1941: Education

Education and Defense.

The attention of all concerned with education was devoted in 1941 to the issues raised by the emergency situation. The current slogan, 'Education for National Defense,' involved two issues, the one immediate and the other of a long-term nature. The first aspect required the adjustment of education to the urgent need for a continuous supply of trained workers for the defense services. The second was equally urgent but affected the basic purposes of education and consequently constant definition of the meaning of democracy and democratic institutions. While both aspects were recognized as equally important in the present emergency, the first received major attention because it required immediate action. While the second sought to safeguard what has been achieved in the nation's education and to assure and strengthen it for the future.

The rise of booming defense centers and the establishment of Army camps created problems for educational administrators which demanded immediate attention. New classrooms and additional teachers were required to take care of a shift in school population at the elementary and high school levels estimated at about 300,000 boys and girls. A shortage of school facilities in 500 localities was reported at the beginning of the school year in September 1941, with a consequent extension of school vacations for from 15,000 to 20,000 pupils. To aid defense centers to bear the burden of increased population Congress appropriated $150,000,000, some of which was to be devoted to the construction of school buildings under the supervision of the U.S. Office of Education. It was estimated that 1,000 teachers would be needed to fill new positions, and another large number to take the place of teachers drawn off by the army and industry. A shortage of teachers was already reported in some states.

Defense training programs had to be organized under emergency conditions with a lack of teachers, buildings, and other facilities. The situation was met by utilizing all types of available buildings and by the adoption in some places of two, three, or even more shifts in vocational training schools. Vocational training provided in local schools was expected to reach more than 1,500,000 workers and potential defense workers under the $66,500,000 job-training program administered by the U.S. Office of Education. Through this program it was planned to provide workers for aircraft construction, mechanics for the army and navy, and workers for the shipbuilding and electrical industries. It was estimated that 4,000,000 persons in all were being trained in 1941 for defense industries of different types. An important contribution which was expected to come from the necessity of providing vocational training under emergency conditions was the recognition of the value of short, intensive courses, which will assume increasing significance in the post-war period to which attention is already being directed to meet the needs of men returning from military service or from defense to non-defense industries. The present situation accentuated a shift which was already under way from general academic to vocational courses in high schools. In New York City there was during the year an increase of 15 per cent in the number of students in vocational schools and departments. The same shift was noted at the college level from the liberal arts to the sciences, engineering, and medicine, which are regarded as essential to defense.

In view of this situation there was a certain amount of fear for the future of general education. Some dislocation had already occurred in the study of foreign languages with a decline in the number of students taking French and German and an increase in those taking Spanish through the increased interest in inter-American relations. Another important emphasis was indicated in the provision of courses to meet the desire of students to understand the contemporary situation and the direction which the future may take. There was a new interest in history, social studies, and international relations in schools, colleges, and courses for adults.

Education and Democracy.

The major concern continued to center on defining clearly the meaning of democracy and on making it work. One of the serious topics which aroused nation-wide discussion was the question of freedom for teachers to deal with controversial issues in the schools. The issue was raised at the beginning of the year by a report prepared under the auspices of the National Association of Manufacturers on textbooks in the social studies. The report consisted of abstracts from such textbooks intended to prove that their authors were not impartial in presenting their points of view. One series of these textbooks had already been under fire and had been banned in some school systems for 'subversive' views. The education profession as a whole, however, rose to the defense of the textbooks and the controversy appeared to die down. In New York City the Rapp-Coudert Committee continued its investigation which resulted in the suspension of a very small number of teachers in colleges and schools for Communist activities. For similar reasons the American Federation of Teachers revoked the charters of three local unions.

Governor Eugene Talmadge, after reorganizing the State Board of Regents, secured the dismissal of the dean of the University of Georgia School of Education and the president of the Georgia Teachers College on the charge of advocating racial equality. The General Education Board and the Rosenwald Fund withdrew their support from the University and the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools withdrew intercollegiate recognition of Georgia's degrees and credits. Georgia's two leading institutions of higher education were also dropped from the Southern Conference and the Association of American Universities. That Governor Talmadge did not represent the public opinion of his State was indicated by the opposition of the leading newspapers and the protest of the student body of the University. Early in November Governor Talmadge authorized the Board of Regents to review his acts in order to secure the reinstatement of the University in the accrediting agencies.

The literature on the meaning of democracy in general and for education in particular is constantly growing. The basic issue of the crisis—that totalitarianism presents a fundamental challenge to the democratic way of living—was universally recognized. On the educational side one of the most important contributions on the subject was The Education of Free Men in American Democracy, another volume in the outstanding series of publications put out in the last few years by the Educational Policies Commission. This book shows how the strategy of totalitarianism embraces the organization of a disciplined party, the formulation of a 'grand program,' appeals to idealism and heroism, cultivates and utilizes human weaknesses, undermines social solidarity, creates confusion, arouses and spreads terror, and exploits the very processes and virtues of democracy. American democracy must meet this challenge by providing a greater measure of equality of security in economic condition and opportunity; it must safeguard the general welfare and the long-time interests of society. The first duty of free schools in a democracy is to indoctrinate youth with loyalty to democratic ideals and to disseminate the social knowledge necessary for free men. The final chapters deal with the problems of freedom and control, and the participation of government, teacher, and people in education. The discussion of these problems is based on the principle that 'political control over the process of intellectual and moral development suggests the negation of freedom.'

Colleges and Universities.

A preliminary report on the enrollments in 573 approved institutions for higher education revealed a decrease of 5 to 20 per cent at the beginning of the academic year 1941-42. The decrease was due to the effects of the selective draft and the opportunities for defense jobs. The decrease was heavier in public than in private institutions; some independent colleges of arts and sciences even showed increases of 5 to 25 per cent, while independent teachers colleges were hardest hit of all. Of the 573 institutions 117 showed increased enrollments over the previous year, in 125 there was no change, and in 331 there were decreases. Enrollments in medical schools were the largest on record and large in engineering colleges; an increase was also noted in the science departments in general. Law schools showed a reduction in number of students.

The Educational Directory of the U.S. Office of Education, issued in May 1941, indicated an increase in the number of colleges and institutions, 29 more being listed than in 1937. The increase does not, however, represent newly established institutions, but a reclassification of existing institutions. The total distribution is as follows for 1941, as compared with the figures for 1937 in parentheses: colleges and universities 744 (714); professional schools 270 (267); teachers colleges 190 (173); normal schools 54 (82); junior colleges 462 (468).

Anniversaries.

During the past year a number of institutions of higher education have celebrated important anniversaries: Stanford University and the University of Chicago, their fiftieth; Lehigh University and Fisk University, their seventy-fifth; Fordham University and the University of Michigan, their hundredth; the University of Vermont, its one hundred and fiftieth; and Rutgers University, its one hundred and seventy-fifth.

Issues in Higher Education.

The crisis through which the country was passing and the anniversaries which were celebrated promoted widespread discussions on the future of higher education and also raised a number of immediate problems. The decrease in enrollments due to the selective draft and the increased opportunities for employment in defense jobs brought up the question of the financial status of colleges and universities as well as the problems of encouraging students to complete their studies before they were called to army service and of adapting studies to emergency needs.

In order to encourage students to complete their courses a large number of colleges planned to adopt arrangements whereby students might graduate in three instead of four years. As an emergency measure only it was proposed to adapt the work offered in existing summer sessions to the needs of undergraduates or to offer courses in summer for the first time. No general plan was adopted, however, and each institution provided for acceleration of students in its own way. Thus at Columbia College students could take courses in summer. Yale, Harvard and Princeton offered a speed-up plan providing college entrance examinations in April instead of June, and summer sessions, so that the normal 4-year course could be accomplished in 3 years.

The emergency caused some alarm about the future of the liberal arts should the work of the colleges be directed increasingly to vocational studies. President Roosevelt, in a message read at a meeting of the American College Publicity Association, referred to both the emergency situation and the long-term issue when he said, 'The message I would emphasize to you this year is that America will always need men and women of college training. Government and industry alike need skilled technicians today. Later we shall need men and women of broad understanding and special aptitudes to serve as leaders of the generation which must manage the post-war world. We must, therefore, redouble our efforts during these critical times to make our schools and colleges render ever more efficient service in support of our cherished democratic institutions.'

While the educational issues were clearly stated and discussed, colleges and universities, especially the private institutions, faced a more serious problem through the reduction in enrollments, the decline of financial contributions, and the shrinking of endowments. This situation, if continued, would, it was felt, lead to a reduction of educational opportunities through an increase in the cost of education to the students or to a lowering of standards of instruction, salaries, and equipment. The suggestion of aid from state or Federal sources was not viewed with any enthusiasm, partly through regard for the independence of private institutions and partly through fear of possible political control. There is one encouraging feature, in an otherwise serious situation, in a report of the American Council on Education that 120 institutions earned 4.06 per cent on their funds in 1940-41 and expected to earn 3.86 per cent in the current academic year. The funds analyzed amounted to $1,263,653,000 or 75 per cent of the total endowment funds held by institutions of higher education.

Statistics of Education.

In November 1941, the U.S. Office of Education issued the following estimates for the school year 1941-42: Number of elementary school pupils 20,707,000 (18,482,000 public; 2,225,000 private); kindergarten enrollment 665,000 (625,000 public; 40,000 private); elementary school teachers 700,000 (625,000 public; 75,000 private); high school pupils (4 years) 7,334,000 (6,834,000 public; 500,000 private); high school teachers 350,000 (315,000 public; 35,000 private). According to the estimate there were still 115,000 one-teacher schools with 2,520,000 pupils; on the other hand 4,600,000 pupils were transported to schools at public expense. The total enrollment in all institutions of higher education was estimated at 1,450,000.

Teachers' Salaries.

The effect of rising prices on teachers' salaries was watched with growing concern. While salaries in 1940-41 were higher than in 1938-39, it was only in cities of 100,000 and over that teachers recovered the salary losses of the depression. It was feared that salaries and prices may again become seriously disparate. The range of median salaries for elementary school teachers in 1940-41 was from $1,149 in cities of 2,500 to 5,000 to $2,268 in cities over 100,000; of high school teachers from $1,428 to $2,768; of elementary school principals from $1,878 to $3,420; of high school principals from $2,136 to $4,806; and of superintendents from $3,219 to $8,605. Salary schedules were found to be in existence in nearly all cities of over 30,000 population and in more than 60 per cent of the smaller cities.

Student Aid.

Students in high schools, colleges, and universities were aided in a variety of ways—scholarships, loan funds, and wages for part-time work. A report on Financial Aids for College Students, published during the year by the U.S. Office of Education, presented an analysis of the total sum devoted to this purpose in 1937-38. Of the total $51,255,145 spent by 1,387 institutions, 41 per cent was distributed in the form of scholarships, 11 per cent in the form of loans, and 48 per cent as wages for part-time employment. To this sum the National Youth Administration contributed $9,779,459. The largest amount of aid ($17,747,465) was given in privately-controlled institutions; state-controlled institutions followed with $17,676,532; institutions under Protestant control provided $10,289,333, and under Roman Catholic control $3,956,408; in city institutions, chiefly junior colleges, the amount spent on aid was $1,585,407. Aid through the provision of work predominated over all other types in all institutions, while in private endowed institutions alone the largest amount of aid was through scholarships.

For 1941-42 the National Youth Administration announced the allocation of $21,088,125 for students in the forty-eight States, District of Columbia, New York City, Alaska, Hawaii, Porto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Of the total $10,039,050 was allocated for high school students and $11,049,075 for students in colleges and universities. An additional sum of $85,000 was set aside for negro college and graduate students in states where no facilities for higher education were available for them. New York City received $1,210,710 to aid about 15,000 high school and 5,000 college and university students.

National Citizenship Education Program.

The registration of aliens conducted by the Department of Justice in 1940 revealed that there were almost 5,000,000 living in the country, of whom about one in six could not write. To meet this situation a National Advisory Board was appointed in 1941 and a National Citizenship Education Program was created under the sponsorship of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and financed by $14,000,000 WPA funds. The purpose of the program is to assist cooperating agencies, the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Department of Justice, and state and local boards of education in providing classes and instruction to applicants for naturalization to prepare for the duties and responsibilities of citizenship. Dean William F. Russell, on leave from Teachers College, Columbia University, was appointed Director of the program which is being put into operation through state and local education authorities.

Federal Government and Education.

The Federal Government appropriated $713,985,000 for educational purposes for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1942. These funds were distributed for the following purposes: U.S. Office of Education programs, college R.O.T.C. classes, civilian pilot training, apprentice training, Indian schools, training for merchant marine, WPA education, alien education, 'boom town' school construction, agriculture and home economics extension work, agricultural experiment stations, Civilian Conservation Corps, and National Youth Administration.

The need for increased Federal aid for education was generally recognized. The above appropriations were in the main intended to meet the emergency situation. There are, however, conditions which are permanent and which can only be met by larger grants from the Federal Government. Senator Elbert Thomas introduced a bill (S.1313) authorizing Federal appropriations of $300,000,000 to the States to enable them to equalize educational opportunities, to give negroes equal rights to such opportunities, to provide schools for children in defense areas or of migratory workers, or living on Federal reservations. Funds would be apportioned to the States on the basis of their financial ability, the number of children, and the need of additional public school facilities. States and localities would be left free from Federal control to exercise their initiative in the organization and administration of the schools, the determination of curricula and methods, and the selection of personnel. A total of 122 educational measures was introduced in the First Session of the 77th Congress of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The increasing participation of the Federal Government in the support of education demanded to meet needs which have arisen as a result of the period of depression and the national emergency raised the important issue of control. The creation of new Federal authorities, such as the National Youth Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps, had already given rise to serious conflicts in Washington. With the increasing demands for vocational training of workers for national defense these conflicts not only increased but brought to the fore the more important issue of the division of functions between the Federal authorities and state and local agencies for education. This issue was fully discussed in a pamphlet, The Civilian Conservation Corps, the National Youth Administration and the Public Schools, published by the Educational Policies Commission in October 1941, which is one of the most important recent statements on national policy in education.

The issue was stated in two questions: (1) Should the Federal Government operate and control educational programs to meet needs which affect national welfare, if state and local agencies are unable to do so unaided? Or (2) Should the Federal Government meet those needs by working through state and local agencies, supplying financial aid and leadership but leaving the control over the processes of education to the state and local agencies? The principle implied in the second question is one which was followed consistently from 1785 to 1933. This principle, it was feared, had been violated since the NYA and the CCC, created originally to provide relief, work, and employment, began gradually to extend their functions and to enter into the field of training and education directly. Neither education nor training was mentioned as functions of these agencies. The result was that two systems of vocational training and other forms of education of unemployed out-of-school youth emerged under Federal control and in competition with state and local agencies.

The Educational Policies Commission, representing the opinion of most educators throughout the country, stressed the danger of this practice being established as a permanent principle and called for a consistent policy to safeguard the nation against the dangers of centralized control. Not only were the dangers of centralized control, which is contrary to the American tradition of decentralization in the administration of education, and of the creation everywhere of dual systems of education involved, but the equally serious educational issue of dividing the educational tutelage of youth between different authorities was raised. A dual system, if permanently established, would give rise not only to two systems of administration but also to a class system of education—one for youth able to stay in school until ready for employment and another for those no longer in school.

Accordingly, the Educational Policies Commission, after stressing the American tradition of decentralization which makes for greater adaptability, experimentation, and progress, and is a safeguard against exploitation by a central government, urged that state and local agencies should have full authority and responsibility for the operation and control of all public education, including all services to meet the educational needs, general and vocational, of youth. The function of the Federal Government should be to stimulate, strengthen, and support state and local agencies through leadership, research, experimentation, and demonstration, but refraining from the operation and control of educational processes. This function should be exercised in the interests of equalizing educational opportunities within and between the states.

The Educational Policies Commission did not recommend the abandonment of the educational activities recently undertaken by the Federal Government, but urged the discontinuance of the newly created agencies, the NYA and the CCC, and the transfer of their functions as agencies of vocational training, general education, and guidance to state and local agencies, and as public works agencies to the general agency or agencies of public works. Looking to the future the Commission presented proposals and recommendations for the reconstruction of the nation's programs for youth and identified seven educational needs.

In view of the increasing realization of the need of Federal aid to equalize educational opportunities, the Commission's report was an important contribution in defining a policy consistent with American tradition and an efficient educational service. It was a statement which cannot be ignored in the future. The National Committee on Education and Defense had already issued similar recommendations before the publication of the pamphlet by the Educational Policies Commission. The Committee expressed its opposition to the creation of agencies through Federal funds 'which will parallel or duplicate existing educational facilities,' and recommended that 'the existing regular educational agencies be adjusted, expanded, and utilized to meet the needs of the times.' After the emergency there should be 'Federal participation in a nation-wide educational program operated through the public schools and intended to serve all youth according to their needs.'

For the present the only movement to eliminate competition of authority is the adoption by the National Advisory Committee of a suggestion made by President Roosevelt that the NYA and CCC be consolidated, while the essential services performed by these agencies be continued and maintained. See also ADULT EDUCATION.