ThiB dissertation has been ^ 1791 microfilmed exactly as received ” H O W A R D , Robert, 1929- AMERICAN EDUCATION AS SEEN IN NEWSPAPER EDITORIALS, 1961-1963. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1965 Education, general

University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan AMERICAN EDUCATION AS SEEN IN NEWSPAPER

EDITORIALS, I9 6 I-I9 6 3

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

B y Robert Howard, B.Sc., M.A.

The Ohio State University 1965

Approved by

of Education ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writer wishes to express his sincere appreciation to Dr. Robert E. Jewett for his counsel and assistance in pre­ paring this study.

ii VITA

March 9» 1929 Born - Portsmouth, Ohio

195? .... B.Sc., The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

1957-1960 . . Teacher and counselor, Eastmoor Junior-Senior High School, Columbus, Ohio I960 .... M.A., The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1960-1962 . . High School Supervisor, Clermont County Schools, Batavia, Ohio

1962-1963 . . Instructor, Department of Education, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

1 9 6 3 - 1 9 6 5 . . High School Consultant, Franklin County Schools, Columbus, Ohio

FIELDS OF STUDY

Major Field: Social Foundations Studies in Social Studies. Professor Bobert E. Jewett Studies in Sociology. Professor John F* Cuber Studies in History of Education. Professors Bernard Mehl and Bobert B. Sutton

ill CONTENTS

Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...... Ii VITA ...... iii

TABLES ...... vii Chapter I. THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND ...... 1

Statement of the Problem Method of Study Plan of the Study Limitation of the Problem Definition of Terms Preview of the Remaining Chapters II. CHANGING FUNCTIONS OF THE PRESS ...... 27

From Libertarian to the Social Responsibility Theory of the Press The Editorial in Transition The Editorial and Education III. PRESENTATION OF THE DATA ...... 5*f

Boston Globe Chicago Tribune Christian Science Monitor Cleveland Plain Dealer Denver Post New York Times San Francisco Chronicle St. Louis PoBt-Pispatch Wall Street Journal Washington Post iv CONTENTS

Chapter Page IV. THE CRUCIAL ISSUE OF FREEDOM IN EDUCATION .... 3k

New York Times San Francisco Chronicle Denver Post St. Louis Bost-Dispatch Washington Post Boston Globe Cleveland Plain Dealer Chicago Tribune V. THE CRUCIAL ISSUE OF RELIGION AND MORALS IN EDUCATION ...... 107

Washington Post St. Louis Post-Dispatch Christian Science Monitor Cleveland Plain Dealer San Francisco Chronicle New York Times Denver Post Chicago Tribune Boston Globe Wall Street Journal VI. THE CRUCIAL ISSUE OF EQUALIZATION OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY...... 119

St. Louis Post-Dispatch New York Times Washington Post Christian Science Monitor Chicago Tribune Cleveland Plain Dealer Wall Street Journal Boston Globe San Francisco Chronicle Denver Post VII. THE CRUCIAL ISSUE OF DIRECTION AND DESIGN OF THE CURRICULUM...... 131

Boston Globe Chicago Tribune

v CONTENTS

Chapter Page Cleveland Plain Dealer Washington Post St. Lonis Post-Dispatch Denver Post Wall Street Journal San Francisco Chronicle Christian Science Monitor VIII. THE DIVISION AND ANALYSIS OF MUTUALLY RELATED CATEGORIES OF THE REMAINING EDITORIAL OPINION CONCERNING EDUCATION ...... lMf

Higher Education Finance Administration Expanding Needs and Enrollments Curriculum Aids, Methods, and Procedures Teacher Working Conditions Scholarships, Grants, GiftB, and Foundations Athletics IX. SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS AND FINDINGS ...... 1^6

BIBLIOGRAPHY 165 TABLES

Table Page 1. Proportion of Editorials on Education to All Editorials in Twenty-five American Newspapers . . ^9 2. Summary of the Critical Character of Editorials on Education ...... 50 3* The Ten Topics of Highest Frequency of Editorial Mention, Showing the Percentage of Comment Which Is Favorable, Neutral, or Unfavorable . . . 52 k. Total Number of Editorials on Education in Ten American Newspapers, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 ...... • 33 3» Proportion of Editorials on Education to All Editorials in Ten American Newspapers, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 • 56 6. Education Editorials Broken Down by Categories in the Boston Globe, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 ...... 59 7* Education Editorials Broken Down by Categories in the Chicago Tribune, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 63 8. Education Editorials Broken Down by Categories in the Christian Science Monitor, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 ..... 66 9* Education Editorials Broken Down by Categories in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 ...... 70 10. Education Editorials Broken Down by Categories in the Denver Post, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 7^ 11. Education Editorials Broken Down by Categories in the New York Times, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 ...... 78 12. Education Editorials Broken Down by Categories in the San Francisco Chronicle, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 •••••• 82 13. Education Editorials Broken Down by Categories in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 • 86 vii TABLES

Table Page 14. Education Editorials Broken Down by Categories in the Wall Street Journal, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 ...... 89 15* Education Editorials Broken Down by Categories in the Washington Post, I9 6 I- 6 3 92 16• Tabulation of the Crucial Issue of Freedom in Education as Found in the Ten American Newspapers, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 95 17* Tabulation of the Crucial Issue of Religion and Morals in Education as Found in the Ten American Newspapers, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 . 108 18. Tabulation of the Crucial Issue of Equalization of Educational Opportunity as Found in the Ten American Newspapers, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 ..... 120 19* Tabulation of the Crucial Issue of Direction and Design of the Curriculum as Found in the Ten American Newspapers, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 ..... 133 20. Breakdown of the Majority of the Remaining Mutually Related Categories Found in the Ten American Newspapers, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 ...... 1^5

viii CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

A systematic analysis of editorial treatment concerning education carried in the larger newspapers in the United States should aid all those who hare a responsibility for improring education in a democracy, the assumption being that much in­ formation and knowledge that the general public gains and transmits is through the mass media* Thus, there is a recipro­ cal process in which newspapers influence and reflect public opinion concerning education* Journalism is a reflector of the public mind*

It is difficult to determine in any single ease how much of the editorial opinion is the original and independent opin­ ion of the editor, or his opinion modified by other opinion, or the opinion of the public as shown in aeoounts of public gatherings, interriews, and other means* But taken in the mass, newspaper opinion is public opinion*^

*L* N* Flint. The Conscience of the Newspaper (D* Apple- ton-Century Company, 1925), pp* 297-98* 1 2 The concept of public opinion elicits various reactions from those attempting to analyze it. The writer acknowledges and agrees with Kimball Toung that "the terms 'public opinion' and 'public* are so loosely used as to be frequently nothing but 2 sterotypes." The word "public" seems to imply a mystical enti­ ty which scarcely exists in reality. There are many "publics" revolving around areas of interest rather than a single "pub­ lic." Perhaps, a better term would be "group opinion" rather 3 than "public opinion." Other writers suggest that public opinion does not mean universal or preponderant opinion but a state of opinions over certain issues where there is difference rather than agreement. Unanimity is not opinion but folkways and mores. Discussion is necessary, together with differences of opinion and general unrest of ideas and attitudes in order to if be called public or group opinion. Allport makes a valid argument when he states that public opinion shows some conviction common to the great majority. The distribution of opinion appears in the general form of the probability curve with the opposite views being represented by fewer and fewer persons as the extreme forms of these views are

^Kimball Young, Source Book for Social Psychology (New York: F. S. Crofts & Co., 1927!), pp. 722-23. 5Ibid. ^Ibid. approached* The noderate position expresses the opinion of the majority. The high peak of the curve is exploited by the press* Public opinion acquires its power through the attitude of the individual which gives universality to certain convictions and then supports them enough to conform with the supposed uni­ versal view* "Newspapers are self-constituted exponents of that 5 which they assert to be the voice of the public• ** Their asser­ tions may be hasty generalizations and deliberate propaganda* They create and control public opinion while pretending to ex­ press it* On the other hand, the illusion of universality may be utilized to establish a popular acceptance of enlightened views; thus, the press has possibilities and responsibilities to promote solidarity in constructive citizenship*^ In any event, however, it is not the purpose of this study to analyze the problem of the degree to which newspapers influ­ ence or reflect public opinion, except to state that presumably newspapers today play a fundamental role in building up the con­ ceptions that people have of education in the United States* This study of the relationship of one symbolic social institution, the press, with another symbolic institution, the school, should assist thedelineating mutual concern of both* It should assist

^George L* Bird and Frederic E* Merwin, ed., The Newspaper and Society (New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc*, 19^2), p* 8*

6Ibid. the educator in understanding and improving his working relation* ship with the news media*

Of all the media of publicity, the newspaper is one of the greatest educational influences in the United States* According to Farley, "It is the first impulse of all who wish to reach the 7 public to go to the newspaper for help." The interest level of newspaper readers may be low; however, newspaper stories mold the mindB of millions. They influence people in what they do, what they think, and what they buy* They help to establish an under* standing among people and groups and to stimulate action* 8 In view of this, it seems to the writer that analysis of editorial comments of major newspapers in the United States should be a useful and fruitful undertaking in analyzing public opinion* The exploration of areas of cooperation and conflict be* tween two major social institutions in a democratic society should give an improved contemporary picture to educational leaders and should assist them in becoming more sensitive to the problem of improving the communication of the public image of the schools* In a society faced with many unprecedented challenges and complexities in education, it becomes encumbent on us to seek a

^Belmont Farley, School-Publicity (Stanford: Stanford Uni­ versity Press, 195*0* P* 73* 8Clifford Lee Brownell et al., Public Relations in Educa­ tion (New Yorkt McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc*, 1955)* P» 108* clear understanding of public opinion relating to the schools if we are to improve the welfare of all society and contribute to the solutions of problems inherent in group life.

Statement of the Problem The purpose of this study is to analyze critically the edi­ torial treatment of education in the American press during the years 1 9 6 1 through 1 9 6 3 *

Method of Study The writer shall now discuss some basic problems that are related to any attempt at a systematic analysis of newspaper edi­ torials.

Content Analysis Certain requirements must be met if one is to analyze the contents of a given material. First, content analysis is limited to the manifest content and is not applied to latent intentions which the content may express nor the latent responses which it may elicit. Second, the study must be objective so that the de­ fined analysis can be applied by other analysts to secure the same results. The next requirement is that of a system. All of the relevant content is to be analyzed in termB of all of the re­ lated categories to eliminate partial or biased analyses, and analyses must be designed to obtain data relevant to a scientific problem. The study must result in a measure of general applica­ tion. The content analysis must contain quantification which is 6 the most characteristic requirement of a content analysis. In Yiew of the above requirements for a content analysis, Berelson sets forth the following definitions "Content Analysis is a research technique for the objective, systematic, and quanti- 9 tative description of the manifest content of communication." There are two general methods used in analyzing content material: the a priori, which sets up logical categories in ad­ vance, and the a posteriori, from which categories are obtained after examining the material. The a priori method usually tends to be simpler and has greater reliability and is useful in pro­ viding simple statistics for charting trends and making correla­ tions, while the a posteriori method tends to provide more in­ formative results. The approach to be used depends upon the pur­ poses of the writer and upon the nature of the material. Often both methods may be used as was done in this study. It was felt by the writer that it would be fruitful to examine 100 per cent of the editorials of the ten newspapers for three years, which would lend itself to total topical classification of the treatment of education as well as contribute to thematic categories or cru­ cial issues. In examining contemporary literature relating to crucial issues in education, the writer concludes that the fol­ lowing conceptual organization, as developed by Ehlers and Lee, is appropriate for this study.^

^Bernard Berelson, Content Analysis in Communication Research (Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 1952), p. lS. ^Henry Ehlers and Gordon C. Lee, ed., Crucial Issues ia Ed­ ucation (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1959)* 331*- PP» The writer has organized the subcategories under the four crucial issues and is responsible for the modifications felt to be necessary as examination of the editorials progressed. An analysis will be made to discover to what extent the editorials treat these major issues. I. Freedom in education A. Academic freedom B. Conformity vs. individualism C. Book Censorship D. General II. Religion and morals in education A. Supreme Court's decision on prayer B. Separation of church and state C. Juvenile delinquency D. General III. Equalization of educational opportunity A. Integration 1. Public schools 2. Higher education 3* Busing students to less crowded areas 4. General B. Federal support for education IV. Direction and design of curriculum A. Aims and ends of modern education B. Schooling for the gifted G. Disadvantaged and the dropouts D. Higher standards E. Remedial education In using the a priori approach, it is possible to classify characteristics into favorable, unfavorable, and neutral categories whioh are called terms of "direction" or "orientation."^ The writer is analyzing in general terms the positions taken in edi­ torials concerning education.

"^Marie Jahoda, Horton Deutsch and Stuart W. Cook, ed.( Research Methods in Social Relations, Part Two: Selected Tech­ niques Twew York: The Dryden Press, 1951)* P* 55^» 8 When one uses the a posteriori approach to categories of analysis, it is necessary for the analyst to discover the signifi— cant ideas and themes in his material and to work out a practical scheme of classification* He is somewhat limited in that the classifications of the content must be so clearly and explicitly defined that others can apply them to the same content in order to verify the conclusions* He is not free to select and report only what interests him but must classify all the relevant mater­ ial in his sample* He must also use some quantitative procedure which will show the importance and emphasis in the material of the various ideas which will allow comparison with other samples of material* 12 In order to analyse the content of editorials, the writer is not only classifying but also quantifying the material* Ideally, one should desire to quantify all aspects of the pre­ sentation of editorials which may contribute to their effective­ ness or influence upon the reader* This would include the fre­ quency with which the subject occurs, the skill with which it is presented, the empfeasis given it, and the degree to which it is strengthened by its context and its intensity* However, the fre­ quency of occurence is the only measure that has been generally 1 and effectively employed in content analysis, according to Donald VV McGranahan.13 The frequency of occurence is analysed in this study*

\ 12Ibid., pp. 553-55. 13Ibid* * p. 556. The validity of numerical frequency is questioned by some. The reason being that the products of the human mind cannot be quantified; however, books, magazines, and newspapers can be classified and counted without difficulty. By taking a systematic sample of newspaper editorials and counting the number of edito­ rials expressing favorable, unfavorable, or neutral attitudes toward a particular issue in education, one can carry out a simple form of quantification that has been proven to be feasible and reliable. This method of quantification provides a more ex­ act summary of the editorials than would be possible relying only on general impressions and memory, because there is a limit to the amount of material that can be digested and recalled in detail by the human mind. The next problem of quantification comes with the examina­ tion of certain editorials where several issues may be brought up in the same editorial. If one idea is presented in an editorial, one notation may be made in the particular category of analysis even though the idea appears more than once in the same editorial. If several categories can be noted in the same editorial, a nota­ tion may be made for the several categories or the notations may be restricted to a defined degree of prominence or coded with only the most prominent idea that relates to the category scheme. In analyzing the content of editorials in this study, little diffi­ culty was encountered since the preponderance of them developed a

major central theme. 10 The content may be analyzed in paragraphs, complete thoughts, a clause or words that contain a characterization* The unit of content depends upon the nature of the material and the kind of analysis one prefers; however, the type of unit chosen may have a certain effect on the statistical results of the analysis* In this study it is important to note the difference be­ tween categories of analysis and the units of content* According to McGranahan, the categories of analysis compose the scheme or system by which the editorial comment is described and classified* The units of content are the specific items that are described, lif classified, and counted* The categories of analysis will be divided into four major themes: editorials relating to freedom in education, religion and morals in education, equalization of educational opportunity, direction and design of the curriculum, and the remaining editorials will be classified and included under mutually related categories* The unit of content is the complete editorial in this study* The categories of analysis allow for as many possible schemes as there are kinds of interest with which the content may be ap­ proached, but the units of content are limited by the number of ways they may be divided to obtain equivalent parts* Themes may be used to classify concepts and may be either specific or gen­ eral in nature* This explains why a posteriori content analysis is called "thematic analysis*** Some authors use the term

lifIbid., p. 558. 11 "themes" to refer to specific units of content rather than to categories of analysis. This double usage adds to the confusion of a discipline already tangled in its own verbiage. 15 McGran- ahan feels that when one speaks of "themes", "The term is gener­ ally understood to mean the classes or types of ideas to which specific content, whether divided into units of sentences, para­ graphs, broadcasts, and books, may be generally assimilated.

Problem of Classification There are editorials that have vague and general reference to education as a whole, embracing many characteristics and prob­ lems of education but do not present a sufficiently coherent picture or theme in which to be classified. Editorial comments relating to educational issues may be local in character and may or may noirbe representative of the national problem. There are various degrees of subtlety in presentation of educational is­ sues. Some may be conveyed in the form of simple direct state­ ments, such as federal aid leads to federal control of education. Other editorial comments may appear in figures of speech or rhe­ torical devices. In this study, generally, most of the editori­ als developed one major thesis.

Problem of Sampl£hg There is a problem of sampling when one attempts to draw a representative sample of American newspapers. It would be

15Ibid. l6Ibid. 12 prejudicial to base a representative sample on one newspaper, for example. A scientific study of newspapers must be based upon a systematic and objectively selected sample of material* The techniques of sampling newspapers present difficulties because newspapers vary tremendously in size and influence* To be real­ istic, one cannot give an equal emphasis to an obscure journal and a large metropolitan daily. Each does not have equal influ­ ence* One type would be the popularity sample which is based only on circulation* Therefore, newspapers may be chosen with a sim­ ilar circulation, but one cannot be sure the newspapers' circula­ tion correctly reflect their influence upon the readers* One paper may concern itself primarily with local news, another with national issues of education* The activities of editorial reporting will not, to be sure, give a completely exclusive national picture of education because there are other important sources that mold opinion, such as radio, television, periodicals, professional journals, and others* There are problems involved in obtaining a representative sample of the total newspaper content* It is not easy to decide what, if anything, a representative sample of the contents of a single newspaper copy would be, but one can follow herji systematic principles and select for analysis a clearly defined section of a paper* It is possible, therefore, to take a sample which is not fully representative of the newspaper in question but which can 13 be objectively and systematically drawn. In this study analysis has been simplified since it is limited to a particular portion of the total copy rather than attempting to analyze the whole newspaper. One hundred per cent of the editorials of each news­ paper will be examined. The number of editorials in a particular copy of a newspaper range anywhere from two to seven. Another problem is one of the period of time covered. The Impact of a current event may conceal normal policy. A distorted impression of the general policy of a newspaper would be received if editorials from only one day were studied, or even for only

one month. 17 Another factor would be the geographical areas in which one could divide the country into regions and select the most popular newspapers from each region. An effort should be made to get as broad a geographical representation as possible for sampling purposes. Newspapers used in this study include the Boston Globe, the New York Times, and the Washington Post from the East; the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Chicago Tribune, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from the Midwest; the Denver Post from the West; the San Francisco Chronicle from the Far West; and the Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor, representing national views on education. There were no newspapers available for study

from the South. The obligations of any newspaper to its community are to

17Ibid., p. 553. strive for honest and comprehensive coverage of the news and for expression of editorial opinion in support of basic principles of human liberty and social progress. Those newspapers that have been most consistent in fulfilling these obligations have been rewarded with public and professional acclaim. America's news­ papers cannot be ranked in numerical order with any amount of certainty; however, the results of three opinion polls on the subject taken in i9 6 0 and 1 9 6 1 shed some light upon the subject. One poll consisted of 335 editors, another of 311 publishers, and a third of 123 journalism professors. Hated in the top six dailies in all three polls were the New York Times. Christian Science Monitor. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Washington Post. The Wall Street Journal and the Chicago Tribune were included in the top ten in two of the polls. The New York Times ranked first in all three polls, continuing in the forefront of American journalism by maintaining the tradition of reporting the news with complete- X3 ness and integrity. The writer was able to obtain the above-mentioned news­ papers from the Ohio State Library for purposes of analysis. He was limited in the amount of newspapers he could use for this study since these were the only ones available on microfilm for the years 1 9 6 1 through 1963* A thumb-nail sketch of the background of each newspaper re­ veals some of the historical and social forces that have influenced

n o Edwin Emery, The Press and America (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., I9 S2 ), pp. 7^5-^- 15 editorial policies. The following pages contain a brief back­ ground of each of the papers used in this study.

Christian Science Monitor _ The Christian Science Monitor was begun in 1908 by Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy to protest sensationalism in newspapers. It was not meant to be a religious propaganda organ but a serious-minded afternoon daily. Since it minimized stories about disasters, crime, or death, more space was used to develop Washington and foreign correspondence. It became noted for its ability to sit back and take a long-view look at major news developments, thus contributing interpretative analyses of problems and trends in government, world affairs, economics, and social development. Today it has a circulation of l?*+«093 and classifies itself as an independent. Wall Street Journal The Wall Street Journal was founded by Charles H. Dow in

1 8 8 9 as the voice of the Dow Jones and Company financial news service. There were few changes until 19*t0 when Bernard Kilgore became managing editor. He broadened the newspaper's coverage to include clearly written summaries of important national and world news and articles interpreting trends in industry. By 19&0 the newspaper had expanded to eight printing plants across the

country, and today it has a circulation of 7 9 5 *2 9 6 . 16 Boston Globe Boston's quiet journalism was upset by the appearance of the Globe in 1872* General Charles H. Taylor became publisher in

1 8 7 7 i establishing an evening edition, running big headlines, em­ phasizing local news, and giving editorial support to the Demo­

cratic party. By 1 8 9 0 the Globe, with a combined morning-evening

circulation of 1 3 0 ,0 0 0 , ranked among the top ten papers in the country. Today it has a combined circulation of 34-7,566 and classifies itself as an independent.

Cleveland Plain Dealer The Cleveland Plain Dealer, established in 184-2, shifted

its emphasis from the evening to the morning field in 1 8 8 3 under the ownership of L. E. Holden. He bought the plant and morning edition of the Herald, and combined the evening editions of the Leader and the Herald into the Hews and Herald. The Press, one of the parents of Scripps' chain, harassed its evening competitors, and in 1903 the other afternoon dailies were formed into a new paper, the Cleveland News. In 1917 the Leader was assimilated by the Plain Dealer which was the only morning newspaper. The Plain Dealer sold its evening News to the Scripps-Howard Press in I960. The Plain Dealer had a circulation of 328,314- in 1964- and is classified as an independent. Chicago Tribune The Chicago Tribune was founded in 1847, and after its pur­ chase by Joseph Hedill in 1855, it became the leading daily in Chicago* The Tribune vigorously crusaded against utility and street-railway franchise grabs. Under James Keeley's leadership in 1 9 1 0 , it developed a crusading spirit and community service record typical of newspapers published in that era. The era of Robert R. McCormick began in 1914 when he and a cousin took over leadership of the paper, doubling circulation and advertising during the World War I period. McCormick claimed his newspaper was great, and this claim might be correct if news­ paper greatness was measured only in terms of financial success, circulation, and mechanical excellence. By 1955 the Tribune carried three times as much advertising as its three rivals com­ bined; its circulation waB the largest of any standard-sized American newspaper. McCormick*s critics attacked him on the basis of editorial columns which became bitter and personal proclama­

tions, spilling over into the news columns.1 9 In 1956 the Tribune bought the American as an evening competitor to Field*s Sun-Times. In 1964 the Tribune * s circulation was 831,904, and it calls itself

independent Republican.

Denver Post The Denver Post, established in 1895 by Harry H. Tammen

and Fred 6 . Bonfils, won fame as a dynamic but irresponsible

19Ibid., pp. 724-731 newspaper. It was filled with features and sensational stories, and also engaged in stunts and orusades which spread its fame in the Rocky Mountain area. The victims of its stories filed libel suits, but no charges were proved in court. In 192** the Committee on Ethics of the American Society of Newspaper Editors recommended Bonfils be expelled from membership, but he was allowed to resign after it was found that the paper withheld news of illegal oil leases at Teapot Dome until Bonfils could force the lessees to make a contract by which the Post would profit. In 1926 the Scripps-Howard chain bought the Rocky Mountain News and the evening Press for merger with its Express. This became one of the greatest competitive struggles in newspaper history. In 1928 a truce was arranged whereby the Post would be alone in the evening field, the News in the morning. It was twenty years later with Palmer Hoyt as publisher before the end came to the Tammen-Bonfils type of newspapering. Hoyt gradually modified the gaudy makeup, increased its interpretative news coverage, and gave the paper a better editorial balance. The Post developed a strong internationalist point of view and an independent edito­ rial page.2^ In 196** it had a circulation of 255*318.

New York Times

The New York Times was founded in 1 8 5 1 by Henry J. Raymond and George Jones. Under Raymond the newspaper developed

20Ibid., pp. 509-10. reasonable decency in public reporting, no rival equaling it in developing the technique of careful reporting. Raymond died in

1 8 6 9 and Jones in 1891. The Times had the smallest circulation in New York City at the time it was purchased by Adolph S. Ochs, a onetime printer's devil from Tennessee, in the l890's. He saved the newspaper by publishing solid news coverage and edito­ rial opinion, designed for readers not liking over-emphasis of entertainment and features. The Times began to publish daily real estate transactions, expanded market reports, and lists of court cases and records. The Sunday magazine featured articles of current news significance, and the readers liked the book re­ view section. Since the Times still was not prospering, Ochs de­ cided to lower the cost of the paper to a penny a copy. Circula­ tion jumped to 75«000 in 1899 and went over 100,000 in 1901. A network of correspondents were established at home and abroad, and the paper invested heavily in thorough coverage of world political and economic news. During World War I the Times ex­ tended its coverage of events by publishing texts of documents and speeches, "a policy which led to its becoming the leading reference newspaper for librarians, scholars, government offi- 21 cials, and other newspaper editors." Ochs died in 1955 and was succeeded by his son-in-law, Arthur Hays Sulzberger.

As stated before, in three opinion polls taken in i9 6 0 and 1961, the New York Times ranked first among American newspapers.

21Ibid., p. k9& 20 Sulzberger lived up to his responsibilities as publisher of the country's "newspaper of record." Editorially, the Times is staunchly internationalist in world outlook and progressive-* conservative in domestic affairs. It has vigorously defended in­ dividual freedoms against reactionary attacks in the years fol­ lowing World War II. By 1 9 6 1 the Times and itB staff had won thirty-two Pulitzer Prizes, including two for meritorious public 22 service in 1918 and Its circulation is 6 0 3 ,57^ morning and 1,2 8 3 , 7 8 5 for Sunday. It considers itself an independent newspaper.

San Francisco Chronicle

Tfre San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1 8 6 5 by Charles and Michael De Young, brothers in their teens. Beginning as a free theatre-program sheet, it became a full fledged newspaper in 1868. During the next twenty-five years it Was the leading paper of the city in advocating parks, opposing political corruption, and "boosting" California. It led the fight to reform the state constitution in 1 8 7 9 $ crusaded against the land monopoly and op­ posed the railroad barons of the time. The older brother Charles was killed in 1 8 8 0 , and his brother continued to supervise the

Chronicle until his death in 1 9 2 5 . The newspaper continued to flourish under publisher George T. Cameron, editor Chester Rowell, and general manager Paul C.

2 2 Ibid.. p. 7 ^7 . 23"Trank Luther Mott, American Journalism (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1 9 6 2 ), pp. ^7^-75. 21 Smith in the 1930's and 1940's for its comprehensive national and foreign news coverage. In the 1950's, however, under new direc­ tion, it turned heavily toward features, columnists, and circula­ tion-getting news. It passed the Kearst-owned Examiner in read­ ers, but the Examiner surpassed it in solid news. In 1964 the Chronicle had a circulation of 330,225 evening and 352,138 Sunday and considers itself to be independent Republican.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch was founded in 1 8 7 8 by Joseph Pulitzer when he bought the Dispatch, founded in 1864 which was bankrupt, and combined it with the Post, started by John A. Dillon in 1875* The paper was destined to become one of the country's greatest in the next seventy-five years. It began to propper financially almost immediately and became the leading

newspaper in St. Louis by l8 8 l. The cardinal Pulitzer policy was "never be satisfied with merely printing news," which meant the kind of reporting to get more than surface news and the kind of crusading in the public interest. This type of crusading was a distinctive contribution to the "new journalism." Its major characteristics were inten­ sity of effort and the techniques used in writing and in news display. It warred unceasingly against police-protected gambling rings, crooked politicians, and others. At the same time the staff thoroughly covered the city to get the news. Pulitzer considered the day a loss if his newspaper did not have one 22 distinctive feature— -a crusade, public service, or big exclusive story*. 2 4 Continuity, both of Pulitzer family ownership and of the Post-Dispatch editorial policies, proved to be the key to great­ ness of this newspaper* The second Joseph Pulitzer edited the paper from 1911 to 1955* and Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., assumed authority in the late 1940's* During the fifteen years begin­ ning in 1937 the Post-Dispatch won five Pulitzer Prize gold medals for meritorious public service* Through campaigning, the paper obtained ajgatement of the city*s smoke nuisance and exposed two political scandals in St* Louis and two in Illinois* Its de­ votion to liberal principles led to unrelenting attacks upon HcCarthyism and other right-wing movements. 25 Today it has an evening circulation of 344,573 and a Sunday circulation of 569«378 and is classified as an independent*

Washington Post The Washington Post was founded as a Democratic morning paper in 1877 by Stilson Hutchins, an enterprising journalist* The Post absorbed the National Republican in 1888 and became in­ dependent in politics. The next year it was sold to Frank Hatton and Beriah Wilkins* John R* McLean bought the paper in 1905* His son Ned took over the paper in 1916* Too much money was taken out of the business by the owner, and after the crash, the paper

^*Bmery, op. cit*, p. 374* ^Ibid. * pp. 751-52* 23 went into receivership* In 1933 it was sold at auction to Eugene Meyer, and under his Management, doubled its circulation in a 26 short time* Meyer's object in buying the Post was to give Washington a newspaper with a sound and intelligent editorial page. He achieved this with two editors who won Pulitzer Prizes for editorial writing— -Felix Morley and Herbert Elliston. Through its editorial page and its interpretative news coverage of national news, the Post won recognition as the most indepen- 27 dent paper in the capital* In 195^ the Times-Herald was merged with the Pest* The Post is strongly internationalist in outlook and became well known for its outspoken and early criticism of McCarthyism in the 1950's* It has an evening circulation of Jf22,l*t5 and a Sunday circulation of 510,5^3- It considers itself independent*

Plan of the Study The plan of the study is set forth briefly below* 1* The whole editorial will be the unit of content* Most of the newspaper analyses contain from two to seven editorials each day* 2* Both a priori and a posteriori methods of content anal­ ysis will be UBed* 3* Editorials will be classified according to the follow­ ing major categories and subcategories of analysis:

26Mott, op. cit*, pp. 659-60* on 'Emery, op* cit.* p. 7^8. 2k I. Freedom in education A. Academic freedom B. Conformity ts. individualism C. Book censorship D. General II. Religion and morals in education A. Supreme Court's decision on prayer B. Separation of church and state C. Juvenile delinquency D. General III. Equalization of educational opportunity A. Integration 1. Public schools 2. Higher education 3* Busing students to less crowded areas Jf. General B. Federal support for education IV. Direction and design of curriculum A. Aims and ends of modern education B. Schooling for the gifted C. Disadvantaged and the dropouts D. Higher education E. Remedial education These constitute in the view of the writer the central issues re­ lating to education. 4-. The remaining editorials will be classified into mutual* ly related categories treating education, so that 100 per cent of the editorials are examined for three years, 19&1 through 1 9 &3 *

Limitation of the Problem 1. It is limited in geographical scope to include East, Midwest, West, and Far West. The South is not included. 2. It is limited to the classification and quantification of the manifest analysis and does not examine characteristics 25 such as the skill in which the editorial is presented, the degree to which it is strengthened by its context and intensity*

3* It is limited to the time span of 1 9 6 1 through 19&3* Jf. It is limited to ten newspapers since it was felt by the writer that with the reduced number of major newspapers in recent years, that ten newspapers would be sufficient for the study*

Definition of Terms 1* Education* The term education shall be used in this study in terms of a broad frame of reference referring to all editorials relating to schools, public and private, pre-school through adult and higher education* 2, Categories of analysis* The categories of analysis make up the scheme or system by which the editorial comment is described and classified* 3* Unit of content* The unit of content is the specific item or items that are described, classified, and counted* In this study the unit of content is the complete editorial* Preview of the Remaining Chapters Chapter II gives an historical perspective of the changing functions of the press* Chapter III presents a summary of the data derived from the editorials of the ten newspapers* Chapters IV through VII analyze the data related to the crucial issues of freedom in education, religion and morals in education, equalization of educational opportunity, and direction and design of curriculum, respectively. Chapter VIII divides and analyzes into mutually related categories the remaining editorial opinion concerning education. Chapter IX presents a summary of major criticisms, conclu­ sions, and findings. CHAPTER II

CHANGING FUNCTIONS OF THE PRESS

The press always takes on the form and coloration of the social and political structures and processes within which it operates. It reflects the system of social control in which in­ dividuals and institutions are adjusted. Understanding these aspects of society is basic to understanding the press. In order to examine the social systems and their true relationship to the press, one must look at the basic beliefs and assumptions which the society holds: the nature of man, the nature of society and the state, the relation of man to the state, and the nature of knowledge and truth. Thus, the differences in press systems are one of philosophy.

From Libertarian to the Social Responsibility Theory of the Press The Libertarian theory of the press came into real being in the eighteenth century and flowered in the nineteenth. It came about because of the growth of political democracy and religious freedom, the expansion of free trade and travel, the acceptance of laissez-faire economics, and the general philosophical climate of the Enlightenment. The theory reverses the relative position

27 28 of man and the state under an authoritarian philosophy. Han is seen not as a dependent being to be led and directed, but rather as a rational being able to discern between truth and falsehood when faced with conflicting evidence and alternate choices. Truth is no longer the property of power, but the right to search for truth is one of the inalienable natural rights of man. The press is envisioned as being a partner in the search for truth and is a device for presenting evidence and arguments on the basis of which people can check on government and make up their minds as to policy. It is important that the press be free from government control and influence because of this. In order to discover the truth, all ideas must get a fair hearing; there must be a "free market place of ideas and information." This is the theory of the press which was written into the Bill of Rights.'*' The functions of the press, according to the Libertarian theory, are to inform, to entertain, and to provide a basis of economic support to assure financial independence. The latter is the sales and advertising function. Siebert, Peterson, and Schramm continue by explaining that "The underlying purpose of the media was to help discover truth, to assist in the process of solving political and social problems by presenting all manner of evidence and opinion as the basis for decisions. The essential characteristic of this process was its freedom from government

^Fred S. Siebert, Theodore Peterson, Wilbur Schramm, Four Theories of the Press (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1963), PP. 3-57 29 2 controls or domination*" Thus a refinement of the function of the press as a political institution was developed* It could pro- wide a cheek on government which no other institution could pro­ vide* The Libertarians reasoned that out of a multiplicity of voices of the press, some information reaching the public would be untrue; however, they felt that ultimately the public could be trusted to digest the whole, discard that which was not in the public interest, and accept what served the needs of the in­ dividual and the society of which he was a part* This was known as the "self-righting" process* It was also assumed there would be many voices available to reach the public* The principal function of the state was to maintain a stable framework within which the free forces of individualism may interact* Some of the limitations on press freedom included the pro­ tection of the reputations of individuals, except those running for or in public office, and prohibition against the dissemina­ tion of obscene and indecent materials. Many editors and publishers had begun to realize that twentieth century conditions demand of the mass media a new and different kind of social responsibility. It was no longer easy to enter the newspaper business* Less than 7 P«** cent of the daily newspapers had competing ownership in the dailies* The press was falling into the hands of a powerful few who were not the political rulers* They rigorously protected the press

2Ibid.* p* 51 30 against government, but the very fact that control of the press was so limited, put a new and uneasy power Into the hands of media owners and managers. The press found it difficult to be a free market place of ideas. According to Siebert, Peterson, and Schramm, this is the baBis for the social responsibility theory."^ The functions of the press under the social responsibility theory are much the same as under Libertarian theory. The former accepts the role of the press in servicing the political system, in enlightening the public, in safeguarding the liberties of the individual; but it represents the opinion that the press has been deficient in carrying out these tasks. It accepts the role of the press in servicing the economic system, but it would not have this task take precedence over such functions as promoting demo­ cratic processes or enlightening the public. It agrees with the role of furnishing entertainment but expects "good11 entertainment. It accepts the role of the press being self-suftporting but would exempt certain individual media from earning their way in the market place In 19^7 the Commission on Freedom of the Press published a study concerning the role of the agencies of mass communication in the education of the people in public affairs. It deals with the "responsibilities of the owners and managers of the press to their consciences and the common good for the formation of public 5 opinion."

^Ibid., pp. **Ibid., p. yk, ^The Commission on Freedom of the Press, A Free and. Re­ sponsible Pjress (Chicago: The University of Chicago PresB, 1W ) , p. Vi. 31 After studying the mass media, the Commission made a number of recommendations to help the press give the service which so­ ciety wants. First, attention was paid to clarifying the role of government. As the Commission saw it, the main function of government in relation to the communications industry is to keep the channels open, to help create new units in the industry. Active competition must be maintained. It recommended some type of legislation by which an injured party might obtain a retrac­ tion or a restatement of the facts by the offender or an oppor- £ tunity to reply rather than to instigate a libel suit. Atten­ tion was given to ways lying in the press might be dealt with by law. It was felt that freedom of the press is a conditional right, dependent upon the honesty and responsibility of the press. It was also recommended that legislation prohibiting ex­ pressions favoring revolutionary changes in our institutions be repealed when there is no clear and present danger that violence will result from such expressions since this legislation has an intimidating effect and may stifle political and economic dis­ cussion. It was felt that the communications industry should remain a private business affected with a public interest. The press it­ self should assume the responsibility of providing the variety, quantity, and quality of information and discussion which our so­ ciety needs. The press should think of itself as performing a

6Ibid.. p. 86 32 professional public service. It was recommended that the members of the press engage in mutual criticism* It was thought to be undesirable that an erring member of the profession be deprived of his livelihood, and the best means for disciplining would be public criticism* It was also recommended that the press use every means possible to increase the competence, independence, and effectiveness of its staff* The following recommendations were made concerning the public and its relationship to the press: first, the American people should recognise the importance of the role of the press today* Nonprofit institutions, such as schools, should help supply the variety, quantity, and quality of press service re­ quired by our society* The institution of the school plays an important part in the growth of the power of the press because if the schools did a better job of educating people, the re­ sponsibility of the press to raise the level of American culture or to supply with correct and full political, economic, and so- cial information would be materially altered* 7 It was felt that the agencies of mass communication are re­ sponsible to the public as educational institutions are* Educa­ tional institutions have a "responsibility to the public to use the instruments employed by the agencies of mass communications.n It can render those services which commercial enterprises cannot

^Ibid., p. vii. ®Ibid*, p* 97 • offer on a profit-making basis. It is clear that education is a process which continues through life. As working hours diminish and leisure increases, new responsibilities have been undertaken 9 by educators to help people make wise use of their leisure time. It was also felt that it was imperative that journalism schools associate themselves closely with the liberal arts departments and schools of their universities. It was the Commission's rec­ ommendation that a new independent agency be established for the purpose of appraising and reporting annually upon the performance of the press. This agency would not be a part of the government, and after a ten year trial period, the best institutional form could be determined. According to the Commission, Clearly a qualitatively new era of public re­ sponsibility for the press has arrived; and it be­ comes an imperative question whether press perfor­ mance can any longer be left to the unregulated in­ itiative of the issuers. The moral and legal right of thinkers to utter their opinions must in any case remain intact; this right stands for the kernel of ^ individualism at the heart of all free social li£e. The Commission next set out to answer the question: Is the freedom of the press in danger? It found that the answer was yes. The importance of the press to the people has increased with the development of the press as an instrument of mass com­ munication. The few who are able to use the machinery of the press have not provided a service adequate to the needs of

9Ibid.. p. 99* 10Ibid., p. 125. 3^ society. Those who direct the machinery of the press have en­ gaged in practices that society condemns, and if continued, will lead to regulation or control. The Commission further stated that the right of free public expression includes the right to be in error. The assumption that a man in error is actually trying for truth is of the es­ sence of his claim for freedom. Conversely, moral right does not cover the right to be deliberately or irresponsibly in error.^

The right of free public expression has lost its earlier reality. Protection against government is not enough to guarantee that a man who has something to say shall have the opportunity to say it. The owners and managers of the press determine which persons, which facts, which version of the facts, and which ideas shall reach the public. 12 Elmer Davis agrees when he states that newspapers today tend to tell the readers not what is going on but what seems to be going on. Often they want to tell the truth but often fall short. Too much of the news is one-dimensional when truth has three dimensions. We have inadequate defenses against men who try to load the news with propaganda. Competition and the striv­ ing for objectivity may defeat the telling of the truth.^ There was not muc|i objectivity in the American press during

n ibid., p. 1 0 . 1 2 Ibid.. p. 1 6 .

■^Elaer Davis, But We Were Born Free (New York: Bobbs- Merill Company, Inc., 19527, pp. 147-481 35 most of the nineteenth century; if a story touched on the political or economic interest of the editor or owner, it was written up to make his side lookj^ood. Most papers now accept the principle that they should be objective in the news columns, leaving argument to the editorial. They want to publish everything said on both sides of a controversial issue and let the reader make up his own mind. They may not be telling the whole truth; however, because many readers do not have the personal knowledge to distinguish fact from fiction, ignorance from knowledge, interest from im- partiality. lb Davis further states that at one time it was thought dan­ gerous to report all dimensions of the news. Today the lack of full reporting creates the danger. It is necessary to bring the editorial to the front page, to mix interpretation with naked fact. Today we recognize the complexity of the news much more clearly than we did thirty or forty years ago. 15 To protect the press is no longer a suggicient protection to the citizen or community. The freedom of the press can remain a right of those who publish only if it incorporates into itself the right of the citizen and the public interest.^

^ I b i d .. pp. 1 5 8 -5 9 . 1 5 Ibidv p. 1 7 6 . "^The Commission on Freedom of the Press, oj>. cit., p. 18. 36 The Editorial in Transition Historically, newspapers have had three distinct functions: to publish the news, to interpret the news and thereby to influ­ ence publio opinion, and to gain success as a business enterprise* The editorial page has been an important part of the newspaper be­ cause of its role in helping the reader to understand what is go­ ing on, in fighting the reader's battles for him, in attempting to stimulate thinking, in cultivating public opinion, and in helping the reader be on guard against the editor's human weak­ ness in presenting and playing the news. For the newspaper the editorial provides a source of personality, a means of discharg­ ing the duties of the private citizen (having opinions and voic­ ing them), and a guide to the whole newspaper operation*^ The four major functions of the editorial might be described as fol­ lows: to explain the news, to fill in the background, to fore- cast the future, and to pass moral judgment* 18 The editor and the editorial are in the period of history of the press when the chief interest of the public in reading the newspaper lay in knowing what opinion it was right and wise to hold in regard to the great questions of the day* The editorial appeared in rather shadowy form one hundred years after the ap­ pearance of the first English newspaper, and it was long after that before it assumed the responsibility of leading public opinion.

^ A . Gayle Waldrop, Editor and Editorial Writer (New York: Rinehart & Company, Inc., 19^877 P*

l8 Ibid., p. 5 6 . 37 With the passing of the Alien and Sedition Acts in 17^9 newspaper offices were aroused to write editorials* They were first the same as pamphletB until they became too dull and long* They were then limited to a brief comment, peppered with epithets and accusations, lacking in perspective, but still monotonous in subject matter and wooden in treatment* Visitors to this country were impressed with the virility of newspaper opinion* Expres­ sion of opinion was the freest in the world* No where else was there the violent criticism of government and pitiless discus- sion of officials* 19

In l8 l^ Nathan Hale bought the Boston Daily Advertiser and became the first to express editorial opinions on events of pub­ lic interest and importance. From this point on the editorial became the most important feature of the press, and the paper it­ self was identified with the editor* In the early days of the penny press the editorial was independent of politics and tended to be cynical, flippant and reckless in pronouncement* 20 The editorial had become a fixture in many papers by the

1 8 3 0 's. It consisted not only of editorial opinion but of news which was considered the most important* Editorials were short and limited to a single paragraph. Many news stories were taken from other papers and complaints against this practice were common.

■^Edwin Emery, The Press and America (Englewood Cliffs, New Jerseys Prentice-Hall, Inc*, 1962), p. 175* 20Waldrop, op. cit., p. 57* 38 Good editorials were rare; writing was often badly informed and in poor taste. 21 The age in which the editor and the newspaper were an al­ most synonomous term was from 1 8 3 0 to about 1890. This was the period of "personal journalism" when the owner, editor, and pub­ lisher were one and the same person. The owner fought for the causes he wanted to promote— abolition, protective tariff, polit­ ical union, western immigration, and others. He fought against political corruption and against those who opposed his personal policies. The newspaper thought of its own editorials as white and those of its opponent as black. The editorial was a guarantee that the opinions were widespread in the country. It is impos­ sible to assess how much the editorial reflected public opinion.

This was an 4 ge when the newspaper was also identified with the community it represented. 22 In the period 1833-1860 the editorial page as a department of the newspaper was in general acceptance. The editorial was no 23 longer a news story but had become an "informative editorial."

Horace Greeley influenced editorials by concerning himself with a variety of subjects and writing in a vigorous, terse style. The

21Frank Luther Mott, American Journalism (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1962), p. 200. 22Lucy Maynard Salmon, The Newspaper and the Historian (New Yorkt Oxford University Press, 1923!), pp. 2^-9-253• 2^Mott, op. cit., p. 295* 39 The secret of Greeley's popularity was his consciousness of re-' sponsibility toward the reader. He changed the press of the masses from the vulgar level of sensationalism to a promoter of 2k culture and stimulating ideas. By the end of this period the news function of the paper was taking precedence over the edito­ rial. In the l880's the editorial page had much diversity of opinion as it had not yet developed the business viewpoint which would characterize it in the twentieth century. The editors were active crusaders for community interests, but there was also seen the growth of content popularization. 25 ^ By the end of the century there was a marked tendency by newspapers to print more fun on the editorial page because of the increasing stodginess of editorials. .As personal ownership of papers passed to corporate owner­ ship, the editor became more and more conventional, and the per­ sonal owner who continued as editor tended to consider the com­ mercial interests of his paper first. Johnson states that news­ papers have become controlled by industrialists rather than by newspapermen. Because the chief source of the newspaper's reve­ nues has changed from its readers to its advertisers, quantity of 26 writing rather than quality has become prominent. These

2kEmery, op. cit., p. 23k, 25John Tebbel, The Compact History of the American News­ paper (New York: Hawthorne Books, Inc., 196377 P« 127. 26 Gerald W. Johnson, Peril and Promise (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958), p. 35* 40 ownership changes show a decline in the importance of the edito­ rial.

There was a new emphasis on interpretation of the facts and some retreat from the ideal of purely factual news by 1940. By­ line stories and signed columns became more important and brought about a new type of personal journalism. It was not the editors who spoke out and stood for their papers, but the ace reporters and the columnists. In 1947 the National Conference of Editorial Writers was formed to establish a program for improving the con­ tent of editorials which had become banal and stodgy. The influence of the editorial has been undermined by two classes of changes during the twentieth century. The first is the internal conduct of the press— the introduction of the head­ line and the increasing dependence on it for the news of the day, together with the independence of the reader, has diverted in­ terest from editorials to the headline. Also the publication of numerous signed articles written by experts or special corre­ spondents has meant a decline in the editorial's influence. vertisements have become important for conveying information and influencing public opinion, and have thus supplanted editorials 27 as the channel through which opinion is reflected or molded. However, the decline of editorials is most often attributed to changes in business administration of the newspaper. The fre­ quent changes in policy that are inevitable when the editor is

^Salmon, op. cit., pp. 259-262. *a dependent on the corporation have tended to uncertainty in con­ duct of the editorial page*

The characteristics of the editor have also changed through the years. Today he is expected to be mature in judgment as well as in years and to be well-educated. More often than not, the position of editor is frequently merged into an editorial board.

The duties of editor have been briefly stated by Silverman:

The editor has the final word on what goes into his paper and, perhaps more important, what stays out. In addition to being a seasoned newspaper man, he should be a subtle diplomat in his own metropolitan world. Since his paper is the community conscience, he must be influential and reasonable enough in his editorial criticisms to arouse public concern. But his voice ought to be one of admonition, not of venom, for his newspaper reflects his character, strength, and personality. It is the editor's responsibility to protect the reading public from gross misinterpretation,_ inaccuracy, and distortion in the news that appearggin his paper and the opinions his editorials express.

The editorial itself is also in a process of change. It has become an instrument of democracy by informing, assisting in the continuing process of adult education, by creating a healthy climate of thinking about public affairs, and by conditioning the atmosphere in which readers arrive at decisions important to democracy. The general function of the editorial today is in- 29 terpreting, advocating, and entertaining.

A wider range of subjects is chosen for editorial treatment, and a greater breadth of treatment and improvement in method of

treatment is evident. The permanent value of editorials today

28Alvin Silverman, The American Newspaper (Washington, B.C.: Robert B. Luce, Inc., 1 9 6 ^), p. 36. ^Waldrop, op. cit., pp. 57-58. kz may be viewed in the number of books which contain collections of editorials. The depth and breadth of editorials are greater today because of the special libraries in newspaper offices and the im­ provement in newspaper plants. Salmon suggests, ’’The early edito­ rial might claim infallibility of judgment, but the editorial of today may with greater justice lay claim to ominiscience. The slightest error of statement brings on it the satire of its even more omniscient competitors while the danger of a libel suit 30 lurks in every misstatement in regard to. an individual.” The early editorial was the expression of personal opinions of the editor; the editorial today is the impersonal voice of the news- i paper. New roles for the editorial are being developed which take on increased importance in today*s newspapers. According to Salmon: The editorial at least is not doomed, and it takes on a new lease of life, although not necessarily of influence, as new forms of increasing its circula­ tion are devised. Not only are the editorials of a single editor and the editorials from a single news­ paper collected and published in book form, but the editorials of one newspaper are reprinted on the edi­ torial pages of other papers, they are reprinted as advertisements, they are copied in the news columns of the press, and they are collectively copied in an effort to secure a consensus of public opinion on important questions.

30Salmon, op. cit.« p. 275*

5 1 Ibid., pp. 2 8 5 -8 6 . k3 The daily newspaper of the year 2000 will be different in some ways from the newspaper of today. Newspapers will be de­ voted to the idea that their job is something more than compiling a crazy quilt of surface events a short time before publication. They will relate the events of yesterday and today into a mean­ ingful pattern to help their readers make sensible preparation for tomorrow. They will probably devote less space to entertain­ ment. With increased interest in hard news, they will return to chronicling news events. They will probably carry less features on how to cook, how to diet, and how to catch a husband. 32 Editorials will be used less frequently. Some 200 news­ papers in 1 9 5 8 had no regular space devoted to editorials, and this number will probably increase. Editorials will appear only when the editor has an opinion to express, which is the basic purpose of the editorial. When editorials do appear, they will probably have more effect because they are less common. The responsibilities of the newspaper in the year 2000 will be the same as they are now already upheld by our better news­ papers. It is recognition "that the newspaper’s real reason for existence is telling its readers what they need to know in such a way that readers can understand it and apply it to themselves.

■^Wesley C. Clark, ed., Journalism Tomorrow (Syracuse Syracuse University Press, 1958), p. 20. 33Ibid., p. 26. The Editorial and Education

Editorials are written by men who are the human represent­ atives of the institutions to which they belong. They are some­

thing like the college president who tells the school's policies, 3 4 but after all has his own interpretation phrased in his own way.

Usually editors are men of experience and broad educational and

cultural background. Because their interests must be wide and

general, they are probably not authorities in the field of edu­

cation or any other fields. The newspaper editor would not be

expected to deal with technical issues in education, medicine,

law, and other fields, but because of his training and experi­

ence, he should be able to see the broad implications of educa­

tional issues, of seeing the educational program in the whole

social situation. He could interpret what he finds in education

in terms of the great society moving before him— interpretations

needed and appreciated by educators. 35

The relationship between the press and our educational

system must be closer and better understood. The alternative is

a crippling of our democratic process of government. General

education as a prerequisite of democracy has become more important

in every community, and the revolutionary changes in education

need to be accurately and comprehensively explained by the press

34 ^ Charles R. Foster, Jr., Editorial Treatment of Education in the American Press (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 193*57 P- 21* 55Ibid., p. 22. **•5 to the people. The press depends on our schools to educate young men and women needed to tell the people what the vast changes in education and our civilization mean to them.^ When a newspaper gives editorial expression to a policy, that is the policy of the newspaper, and it must accept full re­ sponsibility for it. Criteria for the choice of topics for edi­ torials include timeliness of an issue, the prevailing interests of the public, the public need as the editor sees it, news hap­ penings calling for interpretation or clarification, and the editor's own whims. Editors with appreciative insight will give credit where credit is due; however, many criticize and complain more than they approve and applaud. Many think about things that need adverse comment rather than those who deserve credit. Foster found that editorials mostly come from actual cir­ cumstances in the everyday management of educational affairs, rather than from general thoughts on educational theory. Lacking time to formulate a viewpoint slowly, the editor judges quickly in terms of a given situation at hand. He may or may not use an educational theory to support his position. In working from con­ crete facts and making quick judgments, the editor and educator are bound to clash on many fronts. 37 The editor's thoughts on a given subject are his point of

^John H. Colburn, "The Responsibility of the Press," Theory into Practice (Columbus: The Ohio State University), III, No. 4, p. 1 2 1 . ^'Foster,37 op. cit., pp. 30-31* k6 view, and doubtless play a part in the thinking of the paper's readers when it goes into their homes. The editorial must be dealt with since it is printed and set down permanently as the attitude of the press.

The press is assuming greater interest in all levels of ed­ ucation which requires better understanding between editors and educators. Interest in the past usually was related to school budgets, school bond issues, PTA activities, sports competition, and the more sensational aspects of juvenile misbehavior. Col­ burn suggests that since World War II there has been a greater awareness on the part of the press concerning new courses of study, new techniques of teaching, and other innovations. 38 The role of the responsible American newspaper prompted the creation of a code in 1 9 6 1 which was the first broad-scale professional attempt to aid the public to evaluate a newspaper's performance by comparing stated values with performance. The criteria covered accuracy, responsibility, integrity, and leadership. Colburn recommends that only the most qualified reporters should cover school stories. Press coverage of education in­ volves school budgets which are big business, at least in the larger cities. Since there are a growing number of informed

citizens, the school administrators can no longer approach people

^38 Colburn, loc. cit. ^7 with a closed mind. The administrators must gain support from parents by airing honest differences of opinion about new con­ cepts in teaching and curriculum. The press can play an impor­ tant role by reporting to parents the deficiencies as well as the assets of the school system in their own community. 39

The most recent and comprehensive study entitled Editorial

Treatment of Education in the American Press was done by Foster in which he studied twenty-five newspapers for a period of five years. It is felt by the writer that this study is appropriate and is related to the current paper. Therefore, it is felt that a brief summary of Foster's study would be useful* It might be mentioned at this point that Foster's study is a straight topical analysis and does not attempt to weigh editorial social responsi­ bility to the main currents of social needs. In other words, categories of crucial issues were not developed prior to the analysis of the data.

Foster did an analysis of public opinion about education by studying the editorial treatment of education during the time,

January 1, 1930, to January 1, 1935* His study was a simple, topical analysis. He examined the following twenty-five news­ papers: Atlanta Constitution. Baltimore Sun. Birmingham News.

Boston Post. Charleston News and Courier. Chicago Herald and

Examiner, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor. Cleveland

39Ibid., p. 123, *f8 Plain Dealer, Dallas News, Denver Post, Des Moines Register, Emporia Gazette, Kansas City Star, Los Angeles Times, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Milwaukee Leader, New Orleans TimeB Picayune, New York Daily News, New York Evening Journal. New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Press, Portland Oregonian, and the San Francisco Chronicle, At the time of his study the accelleration of the demise of newspapers and the increased consolidation were not as marked as it is today. It goes without saying that the period of history of the United States that Foster*s study included was unique since it included the years of the Depression and the early years of the New Deal, It was a time of peace but with much social unrest, Foster first counted the total number of editorials on ed­ ucation in the newspapers selected. He then tabulated the pro­ portion of editorials on education to all editorials in the news­ papers, The percentages are shown in Table 1 on page ^9* He summarized by saying that 3*&7 Per cent of all editorials ap- i^O pearing in these newspapers deal with education. It was next determined that per cent of the editorial

comment was favorable or commendatory, 3 2 , per cent was neutral,

and 2 3 * 2 per cent of the editorial topical references wane ad­ versely critical. He also analyzed the percentage adversely critical as a means of helping the educator.

i^Q Foster, op. cit., p. 3*+« TABLE 1 PROPORTION OF EDITORIALS ON EDUCATION TO ALL,,,EDITORIALS IN TWENTI-FIVE AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS

All Newspaper Edito­ Eduea- Per­ rials tioa centage

Atlaata Constitution ...... 64 4.2 Baltimore Sam...... 69 2 . 6 Birmingham Nows...... 78 5.9 Bostoa Post...... 142 4.8 Charleston Mows and Courier.... 89 2.3 Chieajce Herald and Examiner.. •. 71 5.0 Chicago Tribune...... 6 o 3.9 Christian Sciemoe Monitor.••... 73 4.3 Cleveland Plain Dealer...... 1 2 0 5.1 Dallas News...... 91 3.4 Denver Post...... 50 7.8 Dos Moinos Racistor...... 8 8 6 . 0 Emporia Gazette...... 39 2.7 { U I U Gity Stag...... 56 2.7 8 6 4.& Mtmhlw CtMtrgidl Arotil..... 69 3*1 Milwaukee Loader...... 33 4.1 How Orleans Times Picayune.... 59 4.1 Mew York Daily News...... 2 0 5*4 43 3.0 Mew York Times...... 1 0 8 4.5 PAilafltiLphlA iMuir+c...... 74 1 . 2 PitUbttrrii £ctiA*...... 53 2,9 Qrtitiiap...... 8 8 3.0 58 2.3 Totals 48,432 1781 3.67

* Faster, op. cit.. p. 33* 5° Major areas of criticism and comment were determined from examining editorials. The frequency of editorial mention is shown below.

TABLE 2 SUMMARY OF THE CRITICAL CHARACTER OF EDITORIALS ON EDUCATION*

Number of Ref­ Per­ Number Per­ Number Per­ erences Favorable cent­ Neutral cent­ Adversely cent­ age age Critical age

5 1 8 8 44.5 3775 32.4 2 7 0 6 2 3 . 2

♦Ibid.. p. 35.

Certain newspapers stress particular subjects in education. The New York Times ranked first among the newspapers in discus­ sion of the general value and purpose of education, while the Cleveland Plain Dealer ranked first in comment on administration. The Des Moines Register had more editorial references to curricu­ lum than any other paper. Foster found that football is still king since editorials about athletics lead all other topics except general value of ed­ ucation. He found that many editorials on athletics were in de­ fense of them rather than being critical. He also noted that when he lumped together editorials dealing with the cost of edu­

cation, taxes, teachers' salaries, and others, that 3 3 per cent of the editorials dealt with some phase of educational financing. 51 Topics not mentioned in editorials included discovery of individual abilities, subjects taught in school, questions of teaching procedures and outcomes of education, issues of voca­ tional education, success or failure of students, character edu- 41 cation, vocational guidance, and others. In examining the nature of the various criticisms of edu­ cation, Foster found that most editorial references to "fads and frills" were criticisms, while over half of the editorials on school boards were critical. Superintendents and administrators received more favorable comment. Table 3 on page 32 shows types of comment about the ten topics of highest frequency. The cost of education has a greater percentage of adverse criticisms than any other topic. Four-fifths of all editorials about this subject are unfavorable. School boards are second with taxation and appropriations for education ranking third. Maximum favorable editorial comment concerns the proposition that the public mu6 t support education and keep the schools function­ ing. Ability of teachers is the second topic most often favor­ ably commented upon. Many editorials express appreciation of the services of teachers on such occasions as deaths, anniversaries, or testimonials. Little mention is directed toward living, active teachers in the classroom. Superintendents and adminis­ trators received favorable criticism in 6 2 per cent of the edito­ rials concerning that topic.

4lIbid., p. 38. 52 TABLE 3 THE TEH TOPICS OF HIGHEST FREQUENCY OF EDITORIAL MENTION, SHOWING THE PERCENTAGE OF COMMENT WHICH IS FAVORABLE, NEUTRAL, OR UNFAVORABLE*

Specific Tcpic Percentage Percentage Percentage Faverable Neutral Unfaverable

General value ef educa- tien 45.7 51.5 2 . 8 Atbleticn (excluded be­ cause analysis sf criticism net eeaplete) Superintendents and ad- ainistraters 6 2 . 0 13.5 24.5 Taxatien fer educatien; apprepriatiens fer elementary, secendary scheels 24.0 46.4 2 9 . 6 Cest ef educatien 7.5 14.6 77,9 Beards ef educatien 2 7 . 8 30.7 41.5 Public respensibility fer supperting educatien 89,7 8 . 6 1.7 Teachers' salaries 66.7 2 7 . 6 5.7 Miscellanesus criticism ef preeedures; metheds 28.3 58.3 13.4 Ability ef teachers 67.7 1 8 . 2 14.1

Averages 46.6 2 8 . 8 24.6

♦Ibid., p.39* In studying the ten topics leading In frequency of mention in editorials, it was found that the distribution of favorable, neutral, and adverse criticism is much the same as that found for the entire study. Nearly half of the editorial topical refer­ ences devoted to the most commonly discussed subjects are favor­ able in nature; about one-third are neutral, and one-fourth are adversely critical. kz It was found that a high proportion of editorials deal with higher education rather than with elementary or secondary. This has significance since the vast majority of newspaper read­ ers are not college graduates. It may indicate that higher ed­ ucation publicizes events more than the other levels of educa­ tion. In some papers nearly two-thirds of all editorial comment on education relates to higher institutions; in nineteen of the twenty-five newspapers studied, one-fourth or more of the refer­ ences are to the higher education field. The largest proportion of references to higher education occurs in the Baltimore Sun; the greatest number of references to higher education were found in the Boston Post.

^Ibid., p. kl CHAPTER III

PRESENTATION OF THE- DATA

It is the writer's purpose in this chapter to present data in tabular form of the major findings as revealed in studying American newspaper editorials concerning education. The news­ papers used in this study include the Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune. the Christian Science Monitor, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Denver Post, the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the S_t. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. The time Bpan studied is from 19^1 through 1963* The data will be presented by taking each news­ paper separately and organizing the editorial comments into the four major critical issues, and the remaining editorials will be classified topically into mutually related categories* To what extent do American newspapers treat American edu­ cation as reflected in editorials? Table on page 55 presents the total number ef editorials on education found in the ten newspapers studied. The total number of editorials ranges from 372 in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to fifty-seven in the Wall Street Journal. 5*f 55 TABLE if

TOTAL NUMBER OF EDITORIALS ON EDUCATION IN TEN AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS, 1961-63

Newspaper Total of Editorials

St* Louis Post-Dispatch...... 572

New York Tines...... 359 Washington Post*...... 305 Cleveland Plain Dealer...... 272 Chicago Tribune...... 233

Denver Post* ...... 22if

Boston Globe ...... 179 San Francisco Chronicle...... 1^3 Christian Science Monitor...... 96 Wall Street Journal...... 57 The proportion of editorials relating to education compared with the total number of editorials reveals that the percentage varies from 7*7 per cent in the Denver Post to 2.6 per cent in the Wall Street Journal. This information is included in Table 5 below.

TABLE 5 PROPORTION OF EDITORIALS ON EDUCATION TO ALL EDITORIALS IN TEN AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS, 1961-63

N ewspaper All Education Percentage Editorials Editorials

Boston Globe 2674 179 6 . 6 Chicago Tribune 4l83 233 5.5 Christian Science Monitor 3396 9 6 2 . 8 Cleveland Plain Dealer 5947 272 ^•5 Denver Post 2879 224 7.7 New York Times 6 1 3 1 339 5.5 San Francisco Chronicle 2079 143 6 . 8 St. Louis Post-Dispatch 7073 372 5.2 Wall Street Journal 2189 57 2 . 6 Washington Post 6411 305 4.7

Boston Globe Upon examination of editorials in the Boston Globe under the crucial issue of freedom in education, one finds that six editorials have been written on the subject of academic freedom on the campus. This subcategory ranks tenth in frequency of editorial mention in this newspaper. One editorial concerns con­

formity vs. individualism, one was written about book censorship, 57 and one concerns freedom of a general nature, making a total of nine editorials on the subject. In religion and morals in education, there was one edito­ rial concerning the Supreme Court's decision on prayer in the public schools. No editorials concerned separation of church and state. One editorial was written about juvenile delinquency, and one was of a general nature. There was a total of three edito­ rials on this crucial issue. Under the category, equalization of educational opportun­ ity, twelve editorials were written on integrating public schools, which ranked fifth in frequency of editorial mention in the Globe. Integration in higher education was alluded to a total of eleven times. This ranked sixth in frequency of edito­ rial mention. No editorials concerned busing students to less crowded areas or general editorials about integration. Federal support for education was alluded to eleven times. In ranking editorials by frequency of mention, federal support tied with integration of higher education for sixth place among editorials in the Boston Globe. In direction and design of the curriculum, there were twenty-nine editorials written about aims and ends of education. This subcategory ranked second in frequency of editorial mention in the Globe. There was one editorial about schooling for the gifted. Three editorials were written about the disadvantaged and the dropouts. Higher standards was mentioned in three 58 editorials, and remedial education was the concern of two edito­ rials. There waB a total of thirty-eight editorials under this category. Higher education in the mutually related category ranked highest in frequency of editorial mention in Globe editorials. Fifty-seven editorials concerned higher education. There were twenty editorials concerning administration, and this ranked third in frequency of editorial mention. Fifteen editorials were written about school finance, and it ranked fourth in fre­ quency of editorial mention. Ten editorials concerned expand­ ing needs and enrollments. It ranked eighth in frequency of editorial mention. Sften editorials concerned scholarships, grants, gifts, and foundations, ranking it tenth in frequency of editorial mention in the Globe. Five editorials alluded to cur­ riculum aids, methods, and procedures, while three were written about athletics. Two editorials were written about plant util­ isation and equipment, as well as tributes to teachers. The following topics were each alluded to once: teacher working conditions, student relations and fads, extracurricular activities, general support of education, teacher education, safety, professional organizations, PTA, and research. There was a total of 1J2 editorials classified under this category. A complete breakdown in tabular form ef these findings is in

Table 6 on pages 59 &*d 60. 59 TABLE 6 EDUCATION EDITORIALS BROKEN DOWN BY CATEGORIES IN THE BOSTON 6L0BE, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3

Category Number of Editorials

I* Freedom in education A. Academic freedom...... 6 B. Conformity vs. individualism...... 1 C. Book censorship...... 1 D. General...... 1 TOTAL 9

II. Religion and morals in education A. Supreme Court's decision onprayer...... 1 B. Separation of church and state...... O C. Juvenile delinquency...... 1 D. General...... '.... 1 TOTAL 3

III. Equalization of educational opportunity A. Integration 1. Public schools...... 12 2 . Higher education...... 1 1 3* Busing students toless crowded areas* 0 4-. General...... 0 TOTAL 23

B. Federal support...... 11 TOTAL

IV. Direction and design of the curriculum A. Aims and ends of education...... 29 B. Schooling for the gifted...... 1 C. Disadvantaged and the dropouts...... 3 D. Higher standards...... 3 E. Remedial education...... 2 TOTAL 38 60 TABLE! 6--Continued

Category Number ef Editorials

/ V* Mutually related Higher education...... 57 Administration...... 20 Finance...... 15 Expanding needs and enrollments.•...... 10 Scholarships) grants, gifts, foundations...... 7 Curriculum aids, methods, and procedures...... 5 Athletics...... 3 Discipline...... *.... 2 Plant utilization and equipment...... 2 Tributes to teachers. .... 2 Teacher working conditions*...... 1 Student relations and fads...... 1 Extracurricular activities, ...... 1 General support of education...... 1 Teacher education...... 1 Safety...... 1 Professional organizations...... 1 PTA...... 1 Research...... 1 TOTAL 132

Chicago Tribune In examining the category of freedom in education, one finds that the Chicago Tribune wrote five editorials concerning academic freedom on the campus. There were no editorials writ­ ten about conformity vs. individualism, one editorial concerned book ovnmrship, and there were none of a general nature. A total of six editorials wane classified in this category. Under the category, religion and morals in education, three editorials concerned the Supreme Court's decision on prayer in the schools. One editorial alluded to separation of church and state and one to juvenile delinquency. There was one editorial of a general nature. A total of six editorials w*se classified in this category. Under equalization of educational opportunity, a total of eighteen editorials concerned integration. There were six edi­ torials on integration in the public schools, three on higher education, three on busing students to less crowded areas, and six of a general nature. There was a total of twenty-four edi­ torials concerning federal support of education, which ranked second in frequency of editorial mention in the Tribune. There was a total of forty-two editorials which were classified under

this category. In examining editorials concerning the direction and design of the curriculum, the writer found that twenty-two editorials concerned aims and ends of education. This subcategory ranked third in frequency of editorial mention in the Tribune. There was one editorial concerning schooling for the gifted and one alluded to the disadvantaged and the dropouts. Three editorials concerned higher standards, and there were no editorials about remedial education. A total of twenty-seven editorials w«Ki classified under this category. Under the mutually related category, higher education was found to be alluded to ninety-two times. This subcategory was found to rank first in frequency of editorial mention. Admin­ istration was the chief concern of twenty-two editorialst ranking it third with aims and ends of education in frequency of edito­ rial mention. There were eighteen editorials concerning finance. This ranked fifth in frequency of editorial mention. Teacher working conditions was alluded to in fifteen editorials, giving it a ranking of sixth in frequency of editorial mention. Cur­ riculum aids, methods, and procedures was the concern in twelve editorials. It ranked seventh in frequency of editorial mention. Scholarships, grants, gifts, and foundations was the concern of ten editorials. It ranked ninth in frequency of editorial men­ tion. Teacher education was discussed in seven editorials, and science was alluded to in six. Plant utilization and equipment concerned four editorials as did student relations and fads. The following subtopics were discussed in one editorial each: disci­ pline, foreign students, extracurricular activities, professional organizations, and tributes to teachers. There was a total of

2 1 *1- editorials classified in the mutually related categories.

This data is classified in tabular form in Table 7 on pages 65 and 64.

Christian Science Monitor The Christian Science Monitor had no editorials which could be classified under the category of freedom in education. Under 63 TABLE 7 EDUCATION EDITORIALS BROKEN DOWN BY CATEGORIES IN THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, I9 6 I- 6 3

Category Number of Editorials

I* Freedom in education A* Academic freedom...... 3 B. Conformity vs. individualism. .... 0 C. Book ceasorship...... 1 D. Geaeral...... 0_ TOTAL 6 II. Religioa aad morals ia educatioa A. Supreme Court's decision oa prayer...... 3 B. Separation of church aad state.... 1 C. Juvenile delinquency...... 1 D. Geaeral ...... 1_ TOTAL 6

III. Equalization of educational opportunity A. Integration 1. Public schools...... 6 2. Higher education...... 3 3* Busing students to less crowded areas. 3 4. General...... 6_ TOTAL 18 B. Federal support...... 2k TOTAL k2

IV. Direction and design of the curriculum A. Aims and ends of educatien...... 22 B. Schooling fer the gifted...... 1 C. Disadvantaged and the dropouts* ... 1 D. Higher standards...... 3 E. Remedial education...... 0 TOTAL 27 6k TABLE 7— Continued

Category Number ef Editorials

V. Mutually related categories Higher education...... 92 Administration ...... 22 Fihance...... 18 Teacher working conditions...... 15 Curriculum aids, methods, and procedures. 12 Expanding needs and enrollments...... 11 Scholarships, grants, gifts, foundations...... 10 Athletics...... 8 Teacher education...... 7 Science...... 6 Plant utilization and equipment...... Student relations and fads...... k Discipline...... 1 Foreign students...... 1 Extracurricular activities...... 1 Professional organizations...... 1 Tributes to teachers...... 1 TOTAL 21^ the category, religion and morals in education, there were eight editorials concerning the Supreme Court's decision on prayer in public schools. This tied for fourth place in frequency of edi­ torial mention. There were seventeen editorials which alluded to separation of church and state. This ranked third in frequency of editorial mention. There were no editorials concerning juvenile delinquency or of a general nature. There was a total of twenty-five editorials which were classified in this category. Under the category, equalization of educational opportunity, there were found to be seven editorials concerning integration of public schools and eight were about integration of higher educa­ tion. The latter tied with the Supreme Court's decision on prayer in frequency of editorial mention which ranked fourth. Integration in public schools ranked sixth in frequency of edi­ torial mention. There were no editorials concerning busing of students to less crowded areas. Five editorials were written about general integration, and it ranked ninth in frequency of editorial mention. A total of twenty editorials concerned inte­ gration. There were thirty-three editorials about federal sup­ port of education, which ranked first in frequency of editorial mention in the Christian Science Monitor. A total of fifty-three editorials were classified under equalization of educational op­ portunity. In the category, direction and design of the curriculum, the writer classified four editorials under aims and ends of ed­ ucation. This ranked tenth in frequency of editorial mention. No editorials were found under schooling for the gifted. Five editorials involved education for the disadvantaged and the dropouts, which ranked ninth in frequency of editorial mention. There were none under remedial education. A total ef nine edi­ torials alluded to this category. In the mutually related categories, eighteen editorials alluded to higher education. This ranked third in frequency of editorial mention. Seven editorials alluded to curriculum aids, 66 methods, and procedures. This ranked seventh in frequency of editorial mention. Finance was the concern of three editorials. Two editorials were about research and scholarships, gifts, grants, and foundations. The following subcategories were found in one editorial each: athletics, plant utilization and equip­ ment, foreign students, student relations and fads, science, extracurricular activities, general support of education, and tributes to teachers. A total of forty-two editorials were classified under the mutually related categories. A complete breakdown of the number of editorials classified under each cate­ gory may be found in Table 8 below and on page 6 7 .

TABLE 8 EDUCATION EDITORIALS BROKEN DOWN BY CATEGORIES IN THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR. 1 9 6 1 - 6 3

Category Number of Editorials

I. Freedom in education A. Academic freedom...... 0 B. Conformity vs. individualism 0 C • Book censorship...... 0 D. General...... 0 TOTAL 0 II. Religion and morals in education A. Supreme Court's decision on prayer 8 B. Separation of church and state.... 17 C. Juvenile delinquency . 0 D. General...... 0 TOTAL 25 67 TABLE 8— Continued

Category Number ef Editorials

III. Equalization of educatioaal opportuaity A. Integratioa 1. Public schools...... 7 2. Higher educatioa...... 8 3* Busiag students to less crowded areas. 0 4-. Geaeral...... ^ TOTAL 20 B. Federal support...... 33 TOTAL 53 IV. Directioa and desiga of the curriculum A. Aims and ends of educatioa...... k B. Schooling for the gifted...... 0 C. Disadvantaged and the dropouts..... 5 D. Higher standards...... 0 E. Remedial education...... 0 TOTAL 9

V* Mutually related categories Higher education...... 18 Curriculum aids, methods, and procedures. .... 7 Administration...... 2 Finance...... 3 Scholarships, gifts, grants, foundations 2 Research;...... 2 Athletics...... 1 Plant utilization and equipment...... 1 Foreign students...... 1 Student relations and fads...... 1 Science...... 1 Extracurricular activities..... 1 General support of education...... 1 Tributes to teachers...... 1 TOTAL kZ Cleveland Plain Dealer la examining the Clevelamd Plaim Dealer, the writer found that umder the category, freedem im education, there were six editorials cemcermimg academic freedom om the campus. Two edito­ rials comceraed conformity vs, individualism. There were mo ed­ itorials concerned with book censorship or of a general nature. There was a total of eight editorials £a this category. Under the category, religion and morals in education, two editorials were concerned with the Supreme Court's decision on prayer in the public schools and two on separation of church and state. Five editorials alluded to juvenile delinquency, while one was of a general nature, A total of ten editorials were classified under this category. The writer found that under the category, equalization of educational opportunity, there were six editorials concerning in­ tegration of public schools. Eleven editorials alluded to inte­ gration in higher education. There was one editorial about bus­ ing students to less crowded areas, and four editorials concerned general integration in education, A total of twenty-two edito­ rials on integration were found. Federal support to education was discussed in eighteen editorials. It tied with expanding needs and enrollments for a ranking of fourth in frequency of * editorial mention. There was a total of forty editorials classified in the third category. Under direction and design ef the curriculum, fifteen edi­ torials were classified under aims and ends of education* This ranked sixth in frequency of editorial mention. There were no editorials concerning schooling for the gifted, but thirteen con­ cerned education of the disadvantaged and the dropouts* This ranked ninth in frequency of editorial mention* Two editorials concerned higher stqjtdards, and there were no editorials under remedial education. A total of thirty editorials concerned di­ rection and design of the curriculum. Under the mutually related categories, higher education was alluded to in eighty-nine editorials. This ranked first in frequency of editorial mention in the Plain Dealer* Thirty- seven editorials concerned administration, and this ranked second in frequency of editorial mention. Finance was alluded to in twenty-four editorials. This ranked third in frequency of edi­ torial mention. Eighteen editorials were written about expanding needs and enrollments. As mentioned before, it tied with federal support of education for a ranking of fourth in frequency of ed­ itorial mention. Scholarships, grants, gifts, and foundations were discussed in sixteen editorials. This ranked sixth in fre­ quency of editorial mention. Athletics was discussed in four­ teen editorials, ranking it eighth in frequency of editorial mention. There were twelve editorials written about curriculum aids, methods, and procedures* This ranked tenth in frequency of editorial mention. Seven editorials related to student 70 relations and fads, and six editarials concerned tributes te teachers. Teacher working cenditiens was discussed in five edi­ torials, and foreign students were the subject ef four editorials. Plant utilization and equipment concerned three editorials as did research. Teacher education, safety, and professional organiza­ tions were discussed in two editorials each, and extracurricular activities and the PTA were alluded to once each. There was a total of 24-6 editorials classified under the mutually related categories. A complete breakdown of this information in tabular form may be found in Table 9 below and on page 71*

TABLE 9 EDUCATION EDITORIALS BROKEN DOWN BY CATEGORIES IN THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER, I9 6 I- 6 3

Category Number of Editorials

I. Freedom in education A. Academic freedom...... 6 B. Conformity vs. individualism...... 2 C. Book censorship...... 0 D. General...... 0 TOTAL 8

II. Religion and morals in education A. Supreme Court's decision on prayer*...... 2 B. Separation of church and state...... 2 C. Juvenile delinquency...... 3 D. General...... 1 TOTAL 10

J. 71 Table 9— -Continued

Category Number of Editorials

III. Equalization of educational opportunity A. Integration 1. Public schools...... 6 2. Higher education...... 11 3. Busing students to less crowded areas. 1 4. General...... 4 TOTAL 22 B. Federal support...... l8 TOTAL 40 IV. Direction and design of the curriculum A. Aims and ends of education...... 13 B. Schooling for the gifted...... 0 C. Disadvantaged and the dropouts...... 13 D. Higher standards...... 2 E. Remedial education...... 0 TOTAL 30

V. Mutually related categories Higher education.•••.....••...... 89 Administration...... 37 Finance...... 24 Expanding needs and enrollments ...... 18 Scholarships, grants, gifts, foundations...... l6 Athletics...... 14- Curriculum aids, methods, and procedures.. 12 Student relations and fads...... 7 Tributes to teachers...... 6 Teacher working conditions...... 3 Foreign students...... 4 Plant utilization and equipment...... 3 Research...... 3 Teacher education..... 2 Safety...... 2 Professional organizations...... 2 Extracurricular activities...... 1 FDA...... 1 TOTAL 246 72 Denver Post The Denver Post had a total of fourteen editorials concern­ ing academic freedom on the campus which is under the crucial issue of freedom in education. It ranked sixth in frequency of editorial mention in the Post. There was one editorial concern­ ing conformity vs. individualism, and one editorial concerned book censorship. There were none on other related issues. TJnder the category of religion and morals in education there were three editorials concerning the Supreme Court prqyer decision. Three editorials were written about the separation of church and state. No editorials were found on the subject of juvenile delinquency, and there was one editorial of a general nature. In examining editorials about equalization of educational opportunity, it was found that eleven editorials concerned inte­ gration of higher education while three were about public school integration. Integration of higher education ranked seventh in highest frequency of editorial mention. There was one editorial on moving students to less crowded schools and one concerning general integration. There were sixteen editorials on the sub­ ject of federal support of education which ranked fifth in highest frequency of editorial mention in the Denver Post. This category had a total of thirty-two editorials concerning it. Under the crucial issue, direction and design of the cur­ riculum, the Post had a total of seventeen editorials. Nine of 73 these were written about aims and ends of modern education. This subject ranked ninth in the number of times mentioned. There were no editorials on schooling for the gifted. Two editorials were written about school for the disadvantaged and the dropouts. There was a total of five editorials concerning higher standards for educationt and one editorial' alluded to remedial education. In the category involving mutually related issues in educa­ tion, the largest number of editorials was devoted to higher ed­ ucation with a total of ninety-three. The subject of higher ed­ ucation also received the highest frequency of editorial mention in the Denver Post. Finance, which was found thirty-six times, ranked second in number of times found in editorials. Expanding needs and enrollments was found twenty-six times in the editori­ als, which gave it a ranking of third in frequency of times men­ tioned in the editorials. There were twenty-one editorials writ­ ten about administration. This ranked fourth in frequency of editorial mention. Athletics was alluded to eleven times, and it ranked eighth in frequency of mention in editorials. Teacher working conditions was discussed nine times and tied with aims and ends of education for ninth and tenth place in frequency of mention. Curriculum aids, methods, and procedures was referred to eight times. Foreign students and scholarships, grants, gifts, and foundations each were mentioned four times. Student rela­ tions and fads were found three times as was science. Discipline was discussed twice, as were general support of education, teacher education, safety, and plant utilization and equipment. The fol­ iar activities, role of the private school, professional organi­ zations, consolidation, FTA, and tributes to teachers. A com­ plete tabulation of the categories and subcategories in tabular form may be found in Table 10 below and on page 75*

TABLE 10 EDUCATION EDITORIALS BROKEN DOWN BI CATEGORIES IN THE DENVER POST, I9 6 I-6 3 .

Editorials

I. Freedom in education A. Academic freedom...... 14 B. Conformity vs. individualism 1 C. Book censorship...... 1 D. General ...... 0 TOTAL 16

II. Religion and morals in education A. Supreme Court's decision on prqyer...... 3 B. Separation of church and state...... • 3 C • Juvenile delinquency...... 0 D. General...... 1 TOTAL 7

III. Equalization of educational opportunity A. Integration 1. Public schools...... 3 2. Higher education...... 11 3» Busing students to less crowded areas 1 4. G e n e r a l 1 TOTAL 16 B. Federal support...... 16 TOTAL 32 75 TABLE 10— Continued

Category Number of Editorials

IV. Direction and design of the curriculum A. Aims and ends of modern education...... 9 B. Schooling for the gifted...... 0 C. Disadvantaged and the dropouts...... 2 D. Higher standards...... 5 E. Remedial education...... 1 TOTAL 17 V. Mutually related categories Higher education...... 93 Finance...... 3& Expanding needs and enrollments...... 26 Administration...... 21 Athletics...... 11 Teacher working conditions...... 9 Curriculum aids, methods, and procedures 8 Foreign students...... Scholarships, grants, gifts, foundations..... ^ Student relations and fads...... 3 Science...... 3 Discipline...... 2 General support of education...... 2 Teacher education. .... 2 Safety...... 2 Plant utilization and equipment...... 2 Extracurricular activities...... 1 Role of the private school. .... 1 Professional organizations..... 1 Consolidation...... 1 Tributes to teachers...... _1 TOTAL 23*f

New York Times Under the category, freedom in education, in the New York Times, academic freedom on the campus was discussed seventeen 76 times* This ranked eighth in frequency of editorial mention in this newspaper* There was one editorial concerning conformity vs, individualism, and there were none about book censorship or of a general nature. A total of eighteen editorials concerned this category. Under religion and morals in education, it was found that three editorials concerned the Supreme Court’s decision on prayer in the public schools. Five editorials were written about sepa­ ration of church and state. There were no editorials alluding to juvenile delinquency or of a general nature, A total of eight editorials were classified under this category. It was found that in the category, equalization of educa­ tional opportunity, integration of public schools was discussed in fifteen editorials. This ranked ninth in frequency of edi­ torial mention. Integration in higher education concerned twenty-nine editorials. This ranked fifth in frequency of edito­ rial mention. Busing students to less crowded areas was the con­ cern of one editorial, and fourteen editorials concerned general integration of education. This ranked tenth in frequency of ed­ itorial mention. A total of fifty-nine editorials related to in­ tegration in the schools. Federal support of education was al­ luded to in fifty-two editorials, giving it a ranking of third in frequency of editorial mention, A total of 111 editorials was classified in the equalization of educational opportunity category. Under the category, direction and design of the curriculum, 77 nine editorials were written about aims and ends of education* None were classified under schooling for the gifted; however, nine concerned education of the disadvantaged and the dropouts. Three editorials concerned higher standards while none were writ­ ten about remedial education. A total of twenty-one editorials was classified under this category. In the mutually related categories it was found that ninety-two editorials were written about higher education. This ranked first in frequency of editorial mention. A total of sixty-eight editorials concerned administration. This was second highest in frequency of editorial mention. Finance was alluded to in forty-one editorials, and it ranked fourth in fre­ quency of editorial mention. Teacher working conditions was stressed in twenty-two editorials, and it ranked sixth in fre­ quency of editorial mention. There were twelve editorials writ­ ten about scholarships, grants, gifts, and foundations, while eight concerned expanding needs and enrollments. Four editorials alluded to safety, and three to tributes to teachers. There was one editorial written about each of the following: foreign students, science, teacher education, and research. A total of 274 editorials were classified under the miscellaneous or mu­ tually related category. A complete breakdown of the data for

the New York Times is found in Table 11 on pages 7 8 and 79*

v 78 TABLE 11 EDUCATION EDITORIALS BROKEN DOWN BY CATEGORIES IN THE NEW YORK TIMES. I96I-63

Editorials

I. Freedom in education A* Academic freedom...... 17 B. Conformity vs. individualism...... 1 C. Book censorship...... 0 D. General...... 0 TOTAL 18

II. Religion and morals in education A. Supreme Court's decision on prayer...... 3 B. Separation of church and state...... 3 C• Juvenile delinquency...... 0 D. General...... 0 TOTAL 8

III. Equalization of educational opportunity A. Integration 1. Public schools...... 13 2. Higher education... 29 3. Busing students to less crowded areas. 1 if. General...... l*f TOTAL 59 B. Federal support...... 52 TOTAL 111

IV. Direction and design of the curriculum A. Aims and ends of education...... 9 B. Schooling for the gifted.....•.•...•••••••• 0 C. Disadvantaged and the dropouts.• 9 D. Higher standards...... 3 E. Remedial education...... 0 TOTAL 21 79 TABLE 11— Continued

Category Number of Editorials

V. Mutually related categories Higher education...... 92 Administration...... •••••.1...... 68 Finance..... 4-1 Teacher working conditions...... 22 Curriculum aids, methods, and procedures....*•. 20 Scholarships, grants, gifts, foundations.. 12 Expanding needs and enrollments..... 8 Safety...... 4 Tributes to teachers...... 3 Foreign students...... 1 Science ...... 1 Teacher education...... 1 Research...... 1 TOTAL 274-

San Francisco Chronicle In the San Francisco Chronicle under the category of free­ dom in education there were thirteen editorials concerning aca­ demic freedom on the campus. This ranked fourth in frequency of editorial mention in the Chronicle. There were no editorials concerning conformity vs. individualism. Two editorials were written about book censorship and four about freedom in general*

A total of seventeen articles was classified under the category, freedom in education. Under religion and morals in education there were five ed­ itorials pertaining to the Supreme Court's decision on prayer in 80 the public schools. Three editorials were written about separa­ tion of church and state and one on juvenile delinquency. One editorial was found under the general category. Ten editorials in all concerned religion and morals in education. The writer found that under the category, equalization of educational opportunity, public school integration concerned seventeen editorials. It ranked second in frequency of edito­ rial mention. Integration of higher education related to eight editorials. This tied with federal support of education for a ranking of eighth in frequency of editorial mention. There were no editorials concerning busing students to less crowded areas or of a general nature. A total of twenty-five editorials was classified under integration. Under federal support of educa­ tion, eight editorials were counted. As mentioned before, this subcategory tied with integration of higher education for a rank­ ing of eighth in frequency of editorial mention. A total of thirty-three editorials was concerned with equalization of edu­ cational opportunity. The writer found that in the category, direction and design of the curriculum, there were ten editorials referring to aims and ends of modern education. This ranked seventh in frequency of editorial mention. There were no editorials referring to schooling for the gifted; however, there were three concerning education for the disadvantaged and the dropouts. One editorial 81 concerned higher standards, while no editorials related to re­ medial education* A total of fourteen editorials was classified under direction and design of the curriculum. In the mutually related categories, there were fifty-six editorials alluding to higher education. This subcategory ranked first in frequency of editorial mention* Finance was written about in fourteen editorials, and it ranked third in frequency of editorial mention. Administration and curriculum aids, methods, and procedures each had a total of eleven editorials written about them, and they tied for fifth place in frequency of editorial mention in the Chronicle. There were six edito­ rials concerning scholarships, grants, gifts, and foundations. This ranked tenth in frequency of editorial mention. Athletics and teacher education were the concern of four editorials each. Teacher working conditions was alluded to in three editorials. Discipline, expanding needs and enrollments, and communism on the campus were referred to in two editorials on each. The fol­ lowing subcategories were each referred to once: foreign students, student relations and fads, consolidation, and re­

search. There was a total of 119 editorials classified under the mutually related categories. A complete breakdown of the data in tabular form may be found in Table 12 on pages 82 and 83. 82 TABLE 12 EDUCATION EDITORIALS BROKEN DOWN BY CATEGORIES IN THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3

Editorials

I. Freedom in education A* Academic freedom...... 13 B. Conformity vs. individualism...... 0 C. Book censorship...... 2 D. General...... TOTAL 17

II. Religion and morals in education A. Supreme Court's decision on prayer...... 3 B. Separation of church and state..... 3 C. Juvenile d e l i n q u e n c y ...... 1 D. General...... 11 TOTAL 10

III. Equalization of educational opportunity A. Integration 1. Public schools...... 17 2. Higher education...... 8 3. Busing studentB to less crowded areas. 0 *f. General...... 0 TOTAL 25 B. Federal support...... ® TOTAL 33

IV. Direction and design of the curriculum A. Aims and ends of modern education...... 10 B. Schooling for the gifted...... 0 C. Disadvantaged and the dropouts...... 3 D. Higher standards...... 1 E. Remedial education...... 0 TOTAL 83 TABLE 12--Continued

Category Number of Editorials

V. Mutually related categories Higher education...... • • 38 Finance ...... 14 Administration.... «...... 11 Curriculum aids, methods, and procedures...... • 11 Scholarships, grants, gifts, foundations...... 6 Athletics...... 4 Teacher education...... 4 Teacher working conditions...... 3 Discipline...... 2 Expanding needs and enrollments...... 2 Communism on the campus .... 2 Foreign students...... 1 Student relations and fads...... 1 Consolidation...... 1 Research...... 1 TOTAL 119

St. Louis Post-Dispatch In examining the category of freedom in education in the St. Louis Ppst-Dispatch, it was found that thirteen editorials referred to academic freedom on the campus. There were no edi­ torials found under the other subcategories. In the category, religion and morals in education, five editorials were found to deal with the Supreme Court's decision on prayer in the public schools. There were twenty editorials concerning separation of church and state. This ranked fifth in frequency of editorial mention. One editorial referred to 84- juvenile delinquency. There were no editorials written about the category in general. A total of twenty-six editorials were classified under religion and morals in education. Under equalization of educational opportunity, the writer found that sixteen editorials concerned integration of public schools. This ranked seventh in frequency of editorial mention. Integration of higher education was found in seventeen editori­ als. This ranked sixth in frequency of editorial mention. Four editorials referred to busing students to less crowded areas, and there were fourteen editorials concerning integration of ed­ ucation in general, A total of fifty-one editorials concerned integration, while federal support was alluded to in sixty-seven

editorials, making a total of 1 1 8 editorials classified under equalization of educational opportunity. Federal support ranked

second in frequency of editorial mention. The writer found that ten editorials referred to aims and ends of education under the category of direction and design of the curriculum. There were none concerning schooling for the

gifted, but six referred to education of the disadvantaged and the dropouts. Three editorials alluded to higher standards. There were no editorials written about remedial education. A total of nineteen editorials appeared in this category. In the mutually related categories, higher education accounted for 128 editorials* This gave it a ranking of first in frequency of editorial mention. Finance was alluded to fifty- seven times* It ranked third in frequency of editorial mention* Administration was written about in forty-five editorials. It ranked fourth in frequency of editorial mention. There were fourteen editorials concerning expanding needs and enrollments* It tied for eighth with general integration in frequency of ed­ itorial mention. There were thirteen editorials which referred to curriculum aids, methods, and procedures. This tied with academic freedom for a ranking of ninth in the Post-Dispatch. Eleven editorials were concerned with scholarships, grants, gifts, and foundations. Consolidation was the chief source of concern in five editorials. Athletics, plant utilization and equipment, and student relations and fads were written about in three editorials each. The following subcategories were treated in two editorials each: discipline, foreign students, science, and research. Extracurricular activities, safety, and tributes to teachers were each found in one editorial. There was a total of 3 0 5 editorials listed under the mutually related categories.

A breakdown of the data found in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ap­ pears in tabular form in Table 13 on pages 86 and 8 7 . 86 TABLE 13 EDUCATION EDITORIALS BROKEN DOWN BY CATEGORIES IN THE ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3

Editorials

I. Freedom in education A. Academic freedom...... 13 B. Conformity vs* individualism...... O C. Book censorship...... O D* General...... O TOTAL 13

II. Religion and morals in education A* Supreme Court's decision on prayer...... 3 B. Separation of church and state...... 20 C* Juvenile delinquency...... 1 D. General...... 0 TOTAL 26

III. Equalization of educational opportunity A. Integration 1. Public schools...... 16 2. Higher education...... 17 3* Busing students to Isbs crowded areas. *+. General...... !*<• TOTAL 51 B. Federal support...... 6 7 TOTAL 118

IV. Direction and design of the curriculum - A. Aims and ends of modern education. 10 B. Schooling for the gifted...... 0 C. Disadfantaged and the dropouts...... 6 D. Higher standards...... 3 E. Remedial education...... 0 TOTAL 19 87 TABLE 13— Continued

Category Number of Editorials

V* Mutually related categories Higher education...... 128 Finance...... 57 Administration...... h3 Expanding needs and enrollments...... 14 Curriculum aids, methods, and procedures...... • 13 Scholarships, grants, gifts, foundations...... 11 Consolidation...... 3 Athletics...... Plant utilization and equipment...... k Student relations and fads..... 4- Teacher working conditions...... 3 Teacher education...... 3 Communism on the campus...... 3 Discipline...... 2 Foreign students...... 2 Science...... 2 Research...... 2 Extracurricular activities...... 1 Safety...... 1 Tributes to teachers...... 1 TOTAL 305

Wall Street Journal No editorials in the Wall Street Journal were found on the category of freedom in education. The writer, upon examination of the category, religion and morals in education, found that one editorial concerned itself with the Supreme Court's decision on prayer in the schools. There was also one editorial referring to separation of church and state and one about juvenile delinquency.

No editorials were of a generql nature. A total of three edito­ rials was classified under this category. 88

Under equalisation of educational opportunity, one edito­ rial referred to public school integration, and one to integra­ tion of higher education. There were no editorials written about busing students to less crowded areas, and one editorial referred to integration of schools of a general nature. A total of three editorials concerned integration. Federal support, on the other hand, was alluded to in thirty-two editorials. This ranked first in frequency of editorial comments in the Wall Street Journal.

A total of thirty-five editorials referred to equalization of ed­ ucational opportunity.

In the category, direction and design of the curriculum, it was found that nine editorials were concerned with aims and ends of modern education. This ranked third in frequency of edi­ torial mention. There were no editorials about schooling for the gifted, but one referred to school for the disadvantaged and the dropouts. There were seven editorials written about higher standards, but no mention was made of remedial education. A total of seventeen editorials was classified under direction and design

of the curriculum.

Under the mutually related categories, the writer found

that ten editorials were concerned with higher education. This

ranked second in frequency of editorial mention. Three editori­ als referred to teacher education. This subcategory ranked fifth

in frequency of editorial mention in the Wall Street Journal.

Finance, expanding needs and enrollments, and research were each 89 referred to in two editorials* This gave them a ranking of sixth in frequency of editorial mention. Teacher working conditions was alluded to in one editorial. There was a total of twenty editorials classified under the mutually related categories* For a complete breakdown of data in tabular form, see Table l*f below and on the next page*

TABLE l*f EDUCATION EDITOBIALS BROKEN DOWN BY CATEGORIES IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. 1 9 6 1 - 6 3

Category Number of Editorials

I. Freedom in education A* Academic freedom...... 0 B. Conformity vs. individualism...... 0 C. Book censorship...... 0 D. General...... 0 TOTAL 0

II* Religion and morals in education A* Supreme Court's decision on prayer...... 1 B. Separation of church and state...... 1 C. Juvenile delinquency...... 1 D. General...... 0 TOTAL 3

III* Equalization of educational opportunity A* Integration 1* Public schools...... 1 2* Higher education...... 1 3* Busing students to less crowded areas* 0 4* General...... 1 TOTAL 3 B. Federal support...... 32 TOTAL 35 90 TABLE 14— Continued

Category Number of Editorials

IV* Direction and design of the curriculum A* Aims and ends of modern education...... 9 B. Schooling for the gifted...... 0 C. Disadvantaged and the dropouts...... 1 D. Higher standards ...... 7 E. Remedial education...... 0 TOTAL 17

V. Mutually related categories Higher education...... 10 Finance...... 2 Teacher education...... 5 Expanding needs and enrollments...... 2 Research...... 2 Teacher working conditions...... 1 TOTAL 20

Washington Post In examining editorials of the Washington Post concerning freedom in education, there were eight editorials discussing the issue of academic freedom. It also ranked eighth in the ten topics of highest frequency of editorial mention in the Post. There were two editorials touching on the problem of conformity vs. individualism. No editorials were presented on book censor­ ship, and there was one of a general nature. A total of eleven editorials was found on this crucial issue. Under the category of religion and morals in education, there were six editorials discussing the Supreme Court and prayer 91 in the public schools. Twenty-one editorials concerned separation of church and state. Five editorials related to juvenile delin­ quency, and there were two editorials of a general nature. A total of thirty-four editorials was classified under this category. Under equalization of educational opportunity the problem of integration in the public schools was alluded to thirty-eight times and ranked second in the number of times editorial subjects were mentioned. Seven editorials concerned integration of higher education, and one editorial related to busing students to less crowded areas. Six editorials were on general integration. There were fifty-two editorials written about federal support, which made it rank first in frequency of editorial mention in the Post. There were 102 editorials classified under this crucial issue. In direction and design of the curriculum, there were thir­ teen editorials concerning aims and ends of modern education which gave it a ranking of fifth in frequency of mention in edi­ torials in the Post. There were no editorials relating to school­ ing for the gifted; however, seven editorials concerned the dis­ advantaged and the dropouts, which tied for tenth ranking of fre­ quency of mention in editorials. Four editorials referred to higher standards. Conversely, three editorials discussed reme­ dial programs for the slow learners. Under the mutually related categories, higher education was alluded to forty-seven times, ranking it second in frequency of 92 mention in editorials. Fimaa.ce was discussed forty-six times, which gave it a ranking of third in educatioa editorials. Admia- istratioa was meatioaed fourteea times, aad it ranked fifth ia frequency of editorial meatioa. There were aiae editorials coa- ceraiag discipliae. Plaat utilizatioa aad equipmeat aad cur­ riculum aids, methods, aad procedures were each alluded to sevea times, for which they tied for aiath aad teath place ia frequeacy of meatioa. Expaadiag aeeds aad earollmeats was discussed six times. Teacher working coaditioas aad tributes to teachers were both meatioaed four times. Foreiga studeats were featured ia three editorials aad athletics ia two. Studeat relatioas aad fads aad scholarships, graats, gifts, aad fouadatioas both were meatioaed oace. The total aumber of editorials classified as mu­ tually related was 151. Table 15 below aad oa page 93 gives a summary of educatioaal editorials ia the Post ia tabular form.

TABLE 15 EDUCATION EDITORIALS BROKEN DOWN BY CATEGORIES IN THE WASHINGTON POST, I96I- 6 3

Category No. of Editorials

I. Freedom ia educatioa A. Academic freedom...... 8 B. Conformity vs. individualism 2 C. Book censorship. .... 0 D. General...... 1 TOTAL 11 93 TABLE 15— Coatinued

Category Number of Editorials

II. Religiom aad morals ia educatioa A. Supreme Court's decisioa oa prayer...... 6 B. Separatioa of church aad state...... 21 C. Juveaile deliaqueacy...... 3 D. Geaeral...... 2 TOTAL 34 III. Equalization of educatioaal opportunity A. Iategratioa 1. Public schools...... 3 8 2. Higher educatioa...... 7 3* Busiag students to less crowded areas. 1 Geaeral..... 6 TOTAL 52 B. Federal support...... 30 TOTAL 102 IV. Direction aad design of the curriculum A. Aims aad ends, of modern educatioa...... 13 B. Schooling for the gifted...... 0 C. Disadvantaged aad the dropouts...... 7 D. Higher standards...... 4 E. Remedial educatioa...... 2. TOTAL 27

V. Mutually related categories Higher educatioa...... 47 Finance...... 46 Administration...... 14 Discipline...... 9 Plant utilization aad equipment...... 7 Curriculum aids, methods, aad procedures...... 7 Expanding needs and enrollments. .... 6 Teacher working conditions...... 4 Tributes to teachers...... 4 Foreign students...... 3 Athletics. .... 2 Student relations and fads...... 1 Scholarships, grants, gifts, foundations.. 1 TOTAL 151 CHAFTEH IV

THE CBUCIAL ISSUE OF FBEEDOM IN EDUCATION

The major theme of freedom ±m educatioa was meatioaed a total of aiaety-eight times for a perceatage of 3*9 of the total editorials of the tea aewspapers treatiag educatioa ia America duriag the years, I9 6 I-I9 6 3 . Freedom ia educatioa raaked fourth amoag the four major crucial issues meatioaed. Oae could con- elude from this that at least for the period of time, 1961 through 1 9 6 3 * i* the aewspapers analyzed, freedom ia educatioa was aot thought to be as importaat ia Americaa society as were the crucial issues of religioa and morals ia educatioa, equali­ zation of educatioaal opportunity, aad directioa aad desiga of the curriculum, and therefore raaked lowest. A major coaceasus of editorial opiaioa was favorably disposed to the coacept of academic freedom. The New York Times had the highest aumber of editorials discussiag the problem of freedom in education, followed by the San Francisco Chronicle, the Denver Post, the St. Louis Post- Dispatch. the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Chicago Tribune, the Christian Science Monitor, aad the Wall Street Journal. A breakdown of the aumber of

9^ 95 editorials relatiag to the crucial issue of freedom ia educatioa ia the tea aewspapers appears ia Table 16 below.

TABLE 1 6 TABULATION OF THE CRUCIAL ISSUE OF FREEDOM IN EDUCATION AS FOUND IN THE TEN AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3

Newspaper Aca­ Coaformity Book Gea­ Total demic vs. iadi- ceasor- eral free­ vidualism ship dom

Bostoa Globe...... 6 1 1 1 9 Chicago Tribuae...... 5 0 1 0 6 Christiaa Scieace Moaitor... 0 0 0 0 0 Clevelaad Plaia Dealer..... 6 2 0 0 8 Deaver Post...... Ik 1 1 0 16 New York Times...... 17 1 0 0 18 Saa Fraacisco Chroaicle..... 13 0 2 2 17 St. Louis Post-Dispatch.... 13 0 0 0 13 Wall Street Jouraal.... . 0 0 0 0 0 Washiagtoa Post...... 8 2 0 1 11 TOTAL 98

New York Times Approximately oae-half of the New York Times* editorials di­ rectly relatiag to freedom ia educatioa cite the problem that uaiversities are faciag aatioaally at this period of history, aad that is oae of permittiag speakers oa campus haviag coatroversial aad perhaps subversive views oa a variety of subjects. The New York Times stroagly defeads the right of uaiversities to offer a 96 fr#e platform for speakers. As an example, New York University is cited for barring Communist speakers on campus, and the paper points out that once freedom is cut down, erosion becomes uncon­ trollable. ^ It goes on to state that the campus should be opened to all speakers, not just to conservatives, in this instance re- ferring to Hunter College inviting William Buckley to the campus. 2 The newspaper generally feels that the Communist party is helped more than it is hurt by prohibiting Communist speakers from speaking on the campus. The paper further deplores the NDEA loyalty oath require­ ment and applauds Congress for removing it in the new Congres­ sional bill. The editors also give the New York Board of Educa­ tion qualified support for reinstating two out of four teachers 3 who had lied about ever belonging to a subversive organization. The two teachers who were not reinstated were dismissed because of continued questionable activities. The remaining editorials were generally related to aca­ demic freedom on the campus, and one editorial, "Witches in Levittown," tells about activities in Levittown where students 4 were asked to play big brother by spying on teachers. The re­ maining editorials on freedom in education were general in nature

^New York Times, October 28, 1961, p. 20.

2Ibid., June 28, 1962, p. 8e . ^Ibid., August 24, 1962, p. 24.

Ibid., October 29, 1963, p. 34. 97 aad all coaceraed higher educatioa. Oae editorial cited the virtues of educatioa aad freedom ia a democracy as the best de­ fease agaiast the Soviet threat. The majority of these editori­ als poiat to the higher educatioa level. Of the New York Times editorials examiaed, aearly all were iavolved with the problem of academic freedom oa the campus. Oaly oae could be iaterpreted as dealiag with coaformity versus the iadividual.

Saa Fraacisco Chroaicle Ia the Saa Fraacisco Chroaicle thirteea out of seveateea editorials treatiag freedom ia educatioa coasidered the problem of academic freedom oa uaiversity campuses. They were dealiag with the Uaiversity of Califoraia campus at Berkeley ia particu­ lar, but oae could coaclude from this that it is ualxkely that their opiaioas would differ regardiag other uaiversities ia the couatry. The right of the uaiversity to iavite campus speakers of differeat political persuasioas was the largest siagle topic discussed. They stauachly support the Uaiversity of Califoraia's prerogative of opea debate. la aa editorial eatitled "Clampiag the Lid oa Free Speech" the editors respoaded to the rejectioa of Gus Hall speakiag oa the Uaiversity of Califoraia campus. He spoke iastead at the uaiversity Y.M.C.A. 5 Accordiag to the paper, some busiaessmea are appareatly afraid Hall might tura the studeats who hear him

^Saa Fraacisco Chroaiclet Jaauary 25, 19^2, p. 52. into Communists. The Y.M.C.A. is commended for allowing him to speak there. The editor goes on to respond favorably when the University of California campus speakers' ban is later lifted. President Clark Kerr of the University of California in an edito­ rial of June 14, 1963» vehemently was defended when attacked by the State Senate Un-American Activities Committee for allowing too much freedom on campus.^ The committee's findings were un­ supported by documented facts, and the paper considers it an ex­ tremist report and an insidious threat to intelligent liberty at the University of California. The Chronicle defends the right wing's right to freedom in an editorial entitled "Freedom for All," when McCunn, junior col­ lege district superintendent, was asked to resign by a panel of educators because of his stand commending Birchers for their ex- 7 posure of Communists. The paper feels that this was not suffi­ cient reason for firing him. If he is persecuted solely for his rightist ideals, the paper also feels he should not quit. How­ ever, if he does not supply educational leadership, then there would be sufficient grounds for firing him. The paper upholds the right of a person to say what he believes. In another edito­ rial it supports the right of a San Carlos High School Btudy group which recommended communism be legalized, wished the

^Ibid., June 14, 1963* p. 46.

7 Ibid., May 21, 1962, p. 40. 99 Un-American Activities investigating group be dropped, and en­ dorsed birth control. The editors support the principal and superintendent with the view that students should have the right 0 to express opinions after studying problems. Other views which the paper supports are that student NDEA oaths should be ended, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools places the Uni­ versity of Mississippi on probation, and feels it should be a warning to politicians and other pressure groups not to interfere in areas of academic freedom. There were two editorials condemning censorship of books. In an editorial entitled "Rafferty Curbed as Book Censor" the paper agrees with a recent decision handed down by the State Board of Education that books for libraries are to be chosen by 9 local superintendents. In an editorial entitled "Textbook Pop­ pycock" reference is made to committees investigating texts in

Los Angeles as "busybodies."1 0 It considers their views unrea­ sonable towards the United Nations and labels it a Birchist or­ ganization. Denver Post Fourteen out of sixteen editorials in the Denver Post were concerned with freedom in education and refier to academic freedom on university campuses. One alluded to book censorship and one

Q Ibid., May 18, 1962, p. 3 6 . ^Ibid., May 28, 1962, p. 44. ^ I b i d . , January 11, 1962, p. 30. was general in character. There were eight editorials in this three year period concerning freedom in education which were heightened by the recent visit of Senator Goldwater- to the Uni­ versity of Colorado campus and the ensuing feud and controversy that followed. The student editor of the University of Colorado's newspaper, after Goldwater's recent visit to the campus, wrote a rather scurrilous article in the main which was critical of Goldwater*s political views on several issues. Goldwater in re­ turn wrote the president of the university a letter blaming him for lack of courtesy given to him on the campus and referring to subversive elements roaming the campus. The Denver Post edito­ rially regrets the discourtesy displayed by students but could hardly support the charges that somehow this was subversive. 11 The newspaper takes the view that controversy is a part of Amer­ ican life and that there is no evidence of Communists lurking about. They continue by wishing the American Legion would recog­ nize the controversy for what it is. The editors laud freedom of discussion and inquiry at

Colorado University during the World Affairs Conference. In another editorial they agree that the student newspaper used of­ fensive language over the Goldwater affair and that those who exercise that freedom must, however, assume some responsibility. 12

^ Denver Poet, April 11, 19&2, p. 22 ^ I b i d . , October 10, 19^2, p. 20. 101 Freedom of speakers on campus was supported, and editorially the paper was highly complimentary to Harvard when permission was given Qovernor Barnett to speak on the campus after he was re- fused by Cambridge. 13 In connection with book censorship the paper felt that the Denver Public Schools were the appropriate place to decide the merits of textbooks and should not be judged by outside groups. The Post is characteristically liberal in its views on academic freedom. In an editorial Quigg Newton, past president of the University of Colorado, whose past reputation as a defender of academic freedom was well-known, was wished well in his new tasks and it was hoped he would continue to carry on the tradi- l*f tion of academic freedom.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The St. Louis Post-Dispatch contained thirteen editorials concerning freedom in education, all of which refer to academic freedom on the campus. The paper considers academic freedom the heart of a university. 15 Editorial topics range on a variety of activities concerning academic freedom. In the editorial, "Classroom or Courtroom," academic freedom is related to the American Bar Associations statement supporting the study of

^ I b i d . , February 7, 1963* p» 18.

lifIbid., June 8 , 1963, p. 12. ^St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 14, 1961, p. 2B. 102 communism in the classroom. The paper feels the bar association should stay out of the classroom and support harrassed teachers.1^ In the editorial, "Succumbing to Pressure," the National Science Foundation withdrew a grant from a chemistry professor because of a contempt record. The paper feels that the committee yielded to pressure from Congress when it should not have done so. 17 The newspaper welcomes a professor of law who joins the staff of the University of Missouri from the University of Mississippi. It suggests a lack of academic freedom at the University ^f Missis* sippi since the professor was disliked for his stand on integra­ tion and also for being a member of the Civil Liberties Union. It says this reflects on the university, not the professor. XS In the editorial, "Indiana University Stands Fast," Indiana Univer­ sity is commended because it refused to throw out of school a student advocating the overthrow of the government, on the basis a man is innocent until he is proven guilty. 19

Washington Post The Washington Post had a total of eleven editorials on the subject of freedom in education. A majority of the editorials, like the other newspapers studied, concerned academic freedom on the campus. The editors generally upheld the university as being

1 7 Ibid., June 23, 1961, p. 2B. T ft Ibid., August 7, 1962, p. 2C.

19Ibid., May 1 2 , 1963, p. 2B. 103 si safe place for students to hear many shades of opinions and ideas* In the editorial, "Safe for Ideas," the heart of educa­ tion is being upheld by the California governor and the Univer- sity of California President Kerr. 20 In "Room for Reason" the paper commends the University of Virginia for inviting Gus Hall to speak. It refers to Jefferson's idea of the university and says controversial speakers will not poison young minds. The students should be exposed to various doctrines so that they may give free choice as adults. The stature of the university has been enhanced. 21 In the editorial, "Ideas and Students," a Uni­ versity of California student goes to court to keep the Communist Speaker Ban lifted. According to the paper, the constitutionality of the ban is debatable and a complex question. The ban seems un­ wise and out-of-keeping with the true nature of a university as a forum of ideas. 22 There were two editorials related to conformity versus in­ dividualism in education. In an editorial entitled "Knee High" the paper felt it important to comment upon the ruling of the Akron Board of Education to expel a girl for not wearing gym shorts because of religious reasons. 23 In an editorial entitled "Minority Views" schools ought to teach children to think, but when they do exhibit individual ideas, it creates problems, such

PO Washington Post, April Zk, 19^1, p. A !*»■•

2 ~*Tbid., February 12, 19^3, p. A l^f.

2 2Ibid., May 15, 1 9 6 2 , p. A l*f.

2^Ibid., October 13* 19^2, p. A 6. 104 as with a young girl who will not pay class dues because all stu- 2k dents' dues go for entertainment. In another editorial concern is felt for invasion of individual privacy and freedom when in some instances student psychology test answers were filed with the National Education Testing Service* 25

Boston Globe The Boston Globe had nine editorials concerning freedom in education, six of which involved the problem of academic freedom on the campus, one in the area of book censorship, and one gener­ al, and one in the area of individualism* In an editorial dated February 10, 1962, the paper was against a state bill to expose the doctrines of objectives of communism* 26 The paper considers this meddling with academic freedom and smacks of indoctrination* Editorially, it commended Earl Warren for his citing of extremist groups as psychotic. 27 On June 4, 1962, the paper condemned the school regulation in Maine which did not permit the valedictorian to speak on unilateral disarmament* 28 The paper held the view that students should be allowed to make fools of themselves and learn from it. The editors generally were against the NDEA loyalty oath disclaimer and felt it was regrettable that Governor

pi. Ibid., June 6, 1961, p. A 14*

2^Ibid., October 4, 1 9 6 3 , p. A 20.

Boston Globe, February 10, 1962, p. 6.

27Ibid., April l8, 1 9 6 3 , p. 10. pQ Ibid., June 4, 1962, p. 12. 105 Barnett was not permitted to speak at Cambridge* In connection with book censorship, editorial comment was favorable regarding the recent publication of a book entitled Censors and the Schools* 29 ^ ' The editors were also critical of the multiuniversity as representing a positive threat to individuality and the whole man* 30

Cleveland Plain Dealer The Cleveland Plain Dealer treated editorially freedom in education eight times, six of which were specifically related to academic freedom on the campus* The paper was generally in favor of a free platform for university speakers, and in the editorial, "Keep the Soapbox,"it supported Linus Pauling speaking at New

York University* 31 The issue of conformity versus individualism was supported in an editorial of October 11, 1962, when the paper upheld the right of a student not to wear gym shorts on religious grounds* 32 In a related editorial, however, the paper agrees with the high school principal that students should wear shirts in and that students need to conform to acceptable dress stand-

*^Ibid., January 26, 1963* P»

3°Ibid*, April 25, 1963, P* 8. ^ Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 26, 1 9 6 2 , p. 22*

^ I b i d *, October 11, 1962, p. 56*

•^Ibid., September 10, 1 9 6 3 , p* 38. 106 Chicago Tribune A total of six editorials by the Chicago Tribune treated freedom in education, five of which were on academic freedom and one was on book censorship. Editorially, the paper generally supported academic freedom on the grounds that oath-taking is in­ consequential anyway and that the serious threat to the univer­ sity and college is a growing dependence on the federal govern- ment. The loyalty oath is a minor issue. 3b In an editorial dated December 26, 1961, the editors welcomed the University of Illinois raising restrictions on politicians speaking on the cam- pus. 35 In another editorial the editors strongly criticised those who attack the DAR, a fine patriotic organization which 36 supports essays and gives out annual awards on American history. In the editorial, "Lesson in Freedom," the paper supports William F, Buckley and his suit against Hunter College prohibi- ting him from speaking on the campus. 37 Finally, the editors criticize censorship of Huckleberry Finn on the grounds that if school authorities only had a solid humanistic education instead of credit hours in education courses, they might understand the reasons for not censoring literature of this type, Neither the Wall Street Journal nor the Christian Science Monitor had any editorials focusing on freedom in education.

•^Chicago Tribune. January 17» 1961, p. 16 Part 1.

^Ibid., December 26, I9 6 I, P« 2b Part 1. 36Ibid.. June 15, 1962, p. l*f Part 1. 57Ibid., July 28, 1962, p. 8 Part 1.

58Ibid., March 2 2 , 1963* p. l6 Part 1 . CHAPTER V

THE CRUCIAL ISSUE OP RELIGION AND MORALS IN EDUCATION

The crucial issue of religion and moralB in education ranked third among the four major issues placed in the cate­ gories. The newspapers treated the issue of religion and morals in education in 4.7 per cent of the total number of editorials focusing on education. This category contained a total of 132 editorials. The editors of the ten newspapers in the time range from 1 9 6 1 through 1 9 6 3 were generally in favor of separation of church and state in view of the fact that education is an arm of the state and that sectarian religion and education should remain separate. The Washington Post contained the most editorials alluding to religion and morals in education with the St. Louis Post- Dispatch and the Christian Science Monitor close behind. Others in order of rank were the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the San Fran­ cisco Chronicle, the New York Times, the Denver Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, and the Wall Street Journal. The ma­ jority of the newspapers felt that the separation of church and state was the most important topic under this crucial issue. A breakdown of the number of editorials relating to the crucial

107 io8 issue of religion and morals in education in the ten newspapers appears in Table 17 below.

TABLE 1 7 TABULATION OF THE CRUCIAL ISSUE OF RELIGION AND MORALS IN EDUCATION AS FOUND IN THE TEN AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS, 1961-63

Newspaper Supreme Separa­ Juvenile Gen- Total Court & tion of Delin­ eral Prayer Church quency and State

Boston Globe...... 1 0 1 1 3 Chicago Tribune...... 3 1 1 1 6 Christian Science Monitor. 8 17 0 0 25 Cleveland Plain Dealer.... 2 2 : 5 1 1 0 Denver Post... c...... 3 3 0 1 7 New York Times...... 3 5 0 0 8 San Francisco Chronicle... 5 3 1 1 1 0 St. Louis Post-Dispatch... 5 2 0 1 0 26 Wall Street Journal..... 1 1 1 0 3 Washington Post...... 6 21 5 2 ?* TOTAL 1 3 2

The analysis of editorials in this category unavoidably con­ tained many editorials that had to be classified in both the cru­ cial issue of religion and morals in education as well as the is­ sue of equalization of educational opportunity. The former in­ cludes federal support, because in discussing the problem of sep­ aration of church and state, the question of federal support to

education plays an important part. 109 Washington Post The Washington Post discusses the separation of church and state twenty-one times in a three year period. A general sampling of editorial response can be summarized by examining selected edi­ torials. The Post cites the dilemma that is presented by the federal government moving into the field of education and sup­ porting public and parochial schools. Editorially, the editors take a strong position against and offer a rebuttal to the Na- tionalCOatholic Conference's objections to President Kennedy's non-inclusion of parochial schools in aid to education.^ In another editorial entitled "Church School Squeeze" the paper states that financial problems of church related education will have to be made up from within the church system, not the federal government. The best bet would be to plan for the future on a basis of non-tax support. In an editorial entitled "Church- related Schools" the editor acknowledges that it is proper to recognize the efforts Catholics have made in supporting educa­ tion, but under the Constitution church and state must be inde-

■5 pendent. Less concern is displayed relating to public support of buses for private schools and represents less infringement on the doctrine of separation of church and state than direct aid

“^Washington Post. April 8 , 1961, p. A8 .

2 Ibid., April 16, 1961, p. E^.

^Ibid., December 17* 1961* p. E^f. 110 if to schools* The Post generally disagrees with the concept of shared time whereby parochial students spend part of their time 5 in public schools* The PoBt is less adament with reference to federal aid to college facilities, public and private, because federal aid deals with institutions with more mature minds and feels that higher education in traditionally church-related and public institutions is oriented primarily to education and not to religious indoctrination. The paper's views concerning the Supreme Court ruling and prayer in the public schools are clear and succinctly stated in an editorial entitled "A Touch of Anarchy*" Some schools have indicated they will continue prayers regardless of the Supreme Court decision. Officials may not agree with it, but they should remember there is no liberty at all when officials swear to up­ hold laws and ignore commands of the court designed to interpret laws* Order is an indispensable condition of liberty* The al­ ternative would be anarchy* Where it prevails, neither religion 7 nor liberty can survive* In an editorial dated November 30*

1 9 6 1 , religious objectives are not appropriate to public schools for three reasons: (1) the First Amendment (this was the wall of

separation between the church and state); (2 ) they are a cause of

^Ibid., June 9» 19&2, p. A8 .

^Ibid., February 27, 1 9 6 3 * p* Al6 .

^Ibid., August 7» 19^3* P» Al6 . ^Ibid., August 17, 1963» P* A8. Ill embarassment and pain to non-Christians; and (3) worship and prayer ought to be voluntary as well as non-conpulsory. 8 In an editorial entitled "Religion by Rote" the editor states that the defense of school prayers and Bible reading raises three ques­ tions: is it constitutional, is it fair to non-Christian stu­ dents, and does it indeed result in spiritual and moral develop­ ment? Churches were built for worship but schools for education, and one should not get the two mixed. 9 Finally, the Post re­ sponds to some critics who equate prayer with patriotism. The paper feels that teachers are subverting the United States by teaching children disrespect for laws and that this is neither patriotism nor religion, neither sound political science nor morality. 10 ' In the subcategory of juvenile delinquency five editorials were directed to this issue. The paper generally feels that schools should not be held completely responsible for riots at school activities and other delinquency problems connected with the schools.^ The symptoms are deep-seated community problems, and also in another editorial the editors state a similar posi­ tion when they say that the community cannot abdicate its respon- sibility for alleviating juvenile delinquency. 12 Finally, the

o Ibid., November 3©i 196l, p. A12. 9Ibid.. April 2*f, 1962, p. Al^.

^°Ibid., September 10, 1 9 6 3 * p« Al8. ^ T b i d . , January 17» 1963* P* A22. ^Ibid., February 5» 1963» p« A12. 112 newspaper supports the Washington, D.C., board of education's ap­ proval of providing classes for pregnant girls and concludes that they must be helped back to a normal life. 13

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The St. Louis Post-Dispatch had a total of twenty editori­ als illustrating their position regarding separation of church and state. Five editorials were devoted to the issue of the Su­ preme Court and prayer in the public schools, and one editorial related to juvenile delinquency, for a total of twenty-six edito­ rials- in the whole area of religion and morals in education. The Post-Dispatch strongly states its position with refer­ ence to separation of church and state, citing a local problem in which it felt that the Catholic decision not to build more schools in the St. Louis area is not a legitimate reason for granting of public funds for parochial education. The problem of financing public schools will not be solved by abandoning the principle of lij. separation of church and state. The editors are generally a- gainst aid for parochial school bus transportation and view it as unconstitutional. 15^ No clear position was taken in rpgard to

public aid to private colleges and universities.

^ Ibid., December 22, 1962, p. a8 . it, . St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 25* 1962, p. 2C.

15Ibid., April 6, 1963, p. 4a. 113 With reference to editorial position regarding the Supreme Court and prayer in the public schools, the point is clearly made when the Post-Dispatch succinctly states that_ the crucial point is not prayer in public schools but the activity of government in a field which the court finds wisely closed to it*^ This posi­ tion on prayer in the public schools is not an attack on prayer or God as some would envision. The editors go on to state that they are unhappy with inadequate news stories about the Supreme Court's prayer decision, and that the lack of responsible jour­ nalism has helped cause public misunderstanding. The paper goes on to state that present procedures need some changes* 17 In the editorial, "Eye Opener for Congress," apparently the Post-Dispatch does not consider the problem of juvenile delin­ quency and morality in education today as an important public is­ sue* Only one editorial was directed to this problem, and that was in reference to racial disturbances in Washington, D.C., fol­ lowing a local football game* The editors felt that the problem stemmed from inadequate discipline and too much crowding in the schools.i. n 1 8 -

^ I b i d . , June 26, 1962, p. 20.

^Ibid., August 6 , 1962, p. 2B. 18 Ibid., December 11, 1962, p. 2C. 114

Christiaa Science Monitor

The Christian Science Monitor presents a very strong and reasoned position for separation of church and state. The paper agrees with a recent court ruling which prohibits federal aid for textbooks or transportation for parochial Btudents. Catholic schools operate only because Catholic parents feel that the pre­ cepts of their faith should be integrated into the teaching of a secular subject. Those that do not share their faith should not 19 pay. The editors also question the legality of federal aid to private and parochial higher education. Under the title, "A

Chummy Separation," a strong position is made against federal axd. 20

As one might suspect, the editors also take a strong posi­ tion regarding prayer in the public schools. Half of the edito­ rials concerning religion in the public schools were focused specifically on the issue of prayer in the public schools. The 21 function of the public schools is cohesion, not division.

The paper is also against free textbooks to parochial 22 schools. There is still room for morality in the schools.

Teaching about the Bible as a work of literature can be considered

^ Christian Science Monitor, January 29, 1962, p. 16.

20Ibid., June 19, 1961, p. 14.

2 1 Ibid., June 27, 1962, p. 14.

22Ibid., January 15* 196?, p. 18. 115 proper and a legitimate function of the public schoolf according to an editorial dated September 1 9 6 3 .

Cleveland Plain Dealer The three newspapers previously mentioned contained more than half the number of editorial comments concerning the issue of religion and morals in education. Only a few brief selected comments will be made concerning the tenor of the remaining news­ papers on this issue. The Cleveland Plain Dealer mentioned separ­ ation of church aad state and the Supreme Court and the prayer de­ cision four times and viewed the problem of morality and juvenile delinquency six times. One might conclude from this that the public should be more concerned with the problem of morality rather than the role of religion in the public Bchools. An edi­ torial entitled "Against All of It" sums up the editors' posi- 2 if tion. The editors are opposed to federal aid to both public and private schools. The question of the problem of separation of church and state does not appear to be crucial to them. With reference to prayer in the public schools, it is felt that there is no need for abusing court members. Prayer can be practiced at home.2** Another editorial does not clearly define the problem.

2^Ibid., September *f, 19^3i P* 16. ^Cleveland Plain Dealer. March 3» 19^1, p. 12. 25Ibid., June 29, 1962, p. 16. 116 26 To pray or not to pray is a choice to be arrived at freely. The problem of juvenile delinquency received the most at­ tention and ranged on a variety of problems, such as vandals breaking out $60,000 worth of windows in Cleveland, fights after football games, and "Cribbing and Character," referring to the 27 practice of student cheating.

San Francisco Chronicle The San Francisco Chronicle contained a total of eight edi­ torials regarding the problem of church and state and prayer in the public schools. The editors are totally against prayer in the public schools, and most of their attention is directed toward this issue. The editors attack Max Rafferty, Superintendent of Public Instruction in California, in their editorial, "Rafferty Assails the Court." They state that he is talking through his hat when he says that the very mention of God will be forbidden in the public schools. 28 The editors are against federal aid to parochial schools. In an editorial on the decision on school prayers, the editors felt it was amazing that the court had to render an opinion on the subject in the first place. 29 They are very critical of church leaders' positions on this.

2 6 Ibid., June 18, 1963, p. 1^-

2 ^Ibid., October 19, 1963, p. 10. 28San Francisco Chronicle, November 3, 1963, P« 25* 29Ibid.. July 3, 1962, p. 30. 117 There were twe editorials of a general nature on juvenile delinquency. One involved motherhood in the high school and another referred to the fact that 2 8 per cent of the students on the campus at the University of California are known to cheat. 30

New York Times The New York Times has a total of eight editorials concern­ ing religion and schools and none on the problem of morality or juvenile delinquency in the schools. It is surprising that the editors did not discuss the problem of student delinquency in view of the fact that much student crime and immorality in the New York schools receive general press attention all over the country. The editors are generally for separation of church and state and are against state aid to sectarian education.

Denver Post The Denver Post had a total of seven editorials concerning the issue of religion and morals in education. The editorB are for continued separation of church and state and are against prayer in the public schools. They feel that the Supreme Court's prayer decision should strengthen, not weaken religion. 31

•^Ibid.. December 12, 1961, p. 38. ^Denver Post, June 18, 19^3, p« 20. 118 Chicago Tribune The Chicago Tribune had a total of four editorials oa the problem of religion aad educatioa. The editors are agaiast fed­ eral aid to educatioa regardless whether it is for public or pri­ vate schools aad were critical of the Americaa Legioa for sug- 32 gestiag that Coagress offer school prayer legislation.

Bostoa Globe The Bostoa Globe geaerally took the positioa that federal aid should aot be givea to private schools. The paper also stated that the Supreme Court's decisioa oa prayer ia the public schools was correct; however, oae may coaclude that this issue of religioa aad morals ia educatioa is aot of paramouat importaace compared with other educatioaal problems. Oaly two editorials involved the issue of juvenile morality.

Wall Street Jouraal The Wall Street Jouraal had three editorials oa this cate­ gory. The editors are not in favor of any new interpretation of

3 3 the Constitution. The real issue is the Supreme Court's estab­ lishing sectarianism and atheism. One may conclude from this that their concern with reference to church aad state is aot great, and that the problem is one of a mere powerful government

deciding local issues.

^ Chicago Tribune, December 16, 1962, p. 20 part 1. ^ W a l l Street Journal. June 19, 1963, p. 12. CHAPTER VI

THE CRUCIAL ISSUE OF EQUALIZATION OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY

The crucial issue of equalizatiom of educatioaal oppor­ tunity received more editorial commeat thaa the crucial is­ sues of freedom ia educatioa, religioa aad morals ia educa­ tioa, or directioa aad desiga of the curriculum* There were 600 editorials alludiag to this category which represeats ap­ proximately 2 ft per cent of the total number of editorials re- latiag to educatioa* It is appareat from reviewiag selected editorials aatioa-wide that there is a marked public awareaess as reflected ia the aewspapers conceraiag the whole problem of equal opportuaity in educatioa* This coacera is emphasized by the large aumber of editorials coaceraiag the problem of iate- gratioa of public schools aad also the problem of federal aid desigaed to provide more compreheasive educatioaal programs for all citizeas* The St* Louis Post-Dispatch received the most editorial commeat coaceraiag equalizatioa of educatioaal opportuaity, followed closely by the New York Times aad the Washiagtoa Post* 120 Others ia order of rank were the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago Tribune, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Denver Post, A breakdown of the number of editorials relating to this crucial issue in the ten newspapers appears in Table l8 below,

TABLE 18 THE TABULATION OF THE CRUCIAL ISSUE OF EQUALIZATION OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY AS FOUND IN THE TEN AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS, 1961-63

Newspaper Public Higher Busing Gen- Federal Total School Educa- Stu- eral Support tion dents

Boston Globe, ...... 12 11 0 0 11 34 Chicago Tribune...... 6 3 3 6 24 42 Christian Sci. Monitor.• 7 8 0 5 33 53 Cleveland Plain Dealer.. 6 11 1 V 18 40 Denver Post...... 3 11 1 1 1 6 32 New York TimeB...... 13 29 1 14 52 111 San Francisco Chronicle. 17 8 0 0 8 33 St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 16 17 4 14 67 1 1 8 Wall Street Journal 1 1 0 1 32 35 Washington Post...•... 33 7 1 6 50 102 TOTAL 600

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

In examining editorials on school integration from the St.

Louis Post-Dispatch, one finds sixteen centered around the ele- mentnyy and secondary public schools, seventeen concerning higher 121 education, fourteen of a general nature, and four relating to busing students to less crowded schools* Many of the editorials concerning integration of public schools and higher education re­ late to events taking place in other parts of the country. For example, there were seven editorials pointing to the state of in­ tegration in the various schools of the South. In the editorial, "Salute to 33 Teachers," the paper commends Virginia school teachers for giving up their summer vacations in order to teach remedial instruction to Negroes who have had no opportunity to attend schools during the winter.^ In another editorial the Uni­ versity of Mississippi and the University of South Carolina are criticized for practicing prejudice which contradicts the pur- poses of a university. 2

The editors feel that the problem of transferring studentB

from crowded schools is a local problem on which to take a stand. They are generally for busing students, particularly if they are 3 then integrated in the new school. The editors do not feel, however, that large scale transfers provide a sound educational solution and advocate an open enrollment plan where students may k enroll anywhere there is a vacancy. They also feel that if the rights of Negroes are being violated by not transferring students

^St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 11, 1961, P» 2B* ^Ibid., February 11, 19&L, p. ^A. ^Ibid., June 15, 1962, p. 2B. \ b i d .. May 16, 1963, p. 2B. 122 to less crowded schools, they should seek redress In the court rather than block buses. A maximum of integration should be con- 5 sistent wxth the best education for all. Turning to the issue of federal aid to education, one finds the Post-Dispatch very much in favor of local public schools be­ ing helped by federal funds. In one editorial it is suggested that Congress should give more attention to high schools than to higher education, since high schools must prepare students for college.^ President Kennedy's proposals for federal aid to edu­ cation were commented upon favorably; however, in one State of the Union Address, the paper felt disappointed that more funds 7 were not asked for educational purposes. The general concensus of all the editorials is that federal aid is needed to maintain good schools.

New York Times The New York Times had fifteen editorials concerning inte­ gration in the elementary and secondary public schools, twenty- nine about higher education, one on busing students, and fourteen of a general nature. Much of the comment concerned events taking place in the South, as was true of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. There were a number of editorials concerning integration in the

^Ibid., June 9» 19^3, p. 2B. 6Ibid., April 14, 1962, p. 4-A.

^Ibid., January 30* 1963* P» 2B. 123 New York City schools; however, no stand was taken as to how this integration should be carried out* On the issue of federal aid to education, the Times is quite positive as to the importance of Congress passing a good federal aid bill. In the editorial, "Kennedy on Education," the Kennedy proposals are summed up, and the editors are in agreement with him all the way down the line. 8 Several editorials concern the importance of federal aid to elementary and secondary education. In "School Aid: A Reminder" the editors say that to aid only higher education is like putting a roof over a house without a a solid foundation. A majority of the editorials are concerned with reporting Congressional progress of a bill supporting educa­ tion.

Washington Post The Washington Post writes its editorials concerning inte­ gration on the subject of the elementary and secondary public schools. It has thirty-eight editorials about public schools, seven concerning higher education, one on busing students, and six of general interest. The paper concerns itself with the re­ porting of events taking place in Prince Edward County, Virginia, and Prince Georges County, Maryland, probably because of the close proximity of those situations.

^New York Times, February 20, 1961, p. 26. ^Ibid., February 1, 1962, p. 30* 124 Ia the editorial, ’’Schools or Not,” the editors state that the county of Prince Edward is an example of a sad waste of human resources. To operate private segregated schools in some areas and not in others is an open denial of equal protection under the laws. Virginia should operate a desegregated system if the county refuses.^ In the editorial, ’’The Enduring Expedients,” the paper states that it should be unconstitutional for Virginia to use public funds directly to support segregated schools and to use public funds to support indirectly others' segregated schools. There is rejoicing because a free school for Negroes is to be opened, since segregated education is better than none.*^ The paper discusses segregation as a result of neighborhood schools in an editorial, ”Race and the Schools,” and says that assignment to school on the basis of residence makes segregated 12 schools to a great degree. When board of education policy is challenged by the NAACP, the editors suggest that prevailing residential patterns should be reflected in schools except where over-crowding makes this impossible. The board of education should permit school children to change out of crowded schools re- gardless of whether parents provide transportation. 13

^Washington Post, April 28, 1961, p. Al8.

i:LIbid., September 19, 1963, P« A20.

12Ibid., January 10, 1 9 6 3 , P« Al8.

■^Ibid., September 12, 1961, p. A12. 3.25 There are several editorials supporting integration of various teachers' organizations in the State of Virginia. The Poet is very positive in its treatment of federal aid to education. It is in agreement with all of the Kennedy pro­ posals. In the editorial, "Foundation for the Future," it sug­ gests that Congress can deal with no greater legislation than that of the bill which embraces all the essential features de- sired by President Kennedy. l*t Several of the editorials deal with the importance of education. In "Education for Survival" the editors state that our very survival depends on our educa­ tion system and that this education must teach the individual how to serve society. 15 In another editorial it is suggested that aid to the public schools is imperative in the national de­ forest. To frustrate it, or even to delay it, as a means of extorting loans of doubtful constitutionality to parochial schools, is an unconscionable form of politics.^

Christian Science Monitor The Christian Science Monitor dealt with the problem of school integration a total of twenty times. Seven editorials concerned public school integration, eight related to higher edu­ cation, and five were of a general nature. Since this newspaper

l4 Ibid., May 27, 1961» P- A12.

1 5 Ibid., July 22, 1961, p. A8 .

l6Ibid., June 27, 1 9 6 1 , p. A12. 126 reflects natienal interests, all ef these editorials were written because of racial events in the South. The paper is generally for integration but is more interested in reporting the facts than interpreting them.

Concerning the topic of federal aid to education, the paper has some pronouncements to make. In the editorial, "Equalizing U. S. Public Education," the editors agree that federal aid is needed to equalize American public education; however, rather than to distribute aid to all states, it should be given to the

poorer ones, those that are 8 0 per cent below the national aver­ age. The poorer states would have to give the same state support to education as the national average would indicate. They urge Congress to modify the bill. 17 Most of the editorials reempha­ size this plan of distributing federal funds.

Chicago Tribune The Chicago Tribune contained six editorials concerning in­ tegration in the elementary and secondary public schools, three on higher education, three on busing students, and six editorials of a general nature. Unlike the other newspapers, the Chicago I Tribune’s main concern is with loca^L problems of school integra­ tion. The editors feel that mass transfer of students from over­ crowded schools to less crowded ones is impossible. Organized efforts are blamed as the reason for Negro distrust of the school

"^Christian Science Monitor. February 21, 1961, p. 16. 127 18 board. In another editorial concerning sit-in demonstrations «* in the president's office at the University of Chicago, the edi­ tors claim the institution is integrated and tolerant and that the young intellectuals do not "think.” 19 The editors are un­ sympathetic with school boycotts and feel it is a strangb way for Negroes to help themselves. In the realm of federal aid to education, the editors are definitely against federal hand-outs. They dismiss the impacted areas aid program as the usual federal financing binge. 2 0 They attack President Kennedy's proposals for federal educational sup­ port because money is not a solution to every educational prob- lem. 21 In the editorial, "Senator Javits Glimpses an Emergency," the Senator is chided for declaring federal aid to education is as urgent as national defense. They feel the NDEA should be suf- 22 ficientj teachers are making more money than ever before. The paper attacks the NEA article on rising school costs. The edi­ tors feel that children will be concentrated in states that are the best able in wealth and in expanding labor force to cope with rising school expenses. This destroys what inadequate excuse there was for redistributing school money through the federal treasury.

l8 Chicago Tribune, January 6 , 1962, p. 12 part 1. ^ Ibid., January 26, 1962, p. 14 part 1.

2 0Ibid.. May 31, 1961, p. 18 part 1. 21 Ibid., February 7, 1962, p. 20 part 1. , 22Ibid., August 5, 1961, p. 10 part 1. 23 Ibid., November 12, 1961, p. 22 part 1. 128 Cleveland Plain Dealer The Cleveland Plain Dealer had six editorials on elementary and secondary public schools, eleven on higher education, one on busing students, and four of a general nature on school integra­ tion. The editors favor school integration on all levels but are primarily concerned with integration problems taking place elsej* where; however they do back a citizens committee on human rela­ tions which is to work with the board of education in designing a program of meaningful school integration. In one editorial they take the stand that they are not in favor of busing students and open enrollment. 24 Concerning federal support of education, the Cleveland Plain Dealer is against it all the way. In the editorial, "Cheers for Rockford," the university is commended for not asking for federal 25 aid to build a new campus.

Wall Street Journal The Wall Street J ournal showed little concern for school integration, having a total of only three editorials written about this subject. In analyzing the Montgomery, Alabama, school inte­ gration crisis, the editors suggest that the Supreme Court*s de­ cision on school integration deals with a collision of cultures,

^Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 27, 19^5, p. 14

25Ibid., June 21, 1961, p. 12. 129 with elemental emotions, instincts, and attitudes which cannot be waved away by court orders or U. S. Marshalls, The progress of equality under the law has been a remarkable achievement of Amer- xca. 2 6 The paper takes a more direct stand on the problem of fed­ eral support of education. The main thesis expressed in these editorials is that federal support brings federal controls. It uses as an example the U. S. Civil Rights Commission's suggestion that federal aid should be withheld where orders of federal courts are not upheld. 27 Another thesis which is expounded is that government aid does not improve the quality of instruction. The quality of instruction has been improved because of a grass- roots' revolt against soft thinking and soft teaching. 28

Boston Globe The Boston Globe had twelve editorials concerning elemen­ tary and secondary public school integration and eleven on higher education. Most of these commented on integration in the South, but there were a few concerning Boston's problems with de facto segregation. The paper supported the issue of federal aid to ed­ ucation in general but was cautious about aid to higher educa­ tion, claiming that federal aid must not lead to authoritarian 29 interference in the realm of higher education.

P/5 — - Wall Street Journal, May 1 9 6 1 , P« 18. ^ Ibid., January 18, 19&1, p,

■ Pf? Ibid., January 31* 19^1, p. 12. ^ B o s t o n Globe. February 13» 19^1, p. 8. 130 San Francisco Chronicle There were seventeen editorials concerning integration of elementary and secondary public schools in the San Francisco Chronicle. Eight editorials related to higher education. Ap­ proximately one-half of the editorials concerned local issues. The editors support integration in the public schools by saying a reasonable number of black and white students should be in each school even if it means transporting them across neighborhood lines. All arbitrary all-black schools should be abolished.^ The paper is generally in favor of the issue of federal aid to education.

Denver Post The Denver Post had three editorials concerning public school integration, eleven on higher education, and one each on transfer of students and general integration. Many of the edi­ torials on higher education concern events taking place in the South, but also refer to the University of Colorado and desegre­ gation of sororities and fraternities. The paper applauds pro­ gress in integration. Federal aid to education is supported wholeheartedly in the Post. The paper feels that the nation needs immense improvements in education, both quantitatively and

qualitatively.^31

^°San Francisco Chronicle. July 23, 1962, p. 40. ^^Denver Post, February 8, 1962, p. 26* CHAPTER VII

THE CRUCIAL ISSUE OP DIRECTION AND DESIGN OF THE CURRICULUM

Education at the present time in the United States is faced with many complexities of a modern era* The crucial issue, di­ rection and design of the curriculum, is the heart of the educa­ tive process* The goals and purposes of education in a demo­ cratic society today are influenced by a myriad of pressures* We are in a period of scientific and technological revolution with increased available knowledge and the concomitant problem of man's limited capacity to know. Rapid population increases with increased enrollments in the schools and rapid change in the character of the society in which we live are placing great responsibilities on those who are responsible for shaping the education of tomorrow* There are basic conflicts between science and the humanities, between quantity and quality* The editorials that treat the whole issue of direction and design of the cur­ riculum have been chosen around the general problem of aims and ends of modern education, schooling for the gifted, schooling for the disadvantaged and the dropouts, the problem of higher stan­ dards, and the problem of remedial education. It seems to the

131 132 writer that one could add other topics to this list that relate to and influence the direction and design of the curriculum; how­

ever, for purposes of simplifying the classification, the edito­ rials that seem to direct their attention to these four Bubcate-

goriee will be examined. There was a total of 219 editorials that clearly focused their attention on this major category. This represented ap­ proximately 8 per cent of the total editorials treating educa­ tion. This crucial issue ranked second in total aumber of edi­ torials as compared to the editorials alluding to the other critical issues.

The Boston Globe had the highest number of editorials dis­

cussing the problem of the direction and design of the curricu­

lum, followed by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Washington Post,

the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, the St. Louis Post-

Dispatch, the Denver Post, the Wall Street Journal, the San Fran­

cisco Chronicle, and the Christian Science Monitor. A breakdown

of the number of editorials relating to this crucial issue appears

in Table 19 on page 133*

Boston Globe

As previously stated, the Boston Globe had the highest num­

ber of editorials directed toward the problem of direction and de­

sign of the curriculum, most of which were related to the sub­

category of aims and ends of modern education. One of the major

problems that the editors saw concerning the general direction 133

TABLE 19 TABULATION OF THE CRUCIAL ISSUE OF DIRECTION AND DESIGN OF THE CURRICULUM AS FOUND IN THE TEN AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS, 1 9 6 1 - 6 3

Newspaper Aims School Disad­ Higher Reme- Total and for van­ Stand- dial Ends Gifted taged ards and Drop­ outs

Boston Globe...... 29 1 3 3 2 38 Chicago Tribune...... 2 2 1 1 3 0 27 Christian Sci. Monitor.. k 0 5 0 0 9 Cleveland Plain Dealer.• 19 0 13 2 0 30 Denver Post...... 9 0 2 5 1 17 New York Times...... 9 0 9 3 0 2 1

San Francisco Chronicle. 1 0 0 3 1 0 Ik St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1 0 0 6 3 0 19 Wall Street Journal.... 9 0 1 7 0 17 Washington Post...... 13 0 7 3 27 TOTAL 219 134 that education was going today is cogently written in the edito­ rial, "Lords of the Slide Rule." Scientifico-technological lords of the slide rule can innocently slide into lords of misrule.

Being superbly trained in their profession does not make them capable of coping with affairs of town, nation, or planet. They are not equipped with knowledge of history, literature, fine arts, religion, philosophy, political science, or even the complexities of human nature. This is the new illiteracy. Its victims may not even be aware that they are such. In a company of literate persons, it is mere good manners to keep the talk from varying too far or too long from science, lest their eyes glaze.^

The editors express a concern for the fact that curriculum change is being influenced unduly by national defense and sci­ ence at the expense of other areas. In an editorial entitled

"Our Lopsided World" this view is expressed. The editors go on to say that a lack of historical perspective is present in to­ day’s language arts curriculum by lamenting the fact that Vanity

Fair is still a class exercise in preparatory schools of high grade, but what about certain public high school curricula where 2 no novel exists previous to Hemingway and Faulkner. In another

related editorial entitled "The Rewards of Excellence" the ed­

itors suggest that educators today are not sure how to attain ex­

cellence in the schools. The previous emphasis on classics and

^Boston Globe, August 5» 19^1, P» 4.

^Ibid., November 3» 19^2, p. 4. 135 history has been replaced. Important current events now replace history and the hero is not emulated. The emphasis is on process instead of purpose. Education is held out as a means to a land of plenty. The withdrawal of the classics and of history as a mythology stimulator has left students without standards for the 3 evaluation of excellence. Little emphasis was placed in the editorials concerning the other subcategories, schooling for the gifted, the disadvantaged and the dropouts, higher standards, and remedial education, as there were only eight editorials relating to these subcategories. The subcategory of the disadvantaged and the dropouts ranks second but relatively low in importance as compared to the subcategory of the aims and ends of modern education. This wub also true in all the other papers studied with the exception of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the New York Times. The Cleveland Plain Dealer, however, had fifteen editorials relating to the aims and ends of modern education and thirteen concerning the disadvantaged and dropouts. The New York Times had an equal number of editorials devoted to the subcategories aids and ends of modern education and the disadvantaged and the dropouts. One might conclude from this that the editors have a major concern for the general direc­ tion and purposes for which education should strive, and that the problem of the disadvantaged and the dropouts, as viewed in 19&1 through 1 9 6 3 * ranked second in importance. It would be interesting

^Ibid., October 22, 19^1, p. 2A. 136 today in 1 9 6 5 to assess editorial comment concerning the relative importance of the problem of the disadvantaged and the dropout. The writer would suspect that the problem of the disadvantaged and the dropout would have a higher ranking since this problem has become increasingly emphasized in the last two years.

Chicago Tribune The Chicago Tribune had a total of twenty-two editorials concerning the aims and ends of modern education with only five editorials concerning the other subcategories. The problem of higher standards ranked second. The paper generally shares a similar view with the Boston Globe in respect to emphasizing the need for basic education stressing the classics and the humani­ ties. The editors feel there is a loss of sharing experience when newer books are substituted for older classics. Literature if iB a unifying experience in society* The paper is quite critical of the educationists and lauds Max Rafferty of California in his efforts to plan general reform in curriculum by championing basic education and criticizing the "education establishment." 5 It is also critical of the child-centered curriculum, and in an edito­ rial agrees with a John Carroll professor who says the National

Council of English is partly to blame for a deemphasis on good literature because of child-centered ideas.^ The paper feels

^Chicago Tribune, March 15, 1962, p. 1 6 part 1.

^Ibid., July 1, 1962, p. 16 part 1. ^Ibid., November 28, 1962, p. 16 part 1. 137 that there has been, an over-emphasis and too much missionary seal for good citizenship* Generally, one can conclude from a summary of the Tribune's views that it is for basic education ia the three R's, strongly oriented toward the humanities, and is gen­ erally critical of progressive education and life adjustment views. It generally indicates a view toward rigor in education.

Cleveland Plain Dealer The Cleveland Plain Dealer had fifteen editorials concern]? ing the aims and ends of modern education and with almost equal emphasis devoted to the problem of the disadvantaged and the dropouts with a total of thirteen. There were only two editori­ als concerning the other subcategories, and these were limited to the issue of higher standards in education. The Cleveland Plain Dealer appears to divide its emphasis about equally between the problem of educating citizens for a technological society and the problem of educating the whole man. 7 The editors cite the con­ cern that too often graduates in physics, law, and science are not truly educated because they do not get the significance of the whole field. A greater emphasis should be directed toward the arts, science and human. In the area of the disadvantaged and the dropouts several editorials are related to the problem of social dynamite in our 8 schools and the problem of the unemployed dropouts.

^Cleveland Plain Dealer. June 4, 19&3* P« I2*-* o Ibid.. November 19* 1961, p. 6b. Washington Post The Washington Post emphasized the crucial issue of aims and ends of modern education, having twice as many editorials al­ luding to this subcategory as the next ranking topic of education for the disadvantaged and the dropouts. Some emphasis was also placed on higher standards. The Washington Post appears to take the view that education should be directed toward meeting the needs of a technological society, as well as meeting the needs for developing the whole man. In an editorial commenting on higher education, the editors state that with the changing em­ phasis on more vocational training, it should not be allowed to replace the university as a place to learn for learning's sake. The editor states that pragmatic ends are not the complete g answer. The paper points out the concern that the federal government, by pouring grants into the applied science field, is pulling others away from pure science, and that the humanities are also suffering as a result of federal funded money.^ The Post had seven editorials directed toward the problem of the disadvantaged and the dropouts and four editorials con­ cerned higher standards. Three dealt with remedial education.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The St. Louis Post-Dispatch directed ten editorials toward the problems of the aims and ends of modern education, a total of

^Washington Post, December 23, 19^1, p. A8.

10Ibid., October 15i 19&3, P» Al6 . six editorials concerning the problem of the disadvantaged and the dropouts, and three were concerned with higher standards in education. There were no editorials relating to the gifted or directed toward remedial education. The editors were generally for basic education as cited in an editorial lamenting the fact that most students graduating from high school and college can not write, spell, or express themselves fluently.'*"*’ They do not draw a sharp line between the humanities and vocational educa­ tion. They appear to emphasize the need for both areas. On the one hand, they editorialize in reporting of a committee for edu­ cation development in which they are critical of vocationalism in colleges, and, on the other hand, emphasize the development of vocational schools so that graduates, both high school and college, can be placed in needed jobs. 12 Several editorials em­ phasized that the paper had faith in school and its ability to openly discuss and critically study controversial issues. The paper is generally against indoctrination as a means of teaching about communism in the classroom. 13 The editors cited a course given in Jacksonville, Florida, which was pure indoctrination against communism without any effort being made to critically analyze competing systems. An examination was given to th&se students attempting to evaluate their understanding of communism.

■^St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 12, 1961, p. 2C.

12Ibid.. June 24, 1963, p. 2C.

^ X b i d . , December 8, 1962, p. 4a . 1*K> One-half of the students flunked the course. They considered this pure propaganda instead of learning. In "For: Political Literacy" the editors feel that free government does not require teachers to brainwash students. Schools should teach democracy lif and communism on their merits. One editorial reports Dr. Barzun's lamenting the fact that liberal arts in hij£her education is dying. There was a total of six editorials concerning the problem of the disadvantaged and the dropouts and three emphasized higher standards in education. In summary one can conclude that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorially places a lot of faith in American education. The editors discuss the problem of the humanities versus the sciences in general, but their major emphasis appears to be concerned with the schools serving as a free institution that examines all issues openly. There were no editorials con­ cerning schooling for the gifted or remedial education.

Denver Post The Denver Post takes cognizance of the fact that there is a need for emphasis in various areas, not just in science. In an editorial entitled "Pitfalls in the Pursuit of Excellence" the ed­ itors emphasize social awareness and also citizenship training.^

■^Ibid., October 6, 1 9 6 3 , p« 21.

^ Ibid., December 15* 1963* P» 20.

^Denver Post, December 18, 1 9 6 1 , p. 22. 3A1 The editors cite in an editorial entitled ’'Any Middle Ground*1 that United States educators worry about the three R's while Russia is currently complaining that the students cannot think for themselves. They generally concede that problems of educa­ tion in the United States today are really manifestations of problems that are derived from society in general. 17 The Denver Post had only two editorials devoted to the disadvantaged and the dropouts, five to higher standards, while one was on remedial ed­ ucation. Mo editorials concerned themselveB with schooling for the gifted.

Wall Street Journal The Wall Street J ournal had a total of nine editorials con­ cerning aims and ends of modern education. None were directed toward the problem of schooling for the gifted; however, six edi­ torials were related to the issue of higher standards in the schools. One editorial alluded to the problem of the disadvan­ taged and the dropouts. There were no editorials concerning re­ medial education. The Wall Street Journal does not approach the problem of science versus the humanities. The editors emphasize strongly the problem of improving basic education. In one editorial they

are critical of the Rational Council of Teachers of English re­ port that 70 P«r cent of the colleges offer remedial English.

17Ibid.. July 9, 1962, p. 2h, 1^2 They feel that high school English teachers should be required to take more composition in college and donclude that there is a need for a renewed philosophy of teaching teachers which would emphasize less about classroom procedure and more about the sub- ject they will impart. l8 The editors display strongly throughout the editorials a fear of federal aid and the related problem of losing local con­ trol. They are for improving standards for education and also are greatly in favor of more courses which include the study of economics.

San Francisco Chronicle The San Francisco Chronicle contained a total of ten edi­ torials concerning the aims and ends of modern education, none relate to education of the gifted, none to remedial, one editorial concerns higher standards, and three generally relate to the problem of the disadvantaged and the dropout. The Chronicle does not confront the problem directly re­ garding the issue of science versus the humanities. Host of the editorials are directed toward specific courses being taught in schools. For example, the editors deplore the problem of economic illiteracy in the field of economics. 19 They are highly critical of Hafferty*s plan for education for California. They consider his views to be one of indoctrination of the school child against

1 Q Wall Street Journal, January 30, 19^1, p. 8. ~^San Francisco Chronicle, March 19, 19^2, p. 3 1^3 communism. The editors also feel that a foreign language should be stressed more in school. This would help communication since communication between nations is very important for world under­ standing. They backed California legislative acts to upgrade schools.

Christian Science Monitor

The Christian Science Monitor has five editorials concern­ ing the disadvantaged and the dropouts and four editorials re­ garding the aims and ends of modern education. No editorials were found relating to the problem of schooling for the gifted, higher standards, or remedial education. The editors touch on

subjects taught in the classroom like driver training, vocational

education, and adult education. The; one major editorial that was directed toward the general function of education in American

society referred to the schools as an effective unifier of the

American melting pot, and this peculiar American phenomena ap­

pears to be decreasing as the need disappears. The paper is a-

gainst the mixing of church and state in support of education. CHAPTER VIII

THE DIVISION AND ANALYSIS OF MUTUALLY RELATED CATEGORIES OF THE REMAINING EDITORIAL OPINION CONCERNING EDUCATION

This part of the study consists of a brief topical survey of the remaining editorials that treat education but which were not generally included and were not considered to be central to the crucial issues of freedom in education, religion and morals in education, equalization of educational opportunity, and direc­ tion and design of the curriculum. A survey of the editorials reveals that a preponderant number can be divided into mutually related categories of higher education, finance, administration, expanding needs and enrollments, curriculum aids, methods, and procedures, teacher working conditions, scholarships, grants, gifts, and foundations, and athletics. Table 20 on page 1^-5 shows that 1 ^ 2 editorials are devoted to these major topics, and the remaining editorials revealed a great variety of topics, few of which could be categorialized and grouped together into mu­ tually related categories. For example, after the category of athletics which was mentioned thirty-three times editorially, discipline which was the next ranked topic was only mentioned

lif*f 3A5 nine times, and all the remaining editorials were mentioned to a

lesser degree*

TABLE 20 BREAKDOWN OF THE MAJORITY OF THE REMAINING MUTUALLY RELATED CATEGORIES FOUND IN THE TEN AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS, I9 6 I-63

Mutually Related Categories Number of Editorials

Higher education...... 682 Finance...... 253 Administration...... 2 3 8 Expanding needs and enrollments...... 8 l Curriculum aids, methods, and procedures...... 70 Teacher working conditions...... k6 Scholarships, gifts, grants, foundations...... 39 Athletics. .... 33 TOTAL l¥f2

It was felt by the writer that a one hundred per cent topical

analysis of the editorials of the ten newspapers included in the

years 19^1 through 19^3 would reveal the degree of attention that

newspapers give to the great variety of activities involved in

education. Therefore, this will be a simple topical quantitative

survey of the remaining editorials not generally included in the

previous treatment of crucial issues. These could be referred to

as editorials treating miscellaneous school activities. 1^6 Higher Education A majority of the editorials treating education were de­ voted to some aspect of higher education. A total of 682 out of lVf2 editorials dealt with this category. One could conclude from this, at least as far as the editors are concerned, that higher education should receive the most attention and that the problems of the other levels of education are not as significant as an editorial subject. Foster found a similar condition ex­ isting in his study of newspapers published in 1938. He felt that perhaps higher education receives greater treatment from editorial writers because most writers are college graduates and are more aware of and in tune with problems of higher education in America.

Finance The mutually related category of finance ranked second within the entire miscellaneous categories in four out of nine newspapers studied, and it ranked third in the remaining six newspapers. In the total newspaper survey school finance had 253 editorials pertaining to it. It is impossible in this cate­ gory to exclude the major issue of federal aid in discussing school finance. All the editorials to a major degree felt the schools were in a financial crisis. The Chicago Tribune emphasizes the need to help private schools more as the state schools continue academic dominance. 1A7

The editors also discuss the problem of the division of state

funds as it relates specifically to the University of Illinois

and Southern Illinois University*^ They also mention the finan­

cial importance of the management of New York City schools.

The Washington Post is strongly for more financial aid to

schools and editorially states that it does not believe in "cut

rate education." The editors also feel that the nation's capital 2 should set an example of progress* Another important element of

school finance that is mentioned by the Washington Post and others

is ability of the local level of government to provide adequate

support for education. They also lament the problem of low

teacher pay and the lag in salaries, especially in the South.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer directs most of its writing

toward the issue of getting more state funds for a state college

in Cleveland and for the need of more donations to private aid

for education. The Denver Post also cites the problem of dis-

equal state aid,^ The editors feel that the state is not sup­

porting the fastest growing school districts enough. College

fund drives are mentioned as well.

The San Francisco Chronicle alludes to the importance of

fund drives and school bond issues. The Boston Globe favors fis­ cal autonomy for schools and more state support for Boston. The

^Chicago Tribune, April 27, 1961, p. 12 part 1. ^Washington Post, August 1, 1962, p. A12. ^Denver Post, April 5, 1963, p. 28. 148 New York Times is against state aid for sectarian education, for fiscal independence for New York City schools, and is generally for more financial aid from all sources to schools* The St. Louis Post-Dispatch cites the problem of political patronage in St. Louis and is editorially in favor of more equitable equali- zation of tax base in St. Louis County. The editors also allude to the importance of passing bond issues and more reliance on wider state support of education rather than continued emphasis on local property taxes.

Administration There was a total of 230 editorials directed to adminis­ trative problems of education. The category of school adminis­ tration ranged on a variety of activities. The New York Times had several editorials concerning a master plan for all higher education in New York. The editors also emphasize a national master plan for higher education. Several editorials touched on the problem of administering the New York City schools, pointing out the problem of the decay of the city schools and the diffi­ culty of administrating the city schools because of their enor­ mous size and lack of fiscal independence from the city. During this three year period the schools in New York City were also looking for a superintendent of schools which brought about some editorial comment.

**St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 8 , 19^1, p. 4a. 1^9

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch was also crusading for reform in school administration in the St. Louis public'schools. Host of the editorial comments relating to reform were directed toward wresting control from the ward politicians. The remaining edi­ torials were general in nature, such as lauding the new school board president and others of similar nature.

The Chicago Tribune suggests the need for a master plan of higher education for the state of Illinois. The editors also felt that a Chicago survey of schools was needed. Other editori- f als ranged from the new chancellor at the University of Chicago to the issue that the state school board should be appointed by the governor instead of being elected.

The Washington Post touched on the general nature of ad­ ministrative duties of city school superintendents. The Cleve­ land Plain Dealer mostly discussed the election of board members and stressed the importance of a non-partisan school board. The

Denver Post had several editorials of a general nature, one touching on administrative problems of the president of the Uni­ versity of Colorado. The San Francisco Chronicle endorses a candidate for state superintendent of instruction in opposition to Max Rafferty. Much of its editorial attention is directed to this issue. The paper also made reference to the California school survey. The Boston Globe stressed the need for a state master plan for state public education. The editors also 150 lamented the problem of provincialism in selecting the Boston school superintendent.

Expanding Needs and Enrollments

There was a total of eighty-one editorials concerning the subject of expanding needs and enrollments. The problem-of ex­ panding needs with increased enrollments in recent years captured the attention of several editorial writers. All of the editorials were directed toward meeting the needs of students in a time of classroom shortages, explosion of population, and national con­ cern for providing adequate education for all.

The Chicago Tribune felt generally that perhaps many school building programs were too ambitious and that we were over-pro­ viding in terms of plush dormitories and other facilities. The editors conceded a need for expanding programs of education but felt that the NEA over-stated its case for federal aid and in describing critical classroom shortage. This topic was discussed in the category of federal aid.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Boston Globe both cited similar problems of shortages of classrooms and the growth of schools and colleges and the need for both local, state, federal, and private aid to meet the growing educational needs. The

Denver Post took a similar view, citing increased enrollments and the need for expansion of Denver University. The Cleveland Plain

Dealer generally felt that expanding enrollments and the popula­ tion growth were presenting challenges to educational institutions. 151 One editorial la directed to the problem of limiting enrollments in college. The Wall Street Journal was skeptical and felt there was an exaggeration of classroom shortage.

Curriculum Aids, Methods, and Procedures There were seventy editorials developing ideas relating to curriculum aids, methods, and procedures. This high ranking pre- I sumably is a reflection on the rapid increase in technology and the importance of providing new innovations in teaching in a period of history in which there is an explosion of knowledge and a limited capacity to learn. Many of these editorials also touched on the problem of teaching materials and the selection of textbooks, as well as some general plans of teaching. The San Francisco Chronicle alluded to the success of edu­ cational television, citing Continental Classroom and a television economics course. The editors singled out the importance of the 5 Bill of Eights having a high priority for teaching. The Cleveland Plain Dealer lamented the problem of teachers and students having a better knowledge of current events and was strongly in favor of a local educational television channel. In an editorial the paper cites the Gallup Poll revealing the high degree of ignorance of college graduates concerning subjects of economics and geography.^

^Saa Francisco Chronicle, October 16, 1 9 6 3 , p. ^Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 27, 19^2, p. 18. -152 The Chicago Tribune laments the problem of communication and English instruction in an editorial dated June 5* 19&3» 7 The Washington Post is concerned with the lack of adequate library facilities in Washington, D.C. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch stresses the importance of having a balanced Bocial studies pro­ gram as an important adjunct to the study of communism. The paper also editorialized concerning the importance of educational television. The New York Times felt that New York City should have an educational television station and that the application of technology should be taught in the classroom. The Christian Science Monitor alluded to the Midwest Airbourne Television pro­ gram, as well as touched on the problem of teaching reading and teaching about communism.

Teacher Working Conditions Teacher working conditions was the subject of discussion in forty-six editorials. It centered on the issue of the rising teacher demands for more pay and the related problem of merit pay, the problem of teacher turnover, and the problem of teacher tenure. All the newspapers were against teacher strikes as a method for improving their working conditions, and they were all generally against teachers becoming unionized. The Denver Post had several editorials emphasizing the con­ cern for low morale in teaching in Colorado. This particular

^Chicago Tribune, June 5» 1963* P» 18 Sec. 1. 3-53 problem was heightened because of current controversies ranging at the University of Colorado with an exodus of college teachers leaving because of alleged pressures, Communist investigations, and other problems.

The Chicago Tribune generally felt that merit pay is impor­ tant, and the paper generally feels that the teachers should be more dedicated and that teachers need to grade their own papers and read more themes. Assistance should be given them in accom­ plishing administrative tasks and similar duties. The editors also back Conant's idea of weeding out the incompetents by using various methods, such as merit pay.

The New York Times, during this particular period studied, was involved in a current threatened strike of New York teachers, so as a result, most of their editorials were directed toward this problem. The editors felt a teachers* strike was illegal and improper.

Scholarships, Grants, Gifts, and Foundations

Thirty-nine editorials were directed toward scholarships, grants, gifts, and foundations. One might conclude from this that the problem of providing adequate funds and facilities for growing educational needs resulted in the related necessity for increasing scholarships, grants, and gifts to individuals and institutions attempting to meet the challenge of education in a

time of increasing demand for education. The Chicago Tribune editorializes om Rhodes Scholars and the National Merit Scholars aad discusses at oae poiat the grow­ ing emphasis of federal grants for university research* The Cleveland Plain Dealer touched on similar topics* In addition the paper lauded the Ford Foundation and the Greater Cleveland Foundation for their worthwhile efforts to improve higher educa­ tion* The San Francisco Chronicle mentioned the Ford Foundation grants, and the Boston Globe lauded the Ford Foundation grants, Carnegie funds, Massachusetts Institute of Technology grants, and the Boston College fund drive.

Athletics Athletics was the subject for thirty-three editorials and will be the last of the eight mutually related categories dis­ cussed separately* Athletics received less attention than the seven other categories buty still is an important topic for edi- i torials. One can conclude in comparison with the ranking of athletics in the Foster study, 1930“1935» that the subject of athletics is received with less prominence in editorial discus­ sion during the period, 1 9 6 1 -1 9 6 3 * The Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Chicago Tribune, and the Denver Post had the majority of edi­ torials concerning athletics. The Cleveland Plain Dealer gener­ ally viewed athletics as being over-emphasized and pointed out the concern for football fatalities* It also felt there were too many college bowl gamesT The Chicago Tribune editorials were general in nature and could not be considered as positive or negative, but simply discussed personalities and athletic records. The Denver Post editorials were related mostly to the University of Colorado's athletic activities, praising their athletic feats. CHAPTER IX

SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS AND FINDINGS

The crucial issue of freedom in education received the least amount of editorial attention among the four crucial issues surveyed. Apparently, editorial writers do not consider the is­ sue of freedom in education to be as significant to American so­ ciety during the years 1 9 6 1 - 6 3 as they do the other three issues. All the newspapers supported to a major degree the concept of academic freedom. The most important issue concerning freedom in education was that of permitting speakers of different political persua­ sions the freedom of speaking on university campuses. Freedom in education with reference to elementary and secondary education was not a subject of a significant amount of editorial comment. Higher education received the spotlight in the category of free­ dom in education. Generally, the newspapers felt that education­ al institutions were the proper place to examine these ideologies and search for truth. The subject of book censorship received the attention of only five editorials. One might conclude from this that the editors do not place this as an important threat,

156 157 or at least as important a threat, to freedom in education as does the issue of academic freedom on campus*

Conformity versus individualism received the scant atten­ tion of seven editorials* An overwhelming number of editorials were concerned with the subject of academic freedom on the cam­ pus. Eighty-two editorials were directed toward the subject of academic freedom on the campus* The combined categories of con­ formity versus individualism, book censorship, and editorials classified as general include only a total of seventeen editori­ als, Nearly all the editorial comments were precipitated by current local controversies in each community served by the press. The editors responded to local conditions; however, one might conclude when taken in mass that these responses to pre­ vailing local conditions do represent a national feeling and con­ cern for reflecting and influencing public opinion.

It is interesting that the Wall Street Journal and the

Christian Science Monitor which generally direct their editorials

to national issues did not consider the problem of academic free­

dom on campus as an important editorial topic* All the papers were against the National Defense Education disclaimer act* The

Chicago Tribune was against banning controversial speakers on the

campus on the grounds that oath taking and all the other restric­

tions were inconsequential anyway aB a means of protecting against

the threat of subversive elements. The crucial issue of religion and morals in education ranks third among the four major issues placed in the categories. The editors of the ten newspapers in the time range from 19^1 to 19^3 were generally in favor of separation of church and Btate. This

category included to some extent editorials alluding to both re­ ligion and morals in education and the issue of equalization of educational opportunity which involved the participation of the

federal government in the support of education.

Of the ten newspapers examined for this category* a ma­

jority of the editorials were found in three newspapers* the

Washington Post* the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Christian

Science Monitor. Therefore the positions taken by these three newspapers dominate the views concerning the issue of religion and morals in education. The papers were generally crusading a-

gainst federal support for parochial school education in their attempt to influence the public concerning the importance of the

separation of church and state. There was a total of seventy-

three editorials concerning this subcategory.

The Bubcategory of the Supreme Court's decision on prayer

in the public schools brought about strong editorial opinion in

favor of keeping prayer out of the public schools. This subcate­

gory had a total of thirty-seven editorials written about it, the

Christian Science Monitor discussing the subject the most number

of times. The editorsr stand is supported by the reason that the 159 issue of prayer tends to be a dividing factor in public schools, especially in a time when cohesion is needed. The Wall Street

Journal was the only dissenter on the subject, saying the Supreme

Court was establishing sectarianism and atheism.

The subcategory of juvenile delinquency was mentioned a total number of fifteen times in the ten newspapers. The Wash­ ington Post and the Cleveland Plain Dealer were the most con­ cerned, having two-thirds of the editorial comment devoted to this subject in the two papers. The Post calls attention to causes of juvenile delinquency, which it says are really deep- seated community problems, and the Plain Dealer blames it on over-crowded conditions and lax discipline. It is the writer's opinion that in the years 1961 through 1963* editors did not feel the problem of juvenile delinquency merited attention of a crusading nature.

The category of religion and morals in education contained a preponderance of editorials concerning elementary and secondary schools. This was the only crucial issue in which higher educa­ tion played a very small role.

In examining the crucial issue of equalization of educa­

tional opportunity, one finds that there were more editorials

classified under this category than any of the other three cru­

cial issues. Nearly one-fourth of the total number of education

editorials fall into this classification. The editorial comment l6o ic divided almost equally between the subcategories of integra­ tion and federal support of education. Since all of the news­ papers used in this study were from other regions of the country besides the South, the majority of editorials written on educa­ tion concerned problems in the South. The Washington Post had a great many editorials concerning Virginia's integration problems; however, one reason for this was the fact that Washington, D.C., is in close proximity to the situation. The newspapers are definitely in favor of equal educational opportunities for all, particularly in the realm of integration of the races. The Chi­ cago Tribune is the least sympathetic with local attempts to gain more integration through sit-ins, and other methods.

The two local issues which were discussed in most of the papers were the transferring of students from one school to another because of over-crowding and the problem of de facto segregation. Of the papers discussing transfer of students, all were not in favor of mass transfers with the exception of the

San Francisco Chronicle which felt all arbitrary all-black schools should be abolished at all cost. There was an almost equal number of editorials concerning elementary and secondary public school integration and integration on the higher education level.

Upon examination of the editorials concerning federal sup­ port of education, one finds that seven newspapers sure in favor 1 6 1 of federal support of one kind or another, while the other three are totally against it. Of those favoring federal support, all are favorably inclined toward President Kennedy's proposals, ex­ cept the Christian Science Monitor. It feels that federal aid should be given to those states that really need it and not to every state in the union. In conclusion, one might say that the issue of equalization of educational opportunity carries with it a great deal of public awareness and concern for the problem of integration of public schools and a similar concern for the problem of federal aid to education with the purpose of providing more comprehensive educa­ tional programs for all citizens. The crucial issue of direction and design of the curriculum ranked second in total number of editorials. Only the issue of equalization of educational opportunity received more editorial comment. This category contained a total of 2J&9 editorials which represented a total of eight per cent of the total editorial men­ tion in this study. The majority of editorials classified in this category are concerned with aims and ends of modern education. The basic con­ flicts as seen here are between science and the humanities, quan­ tity and quality, and basic education and vocational education. The Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, and the Wall Street Journal, as well as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, all emphasize 162 the importance of a basic education which stresses the three R's, the classics aad the humanities. The Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Washington Post, and the Denver Post divide their attention al­ most equally between education for a technological society and education of the whole man. The San Francisco Chronicle and the Christian Science Monitor do not confront these problems directly but concern themselves with specific subjects which they feel need to be stressed in schools. It is interesting to note the complete lack of interest in schooling for the gifted as shown by the ten newspapers. For several years after the advent of Sputnik, great emphasis was placed on this subject. In the period of time, 1961 through

1 9 6 3 , one finds only two editorials classified under this sub­ category, while education for the disadvantaged and the dropouts was discussed forty times. Perhaps one reason for this is that generally the public feels that the problem of educating the gifted is being met. The editors may also feel that the problem of educating the disadvantaged and the dropouts is one of para­ mount importance at the present time. It is also possible that many of these editors feel that the concern should lie in educa­ tion providing higher standards for the majority of school pupils. The editors did not concern themselves to any marked degree with the problem of remedial education. Many of the editorials that treated a variety of aspects of education in America were primarily reporting the status of af­ fairs rather than trying to direct or influence change in educa­ tion. All the editorials stressed the value and importance of education in general and thought it was a sound investment in the future of America to emphasize and improve education. The press recognizes and takes for granted in this period of history that an educated citizenry is a desirable and necessary end of a demo­ cratic society attempting to improve the quality of life. No ed­ itorials suggested that perhaps Americans were being over­ saturated with education. The editors demonstrate a high degree of social responsi­ bility in terms of attempting to reflect and influence public o- pinion which is relevant to the needs and aspirations of this period of history as seen in rapid population growth, expanding enrollments, increasing financial need, explosion of knowledge in a technological era. The editorials reflect local concerns for passing bond issues and meeting needs on the local level. They are sensitive to the national threat of communism. They are de­ fenders of university freedom. They direct their attention mostly toward higher education. As indicated under the mutually related categories, there were 6 8 2 editorials directed towards higher education, 2 5 3 o* finance, 2 3 8 on administration, and 8l on expanding needs and enrollments. These were the top four of the mutually related categories out of the eight mutually related 1.6k groupings. The other four iacluded curriculum aide, methods, aad procedures with seveaty editorials, teacher workiag coaditioas with forty-six, scholarships, gifts, graats, aad fouadatioas with thirty-aiae, aad athletics with thirty-three, editorials* BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books Becker, Carl. Progress and Power. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 19^9 . Berelaon, Bernard. Content Analysis in Communication Research. Glencoe, Illlnola: The Free Preae, 1952* Bird, George L., and Merwln, Frederic E., (ed.) The Newspaper and Society. New York: Prentlce-Hall, Inc•, 19^2* Clark, Wesley C. (ed.) Journalism Tomorrow. Syracuse: Syra- cuse University Press, 1958* The Commission on Freedom of the Press. A Free and Responsible Press. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 19^7* Davis, Elmer. But We Were Born Free. New York: Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1952. Drewry, John E. (ed.) Journallam Enters a New Half Century. Athena; The University of Georgia Press, 1951* Emery, Edwin. The Press and America. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentlce-Hall, Inc., 1 9 6 2 . Foster, Charles R., Jr. Editorial Treatment of Education in the American Press. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1938. Hook, Sidney. Paradoxes of Freedom. Berkeley: University of California Press, 19&2. Jahoda, Marie, Deutseh, Morton, and Cook, Stuart W. (ed.) Re­ search Methods in Social Relations. Part Two: Selected Techniques. New York: The Dryden Press, 1951* Johnson, Gerald W. Peril and Promise. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958. 1^5 1$S Mott, Frank Luther. American Journalism. New Tork: The Mac­ millan Company, 1962. . Salmon, Lucy Maynard. The Newspaper and the Historian. New Yorks Oxford University Frees, 1923* Siebert, Fred S., Peterson, Theodore, Schramm, Wilbur. Four Theories of the Press. Urbanas University of Illinois Pressy 1 9 6 3 • Silverman, Alvin. The American Newspaper. Washington, D.C.: Robert B. Luce, Inc., 1964. Tebbel, John. The Compact History of the American Newspaper. New Yorks Hawthorne Books, Inc., 19&3* Waldrop, A. Gayle. Editor and Editorial Writer. New Yorks Rinehart & Company, Inc., 19^-8.

Articles and Periodicals Colburn, John H. nThe Responsibility of the Press,n Theory into Practice, III, No. 4 (October, 1964), pp. 121-25.