'Teacher Must Know His Culture,' Spindler States in Burton Talk

"The American teacher should come to an understanding of his personal culture so that he does not close off other channels of American culture to his students," George D. Spindler, associate professor of Education and Anthropology at Stanford University, said last night.

He was speaking on "The Transmission of American Culture" in the third annual Burton Lecture on Elementary Education.

Young teachers, Spindler said, come from middle class homes, and tend to hold "traditional" values. They accent absolute moral standards and the sanctity of the individual. The "educational subculture" of schools of education, by contrast, stresses social adjustment, Spindler stated.

Spindler described the "cultural shock" of the "traditionalist" education student as he faced the threat of these new values, and outlined some possible results. The teacher may overcompensate either by taking refuge in his own values, or by accepting the new system unquestioningly.