Making the Teachers America’s Scapegoat

The “long, hot summer” of racial turmoil was succeeded by the short but intense autumn of teachers’ struggles. In a series of cities and states tens of thousands of teachers fought for union recognition, an improvement in school conditions, and the beginning of a voice in determining school policies.

What has led to this new militancy among the teachers, apart from such obvious tactors as grossly inadequate salaries? The teacher’s feelings that his worth as a professional goes unrecognized, and that he is being turned into a scapegoat, are partly responsible for the notorious shortcomings in our educational system. This new militancy of the teachers, in turn, provokes hostile reactions on the part of other ...