IN GERMAN SCHOOLS

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 118, 14 November 1929, Page 7

IN GERMAN SCHOOLS

POLITICAL INFLUENCE

CURBING RADICALISM

By Dr. Walter Merck.

(Copyright.)

In Germany teachers have entered politics to an almost unbelievable extent. Even the influence of the Church is political in meaning, which makes non-political education almost / impossible. The tie that binds politics with education is growing closer every year. A most important factor in Germany to-day is the political influence of the teachers' unions. There are quite a number of them, but the outstanding and most important ones are Deutsche Lehrerverein, including all elementary teachers of all ranks, and the Deutsche Philologenverband, composed of all teachers of secondary schools. These unions are well organised and have a [number of magazines and central offices. The men working in these head^ quarters are former teachers, now employed by the unions, of which they are also leaders.

By far the most influential body is the Lehrerverein, with 140,000 members. It is difficult to give an idea of how strong its influence is in some parts of Germany. It can scarcely be over-estimated. Quite generally it may be said that the Lehrerverein tends politically more to the left than doei the Philologenverband. There are now tendencies of bringing about a unification of these unions which would help to abolish the gap which still exists between secondary and elementary teachers. But mucli prejudice, conceit, and false traditioa has to be overcome. GIVEN WIDE FREEDOM. In. Germany, the teachers have every sort of freedom for political work. Today there are teachers in all political parties from the Communists to the Nationalists, quite a few of them being members of the Eeichstag and of the different Diets. Also in the town administrations many of them hold important honorary positions. - Immediately after the revolution, when there was a strong influence from the ultra left, tending to make Germany a Soviet republic, the idea of the Soviets was taken up and fitted into the German democratic system. This idea was the installation of councils. There still exists to-day 'an elaborate council system among the teaching professions. Each school has its teachers' council, each community and each district has a council. These councils often exercise a strong political influence. .. The same council system was adopted to organise and guarantee the parents' influence in the educational system. At first the political influence was strong in these parents' councils, but that has calmed down so that today they are guided mostly by mere educational viewpoints, although, of course, the political side is always latent. Begarding'the entrance of youth into participation in politics, I believe that sometimes the youth's part is so radical as to be dangerous. Youth in itself is radical, and so we find among the German youth that extremists are •the strongest. Men of responsibility and public opinion, however, are curbing the radical interests. 11,500,000 WOMEN EMPLOYED. In Germany the number of persons s employed in gainful occupations has increased considerably. "While in 1907 only 61.4 per cent, of the male population and 30.5 per cent, of the female population were engaged in gainful occupations these figures have increased to 66 per cent, of the male and 35.6 per cent, of the female population. This is only the expression of the impoverishment of Germany. The number of employed women is 11,500,000, with only 8,800,000 unemployed housewives. The relation of these figures to the problem of education becomes still clearer if we realise that during and since the war Germany has become more of an industrial country, and that, accordingly the rural population has decreased. Only-2,600,000 labourers are employed in agriculture, against 9,800,000 in industry and 1,400,000 in commerce and traffic.

German educators have in their own hands the responsibility of working but a stable Germany. There is much discussion of the whole educational system. The reforms after the-revolu-tion were only the first step. They are not a solution but a beginning.