PALMER, ALASKA
DOROTHY M. BEIL,Edit r
■ Published every Friday' at Palmer, Alaska., for the Matanuska Valley
Farmers' Cooperating Association for the purpose of giving news of the
Associations work, problems, and accomplishments.
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SINGLE COPY 10
FREECOM of SPEECH and PB5SS
In 1787 a Constitutional Convention was called in Philadelphia for
the. purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation so that they-would
more adequately function in regard to control of commerce and trade nd
raising money to carry on the central government. What happened?
Alexander Hamilton, very cleverly, managed to get together the bank' s,
co-pmercial men,. land speculators, and big business men of that day.
Instead of remodeling the Articles of Confederation, a new document as
written and presented to the-people. Have you ever examined the* mat:*
part of our Constitution? Look at it. Eid it make conditions for th<
debtor class,who were being thrown into jail at that time,any bettei' .
Eld it say anything about the agraian interests? Was it wholehenrte y
accepted by the people? Ho. One of the bitterest battles of our ear’
history was fought over that Constitution, and it was not accepted •< til
the Bill of Rights(the first ten amendments) war promised. If you lc *k
at this Bill of Rights, *you will find that it deals with freedom of
speech, freedom of the press,' trial by jury,--all of the things for
which the people had fought when they broke away from England t nd set
up a- government of their own. Suppose .these people had simply talked
and talked among themselves' and had done nothing? These people were
radicals. Modern history books tell us that. Hamilton and Madison ad
no use for them. The mass of’ people were not considered as int lligent
enough to take part in government, therefore democracy was ridiculed.
We have these radical ancestors to' thank for most of our political
freedom and individual rights that we enjoy today. _ .
However, persons who use' this right of Freedom of Speech and Press
to criticize and offer suggestions for. improvement ere' still called
radicals. We still have those who wish to smooth things out and tread
Carf-fully lest you arouse antagonism. But, after all, progress is made
only when people recognize weaknesses and shortcomings and tr;r to make
things better. We do not believe that,"What was good enough for my
father, is good enough for.me.” We want it to be better and we expect
our children to improve upon us .That Is why we educate ttiem.
One outstanding-educator of our time hrs said that any individual or
group that would aspire to lead society mu3t he ready to pay the cor -3
of leadership. These costs are heavy, and most of us feel too heavy ‘or
they mean the acceptance of responsibility, to suffer slander, to ,s
render security, and to risk both reputation and fortune. That is p tin
it pretty strong, but doesn't this happen? "»Ve admit that a child is
fashioned by his environment. Can we fashion the environment and cl e
our eyes to the inevitable? That is the Laissez-faire Doctrine, It '
and easy one to follow, You will probably not be criticized. Or. stta
we deliberately reach for power and then make the most of our conqu t
by providing the type of education that will prepare the chile hims If
to form proper social attitudes, ideals cf behavior, and a better sc cial
order. The school is only one% of the agencies in this field. Is the re
any reason why the ordinary* layman or even the piipil himself c
gest improvements - in'our Educational system and be giyen a hec
Society is changing rapidly, and the school must keep up with
is to be a benefit to society.
■ nnot> sug
r?ng?'
it if it
one 0h
be democrat!
bd very'gcod
idea. The progres; !ve
social welfr
Therefore, if someone asks for a change, let's
tc listen to his cr her ideas. Some of them might
m-t so good, but someone else might have a better
education movement is devoted to the promotion of
education. The fundamental importance of the learner is recogn
Learning is carried*on in the light of life situations and the
of character. The rights of the child as a*'free' personality ar
but that does not mean that he does ns he pleases regardless c
Education must have direction and leadership. A school and a
cannot be separated. What effects the school also effects the
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others
’T'
re through
ized,
grdwth
c defended,
f <: thers
community
c mmuni ty
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