Competent and qualified teachers fail to obtain positions in America because they are Jews or Catholics or Unitarians or because they do not happen to be of the Nordic race, Mr. Clyde R. Miller, Director of the Bureau of Educational Service at the Teachers’ College of Columbia University, states in presenting a report on a survey which has just been conducted under his direction to determine the extent of discrimination that exists against the employment of school teachers on the ground of race or religion.
It is exceedingly difficult, Mr. Miller declares, for many Jewish teachers to get positions. Catholics also find difficulty in obtaining positions in various sections of the country. Of course in most places it is next to impossible for people not of the white race to obtain positions. Very often when our bureau receives a call to fill an opening in some school or college, the religion desired is very definitely designated.
A few weeks ago, Dr. Adelaide T. Case, Professor of Education at Columbia University, issued a report on the results of an investigation conducted over a period of one year among a thousand school children between the ages of six and twelve, revealing a tremendous amount of religious prejudice among them, for which she blamed the American school system.
How can there be any religious tolerance when youngsters of nine and ten have such bitter and intolerant ideas of other religions? Dr. Case asked. Not only do we find a marked misunderstanding between Jewish and Christian, but between Catholic and Protestant children as well. As long as we have a school system that allows such false ideas to be formed early in the life of the child, we can plainly see that something is lacking in our educational system, she said, for these ignorances and prejudices are carried on throughout the adult life.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
