Evening star., 1951-07-04
National Education
Session Warned Of
School Social Bias
By the Associaied Press

By the Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO. July "A
call upon parents and teachers
to fight discrimination in the
schools against children who live
ION the wrong side of the tracks"
was made before the National
Education Association today by
Mrs. John E. Haynes of Twin
Falls. Idaho.
Mrs. Haynes is president Of the
National Congress of Parents and
Teachers.
In session yesterday the NEA
was told that organized groups
opposed to public education are
joining forces to attack public
school administrations in several
American communities.
Attacks recently have been
made against the school systems
of Englewood, N. j.; Scarsdale,
N Y; Port Washington, N. Y;
San Angelo, Tex: Ferndale, Mich:
Montgomery County. Md, and
several places in California, a
panel of speakers asserted
About a dozen organizations
constitute the front" for these
enemies of public education" the
speakers said.
In her address Mrs. Haynes said
she had heard from parent
teacher sources that "discrimina-
tion is rife in our public schools" :"
IT am not thinking about dis
elimination against nationality,
color or creed. but against those
who lack social status she said.
"One parent wrote us not long
ago that child. not hers, was
never called by name the entire
time he was in certain class
room. Instead, the teacher re-
ferred to him as Hey. you in the
red sweater!'
That such insensitive behavior
can persist in the awakened world
of today-and in teachers, of all
people-Seems in credible.
We can enact laws to protect the
helpless and to provide material
comforts for them . but we can
not thus bring to them the ir-
replacable sense of belonging. of
being at home in the school and in
the community"
Warnings of New Attacks.
Mrs Haynes said the Parent
Teacher Association should work
to safeguard the social inheritance
of children and protect the in
stltutions by which young Ameri-
cans should have stable growth
and development.
Four widely known educators
teamed up in the panel to warn
school officials generally of the at
tacks on public education and that
attacks elsewhere may be expected
They are DR.. John w. Davis,
president of West Virginia State
College; DR.. Virgil Rogers, Battle
Greek (Mich.) school superintend-
ent; DR.. Richard B. Kennan, exec
utive secretary of the NEA Defense
Commission, and Glenn Snow. as
sistant secretary of lay relations OF
the NEA.
The speakers named 10 organi-
cations which they said were the
principal sewers of distrust in the
public mind about school matters
In general. they said, the or
ganizations are without any traces
of communism. and seem mott
waited by dislike of the rising cost
of public education, by opposition
to school expansion and the "fad'
and frills" of progressive educa-
ton and by bigotry.
Superintendent Forced Out.
Some of these organizations
the educators said, have beer
operating for years, but did not
Join forces until recently. First
evidence of their coalition, sale
DR.. Kennan, was when two o1
them co-operated in an attack or
the Pasadena (CalifD school ad-
ministration which led last veal
to the resignation of Superin'
tendent Willard E Goslin, &
widely known educator.
The dissidents often use totali'
tartan tactics. DR.. Rogers said
including repetition of the biz
lie," smear techniques. rabble
rousing and name-calling. Som'
of them have been aided f1nan
cially by large corporations, h
added.
The 10 leading organization
mentioned by the speakers hav
been named previously in Me-
publications and some of then
have figured in Senate investiga
tiors. They are:
Friends Of the Public School
of America, Inc, of Washington
D. c., headed by retired Arm
Brig. Gen. Amos A. Fries; tn
National Council for America
Education, New York; Conferenc
of American Small Business Or
ganizations, Committee on Edu
cation, New York; American Par
ents Committee on Education
New York; Church League {
America, Chicago; Employers As
seciation of Chicago, Institute fe
Public Service. New York; Ma
tional Association of Pro-Amel
lea, Seattle, Wash; America
Education Association. New Yorl
and Guardians of American &c
ucation, Inc, New York.
The last two named have bee
inactive recently. DR.. Kenna
said.