Chapter 11: The Politics of Knowledge: Teachers Unions, the American Legion, and the American Way from The American School: 1642-2004 by J. Spring After WWI, the American Legion joined with the National Education Association in an effort to week out so-called radical ideas from public schools. They campaigned against what they called subversive teachers and radical ideas in the curriculum. In the 1930's, the National Association of Manufacturers launched the "American Way" campaign through schools and other organizations to try to create an automatic association in the public mind between democracy and capitalism. (p. 317) + Keep the Schools out of Politics: the Politics of Education -In attempting to protect their power, administrative progressives established alliances with business elites. Both groups advocated scientific management and hierarchical control (p. 318) -Schools were being blamed for America's difficulties in international competition with Japan and West Germany. (p. 318) -Teachers believed their major hope for obtaining decent wages and working conditions was unionism and joining forces with organized labor. These struggles pitted teachers against admission. (p.318) +The Politics of Professionalism: Teachers VS Administrators -Teachers seek aid through mutual organization; low salaries and a lack of retirement funds were problems. (p. 319) -Teachers were at the bottom of the chain of command; teachers became objects of scientific management. (p. 319) -Teachers began to organize to gain influence on educational policy as well as seeking better wages and working conditions. (p.320) -Scientific management through merit pay. (p.320) -Issues with educational policy began multiplying between teachers and administration. (p.320) -Ella Flag Young was one of the first women in the US to hold the position of superintendent. She believed in democratic control of the schools and had good relations with the CFT. (p.321) +The Rise of the National Education Association -Formed by 10 teachers in 1857 with the common objective of upgrading the teaching profession. (p.323) -In the 1950's, the federal government began to assume the leadership role in national educational policy. (p.326) -Originally, each teacher was allowed one vote. This was changed to the administrators of schools being allowed the votes. Thus, the NEA became an organization dominated by administrators. (p.324) +The Political Changes of Depression Years -The depression began to split the alliances among local school administrators, local school boards, and local elites. (p.326) -The economic pressures of the Depression caused some leading educators to advocate use of the schools to bring about a radical transformation of society. (p.328) -Government involvement created tension between professional educators and the federal government as to each group's role in control of youth. (p.327) -Members of the business and financial community began to call for reductions in teacher salaries and educational programs. (p.329)
+Rugg and Advertising
-Advertising Federation of America distributed pamphlets entitled “Facts You Should Know about Anti- Advertising Propaganda in School Textbooks.” The pamphlets criticized the Rugg Books for turning students against advertising. (p.341)
-The federation declared that critics of advertising were “those who prefer collectivism and regimentation by political force. (p.341)
-They claimed that communism was the basis for anti-advertising attitudes and the development of Consumers Union. (p.341)
-September 1940, Time magazine reported that members of the Binghamton, New York, school board called for public burning of Rugg’s textbooks. (p.342)
- Demise of the Rugg books demonstrated the power of public relations campaigns to associate in the public mind anything critical of the United State’s economic and political system with un-Americanism and communism (p.343)