Assignment: Tomorrow

they're back now the boys who made history before Anzio at salo on their home in America and some of them have plenty of time for thinking no one concern about military strategy or submarine drill about the trouble they've seen glory the fear the courage the pain now is today what they've come back to America is one who when you come back as good as your dreams as good as your memories a sweet country a rich country an exciting healthy country but you see other things two things that remind you that it isn't sweet rich and healthy for everyone things that make them to wonder if you really did finish the job the fight for democracy the democracy that means a real opportunity for everyone somehow there seems to be a lot left to do right at home three of ours those kids out there for instance for them's the wonderful part still a dream it injures job to make dreams come to under why those kids can't really have the great country you dreamed of in a foxhole they're scattered like seeds all over a great fertile land the stock is good and the land is rich that should mean a bumper crop a crop of good citizens of voter a crop of cooperative citizens who will get along with each other regardless of their race creed or color living and playing habits that build strength and stamina a crop of happy citizens who will produce art and culture that a young lusty nation can enjoy and develop a crop of active productive citizens for these children are now playing games that will teach them to work tomorrow with a lay there a typewriter or a tractor they will soon want a chance to use their skills in the production of the things that can make living richer for themselves and their fellow Americans this is the wealth of our country a crop of Americans at peace with the world it can be a rich crop but who is going to cultivate it veteran who's going to watch over it we do well for all there are the parents those folks who believe in the American home and what it produces generation and generation they've been hard on the job for quite a while and then there are the teach a group of American men and women who have also dreamed your dream they're well prepared to bring in this harvest and there are nearly a million of them in our country you'll find them up in the hills or down in the big cities they don't spend all their time in classrooms but they can turn any room with four walls into a school into a place where youngsters can learn some of them have become principles in charge of schools others are now supervised developing new classroom techniques still others are responsible for the direction of high schools or charged with the managing of an entire school system they're all teachers a million professionals who volunteered for this job and work at it all the time work at it in every community of the land they are the public servants who breathe life into the 200,000 schools that Americans are so proud of and usually take for granted most of us haven't been inside of one for a long time a visit might prove surprising yes she's enjoying herself that's what makes the class enjoy too but then she's doing more than just giving a music lesson she's teaching the youngsters how to do things together she's developing poise she's giving a lesson in patriotism sure she's enjoying herself but it's hard work she's giving herself to these children and it's the same story all through the school the teacher has to enjoy the geography lesson for the names of places and people's will never mean anything to her class she has to find ways of making every lesson an interesting experience even when the subject is simple arithmetic she often relies and 420a 0 12 12 yes I think so how can you mind uh add four fours but the good teacher knows that a demonstration is more valuable than a correction she must have the patience to prove the simplest fact over and over a 12 16 that's right 16 sometimes the school building is only the classes starting point where it is often more practical to go out to life than to try to bring life into the classroom certainly this is true when the subject is soil conservation and when the school is located in the midst of farming country the teacher must not only know his subject matter but he must be familiar enough with the neighborhood and its people to make the lesson real and important someday these children may work this land themselves if the teacher can make them love it and understand it and teach them to manage it efficiently he is developing their pride and simple work and in the countryside which produced them as well as teaching them how to prevent soil erosion another kind of pride is being taught in the history classroom where the Panama Canal purchases under discussion well maybe it's a great thing but it seems to me we gave Columbia pretty raw deal what do you mean a raw deal do you realize you're talking about the Senate and the president of the United States they make the treaties you don't think they'd give anybody a royal deal do you well I was always saying I thought you were a patriotic citizen you're an American you're admitted boys I think we're all patriotic Americans but that doesn't prevent us from thinking about what we read or see or hear that doesn't prevent us from talking about what we think you must know tom that in nineteen hundred and three people throughout the country who felt that our treatment of columbia was unfair you wouldn't call them on American would you of course not but it is unamerican to suppress open discussion and criticism we call that freedom of speech that is something to be proud of well let's get along with our assignment and so it goes through the school day pleasant work interesting work valuable work certainly but energetic youngsters make great demands on the teacher and healthy children are energetic children in most communities the school day is over by four o'clock over that is for the children we've all seen them troop from the school buildings on their way to play and exercise but four o'clock is just the start of the second part of a teacher's day attending a departmental conference taking post graduate or in service courses at a nearby college for the afternoon hours she spends in the library for all part of her job so is the visit to the home of one of her pupils vocational guidance isn't her specialty nor is a determined father easy to talk to but there happens to be a potential engineer who may spend his life as a garage mechanic if she doesn't interfere just a bit father doesn't see how he can send his boy to college but then he doesn't know of Jim's fine record in his vocational training courses for the serious effects of frustration it's just part of a teacher's job to help the parents help their children she doesn't expect to do it all in one visit but there seems to be hope she'll seem through it's her job it's a tough job class work afternoon work and then homework for most people that would be enough but the teacher does still more she has to because our democracy is so complex many of its workings are complicated in devious much of what happens in school rooms depends on action that takes place in other buildings in a state capital for instance in almost any state the teacher has business in these halls this is where public money for education is given or taken away a representative of the State Teachers Association has the floor unless you think i am talking in generalities i would like to have these tables and charts edit into the records of this meeting they prove that our state is paying less for education than other states of comparable ability it is the children who suffer when buildings are inadequate when equipment is out of date when many teachers are so grossly underpaid that they cannot have decent homes five books or continue their professional training you will note that teachers are not alone in support of this major parents and citizens throughout the state are fighting with us because they know the meaning of this bill to their own families for very men who have spoken against our proposal to increase state aid to education are the men who can benefit most from increased markets for consumer goods from a bar standard of living in Commonwealth our greatest in those states where education is most adequately supported this building is a courthouse in a real town USA a teacher has business here too yes sometimes you have to fight for your rights and your ideals several times during the course of this trial my opponent has attempted to discredit me by implying that my fees had not been paid by my client but by a group of organized teachers ladies and gentlemen that true naturally they feel that his causes their cause we are defending a principle of American life the idea that free men must be taught by free teacher by men and women who do not live in the shadow of fear it is not just my client standing before you bought your children and the children of your neighbors do you want them brought up by teachers subject to petty politicians and graft and a cynical and indifferent citizenry aren't you frightened by the idea that this honest teacher is kept from his classroom because he refused to go to a bar and grill only 'full Street the pass our fifty-dollar bill doesn't it shock you that this could happen in an American town in your time the teachers themselves don't like the publicity but the townspeople have a stake in academic freedom nasty facts are still facts from time to time their revealed in towns all over the country but most cases like these never reach the courtroom they're settled by the proper local authorities citizen groups generally help but usually the teachers must rely on their own organizations to fight their battles a teacher in this town one is fight but it can happen tomorrow in your town this is a building that we all know the building that houses the congress of the united states and even hear the teacher has business urgent business let us join the teachers representatives in a visit to a senator's office a senator who was once on the school staff of his native state and who has long fought education fight in the National Arena with Senator Hill is Senator Thomas of Utah another courageous friend of American schools they are planning a new federal bill to aid education with the help of the teachers legislative Commission the campaign is to be based on facts facts that the teachers have gathered from every state of the union complex facts that have been put in the forms that can be understood clearly and quickly by busy lawmakers these facts will later be presented in more dramatic form by teachers at the public hearings of Senate and House come these teachers are underpaid many of our teachers last year resigned to take better jobs I stay because I like teaching even after 16 years of it but don't think for a moment but it is not a hard job to take care of 47 live warm Wiggly youngsters all day long band and day out 19 years I am principal my school from the last of March until June I work in a factory we make vegetable containers I make more in one week and the factory than I do in a month Tiki school teaching is my profession the facts in the testimony tell a story of inequality between these Americans and these Americans a story that affects people living far from the states where these conditions actually exist for in a democracy the skills and earning power of one group of citizens result in increased wealth for all groups file the idleness of one group will eventually hit the pocketbooks of all groups the purchasing power of one community is quickly reflected in the jobs available in another community poor health conditions for children in one area can lead to epidemics that may strike children in all areas in America the vote of an uneducated man counts just as much as the vote of one who's been to college that's fine but it means that no one can escape the penalties of having ill-informed fellow citizens and so the poor educational facilities in some parts of our country are not local problems these stirrin must not be forced to lower the levels of a great nation when their own communities and states cannot give them a decent education they must be able to look for help to their fellow countrymen and that is why teachers have business in the nation's capital business that is a part of their job these are the grim faces of men who once threatened us with slavery behind the faces there are twisted minds and behind the minds there were schools distorted from the teaching of truth to the teaching of lies and back of this would-be Conqueror of the world is a false teacher a whole series of false teachers who base their lessons on greed cruelty and the worthlessness of human life honest teachers were among the first prisoners in the notorious access concentration camps this is what happened to truthful men in the nation's ruled by fascists to prevent such things from happening again the United Nations recently sent to a security conference at San Francisco their statesmen and diplomats and even here the American teacher had business to attend to the business of meeting the teachers of other lands of discussing mutual problems of talking over the ways to make education a positive tool in the formation of real international understanding the teachers wanted to help prevent false education from ever twisting men's minds again and they succeeded where the position of international education was clearly defined in the basic charter that has since been ratified by most of the United Nations the Charter infers that while the leaders of the people can make the peace the people themselves must learn to live it now in every land in every language the teachers have a key job in the most important business of all the business of keeping the peace but all of these many tasks will not keep our teachers from their jobs at home as teachers and leaders of the community they're working for a better America on the hometown front it's noon time when the school rooms are empty but Helen Clark teacher is the principal speaker at a luncheon of Representative town folk she's talking about the relation between education and full employment a subject of vital interest to her audience of labor leaders and businessmen of town officials and community leaders she's telling them why good schools are important to them and in the meantime they're reading about education in booklets her fellow teachers have prepared and paid for just as we're all reading more about education these days reading newspaper stories and magazine stories that the teachers have helped prepare yes schools are in the air nowadays people are talking about education with the teachers help in our town the center of their activity is the local teachers association it holds frequent meetings were competent speakers introduce new ideas relating to schools and school people soon some of these ideas will become realities in the classrooms of our town often when the general meeting is over the teachers break up into groups a committee on juvenile delinquency will be given the opportunity of seeing what is being done to solve similar problems in other countries environments are different but the methods of Correction may be interchangeable the teachers use a modern medium to widen their experience another group of teachers examines a new device to test the eyesight of their small pupils this evening they're seeing for themselves but their interest may later be repaid by fewer candidates for remediating classes and after the meeting when some of the teachers have adjourned to one of their homes to relax to drink a friendly cup of coffee together they find that they're still talking shop when you live your work so completely you hardly remember that you're a human being with the needs and weaknesses of ordinary people you get wound up on an interesting subject and you just have to talk it out you get to think teaching and live teaching your home is filled with the tools of your trade but then it isn't just a trade it's almost a way of life in itself you never seem to get enough of it you never seem to be able to know all there is to know about children in their learning habit you're mixed up with something bigger than yourself and that's not a bad thing these modern young women don't lose anything by being in a profession worthy of great personal sacrifice by doing work that challenges their ingenuity they seem to be able to take the challenge in stride and come out the better for it they're alert charming capable strong in the knowledge of what they are contributing to the life around them they're good Americans were these sisters and wives of the boys who went out to save the civilization they are making a teacher's day does end sometime but it seems mighty late most nights and tomorrow's another day out of a thousand homes in our town out of 30 million homes in our country a flood pours forth a golden flood of rich talent it's on its way to be shaped to be spun to be woven to be tempered into America it's on its way to the wonderful world of new knowledge and unimaginative it's on its way to school and the teacher is ready her assignment for today is tomorrow these are the lives that must blossom under her care these are the spirits that must ignite from her inspiration each teacher personally influences thousands of these future citizens in the course of her career the better the teacher the better the influence this is Patricia young pilot surprised playwright in 1985 this is William Pearson skills mechanic the mayor of our town in 1972 jenny blair will vote for him her oldest son will finish Medical School in 1983 all of these children of parts to play in America's tomorrow this is the talent that can make the veterans dream come true this is the America that's sweet rich and healthy for all and this is the teacher who has to make it all happen she has a big job that was a picture of you you teachers of America perhaps you do not think of yourselves as a key to your nation's peacetime problems yet these pictures here come from the record the recent record of the american educational seen this is what you have been doing as individuals as members of local teachers associations as members of state associations as members of the National Education Association many of the themes have been familiar too familiar perhaps but others have been played in settings that are strange with characters some of whom you do not know personally even though they represent you in national affairs dr. Willard e Givens our executive secretary can tell you more about the National Education Association and how it serves you thank you presents lego you and all the other officers are the NEA have been entrusted by the teachers themselves with the responsibility of national leadership for it is the individual teacher who is the basis of our organization 900,000 school people scattered throughout the country are organized into local teachers association and state association more than 350,000 of these teachers are also active members of the National Education Association from among their own members they select the 1700 delegates who compose representative assembly of the NEA this democratic organization is the body which controls all our national activities from its ranks and by its members there is selected annually a group of national officers the officers are impossible for the functioning of a headquarters staff a group of 250 spaceless who carry on the day-to-day business of the Association authorized by the representative assembly are the department's setting professional standards conducting research acting as a clearinghouse of information on all school level also responsible to the assembly and therefore to the rank and file of the profession are the committees and commissions appointed to consider and act on the vital problems of Education members of these units are leaders are the profession from all sections of the nation in addition to the headquarters staff many of the department's committees and commissions are housed at headquarters in Washington every morning to this center of Education in the nation's capital there comes a flood of mail most of it from individuals requesting information assistance and cooperation on educational problems in every state the inquiries are forwarded to the division most suited to deal with them and each one is answered promptly this feature of practical service to the individual is an important and satisfying aspect of any a membership nor is the contact between NEA and the classroom teacher restricted passive correspondence which leaves headquarters everyday practical experience staff members with teaching backgrounds are constantly going into the field to help with situations that cannot be handled at long distance they have assistant in the organization of teachers groups throughout the country their files reflect the wide scope of activities throughout the land there are 1400 cooperating active organizations affiliated with the NEA in the cause of better school much of the information which is sent in response to inquiries and which is used by teacher groups in settling educational issues comes from the research activities at national headquarters here a vast body of statistics on the educational scene is collected study then organized into practical instruments for molding professional and lay opinion other NEA representatives go into the field earth facts about schools and the people who work in them experienced fact finders have often cleared up educational trouble spots by turning on the bright light of an honest fearless investigation the policy planning officials of the NEA are concerned with organizing days facts for tomorrow's action through the NEA teachers themselves are enabled to contribute their knowledge their experience their ideas to the discussion of what should be taught in tomorrow's classrooms and all of the many lines of activity in the national educational scene are reported and reviewed in the association's press going to every member is the well-known Journal scores of Nea books and pamphlets are standard items in the American teachers library many of the departments and committees and commissions prepare their own periodicals the special publications on subjects of current interests they make it possible for the individual teacher to keep up with both news and opinion in the educational world and to keep in touch with the newest developments in a vital changing profession the public too must be served with information and progressive ideas about school affairs the public relations activities of Nea include work with newspapers magazines radio and motion pictures the public that supports free education is entitled to full and accurate information are the teachers stewardship and through skillful publicity can be rallied to the support of better education but to rally the teachers themselves is even more important by sending key people into the field and by sponsoring numerous conferences and conventions the NEA helps to coordinate the many groups that are working toward a single goal frequent conferences of workers in the field and on the staff make possible a real exchange of data and ideas by talking it over by listening to the other side by the process of give and take the democratic process educators are successfully solving the most difficult problems free expression must be practiced as well as preached victory in the fight for better schools finally must be reckoned in terms of favorable legislation the law books of nation state and local community already show the results of campaigns waged by organized teachers and the battle is unceasing and so the NEA fulfills its pledge to advance the interests of the teaching profession the cause of education team Erica are joining together in the NEA at the RIT not because of the obvious benefits to themselves but because the combination of local state and national anization is the means whereby they can make an even greater more effective contribution to the cause which we serve to the communities in which we live to the people young and old