Dewitt Morgan Essay

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read and write. We know that transportation facilities have made migration easier and thus have cause education itself to take on features which make it national rather than local in character. That fact leads directly to the concept of federal financial support and subsequent control of educational procedure. If one forgets about the citizenship factor, one may say that the educational program needs very soon to become federal. If it should, however, then certainly it should be federally supervised and should be paid for from the federal treasury. I can see reason in saying it is national business to see that every child ,-- white, black, or brown, -- in this nation gets at least a sixth grade education, I mean by that that every child must learn to read and write and spell. That much is basic, for if a child moves from one state to another, then he can read what the second state has to say to him. If this factor is a national issue, -- and it is ,-- why not be forthright and say we need to pay for this service directly from the national gvernment just as we pay for the United States Navy? Under such a regime we'd say to the people of a state, education of your children up to twelve years of age is the job of the United States government. These children, born in this state and in the United States, are citizens of the United States and for this reason the national government is going to see that the education of these children is cared for. The national government of the United States will under this regime decide what kind of teachers they shall have, what they shall be taught, when it shall be taught, and under what circumstances. The United States government is going to take over the education of all these children up to and through the sixth grade and so far as

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their education that far is concerned, the state will not and shall not do it; the federal government will. I am not one who believes in taking that course now. I think it would cost too much in terms of the greater things for which we stand. But if it be that education has become a national problem, we need tell the people so and we'll need to accept every one of the implications for administrative action which will accompany the position we take.

I'm trying to say this: there is much reason why many could argue that education should become a national function. Many benefits could accrue. But a great loss would come. When education, even better education, would become national, something will have gone out of the American life, the seriousness of which only years can tell. Personally, I am not ready to pay the price for this course which is already endangering the sense of civic responsibility of the American people. And to think in terms of more money for education, much as we want it, rather than in terms of alert citizenship lies the road to decay of democracy, the road to triumph of the authoritarian state, -- the very thing which we all would fight.

The cause of American education seems to have two alternatives before it now. The one is, surely but slowly to interpret to the American people in their various communities the basic significance of that which education does. Never was there a better time to do this than today. On every hand men and women recognize that education is at the root of every activity we carry on to fight this war. With people at large conscious of this basic fact it should be the more easy to make it clear that the forces of education will make for welfare and prosperity when war days are

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over. This first course is the way of building foundations.

The other course means such political manipulation as will induce the national Congress to make the educational function a definite part of the program of the national government. This course undoubtedly would bring results much faster. It would transfer some of the educational load from the communities to the states and the national government. Many of us do not forget the spirit of rejoicing among friends when the national Congress decided to make the liquor traffic a national issue. I can remember well how many thought that the effort for prohibition was well on its way toward realization; but they did not reckon sufficiently with the factor of a grassroots, community development of a spirit which would support a national act for prohibition. I am inclined to think that there are many today who make the same error. The long campaign for improvement of education does not rest with national edicts, it rests with the power which will come from day by day, week by week, and year by year interpretation to the American public of the way in which our welfare is linked with this slow, but effective process of making a people of increased understanding.

We have a great equipment to do this latter job. When one reckons with the membership of the National Education Association and the membership of the American Association of School Administrators and realizes that if our people could be unified in working on this great cause, we would not need question our chances of success. But it is a cruel fact that this latter course is necessarily slow. Its results might not be apparent everywhere at once. There might be periods when we'd slip back. It would

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be the kind of procedure which would call for all the faith and courage we have. We'd have to go on through many discouraging days. I believe, however, that this is the one course which will eventually mean real success for the cause which we are attempting to serve. The cause of education in the future years depends directly upon the faith which abides in our various communities. If we can cause our people at home increasingly to see education as a function which must have a prior claim upon the money which a community has at hand, we shall surely be on our way.

Dewitt S. Morgan Superintendent of Schools Indianapolis, Indiana

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS Tuesday, February 29, 1944 Chicago, Illinois