DOCUMENT RESUME ED 451 302 UD 034 083 TITLE The PTA Story: A Century of Commitment to Children. INSTITUTION National PTA, Chicago, IL. ISBN ISBN-0-88109-001-8 PUB DATE 1997-00-00 NOTE 185p. AVAILABLE FROM National PTA Orders, Dept. 1927, 135 LaSalle St., Chicago, IL 60674-1927 ($34.95). Tel: 800-307-4782 (Toll free); Fax: 312-670-0240; Web site: http://www.pta.org/pubs/bkorder.htm. PUB TYPE Books (010) Historical Materials (060) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Advocacy; Blacks; *Child Health; Child Safety; Educational History; Elementary Secondary Education; Females; Juvenile Justice; Mass Media; Parent Participation IDENTIFIERS National Congress of Parents and Teachers; *Parent Teacher Association ABSTRACT This book recounts the historical achievements of the National PTA and its sister organization, the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers. The PTA is the result of the hard work of such women as Phoebe Apperson Hearst and Alice McLellan Birney, founders of the original National Congress of Mothers, and Selma Sloan Butler, who, with the support of the National PTA, founded the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers. When the two organizations merged in 1970, so did their identical mission to improve children's lives. The book profiles these women's work on such issues as juvenile justice, kindergarten classes, child labor laws, hot lunch programs, car safety, the Salk polio vaccine, today's National Education Goals, and the PTA Web site. The book includes: "The Historical Setting"; "The Founding"; "The Early Years, 1900-1909: Schooling Parents"; "1910-1919: For the Health and Safety of Children"; "1920-1929: Be It Resolved"; "1930-1939: The Voice of the PTA--90 Years in Print"; "1940-1949: PTA On the Air"; "1950-1959: Monitoring the Media and the Message"; "1960-1969: Bringing Justice to Juveniles"; "1970-1979: Advocates in Action"; "1980-1989: The Reflections Program"; and "1990-1997: Celebrating a Century of Commitment to Children." (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ....-- .''Vn 1-..1411- .';,'"`- 1';/./11". pli, 7 ...,, 7, '/". r1 ",,,,,e2. l;,' ,A 1- - 1 . i ,-;7'.-a 0.. ! ,. <.:1 44..?0-1-4,1,-:', ,,_,. (, // p, ,4 44b,(0144, -G$/4 4 i 4" /,,,,,'/4 Pi4-".,i/;"---?--/-''-' 2,'-? i ';,,,./.,fi,,,,,1!,,,v) ,;(1*-,fi'w''').,....': /..(,,A-- :./-7'46 ....--- '4 ,;./er. 1.%1' '-,. '''/. 4--' .- vA 71'''1' .,- -. c;, 1, (1/E ' 1."4ct-e':, ,......-e... ,"'"",14704 4. / ...,/ 4244- ..- ' r 1 -- '`....--' b.-."41 ,..- '1,.. (AA, ',-,.,- "I,' -...- , a-11'°t....1.4 i 1. v .1,=,i''. /1,..,-,'"- i-' ..-r ,..., / /9fi t re 4 . U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 1, Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) ,:-...r..,,, ®l !( This document has been reproduced as .... /!...4..'. C., .. rr'-..,) "xt 1:t\NV received from the person or organization originating it Minor changes have been made to :,!,,... ,, . :31100!r if,!.),... :,,,e...! //....?. improve reproduction quality. .Y.,.,./.....',.,/,4. a-.. 4. ,.. ,.....", : . /, , ....,... Points of view or opinions stated in this Second Rational Congress of mothers, "' document do not necessarily represent L. official OERI position or policy. , 7. r: 7i) OH:len, 4 , tt../.., /II, . ., PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS \e'r` BEEN GRANTED BY frbr1! 1". Vic Car 41iy Obvi-ion a i___PTA TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 2 $34.95/U.S. now, just the PTAByname itself has become so universal that virtually every adult American knows it. --le, As with the greatest brand names, its familiarity bespeaks both its ire* broad reach and its sterling repu- tation. The PTA idea has become 0,7,4 woven into the basic fabric of our local communities, and as such r. has become a major thread in the broad weave of American life over this past century. Now in celebration of its 100th anniver- sary, the National PTA's history has been set down in The PTA StoryA Century of Commitment to Children. This recounting of its achievements reveals the National PTA along with its sister organiza- tion, the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers, as one of the most significant volun- teer forces in this country's history. That the PTA managed to achieve this prominence was no happy accident of chance. The organization came into being as a result of the hard work and far- reaching influence of some of the most accomplished women of the day. Phoebe Apperson Hearst and Alice McLellan Birney, the founders of the asso- ciation originally christened the National Congress of Mothers, were women of high social pro- minence and significant means. They had no reason to believe they could not accomplish great things, and their ambitions for the new association were unbounded. Mrs. Bimey made that clear when she wrote in 1898, "The National Congress r3 The DT,y1 Story 08':17'1 ./1,, / / 7 // , / t ' .4s7 PROGRAM .0' tin Sixth National Congress of Mothers It,0,1 1 .4..41;;"-r UPI 11 1.1 1i y,rt,and t 113 67a I _ 0 entu o .4" t fy o itent . to itren ational PT " tt. Copyright 1997 by the National PTA®. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the National PTA. Inquiries should be addressed to the Publications Department, National PTA, 330 N. Wabash Ave., Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60611-3690. Editorial Director: Lois Jean White, National PTA president, 1997-1999 Editorial Advisor: Joan M. Dykstra, National PTA president, 1995-1997 Historical Consultants: Manya S. Ungar, National PTA president, 1987-1989, and Kathryn Whitfill, National PTA president, 1993-1995 Project Manager: Jacqueline J. McCarthy Project Editor: Susan E. Herzog Contributing Writers: Robert A. Bassi, Susan E. Herzog, Joan Kuersten, Jacqueline J. McCarthy, Robert R. Morris, Douglas Seibold, and Patricia Yoxall Project Research: Robert A. Bassi, Susan E. Herzog, and Robert R. Morris Photo Research: Joan Kuersten and Laura Martinelli Design: Laura Martinelli, Jacqueline J. McCarthy, and Sueann Hoppock Production Assistance: The Donning Company/Publishers, Virginia Beach, VA Publishing Consultant: Thomas Friedlund Printer: Walsworth® Publishing Company, Inc., Marceline, MO The photos on page 7 are courtesy of the Hearst Castle/Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument; all other photos not credited in the text of the book are from the National PTA archives. Library of Congress CIP Data available. Printed in the United States of America ISBN 0-88109-001-8 7 BEST COPY AVAILABLE ACKNOWLEDGMENT The National PTA wishes to thank Manya Ungar, National PTA president 1987-1989, and Kathryn Whitfill, National PTA president 1993-1995, for the dedication they brought to their task of reviewing drafts of this anniversary book. This project benefited immeasurably from their knowledge, experience, love of history, and abiding respect for the association. 1 ..4114-4 s«. N ri Pr- ;,"-," 9 CONTENTS Prologue 1 The Historical Setting 3 The Founding 9 The Early Years 15 1900-1909 19 Schooling Parents 28 1910-1919 31 For the Health and Safety of Children 40 1920-1929 45 Be It Resolved 57 1930-1939 59 The Voice of the PTA-90 Years in Print 68 1940-1949 71 PTA On the Air 82 1950-1959 85 Monitoring the Media and the Message 96 1960-1969 101 Bringing Justice to Juveniles 110 1970-1979 115 Advocates in Action 126 1980-1989 131 The Reflections Program 143 1990-1997 147 Celebrating a Century of Commitment to Children 162 Epilogue 169 103 1A ot. 114 1, Prologue Alice McLellan White Birney dabbed her forehead. But it was more than the stuffy heat and humidity of Chautauqua, New York, that made the mid-summer of 1895 unbearable. She was homesick for her family. Her husband Theodore had gone on a fishing trip with his brothers. Her daughters were now in the care of their grandmother. Although the 36-year-old Alice Birney was alone, her longing for her family was tempered by the knowledge that it had been her choice to take this summer journey by herselfa bold step for any woman in the 1890s. But taking bold steps was definitely not out of character for Mrs. Birney. For this avid reader and thoughtful intellectual, traveling to Chautauqua, the nation's first adult education center, was no lark. There in upstate New York she hoped to learn about how the Chautauqua experience functioned. The topic of study was the burgeoning Kindergarten movement for early childhood education, pioneered in the nation by Marguerite Schurz in her one-room school in central Wisconsin. At Chautauqua, Mrs. Birney met others who shared her passion for ideas and the drive to put those ideas into action to help others. In her mind, no one needed help more than the children. She came home from that summer experience brimming with an idea that was not only des- tined to improve the lives of millions of the nation's children, but also alter policies and the out- look of parents, the public, and the government. Today Alice Birney's dream is still alivea dream called the National PTA. Here is its story...of a century of commitment to children. 1 The Historical Setting History books may have labeled the 1890s as "the gilded decade," but the gold veneer could not mask conditions that caused thoughtful mothers like Alice Birney great concern. For millions of children, formal education rarely went beyond the 5th grade. Prepubescent immigrant children often worked unthinkable hours in dimly lighted Dickensian hellholes. Mixing children and industrial machinery was a recipe for disaster. Their childhood and sometimes their limbs or very lives were held hostage to economic necessity. Those who benefited most from a booming economy saw nothing wrong with importing entire immigrant familieschildren and adultsto work in the factories that fueled the surging U.S.