Education: Politics?

The question of a Federal Department of Education has come up again. The National Education Association, the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, the American Federation of Labor and other organizations asked President Coolidge to recommend to Congress the creation of such a Department, its head to be a member of the Cabinet.

The proposed duties of the Department of Education would be to combat illiteracy, to promote the Americanization of the foreign-born, to train teachers uniformly, to develop physical education on a wide scale and in general to coordinate the work of state school systems.

The only difficulty foreseen by prominent educators is that “politics might creep in.” It is feared that the Department of Education will not remain purely advisory, like the Department of Agriculture, but will attempt to interfere in local enterprises, or at least force uniform policies upon institutions and systems which ought to be free. Propaganda again! With all the advantages which there would certainly be in centralization, there might indeed be grave disadvantages. Municipal politics have ruined the school system of more than one city.

In England the creation of a Board of Education has worked on the whole very well. The reforms imposed upon national education by President Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher, though they were opposed violently for a time, have in the main been accepted with benefit.

In Italy, however, the loud cry of “politics” is being raised. The present Minister of Education, Giovanni Gentile, a foremost philosopher, has compiled theoretical works on education that have been considered to be of profound value. Practically he finds the problem a hot one. Religion enters in, as well as the fact that more professional students are being trained than the professions can absorb. Then Signor Gentile has surprised everybody by joining the Fascisti movement—which means that he is “assisted” at every turn by Dr. Mussolini, who does not seem to know too much about education. The right man, in Italy as well as here, would be something between a philosopher and a politician. Does he exist?