The Goslings: A Study of the American SchoolsSinclair, Upton
History
The Goslings: A Study of the American Schools
Sinclair, Upton
Education -- United States
The faculty at Jefferson High School decided that they would like to
hear both sides on this problem of affiliation with labor, so they made
up a questionnaire, and sent it, first, to fifty teachers’ organizations
which were affiliated with the American Federation of Labor; second, to
fifty which were not affiliated; and third, to all those which had been
affiliated and had withdrawn. This would seem calculated to bring out
all sides in the discussion; but the board of education issued a
peremptory order that the procedure should cease. I have a written
report of this incident from the teacher who interviewed Mr. Helm, the
banker president of the board. Here is one paragraph:
Mr. Helm spoke very decidedly against the committee’s right to
continue its investigation, stating that its plans were “propaganda of
the worst sort.” He said the board had told the teachers what they
(the teachers) were to do, and that was the end of it. He declared
there was but _one_ side of the question of injecting _anything_ to do
with “labor” into any teachers’ organization. He said it was
impertinence to ask the board what it thought about such a matter,
because it had put itself on record in no uncertain terms. He said the
board reflected the “will of the people” in this regard. When
questioned as to who “the people” are, he replied, such concerns as
the Merchants’ and Manufacturers’ Association and the Chamber of
Commerce, “which are responsible for the upbuilding of the city.” He
said when it was suggested to have “that man Stillman” (president of
the American Federation of Teachers) to speak before the teachers at
institute, these representative business men of Los Angeles asked,
“You’re not going to permit that, are you?” And he told them, “No,
indeed!” He remarked that the board expects the teachers to see to it
that “labor” does not get any recognition in the teaching profession.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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