,.wish to thank the Prince Edward

"Widening Educational Horizons

A foreword from our Director of Education Dr. L. W. Shaw.

One again the courtesy has been extended to me to write what might be called a "foreword" to "Widen- mg Educational Horizons." I ap- preciate this very much, and on behalf of the Department of Edu- cation. as well as personally, I

islands Teachers' Federation.

On the morning of every school My approximately 750 teachers and an average of 16,000 pupils enter the schools of this province and begin the activities of the giav. In comparison with all the schools in Canada these numbers are small. yet they do indicate I great amount of effort on the part 01' both teachers and pupils even in little Prince Edward Island. I need not refer to the many diffi- culties confronting teachers. es- prcially in one room rural schools. we have discussed them often, and in spite of them we have confid- encc that the great majority of our teachers are doing their work faithfully and well.

In this brief message. I should yiki” to refer to a condition which i:ntit.ubtedl)' b r i n g s discourage- -.-.-in to many teachers. namely llw feeling of isolation or "alone- ..t-ss" in facing the many problems will difficulties that inevitably a-

i.-.- from day to day. Reference i'l inc preceedins paragraph to the .,..,.,pct- of teachers and pupils en- lrllill our classrooms each morn- ..g was made so that your thoughts might be directed to the many who are working with you rather than in yourself as an isolated and -U.,..1y work”, To feel that you are part of a large group working with upwards of 20.000 boys and girls.in this province will. I.am sure, give ion a sense of confidence and se- cuiiiy.

Again you shoulduicmcmber that .-i nuuibcr of agencies are interest- ed in your welfare and stand ready I!) give you every possible assist- ant-c. Your own Federation. under ulinsc auspices this column is pre- pared and published from time to mm-. is organized for the very ..t..i-use of developinil A sense of ."lii)' and "oneness" among those -hu teach. Be sure to use its 'arilities and. of course. contribute Ill you can to these facilities. Then Ehcrc is your supervisor. He is not a roaring lion going about seeking ikllilin he may devour. His chief 'IlllClll'lIl is to assist. guide. and di- me: You will find him very ready in work with you if you bring your iiinls and tribulations to him. The mine is true in regard to all mem- ncrs of the Department and the l'r;iclicr Training Instructors at lliiiice of Wales College. We are a.xi:IyS glad to see teachers and .. talk over their problems with .heiit. Our only regret is that cir- ',l:il5l3l'lCCS prevent our getting out

. we you in your schools as fre- .. tcllily as we should like to. Don! J'lKCl. the library service and the '..iii service. both of which are It ;..-ttr disposal. and. of course. if ytvll have a radio in your school mu can at will bring experienced -i-;it'llt”!'S of your choice into the rlnssmnni to help you with SDCCIB1

iIlljCCl.S and special. lessons. Stud-y ginups and conventions have their mm to play also in eliminating the tense of "aloneness" of which W9 have spoken.

Finally. try to remember. that ,..ii are part of the community "1 ullifll you work. School and home must work together. h e n c e our .-iir School and Home 0I'Kl"1l3' smns You are indeed I part of cv- mgv home in the district. What. I -..,...-I interesting. co-operative life

to teacher livcs! There ispno llC- rmxity to be lonely and. bcmK 000 .w'h all others engaged in your real work. you are constantly ”i'.'l(l9I1lnK horizons." not only if" y-tiiiselvcs but for others as well. Titus will the teaching -profession Ii('t'ril'lIE a great profession. I

To help our teachers in Prince F-iward island keep informedpof ..mi 1! going on in our Canadian 'l'eachcrs' Federation, The "Widen- ing Educational Horizons" will unity from time to time. news (win our National Office.

This issue carries I brief sketch of Dr. L. P. Patterson our IWCSP ti-tit for the cominif yeah l95l'55- f-'n the report. in full..of the I iflrCSS given by our rctlrinil DYNA wont, Mr. John L. P r i n r. 01

iluriiaby. B. C.

feel t.liIt through his leadership our Canadian Teachers Federation will have I year of Ichivement..

Address by John L. Prior, Burn- aby, B.C.. president of the thirty- third annual convention Canadian Teachers' Federation. Vancouver. B.C.. August 11, 1954.

LIGHT ON THE DABKIJNG PLAIN?

From some little experience on the giving. as well as on the re- ceiving end. I know that I presi- dential address may be the mouse so laboriously brought forth by the mountain, Such addresses can be. and quite appropriately so. I recital of thanks, a history of personal experiences. (gener- ously paid for by one's colleagues), I sorrowful swan song, or I final effort to leave the imprints of one's number twelves on the or-

ganlzstion. There are so many to whom onels thanks are due. One has

only to tlilnk of home and family. of colleagues on the job. of loca' school authorities. of directors. of executive, of office employees. There are personal experiences which might hear revealing or re- peating - from Yelldwknife to Halifax, from Geneva to Oslo. There is the temptation to play the gladiator-"those who are about to die"-you know the rest. There may be the desire. perhap: even some obligation, to chart .1 course for the future.

These. possibilities I will iorcgu

Recently. some few lines of a poem re-read gave me pause. Those of us who struggled with Matthew Arnold (not all knowing that he. served a period as school inspector), often weigh the words

of "Dover Beach"- "And we are here as on I dsrkling plain Full of confused alarm of

struggle and flight

Where ignorant armies clash by

night."

Our days are, certainly not less dark. Our age is unquestionably one of violent cl'ash. And is there any light?

We can be thankful that teach- ers are no longer isolated. if we ever really wnrc. from the uorlu in which we livc. Of late, ivory towers have been uiitibr pretty vigorous siege. Sulphur is in the air. My own remarks will not likely "win many friends nor in fluence many people." At times however. it may be salutary to rattle the skeletons in the close; -if the spirit is right! Pro- testations are suspcct. But for what it is worth. let me first make I declaration of my devotion to teaching. my faith in my col- leagues. and my desire to see our profi-.ssion grow in stature.

Among reports that pile up on onc's desk. I recently struggled through the French version of Recommendation . of the Inter- national Bureau 0 Education. This resolution was endorsed at Gen- eva last year by representative.-i of some fifty governments tiftt-r U study of the status and training of primary (elementary) teachers. Translated, one part of the 'pre- smble reads: "The status of the teaching profession as fl whole de- pends to a considerable extent on the profcsslon's unity, its good re- lations with education authorities. the extent to which teachers iir: consulted in nutttcrs flflPClln,; both their conditions of work an-I the standards and content of edu- cation, and the freedom of teach- ers from direction in mattr-,rs of personal conviction."

I-Iere indeed. is food for thouzht

To what extent are we I united profession? First of fill let us agree, that unity must not mean uniformity or conformity to I pre- conceived set of standards. But can we disprove the following statements?--Tliere is incipient or open division between secondary and elementary teachers. Mon and women teachers frequently publicize bitter opinions as to their relative worth. Rural and urban teachers watch one anoth cr suspiciously in the field of professional politics. The "pro- fessioml-comc-lately" tissallsl those teachers who see. tiny hope in the trade union movement.-And the list is not exlisustcd.

Such divisions all too often re- flect the snobbery of the degree cult, the prejudices of sex. the jealousy of the "hates" of tlic "liave riots". the selfish realism of those who so sagely argue that. the educational pie, being sl- wsys limited in size, more for one group must always mean less for another.

If we permit these divislvc forces to embltier our professional relations and to undermine the unity of spirit essential to a pro- fession. we must expect our status to worsen rather than to improve. Our profession is not just the total of its bits and pieces. To I large extent our status will be de- termined by the least well-trained section of the teaching body. re- gardless of the form of organiza- tion. Our status will Improve as we promote understanding among

Dr. L P. Patterson it Iii with I great deal of pin-

Wrc that we record through the Writes of Widening Educational Horizons. the appointment of Dr. l- P. Pattersoii. Montreal as l"i'esldent of our Canadian Teach- ris Federation.

Dr. Patterson-wIs appointed to this office in August of this year at the annual convention held in llic Vancouver Hotel, Vancouver.

i)r. Patterson holds his B.A.. fiuiii Mt. Allison University, his 7” A. from Harvard. and in 1947 he rcccived his B.ED.. from Col- umbia University in the field of Educational Administration. Dr. pallerson is now the Executive DI- rcctor and Principal of the School for Crippled Children in Montreal.

Those of us who had the privi-

- ” can of meeting Dr. Patterson re-

rornize in him I sincere desire to further the cause of education and

, o

our factions.

Personally. I scr. no basic con- flict bctween the self-designated professional teacher and the stip- porter of trade union principles Once subscribe to the principles of collective bargaining and, call your group what you will. it is pcrfarniing the essential function of I trade union. From experi- ence. teachers have decided tliai it is necessary to act as "union- ists" in negotiating their condi- tions of employment. It is I sad fact that in some provinces labour is more respectfully treated by in- dustry than are the teachers by their employers. It is small won- der that in such cases. fesclit-rs might look to labor for orgiinlza tlnnal blue prints.

However. I defy Inyone to dis- prove thc. basic professional atti- tudes of teachers as I whole. The record is full of statements whlcn freely recognize the worth Ind the disinterested nature of our serv- Ice. Surely not till such state- ments are more lip service.

Every profession. It. is true. hit; its peculiar characteristics. We ti-schers hardly dare aspire to the "closed shop" enjoyed by the re- spected legal and medical profes- sions. We hsrdly dare visualize the day when the, teacliers' organ- izations alone will determine who

when teachers will let the fee and tell the fee payers that's it! But measured on any reasonable basis, a vast body of teachers-profes- sionals or unionists-can stand I fairly searching comparison with members of the established pro- fessions.

The question is often asked, "Is it professional to strike?" Un- fortunately. the word is hedged round with emotions and prejud- lccs. It can be an elastic term or it can be given I very precise legal definition, A fairer form- ulatlon of the question would be. "Is there I point at which teach- ers are morally justified in with- drawing their se,rvices?" On the answer to this. I believe we art.- pretty well agreed. Surely. tho nature and the rlghtness of any withdrawal of services should do pend upon the circumstances of each case. History is full of pre-

cedents showing that the law is not always just. How many strictly legal acts are, morally questionable!

It is all too often assumed that insistence on the basic right to strike is the same as advocacy of the strike as a weapon. Let us be quite. clear on this point. Teachers, and for that matter labour as a whole. are united in their dislike of strike action. I believe that we must learn to liv- with a division of opinion on this and other questions. I hope that we will never get to the point where an affiliated group would say "we will withdraw from C. T. F. if it docs not accord us sup- port in this situation." It would be equally disturbing for ti group to say "we will withdraw from C.T.I-I if it supports an affiliated group under such and such cir- CUHISIIIYICCS." Both attitudes make for disiinlty and undermine the status of our profession.

How good are our relations with educational authorities?

If good relationships are pos- sible only where no differences are found, then few will say that present relations are an unquali-

fied "good".

As teachcrs' organizations ma- ture-and there can be no ques- tion nf rnpid growth to maturity -their! intcrcsts wldcn. In th-. widening of interests. it is inevit- able that the organizations entei fields until lately the undivided preserve of some other e.duca

tion authority. Our practice has been to knock on the door. In some places. the authorities sleep rathi-,r soundly. Consequently. at times the knocking has had to bc rather insistent. But new idea. d.o catch on. We can now detect a definite trend. We find authori- ties more, freely recognizing the legitimate intcrests of teachers and. equally important. of teach- crs' organizations, in fields such as teacher training and curric- ulum. Forward looking trusteei and deparinicnls are welcoming the help of leachers' organiza

tlons in it co-operative attack on educational problems. This is Is it. should be.

It is regrettable. however. that sonic. educational authorities hav'

lagged far behind industry in rec

nrzhizinsz the iital importance of good employer-employee relation- ships. Relations based on master- scrvant concepts (and I have heard these npcnly advocated) are simply out nf dntc. Good rela- tions imply the possibility of dif- fcrcnccs of opinion-sharp differ- ences. if need he-without fear of personal rccrlmlnation. Where relations are good. even sharp dif- ferences will not interfere with the joint responsibility of teach- ers and trustees to pupils. par- cnts and public. If this is a fair test of good relations. we are nuk- ing solid progress in Canada. New fields of joint endeavour are open- ing tip almost daily.

Experience in such endeavours helps us understand that educa- tional riutliorliics have their prob- lems. The school trustee wants- and it is his duty-to keep I body behind the teacher's desk. He can- not be expected to advocate an increase in training standards if he fears that the present short- age of teachers will be increased. cvcn bricfly, thereby. At times. the conscientious trustee is caught: between his responsibilities to education and his responsibilltlt-.s to the ratepayers who elect him. He must decirla the relative claims of iiccommotlatlon. supplies, an! salaries. Teachers who have serv- ed on school boards know that economic realities can be extreme- ly frustrating. The trustee must stiffer the sorricst trials of pub- lic office. while enjoying a few of the rewards that go with politlca. success.

Provincial education depart- ments. too, have their problems. Across Canada. it is I fact that education is still considered to be I minor cabinet portfolio. Public works and social services Ire fai- more politically significant. 1'. should not be surprising, there- fore. that those areas which pro- vide qulck and material evidence of governing ability should get first consldl-.r:itlon and that edu- cation should be viewed almost as A necessary evil.

We cannot Ignore these preoccu-

nations of the authorities with whom we must maintain relations. l-lnwnver. we are not thereby re- llevcd of the responsibility of ad- vanclnit A cause which may strike fire. Our relations would be poor indeed if the fear of strong re- action deterred us from I course deemed right. wise and timely Some believe that we have I long. long way to go. Last Year Dean Ncvllln Scarfe of the Faculty of Education of University of Mani- tobn told us: "School boards. administration officers and departments of educa- tion have too much power over teachers. The justification for so much direction and dictation is that teachers IN. inefficient or poorly trained. It is Issumed that someone in authority-and there- fort, of course. efficient - must do the thinking for the teacher. . . . If all these things are not calculated to reduce the -teacher to I cog in is machine. or to make A teachcr feel inferior, I do not know what is. . . , Guidance, sug- gestions and help there must al- ways be. but rigid direction and subtle compulsion must surely be avoided."

will teach and who will not teach...

Nevertheless. eeongzsuyn -491-

fulcs are tneroutiigly evident among the education authorities Relationships are improving. Anc In the improvement of these re latlonships, the various teacliers' organizations have served as the catalysts. They remain the only real guarantee that the. proces. will continue until I healthy anti unlversIlly respected status llaa een achieved by all teachers.

o what extent are teachers con- sulted In matters affecting both conditions of work and the stand- ard: and content of education?

Consultation implies a desire to search for advice and help - a willingness to offer a share in the formulation of policy while retain- ing the legal responsibility for final decision. Discussions which must be pressed for do not sug- gest the presence of I free consulta- tive splrit. It is regrettable that many education authorities have been slow in seeing nearly un- tapped reservoir of ability so close at hand. At times they have seen the reservoir but have overlook- ed the need for a proper pipe- line - contact through the pro- fessional organization. It is al- ways posible to consult individ- ual teachers. But the real indica- tion of high professional status is the extent to which the offici:il voice of teachers is freely con- sulted. When teachers are firmly united. full consultation must soon follow.

In these days oc acute teacher shortage. when the shortage has become I cronic condition with malignant tendencies. far too few education authorities realize that an enlightened and voluntary ap- proach to teachers on conditions of work would eleotirify the pro- fession. Without doubt, this would be a shock. But perhaps condit- ions are such that shook treatnient would be helpful. The growth of true consultation is unlikely to be rapid process. From steady growth will come enduring good. Even the pessimist: will concede that. in Canada, the trend to consultation is unmistakable.

How free are teachers from direc- tion in matters of personal cun- vlction?

As I review some eighteen years in the class room. I see tremen-

dous chaimes. The Canadian scene is certainly not without its patches of light and shade. But. we must always remember that freedom is always relative.

It still amazes me that there are, even in Canada. communit-

ies which attempt to set one standard for themselves and an- other for their teachers. The par- ent who cheerfully puffs himself into a lung cancer or who drinks himself into cirrliosis of the liver. really pays the teacher too much credit when he frowns on such liberty for the teacher on the grounds that this would be a bad example for the children. In such matters. does the teacher really have more influence than the community and the parents? 1 think not. But the restrictive at- mospliere in a. host of trivial mat- ters often turns competent and self-respecting individuals from the profession. The educator needs both security and freedom - sec- urity from the open and the sub- tle pressures of the community and freedom to be an individual or even I "c.hsractei"' as the pram. dust of the University of Toronto recently,' said. Denial of full poli- tical freedom makes a second-rate citizen. jLlmit.at.ions of personal freedom-makes the teacher a race npart. here such conditions exist is it a wonder that the 1)r0iL's- sion is iiyoidecl like the plague?

Recen ly, Dr. Robert M. Hutch- ins. frmcr Chancellor of the Unlversny of Chicago. discussed another smect of educational free- dom: ..

"Eduqa.tion is impossible in many parts of the nation because frcc inquiry and free discussion are lmpossillle. The teachers of many subjects cannot teach without risk- ing their jobs. You don't have to fire many teachers to intimidate them all."

when invIItlgItor Ind move in on the schools, moves out.

informer freedom

When we really dare to be our- selves, when we really stand on principle and not on expediency, then We are on the way to a bet- ter status. Often we teachers tire our own worst enemies. But cour- age and convictlonme not lack- ing in Canadian teachers. 1 be- lievc we will stand the test.

Not. so long ago. Dr. Hugh L Keenleyside reminded an audience of I warning made by H. G Wells - in 1910. I believe - that the world is in 1! race between education and catnsuoplie. In these perilous times. Canadian teachers have I unique opportun- ity. if not an obligation, to show their professional unity. We Can- adians are often iiiciined to as- sume we Ire I cut above others

C0iFFUR

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