mocracy has is that it releases the full potential of each individual. Our characteristics, as people living in a democracy, show that we strive hard to do this not only because we have the opportunity, but because it is our obligation to ourselves, our God, and our country.

The key to this democracy we possess is our faith in the dignity and the worth of each human life, and our determination that in every phase of our society we shall build from the bottom up, and not from the top down. The only true happiness is that which the individual creates for himself-and values-because it is his own. To fulfill his own ambitions and to satisfy the needs which are his own expressionthat is the goal of each human being. And this can be accomplished only under democracy.

It was once said that there is a destiny that makes us brothers, and none shall go his

way alone. For that which we send into the lives of others comes back-into our own. Democracy is our destiny-sending to each one of us, and our coming generation, a free sense of being that brings with it security and a knowledge that each and every man is equal.

This destiny-democracy-has given us a rich inheritance. Our forefathers fought for it. And through them-and democracy-we have been given the richness of the earth and its resources-personal freedom, equality, justice.

Working as a democracy, our Union of States, and nation of people, can work together to create and to achieve to make this democracy stronger, constant, and ever enduring. May God will it so.

Avron Joseph Maletzky
age 16

Nott Terrace High School
SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK

I speak for democracy-a force that means life, liberty, and freedom for millions

of human beings-a force that elevates the dignity of man toward the divine-but a force that defies definition.

Scores of interpretations do not embrace the meaning of democracy, and none of us know where to find the words to express our belief in it. Perhaps the fact that we have not yet achieved democracy is the key to the whole situation, for true democracy is a quality toward which one strives, rather than a concrete object which one encloses in a glass case. Then how is it possible to defend something that is as basic as the world we live in, but must be thought of as a goal never quite attained?

It was not until we faced the possibility of its loss that we began to visualize the meaning of this precious inheritance. It was not until we saw other democratic countries filled with people, not unlike ourselves, submerged and conquered, that we began to appreciate democracy as both a moral ideal and an historical institution.

The theme of democracy goes back much farther historically than the great documents of the American, French, and English revolutions. The idea goes back to the Hebrews with their theories of divine justice; to the early Christians with their ideal of brotherhood; to the Romans with their stress on equality and justice. Those who feel that democracy is young, and thus is an unstable force, forget what a long history it has, and how deeply it is imbedded in the culture of nations.

Today, we are beginning to think of democracy not as a political institution, but as a moral ideal, and a way of living together. The early Christians had an appropriate saying "We are all," as they put it, "members of one another." We must, if our democracy is to succeed, believe as they did. We must realize that no one can stand alone. True, society recognizes a person as an individual with his individual liberties and freedoms, but only if the person recognizes society as a brotherhood of individuals. To be part of a democracy, one must fight the natural tendency to demand equality and freedom for oneself, and not for others.

Of course, there are those who say that because it opposes, or conflicts with, man's natural desire for personal gain, democracy will defeat itself. But democracy has its own peculiar strength. This strength lies in the fact that democracy tends to bring men together into agreement-it satisfies and reconciles all involved. Its strength thus

lies in the justice, humanity, and loyalty which are evolved from this agreement between men.

To be sure, as long as democracy exists, there will always be a mild state of confusion and conflict. But what are these conflicts? Conflicts are the instruments of change and progress they are the propelling force behind democracy.

For democracy there is always a future, and a bright one, too. Its potentialities have never been fully realized, and it would take a person gifted with a fertile imagination to think of all the many possibilities that democracy has in store for a nation of the twenty-first century.

As the well-known philosopher, Irwin Edman, has written: "It is by the fire of this dream (democracy), that the future is lighted, rather than by the flames of destruction that now, as often in the past, have violated but never for very long-the faith in the human dignity of each man in a society of brotherhood and freedom."

Democracy is a powerful force. It represents a gigantic struggle toward some unattainable goal. But even if this struggle never succeeds entirely, out of it can come the courage and the faith that will maintain democracy as a dynamic force for eternity.

Catherine Esther Styles, age 18

Southwest High School

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA

I am not an American. My people are not American. And yet I, too, speak for democracy.

Not much over a hundred years ago, the race that founded America began to found another nation. Surrounded by the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, a new land had been discovered. The brown-skinned people who already lived there called it "Aotearoa," "the land of the long white cloud." Today we call it New Zealand. It is a young country, a virile and growing country. It is a

country of sea and sunshine, of snow on the mountains, of trout lakes and primitive fern forest; of weird pools where the boiling mud leaps and bubbles, cracks in the rock where the steam comes white from the insides of the earth.

The people who live there are a people who love freedom.

The people who live there are my people, and when I speak for democracy, I speak for them.

I have seen something of America.

I have watched the crowds in the streets at night, seeing the advertisement signs flashing on the saw-edge of the horizon saying: "Buy my product; no, buy mine; mine is finer yet." I have seen, I have seen, back home in the early morning, the man with his horse and his dogs, driving sheep. I remember the jostle and pattering rush of the delicate forefeet, and the clean smell of the bracken, and the sharp barking of the dogs. I remember this, and I know that those crowds with their faces colored by the glow of the advertisements, and that man out early with his flock, although they are seven thousand miles apart, are people, with the same ideals and beliefs, the same love of individual freedom. And I am glad that

it was no single nation I was believing in, but the truth of free people everywhere. And I know that the most wonderful thing in the world is the freedom of the individual-in my country, in your country, and in every country.

Not as an American, not as a New Zealander, but as a free citizen of the world in which I have faith, I am speaking to you now. I am not remembering that you are American and I am British. I am not remembering that our voices are different, and our manners, and the cut of our clothes. I only remember that, together, we believe in the individual freedom and right.

I only remember that, together, we speak for democracy.

Oskaloosa High School OSKALOOSA, IOWA

The torment and anguish which my fathers endured for me, left it's permanent mark on my history. Guns roared, armies battled, and fires raged through my land, taking an immense toll of blood and human life.

But I lived, experiencing myself and bringing to my people a richer and fuller life! For, from out of the blood which my fathers shed for me, emerged the greatest document ever conceived in the mind of man--the Constitution--which gave substance to the ringing declaration . . . "that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

My horizons widened. Countless people, imbued with the ideals of freedom, braved the wilderness, fought the Indians, endured hardships and death, and all for the sake of medemocracy.

However, there continued to be threats to my security. My history has been blackened by a succession of wars. From the struggle for the emancipation of slaves and the preservation of my union, to the "bloodbath" of World War I. I emerged triumphant from all these trials, but my peo

that fate had laid in their hands. They looked to idealistic remedies to guarantee peace to man forever.

And I know that this is the ideal of

You people of America do not stand alone. Democracy extends further than America. Two thousand years ago the Christian doctrine proclaimed the equality of man. Belief in the equality of man means acceptance of all races, all creeds. Belief in democracy means belief in the equality of man. It means respecting the individuality of every human being.

At home, in the summer evenings, near the time of Christmas, I would sit on the low verandah steps, and hear the baby owls calling in the darkness, and the cows cough. ing and stamping in the paddock, and see the white bobs of the rabbits scuttle in the half-light. And by the gate I would hear the voices of a couple murmuring together, the young man and woman. And I would think this is good; this is good, this life, this land, this people. All this is good; the best that ever was.

I still believe it is good, but I know now

My name is democracy! I am the beacon of hope in a troubled world. I can be found in an abandoned foxhole in Korea; in the Senate of the United States, and at a meeting of the PTA. I am present when you spend a quiet evening at home with your family, and when you go to church on Sunday. Yes, I can even be found in the broken spirit of a Russian peasant as he goes about his menial tasks under the surveillance of his government.

I cannot tell you my exact age, for no one knows just when I was born. First, I was an attitude in the minds, a gleam in the eyes, a hope in the hearts of men who sought a new way of life, free from the oppression of a tyrannical ruler, by "divine right.” These men were my fathers.

These men brought me, when I was still but an idea, with them to found a new land. The land was called America. It is my land-the land of democracy. It was here that my life began. America and I grew up together.

My fathers loved me. They developed me, nursed me, and even fought a war that I might live and continue to grow.

The result was the rise of Hitlerism, and ultimately, World War II. Now it is communism, and the cold war.

But I have learned through bitter experience. I have grown from my infancy, to take my rightful place as leader of a troubled world. I have seen and assumed my duties. May I remind you of a few of my accomplishments? The Marshall plan, food trains, the Point 4 program, the Berlin air-lift, and military aid to Greece.

I have grown-until now I am adult. But I shall never become aged as long as my people continue to value the principles for which I stand. As I was the child of my fathers, so am I now the father of my own children. As the minds of men gave birth to a great idea, so has this idea given birth to certain of my principles.

Election of public officials by all the people is one of these principles. Others are our public school system, the four freedoms, representative taxation, racial equalitycountless proofs of my greatness.

This has been my past. But what about (Continued on page 108)

URING 1954, regular legislative sessions

D were held in La Sarle, what the same

number convened special sessions. This period was highly significant in educational legislation. More than 300 bills were enacted into law. Louisiana surpassed all other States by enacting 91 laws.

Particularly notable were laws enacted by the various States providing for increased State funds for expanding public education programs. Equally important were provisions for higher minimum salaries for teachers and broader retention, retirement, and welfare provisions for all employees.

This brief résumé, arranged alphabetically by States, includes those States enacting educational laws which are likely to have major effects on State programs of education or which might provide clues as to possible future trends.

Arizona.-PROVIDES DISTRICT REORGANIZATION. Appropriated additional State aid of $20 per pupil in ADA and funds for pensions to teachers who retired before becoming eligible for social security benefits; established a 5-member board of education in school districts having a minimum of 1,800 population; prescribed qualifications for voters in school elections; appropriated funds for a homebound teaching program; prescribed improved administrative and budgetary forms; placed motor vehicle tax in the county school fund; and provided a new district reorganization law.

California. CONTINUES SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION. Modified procedure for school district reorganization. Provided an additional $100 million bond issue to extend capital outlay for school construction during next biennium and after present funds become exhausted. Guaranteed equal benefits to members of the teacher retirement

*A part of this information, edited by Fred F. Beach and Arch K. Steiner, was published in the January 1955 issue of The School Executive.

system, that is, members retired at 60 for disability and those retired for service. Authorized transportation of certain junior college students and a study to be made of capital outlay needs for California State colleges.

Colorado. INCREASES STATE AID. Authorized high school districts to levy not more than 8 mills on the dollar of all taxable property for taxes levied for the years 1954 through 1958, and not to exceed 5 mills after 1958; appropriated $11,500,000 increase in State aid for schools; and provided $100 per month pensions for certain retired personnel at State institutions of higher learning.

Kentucky. ESTABLISHES A FOUNDATION PROGRAM. Provided a foundation program based on per capita and equalization funds, including per classroom unit ranging from $1,500 to $3,500 for salaries of teachers, $600 for other current expenses, $400 for capital outlay, and $1,600 for transportation. Increased the common school fund by $3 million and the minimum annual retirement for teachers from $480 to $630; and established a medical scholarship fund.

Louisiana.-ENLARGES FACILITIES AND BENEFITS. Provided a salary schedule for teachers' minimum salaries ranging from $1,600 to $4,800. Provided retirement benefits for teachers, bus drivers, and cafeteria personnel; old age assistance for teachers 60 years of age if they are not eligi ble for retirement benefits; group employee insurance; sick leave for bus drivers; and tenure for teachers at teachers colleges.

Appropriated $150,000 for the establishment and maintenance of an educational television station, $1,300,000 for additional construction at 10 State educational institutions, and $359,400 annually to members of the legislature and the governor for State college scholarships. Authorized State re

imbursement for surveys and studies on school district reorganization, and permitted school boards to grant 1 year's leave of absence without pay to employees. Prohibited employment of subversive persons. Provided that under police power of the State all public elementary and high schools shall be operated separately for white and Negro children and that all lands deeded to administrative boards for educational purposes become public property after 10 years.

Approved over 30 other laws pertaining to higher education appropriations; sale of bonds, taxation, transportation, and clinics and special education of handicapped children.

Maryland.-ACCEPTS WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION FOR EMPLOYEES. Provided a salary schedule for local superintendents. ranging from $8,000 to $10,000 and supplemental payments to retired teachers receiving less than $900 per year. Placed all employees under Workmen's Compensation Act; and required Legislative Council to study the possibility of formulating uniform safety regulations.

Massachusetts. - ESTABLISHES FISCAL SURVEY COMMISSION. Established a fiscal survey commission to study major education problems and special commissions to study retirement, educational television, teachers college needs, and child delinquency and rehabilitation. Provided for further State regulation for private and proprietary schools and for tenure for teachers of State teachers colleges. Established in the State Department of Education a special division to supervise education of retarded children. Authorized State reimbursement for surveys and studies on school district reorganization, transportation of children with cerebral palsy, employment of athletic coaches on a 3-year basis, automobile driver instructions for people under

25 years of age, and funds for additional construction at four teachers colleges.

Michigan.-PROVIDES PENSION FOR EMPLOYEES. Authorized school boards to appeal local decisions concerning school district valuation to the State Tax Commission. Provided increases in State aid and a minimum pension for public-school employees. Broadened coverage of the teacher retirement system; and appropriated funds for a State tenure commission.

Mississippi.-EXPANDS FACILITIES AND ACTIVITIES. Provided a salary schedule for teachers' minimum salaries ranging from $700 to $2,600. Appropriated $2,218,092 for constructing and equipping a 4-year medical school as a part of the University of Mississippi, $100,000 for constructing and equipping a petroleum production laboratory at Mississippi State College, $12,000 additional for providing public school instruction for children hospitalized for or thopedic care, increased funds for higher education, and additional $200 per teacher unit for supplementing superintendents' and principals' salaries. Standardized transportation facilities for white and Negro pupils and appropriated additional State aid for transportation.

Provided a 20-percent increase in teacher retirement benefits, and established a scholarship fund for students of nursing.

Abolished all school districts and directed authorities concerned to complete a statewide school district reorganization by July 1, 1957. The legislature proposed, and the voters approved, a constitutional amendment to "abolish public schools, to sell and dispose of school buildings and property, make appropriations of public

funds, and do such other acts deemed necessary to aid educable children of the State to secure an education."

Nebraska.-REORGANIZES TAX STRUC

TURE.

Provided that a State tax commission replace the present board of equalization and that taxes be spent for the purpose for which collected. Granted permission for appointment of county assessors and boards of equalization.

Nevada. - ESTABLISHES EDUCATIONAL SURVEY. Amended State apportionment law so as to base State aid on current A. D. A. instead of that for the previous year; appropriated $30,000 for a State educational survey to be made by the Citizens Committee appointed by the Governor, a report of which is to be made to the 1955

legislature. Appropriated additional funds to meet obligations and retired a previously authorized high school bond issue.

New Jersey.-INCREASES TEACHERS' SALARIES. Established a salary schedule for teachers' minimum salaries ranging from $3,000 to $5,400 and authorized a minimum of 10 days sick leave per year, with mandatory accumulation. Enacted a new State aid program, including aid to handicapped persons, funds for which will be obtained from revenue derived from increased taxes on horserace betting, franchises, investment companies, and motor fuels. Authorized colleges to award work scholarships up to 25 percent of full-time enrollment and established a State Library Commission.

New York. CREATES FINANCE COMMISSION. Created a 15-man commission on educational finance and appropriated $150,000 therefor. Authorized retirement credit for employees with Korean War service and an increase in State aid for vocational boards and emergency school buildings. Permitted retired teachers to earn a maximum of $1,500 as substitute teachers in lieu of present $1,000. Provided for school districts to contract with the Commissioner of Education for education of Indian children. Established and appropriated $50,000 for financing an experimental program for mentally retarded children. Granted Board of Regents powers to regulate educational television.

Rhode Island.-IMPROVES HIGHER EDUCATION. Authorized bond issues of $3,500,000 to build a new college of education and $600,000 for a State vocational school, both

subject to and approved by the November 1954 popular vote. Provided for a committee to study the feasibility of establishing a permanent school for practical nursing.

South Carolina.-EXTENDS SOCIAL SECURITY. Provided for a minimum pension of $60 per month for retired teachers and for State aid for physically and mentally handicapped children. Authorized the State to enter into social security arrangements for all employees other than retired personnel. Increased the limit on State school bonds for construction from $75 million to $100 million. Appropriated additional $500,000 from State surplus funds to match county. funds for school bus operating expenses and $99,330 for matching county purchase of school buses. Established automobile driver training schools; and enacted nu

merous laws pertaining to education in specific counties.

Texas. INCREASES SALARIES. Enacted a flat increase of $402 for all "approved" education personnel and authorized reci procity between teacher retirement and State retirement systems subject to and approved by the November 1954 popular vote.

Virginia. STUDIES DIVISION OF TEACHER TIME BETWEEN SCHOOLS. Provided a salary schedule for teachers' minimum salaries ranging from $2,400 to $3,600, which increased State aid $13 million for the biennium. Raised minimum annual retirement allowance from $720 to $850, extended retirement coverage; and increased other benefits. Created an advisory council on and expanded special education. Placed public and nonpublic kindergartens and nursery schools under the general control of the State Board of Education; and as a possible solution to certain teacher shortages authorized that a study be made of a plan whereby teachers of critical subjects. would teach part of a day in one school and part in another.

Prospects in 1955. From the precedent established during 1954, we may expect significant State educational legislation in 1955. During the year all State legislatures, except Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia, will convene in regular session. Forty-two of these began early in January; Florida started April 5, and Alabama will convene May 3.

Voice of Democracy

(Continued from page 106)

my future? It has been said that my greatest enemy is indifference on the part of my people. We have seen that neglect of their duties and obligations led my people into the second World War. Citizens of America, don't let this happen again!

Speak, act, and think democracy. Live it. Breathe it. Support it. Defend it and believe in it! But above all, do not take it for granted.

Don't become careless to the point that you lose your most precious heritage. A great American patriot once said that I am the last, best hope of the earth. But who am I? What kind of a power am I that I am the hope of the world? I am democracy. I am the power of the people.

AM a classroom teacher. I like the rural schools, and I believe that any type of rural teaching is interesting and challenging. I have always found teaching full of happy, intriguing problems and experi ences. I have taught in many schools in several States, but the best of all has been the last 12 years among the migratory workers in Arizona. I teach in the heart of the cotton lands. Pinal County is the fourth-largest cotton-producing county in the United States.

I live at Eloy. Eight years ago it was a camp. Now it has a permanent population of about 5,000. There is a fine high school with a very large modern auditorium, a new library, a community house, two large elementary schools with 50 teachers, and a restricted residence section with expensive houses. It is a city of contrasts. In the winter the migratory workers swell our numbers. Last winter for several months the Eloy post office served 15,000 persons. There are lively times on Frontier Street when the cotton trucks roll.

The principal of the elementary school has a real job. One night he remarked to his wife, "Well, I'm tired, but I think I got it all straightened out. I shifted them around and I don't think any room will be too crowded." It was good that he got a night's rest. The next morning he found that 200 new children had moved in. Eloy has a community-centered school--the PTA is active and efficient, but Eloy is not yet an education-centered community. We need to think less about cotton and more about children. Every agency, every businessman, should be proud to promote education. of children as his major business.

Persian Carpet

I teach at Toltec School 3 miles down the highway. It is a 4-room school. The teachers live in Eloy. Our principal drives one bus and picks up from 20 to 48 children as

*Based on a talk given at the National Conference on Rural Education, Washington, D. C., October 5, 1954. Mrs. Martin is a teacher at the Toltec School, Eloy, Ariz.

The Story of Toltec*

by Mary McCollom Martin

The Office of Education has a continuing project on the education of children of migrant agricultural workers. Collecting and distributing stories of successful school practices is a part of this project. In this article Mrs. Martin, in a very human way, has presented the problems which migrant children and families face. She has told how she manages to help the children in spite of the many difficulties. Shining through the article is evidence of the kind of spirit and outlook which a person must have to be a good teacher of migrant children.

we drive about the great cotton, alfalfa, and barley ranches. You never see little cotton patches; everything is big. Millions of gallons of water flow from an underground supply that depends on the snows and rains. of northern Arizona mountains. Ten years ago the land was a desert, with here and there a cattle ranch. Then men with foresight and money looked over that land. They saw millions of wild flowers spring up after a rain; they observed how deep the mesquite bushes went for water. There lay the desert after a rain like a great Persian carpet with colors of red, white, brown, yellow, and black.

Because they were men of vision and know-how they could see the potential wealth that development would bring. They put down wells. Where Coronado traveled east to find the seven cities of gold, and the Forty-niners struggled west to find the gold of California, today is harvested the gold of the finest carrots in the world, and white gold piled high in cotton trucks.

Today there is another Persian carpet spread over the land. Its colors, too, are red, white, gold, brown, and black. It is vibrant, living with constant mobility. It, too, has a potential value. Its growth and development mean much to the strength of

our democracy. This new carpet is an army of migrant workers who come from everywhere. It is time we realize that the children of these red, white, yellow, brown, and black workers are the potential voters, the future adult citizens of our country.

Self-Realization

Every child of every race, color, or station has a right to complete self-realization. Self-realization is probably our most primitive drive. It is achieved when every agency, the home, schools, and the church. provide the environment, a proper emotional climate, and the encouragement that will enable a child to fulfill his highest potential. Of course there is a limit to the development of the handicapped or retarded child. But often that limit is far beyond what some teacher thinks it is. Often the superior child needs help also. Some indifferent teachers just "let him sit." We must stimulate each child to as full development as his capacity will allow.

Changes We Can Make

care.

A change must be effected in the thinking and attitudes of the migrant people themselves. We can remedy some physical conditions by legislation for a better code. of sanitation and more available medical But the migrants must make a change within themselves. Many have apparently lost their ambition and initiative. Yet others are beginning to realize that their children will need to know more than they do. The children will need to know how to read directions, write orders, and how to think through a problem.

We cannot think for them, but in our schools we can create an environment that will nourish and facilitate growth and thinking. I may have the children with me only a few weeks or days; but I want each one to go away with some lasting impression-some vision of the future that is better. Poorly trained boys and girls will become the kind of men and women who cannot think straight. If in our schools and in the other agencies that influence