"News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- tinuously engaged in research and study to improve American schools. WASHINGTON. 6,.D. Co ew | lt eyY £3 Fv Y fone = EP 201946 oe { % | MATIUWAL CUMbAin nooUbIAHON | Washington, D.C., September __. — Rural communities throughout the nation | RELEASE “EEK OF OCTOBER 4 will observe Rural School Charter Day, Friday, October 4, the anniversary of the White House Conference on Rural Education, when a Charter of Education for Rural Children was drafted. Community gatherings and school programs will focus their attention on the educational needs of rural children and youth and make plans to improve the schools of tho nation, In a proclamation issued by Mrs, Pearl A. Wanamaker, president, National Education Association, and state superintendent of public instruction, Olympia, Washington, all school personnel and citizens are called upon to participate in Charter Day activities, The proclamation urges each person to become informed of the work, program and problems of our rural school and renew devotion to the cause of public education, Improvement of rural education to meet the needs of each rural child as set forth in tho Charter, will be discussed in ceremonies and public meetings which will feature Charter Day. Many schools will display large copies of the Charter which epitomizes in ten statements the job ahead in meeting tho educational needs of rural children and youth. The Charter of Education for Rural Children was drafted following the White House Conference on Rural Education held October 3-5, 1944 by the National Education Association at the invitation of the President and Mrs. Roosevelt. The Confsrence, attended by more than 200 persons representing every phase of rural life and every state, studied the pressing problems of the public schools for rural children. (MORE) Charter Day — 2 According to the National Education Association, more than half of the children of school age live in rural areas and more than half the teachers are working in rural schools, "Many of the best and poorest schools in the nation are found in rural areas," stated the late President Roosevelt before the White House Conference. "When, how- ever, rural schools as a class are comp3red with urban schools as 4 class it is an inescapable conclusion that millions cf rural children are seriously handicapped in the educational opportunities availiable to them," The average high school graduate in rural schools has had one year less schooling in his twelve years than the average urban graduate on the basis of length of school term, states Dr. Howard A. Dawson, director of the division of rural service of the NEA, the professicnal organization of teachers. To further add to tho educational inequalities of rural education, ‘the average spent per pupil in average daily attendance in rural schools is $84.41 as compared with $131.83 in urban schools, continued Dr, Dawson. Though 86 percent of tho nation's school buildings are in rural school systems, the value of school property per pupil in rural areas is but $200 while the average in urban ereas is $429, said Dr. Dawson, "Rural communities throughout the nation must take inventory of their) educa~ tional needs and achievements and plan further steps to improve educational opportunities in their local communities and states and in the nation," insisted Dr. Dawson. os Brg Re i P faawag ee vA | (z SEP Q 1946 AdTiota CUULAL iyi, AboubiAliiye | Oe) Mews from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- tinuously engaged in research and study to improve American schools. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. Office of Press and Regio Relations Vb Vee A552 Thyede 7 ’ : . inv DI 4552, Ext. Rolease Papers, Monday, Oct. 21 NEA. ETHICS COMIITTEE OPPOSES STRIKES BUT WARNS TE SALARY ADJUSTMENTS fe 7 TTAIM DP MANT BAP MTAFE TOA MH ATOOT INTOT RAAT YT mrt UST BE MADE FOR TEACEERS TO AVERT WHOLESALE EXIT Washington, D. C., Oct. 20 - =- The Ethics Committee of the National Mducation Association, following a series of week-end conferences, today issued the following statement concerning teacher strikes: "The N.E.A. Ethics Committee recommends a cost of living adjust- ment in teacherst salaries. It reaffirms its position regarding the sanctity of teachers contracts. The Ethics Committee does not endorse breaking contracts by striking. However, the Ethics Committee warns that immediate consideration must be given to upward salary adjustments in countless communities in order to avert a wholesale withdrawal of trained teachers from the profession. "The N.E.A- Code of Ethics for Teachers provides that 'a contract once signed should be faithfully adhered to until it is dissolved by mutual consent* (Article III, Section A), but it also provides that 'teachers should insist upon a salary schedule commensurate with the social demands made upon itt (Article ITI, Section 5), ith several hundred teachers on strike at the present and MORE NEA. ETHICS COMMITTEE (CONT.) several thousand pupils out of classrooms because of strikes in school ms over the nation, the Ethics Committee expresses deep concern over the outlook for education as living costs skyrocket and as the antiquated school tax stru The committee, headed by Dr. Virgil M. Rogers, superintendent of schools, Battle Creek, Mich., urged administrators and local and state leaders to bring to the attention of their communities, school boards and legislatures the eravity of the situation and the distressing implications for American democracy. Oth er members of the committee include Miss Grace Campbell, a classroom teacher, Spokane, Wash.; Miss Marie Ernst, a classroom teacher, St. Louis, Moe; Mrs. Lillian Gray, State College, < e, Calif.; and W. H. Lemmel, superintens dent of schools, Baltimore, Md. Dr. T. D. Martin, director of the N.Z.A. member- ship division, is advisor to the committee, ? News prom the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- tinuously engaged in research and study to improve American schools. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. aR ame. Eee ets Oy AER bee §=6SEP 191946 om] ATIORAL Spain a j Tor Release: After 4:30 pm (55 yD friday r, Sept, 13, 1946 ee we ee ee ee For further information, call Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson DI 4552; Ext. 48 EDUCATION ASSOCIATION TAKES STEPS TO MunT A CRISIS IN AMERICAN EDUCATION ema rT ee ee ee ee (A ate tener? to the Press and Radio by the new Commission on Teacher Education and sional Standa ras) n a democracy has always ranked as one of the major concerns in thi ] Despite arguments over techniques and details, he United s ] We scogniz iversal public education as the basis of its peacetime industrial prosperit n s wartime technical achievements as well is of its devotion to the ideals of freedon, j and equalliy. public education is today menaced by g shortage of teachers, a sh ge so acute that not only will some rural areas be without schools, but students from city schools ha xen sent home for lack of instructors, To meet this crisis, the National Education Associa has established a Commission on Teacher Education and Profession ane The basic facts of the emergency appear to be the following: A wat~time shortage in the supply of teachers at the present time is still increasing and is greater than during any year of the war. The shortage promises to continue through an indefinite number of years unless it is promptly met more realistically. Last year 108,000 teachers with substandard emergency certificates were employed in Awerican schools. During the war period 60,000 positions were dropped. This year, the number of emergency teachers, not yet summarized nationally, will be much greater. For example, Washington, D.C., expects to open school with 200 emergency teachers in the elementury white schools. Arlington County, Varginia, has sent several hundred children home for whom there were no teachers, idinnesota is operating with 3000 fewer teachers than it employed in 1940-41, Maine is seek— ing retired teachers from the city of New York to fill its vacancies. Ij Aiabama, 30% of the teachers in 1946-47 will hold emergency certificates. Tuxas is 5400 teachers short at the opening of the year, Ohio needs 2031 teachers at once to open its schools, Similar figures were quoted to the Cummission by Dr. Wallard E, Gavens,: Esecutive Sscretary of the National Education Association, for practically every state of the Union. The greatest shortage in rural areas and in small villages is in elementary schools. Towns and cities lack secondary teachers in many specialized fields. Since Pearl Harbor, at least 350,000 public school teachers have left the pro= fession, As a result, in addition to unfilled positions and substandard preparation, the schools are now operating with more inexperienced teachers than in many years. The average annual salary of teachers and principals has increased from $1470 in 1940-41 to about §2000 last year. This increase has not kept up with the rise in living costs and has proved entirely insufficient to attract the required number of persons into teaching. The averase salary now is below that of many unskilled laborers, It compares unfavorably, for example, with the minimum salary of $2645 and the average salary of $4150 in federal professional positions. In 1945, the average salary of all federal employees in continental United States was $2595. Low salaries are only one of the factors in the situation of shortage wherein the profession is failing to attract a sufficient number of competent persons. At present, education cannot compete favorably for personnel with business, industry, civil service and éven military service, Cuntributing factors are housing shortages for married and unmarried teachers, increasing teaching loads, frustrating working conditions, and lack of normal social life. Teachers college enrollments are failing to recover sufficiontly fast from a war-time in f 50%. In fact, teachers? throughout the country are being pressed into service for 1946-47 education of students not planning t 8 At pres only one-half of the normal proportion to teach. The teaching profess eeds many fore ar has decreased seriously the proportions of men, te shortage in college and university personnel is also developing by an 1crecse of college enrollments ,000,000 colles war, the enrollments of graduate schools which prepared college teachers almost dried up completely, It wil! } rom 3 to 7 years for the f . f 1946-47 who are acher preparation to be ready for in our schools and Bes In the meantime a marked increas hool children also has begun in primary grades and will continue .to extend into higher grades, high schools, colleges, the result a marked inc: in birth rates that had begun even before war. mar - Bied. The Comission in its initial three-day session of organ ashing ton, of this problem anc take decisive s s immediately. The emergency in teacher supply 4 and preparation is now major crisis of our national life, Better, not poorer qualified, more, not fewer teachers, are needed to prepare elementary, secondary + and college students to meet and world problems that lie ahead of the United States, The Commission beli 3 at the following action must be taken: (1) Minimua aries sh ( started at much higher levels for inexperienced persons with four ars of college preparation, A 11 salaries should yield the equivalent of a $45 per week on a (2) Annual salary increase: W he second year of service and should continue with addi al experience and training, A level of at least $4000 should be reached in ten ys for college trained persons. (3) Traditional overloads must be reduced to preserve the health and morale To adjust school instruction to individual differences of ability, a teacher cannot change from ineffective mass instructive methods to more iffering abilities and needs, wnless the standard size els of classes is brought within the range of 25 - 30 pupils. Teachers in depar nental- ized schools, schools, cannot deal effectively with more than 100 per day in four, or most lass per day, plus the extra cirricular expected of them, (4 Our colleges and ive 5 mu. cease as soon as it is possible to admit for preparation and grat ;@ into the teaching profession persons with low ability. fF : 3 of high ability must be attracted into teaching by adequate salar mm school programs. 5) The mounit f our nation must realize quickly that they mist 4 more money on education as they do on everything else, Rising prices are the cost of construction, yet present buildings will not house tomorrow's avalanche of children, The defenses for war and peace begin in the primary grades and con- graduate schools, Education in large groups deprives children of tinue through individual opportunity, and mass regimentation deprives future citizens of oppor- tunities to practice the initiative and cooperative endeavors that appear to be promising hopes for a functional Democracy. Superior ducat s expensive, but not so costly as deterioration or recimentation, Further, since many of our most talented students do not co on to hicher education because of lack of finances, Commission recommends the extension of state scholarships to the most competent a a Wise social investment in talent. -5- (6) Opposition to adequate taxes for education mist be overcome, The bud- gets for education are a basic aigeran in citizenship and not a used up ex= penditure, We Speci about $2,500, 000,Rr 1.5% of our present national income on elementary and secondary educations England is spending about 2% of her national income on an expand ing pian of education. Tae U.S.S.R. is reported to be spending from 5 to 8% of her national income on education, Our nation's present educational budget needs to be increased speedily by $ to $2,000,000,qfrom local, state and federal sources in order to reestablish a teaching profession and to educate all of our children. Substantial federal subsidies only can fairly equalize the tax load for education on @ nationwide basis. Equalization cannot be offected otherwise. Unfcrtunately, the least money for schools is available in states and communities where ch-ldren are the most numerous, Rural life with over $ of the children is spending a scant 1/3rd of the nation's educational budget on them. The common trend of spending less money per stuient on teacher preparation than for other types of general and professional higher education must be remedied. Aasquate preparation for teaching requires professional libraries, campus and off campus laboratory schools, supervised practice teaching and interneships, psycho= educational clinice, graduato work, and more community contacts. Theso facilities require much more money than is now usually appropriated to teachers colleges, liberal arts colleges, and schools of education for teacher—preparing purposes, The average length of college preparation of all teachers should be lengthened to four and five years, (7) Effective tenure, retirement and tax legislation must be extended to all states and institutions. (8) In-service education of teachers is of prime importance, Teacher educating colleges and universities should provide consultant service which would give stimulation and growth for teachers in terms of their community and the children they teach. Such services cannot be rendered with present staff, and, if established, must be supported by additional funds. Ne (9) Affiliated commissions on teacher education and professional standards in each of the state education associations should be established at once. The National Commission on Teacher Education and Professional Standards plans a national campaign to present to the public the basic facts of the situation, the importance of the teacher to national effectiveness. It will appeal to business, to labor, and particularly to agricultural groups. It is prepared to show that although parents and their children have a passion for more and better education, they have not been acting fast enough to provide for it financially, In fact, the United States has permitted a crisis to develop which will require bold steps to avert a progressive deterioration of education during the next ten years. The problems which the Commission is studying are more particularly recruite- ment, guidance, selection, preservice education of elementury and secondary teachers, certification, placement. and induction of teachers, personal satisfactions and frustrations in teaching, salaries, tenure and retirement, securing public recognition for teaching standards, the education of faculty members in teacher= preparing institutions, finance, and basic research in all these areas. Officers of the new Commission, who have just been elected for 1946-47 ares Chairman, W. E, Peik, Dean, College of Education, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Vice Chairman, Miss M. Margaret Stroh, Executive Secretary, Delta Kappa Gamma society, Austin, Texas; Executive Secretary, Ralph McDonald, National Education Association, who also is Executive Secretary of the NEA Department of Highsr Education. The other members of the new Commission appointed by the Executive Committee of the N.E,A. are: L. Frazer Banks, Superintendent of Schools, Birmingham, Alabama; Miss Jean Armour MacKay, teacher, Highland Park, Michigan; Miss Dorothy McCuskey, State Curriculum Coordinator, State Department of Public Instruction, madison, Wisconsin; Miss C. warguerite worse, teacher, Cycarwator, Florida; Paul V. Sangren, President, Western Michigan College of Education, Kalamazoo, Michigan; C. O. ‘Williams, Director of Toacher Placement, Pennsylvania State College; T. uw. Stinnett, Executive Secretary, Arkansas Education Association, Little Rock, Arkansas ae f ii News prom the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- tinuously engaged in research and study to improve American schools. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. For Week of October 4, 1946 PR TT TT | | [i-t{hy Ary Y } le SEP 20196 0 =! WAV IM KY aati UAE} EDITORIAL == CHARTER DAY October 4 is a red-letter day in every rural community. It is Rural School Charter Day —» the day when schools and community groups take stock of the educa tion system and make plans for improvement. October 4 is the second anniversary of the White House Conference on Rural Education when more than 200 leaders from every state and representing avery phase of rural life met for three days to study the pressing problems of the public schools for rural children and youth. During the Conference, the late President Roosevelt said: "In three generations 80 percent of the total population will be direct descendants of those now living on farms in the United States, Thus, many of those who will be the leaders and citizens of our nation will be given thoir understand-~ ing and approciation of democracy in educational institutions in rural areas, "Many of the best and most of the poorest schools in the nation are found in our rural areas. When, however, rural schools are compared with urban schools as a class it is an inescapable conclusion that millions of rural children are seriously handicapped in tho educational opportunities available to them." It was following this Conference and the President's speech that the Charter of Education for Rural Children was adopted. Such a charter can remain just a collection of nice-sounding words, or it can be a goal on the horizon. But it can also be the standard of educational opportunity for every rural child. (MORE) Editorial —~ 2 To be such a standard, whic! suld be the birthright of every child, there must be a determined action program in overy community. Tho school board can do a part. It can fight for more money for the school program so that the teachers will be botter qualified and better paid, buildings will be better equipped, and the educational program broad enough to meet the needs of the children in a democracye But it takes more than determined enlightened schcolboarc, Every citizen, whether he is a paront or not, must resolve to work for the betterment of his school so that every child will be a centributing citizen in cur democracy, regardless of the part of the nation in which he went to scho Every citizen should contribute his effort to make the school the contur of the community and HIS school. Charter Day is more one day t otus attention on the schools but it should serve to stimulate continuous action to improve education. wWATIOWAL veen” U3 i/ News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The. National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are snstied in the patie. ar and Telephone District 4552 its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to ; advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- ., , WASHINGTON 6, D. C. tinvously engaged in research and study to improve American schools. From ee are Office For Release A.M, Papers For further details contact Monday, November 1, 1948 Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson American Education Week - 28th Observance November 7-13, 1948 "Strengthening the Foundations of Our Freedom" National Education Association American Legion United States Office of Education ee National Congress of Parents and sis sigue 1] Fe. PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN has prepared the following statement on the responsibility of the American schools for “strengthening the foundations of our freedom": "The theme selected for American Education Week in 1948, ‘Strengthening the Foundations of Freedom,' could not be more timely. "Less than two centuries have passed since the foundations of our freedom were laid down. In that brief time our country has become a standard bearer of freedom. Today throughout the world people look to us for hope of peace and for guidance in the practice of democracy. "Today, as in the early days of the Republic, this places a grave responsi- bility upon our schools. The wise men who created this Nation recognized education as a foundation stone of freedom. With great, vision, they charged the teachers of the country tc 'proclaim liberty' as vigorously as they taught the 3 R's. "Through the years loyal men and women in their classrooms have maintained this vigilance. They have sought to give each succeeding generation a love for the American way of life. They have worked to inculcate both the inspiration and the knowledge necessary for the practice of democracy, "During this 28th annual observance of American Education Week, let us pause to recognize solemnly that our schools are still custodians of freedom. Let American Education Week be one of rededication to this heritage. "But let us remember that this is not a task for any single week or any single year. As citizens - as parents, teachers, or students - let us charge our- selves with the daily practice of democracy. Every child should learn at first hand not only its benefits, but also its duties. "Like the days of the founding fathers, this is a time which challenges our coming citizens to grow in stature and wisdom. It is they who for the future must strengthen the foundations of freedom at home and stand shoulder to shoulder with other freedom-loving peoples throughout the world. Let us pledge ourselves anew during this week to assure them the education and the opportunity which they need in this great endeavor." eee ia, 7, A + r News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and Telephone District 4552 its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- WASHINGTON 6, D. C. tinuously engaged in research and study to improve American schools From Press and Radio Office FOR RELEASE For ftrtherdetails contact A.M, Papers, Monday, Nov. 1, 1948 Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson Note to Editor: The complete text of the statement by President Truman, issued in connection with American Education Week, November 7-13, is enclosed on a separate page. WASHINGTON, D. C., OCT. 31 ~~ In a special American Education Week message, released tonight, President Truman urged the people of the United States to assure "our coming citizens" the opportunity they need to "strengthen the foundations of our freedom," The schools of the nation will begin on Sunday the 28th annual observance of American Education Week sponsored by the National Education Association, the Ameri-~ can Legion, the United States Office of Education, and the National Congress of Parents and Teachers. Officials of the National Education Association estimated that more than ten million people will visit the schools during the observance this year, which will focus attention on the responsibility of the American schools for "strengthening the foundations of our freedom." President Truman in his speech declared: "Like the days of the founding fathers, this is a time which challenges our coming citizens to grow in stature and wisdom, It is they who for the future must strengthen the foundations of freedom at home and stand shoulder to shoulder with other freedom-loving peoples throughout the world, Let us pledge ourselves anew during this week to assure them the education and the opportunity which they need in this great endeavor." ##t °" News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and Telephone District 4552 its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. advance the science and practice of education. _. tinuously engaged in research and stydy-t6"im L et! r) a, CH ba! 8 N 1 8 From Press and Radio Office yaa Sunday Papers, Nov For further details, contact | Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson Radio Release: 6 P.M., Saturday, Nov, 6, 1948 TEN-POINT NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PLATFORM TO STRENGTHEN SCHOOLS INCLUDES FEDERAL AID TO EDUCATION WASHINGTON, D. C., NOV. 6 -= Prompt consideration by the Slst Congress of federal aid to education is one plank in a 10-point platform which the National Education Association announced here tonight to "strengthen education in the United States during the coming year." Willard E. Givens, executive secretary of the association, released details of the program as the nation's schools prepared to receive ten million visitors during the annual observance of American Education Week which opens tomorrow. Joining with the National Education Association in sponsoring the week-long program to focus attention on the need for strengthening schools and colleges are the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, the United States Office of Education and the American Legion, President Truman, in an American Education Week statement, described the schools as "custodians of freedom." "This is a time," he added, "which challenges our coming citizens to grow in stature and wisdom. It is they who for the future must strengthen the foundations of freedom at home and stand shoulder to shoulder with other freedom- loving peoples throughout the world. Let us pledge ourselves anew during this week to assure them the education and the opportunity which they need in this great endeavor." Federal aid to education, Givens said, is essential "to remove the threat to our nation's security cayaed by millions of children who togey are denjed a fair chance to get a basic etusetion.® Conditions which the National Education Association regards as a threat to the nation's security were listed by Givens as follows: 4,000,000 children of school age are not enrolled in any school; 2,800,000 persons, 14 years of age and older, are illiterate; 8,197,000 persons, 14 years of age and older, have less than a fifth grade education; . ( MORE ) eS NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PLATFORM TO STRENGTHEN SCHOOLS 659,000 persons, about twice the number of combat divisions deployed in the South Pacific operations of World War II, were rejected solely for educational deficiencies; although 100,000 new elementary teachers will be needed annually for the next ten years, the output of our colleges which prepare teachers in 1948 was about 20,000 persons prepared for elementary school positions, of whom less than 12,000 were four-year college graduates; our public school systems are not being prepared to receive the 9,000,000 more children who are expected to be enrolled in 1957 than were enrolled in 1947. If the American principle of equal opportunity is to mean anything, he added, "it must mean that accident of birth in a poorer state should not deprive a child of educa- tional advantages. Education is too vital to the nation, as well as to the nation's children, to be denied or lost due to the inability of a state to provide it. The harmful effects of ignorance and its accompanying train of evils are not confined by state boundary lines." In addition to federal aid to education, the action program which NEA will seek to advance in the year ahead was listed by Givens as follows: 1. Preservation of Democracy. All schools have an obligation to teach the rights, privileges, and the responsibilities involved in living in a democracy. It is the responsibility of the schools to indoctrinate our youth in the American way of life so that they know it, believe in it, and live it continuously. We urge all members of the teaching profession to expose and obstruct the activities of all groups which have as their objective the undermining of the Constitution of the United States. 2, Education for World Understanding. We believe the teaching profession must accept the responsibility to educate our youth in international understanding, so they may have a basic preparation to face the problems of living in an inter- dependent world, The association urges that all schools provide for systematic instruction about the United Nations, its history, structure, purposes, accomplish- ments, and problems, We advocate that all teacher educational institutions provide instruction and experiences that will insure an opportunity to prospective teachers to acquire the attitudes and practices necessary to teach world understanding. 3. Reorganization of Administrative Units. Citizens of every state are urged to give serious attention to the reorganization of school districts into larger administrative units with sufficient resources and pupils to provide economically adequate educational opportunities for all. 4. Professional Standards. To insure competent teachers, the NEA urges adoption of these standards: a) The minimum educational qualification for all teachers shall be a bachelor's degree with an in-service educational requirement for additional work toward a master's degree or its equivalent; (b) Issuance of emergency certificates shall be discontinued; (c) Minimum salaries with adequate annual increments shall be established which recognize the services and responsi- bilities of the teacher and compensate for thorough professional training. 5. State and County School Administrators. We urge an upward revision of educational qualifications for state and county school adninistrators. 6. Expansion of School Services. The public school program should be expanded to provide summer camping, recreational and creative activities. The association also recommends that public education should be extended through grades 13 and 14. ( MORE ) a NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PLATFORM TO STRENGTHEN SCHOOLS 7. Teacher Recruitment, National, state, and regional conferences should be conducted to attract persons of adequate scholastic ability, high character and integrity, and outstanding personality to the profession of teaching. Public and private scholarships should be made available for assistance of worthy students when financial help is necessary. 8, United States Office of Education. The development of education, whether at the local, state or national level, should be placed above all temporary and partisan political issues with appropriate administrative arrangements to safe- guard the integrity of the educational process. To this end the association urges Congress to make the United States Office of Education an adequately-financed, independent agency, headed by a national board of education. This board should be appointed for long overlapping terms by the President with the consent of the Senate. It further recommends that a professionally-qualified commissioner of education be selected by the board to serve as its executive officer, 9. Professional Responsibilities. All teachers should strive to improve existing practices and standards in school policy by participating in groups working for the solution of school problems, such as curriculum revisions, teacher welfare, opportunity for advancement, salary schedules, tenure, sick leave, and retirement benefits. # # # News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The. National Education Association is the national rete the aecochtion and Telept District 4552 of educators. More than 775,000 teache sociation and its affiliated groups. Financed by the v untery, OP FSF ts members) the NEA 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the of Ams and teaches, and to advance the science and practice of educatio Retidquerters staff is con- WASHINGTON 6, D. C. tinuously engaged in research and sty fo re ia nt aD vlehere: Wey ea hy From Press and Radio Office For Release: Sunday Papers, Nov 1948 For further details, contact Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson Radio Release: 6 P.M,, Saturday, Nov, 6, 1 TEN-POINT NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PLATFORM TO STRENGTHEN SCHOOLS INCLUDES FEDERAL AID TO EDUCATION WASHINGTON, D. C., NOV. 6 -= Prompt consideration by the 8lst Congress of federal aid to education is one plank in a 10-point platform which the National Education Association announced here tonight to "strengthen education in the United States during the coming year." Willard E, Givens, executive secretary of the association, released details of the program as the nation's schools prepared to receive ten million visitors during the annual observance of American Education Week which opens tomorrow, Joining with the National Education Association in sponsoring the week-long program to focus attention on the need for strengthening schools and colleges are the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, the United States Office of Education and the American Legion. President Truman, in an American Education Week statement, described the schools as "custodians of freedom." "This is a time," he added, "which challenges our coming citizens to grow in stature and wisdom. It is they who for the future must strengthen the foundations of freedom at home and stand shoulder to shoulder with other freedom- loving peoples throughout the world. Let us pledge ourselves anew during this week to assure them the education and the opportunity which they need in this great endeavor." Federal aid to education, Givens said, is essential "to remove the threat to our nation's security caused by millions of children who today are denied a fair chance to get a basic en Conditions which the National Education Association regards as a threat to the nation's security ‘walk listed by Givens as follows: 4,000,000 children of school age are not enrolled in any school; 2,800,000 persons, 14 years of age and older, are illiterate; 8,197,000 persons, 14 years of age and older, have less than a fifth grade education; . ( MORE ) ef NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PLATFORM TO STRENGTHEN SCHOOLS 659,000 persons, about twice the number of combat divisions deployed in the South Pacific operations of World War II, were rejected solely for educational deficiencies; although 100,000 new elementary teachers will be needed annually for the next ten years, the output of our colleges which prepare teachers in 1948 was about 20,000 persons prepared for elementary school positions, of whom less than 12,000 were four-year college graduates; our public school systems are not being prepared to receive the 9,000,000 more children who are expected to be enrolled in 1957 than were enrolled in 1947. If the American principle of equal opportunity is to mean anything, he added, “it must mean that accident of birth in a poorer state should not deprive a child of educa- tional advantages. Education is too vital to the nation, as well as to the nation's children, to be denied or lost due to the inability of a state to provide it. The harmful effects of ignorance and its accompanying train of evils are not confined by state boundary lines." In addition to federal aid to education, the action program which NEA will seek to advance in the year ahead was listed by Givens as follows: 1. Preservation of Democracy. All schools have an obligation to teach the rights, privileges, and the responsibilities involved in living in a democracy. It is the responsibility of the schools to indoctrinate our youth in the American way of life so that they know it, believe in it, and live it continuously. We urge all members of the teaching profession to expose and obstruct the activities of all groups which have as their objective the undermining of the Constitution of the United States. 2. Education for World Understanding. We believe the teaching profession must accept the responsibility to educate our youth in international understanding, so they may have a basic preparation to face the problems of living in an inter- dependent world. The association urges that all schools provide for systematic instruction about the United Nations, its history, structure, purposes, accomplish- ments, and problems, We advocate that all teacher educational institutions provide instruction and experiences that will insure an opportunity to prospective teachers to acquire the attitudes and practices necessary to teach world understanding. 3. Reorganization of Administrative Units. Citizens of every state are urged to give serious attention to the reorganization of school districts into larger administrative units with sufficient resources and pupils to provide economically adequate educational opportunities for all. 4. Professional Standards. To insure competent teachers, the NEA urges adoption of these standards: a) The minimum educational qualification for all teachers shall be a bachelor's degree with an in-service educational requirement for additional work toward a master's degree or its equivalent; (b) Issuance of emergency certificates shall be discontinued; (c) Minimum salaries with adequate annual increments shall be established which recognize the services and responsi- bilities of the teacher and compensate for thorough professional training. 5. State and County School Administrators. We urge an upward revision of educational qualifications for state and county school administrators. 6. Expansion of School Services. The public school program should be expanded to provide summer camping, recreational and creative activities. The association also recommends that public education should be extended through grades 13 and 14. ( MORE ) = NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PLATFORM TO STRENGTHEN SCHOOLS 7, Teacher Recruitment. National, state, and regional conferences should be conducted to attract persons of adequate scholastic ability, high character and integrity, and outstanding personality to the profession of teaching. Public and private scholarships should be made available for assistance of worthy students when financial help is necessary. 8, United States Office of Education, The development of education, whether at the local, state or national level, should be placed above all temporary and partisan political issues with appropriate administrative arrangements to safe- guard the integrity of the educational process. To this end the association urges Congress to make the United States Office of Education an adequately-financed, independent agency, headed by a national board of education. This board should be appointed for long overlapping terms by the President with the consent of the Senate, It further recommends that a professionally-qualified commissioner of education be selected by the board to serve as its executive officer. 9. Professional Responsibilities. All teachers should strive to improve existing practices and standards in school policy by participating in groups working for the solution of school problems, such as curriculum revisions, teacher welfare, opportunity for advancement, salary schedules, tenure, sick leave, and retirement benefits. ## # News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATIO The National Education Association is the national professional organization lep! District 4552 of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and T its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- WASHINGTON 6, D. C. tinuously engaged in research and study to improve American schools. From Press and Radio Office For Release A.M, Papers For further details contact - Sanday, November 7, 1948 Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson American Education Week - 28th Observance November 7-13, 1948 "Strengthening the Foundations of Our Freedom" National Education Association American Legion United States Office of Education National Congress of Parents and Teachers ERIC JOHNSTON, President, Motion Picture Association of America, has prepared the following statement on the responsibility of the American schools for "strengthening the foundations of our freedom": "I thoroughly favor the idea of sharply focusing attention on our schools through American Education Week. "At the same time, I could wish that the vital importance of our schools to the foundations of our freedom could be brought home to us all every day in the week, every week in the year. "The free school, the free ballot, the free church, and the free press are the pillars of a four-square democracy. "We demand more of our schools than any others of our institutions. We spend too little on education. The unselfish devotion of self-sacrificing educa- tors has made us accustomed to expect miracles of accomplishment for a relative pittance of investment. "Only a public thoroughly aroused to the situation can correct this unhappy imbalance. I have no fear of the great majority of our educators ever failing in. their responsibility to the foundations of our freedom, but in their efforts they need our help and fullest support. "Freedom is in peril around the world. If we would preserve it as the most precious of our heritages to our children, then surely we must give our schools - the shock troops against the enemies of freedom - all the weapons neces- sary to fight and maintain their ground." ### 4 > News the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and Telephone District 4552 its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- WASHINGTON 6, D. C. tinuously engaged in research and study to improve American schools. From dio Office For Release Sunday, November For further details contact Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson American Education Week - 28th Observance November 7-13, 1948 "Strengthening the Foundations of Our Freedan" National Education Association American Legion United States Office of Education National Congress of Parents and Teachers ERWIN D. CANHAM, Editor of the Christian Science Monitor and President of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, has prepared the following statement on the responsibility of the American schools for "strengthening the foundations of our freedom": "As a newspaper man, I wish the American schools could give citizens a better capacity to evaluate the facts of our time. Every day we are setting before Americans better information - with all its well-known limitations and distortions - than is available to the people of any other nation. Naturally this information focuses first on what interests people most, and that is events nearest their own daily lives. Newspapers and schools, working together, must help to lift these sights. "The stark fact is that events half way around the world have primary significance to every citizen right where he lives. But awareness of this fact has not yet come to enough people. If schools and press can help people to separate the trivial from the urgent, they will start laying the foundations of freedom - and by urgent I do not mean negotiations in the Kremlin or the Palais de Chaillot. “An honest city government, a community awake to the need for saving our schools in an inflationary crisis, an awareness of unsolved problems and unhealed conditions in our own midst: these are all urgently needed foundation stones. But civic awareness is indivisible. The good citizen of his suburb is likely to be a good citizen of the world. Let the schools and the press strive for this awakening." #ét News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and Telephone District 4552 its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- WASHINGTON 6, D. C. tinuously engaged’ in research and study to improve American schools. From Press and Radio Office For Release A.M, Papers For further details contact Sunday, November 194.8 Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson : Event: American Education Week - 28th Observance Dates: November 7-13, 1948 Theme: "Strengthening the Foundations of. Our. Freedom" Sponsors: National Education Association American Legion United States Office of Education National Congress of Parents and Teachers PAUL G. HOFFMAN, Economic Cooperation Administrator, has prepared the fol- lowing statement on the responsibility of the American schools for "strengthening the foundations of our freedom": "It is difficult, forcefully, to transmit my deep feeling about the fundamental role of education in our schools in the service of peace and freedom. "Only by informing, by teaching the truth about our own democratic sys- tem and the truth regarding the political systems which seek world domination, can we hope to preserve the liberties which each of us so greatly cherishes. "The United States, through the Economic Cooperation Administration, is providing billions of dollars to restore the industry and agriculture of Western Europe so that the peace and free institutions of the 270,000,000 peoples there may be preserved, "If these free institutions fall, our very own - including our own great school systems - will go also. "The greatest danger to our freedoms is ignorance of what constitutes them; of the dangers that beset them; and of the duties and obligations of good citizens. "Good schools and good teachers can produce citizens who are fully aware of the basic values of our democratic society and will be willing and capable of pre- serving our ideals and liberties. "Good schools and good teachers are an impregnable line of defense against the teachings of totalitarian thought and practices. "The school children of today will be the scientists, the legislators and the presidents of tomorrow. All of us know how important it is to our future that these citizens of tomorrow have the ee educational opportunities today." J News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the national professional organization j of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and Telep e District 4552 its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- WASHINGTON 6, D. C. tinuously engaged in research and study to improve American schools From Press and Radio Office For Release A.M. Papers For further details contact Sunday, November 1948 Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson Event: American Education Week - 28th Observance Dates: November 7-13, 1948 Lf Theme: "Strengthening the Foundations of Our Freedom" Sponsors: National Education Association American Legion United States Office of Education National Congress of Parents and Teachers HARRY A. BULLIS, Chairman of the Board for General Mills, Inc., has prepared the following statement on the responsibility of the American schools for "strengthening the foundations of our freedom": "During the second half of the 20th century, the preservation of our freedom will depend upon the progress that is made in human relations. Unless the many intricate relationships of our modern world can be harmonized, with tolerance and human understanding, we can expect no perpetuation of our American heritage. "The statesmen who will represent the United States before the world during this crucial period, the labor leaders and industrial leaders who will work out vital agreements, the leaders in agriculture, science, the professions, and the arts, the men and women who will forge the temper of our national thought, are now attending school. "Our country is already in a position of world leadership, and it is to the young people who are in the schools of America today that the world will look for leadership tomorrow. Upon their understanding of the American concept of personal liberty, their freedom from racial and religious prejudice, their devotion to right and justice, their willingness to'accept the responsibilities as well as to claim the rights of free citizens, may depend the future of the world. "It devolves upon the teachers and parents of America to see that our schools provide the kind of training best calculated to prepare these young people for the great responsibilities that will be theirs." # # # News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the nationol professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and Telephone District 4552 its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- WASHINGTON 6, D. C. tinuously engaged in research and study to improve American schools. From Press and Radio Office | ~~ww-eeeor Release: Evening Papers, Nov. 15, 1948 For further details, contact Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson NATION'S SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHERS PROPOSE TO BREACH IRON CURTAIN to give American youth some glimpses behind the iron curtain of the Soviets, according to the convention program of the National Council for the Social Studies, which will hold its annual meeting in Chicago, November 25-27. A prominent convention topic is "What the Social Studies Teacher Should Teach about Russia," "There are no ideas or activities about which it is more important to have full and accurate information than the ideas and activities that are hostile to the American way of life," says Merrill F, Hartshorn, executive. secretary of the National Council, in releasing the program of the 28th convention. "An accurate appraisal of democracy itself cannot be made without knowledge of all the political systems by which men have governed themselves, At the same time we must give our students a clearer understanding and deeper appreciation of the ideals of democracy. The social studies teacher carries a heavy responsibility in the preparation of youth for intelligent and loyal citizenship." Much attention will be given at the convention to the teaching of history in the making. Participants in the discussion of this subject include members of the New York Times survey staff studying the problems of. teaching current events. Other prominent program subjects include labor-management relations, the economic aspects of world peace, the effect of the 1948 election on America's role in the United Nations aviation and world relations, teaching about atomic energy and the educational rehabilitation of Germany. More than 1500 teachers of history, geography and the political sciences of all grade levels from elementary school through the university are expected to attend. Meetings of the organization will be held jointly with the National Council of Geography Teachers, # # # News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and Telephone District 4552 its offiliated le gnc by ne gee ad 2 its oysen the 7 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in © promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to —_- advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- WASHINGTON 6, D. C. tinuously engaged in research and study to improve American schools. 16 1948 wri From cresa_and Basi Office For Release P. M, Papers For further details contact Tuesday, November 23, bts ae Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson © Note: Background information on the Educa- Ny tional Policies Commission is enclosed. EISENHOWER, HILL, JANSEN AND HERRINGTON APPOINTED TO EDUCATIONAL POLICIES COMMISSION WASHINGTON, NOV. 23 ++ The appointment of Dwight D. Eisenhower, president of Columbia university, and three other members to the Educational Policies Commission of the National Education Association and the American Association of School Administrators was announced here this morning. Willard E. Givens, executive secretary of the National Education Association, in making the announcement, called attention to the fact that the commission, which is composed of 20 educators, will make a study during 1949 of the role of the public schools in the face of continuing international tensions. Also appointed to the commission for four-year terms beginning January 1, 1949, are Henry H. Hill, president, George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, Tenn., and William Jansen, superintendent of schools, New York City. Eugene H. Herrington, principal, Ebert school, Denver, Colo., was reappointed for a similar four-year term on the commission by the NEA Department of Elementary School Principals. A second major issue which the commission will study is the role of public schools in developing moral and spiritual values, Established in 1935 the commission prepares and disseminates state- ments of proposed policy for American education. # # # 4a Y ath * “News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and Telephone District 4552 its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues - its ery a the a 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- WASHINGTON 6, D. C. tinuously engaged in research and study to improve American schools. From: Press and Radio Office For further details, contact AY, Aslis, FEBRUARY 26 Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson Telephone: District 4552 -” MAR4 1948 = jAATIONAL EBUCATION ASSOCIATION Note to iditors and Correspondents: The following story is for release from either Washington, D, C,, where the report has been prepared, or from Atlantic City, Neds, where the reoort will be formally presented, NEA EDUCATIONAL POLICIES COM cISSION ISSUES REPORT "EDUCATION FOR ALL AMGRECAN CUILDREN" he Atlantic City, Neds, Feb, 25 « "Education for All American Children”, a state-~ ment of policy for elementary education based on two years of research and visits to 62 superior elementary schools in the United States, was released here this afternoon by the Educational Policies Commission of the National Education Associas tion and the American Association of School Administrators, 'Blementary education," according to the Commission's repott) "36 now entering a period of ai gnificant changes" This time of transition, according to the Commission, is béing used ab the octasion for the development of long-range plans for elemehtary education} This is the third volume in a series issued by the Comzissiion. In 1944, the Coltmission issued "Zducation for All American Youth," which deal’ with the years from the junior high school through the junior college, In 1945, the Comission issued "Educational Services for Younger Children," in which it recommended the extension of school services downward to at least the third or fourth year of life and outlined the characteristics of an educational program for children of these early years, | The present volume’fits in between the other two, It focuses upon the elemenw (YORE) aia tary. schools, from the kindergarten through the sixth grade, although some of its recommendations will apply to 2 wider range of ares, "The elementary school," according to the rerort, "is necessarily a center of increasing importance, All children attend elementary school, In that school they acquire the fundamental skills in conmunication and understanding we commonly designate as the three R's, In that school also they fix the primery attitudes toward social relationships which they will carry with then through life," In describing elementary school conditions in the United States today, the Commission points out: "During the depression years the birth rate dropped steadily ~-so regularly that statisticians predicted a stationary population by the 1960!s, The last seven years have seen a big change, Since 19,0 the number of births has increased each year, ihhen the number of births in 1946 passed the 3,000,000 mark, the old record was broken, But 1946's banner crop of children totalled 3,260,000, The indications are that three million babies a year will be a minimum for several u more years, Calling today "an important date in American educational history," the Commission states: "In the next ten years the elementary schools of the United States will have to provide teachers, buildings, supplies, and equipment for nearly 2,000,000 more children than they co now, The kinds of buildings, the qualities and training of the teachers for these children must be planned now, Can your present staff, buildings, and ecuipment stand a 10 percent increase in enrollment? "Not only is the total number of children attending elementary schools going to increase in the next years but also the present population has shifted during the past few years, The war years gave great impetus to a westward and northward movement of people, During the war many people moved to the north of the Ohio River, and millions more moved to the west coast, War industries loc&ted in those areas attracted people from 1941 to 1945, but apparently most of them intend to stay. In 1940 the Pacific Coast states had a population of 9,300,000, By 1945 (MORE) ~~ this mumber had reached 12,000,000, "Such migration complicates the problems of supplying educational facilities for a population with an increasing birth rate, "Increases in population elsewhere through migration are not so spectacular, but there has been a steady movement from rural to urban areas, from farms to industrial centers," Durirg the period of World War II, the Conmission recalls that almost no new school buildings were erected except for some emergency, temporary structures, The Commission raises the question: "Where are the 2,000,000. extra children going to attend school? In many places now facilities are strained to the bursting point, What will happen when the extra millions appear?" The Comission continues: "Democracy imist succeed in the United States now or it will fail everywhere, Traditional ways of teaching and learning democracy are not adequate, Children mist have more opportunity to practice the skills they are taught. Teachers and parents need to spend more time and energy in planning to- gether to mike schools meet the needs everyone recognizes, The usual problems have been enhanced by the increases in the number of children, by the crowding in in- dustrial areas, by conflicts between minority groups and majority groups intensified by the sudden mingling of folk-ways brought on by war-time migration, " A major part of the Commission's report describes a series of hypothetical schools and school systems which the authors "hope’ and believe" may be developed in the United States during the next ten years, Tris part of the report, therefore, is written in such a way as to describe these hypothetical schools 2s they might appear to an observer in 1958, “American City” and "Farmville" are the two imaginary communities in which elementary school practices are envisioned in the state of "Columbia" for the next ten year period, The Comission states: "During the elementary school years, physical growth and development take nlace continuously, but at different rates, Boys and girls differ in rate of development, In fact, no two children have identical patterns (YORE) an ta of growth, The good elementary school should record the rate of growth and call attactidn to the spurts and periods of slower growth, teach the dietary, rest, and exercise needs of sturdy, disease-free growth, and aid parents and children in understanding the processes involved, "Health care and instruction start for American City children as soon as they are born and are available as long as they are in school through services provided by the schools, Parent-education classes, 'well-baby' clinics, pediatric and dental clinics are various expressions of the concern that the schools of Columbia feel for the health of the commmnity, Only in a healthful community of healthy homes can children grow into strong, well adults, "Farmville schools have added measurements of each child's height, weight, strength of grip, mental age, and educational age to the long-used data of birth date, attendance, grade placements and teachers! marks in the cumlative record which is kept for each child, Record of inmmunications, discases, injuries, the results of vision and hearinz tests, recormendations for special or remedial treatment and care are all included in the record of physical growth and develop- ment, Farmville teachers feel that they can discuss intelligently with each child end his parents the elements of his own personal growth problems, as well as talk with all pupils about the usual course of development," In its conclusions the Commission asserts: "Good schools don't just grow — they are planned carefully, Goodwill and good ideas are not enough, Skill, experience, vision, leadership are hesded. In planning the schools of Columbia, school people found that all concerned, teachers,parents, other adults, and children, needed to work on the whole problem from the boginning,. They found, too, that the administrator, the teacher, and the commmity had particular responsi- bilities, The good administrator is a skilled teacher, a trained leacer, an ex- perienced worker with people, He hes vision, insight, understanding; he encourages teachers, parents, children to share in plaming and carrying out the educational program, "The good teacher is a trained, ee) instructor, The good -5= teacher has economic security, a feeling of adequacy, a feeling of belonging; he recognizes the vital role of the school, but also the part of home and community in education of children, "The good community is one in which the status of the teacher is enhanced; the economic security of the teacher is insured at the professional level; the people help to plan the program of education; the special resources are used in every way possible," In the imaginary state of Columbia, according to the Comission, "Raising teachers! salaries, reducing the teaching load, providing time for confcronces, for guidance, and for curriculum planning all cost money, School costs in many parts of Columbia are as much as four times what they were ten yoars earlier, Columbia has been able to meet the increased cost by reorganizing the tax structure, by consolidating many school districts, and by securing money from the Federal Government, Before any of these measures were taken, the people of the state made the decision that good schools were important, and that good schools could be secured only by making teaching attractive enough to get good teachers, "The state now levies several kinds of taxes on a much widened tax base so that the basic program can be supported from these state funds, Ivery community now levies a higher tax for schools than it formerly did, The money from the Federal Governnént is distributed by the state and completes the financial support," The NEA Department of Zlementary School Principals has prepared "Teach Them All," a 32=page pictorial summary of the Comission report and a 35mm filmstrip of 52 frames of titles, graphs and pictures which illustrates the major Commission conclusions and recommendations, "Teach Them All" was written by William H, Anderson, Jr., principal, Park Hill School, Denver, Colorado, The Educational Policics Commission of the National Education Association and the American Association of School Administrators includes the following appointed members: Francis L, Bacon, superintendent, Township High School, ivanston, Ill.» chairman; 0, C, Carmichael, president, Carnegic Foundation for the Advancanent of Teaching, New York, NeY.; Prudence Cubrigiitg eenseban superintendent of schools, obs Minneapolis, linn.g A, C, Flora, superintendent of schools, Columbia, S.0,3 B,W, Jacobsen, president, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, Calif.; Sdwin A, Lee, dean, School of Educationy University of California, Los Angeles, Calif, Also: Paul R, liort, Teachers College, Columbia University, Now York, N.Y.; Paul T, Rankin, assistant superintendent of schools, Detroit, Mich,; Maycie Southall, George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, Tenn,; James li, Spinning, superintendent of schools, Rochestor, N.Y.3 George D. Stoddard, president, Univer— sity of Illinois, Urbana, Il]l,; Mabel Studebaker, 426 East 10th Street, Erie, Pas; Pearl A, Wanamaker, stato superintendent of public instruction, Olympia, Wash. Ex-Officio members of the commission are: Marie A, Ernst, prosident, NEA Department of Classroom Teachers, 2903 Russell Boulevard, St. Louis hy Moe; Willard BE, Givens, executive secrotery, NEA, Washington, D.0.3 Herold C. lunt, president, American Association of School Administrators, and general super intendent of schools, Chicago, Ill.; worth licClure, executive secretery, American Association of School Administrators, Washington, D.C.3 Glenn 5, Snow, president, NEA, and president, Dixie Junior College, St. George, Utah, Advisory members of the cormission are: JW, Studebaker, U.S, Commissioner of Education, Washington, D.C., and George F, Zook, president, American Council on Education, Washington, D.C. Willian G, Carr, associate secretary of the National Education Association, is the commission's secretary. News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The. National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and = >} Telephone District. 4552 its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA “1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- WASHINGTON 6, D. C. tinuously engaged in research and study to improve American schools. Tf ; From: Press and Radio Office For further details, contact For Release: Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson NEA DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION ANNOUNCES PRINCIPLES FOR NATIONAL COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM WASHINGTON, D. C., DEC. 12 -- Seven principles for legislation to establish a national scholarship program for college and university students have been developed by the Department of Higher Education of the National Education Association. The scholarship bill, under bipartisan sponsorship, will be introduced in the Slst Congress, according to Dr. Ralph McDonald, executive secretary of the NEA Depart- ment of Higher Education. "This bill," he added, "is not to take precedence over, or side-track in any way, the movement to secure federal aid to the states for elementary and secondary education.- As the college and university branch of organized education, we shall support.such federal aid legislation as the number one Congressional measure for education, But we shall work simultaneously, with every resource at our command, for the enactment of the scholarship program for higher education." Principles which the NEA Department of Higher Education will urge as a basis for the scholarship legislation include: 1. The program must involve no possibility whatever of federal control or pressure upon higher education, either upon the institution or upon the student. 2. It must be administered at the state level by a committee or an agency which is non-political and arises from the educational and civic interests within the state, 3. Scholarships must be awarded on the basis of ability, with only the highest one-fourth or one-third of high school graduates being eligible. 4. The student must be entirely free to choose any accredited institution, public or private, and elect his own field of study without interference or pressure. 5, The stipend must be at least $400 or $500 annually to insure that the economic barrier will in reality be broken down. The student must be free to use his stipend for tuition, for board and lodging, or for any other necessary expense in actual pursuance of a higher education program. 6. The formula for distribution of federal money to the states must be sound and equitable and must provide objective safeguards against any discrimination in scholarship awards because of race, creed, sex, or other social circumstance. 7. The administrative and financial provisions at the national level must be such as to insure that the money goes to its intended purpose, without fraud or partiality. Department officials estimated that a minimum appropriation for the first year of operation of the scholarship program would require $100,000,000. This amount, they said, would “open college doors to 200,000 to 250,000 able students." # # # Cy 2 " News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and Telephone District 4552 its affiliated ore pas by reel ey -—- - its rpamerty the ne 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- WASHINGTON 6, D. C. tinuously engaged in research and study to improve American schools. From: Press and Radio Office For further details, contact For Release in Sunday Papers, December 26,19/8 Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson SUUND BUSIaissS PRACTICES FUR PRUSPECTIVE- SLUNG FARMERS LRAMATIZED IN Now PUBLICATION WASHINGTON, LD, C., DEC. 25 -- Sound busiiess practices for the prospective young farmer are described in Your Life in the Country, the newest in a series of publications prepared by the Consumer Education Study of the National Association of Secondary-School Principals, a department of the National Education Association. Written by Dr. Effie G. Bathurst of the Uffice of Education, the 400-page book is presented as both a "story and study" of the consumer problems which confront a rural family. Through the experiences of one family dealing with consumer problems it dramatizes the problems of rural young people. The wide range of consumer topics covered in the book includes family, com- munity and school activities; income management on the farm; and using and spending money wisely. Typical of the advice to the prospective farm owner is this suggestion from the chapter on "Income Management on the Farm": Suppose that a young man wants to buy land instead of renting. It is sometimes possible for him to borrow enough so that he can buy a farm even though he has few resources of his own. But, even if this is possible, it may be neither safe nor wise...Generally speaking, it is wiser not to buy a farm until you can pay one-third of the purchase price. Furthermore, it is essential for you to measure carefully the total price to be paid, no matter how 'easy' terms of payment are. By studying production records in your vicinity for many years back, you can get a clear idea of how much your farm should produce. Then you can figure out the value of its stock and crops at average prices, subtract such items as taxes and cost of upkeep, and you will have an idea of how much net income you can expect. -more= SUUND BUSINESS PRACTICLS FUR PROSPLCTIVE YOUNG FARMERS DRAMATIZED IN wWiw PUBLICATION -2- However, it doesn't pay to be overtimid about borrowing to boost your production. The young person who has trained himself to know his job and who is willing to work hard at it has every right to be confident of his ability. Emphasis in the book is placed on the concept of "farming as a way of living as well as a way of making a living." The publication stresses values in richer life for rural young people who intelligently use the resoures of the farm and illustrates ways in which these resources may be utilized. Howard A. Dawson, NEA rural service director, in comsenting on the new publi- cation, sumned up the need for guidance information on farming as a "way of life." "Of the 8,600,000 young people of school age living on farms," he said, “approximately half of them will remain on the farm. All of these young people need the facts concerning what farm life can become for them. The choices they make should not be left to chance--as has usually been the case in the past. This is of concern not only to the young people involved but of the entire country. "The productivity, stability and sound economic condition of agriculture is of nation-wide concern. In 1945, 39 percent of the 5,860,000 farms in the United States had incomes of less than $1,000. Subsistence farming does not strengthen our economy and is probably an unwholesome influence upon our entire social structure. "This book points the way to makihg the job of farming pay. Although it gives much emphasis to intelligent use of resources, it does not advocate the economically self-contained type of farming. Too many of the goods and services needed require considerable cash outlays. "Cash crops are essential, and the publication gives numerous illustrations to young people on how to finance and carry on such projects, on how. to save money and how to spend it wisely." The book includes extensive listings of U. S. Department of Agriculture bulle- tins and other inexpensive publications related to farm life. Thomas H. Briggs is the director of the Consumer Education Study which was initiated in 1942. Your Life in the Country was published for the Consumer Education Study by the McGraw Hill Book Company. # it # 4 near eornnint: National Education Assohehional Education Association 120) Sixteenth Street, Northwest Library Washington 6, D. C. " : Vertical File From: Press.and Radio Office — For Release: P.M. Papers, Sat., Jan. 15 For further details, contact Sunday Papers, Jam. Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson ; | er DI. 4554 b - fan 4A — Note to Editors and Correspondents: The full text/of the_ ‘Ry resolutions adopted by the American Association of SchoolLG yo .. Administrators is enclosed, along with a list of/the, 27 4949 committee members. Mies; ADMINISTRATORS DRAFT PROGRAM FOR IMPROVED PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM WASHINGTON, D. C., JAN. 15 =~ The American Association of School Administrators today urged the teaching profession to "expose and combat the activities of all groups which have as their objective the undermining of the Constitution of the United States and the civil rights guaranteed therein." Teachers also were urged to help all citizens to recognize propaganda devices, and to prevent the use of the public schools as instruments of any factional propa- ganda agency. The action was taken by the Anerican Association of School Administrators, the department of the National Education Association which includes administrative and supervisory school officers, as a part of a program for the extension of democracy through "a constantly improved free public school system." Resolutions were adopted by a nation-wide mail ballot conducted among members of the American Association of School Administrators who, instead of holding a nat- jonal convention this year, have scheduled three regional conferences to be held at San Francisco, February 20-23, at St. Louis, February 27-March 2, and at Philadelphia, March 27-30. Full use of all existing and potential school facilities by the national gov- ernment in support of an adequate national defense plan was pledged by the group. The administrators also reaffirmed their "belief in the necessity for a federal aid plan to enable any state to meet its public school educational responsibilities of the years immediately ahead." Such a plan, they said, must safeguard the funda- mental concepts of state and local control of public education, a proper balance among local, state and federal participation in financial support so as to preserve local interest in the school program; and the need for federal financial assistance for school building construction, as well as for teachers' salaries and other current school support purposes. In order to stimulate the recruitment of more young people with outstanding qualifications for the teaching profession, to upgrade those teaching with emergency certificates, and to improve public regard and status for teachers, the organization endorsed a more systematic and effective program of interpretation of the public school program and its needs to citizens. Accrediting of non-public schools by state public school authorities was advo- cated by the administrators to "guarantee that the mininal educational goals set for the public schools shall be equaled or vee in all private institutions,” fi? - PIF PAE ¥ | -EB 18 1949 4. United States Office of Education. We believe that .the development of education, whether at the local, state, or national level, sHould be placed above all temporary and partisan political issues with appropriate administrative arrangements to safe- guard the integrity of the educational process. To this end our Association urges Congress to make the United States Office of Educa- tion an adequately financed, independent agency, headed by a national board of educa- tion. This board should be composed of representative laymen, appointed for long overlapping terms by the President with the consent of the Senate. We further recom- mend that a professionally qualified commissioner of education, responsible to the board for the conduct of his office and the performance of his duties, be selected by the board to serve as its executive officer. 5, Professional status of the superintendency. We recognize the need fora continu- We ing study of the role of the educational administrator as an educational leader. pledge our support and cooperation to all lay and professional groups in their explora- tion of better ways to define and clarify the relationships of the school administrator to (a) the public generally, (b) boards of education, or other such groups, and (c) teacher organizations. We request the support of all such groups in behalf of the project initiated by the American Association of School Administrators with the cooperation of the National Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Conference of County and Rural Superintendents for the further professionalization of the superintendent of schools at city, county, and state levels. 6. Interpretation of school program and its needs to the public. We endorse, and urge especially at the local level, a more systematic and effective program of inter- pretation of the public school program and all of its needs to our citizens generally, We particularly wish to stimulate the recruitment of more young people with outstand- ing qualifications for the teaching profession, to upgrade those now teaching with emergency certificates, and to secure improved public regard and status for those engaged in public school teaching. 7, Accrediting of non-public schools by state public school authorities. We recog- nize the necessity for an adequate plan in every state for the regular inspection and approval of the educational programs offered in non-public schools, Only in this way can we guarantee that the minimal educational goals set for the public schools shall be equaled or exceeded in all private institutions. 8. More adequate educational program at all levels. We pledge our continuing support and cooperation to all groups interested in extending the scope of the American public school program, or in making it more effective at each level, to the extent that neces- sary funds are now or may become available to finance these extensions and improvements. We reiterate our belief that the public education program should at all levels and at all times be conducted by the regularly constituted public school authorities. 9. Coordination of public school services with those of other governmental and voluntary agency services. We acknowledge our responsibility to assume the intiative in seeking more effective cooperative working-relationships with all other local gov- ernmental and lay groups that have responsibilities or interests in such fields as health, recreation, character education, parks, libraries, and the like, which sup- plement and reinforce our own public school program. It is our particular concern in this endeavor to assure the greatest possible return to all citizens from all money expended, (MORE) 10. Lit 49 - cp 18 19 Platform of the American Assotiatio ofsS€noel Administrators. We endorse the Gra of the Amorican Apscsiatig@'h? coneckaiiainistraters adap platform of the American Association of inistrators adopted March 5, 1947, and recommend that it be brought to the attention of the related educational groups and lay organizations. We urge promotion of its advancement by all of our members. We further recommend closer relationships with state organizations of administrators and state educational associations, the expansion of services of this Association and the extension of representation and meetings on a regional basis from time to time. ll. The American Association of School Administrators expresses appreciation to: ~-Willard E, Goslin, for the superior way in which he has discharged his duties as the president of the Association. ~-Committees and commissions of the Association and Executive Secretary Worth McClure and his staff for their loyal and efficient service. --John W, Studebaker for his many years of effective service and leader- ship in behalf of public education. ~~Parent-teacher associations, school board associations, and other groups that are lending their support to school legislation and their efforts to the improvement of public schools. --Local and national press, radio, and other agencies of public information for their generous and intelligent support of public education. Members of the 1949 Resolutions Committee: Lester B, Badger Union Supt. of Schools Peterborough, N. H. Medill Bair Supervising Principal Pennsbury Schools Fallsington, Pa. Selmer H, Berg Supt. of Schools St. Paul, Minn. E. B. Bergquist Supt. of Schools Rapid City, S. D. T. C. Bird Supt. of Schools Santa Fe, N. M. Darrell R. Blodgett Supt. of Schools Jacksonville, Ill. Omer Carmichael Supt. of Schools Louisville, Ky. A. Bruce Denniston Supt. of Schools Greenville, Pa. Harl R, Douglass Dir., Col. of Educ. Univ, of Colorado Boulder, Colo. D. A. Emerson State Dir. of School Administration and Secondary Educ, Salem, Ore. Clyde A. Erwin State Supt. of Public Instruction Raleigh, N. C. M, C. Gallagher Supt. of Schools Billings, Mont. Jesse L, Goins Supt. of Schools Cheyenne, Wyo. George D. Hann Supt. of Schools Ardmore, Okla. Thomas W. Howie Supt., A. I. duPont Special School Dist. Wilmington, Del. 4 Horace M. Ivy s Joe B, McNiel Supt. of Schools Wichita Falls, Tex. Robert 0. Nelson Supt. of Schools Newport News, Va. Mark F, Scully Supt. of Schools Paducah, Ky. D. R. Sheldon Supt. of Schools Prescott, Ariz. Robert N. Taylor Union Supt. of Schools Northfield, Mass. A. C. Van Wyk Supt. of Schools Bismarck, N. D. Harold S, Vincent Supt. of Schools Canton, Ohio Raymond A, Watson Supt. of Schools Supt. of Schooley &,, Hastings, Nebr. Meridian, Miss. W. F. Johnson Supt. of Schools “£9 Spencer, Iowa Réek. Wilson - of Schools Alpena, Mich. Wiliam R, Odell, Chairman Supt. of Schools Oakland, Calif. o> News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and Telephone District 4552 its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA 1201 $! NTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff jis con- WASHIN N 6, D. C. tinuously engaged in research and study to improve American schools. “rR 18 1949 | From Press and Radio Office For further details, contact need Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson National Education Retease P Sunday. February 13, 1949 Vertical File Washington, D.C., Feb.__--Geography as related to the national and international pro= gram of education and the security of world alliance is reviewed in a study, "Geographical Approaches to Social Education", released today by the National Council for the Social Studies of the National Education Association. The very survival of our national and international unity depends upon a proper and workable understanding of our own and other nations’ environments and standards of living, according to Clyde F. Kohn, associate professor of geography and education, Northwestern University, and editor of the volume, Asserting the promotion of human progress has become as much a prime purpose of geographers as it has of others interested in social education, the Council called on the 800,000 teachers in elementary and secondary schools, and colleges in the United States to further the teaching of geography as a means of developing "worldmindedness." "War places social institutions under intense strain," Stanley E. Dimond, director, Citizenship Education Study, Detroit, Mich., and president, National Council for the Social Studies said, "And schools, far from being exempt from these stresses, receive their full impact. As World War II took on a global character, all of us in education started thinking more seriously about the place of geography in the school curriculum.” A compilation of articles by prominent educators throughout the country, the year- book is designed to bring to teachers an understanding of recent geographic approaches to social education and show the valuable contributions geographic knowledge and under- standing make to insight into human problems, (MORE) ’ «Social studies -- 2 "World understanding will come only to those who, knowing the conditions under which other people live, are generous and sympathetic, who can allow for differences among the citizens of various nations, and still recognize that the great mass of people throughout the world have essentially the same fundamental ideas for their lives and obligations which they have toward others," according to Wallace W, Atwood, president emeritus of Clark University and one of the contributing editors, "All citizens of the modern world who share the responsibility of guiding public affairs in any nation should have an intelligent understanding of the living conditions and of the principal problems of the people in each of the leading sovereign communities of the world," he said, “Public opinion framed by the influence of thousands of local leaders scattered through every large population, will in turn be expressed in the action of those who hold. responsible positions in the government of nations and must determine affairs of international significance, The study of geography helps to provide the much needed perspective which is indespensible if we are to understand and appreciate other people's problems, aspirations, and motives, especially when they differ from our own." The teacher education program in geography, as presented in the yearbook, involves "instruction not merely in basic geographic facts but in the way geographic facts and principles are used to achieve the understandings, skills, appreciations, and attitudes which make for integrated socialized learning and living experiences of elementary and secondary school pupils." Many of the chapters offer practical help in classroom problems. Contributing. editors include: Edith Putnam Parker, associate professor, Department of Geography, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.; Derwent Whittlesey, Harvard University, Boston, Mass.3 Preston E. James, professor of geography, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.3 Wallace W. Atwood, president emeritus, Clark University, Worcester, Mass.; Edwin H. Reeder, professor of education, University of Illinois, Chicago; George B, Cressey, chairman, department of geography, Syracuse University. Sidney E, Ekblaw, professor of geology and geography, University of Kansas, Kansas City, Mo.; Wesley Calef, University of Chicago; Sigismond deR, Diettrich, head professor, Department of Geography, University of Florida, Gainesville, Pla.; Edna E, Hisen, (MORE) pocial studies ~- 3 associate professor of geography, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio; Erwin Raisz, lecturer in cartography, Harvard University; Katheryne Thomas Whittemore, professor of geography, N.Y. State College for Teachers, Buffalo, N.Y. M, Melvina Svec, assistant professor, State Teachers College, Oswego, N.Y.; F. Borden Mace, Lotis deRochemont Associate,, Inc.,; Fred E, Dohrs, Department of Geography, North- sestern University, Chicago; Alice Foster, Department of Geography, University of Chicago; J. Granville Jensen, professor of geography, Oregon State College, Corvallis, Ore.; George J, Miller,*professor of geography, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Ind.; Cora P, Sletten, professor of geography, State Teachers College, Mankato, Minn.; Thomas Frank Barton, associate professor of geography, Indiana University; Clyde F, Kohn, associate professor of geography, Northwestern University; Mamie L. Anderzhon, teacher of social studies, Junior High, Oak Park, Ill. H, 0, Lathrop, professor of geography, Illinois State Normal University, Normal, Ill.3 Henry J, Warman, associate professor, Clark University; Ralph H. Brown, who prior to his death was professor of geography, University of Minnesota; Richard L, Tuthill, professor of geography, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.3; and Alfred H, Meyer, chairman, department of geography, Valparaiso University, Indiana, ttt Q wu 7 ay 4 ” News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The. National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are pre in the Ranstintion and Telephone District 4552 its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- WASHINGTON 6, D. C. tinuously engaged in research and study to improve American schools. From: Press and Radio Office For further details, contact Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson BACKGROUND STORY ON THE EDUCATIONAL POLICIES: COMMISSION The role of the schools in the face of continuing international tensions is one of two major studies which will be undertaken in 1949 by the Educational Policies Commission of the National Education Association and the American Association of School Administrators. A second major issue which the commission will study is the role of the public schools in developing moral and spiritual values, Twenty educators serve on the Commission, representing all levels of the nation's educational system from the elementary school through the university. Established in 1935 by joint action of the executive committees of the National Education Association and the American Association of School Administrators, the Educational Policies Commission prepares and disseminates statements of proposed policy for American education. It deals chiefly with questions basic to long-range educational planning, largely in the field of elementary and secondary education, and to a lesser extent in higher education and adult education. The Commission has no authority to enforce its recommendations. It is, however, regarded by educators as highly influential, and its recommendations have been accepted by leaders in the field because of their contribution toward solutions to current problems and indications of future trends. Of the 20 Commission members, 16 are elected to staggered terms of four years each, and four members serve ex-officio. EDUCATIONAL POLICIES COMMISSION a ope During the 1930's the Educational Policies Commission was active in study of, and issued policy statements on, the relations of education to American democracy. It emphasized to educators and laymen that the public schools are "a major bulwark of democracy." Educational purposes and procedures for strengthening American democracy were clarified in a series of books, among which were: The Unique Function of Educa~ tion in American Democracy, The Purposes of Education in American Democracy, The Education of Free Men in American Democracy, and Learning the Ways of Democracy. In the early years of World War II the Commission published: A War Policy for American Schools, The Support of Education in Wartime, and What the Schools Should Teach in Wartime, During the later years of the war and in the first postwar years, the Commission was concerned with long-range educational planning. Basic patterns for improvement were recommended for elementary education in Education for all American Children, for secondary education in Education for All American Youth, and for international educa- tional relations in Education and the People's Peace. Some major recommendations for American education by the Commission have included: public responsibility for providing educational opportunity should be extended down- ward to include all children ages three through five and upward to include all youth for two years beyond high school; educational services, including school-sponsored summer camps, should be available to all elementary-school children during the summer months; policies for the U. S. Office of Education should be controlled by a national board of education, and the Office should be independent of the executive branches of the federal government. Other recommendations are: local school boards should be politically and fiscally independent of other branches of local government; public schools should accept increased responsibility for the health and physical fitness of all children and youth; high-school curricula should include a program of "common learnings" for all students plus differentiated programs of vocational training and studies adapted to different special interests and abilities; and there. should be an international office of education. (This recommendation, made during the war, has been largely fulfilled by the subsequent establishment of Unesco.) ### MEMBERS OF THE EDUCATIONAL POLICIES COMMISSION Representing all levels of the nation's school system, from the elémentary school through the university, the Educational Policies Commission includes 20 members. Four are classroom teachers, three are school superintendents, three are adminis- trative college staff members, four are college or university presidents, one is an elementary school principal, two represent educational associations, one repre+ sents an educational foundation, and two are serving on education assignments with the: federal government. New Members Appointed for Four-Year Terms Starting January 1, 1949: Dwight D, Eisenhower, President, Columbia University, New York, New York Eugene H, Herrington, Principal, Ebert School, Denver, Colorado Henry H. Hill, President, George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, Tennessee William Jansen, Superintendent of Schools, New York, New York Other Members: John K. Norton, Director of Administration and Guidance, Teachers College, Columbia University, Chairman Ethel J, Alpenfels, School of Education, New York University, New York, New York Ruby Anderson, Athens High School, Athens, Georgia O. C. Carmichael, President, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, New York, New York Worth McClure, Executive Secretary, American Association of School Adminis- trators, Washington, D. C. James B, Conant, President, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts Willard E. Givens, Executive Secretary, National Education Association, Washington, D. C. Willard E. Goslin, President, American Association of School Administrators, and Superintendent of Schools, Pasadena, California Alonzo G. Grace, Director, Division of Educational and Cultural Relations, Office of Military Government, Berlin, Germany Galen Jones, Director, Division of Secondary Education, U. S. Office of Education, Washington, D. C. T. R. McConnell, Dean, College of Science, Literature and the Arts, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Paul R. Mort, Institute of Educational Research, Teachers College, Columbia University Mae Newman, Huntington High School, Huntington, West Virginia George A. Selke, Chancellor, University of Montana, Helena James M. Spinning, Superintendent of Schools, Rochester, New York, Vice- Chairman Mabel Studebaker, President, National Education Association Commission Staff Members: William G, Carr, Secretary Wilbur F. Murra, Assistant Secretary # # # Ww News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- tinuously engaged in research and study to improve AmericapZphools. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. CLA resem From Press and Radio Office Yo | For further details, contact , GY, “VOR RELBASE MONDAY, APRIL 18 p.m. papers Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson So, G i i A ey Telephone - District 4552 bay . a APR Neti | a. : >) | ce 1949 | ae ; 2a . t . c2 i < ~ a ra lL fe: allan j THREE RIS HETTER TAUGHT TODAY, “BAYS EDUCATOR'S ANNUAE-REEORT “°« ba ¥ OTHER SCHOOL SUBJECTS SEEN MSETING THE CHANGED NEEDS OF YOUTH Washington, D.C., April 18 — "The Three R's are still the foundation of our school studies, Schools are teaching then better than they have ever been taught," said Willard E. Givens, executive secretary of the National Education Association, on releasing the fourth Annual Report of the Profession to the Public, "The current Report, entitled Our School Studies, bezins with a chapter devoted to the subjects ordinarily referred to as the fundamentals, with emphasis upon reading, It is an answer to critics who assert that the modern school is getting away from such essential learnings as reading, writing and arithmetic, "The amount of time spent in today's school on the three R's is more than four times as great as it was a hundred years ago," Secretary Givens states in his Revort. "Year by year, opportunity to acquire skill and interest in reading has been advanced in our schools, Children read more books, They read more rapidly, They read with greater understanding. In the schools of our grand- fathers, one basic reader was often the only reading text. It is not unusual in the better schools of today for a pupil to read 25 or 30 books during his first year," Dr. Givens offers as evidence of the increasing interest and skill of the American people in reading that they bought an average of more than fifty-two million newspapers every day in 1948, He cites the fact that there are also 10,500 weekly newspapers and 5,/,68 magazines that circulate to millions of readers, In 1896, he says, books loaned to the public from libraries and lend- ing societies totaled 35,000,000, Fifty years later, readers borrowed 356,000,000 books from public libraries, "Readership is extended still more by hundreds of school and college libraries, by the bookstores found literally everywhere, and by the book clubs which fill home shelves to overflowing," he points out, That more of the American people read, and read faster and with more under- standing, Dr. Givens attributes to improved methods of teaching the subject in the public schools, "The modern school has instruments which measure eye move- ments, amd tests which uncover faulty reading habits. ‘the pupil who progresses slowly is given remedial help based upon scientific diagnosis of his disabilities," (more) ithe In arithmetic, also, tests discover the "mistake habits" of students in operations with numbers, Special exercises are prescribed to correct these faults, To those wio complain that the modern school has "substituted something called 'the social studies! for history and civics" Dr. Givens answers that the social studies are not substitutes for any other studies, "The term is applied to a group of our school studies that deal with various aspects of human relationships, They include history, geography, government, sociology, economics, and various combinations of these subjects," Explaining that sometimes more than one of these subjects is taught from a single text, Dr. Givens points out that "the social studies are closely related, Where an event happened may be the most significant thing about it. Geography and history are, therefore, tied together, One can more eifectively help remedy social problems when he knows what caused them, Sociology and history, therefore, cover much common ground," Far from being neglected, history is the backbone of the social studies, according to Dr. Givens' Report. "American history is especially emphasized, Its study begins in the first grade, It is a required subject in all public high schools," "The first and most important objective of the social studies is effective citizenship in a democratic society," says the Secretary's Report, which shows how each of the social studies makes a contribution to this objective. Important contributions of the schools to the longevity and good health of the American people are shown in the Report. Pointing out that the life span has nearly doubled in one generation, and that the death rate has de- clined from 17.2 persons per 1000 of the population in 1900, to 10 per 1000 in 1948, the Report calls attention to the periodic physical examinations of the school health program and many other contributions of the school to health ideals and practices, "The school begins in early years to lay the basis for good habits of sleep, eating and exercise, It builds appreciation for the science of medicine, It turns the ignorant from superstitution and quackery. ‘The physician and mrse are found on the staffs of an increasing number of school systems each year, They give emergency care, and direct students who need medical treatment to the sources that provide it. Students learn for what diseases there is immmization, and how and when to turn for the protection it offers. They acquire a knowledge of nutrition. In first- aid classes they learn to prevent infections and to give. emergency care to the injured and drowning, Home nursing, care of infants, use of antidotes, prevention of accidents, ani the responsibility of the community for public health and sanitetion sre only a few of the many such units in or school studies, These all contribute to healthier living and longer life." Secretary Givens points out that the American people are more than usually sensitive to the value of good health at the present time, This in- terest is manifested in the scores of group hospitalization ami group medical plans now in existence, and in the consideration by Congress of lezislation which may offer added health protection not now in force, He urges that the health services of the schools be made an integral part of whatever general plen is adopted on a community, state or national basis, (more) om, 8 Other school studies included in the Amual Report of the Profession to the Public are: Safety and conservation, science and mathematics, vocational education, international understanding, moral and spiritual values, msic and the visual arts, The Revort makes no attempt to treat all the school studies, "It is con- fined to those in which changes have been particularly significant in recent years, School studies change because people changes It is utterly impossible for the school to remain the same," With a bow to critics of the schools, the Report acknowledges that human nature often resists change, "It is most likely to co so in the institutions which are vital to success and happiness. The criticisms leveled at the school are a recognition of education as one of the most important experiences of life, Those who find fault with the school should try also to understand it. It is hoped that this Report will help them do so." Te) a wan Note to the Editor: It is respectfully suggested that you may wish to publish a series of stories based upon all the subjects of this Report, in cooperation with your local school system dealing with the curriculum oi the schools in your conmunity. L* -T 4 News fromthe NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are enrolled in the Association and Telephone District 4552 its affiliated groups. Financed by the voluntary dues of its members, the NEA 1201 SIXTEENTH STREET, N.W. was organized in 1857 to.promote the welfare of pupils and teachers, and to advance the science and practice of education. A headquarters staff is con- WASHINGTON 6, D. C. tinuously engaged in research and study to improve American schools. From: Press and Radio Office For further details, contact 5/2/49 Belmont Farley or Roy Wilson FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Note to Editor: A reprint of tie article, "How to Avoid Federal Control of Education" by Ldgar Fuller, Executiv Secretary of the National Council of Chief State School Officers published today in the May issue of the NA JOURNAL is enclosed. The following release is based on the article. ECRETARY FOR STATS SCHOOL OFFICERS DECLARES FEDERAL CUNTROLS CAN 35 AVOIDED IN EDUCATION AID WASHINGTON, MAY 2 -- Edgar Fuller, executive secretary of the National Council of Chief State School Officers, declared today that "we are certain that we know how to have federal financial aid for state and local educational systems without undesirable federal .controls." The Thomas-Taft federal aid bill, now being debated in the Senate, was cited by Dr. Fuller as one illustration of how legislation can "insure against such objectionalbe controls." This bill (S 246), he said, safeguards the federal funds through thoroughly responsible accounting procedures but leaves no room for federal determination of educational policies. Dr. Fuller presents an analysis of federal controls in an article "How to Avoid Federal Control of kducation" published today in the NA Journal, monthly magazine of the National. Education Association, "Our system of local-state-federal educational govermaent," Dr. Fuller says, does not lend. itself to om easy solution of the problems of organizing and administering schools. The state is legally and constitutionally the basic unit for educational responsibility, but the local school districts are usually the operating units, They act under powers delegated by the state, which could be reassumed by the state at any time, "Yet in education, perhaps more than in any other field, both professionals and laymen have their hearts set on preserving the freedom and autonomy of the tocal ‘administrative unit.‘ "If we insist that the state, with all its power and responsibility, shall not exercise more than a minimum of controls over local school districts, it should be easily understood why we insist that the federal government, with comparatively flimsy legal authority and less responsibility, shall leave free from federal controls both the legally responsible state and the operating local ‘units! “ee "There are still those who say federal control is inevitable if federal funds are used, and that controls follow finance as night follows day, history is sometimes on their side, but only because of the obvious mistakes that have been made, We are certain that we know how to have federal financial aid for state and local educational systems without undesirable federal controls. We know how to insure more care and prudence in spending such funds than is usually found within the federal government itself." Usd Wet lla outlet - . A i News from the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION The National Education Association is the national professional organization of educators. More than 775,000 teachers are