + built work- Their direct long- ds of ircum- ‘iation . with- ancial lished epara- ‘ies of arith- r har- , and cation formal -hools. tics in -ertain that Is and h are » dan- Deople anger, -pchil- d and eglect. ion, is to be us de- Amer- racy? yr ofes- yvomen 01 sys- it and > who ciation HAT CAN WE DO to improve the W scien during 1935-36? In this special feature, “Going Forward jwring 1935-36,” are answers to that question from educators in several dif- rent fields. Others will follow in Octo- her. To achieve some improvement each day adds to the zest of teaching—Editor. OWHERE has the present economic N crisis been more acute than in our schools. The struggle to retain educa- tional standards has been terrific. To meet changing social conditions we must not only retain the best of the old, but revise and enlarge our concepts, methods, and materials. This great task will re- quire unceasing effort on the part of ad- ministrators, supervisors, and classroom teachers. Because of her personal experi- ence with children in their formative years, the elementary teacher can con- tribute a valuable share. Her activities embrace three fields: classroom contacts, woperation with fellow-workers, and participation in community enterprises. In the school—“Know thyself” is ancient philosophy; “know your pupil” ismodern pedagogy. Until we have made great strides in mental hygiene and child psychology, how to know the pupil re- mains something of an educational co- nundrum. The teacher can accomplish much by establishing personal contact with the individual pupil. A visit to the home brings understanding of his social, economic, and emotional background. In addition the resourceful teacher util- izes before and after school periods, the playground, and indoor recesses which bring a group of children around her desk, to further mutual understanding. The teacher should make her contri- bution to the day’s work interesting and instructive by bringing to the classroom new ideas and materials that vitalize her teaching. In like manner, pupils should be encouraged to vitalize their learning by an intelligent use of the materials they bring to school. Textbooks must be sup- plemented with such things as films, newspaper clippings, magazines, pictures, maps, books, plants, pets, and construc- tion materials. Certain responsibilities in the class- toom will:impress upon the small child his duties and privileges as a member of the group. With advance thru the grades and broadening interests, civic conscious- hess can be developed thru discussions of such vital current problems as city plan- Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 ning, the civic budget, health conditions, recreational opportunities, and the his- tory of the school. The elementary pupil should be encouraged to prepare himself for his future place in the community as a happy, useful adult. With coworkers—But work in the classroom, important as it may be, can- not embrace the larger sphere of the pro- gressive teacher’s influence. She must participate dynamically and fearlessly in all activities of teacher and school organ- izations. Probably no other single factor would result in greater, more speedy im- provement in our schools than the ac- ceptance by all teachers of such personal responsibility. Our modern educational setup demands close cooperation among all teachers, and active cooperation be- tween administrators and the teachers working with them. The day of subservi- ent, blind obedience to orders has passed with the passing of poorly educated, un- trained teachers. Today teachers have the right and the duty to ask for rea- son behind administrative orders and changes; to help thru intelligent, courte- ous criticism and practical suggestion; to experiment in new methods and mate- rials; to participate in curriculum evalu- ation and curriculum making; and to concern themselves actively with all that affects the welfare of their pupils. Often the elementary teacher does not realize that good administrators welcome constructive participation. Splendid capa- bilities and creative minds lie dormant thru fear of censure or thru the inferi- ority complex of being “only a grade teacher.”” Teachers must have the same independence of thought and fearless leadership that they would instil into their pupils. Within the local, state, and national education associations, the ever-widen- ing teacher influence can best function. Individual initiative may produce some local changes. Group participation brings state and national reforms. And _ par- ticipation does not mean membership merely, but ready response when called upon to serve in any capacity; attend- ance at meetings; voluntary contribu- tions of service; and participation in dis- cussions that arise. These presuppose that the teacher keeps abreast of the best in educational thought and method, and that she sees the school as part of the larger social structure. No other single occasion gives oppor- tunity for the practise of the foregoing precepts as does American Education Week. In the community—But such activi- ties should by no means be limited to one week of the year. If the public is made cognizant of the importance of the schools in training leaders and in helping to set the moral standards of the com- munity, there will be less complaint about expenditures for our educational institutions. It becomes, then, the teach- er’s responsibility to inform the public of the aims and methods, new objectives, and activities by which the school is try- ing to produce better citizens. How can this best be done? Probably the most effective way is by drawing the home and school close together. Make yourself wel- come, teacher, in the home of each of your pupils. Urge parents to visit school, any day. Don’t wait until you have a complaint against a child to make contact with his parents. Carry to them a good report and you will find a much readier sympathy with the work of the school. Some teachers will say, “But I haven’t time to do all this.”’ The answer is, “You can afford to do it, if you want the com- munity pulling with the school rather than against it.”’ If there is a parent-teacher organiza- tion in the school, it should receive the teacher’s whole-hearted support. Where no such organization exists, the teacher should interest the patrons of the school in forming one for the promotion of school and community interests. When the school door is closed behind her, the teacher’s obligation to the com- munity is not ended. Let her not be per- suaded that, aside from teaching a Sun- day school class, she should take no part in community affairs. Who should be more vitally concerned that the police force be efficient, that laws be properly enforced, and the moral tone of the com- munity raised to the highest possible level, than the teacher who is interested in the spiritual and mental welfare of children? Let the teacher be actively in- terested in placing in office men and women who will ably and honestly repre- sent the interests of the whole people. As public servants, paid from the people’s money, teachers owe to the community their loyal assistance for all constructive community enterprises——Kathryn Met- calf, Louise Heim, Florence Weber, teachers, Campbell, Howard Roosa, and Columbia Schools, Evansville, Ind. 199 Going Forward During 1935-36 A Highschool Teacher Looks Ahead HE TEA- T CHER’S TIME for tak- ing an inven- tory of pro- fessional as- sets in prep- aration for a new year of more suc- cessful en- deavor is at the begin- ning of Sep- tember rather than on January first. Consider the Boulder Dam, the Ten- nessee Valley project, the Golden Gate bridge, the two-hundred-inch telescope. The question is often asked, “What can the schools do to keep pace with all this marvelous progress?” This really is not the correct point of view at all. Our schools are educating the boys and girls who become the men and women that are making all this progress. Our schools are not merely keeping pace —they are making the pace. The dynamic elementary teacher may not actually train her boys and girls to be great engi- neers, business men and women, or lit- erary successes, but she does much more. She implants in their minds and hearts ambitions and aspirations to become worthy members of society, to do things that are worthwhile. Subsequent instruc- tors add to and complete the work. The true teacher will keep firmly in mind student growth and development without overemphasizing subjectmatter which really is but the medium thru which pupils grow. Patrons of the schools do not always recognize this truth. One of the best ways of bringing the schools to the people is by the “open house” method. A successful program of this kind, observed during the past year, was presented in one highschool by the pupils cooperating with the teachers. A few pupils from each class and an addi- tional group to conduct an auditorium program were at the school during the evening of the main program. The teach- ers were present to talk with the parents while groups of pupils carried on their work, or explained it to visitors. Speci- mens of pupils’ work were on exhibit in each room. Parent-teacher associations are now almost universal but a few schools even yet are not making use of this helpful Albert M. Shaw 200 . organization. One such highschool was recently beset with difficulties due to a misunderstanding between parents and the school. At this opportune time a PTA was suggested. A few leading and in- terested parents were called to the school for a conference; an organization was perfected; and some well-planned, con- structive programs both afternoon and evening were given, with teachers and parents participating. Very soon all mis- understandings were cleared away. A feeling of mutual confidence and trust was established and the friendly rela- tions of parents with the school became stronger. Unquestionably a well-organ- ized, wisely conducted parent-teacher as- sociation is one of the most valuable assets of a school and is an excellent means of carrying on a year round pro- gram of educational interpretation. Another factor which helps immeasur- ably in reinforcing the schools against unfriendly attacks, which have become altogether too common in recent years, is the loyal and united support by teach- ers of our professional education organi- zations. The states and localities which have best withstood these attacks are the very ones which over a long period of years have had the strongest, most active teacher organizations. The National Education Association with its progressive, forward-looking offi- cial staff is doing wonderful things for the schools of the whole country. But the states which have been able to profit most from timely NEA assistance are those best organized locally and state- wide. Now as never before we need the united, 100 percent support of all teach- ers in our local, state, and national or- ganizations and this should be our goal for the current year. Professionally the true teacher must ever be a student and can very profitably have in his personal library such con- structive, inspiring documents as The Children’s Charter, reports of the NEA Committees on the Social and Economic Goals for America and the Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education; also Dewey’s “Pedagogic Creed,” the Inglis Lectures in Secondary Education [Har- vard University], and others of a similar, high professional type. The NEA Jour- NAL provides much valuable material especially in the social studies. Many teachers are using it in their classes. Some take THE JouRNAL apart and file the separate articles in classified form {o, constant use. The special 16-page fe. ture, “The Tennessee Valley Looks to th, Future,’ December 1934, is most enlight. ening for pointing the way to a new socig| order. The seven articles on “The Schools in the Story of Culture,” by Beard and Carr, November 1934 to May 1935, ar invaluable. In order to guide and counsel pupils in the most helpful way, a teacher need; to know home and community cond. tions. Such knowledge can best be ob. tained by visits to the homes of the pupils. One further needs a working knowledge of national and international problems. To accomplish this a teacher constantly needs to gain fresh informa. tion on social, economic, and _ political questions thru travel and thru reading and discussion with others of the best current books and magazines. The true teacher each year may well set as a minimum standard of accom- plishment one new constructive plan or project of administrative or educational value. Pupils may be encouraged to use the library and to assemble a library of their own even tho small, to organize school clubs sponsored by a teacher, to start a school paper, to prepare a history of the school or community. An occasional superior pupil showing aptitude and promise may be encouraged to prepare for teaching as a profession. Boy and Girl Scouts, campfire girls or- ganizations, and other desirable means of character building should be encour- aged. Teachers can help to awaken in every student an appreciation of his own worth and a sense of responsibility for his own improvement. A few years ago much was said and done by way of exploiting the financial value of education. Conditions now indi- cate the need of emphasizing the value of education in fitting one to be of greater service to others and to the community. Finally every teacher should exemplify a loyal spirit of cooperation and helpful- ness toward his associates, especially the new teacher and the young teacher. After a long vacation of rest and varied activities in which we have re- newed our vigor and enthusiasm, now is an opportune time to build new ideals by which we can make the coming year the best in all our teaching experience.— Albert M. Shaw, teacher, Hollenbeck Junior Highschool, Los Angeles. The Journal of the National Education Association 35-36 ITM for Ze fea. ‘S to the enlight. W SOcial Schools rd and 3 5 ) are | pupils T needs condi- be ob- Of the vorking ational teacher forma. litical reading 1e best Ly well accom- lan or ational ise the f their school start a of the Owing Iraged ession. rls or- means ncour- en in is Own ty for d and ancial indi- lue of reater unity. aplify Ipful- y the and e re- ow is Is by r the ce.— beck iation OW MANY H of my rural co- workers have made resolu- tions for the new _ school year of 1935- 36? Our reso- lutions must be the kind that grow from a sin- cere desire to make the new year a banner one in our teaching experience as well as in rural education. Here are a few suggestions for those resolutions. Many of them I have followed successfully myself; some [hope to try this year. To attempt more than a few at one time would be a waste of time and a source of discouragement and failure. Remember that doing a little well is better than doing a great deal poorly. As a rural teacher, I have an unusual opportunity to know my pupils as indi- viduals and such knowledge should be the basis of my guidance as a teacher. The use of hobbies, not forced upon children but suggested to them, helps greatly in discovering the key to differ- ent individualities. Eleanore Hassinger I discovered last year that one of my fourth-grade girls has a love of maps and had made, with the help of a wise mother, a considerable collection of them. I have a similar hobby myself. At once you know that we are fast friends. In many schools we find stamp collectors, wood carvers, amateur botanists, animal ar- tists, insect collectors, and cartoonists. I cannot know about all of these activ- ities, but I can and should be interested and willing to learn from my pupils. For instance, when a new country is to be studied in geography, I can let Laverne show his stamps from that country and let him take charge of the class discussion for that day. Remembering that the wise use of leisure is constantly becoming more im- portant, I shall build a background of literature appreciation in all of my Eng- lish and language classes. By coming to each class with sufficient illustrative ma- terial and a definite plan of presentation designed to bring about desirable out- comes, I shall give each child some ex- perience in literature appreciation. In the Vol. 24, Number 6; October 1935 Going Forward During 1935-36 Resolutions for Rural Teachers upper grades, larger literary selections will be presented as units with definite aims for each day’s work. Dictionary work and memorization of teacher- selected lines will have no place in my appreciation lessons. Creative work will be the outgrowth of several preparatory lessons that are designed to remove difficulties, I shall guard against school-teacher nerves. I shall play vigorously with my pupils during each free period of the day. I shall laugh with the children and try to form the habit of smiling when ill-temper seems nearest the surface. I shall care for my health generally, as I teach the chil- dren to do the same. From Sunday eve- ning until Friday evening, my time be- longs to my school and my community. My outside entertainment must not in- terfere with my daily preparation of school work or my sleep before a school day. I shall by personal example and by gentle comment, improve the general conduct of the children in my school. “Excuse me,” “please,” and “thank you”’ will be heard more often. I shall remem- ber, however, that to remind Robert quietly, when alone with him, that gen- tlemen excuse themselves when inter- rupting a conversation will be many times more effective than to tell him so before his fellow pupils. I shall try more earnestly than ever to interest my community in its school. Frequent parents’ days will be arranged to demonstrate our work. One will be a special reading day at which I will teach the regular reading classes and con- duct regular seatwork exercises. One day will be the outcome of an excellent unit on Mexico in third- and fourth-grade social studies. Perhaps just a few persons will come at first but an interest slowly and surely awakened cannot die quickly. The children, too, will be helped to take some responsibility for having their par- ents visit school. The organization of a parent-teacher association, if one does not exist in the community, is another means of improv- ing the school. Such an organization will encourage the use of the school building for community gatherings. An organiza- tion for the older pupils, such as Junior Red Cross, 4-H club, Knighthood of Youth, the Young Citizens League, and the like, gives excellent opportunities for creating a greater interest and accom- plishment in school work and in life out- side the school. To know the home background of my pupils and to acquaint patrons with the work of the school, I shall visit every home in my district. Making friends with parents and other adults will help me in my teaching and will encourage parents’ interest and understanding of the school. I shall vitalize my teaching as much as possible by relating it to the life of the children and the community. For exam- ple, attention will be given to local his- tory and geography; the kind and amount of various crops in the locality; the use and conservation of land, forests, and streams; taxes for schools, roads, and other purposes. I shall stress music and music appre- ciation because rural children have so little opportunity in that field. My small- est ones will be helped by a rhythm band with instruments of their own making, while the older ones will have a har- monica band. Note singing will not be neglected but will be aided by apprecia- tion lessons with the phonograph and the piano. Many friends and patrons will gladly lend us records for the phono- graph. Music will be fun, alive and worthwhile, a real subject. I shall try to develop pupil leadership thru the use of an activity program in geography or some other subject. I shall read widely on each unit as it is to be presented, organize it carefully with the unit problem in mind, and plan project work to further the understanding of the problem. After the children have become accustomed to the new method they will begin to suggest ideas of their own, and, as interest develops, they may be made responsible for class discussion and for providing their own motivation, I shall earnestly endeavor to grow pro- fessionally and culturally. To read one professional and one nonprofessional but worthwhile book each month will be my aim. A definite time each day for my reading will be a part of my time budget. To grow professionally I shall become a member of my state and national educa- tion associations. It is only thru organ- ized effort that we can assist in the advance of education. Let us all make some resolutions and carry them thru to make this new year a more profitable and enjoyable one for our pupils, ourselves, and our communi- ties. — Eleanore WHassinger, rural teacher, Rushford, Minnesota. 201 Going Forward During 1935-36 A State Superintendent’s Point of View VW THAT can the state super- intendent or thestatecom- missioner of education do to make his services to children, to the state, and to the nation more effec- tive during 1935-36 than ever before? In answer to this question proposed by the editor of THE JOURNAL of the National Education Association, a few specific things are enumerated, which I believe the state superintendent will seek to accomplish. [1] He will increase his own under- standing of the public-school system and his appreciation of education as a funda- mental factor in the development of citi- zenship and in preserving and improving our civilization, A better understanding will increase his emphasis on intellectual, moral, and spiritual phases of education and lessen it on organization and routine. A better appreciation will convince him more fully that education is worth more than it is costing, and that it is worthy of defense against all attacks. |2| He will seek every possible oppor- tunity to interpret education to the pub- lic. Many believe that education is cost- ing too much; many have been misguided in other educational matters by false propaganda; and many more have not known the value of education to the child, to the community, and to civiliza- tion. In cooperation with the state educa- tion association and lay groups such as the parent-teacher associations, he will refute these false ideas and create a bet- ter understanding and appreciation. He will use American Education Week as a high point in this interpretation. [3| He will magnify the teacher and the work of the teacher. Teachers often become discouraged thru failure to realize the importance of the work they are do- ing and from absence of commendation from those who should recognize and ap- preciate that work. The superintendent will commend the work of the teacher as the most important factor in the educa- tional process. As the importance of her work is enhanced, education will ap- proach the purpose for which it exists— W. W. Trent . bdo oO Ne the development and inspiration of chil- dren. |4| He will encourage the use of the material at hand. The courses of study may not be the latest but most of them contain practically all that education has inherited. Books may not be the best but they are neither antiquated nor worth- less. The community may be poor finan- cially, yet it is rich in material that may be used to supplement the courses of study and the textbooks. As the super- intendent encourages the teacher to use what she has and assists her in supple- menting and enriching that material and adapting it to the boys and girls he will increase his value to the school. [5] He will both encourage and de- mand better preparation of teachers. He will encourage better preparation by ask- ing better salaries for those who are bet- ter prepared and by developing a positive sentiment favorable to better prepara- tion. The superintendent will demand better preparation thru securing the en- actment of laws and thru higher require- ments for teachers certificates. For mini- mums, I suggest two years of preparation beyond highschool for all beginning teachers in 1936 and four years by 1940. [6| He will seek to enlist the interest of all teachers in the profession. While I believe that not many persons are teaching only for the salary they receive, I am convinced that the effectiveness of their work will be increased thru better morale, an increased love of the profes- sion, and an increased interest in the work they are doing. The state superin- tendent will encourage his teachers to attend teachers meetings and to become members of education associations. [7] He will seek to extend the school program to include nursery schools, kindergartens, and adult education. Too long has education been considered a ~ preparation for living and not a part of living. Too long have children been neg- lected thru the formative period from three to six. And too long have adults been permitted to believe that their edu- cation had ended when they quit school. In this connection the state superintend- ent will seek to integrate teaching in the CCC camps with the school system. The superintendent who provides academic and vocational courses for CCC camps and secures credit therefor or who makes possible parttime or fulltime attendance of these boys in local highschools, will increase his effectiveness manyfold. [8] He will endeavor to revise the tax system for the support of schools. A num. ber of states have already transferred g large part of school costs from the prop. erty tax to indirect taxes. Others must follow their example to avoid a break- down of the educational system. West Virginia recently increased that part of school cost borne by indirect tax from 5 to 55 percent, thus saving the schools and relieving property owners of a con- fiscatory tax. I believe that the plan which provides equal educational oppor- tunities for all the children of all the peo- ple will have federal support and larger state support with control guaranteed to local and state units. [9] He wall encourage the formation of larger administrative units. A larger unit reduces the number of administra- tive officers such as members of boards of education, removes tuition barriers for children in rural communities, en- courages consolidation, gives a longer term for children in rural communities, and provides means for bringing about that much desired goal—equal educa- tional opportunities for all the children of all the people. Thru reorganization within the past two years, West Virginia eliminated all independent and magis- terial districts and substituted the county unit organization, thus reducing the number of districts from 400 to 55. [10] He will improve educational op- portunities in rural communities. He will make this improvement by providing school plans for rural community schools, by increasing the libraries, encouraging consolidation, enriching the curriculum, providing supervision, and placing able teachers in the rural schools. [11] To the end that he may have as- sistance in attaining the goals named in this article and that other worthwhile movements may be initiated, he will set up a representative state education plan- ning commission. This commission may offer suggestions for guidance in the present activities of changing curriculum, revision of tax system, setting up new administrative units, and in planning consolidation. It will give a degree of permanency and continuity of activities and interests from year to year and from administration to administration. It will set up new goals, initiate new activities, and make other suggestions for the im- provement of schools as the years come and go.—W. W. Trent, state superin- tendent of schools, Charleston, W. Va. The Journal of the National Education Association € tax num- red a prop- must reak- West rt of from hools con- plan ppor- peo- arger ed to ation arger istra- yards riers , en- ynger ities, bout luca- dren ation ginia agis- unty the l op- » will iding ools, ging lum, able € as- >d in while L set blan- may the lum, new ning e of ‘ities from will ities, im- ome srin- a. ation Notes r’s wonderful for men to build, With hammer, drill, and forge, A bridge to span the cataract That rushes thru the gorge. It’s wonderful to build a town Where massive buildings tower, Where giant engines pull and puff And motors spin with power. It’s wonderful to write a book, To paint an amber sky, To give the world those deathless things That never fade or die; But still more wonderful to build The women and the men, Who build the cities, span the floods, Or wield the brush and pen. More wonderful to build a soul, To have a teacher’s part In molding dreams and hopes that stir The adolescent heart; And when they win, thru stress and strain, More wonderful to be The faithful teacher who can say: “They went to school to me.” —A. J. Dunlap. The Denver convention—The cor- diality and genial welcome of Colorado people made the entire session a happy one for the delegates. An all-state com- mittee of which Superintendent A. L. Threlkeld, Denver, was chairman cooper- ated with the Denver Hospitality Com- mittee and the Colorado Education As- sociation. At the close of the convention, July 5 was set aside as Recreation Day. Scores of automobile caravans and spe- cial trains took convention guests to Colorado’s mountain playgrounds. Scores of department meetings— in which some of the most valuable work of the huge convention was accomplishede —were held daily by Association depart- ments and the National Council of Edu- cation. Over three hundred persons took part in one or more department pro- grams, exclusive of business meetings and social events. They represented every level of the profession from classroom teacher to college president and included experts from outside fields. The follow- ing departments held meetings: National Council of Education, Administra- tive Women in Education, Adult Education, Art Education, Business Education, Classroom Teachers, Deans of Women, Educational Re- search, Elementary School Principals, Kinder- garten Primary Education, Lip Reading, Music Education, Rural Education, School Health and Physical Education, Science Instruction, Sec- ondary Education, Secondary School Princi- pals, Social Studies, Special Education, Super- visors and Directors of Instruction, Supervisors and Teachers of Home Economics, Visual In- struction, Vocational Education. Vol 24, Number 6; September 1935 = N. KENFIELD, former president of the Department of Lip Reading of the National Education Association, and teacher of lip reading to the adult hard of hearing in the San Francisco public schools, who passed away in March 1935. Problems of youth occupied a chief place in the Denver programs of allied organizations [distinguished from de- partments by the fact that they have no organic relation to the Association altho they hold meetings in connection with NEA conventions. | “Youth is experiencing the dull pangs of not being wanted,” student leaders asserted in the Conference on Student Participation in School Government. How to give young people a place in community life was also discussed by the National Council of Student Officers and by the Institute of Vitalized School Journalism. A new type of education had its place in convention discussions when the edu- cational advisers of the CCC camps met to plan for the “half million young men 18 to 28 years old, and an additional hundred thousand of veterans and older men.” The Conference was directed by L. W. Rogers, educational adviser of the Eighth Corps Area, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and a former officer of the NEA. National lay groups thru their repre- sentatives participated in a Conference of Lay Friends of Education on “Safe- guarding and Advancing Education.” Mrs. H. C. Bradley, president, Colorado Congress of Parents and Teachers, pre- sided. and Announcements Other allied organizations meeting at Denver included: American Classical League, National Asso- ciation of Journalism Directors, National As- sociation of Secretaries of State Teachers Associations, National Council of Teachers of English, National Congress of Parents and Teachers, National Council of Geography Teachers, National Geographic Society, National League of Teachers Associations, National School Secretaries Association, National Voca- tional Guidance Association, School Garden Association of America; Institute of Vitalized School Journalism. The Life Membership Dinner was one of the most enjoyable features of the Denver convention. It was dedicated to Secretary Emeritus J. W. Crabtree, who began the life membership plan under which nearly 6000 are now enroled. The NEA headquarters staff has thirty-eight life members of whom seventeen have be- come “Crabtree Life Members” since January 1. This expression of loyalty by those who know best the work of the As- sociation is a prophecy of the day when teachers everywhere will rally around the cause of professional organization. A highspot of the dinner program was the presentation to Mr. Crabtree of a large volume of more than 700 letters from national leaders in every field paying tribute to him for his long service to education. Nine radio programs over coast-to- coast hookups added greatly to public interest in the Denver meeting. Ad- dresses on education and the general wel- fare, academic freedom, educating the grown-ups, the 300th anniversary of the highschool, and the needs of youth brought portions of the convention each day to the general public. Speakers in- cluded Mrs. Inez Johnson Lewis, Colo- rado state superintendent of instruction; Frederick M. Hunter, chancellor, Uni- versity of Denver; Senators Edward P. Costigan of Colorado and Gerald P. Nye of North Dakota; Lyman Bryson of Teachers College, Columbia Univer- sity; and A. J. Stoddard, president, De- partment of Superintendence. Breakfasts, luncheons, and din- ners—to the number of more than seventy-five, added to the enjoyment of Denver convention guests. Kindness to animals—Superintend- ent Carroll R. Reed of Minneapolis told the following story at the superintend- ent’s breakfast at Denver. A New York woman recently visited a Minnesota sil- 203 ver fox farm. On seeing the foxes she exclaimed: “Oh, aren’t they little dears! How often do you skin them?” The owner replied: “We used to skin them quite often but they got so sore we had to quit for awhile.” Denver newspaper legend below photograph of goodlooking teachers: “Who wouldn’t want to go to school?” Education and Denver—Denver’s devotion to the cause of education is best evidenced by its school system. Denver is proud of its schools. Denver is proud to be host to the thousands who will attend the convention of the National Education Association here this week. They represent the most potent and per- manent public influence in the nation. Political parties come and go; economic experiments are tried and abandoned; the educator and the theory of free schools continue.—Denver Rocky Moun- tain News, June 30, 1935. Freedom in the schools—The chief contest and the greatest achievement at the recent meeting of the National Edu- cation Association in Denver had to do with freedom of teaching. .. . : As long as special privileges exist, those who profit by them will resist having them critically studied. Teachers will thus be hampered in their teaching. In particu- lar, teachers will be threatened with dis- missal in order to curb their teaching. Academic freedom thus depends on ade- quate tenure. It was with this basic reali- zation in mind that the Denver meeting met the challenge of those who would hamper teachers and pupils in their rights of expression. The fight along this line must continue if these rights are to be preserved.—W illiam H. Kilpatrick in the New York Times, July 14, 1935. The NEA platform, as amended at the Denver convention, and the resolu- tions will be published in full in Tue JouRNAL for January, where they will be available for the use of seniors in teach- ers colleges who are enroled in the Asso- ciation as of January 1. The Committee on Necrology re- ported at the Denver convention that, according to the records on file, approxi- mately 1500 members had passed away during the year. American Education Week 1935 —The fifteenth annual American Edu- cation Week will be observed November 11-17, 1935. The general theme for the week is “The School and Democracy.” The daily themes suggested are: Monday, November 11—The School and the Citizen Tuesday, November 12—The School and the State 204 Wednesday, November 13—The School and the Nation Thursday, November 14—The School and Social Change — of Laramie, Wyoming, are proud of the beautiful and historic oil paintings in the auditorium of the city highschool. This photograph shows Panel 11, “pioneers on the overland trail.” The artist, Florence Ellen Ware, is the daughter and granddaughter of Laramie pioneers. Friday, November 15—The School and Coun- try Life Saturday, November Recreation Sunday, November 17—Education and the Good Life. 16—The School and The National Education Association is preparing, as it has in previous years, helpful materials for schools and com- munities participating in this nationwide observance. The usefulness of these ma- terials is attested by the fact that increas- ing quantities are being required each year to meet the demand. Turn to the inside back cover for information con- cerning the materials available this year. Begin now to plan for your observance of this occasion. The October JourNAL will carry several pages of material pertain- ing to the observance. Last year more than 4000 communities actively partici- pated and over 6,000,000 adult citizens visited the schools. The goal this year js to bring 10,000,000 citizens into the schools, “Our American Schools” will begin its fifth year on the air September 11, 1935. Its programs will be broadcast in two fifteen-minute periods each week over the networks of the National Broad. casting Company. One of these programs will originate each Wednesday evening at 7:30-7:45 p.m. Eastern Standard Time from the headquarters building of the National Education Association, During the month of September the pro- gram will be broadcast at 6:30-6:45 p.m. on Wednesdays, Eastern Standard Time, to conform to the requirements of Day- light Saving Time in New York City, upon which the schedule of all network programs is based. The first 7:30-7:45 P.M. program will be broadcast Wednes- day, October 2, and all programs there- after thruout the coming winter will go on the air at that hour. The Wednesday evening program will be under the direc- tion of members of the headquarters staff. The second period of “Our American Schools” will be broadcast Saturday morning, 11:00-11:15 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, from New York City, beginning Saturday, October 5. This pro- gram will be under the direction of Past- president Florence Hale, who has for four years directed the programs of “Our American Schools.”’ Miss Hale’s programs will be devoted largely to the classroom problems of the teacher. Tune in on the local station of the National Broadcasting Company for these programs. If they are not being teceived regularly, consult the manager of the station. The organized profession—Prog- ress in education depends on four fac- tors—individual initiative, dynamic lead- ership, organized effort, and adequate ‘financial support. Individual initiative is fundamental for both personal and social progress. Freedom of action and freedom of speech are essential for individual growth. No group ever rises higher than the dreams of its individual members. Dynamic leadership is imperative for social progress. Few individuals possess the vision and personality necessary for departure from the status quo. Most human beings, like sheep, prefer to fol- low a leader. “Organized effort is the only way to secure progress in a democracy,” wrote [Continued in advertising section] The Journal of the National Education Association T =~ Bp ~— = Fes OO >. * e zens “|The Activity Movement Demands e ti MATERIAL - > > MATERIAL 11, . MATERIAL! e and More . ‘ams ning lard g of ‘ion, pro- P.M. ime, Jay- ‘ity, york 345 nes- ere- | go day : rec- = | Progressive Deachets MUST have the ° * | MATERIAL THIS Encyclopedia provides ‘ern a As every one knows, the ACTIVITY PLAN BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA, are using. You, too, can be a apr or the UNIT PLAN of instruction . . . in fact more oe — accomplish educational objectives for EVERY TYPE of modern teaching procedure . . . Oe Our | requires the pupil to use a vast amount of mate- a : ams | rial not available in textbooks. Activity Units om For 5 Years THE WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA available to all purchasers of The WORLD BOOK ENCY- the has provided teachers with CLOPEDIA. These ACTIVITY UNITS are not the “cut: for and-dried” type which leave nothing for the child to do, ‘ing F K : . > 2 Units but the modern kind that promote dynamic growth through ger the experience of doing things. Whether you prefer MATE- I CTIVITY UNITS og. | Educators who know say The WORLD BOOK ENCY- eT ee Re: CLOPEDIA is not only the greatest, finest source of REF- chase The WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA. Mail the cou- ad- ERENCE MATERIAL on the market today, but it pro- pon now ... today for complete information, prices and terms. oad vides the quantity and quality of USABLE MATERIAL teachers and pupils need, no matter what the plan of instruc- ACTIVITY UNITS for ALL General Subjects ital tion may be. For more than fi aed ates The WORLD BOOK Available, to non-owners upon request, ready for instant use, PSS. ENCYCLOPEDIA has been supplying teachers the country completely worked out, classroom-tested ACTIVITY UNITS on och over ACTIVITY UNITS FREE OF CHARGE... Units ALL general subjects required by courses of study. Nothing : No which dovetail with modern plans of instruction, completely wll devafberes Ne sea caus ASTRAY bot sie ms worked out, classroom-tested and ready for use. This is the able at the small cost of 10 to 50 cents per unit. cooperation progressive teachers . . . owners of The WORLD for es ook MVEIEETIEEK « | The New WORLD B PPG COMPS | Dept. 23-W—35 East Wacker Drive, Chicago . ENCYCLOPEDIA | aaa reas! » With prices, terms an pecial Service Features. . | () lam particularly interested in an ACTIVITY UNIT on- ] to | W.F. QUARRIE & COMPANY, Publishers xe. | ; Dept. 23 -W— 35 East Wacker Drive, Chicago | Peon — Peer Bese reerarrrnnee § 22 —eeeeEeEeEeEeEee—e -—s — ie ee —s es ae eee es J ion Vol, 24, Number 6; September 1935 PP ei A-89 [Continued from page 204] Dean James E. Russell, twenty-five years ago. Teachers are gradually learning this lesson. Idealists and individualists by nature and training, they frequently fail to realize their dreams because they lack the essential qualities of leadership and fail to realize the importance of organized effort. Adequate financial support is impera- tive for any effective educational pro- gram. Schools cannot meet the complex needs of modern life without it nor can professional organizations of teachers work effectively unless they have it.— T. D. Martin, director, Membership Di- vision, National Education Association. Horace Mann _biography—Pro- fessor E. I. F. Williams of Heidelberg College, Tiffin, Ohio, who for several years has been gathering source mate- rials on Horace Mann and who gave an illustrated lecture on the subject at the meeting of the Horace Mann League in February, has announced a biography to appear in time for the 1937 celebration. In cooperation with the federal Office of Education, 14 communities distributed thruout the United States have started gathering data in a youth census. This survey will determine how many young people between 16 and 24 years of age are unemployed, as well as facts about their education, work experi- ence, wages earned, and how they spend their leisure time. The Connecticut Teacher for June 1935 reports that a fourth year has been added to the course for the preparation of elementary teachers in the normal schools at Willimantic, Danbury, and New Haven. A timely and generous act—The legislature of Colorado took high hon- ors by providing a pension for Mrs. Mary C. C. Bradford, president of the NEA in 1918, state superintendent of Colorado for many years. Feed the children—Ninety thou- sand public-school children of New York City, who had been on relief last year, had their free lunches continued during the Summer vacation. “The participation of women in community life” is the theme of the 1935 yearbook of the National Asso- ciation of Deans of Women. This year- book contains the proceedings of the 19th annual meeting of the Deans of Women held in Atlantic City, February 1935. Addresses by such civic leaders as Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dr. Mary E. Woolley, Mrs. Mary Beard, and Dean Virginia Gildersleeve are contained in The Life Membership emblem of the National _ Education Association has become a valued symbol among educational leaders. It suggests a permanent interest in the profession, an abiding professional - spirit. } _——" . 7 ing feds 4 . — \ the proceedings. The yearbook is sent ty members of the Department of Deans of Women and may be purchased by nop. members at $1.50 per copy, from the headquarters office at 1201 16th St, N. W., Washington, D. C. Terry-Robinson Bill for the Re. financing of School District Indeb. edness—On August 15, Senate Bill No, 3123 by Senator Robinson of Arkansas. after previous passage by the Senate, was passed by unanimous vote by the House of Representatives. This act authorizes the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to make loans not to exceed $10,000,000 to school districts to refinance outstand- ing indebtedness or obligations incurred prior to the enactment of this act for the construction of school buildings or for the maintenance and operation of schools. Under this act, therefore, both bonded indebtedness and current, or floating, indebtedness are subject to re- financing. The conditions under which debts can be refinanced are left largely to the discretion of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, and the interest rate shall not exceed 4 percent. Loans may be made not to exceed 33 years. It is known that there are at least 263 school districts in 23 states that are in default on bonded indebtedness, the total bonds \ ~ 9 ‘ THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES \EMBERSHIP_ a \ . | . a OT i .. - bia / y / . . an ® ce 2 Pe oe / 4 ie. *S ew. km \ anni: hie, y y, / te \ ites. we S 2 a ow 2 / / 4 Life Members receive The Journal, Research Bulletins and annual Vol- ume. The deferred pay- ~ ment plan puts this ideal membership within the reach of every true teacher. Use the blank below today. “ *, Mr. WILLARD E. GIVENS, Executive Secretary 1201 Sixteenth Street, Washington, D. C. Dear Mr. Givens: Please enrol me as a Life Member of the National Education Association on the deferred payment plan—ten an- nual payments of $10 each. I will send my first payment of $10 on (date) certificate, card and pin and my copies of the NEA publications to me at the address indicated below. Kindly send my Life Membership Mention THe JouRNAL when writing our advertisers The Journal of the National Education Association jnvo Nt to ans of y Non- Mm. the h St, e Re. debt. ill No, ansas, , Was House 10rizes ration 10,000 Stand- curred Ct for 1gS or on of , both it, or to re- which argely uction terest Loans $. It is school lefault bonds ciation involved amounting to approximately $200,000,000. In addition, there are school districts with at least $50,000,000 of non-bonded debt in a more or less dis- tressed condition. Senator Robinson and Representative Terry both made it plain to the House and Senate Committees on Banking and Currency that $10,000,000 included in this bill is intended only to carry on operations until the next session of Con- gress in January 1936. At that time, if there is sufficient demand for funds, they have announced that additional funds will be requested. This act constitutes point 4 of the legislative program sponsored by the National Committee for Federal Emer- gency Aid for Education, of which James H. Richmond was Chairman, and James W. Cammack, Jr., Secretary, dur- ing the 1934 session of Congress. During the present session, Dr. Sidney B. Hall is Chairman, and Mr. Cammack is again Secretary. Representative Terry introduced a similar bill, which was never voted upon, during the Seventy-third Congress. In the early part of the present session he introduced a bill authorizing the Recon- struction Finance Corporation to ap- propriate $300,000,000 for the refinanc- ing of school debts. Later it was found that a bill for $10,000,000 could be en- acted without the approval of the Budget Director, and it was decided to reduce the amount requested and later seek additional funds after the operation of the act had been tested. Senator Robin- son assisted Representative Terry in taking the matter up directly with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and with the President, obtaining the approval of both. Senator Robinson in- troduced a bill in the Senate, which was passed on July 29, and immediately transmitted to the House. The bill is now ready for the President’s signature, which is fully expected at an early date. The National Education Association is grateful indeed to Senator Robinson and Representative Terry for the excellent work they have done in securing the pas- sage of this important piece of legisla- tion. Mr. Terry comes from the Fifth Congressional District of Arkansas [Lit- tle Rock]. Full particulars for procedure in the matter of obtaining loans will be an- nounced by the National Education Association as soon as the information is available from the federal government. “Reading for Fun” is to be the theme of the 1935 Book Week, Novem- Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 Who Will Pay the Doctor the Nurse and the Board Bill —When You Are Sick or Injured? This is the question you must decide, and you are deciding it right now—whether you will continue to carry the risk of financial loss and embarrassment in time of need, or whether you will let T.C.U. assume the risk and share the burden when the loss comes. Bad Luck Hits 1 Out of 5 Teachers Every Year It is an actual fact, proven by the records, that every year one out of five teachers suffers enforced idleness through Sickness, Accident or Quarantine. fifth teacher this year. You may be that unlucky Why take the risk of being compelled to use up your savings, or to run into debt, to carry you through a period of enforced idleness, when the T.C.U. stands ready to help bear that burden? What the T.C.U. Will Do for You The Teachers Casualty Underwriters is a national organization of teachers for teachers. For the small cost of less than a nickel a day, it will assure an income when you are sick or quarantined, or when you are accidentally injured. and Hospital Benefits. “‘Your letter, coming by air mail, reached me just four days after my claim left California. It cer- tainly looked like a blue bird to me after three weeks of severe illness with attendant expense of physician and substitute at school. Your absolute fairness, extraordinary promptness and friendly concern for my welfare have greatly encouraged me during the weary days of trying to creep back to normal health again.’’—Mrs. Ethel S. Johnson, Sacramento, Cal. It will also pay you Operation These Teachers Know “| was thoroughly discouraged when stricken with my recent iliness. 1! had borrowed money to at- tend school, but this was not enough to even begin to meet my expenses while ill. imagine my re- lief and pleasure when | received your substantial check. Now | can make a payment and finish pay- ing the rest of the bill later.’’—Pauline Johndrow, Depauville, N. Y ee GEE SEE GERD GED GED GEES GENS GHD GED GED GED GEES GED GED GED GD ao Send Your Name ! Free Information Coupon No Obligation - +e U — T.C.U. Building, zincoln, Nebraska. Just fill out and mail the coupon. We will then ‘ . ‘ > tiv ne send you full particulars of how we protect teach- | a aa cies cae ee ge en meno 8 — | ers. Please do it today. UG _— > | Teachers Casualty /! U d it | DEBI. onc qcenngeatetenswtongee acess — o< - | n erwri ers | This coupon pl..ces the sender under no obligation) | 651 T.C.U. Bidg. Shbecies Mette bce cn db dette didn tl dette 4 ber 17-23. A new poster and leaflet of suggestions for Book Week exhibits and programs will be ready this month and may be secured for 25¢ from the Na- tional Association of Book Publishers, 347 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. A banquet honoring Miss Agnes Samuelson, newly elected president of the National Education Association, was given in Des Moines, July 25, by the Iowa State Teachers Association. Greet- ings from headquarters were extended by S. D. Shankland, executive secretary of the Department of Superintendence. St. Louis has been chosen as the Mention Tue JourNAL when writing our advertisers convention city for the 1936 meeting of the Department of Superintendence, February 22 to 27. Officers of the Department of Ele- mentary School Principals for 1935- 36 are: President, Harley W. Lyon, Pasadena; Ist vicepresident, M. Emma Brookes, Cleveland; 2nd v. p., Ira M. Kline, White Plains, N. Y.; 3rd v. p., Edythe J. Brown, South Bend, Ind.; 4th v. p., Irvin A. Wilson, La Grange, Ill.; 5th v. p., Mrs. Margaret M. Smith, Denver; execu- tive committee: Mrs. Edith B. Joynes, Norfolk ; Cassie F. Roys, Omaha; Earl R. Laing, Detroit ; Mason A. Stratton, Atlantic City; life member- ship division, Herbert C. Hansen, director, Chicago. [Cont. on page A-92] A-91 COMPLETE PRINTING SERVICE JUDD & DETWEILER INCORPORATED WASHINGTON, D. C. [Cont. from page A-91] Dr. Howard A. Dawson, who from 1926 to 1934 was director of research in the Arkansas State Department of Edu- cation, was recently appointed Assistant Director, Research Division, National Education Association of the United States. In his new position Dr. Dawson will have special charge of problems of public education in rural areas and will look after the interests of the Depart- ment of Rural Education. He has made outstanding contribu- tions to the welfare of rural schools and to the field of rural education. In 1928 to 1931 he was the head of the rural- school reorganization program in Arkan- sas, one of the most intensive and exten- sive programs of its kind carried on in recent years. He made studies and drew up countywide plans which resulted in the establishment of over 600 consolidated school centers thru which the highschool enrolment in Arkansas was increased by one-third in two years. His work in this respect has become widely known thru the publication of his Financial and Ad- ministrative Needs of the Public Schools of Arkansas and several magazine ar- ticles. He was also the author of a state equalization plan in that state for the benefit of the rural schools and the au- A-92 240 pages TEACHER AND PUBLIC The Eighth Yearbook—1934 Department of Classroom Teachers This practical volume tells you what to tell the public about the modern school, how to tell it, and where to find additional publicity helps. selected list of references follows each chapter. ORDER NOW DEPARTMENT OF CLASSROOM TEACHERS National Education Association 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W. Washington, D. C. thor of the 1931 school code of Arkansas. Prior to 1931 he did some very effective work in the improvement of the program of rural-school supervision in Arkansas. In 1929 with Dean W. S. Taylor of the University of Kentucky and other mem- bers of the Arkansas State Department of Education, he worked out a new pro- gram of studies for the rural highschools of Arkansas and a new program of teacher training for highschool teachers. Perhaps Dr. Dawson’s best known work is his Satisfactory Local School Units, which is one of the most authori- tative books in this important field of rural-school administration. In the early part of 1934, United States Commissioner of Education George F. Zook, called Dr. Dawson to Washington to set up a plan for the administration of rural-school aid by the Federal Emergency Relief Adminis- tration. His work in that respect, thru the Office of Education, resulted in sub- stantial relief for rural schools in thirty- three states. During that time, he was also adviser in research and legislation for the National Committee on Federal Emergency Aid for Education. All who have heard his testimony before com- mittees in the Congress know that the cause of rural education has in him an Mention THE JouRNAL when writing our advertisers ve (Second Printing) $1.00 per copy A © informed and diligent advocate in the nation’s capital. During the year 1934-35, Dr. Dawson was attached to the United States Office of Education as Consultant in School Administration and Finance. While act- ing in that capacity, he conducted an investigation of the financial emergency in rural schools which attracted nation- wide attention and which was published under the title The Financial Situation in Rural-School Districts and Small In- dependent School Districts, 1934-35. He has served as a member of, or con- sultant to, educational commissions in South Carolina, West Virginia, and Ken- tucky. He also served as a special con- sultant to the National Study of School Finance and as a member of the Na- tional Conference on the Financing of Education. Dr. Dawson holds the degree of doctor of philosophy in the fields of school ad- ministration and rural economics from George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, Tenn. His educational experi- ence has included many phases of pub- lic education, ranging from one-room schools to professorships in the Uni- versity of Florida, University of Arkan- sas, Arkansas State Teachers College, and Pennsylvania State College. The Journal of the National Education Association Sti tion V of the Edito Stude Stude perio Scho Jour: socia stud cils, like, Stud the ¢ be si scr] grol yeal Edt N. cag cer dre toy cer pa. ted dr Student Leader is a new publica- jon which is to serve as the official organ of the National Association of Student fditors, the National Association of Student Government Officers, and the Student Graphic Arts Society. This new periodical, the successor to Vitalized School Journalism, is an activity of the Journal of the National Education As- sociation. Ideas of especial interest to student editors, leaders of student coun- cils, home-rooms, classes, clubs, and the like, will be featured. Sample copies of Student Leader and information about the organizations which it represents will be sent upon request. Price of single sub- scription is $1 per year; club rates to groups of ten or more persons, 75¢ per year. Address: Student Leader, National Education Association, 1201 16th St., N. W., Washington, D. C. Disarmament has begun in a Chi- cago elementary school. At a special ceremony, representatives of 2000 chil- dren from the Ryerson School burned toy pistols, guns, and sling shots. The ceremony was the culmination of a cam- paign launched by the local parent- teacher association to discourage chil- dren from playing with toy weapons. Self-help cooperatives—Utah is engaged in what is said to be the first attempt of a state government to set up and operate a system of self-help co- operatives for the aid of the unemployed based upon production for use, as the result of a law passed by its recent legis- lature. More than forty cooperatives, representing approximately 4000 fami- lies, or 20,000 persons, on relief, have been organized during the two months the system has been operating. Briefly the measure provides that the coopera- tives shall be nonstock, nonprofit organ- izations confined to the production and consumption of goods by the members and to the barter of goods with other cooperatives —The New Republic, July 10, 1935. Libraries in Illinois—On July 3, Governor Horner of Illinois signed an act to appropriate $600,000 for the pur- chase of books and periodicals for ap- proximately 270 public libraries in the state. Book funds of Illinois libraries had been reduced more than 50 percent dur- ing the last four years while the use of libraries increased 20 percent. The New York University Divi- sion of General Education plans to establish this fall a system of public forums in communities in New York and surrounding states for the discussion of current public questions. Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 THE JOURNAL is eager to have the names of highschools in which there are courses either in home architecture or landscape gardening, also the names of the instructors who are responsible for these courses. “A militarist,” observes Judge, “is just a man who is always ready to lay down your life for his country.” The Fourteenth Yearbook of the Department of Elementary School Principals, entitled “Socializing Ex- periences in the Elementary School,” has been mailed to members. The volume deals with those types of school activities which often have been considered extra- curriculum, but which are now coming into their own as essential parts of the curriculum itself. It may be ordered from the Department, 1201 16th St., N. W., Washington, D. C., for $2 per single copy and at a discount in quantity lots. Kilpatrick to prepare JoURNAL series—William H. Kilpatrick, pro- fessor of education, Teachers College, Columbia University, whose address at Denver, “The School and the Present Situation,” was one of the most popular of the convention, has promised to pre- pare for THE JouRNAL a series of articles dealing with the curriculum, Martin F, O’Connor, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Federation, 1934-35, was presented with a life mem- bership in the NEA by the board of di- rectors of the Federation, April 20, 1935. The presentation was made by Henry Lester Smith, then president of the NEA. A joint committee of the American Library Association, the National Edu- cation Association, and the National Council of Teachers of English has com- piled a list of 1000 Books for the Senior High School Library. This book of 96 pages, price $1, can be secured from the American Library Association, 520 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago. It is a re- vision of an earlier publication of 500 Books for a Senior High School Library. Membership goal for 1935-36—At least a ten percent increase in every state! Samuel E. Fleming, NEA Director for the state of Washington, writes: “Our slogan for the State of Washington is ‘A fifty percent increase in membership!’ ”’ A highschool of music and art is being established in New York City. Students will be required to pass the reg- ular highschool entrance before they will be eligible to take the special test for admission to the music and art high- school. The school will give a regular academic course besides its special cul- tural training. [Cont. on page A-94] Mention THE JouRNAL when writing our advertisers WORKING AND HAPPY—USING THE STANFORD SPELLER by John C. Almack, Ph.D., Stanford University, and Elmer H. Staffelbach, Ph.D., State College, San Jose We are pleased to announce that a new 1935 Edition of The Stanford Speller will be available for use at the opening of schools in September. The new edition contains a complete dictionary of all the words for Grades 4 to 8 inclusive, with no increase in price. Other important improvements are included in the new edition. Write for information about other PUPIL-ACTIVITY TEXTBOOKS: Essentials of Everyday English Lennes Essentials of Arithmetic Art Appreciation Textbooks Brothers New York San Francisco Laidlaw Chicago Begin the NEW school year with our own NEW COURSE IN PICTURE STUDY. ‘The Perry Pictures A picture for each month in the school year. A Leaflet describing any picture in the Course sent FREE to the teacher with an order for a TWO CENT Size Perry Pic- ture, 5% x 8, for each pupil in the class, not less than 25 in all. Also, use the Perry Pictures in teaching Language, Literature, History, and Geography. ONE CENT EACH for 50 or more. Size 3 x 3%. TWO CENTS EACH for 25 or more. Size 5% x 8. Catalogue of 1600 miniature illustrations for 15 cents in coin or stamps. ThePerm Pictures C yyarace, Mane, With this Course any teacher can interest pupils in beautiful pictures. Miss Bowles Joshua Reynolds BOOK MANUSCRIPTS WANTED on all subjects. Write for free booklet. MEADOR PUBLISHING COMPANY 470 Atlantic Ave. Dept. J Boston, Massachusetts (Tiisa SAVE wow CATALOG Y TO Zon CREATION of NE Wand TEXT ond REFERENCE The latest and greatest USED BOOKS Websters, backed —_ Used books serve as wellas new. century of leaders’ and representing the Qver One Million Volumes highest modern schol- fetablished 1902 arship. Just completed MPANY at a cost of $1,300,000. MT EIONG hes = Dect = Gatuaes Orie WEBSTER’S NEW INTERNATIONAL —— DICTIONARY, Second Edition LWwe ALSO BUY BOOKS | William Allan Neilson, President of Smith College, Editor in Chief, heads the most author- itative staff of editors ever organized. Contains 600,000 Entries The greatest amount of information wont gon into one volume. 122,000 Entries not fou in any other dictionary. 12,000 Terms Illustrated. Magnificent Plates in Color and Half Tone. Thousands of encyclopedic articles wonder- fully rich in information. 35,000 Geographical Entries. 13,000 Biographical Entries. Exhaustive treatment of synonyms and anto- nyms. Definitions absolutely accurate yet easy to understand. ‘Thousands of Etymolo- gies never before published. Pronunciation fully and exactly recorded. 3350 Pages. New from Cover to Cover. Write for free illustrated pam- phlet containing specimen pages, color plates, and full information. G. & C. MERRIAM CO. Springfield, Mass. BALOPTICONS A B&L Balopticon will prove the most economical as well as the most efficient, means of teaching visually. There is a B & L Lantern Slide or Opaque Balopticon for every still projec- tion purpose. Write for a cata- log. Bausch & Lomb Optical Co., 684 St. Paul Street, Roch- ester, N. Y. SOCIALIZING EXPERIENCES in the ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Fourteenth Yearbook 1935 Invaluable as a textbook for teachers and principals This book is just off the press Price $2.00 Discounts on Quantities ORDER NOW Department Elementary School Principals of the National Education Association 1201 Sixteenth Street Washington, D. C. AS a Ne ee EDUCATIONAL FILMS Travel — Economics — Geography (Rental Free) DYNAMIC PICTURES 729 Seventh Ave. New York City Mention THE JouRNAL when writing our advertisers [Cont. from page A-93] Accidents don’t happen—they are caused. Since 1927, the number of adults killed in automobile accidents has jp. creased 29 percent. But in the same time, the number of fatal accidents involving preschool children has decreased 214 percent, and the number in which school children have been killed has decreased 34.6 percent. Is it too many?—Three thousand doctor’s dissertations and 12,000 mas- ter’s theses each year prompt the U. §. Office of Education to observe in its bul- letin on Graduate Study in Universities and Colleges in the United States {bulle- tin 1934, No. 20]: At this rate, within the next ten years 30,000 doctoral dissertations and 120,000 master’s theses will appear on the scene to add to the sum total of human knowledge. To what extent is it possible to originate or to set up genuine research problems? How many of these so- called “research problems” are pseudo prob- lems? How many theses topics are of even secondary significance? Out of this great mass of organized knowledge and information how much is fundamental? How much is worthy of application? The third annual Summer In- stitute for Social Progress was held July 6-20 at Wellesley, Mass. “Social Planning in an Age of Conflict” was the general theme for this year’s lectures, discussions, and round tables, which were participated in by 130 men and women active in industry, business, and the professions. Frederick A. Owen, president and founder of the F. A. Owen Publishing Company, passed away July 18, 1935. “The Arms Inquiry,” a reprint from The Christian Century for May 15, 1935, will be found useful by classes which study Senator Nye’s article on muni- tions investigations, p185-92 of this is- sue of THE JouRNAL. Copies of “The Arms Inquiry” may be secured at 10¢ a copy [$7.50 per 100] from The Christian Century, 440 S. Dearborn St., Chicago. World Federation meeting—An account of the Oxford meeting of the World Federation of Education Associa- tions will appear in an early JouRNAL. President Agnes Samuelson and Past President Henry Lester Smith were among those who represented the NEA at this meeting. The World Federation was organized in 1923 under the auspices of the National Education Association. The Credit Union Packet pre- pared by the National Education Asso- ciation has been widely used by teachers groups interested in forming credit unions and also by civics classes in high- schools and colleges. Packets may be The Journal of the National Education Association eat bul- ities ulle- ),000 ster’s ) the xtent 1uine » So- rob- even mass how orthy In- held ocial ; the ures, hich and and hing from 935, hich uni- $ is- ‘The O¢ a stian ago. —An the yCia- NAL. Past were NEA ition vices tion. pre- \Sso- hers redit \igh- r be ation secured from the NEA, 1201 16th St., N. W., Washington, D. C. at 50 cents each. Cash must accompany all orders for $1 or less. NEA complimented—The old-age pension plan of the government starts out with $15 a month by the federal gov- ernment and not less than $15 a month by the state. This plan is to be gradually changed into a plan by which the laborer pays into the retirement fund 3 percent of his salary, and the employer duplicates this amount. This provides a retirement fund to begin at the age of sixty-five. The full amount of retirement will de- pend on the salary received and on the length of service. This follows almost exactly the plan worked out by the National Education Association seven years ago except that in the case of the Association 5 percent of the worker’s salary goes into the fund and this is matched by the Association. It was the aim of the NEA officials not only to work out a plan that would meet adequately the retirement needs of the staff, but one which it could recommend wholeheartedly to schools, colleges, and other groups. It is a compliment to the Association that the government, after careful study, has decided on a plan so similar to that worked out and strongly recommended by the National Education Association. At the closing session of the Den- ver convention, blanks, similar to those which have been used in the JouRNAL checkup for many years, were distrib- uted. Of the blanks filled out, 649 indi- cated the final program—at which Sena- tor Nye and Governor McNutt spoke— as the favorite. [See pages 185 and 183.] This was nearly four times as many votes as any other program received. Dates to be remembered— Sept. 8-17—Seventh American Scientific Congress to be held in Mexico City. For infor- mation address Henry B. Ward, Smithsonian Institution Building, Washington, D. C. Oct. 12-19—Seventh Pan American Child’s Congress to be held in Mexico City. Further information may be obtained from Dr. Alfonso Pruneda, Department of Public Health, Mexico City. Nov. 1-2—School Health Conference to be held in Philadelphia under the auspices of the Department of School Health and Physical Education of the National Education Associa- tion. Address correspondence to Room 828, 50 West 50th Street, New York, N. Y. Group study and faculty meetings —‘Small minds discuss persons; aver- age minds discuss events; large minds discuss ideas.” To what type of mind does the average faculty meeting appeal? I really doubt if we should have faculty Vol. 24, Number 6; September 1935 meetings to discuss persons. I wonder how many of us teachers have a charac- ter that is strong enough to undergo a barrage similar to what we often deal out to students. I believe that every student has the right to make his own impression on each teacher with whom he comes in contact. As for events, we seldom need a faculty meeting to discuss events. Statistical information is much more satisfactorily handled thru a bulle- tin. But we do need meetings to discuss ideas, to keep in touch with the new trends in education. We teachers cannot possibly keep up with the newer move- ments in education except thru reading and discussion. Faculty meetings do af- ford a wonderful opportunity for such discussions and do inspire professional reading. We would like our faculty meet- ings much better if they were of this type—Mrs. P. E. Shotwell in Texas Outlook. This issue of THE JOURNAL is espe- cially rich in ideas suitable for faculty discussion. Its contents are made up of three big items; the Association itself, pages 171-4; the Denver meeting, pages 176-195; and the special feature “Going Forward during 1935-36,” pages 199- 202. If the NEA is to be “you yourself in action in cooperation with your fellows, giving not only your money but your time and your heart to the building of a better profession,” then an inspiring and profitable faculty meet- ing can be based on pages 171-4. The 31 points mentioned by Secretary Givens, page 172, might be used as a checklist in faculty discus- sion, noting the items on which you and your school could work this year. As a member of the NEA, how well informed are you, as to its services? What facts in “A Year of Sub- stantial Achievement” are new to you? The leader of your faculty meeting might ask for short statements by various teachers on the 10 achievements listed on pages 173-4. In the Denver meeting material, John K. Norton’s address summarizes the work of the Joint Commission in these critical years. What three specific points are made in the counsel which he offers? How has the NEA acted on the final recommendation of the Joint Com- mission ? In view of the critical situation in Europe at present, Senator Nye’s address, “The Muni- tions Investigation,” is most timely. It is suit- able for class use in civics, history, social science, and other courses. Note the questions on page 192. Are you acquainted with your state NEA director listed on page 196? What other NEA officers do you know? An interesting project would be the prepara- tion of a poster similar to that on page 197, giving facts as to local school enrolment, for your school bulletin board or for distribution during American Education Week. Mention THe JourRNAL when writing our advertisers A Rich Source of Practical Material For Teaching Health HYGEIA ) Ye HEALTH MAGAZ/ Booklet free with HYGEIA. Offer below. Can you use a live, attractive health magazine in your health and hygiene classes? Do you need interesting, au- thoritative articles on health for outside readings, reports and .class discussions? Do you want more health plays? HYGEIA, the Health Magazine, effec- tively meets these needs. As a publication of the American Medical Association, HYGEIA speaks withauthority on health matters. It is filled every month with live material that can help you vitalize your health teaching and make it more interesting for both you and your pupils. HYGEIA’S articles, written in simple, nontechnical language, are entertaining as well as informative. Notable series of articles recently or now appearing in- clude one on sex education, another on teeth, children’s stories about microbes, a child’s first physiology, medical detec- tive stories, and some curious stories of health science. Delightful tales, verses and pictures teach appropriate health lessons to younger pupils. And health plays suitable for school use do their part to promote better health. Here is a wealth of material which you can use to advantage throughout the school year. “SCHOOL AND HEALTH”’ This department, edited by Dr. J. Mace Andress, is a regular feature of HYGEIA. Teachers from all over the country, from kindergarten to college, tell how they have solved various health teaching problems. ew health books for teachers and pupils are reviewed each month, and bibliographies are furnished. Here is practical, up to date aid for everyday classwork. Special Offer to Teachers 6 MONTHS OF HYGEIA and ‘145 Questions $] and Answers on Health’’ The ‘‘Questions and Answers’’ in this 64-page booklet, reprinted from HYGEIA, formed a part of the exhibit of the American Medical Association at A Century of Progress. to will find them helpful for reference and for per- sonal use. Use this coupon for special offer. AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, 535 North Dearborn Street, Chicago. Enclosed is $1.00 for a 6 months’ subscription to HYGEIA =