Newspapers / The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, … / Nov. 15, 1945, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
i*/2 ijl All 4l"J f m 1 A ? J Fundamentals Needed In Postwar Education Courses Must Be Centered Around Core of Subjects Stressing Human Relations; Physical Build-up Also Important. By BAUKHAGE /Veu j Analyst and Commentator. WNU Service, 1CM Eye Street, N.W., Washington, D. C. (This is the second of two articles on the "new reconversion," this one in education.) In a previous column I laid before you the vital need of reconverting our educational system if America is going to meet the chdllenge of other Ideologies to the faith in our democratic institutions. I pointed out how poorly many of our occupa tion forces are testifying to their democratic convictions in the face of the geniality of our former ene mies. 1 took you into the office of Com missioner of Education John Stude baker who pointed out to me how reconverting educationally is as im portant as reconverting industrially if we are going to meet the problems of the day. Dr. Studebaker said that this could be achieved by making a solid core of education available to all. Such a core would be com posed of certain basic studies which educators believe are essential to a solidarity of democratic thought. The commissioner of education sees this core as a reinforcement of men tal iron in the moral structure of the nation. When you talk about making this core available to all, that is not the complete picture. Men like Doctor Studebaker would have this group of basic studies required of all stu dent, not just made available to them. And thereby, say the tradition alists, bangs a threat to the elective system under which many institu tions of learning have been comfort ably educating students. Under the system of free choice, College Joe and College Jane could pick the courses their hearts desired. If their hearts desired a little extra sleep in the morning, they could pick classes that would not require early rising. If extra-curricular activities were particularly heavy one semester, they did not have to take economics which was hard when Turkish archi tecture was a snap. Too many students have been com ing out of our Institutions of learn ing without a basic concept of what our democracy is all about, say the educators who are crying for recon version. If they don't select the courses that will give them that con- I cept, they must be required to take them, these same men say?the fu ture of our way of life is at stake. Education Vital Forca in State It is a well-known fact that before the Nazis ever dreamed of world conquest they first restrained by force, those who were too old or too wise to accept Nazi indoctrination. The more malleable minds of the young were filled with the false doc trines of subordination to the state, race hatred and exaltation of might. Their other anti-democratic and anti - Christian principles were poured into the youth until there was produced a state in which the controlling element of the population was fanatically loyal to Naziism. Democracy and Christian princi ples once instilled can produce just as strong a loyalty, just as enduring a faith, but there is a minimum of instruction in their true meaning that must be made available to ev eryone?more than that, that should be required study of everyone who would be a good citizen. This is the first way in which the destruc 1 i v?? fnrr?? vhirh nm wnrkint against democracy can be arretted. And to Doctor Studebaker pre sents the idea of a "core" around which can be built an understand ing of the whole democratic system; how its parts can be fitted into one another and into a world which must either be closely integrated or ex plosively antagonistic. There is not space here to consid er the details of the composition of this core. Two examples of the type of studies which Doctor Studebaker feels are essential, and which must be taught much more comprehen 1 lively and for a longer period than they are now, was given in the first article. They are economics and geography. There must be basic understandings and skills in the field of language. By that the com missioner means the channels by which we communicate and are communicated with?reading, writ ing, listening, speaking. Since radio broadcasts are heard daily by multi plied millions, critical listening should be a vital part of the basic educational program. Since freedom of expression ia an essential attribute of a democracy, citizens need to develop critical thinking in order to evaluate the powerful influence of communica tion and propaganda constantly brought to bear on them. War Exposee Academic Weaknesses During the war, certain major weaknesses in our educational sys tem were bluntly exposed. Total re jections in the war for physical, psychiatric and educational reasons have been almost as numerous as the number of men who served in the army overseas. We may or may not need our young men to light another war, but regardless of this, we need to improve school pro grams of health and physical educa tion, Including the early discovery of remediable defects to be corrected hv farrtilv nhvcirians anH nuhlie health agencies. A nation that would be strong, must be strong physi cally. Military authorities have also found a major weakness in the work of the schools in the failure to re quire older students to carry mathe matics to the point of practical mas tery. The natural sciences gained a larger place in the field of educa tion during the war, and they should continue to do so, according to Com missioner Studebaker. No adequate understanding of our civilization is possible without-considerable knowl edge of them. Moreover, many careers in trade, technical, profes sional and scientific pursuits, wheth er of industry, business or agricul ture, are handicapped without a thor ough scientific groundwork, laid in the elementary and secondary schools and for many, continued in the colleges and universities. But one of the most basic seg ments of the core, in the opinion of Dr. Studebaker, should be made up of the social studies. It is upon this gs uuf uioi nc uars isaucu 11 iuo i heavily in training (or responaible citizenship ? and this must con tinue! History and the other social studies are essential to the ground ing of our citizen* in the American tradition of political liberty, a knowledge of the structure of our republican form of government, and a firm attachment to the democratic faith, factor Studebaker says. I said that It is the belief of im portant educators that a core of this type must become a "must" in the curricula of the nation, thereby casting overboard the traditional elective system whereby a student is given pretty much free choice in what he will study. This new ap proach is emphasized in one of the most widely quoted documents of re cent publication, the Harvard study entitled, "General Education in a Free Society." This work has startled a number of people coming as it does from the institution that saw the elective system reach its most extreme form, for it recom mends the abandonment of that sys tem. In this document, the chief priest of the elective system points out the weaknesses of that long-cher ished method. Of course, it Is one thing to set up curricula that will Insure the fact that those attending school will get the basic studies. It is another to sss that these required subjects are made available to all. Is It posslbla to produce and democratically dis tribute this basic cote to all Amer ica? Not yet That is another must In the new reconversion. The ex penditures now made on this price less commodity are inadequate. But I am not dealing here with the fi nances of education. That is a subject in Itself. Suffice It to say that even with greater funds this product, as blue-printed by the ex perts, cannot be produced in tlx existing plants any more than the peacetime models and types of in dustrial commodities can be pro duced by machines equipped for wai production. Nor is the personnel and the training of that personnel ade quate. BARBS . . ? by Baukha ge nan uic cummuniun in roe United State* ere not reached by a i railway, eaya the-automobile menu- ? lecturing association. They have to t roll on rubber instead at rails. I a ? ? Last year mora people were killed fay acoldmts in the rural areas I than la the cities. There were more i im nijnesi luiciae rat* amoo| vomer) Is found In Japan and Ger nanic countries. Maybe their owi rives didn't like 'em any better thai he Allies did. ? ? ? At the army air farces centei n Orlando, Fla.t they are perfactlni motor vehicles which will operati k s sij&SS,4 ? Far Eastern Commission Await Arrival of Russians Memberi of the For Eastern commission hold open meeting at state department and are addressed by Secretary of State Byrnes. Most of the work at band was delayed awaiting arrival of the Russian members. Shown left to right: T. A. Stone, Canada; C. A. Berendsen, New Zealand; P. E. Naggair, France; Ambassa dor Wei Tao-Wing, China; Lord Halifax, Great Britain, and Secretary of State Byrnes. The problem: control of Japan will be the eoneern of the eommission. _____ Big Chinese Welcome for American Leathernecks The usually phlegmatic Chinese let themselves go with wild enthusiasm to welcome the first contingent ?( V. 8. marines that arrived in Tientsin, China, daring the occupation of North China. The cheering crowd stood like this from dawn on til the leathernecks arrived late at night. The leathernecks are well known by the Chinese, for daring peacetime some U. S. marines were always on doty in that country. President Approves New Banner President Tranu kai accepted the new presidential flap, which had heca destined hp erders of President Roosevelt. The eagle Is looking toward tee olive branch at peace clutched in its right talon, instead of toward its left talea holding arrows symbolic of war, as was the case In the former presidential lag. Star in each corner has also been omitted. The change at emitting the four stars was made when Ire-star gene rail were authorised. Leaders of Revolutionary Junta I I Menken et the reeeMtanrr JoU, which dispesed Tiewwlie ? i Presides! Mediae u4 hie pwued, en plctared M the Mire Fleres ? * ptMce ^ytM^Y^hed^tohe^erer_ ccedndM^thc IM lie - t Marks Leyte Landing j Monument erected on the "Red". I bench near Tacloban, Leyte, P. I., marks the spot where General Mae Arthur stepped ashore to lead the tight which resulted in the suc cessful liberation of the Philippines. A-La-Kangaroo Pack Mra. Jaaeph Laafbrcak, aaa a( M NjwtaWI war krUa to antra DEPARTMENT OP PEACE WASHINGTON. ? This columnist recently proposed that we begin thinking a little more about the Ser mon on the Mount in our Internation al relations*.and among other things establish a Department of-Peace. It was suggested that along with the Department of War and the navy department, we set up as our first line of defense a Department of Peace to promote the idea that the only alternative to the atom bomb is to teach the world and ourselves that we must get along with each other. One aftermath of this idea is sig nificant. It occurred in the appro priations committee of the house of representatives the other day when its members voted appropriations for the state department. It happens that the nearest thing we have to a Department of Peace is the Department of State. That or ganization is by no means perfect, and might not be ideal to operate a Department of Peace. But its new chief, Jimmy Byrnes, has some good ideas and is working hard to establish new bureaus for spreading gwuwui aim uci^nig pvaut. He is trying to carry on the ideas of the office of war information which furnished propaganda to newspa pers, aimed toward a better under standing of the USA. Byrnes is also trying to raise salaries. For years state department officials have struggled along on starvation wages. This is partly the fault of the wealthy career clique which wanted to keep wages low and thus oper ate a closed shop for themselves. So Secretary of State Byrnes is try ing to raise diplomatic wages as the first step toward having alert dip lomats guard the peace front. However, when Byrnes' appropri ation bill got up before his old friends in congress the other day, the house appropriations committee slashed it to ribbons. They particu larly cut the new agencies patterned on the general idea of a Depart ment of Peace. MRS. ROOSEVELT'S TRAVELS Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt will soon be off on another globe-girdling tour designed to help international relations. This time Mrs. Roosevelt plans to visit Russia as well as other war-ravaged nations in Europe. In recent weeks, she has been tak ing a more vocal, outspoken posi tion on public issues. Although she I denied having blasted Secretary of [ State Byrnes publicly for his han dling of the foreign minister confer ence, Mrs. Roosevelt has been very sharp in private conversations about the way Truman and Byrnes have been rocking the ship of state, espe cially when it comes to foreign af fairs. Mrs. Roosevelt claims .age is creeping up on her, but to an out side observer she gives no evidence of slowing down. She is now almost as active as she was before her hus band's death ? certainly still the most forthright lady ever to live in the White House. WHY MEN LEAVE NAVY Worried about the failure of men and officers to remain in the navy, Secretary of the Navy Forrestal re cently put out an order to naval sep aration centers to interview the next 100 reserve officers who came up for discharge. The result showed bitter resentment on the part of reserve of ficers against the Annapolis clique. Here are some typical interviews quoted verbatim: "The only reason I would join the navy again would be if I were starv ing." "It's mighty late for the navy to try to sell itself to reservists." "I think the officers of the regular navy are grasping, pushing and self centered." - "The attitude of the majority of Annapolis officers to reservists is that they are to be endured only for the time being." "The Annapolis grads should cast aside their childish attitude." MERBY-<H>-ROt7ftD C Judge Samuel Rosenman, one of Franklin Roosevelt's closest frienAs has become a staunch defender of Mississippi's George Allen, who holds a similar position with Harry Truman. To his skeptical New Deal friends. Judge Rosenman protests, "But George is s liberal.". Allen, a protege of the late Senator Pat Harrison and an insurance execu tive, spends part of every morning with Truman going over his prob lems. C The White House is quietly pass ing the word around to newsmen not to pack their bags. There will be no more presidential junkets for quite a while. Truman got enough kidding about his journey to the Missouri county fair to last him a long time. 4 OPA estimates that 709.000 vet erans and their families have no place to live. Their wives and chil dren have been living "doubled up" while the G.I.s were out fighting. Now the veterans want a home of their own and can't find it. Reports coming to me say that homeless vet erans will stage a demonstration in New York City. CThe house committee on un-Amer ican activities has lnvestlgsted ex Sen. Robert Reynolds' Nationalist party. But, according to Investi gator George McDavitt, it found nothing wrong with this group. Pineapple Dolly Easy For You to Crochet TPHREE balls of cotton are al you need to crochet this my to-make "pineapple" design. K measures 16 inches across and ia a charming combination of pine apple motifs, palm leaves grouped around a center diamond design. ? ? ? To obtain complete crocheting instruc tions lor the Pineapple Doily (Pattern Bm. 5186) send 16 cents In coin, your MflMS, address and the pattern number. Send your order to: BE WING CIRCLE- NEEDLEWORK 1150 Sixth Are. New York. N. Y. Enclose 16 cents lor Patten No Address Try Making Cough Syrup at Home. Quick Relief Saves Big Dollars. No CooUac. No matter what you usually use hr coughs due to colds, you'll be more than surprised when you make up this simple home mixture and give it a trial. You'll wonder why yam never used it before. It certainly does the work in a hurry. Make a syrup by stirring t caps Of granulated sugar and one cup sT water a few moments, until din solved. No cooking is needed?it's na trouble at alL Or you can use corn syrup or liquid honey, if desired. Get from your druggist 1% armcm of Pinex. Pour this into a pint bottle and fill up with your syrup. Tfcfln makes a full pint?a family supply? and gives you about four times mm much for your money. It tastes and never spoils. Children love tt. And for quick action, you've never seen its superior. It loosens the phlegm, soothes the irritated mem branes, eases the soreness, mihe breathing easier, and lets you elwp Pinex is a special compound Of proven ingredients, in concentrated form, a famous reliable soothing agent for throat and bronchial Irri tations. Money refunded if it doesafl please you in every way.?Adv. M TOKOIIOW ILI1SII ? k I V ImUA I k 11 4//-VEGITABU ?WOH LAXATIVE (AttitRi e?ii it ?inw liPOl ItatP.B. (?Mm Um STATION* W12?WML 1 11 ||]|Vi|V^||]|IWKl < MZO IN TUftlSI MUltema of ptopU suferint ftmm ?Impi* Pile*, have foand psflf* ratttf with PAZO olitaMM. Hm\ why; first, PAZO stafwt tusitw iwJJiTpAZO Sum* IgMnMtartmd. irU* f?~ s?r ignrp aSO^S? ?s LuSii!** vss *r? <r??L PAZO ointment's perforated Hh rhc.^.-y:s*!K:,r^rta ran abont PAZO ofeMaat SV PPOSITOt lift TOOI
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 15, 1945, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75