Lamont, Corliss, Freedom is as freedom does

(New York :  Horizon Press,  1956.)

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242                                                                                       FREEDOM IS AS FREEDOM DOES

To summarize, the sad truth is that American educators in gen¬
eral have been so preoccupied by the Communist issue during the
decade following the Second World War that they have neglected
their paramount responsibility of maintaining and developing a
first-rate educational system. At a time when there is an enormous
shortage of teachers—reliably estimated as at least 300,000—in the
United States, the educational authorities have considerably
lessened the available supply by driving out of the profession
men and women whose competence is admitted, but who have
clashed with a Congressional committee or become suspect in
some way as "subversives."

Agitated legislators—through the passage of loyalty oath
statutes and witch-hunt laws—and frightened educational ad-
ministi-ators have put a premium on conformity among teachers
and have drastically curtailed the exercise of academic freedom.
These developments have discouraged independent thought on
contioversial subjects among both teachers and students; and
have deterred increasing numbers of young people from entering
the teaching profession, with its peculiar occupational hazards.

No profession has a flner tiadition in the battle for human
liberty than the teachers'. They can claim as thehs the noblest of
aU freedom's martyrs—the Greek teacher of philosophy, Socrates—
and many another hero of the intellect in the history of the West.
America's approximately 1,500,000 teachers have the responsibfl¬
ity of preserving their great tiadition of freedom of thought and
expression. And beyond that tliey have the obligation of con¬
tributing their best efforts to the general struggle on behalf of
the Rifl of Rights. Owing to the cential function of teachers in our
society, theh voice, theh influence, theh perseverance may weU
prove decisive in that stiuggle.
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