Evening star., 1927-02-17
PARENT-TEACHERS
OBSERVE FOUNDING
National Organization Was
Formed in Capital 80
Years Ago Today.

Parent teacher circles Of the Nation
al Capital this week are observing the
anniversary of the founding 80 years
ago today in this city Of the National
Congress Of Parents and Teachers. an
organization which has grown in three
decades from a mere handful to
membership Of more than 100000
persons
With the original aim of securing
better conditions in the home ana OIL
carrying mother love and mother
thought into all that touches child
hood in home, school, church or
State" the congress was chartered
here by group Of women led by the
late Mrs. Theodore w. Birney and
Mrs. Phoebe Hearst.
Expansion Was Rapid.
The organizers, both men and
women, were persons of affairs, rep
resenting the philanthropic, religious,
social and political interests Of the
Nation. They realized that while
mothers have ever determined the
character Of young children, they have
failed, lacking guidance and co-Opera-
ton, to exert the influence upon the
race which might be possible were
conditions beyond the home brought
under at least partial control.
The organization expanded rapidly.
Branches were organized In many
States and a magazine was establish
ed. Prominent men, including Theo-
dore Roosevelt, accepted places on the
advisory council, and within a decade
the National Congress Of Mothers had
hcooypn q n0waY.flll inf1u6nCp
Movement Was Popular.
From the first it was the policy of
the congress to reach In a helpful
way the two social institutions exer-
cising the most direct influence upon
young children-the home and the
school. The movement proved popu-
lar, and in order that 1t might be Oil
rected more effectively a special de-
partment in charge Of this work was
created within the congress, and in
1908 the name of the organization was
changed to the National Congress OF
Mothers and Parent-Teacher Assocla-
tions.
Eight years after the founding of
the original congress there was or
ganized in Washington the District
of Columbia Congress of Parent
Teacher Associations. The local body
will celebrate it's twenty-second birth
day next Monday.
According to a journal just issued
bv the National Education Association,
more than a million lovers Of children
are now banded together in the Ma
tional Congress of Parents and Teach
ers, and 1.-The possibilities of the move
ment are almost limitleSs as the wider
vision spreads"
Aids Education at Many Points.
This vast movement" the journal
states, "aids education at many points.
It emphasizes the worth of the human
factor. It sets the child in the midst
of our enterprises as the loftiest OBJ
ject Of our effort. It magnifles parent
hood. 1t elevates the teacher. These
values are fundamental"
The movement also is valuable, 1t is
asserted, in developing the home as
a place for rearing children. in making
large contribution to the improve
ment of schools and in creating gen
orally a better community.
A formal celebration of the thirtieth
birthday anniversary OF the National
Congress was held Tuesday afternoon
at the Willard Hotel, at which time
tributes were paid to the memory OF
Mrs Birney. In an account of that
meeting in yesterdays Star it was
indicated, through an unfortunate mis-
that Mrs. Birney was
still alive. The Star regrets this error.