PATTERNS OF WORKERS’ EDUCATION

 

school like yours to study and relieve them of the tiredness from their daily
jobs . . . if they have one . . . and of the burdens of many details of the
average person’s daily life and to give them people willing to listen to what the
souls of these workers have to say ...”°

The School has chosen its faculty very carefully and has trained teachers
informally. The qualifications formulated have been used by local programs
and assistants from the School have been valuable to many different proj-
ects. The alumnae have expressed their appreciation of the instruction which
they have received. They have indicated that this often is in contrast to local
work since the hustle and bustle of the community touches not only the stu-
dents but also their teachers who, buried as they are in many activities, cannot
always give adequate attention to their tasks. Since some of the ablest in-
structors are overburdened, the weight of carrying a local program often falls
upon the less competent.

It seems reasonable to assert that workers’ education as a process has not
come to the point where it may accept one project in preference to another.
Due to the limitations of specific types, the aim should be intelligent combina-
tion of various facilities. In the community, mass education, classroom educa-
tion and training for leadership should be utilized. In the resident school,
mural and extra-mural activities of students and faculty, as well as teacher
training and institutes, should approximate the local combination. Finally,
the community and extra-community programs should be unified in a year-
round workers’ education movement.

In the same way, workers’ education still needs projects under a variety of
auspices. Instruction in trade unions is available only to organized workers
and is related functionally to collective bargaining. Non-unionized persons
need the programs developed by political, community, and religious groups;
these programs may help trade unionists to have a wider social perspective.
If collective bargaining and community efforts are necessary to changing social
structure, then the two types of educational activity may be recognized as
essential. The School has incorporated parts of both and has brought together
workers from all kinds of groups. It has had representatives of labor upon its
Board of Directors and the fact that these have not been confined to trade
union women probably has contributed toward building a comprehensive
labor movement. Although individuals have supplied most of the money,

* Letter from a German student, 1934,

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