The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1941-07-19

nh, U,dohoLor missioner Stude-
bakers. Many
Of the mistakes he finds are likely
to prove to be unintentional ones.
The associations after deliberately
disloyal literature.
When the commissioner discov-
ers an error, he can only point II
out, because public education's un-
der the various states local con-
troll. Presumably they'll make
corrections at his suggestions, but,
as an official OF the central gov
eminent, he can't dictate.
For that matter, the n, e. A.
can't dictate, either. Nevertheless,
it's the country's strongest organi-
cation Of its kind, with headquar-
ters and a large staff in Washing
ton. It's membership consists Of
actual teachers. When it puts its
finger upon a sample Of outright
disloyalty. that specimen will find
it exceedingly difficult to avoid
erasing itself. At its last conven-
ton in Boston the concern named
a committee OF 60 to handle the
job. Besides public schools teach
ings, this committee will dig into
'em in private ones and in colleges.
1t also VIII do more than merely
read books. 1t will go on the trail
OF individual teachers and groups
OF 'em, who pump disloyalty into
their pupils-such stuff as Com
munlsm, Nazism, Fascism, Falang-
ism, Anarchism. ct cetera.
Well, all right. It's highly COM
mendable in the n. E. A. to under
take the task Of stopping the edu-
cation Of kids into the idea that
the ends sought by these miscel-
laneous PHILOSOPHERS n desirable.
Why Not Explain:
But it doesn't follow that the
kids shouldn't be told what said
PHILOSOPHERS ARE. The more fully
THAT'S explained to 'em, the bet
ter they'll understand how and
what to steer clear or. keeping
'em in ignorance Of what's bad
doesn't seem to me the right way
to 20 about it.
l once had a little daughter, nov
grown up, who attended a school
in which one Of her instructors was
a very pronounced Socialist. It
was before Nazism amounted to
much, but that teacher foreshad-
owed it accurately.
She fed some detail OF her po-
litico-economic doctrine into my
little girls system daily. Every
time she did so, as loon as she got
home, the small damsel would re-
late to me what she's been told
and ask me my opinion Of it. OF
course, being 100 per cent demo-
crat, I'd make her see why that
notion was pure hooey. Why, that
teacher gave me more valuable
hints as to the things my child's
mind ought to be fortified against
than a whole faculty Of democratic
educators could have done.
Now that's she's grown up and
married, several rip-snorting good
Democrats have remarked to me
how enlightened my daughters po-
litico-economic views are. They
didn't give me any OF the credit
for it, though. l wasn't entitled to
it, either. The credit was due to
her N~azi-ideaed teacher-in re-
verse, Of course
I told the above story to n Of
the guys, to be sure. He's been
roasting totalitarian influences in
education, so l related my wi ex-
perience.
"Oh, WE'LL" he said. that's an
exceptional case. A lot Of papas
amt like you"
Let's Have Ventilation
All the same, l believe in venti-
lation.
No, I'm not intimating that the
National Educational associations
committee Of so will do anything
but fight outright misrepresenta-
ton and genuine advocacy OF I'M
democratic systems Of one sort or
another. q
But surely It shouldn't adopt a
hush-hush policy.
When some kind OF a noxious
germ'sin the atmosphere, ignoring
it isn't the best method of staving
of the insect. II needs to be I'M
derstood to be guarded against.
Not exactly that I'm If favor OF
encouraging its carriers. like that