Montana labor news., 1945-01-04
The RESPONSIBILITY
OF The SCHOOLS
TO THE PUBLIC
BY GEORGE A. HABERMAN
President Wisconsin State Federation
of Labor


BY GEORGE A. HABERMAN
President Wisconsin State Federation
of Labor
Since The organized labor movement Of
America was largely responsible for the
free public school system Of the nation,
the Wisconsin Federation of Labor is
vitality interested in the responsibility of
the schools to the public. For many
years it has been the position Of the
American Federation of Labor that the
first responsibility of the public schools
is to educate citizens so they may par
ticipate intellgently in a democratic So
ciety Many books and hundreds of
articles have been written about the i'm
portance of education in democratic
government but there is no better state
ment Of the basic purpose of public edu-
cation than the following statement
adopted at the very first convention of
THE American Federation Of Labor in
1881
IF the state has the right to exact
certain compliance with its demands,
then it is also the right of the state to
educate its people to the proper under
standing of such demands"
The eleventh convention of the A. F.
Of L., in 1891 declared.
We urge the necessity of thor
ough education Of children so that
they may be able to Judge in after years
OF their standing, rights and liberties,
that are guaranteed to a free people of
which they are part and factors"
Throughout its entire history the
American Federation of Labor has fought
for the public schools as the basis of
the fundamental philosophy that public
education is indispensable to the success
Of democratic government, In 1888 the
annual convention declared:
The more complex or democratic
society becomes, the greater the need
for education as a protection for
democratic government"
World War II has proved that national
defense is a vital responsibility Of the
public school system The 1910 conven-
ton of the A. f. of L., declared.
I'VE now realize as never before,
that defending democracy is as much
an educational as a military task"
The 1941 convention Of the A. r. Of L.,
just before Pearl Harbor, declared.
Education is the first line Of ma
tional defense, and as SUCH should
be extended rather than curtailed."
The vocational schools of the nation
have trained in regular and special
classes almost as many skilled workers
and technicians for the war effort as
there are men in all of the armed forces
combined These vocational schools
We're established largely through the
Smith-Hughes law which was sponsored
and enacted through the efforts of the
Federation of Labor, Referring
to education and the war effort, Fred
Conboy, mayor Of Toronto, has said:
Labor has stood for education;
education has stood for us in good
stead in the time of our great need"
The Importance of education in the
defense is emphasized in the
following telegram from President Roose-
velt to the American Federation of
Teachers in August, 1914:
Despite certain widely publicized
educational weaknesses revealed by
the strains of total war, the schools
and colleges Of the nation have made
a magnificent contribution to the
war effort American fighting men
have proved in combat the initiative
self-reliance, mental alertness, and
devotion to duty that are the prod
ucts of the training they have re-
ceived, not alone in military training
camps and stations, but in homes
and schools and occupational life as
well"
National defense, therefore, has be-
come one of the primary responsibilities
If American education and for that rea-
ION, the labor movement believes that |
he schools deserve much more extensive
inancial support, including federal aid |
One Of the most important response !
'iities Of the public schools is to demon
trate the democratic process in the
chools Of the nation. It is unfortunate
hat many of our public school systems
re among the most undemocratic insti-
utions in the nation The American
federation of Labor, at its last annual
in Boston, Mass, in October,
943, stated.
I'm order that American education
nay render its greatest possible services
o our nation and to the postwar world,
We urge that every schoolroom in Amer
ca be made a living laboratory OF de-
nocracy. Hundreds of American school
ystems are operated as almost exact
ounterparts of the fascist states of
europe If America is to point the way
o a successful and peaceful democratic
ociety in the postwar world, we must
irst Of all place our own house in order
nd democratize those school systems Of