Conant, Eisenhower, 18 Educators Urge Ban on Communist Teachers

Twenty leading American educators, including President Conant and General Dwight D. Eisenhower, yesterday stated that Communist Party members "should not be employed as teachers."

The group's unanimous statement, which referred both to colleges and secondary schools, explained, "Such membership, in the opinion of the Educational Policies Commission, involves adherence to doctrines and discipline completely inconsistent with the principles of academic freedom on which American education depends.

Surrender of Intellectual Integrity

"Such membership, and the accompanying surrender of intellectual integrity, render an individual unfit to discharge the duties of a teacher in this country."

The Educational Policies Commission was appointed by the National Education association and the American Association of School Administrators. Its position on Communist teachers was part of a 54-page statement on "American Education and International Tensions," released yesterday in Washington.

In an interview for the CRIMSON last night, the University News Office reported:

"President Conant stated that he had concurred completely in the "Report on American Education and International Tensions," and urged that the report be read in its entirety.

"From his own point of view, he said, one of the most important features of the report was this passage:

Most Important Passage

"We condemn the careless, incorrect, and unjust use of such words as "Red" and "Communist" to attack teachers and other persons who in point of fact are not Communists, but who merely have views different from those of their accusers. The whole spirit of free American education will be subverted unless teachers are free to think for them selves."

"President conant further pointed out that this report dealt with judgments as to sound policy and did not attempt to discuss legal and precedural aspects of the appointment and possible dismissal of teachers in schools and colleges."

The Commission's report said further, "it is because member of the Communist Party are required to surrender this right the right to think for themselves as a consequence of be coming part of a movement characterized by conspiracy and calculated deceit, that they should be excluded from employment as teachers."

Effect on Harvard Unclear

It was not clear last night what effect if any. President Conant's participation in the report would have on Harvard policy.

However, the fact the statement did cover colleges, as well as secondary schools, was made clear yesterday by a spokesman for the NEA office in Washington. The spokesman said the policy would apply to all educational institutions.

William G. Carr, secretary of the Commission, told the CRIMSON that the report was meant more for educators across the nation than as advice to the two sponsoring bodies. Both the NEA and the AASA form their own policies, Carr said.

The entire report was divided into three sections. The first part "described the outlook for the second half of the twentieth century as a period marked by two paradoxes: 1) The world is both united and divided...2) The...coexistence of fear and hope" in the world.

Task of American Education

"The lag between social change and technological improvement."

"The need for international cooperation and peace." Education must equip students to choose "methods for dealing with specific international problems in such a way as to make peace most likely to prevail."

"The totalitarian threat." while this "threat" continues, the commission suggested "four main lines of strategy for American education":

1. "Young citizens should have an opportunity to learn about the principles and practices of totalitarianism, including those represented by the Soviet Union and the Communist Party in the U.S."

2. "Teaching about communism or any other form of dictatorship does not mean advocacy of those doctrines. Such advocacy should not be permitted in American schools."

3. "The schools should continue with vigor their programs for giving young citizens a clear understanding of the principles of the American way of life. . . ."

No Communist Teachers

4. "Members of the Communist Party of the U.S. should not be employed as teachers."

The third part outlined "channels . . . for securing action on the recommended educational Program."

The Commission's stand against Communist teachers contravenes the position of the Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure of the American Association of University Professors. Last year the A.A.U.P. Committee stated, "(A) teacher should be dismissed because of his acts of disloyalty or because of professional unfitness, and not because he is a Communist.

"So long as the Communist Party in the U. S. is a legal political party, affiliation with that Party in and of itself should not be regarded as a justifiable reason for exclusion from the academic profession.