Freedom to Learn (1954?)

[Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] good evening Helen [Music] I suppose Helen's mother is trying to protect her this special board meeting and all this fuss and about me Mrs Ain 11th and 12th grades social studies I hope it doesn't upset Helen too much well I never dreamed we'd have anything like this right here in our own school but then when Helen brought that notebook home and there it was written out just as plain well I didn't know what to say Mrs hle the board would like to know just exactly what did happen now if you'll start at the beginning yes well I was never so surprised in my life Helen was just leaving for school and if she hadn't been late and in such a hurry she'd never have forgotten her notebook and I'd never have suspected that oh my scarf it's on the closet shelf if you just put your things away oh that's all right mother I'll be late [Music] social studies Helen hle 12b my but they do grow up fast law of supply and demand unions and management government ownership and capitalism church and state systems of government monarchy democracy communism [Applause] [Music] communism well teaching communism in our schools but Mrs Orin did give you this material yes but Dad then she is teaching communism but it isn't like you make out we have to know about things we'll see about that one worldism government controlis progressivism welfare statism the teaching of these Insidious creeping theories in our schools is undermining free enterprise weakening the profit motive making our young people inter weat dependent candidates for total government security handouts in my work as consultant and investigator to the free our schools movement I can assure you that these vicious theories are put within the reach of our young children daily while you and I are busy working to pay our monstrous taxes our schools are using these very taxes to subvert our children's Minds I'm sure you've all had experiences of this sort as a matter of fact just before this meeting one of your own members showed me proof indisputable proof of what I'm saying Mr Hinkle show them what you showed me this is my daughter's notebook you can see for yourself the kind of stuff they're handing out to these kids now listen to this theory of Communism one dictatorship of the proletariat two government control of economy three KL Marx Lennon staline and malanov why does she have to teach all that controversial stuff she's just stirring up trouble well now Mr hankle most of our studies are made up of accepted truths and values but the schools must also give the students an opportunity to study issues such as communism a respect for facts a constant search for truth and a knowledge of the world as it actually is today are most essential in our Democratic way of life I have every confidence in Mrs 's teaching this is a lot of fine talk but we want to question that teacher and if you don't have her in there so that we can get at the facts then we'll take it to the board it has been charged Mrs aurin that students in your classes are getting unamerican ideas and that you are responsible do you recognize this as the notebook of one of your students yes it is Helen's notebook do these notes represent what goes on in your classes Helen's a good student yes this represents what goes on in my classes so you do teach communism Mrs Ain will you explain well I teach about communism I'd rather say that that we study about it I feel an obligation to help my students find out everything which affects their lives and I think you will all agree that communism has affected each and every one of us if we don't understand all the facts about communism how can we know how to fight it you do teach communism then of course I teach about communism I'm not afraid of the word and I think you will all agree that it is one of the most disturbing influences in the world today why is it Mrs Ain that these controversial subjects seem to come up in your classes if you could all be with me in a 12th grade classroom try and remember how interesting and new everything is at that age how exciting every idea as if no one had ever thought of it but ourselves there is always a kind of anticipation before class we have our regular assignment of course but you never know how these fresh young minds will grapple with it get at the meat take the situation that came up just last week there was Howard Lang and Joe Kendricks they're both smart boys Howard's father is an accountant for a local local company while Mr Kendricks is very active in the union there it was in economics all right Joe the law of supply and demand means that in a free economy the supply of goods and the demand for those goods will automatically set the price but the people who work in factories are selling their work and sometimes there are more people willing to work than there are jobs and then if you let wages beset by the law of supply and demand the workers wouldn't make enough money to live on that's why they organize there we have a typical situation what would you have a good teacher do how would you have her use this real interest to help students learn Howard the workers would be better off without a union every employer wants his workers to be satisfied union bosses just keep things stirred up enough so they can keep their union jobs now I knew that both Howard and Joe were expressing attitudes they learned from their parents and certainly it's not a teacher's place to say that one is right and the other wrong but you do want them to learn and to think this is the purpose of all our teaching well Joe agreed to report on Management's Viewpoint and Howard to report on unions all the rest of the class decided to find out what management and the work workers had in common information was the first thing the class needed some could be gained from books newspapers magazines Joe visited and talked to some of the local Factory managers and Howard visited Union headquarters in the discussion a week later Joe had a much better understanding of man M problems and Howard had actually talked with a Union Leader by gathering and evaluating information they learn to make sound judgments I think that every member of the class sees that both labor and management have much to gain under our competitive free enterprise economy well I guess you handled that all right but it seems to me Mrs Ain that perhaps you have a particular liking for these uh well uh controversial subjects it is true that in the social studies such as history economics government there are many differences of opinion but most teachers run into the same kinds of problems take our biology class for example but what I don't understand is how these animals could have been on Earth millions of years before man and the Bible says the whole Earth was created in only six days the students are going to need a lot of facts and do a lot of real thinking but it seems to me that science and religion when fully understood strengthen each other or take Mr Alvin's class in American history the states join together voluntarily and I don't think the federal government has any right to pass laws telling them what to do well how about flood control and electric power projects River and electric lines go right across state lines some states have more money than others I think the federal government should use some of that money in the states that don't have so much they could use it for schools or for roads or public health things that would help all the people in the whole country yes but they always tie strings to money like that if we use their money they'll try to tell us how to run our schools in elections but it's for the good of all of us aren't we all part of the federal government now these are real issues the kinds of issues they will soon be called on to help decide all their school life they have been learning to study evaluate and then take action based upon Intelligent Decisions students must be allowed a chance to study and learn about these issues if our democracy is going to survive but Mrs Orin how can we be sure that the teachers thinking on all these things is right right what do you mean by right these are controversial subjects and the teacher's job is not to decide them that is a job for all the people the teacher helps students learn how to think not what to think about them there have been times and places where the government thought it knew what was right and told the teacher exactly there was a time in Germany and in Italy and in Japan and now in Russia the United States somehow I can't fit our country into that pattern we are a nation of free individuals we have always had differences the great issue of slavery of votes for women of prohibition of child labor these issues have always been freely discussed and debated in America this is all very well Mrs aurin but let's get down to Brass tax do you or do you not teach communism in your classes I teach about communism I do not Advocate it I am not afraid of our citizens decision on communism if all the people could know all the truth about it the real dangers it presents to our free and Democratic way of life let's not quibble teach communism teach about communism we want to know what you teach what books you use how you teach it communism is a fact a problem in the world today I know that the sub is going to come up in my classes and I'm prepared for it we ought to stop fooling around with talking diplomacy and show the Communists we mean business I think the United States has got the stuff to do the job alone and when it does come up I usually find the students are full of emotion fear anger bewilderment to let a debate develop at this point would not help the students learn they would only be arguing exchanging ignorances the first thing we must do is to get all the information we can begin by finding out something of the Russian people and their history the poverty and ignorance under the Zars which made any change seem one for the better from current news and magazines we can follow the words and the activities of the present day communist government and see that where hunger poverty and ignorance exist communism can seem a change for the better we can study the theory of Communism and learn how its present Masters have used the ingredients of Terror and obliterated the most Elementary rights of free men we can use the works of Communists themselves and knowing the source of the material can see the distortions which the Communist can give to the simplest facts I read you a quotation from a communist book this is what the Communists say about our Public School System the whole American school system acts in the spirit of a militaristic program the syllabuses and textbooks in American schools are imbued with racist ideology and teach hatred to everything outstanding and advanced the word peace is forbidden in American schools and finally we can intelligently compare communism with our own form of government that's right Jim in a democracy we have freedom of religion now what does communism do about religion Communists say religion is the opiate of the people the government is atheistic and it does everything it can to discourage people going to church jean and in democracy we have trial by jury but under communism the people have no protection against the secret police Ruth in our country we have a secret ballot under communism the voter doesn't have any choice he has to vote for the Communist party which is the only one on the ballot we have freedom of speech and a free press communist newspapers and radio are all controlled and they don't dare say anything against the Communist Party under communism the teachers can only teach what conforms to the Communist ideology while we have freedom to learn all sides of the question is this the kind of rigid slanted teaching we want for our children or do we want our children to know how to get at the facts and think for the themselves from the very first grades teachers try to give students respect for truth a feeling that they are free to ask questions to speak their thoughts our young people have the same rights and freedom of thought that all of us enjoy Rights passed on To Us by our forefathers my own class studies this Heritage firsthand on visits to the nation's capital [Music] they learn that the men who signed the Declaration of Independence risk lives and fortune that we might fear no Tyrant they learn that the victories of Freedom were not easily won with this understanding they too can swear upon the altar of almighty God Eternal hostility to all forms of tyranny over the mind of man this is our problem today we are still fighting tyranny over the mind of man how many of my senior boys will be be wearing uniforms soon to defend these truths I will not be the one to fence in to restrict their free Minds free Minds Learning to get at the facts to analyze and make Intelligent Decisions and then take constructive action free minds unprejudiced and unafraid are the best tools we have to build a better Freer world free minds are the best weapons we have with which to defend it no I will not be the one to starve and stump these Minds to Rob them of their Birthright of Freedom guaranteed them by their country still despite all fears and pressures the freest country in the world [Music] I think I've said all I can say thank you Mrs Arin [Music] the school board's meeting late tonight there something about a communist teacher I hear well something about a teacher [Music] h the [Music] [Music] even Jimmy sitting there cheering that meeting tonight I almost called him Jim me surely he knows me better than to think [Music] no I'll not be the one to erase it [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] la [Applause] [Music] l [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]