Chapter 2: The NCTE in Postwar America

During the early 1940s, the American education system was in a perceived state of crisis. With the outbreak of WWII, many teachers had left to join more lucrative military positions. As the war ended, some feared that many of those same teachers who left would not return to the classroom because of low teacher salaries. States were forced to issue emergency certificates to make up for this teacher shortage. Outside of this, there were other causes for alarm. Students were dropping out of school at high rates, and juvenile delinquency fears were rampant (Kandel, 1948). Schools, communities, and government officials were looking for a way to deal with their education problems and the life adjustment education (LAE) movement gave some an initial hope to change education for the better. Life adjustment education was an outgrowth of the progressive education movement and sought to link education with social goals. In some ways, it was a continuation of the Cardinal Principles report, which, as discussed in the previous chapter, advocated educational experiences that connected classroom activities to psychological and social goals. Many NCTE members aligned themselves with the LAE movement through implicit and explicitconnections. Implicitly, the ideas of the NCTE had developed in ways that reflected the movement’s spirit. The organization drafted policies and published materials expressing progressive educational goals that valued experiential learning through individualized, relevant classroom activities connected to students’ future social lives. Explicitly, NCTE members wrote within LAE publications emphasizing the value of LAE ideas.