CONSERVATIVE TEACHERS.
Most interesting is the result of an inquiry conducted by the Teachers' College, New York, to ascertain the attitude of mind of 3,000 typical educators scattered throughout United States. Dr. Manly Harper in announcing the result declares that it proved that the average American teacher is "dangerously conservative " ; seventy-seven per cent. of educators, for instance, contended that "one should never allow his own experience to lead him in ways that he knows are contrary to the teachings of the Bible." Fifty-one per cent. believed that "our laws should forbid radical criticism of our country and Government." The survey concludes : "With rare exceptions American educators have done little fundamental thinking relative to our most vital social problems," declaring further that the conservatism elicited "is characterized not by caution and alert inquiry but by dangerous and satisfied blindness." Widespread publicity is being given to this report and it should have an awakening effect. The extreme conservatism manifested is chiefly among teachers in primary schools, and liberalism in the calleges will inevitably leaven the lump.
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