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 SUGGEST ONS 
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 ISSUED BY THE STATE DEPARTMEN1 
 
 OF PIBLIC INSTRUCTION 
 
 RALEIGH NORTH CAROLIN/ 
 
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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 
 Ensuring Democracy through Digital Access (NC-LSTA) 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/suggestionsforte1962nort 
 
SUUIiESTIONS FOR TEACIII^Ii 
 ilBOUT COMMIJSiSM 11 THE 
 PlIULiO HIGH SCHOOLS 
 
 ISSUED BY THE 
 
 STATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 
 
 RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA PUBLICATION NO. 340 
 
CONTENTS _ 
 
 Foreword - 3 
 
 Why Teach About Communism 5 
 
 Objectives of the Program 7 
 
 Suggested Procedures for Developing a Program for 
 
 Teaching About Communism 10 
 
 How to Prepare for the Study 12 
 
 Bibliography for Teachers 15 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 This publication presents suggested procedures for improved 
 teaching and perceptive learning about communism in the second- 
 ary schools of the State. It is intended, not as specific directives, 
 but as suggested "paths" that may properly be pursued by ed- 
 ucators. Definitive guidelines, a more extensive listing of re- 
 source materials, and suggested techniques of presentation will 
 be included in another publication. 
 
 It is the consensus of both educators and citizens that com- 
 munism should be treated at appropriate places within the con- 
 text of existing social studies courses, rather than as a separate 
 or an isolated course. It is upon this thesis that the content of 
 this publication has been constructed. Reasons for this point of 
 view are developed in the section " Suggested Procedures for 
 Developing a Program for Teaching About Communism." 
 
 Action on this study should be approached by teachers and 
 administrators with sober and dedicated commitment to their 
 professional, civic, and academic responsibilities. The survival of 
 our national and cultural being may ultimately prove to be de- 
 pendent upon the depth of this commitment and the promptness 
 with which it is assumed. 
 
 State Superintendent of Public Instruction 
 
 October 1, 1962 
 
WHY TEACH ABOUT COMMUNISM 
 
 The Cold War now taking place between the communist and 
 free world nations is essentially a struggle between two domin- 
 ant world systems for the minds of men. Increasing realization 
 of the true nature of this struggle has caused many concerned 
 citizens, civic and professional organizations, and authorities in 
 the field of education to conclude that it is vital and necessary 
 that the public schools should teach the facts about communism. 
 
 Until recently a "leave it alone" attitude prevailed with re- 
 spect to the role of the school in teaching about communism. It 
 is now believed that facts concerning communism should be a re- 
 gular part of the school curriculum. In surveying much of the 
 literature available pertaining to communism, there is general 
 agreement among members of national and state governments, 
 patriotic and civic organizations, public and private school educa- 
 tors, and parents, that young people should be taught the facts 
 about communism. 
 
 Among others, four national organizations which have passed 
 resolutions to the effect that schools should teach about com- 
 munism are the National Education Association, the American 
 Legion, the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, and the 
 American Bar Association. Following are excerpts from the 
 four resolutions passed: 
 
 National Education Association — As a measure 
 of defense against our most potent threat, our 
 American schools should teach about communism .y' 
 and all forms of totalitarianism, including the prin- 
 ciples and practices of the Soviet Union and the 
 communist party in the United States.- 
 
 The American Legion — Be it resolved, that the 
 National Executive Committee does hereby urge 
 each Department, District and Post of the Ameri- 
 can Legion to work with their education officials j^ 
 to the end that every public and private second- 
 ary school in the United States and its territories 
 and possessions will institute, as a part of their 
 regular curriculum, suitable courses designed to 
 
 1. Resolution adopted at the Representative Assembly of the National Education Associa- 
 tion, July 6, 1951. 
 
deepen understanding of and loyalty to American 
 democratic ideals and institutions and expose the 
 fallacies of communism. ^ 
 
 National Congress of Parents and Teachers — Re- 
 solved, that we proceed with courage, conviction, 
 and caution in the adventure of: 
 
 1. Providing PTA publications that help parents 
 know more about the nature and meaning of 
 communism, so that by talking intelligently 
 and persuasively with their children they can 
 help them to understand its contradictions, 
 strategy, and deceit; 
 
 2. Encouraging the schools to teach the facts 
 about communism and also strengthen their ^ 
 teaching about our American heritage and 
 what love of country entails ; and 
 
 3. Raising the quality and quantity of partici- 
 pation in civic affairs, so that our children 
 and youth may have before them visible, vi- 
 brant, and inspiring examples of the proud 
 and free workings of democracy. ^ 
 
 The American Bar Association — That through 
 our members, and the cooperation of state and 
 local bar associations, we encourage and support 
 our schools and colleges in the presentation of ade- 
 quate instruction in the history, doctrines, objec- 
 ,^ fives and techniques of communism, thereby help- 
 
 ing to instill a greater appreciation of democracy 
 and freedom under law and the will to preserve 
 that freedom. 4 
 
 The thoughts and viewpoints expressed in these four resolu- 
 tions probably typify the thinking of many other organizations. 
 Indications are that there is ample justification and, indeed, 
 necessity for the public schools of North Carolina to include 
 materials pertaining to communism in the curriculum. 
 
 2. Resolution adopted by the American Legion Convention, Register No. 23, September 
 10-14, 1961. 
 
 3. Resolution adopted by the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, May 23, 1962. 
 
 4. Resolution adopted by the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association, February 
 20. 1961. 
 
OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM 
 
 There are many specific objectives to be achieved in studying 
 about communism. Though these objectives would best be rea- 
 lized in a four-year social studies program, not all students 
 would have the opportunity for such extensive work. It is, there- 
 fore, suggested that such objectives be incorporated in most of 
 the social studies courses. Some should, of course, be given 
 greater emphasis in one course than in another. 
 
 Although there are many objectives, the following ten seem 
 both apparent and important: 
 
 1. To instill within the students a deep appreciation of the 
 ideals, freedoms under law, and benefits which accrue in 
 the democratic form of government now in existence in the 
 United States and "to strengthen the ideology of freedom 
 by reasserting its historical principles, together with [con- 
 sideration of] their application for good in the world to- 
 day."' 
 
 2. To create a vital understanding of the belief in individual 
 human worth and dignity in the heritage of Western civiliza- 
 tion. In free democratic societies, the individual is regarded 
 as a "free will contributor to his commonwealth"; and, in 
 communist societies, the individual is a "pawn of the state 
 for which he exists."*^ it is on this significant point that the 
 most profound difference between communist and democratic 
 systems rest. The former would ultimately destroy the 
 dignity and worth of man; the latter would elevate and 
 nurture these values. 
 
 3. To stimulate a greater appreciation of the morality derived 
 from Judaic-Christian tradition, one of the main-springs 
 of Western civilization. Participants in this rich heritage 
 must be awakened to the fact that their moral and ethical 
 concepts are being threatened by apparently the most power- 
 ful amoral force know in the history of man. 
 
 5. Robert Strausz-Hupe and William R. Kinter, "Cold War in the Classroom," Education 
 For Survival in the Struggle Against World Communism. United States Senate, Committee 
 on the Judiciary. Washington : U. S. Government Printing Office, 1962. p. 120. 
 
 6. Ibid., p. 123. 
 
 r 
 
4. To build an academically sound understanding of communism 
 — its history, its ideology, its methods, and its goals. Build- 
 ing a clear understanding of the true facts about com- 
 munism, against a similarly lucid and true background in the 
 democratic system and tradition, should prove to be the best 
 approach for the preservation of our way of life. Such an 
 approach will dramatically, yet soundly, make evident the 
 incomparable superiority of the Western democratic tradi- 
 tion. 
 
 5. To provide the student with the very serious knowledge that 
 both democratic and communist societies are dynamic, not 
 static; are changing, not formalized; are forward-looking, 
 
 , not merely historical. 
 
 6.. To contrast the methods used by democratic countries in 
 achieving their goals with those used by communistic coun- 
 tries. 
 
 7. To teach the student to draw his own conclusions after care- 
 fully studying and evaluating the differences existing be- 
 tween communist and democratic systems. To think critically 
 and to be proficient in the art of problem-solving are indis- 
 pensable objectives of the social studies. The validity and 
 necessity of such objectives should be held foremost in mind 
 as requirements in learning about communism. 
 
 8. To create a learning situation in which the student is im- 
 • ' bued with an appreciation for the values that are basic in 
 •a free society. In studying about communism, the student 
 '■ will be exploring a way of life that, without qualm or ques- 
 tion, employs untruths, half-truths, and the philosophy that 
 "the end justifies the means" in maintaining and furthering 
 
 :' its sphere of influence. Hence, to present communism to 
 students in a totally value-free and descriptive manner, 
 would be inadmissible in our society. Supporting this posi- 
 
 '. tion, Dr. Stanley Parry, Chairman, Political Science Depart- 
 ' ment. University of Notre Dame, states : 
 
 ", . . This rejection [of an absolutely objective ap- 
 proach] is not consequent upon blind reaction. It is 
 bolstered by the best scholarship in the land. The 
 [communist] position has been demonstrated to be 
 logically inconsistent, empirically inaccurate, and 
 
 8 
 
philosophically absurd. From the point of view of 
 intellectual respectability, communism has about 
 the same status as astrology. The need for the fu- 
 ture citizens to understand it derives from its ex- „ , 
 istence as a threat to our own order of life, not from "" " 
 any possibility of truth in it."'^ 
 
 ■9. To promote in the student, by making him conversant with 
 communist ideology and terminology, the ability to read and 
 comprehend more fully current newspapers and periodicals. 
 This should enable the student to grasp the nature of im- 
 mediate communist thought and strategy as it applies in the 
 present-day Cold War, and thus prepare him for intelligent 
 national and world citizenship. 
 
 10. To prepare the student to read, think, listen, and speak with 
 calm but accurate discrinimation in order that he may not 
 fall prey to insidious propaganda. A thorough, yet critical, 
 understanding of communism should enable youth to avoid 
 the pitfalls of this strong and subtle communist technique. 
 
 7. Stanley Parry, "Some Problems Involved in Teaching About Communism in the 
 Schools." Education For Survival in the Struggle Against World Communism. United States 
 Senate, Committee on the Jiidiciarv. Washington : U. S. Government Printing Office, 1962, 
 ■,p. 97. 
 
 ^9 
 
SUGGESTED PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING A 
 PROGRAM FOR TEACHING ABOUT COMMUNISM 
 
 A careful study of authoritative opinion in the field of social 
 studies has been made; a survey of present curricula has been 
 completed ; and an examination has been made of the coverage or 
 mention of communism in the State-adopted basal and supple- 
 mentary textbooks in the social studies area. On the basis of 
 findings from this work, it is recommended that any studies 
 emphasizing the nature and dangers of communism be taught or 
 treated at the appropriate places within the context of the 
 several social studies courses. It is believed that this approach 
 is more effective and that more lasting benefits will accrue than 
 would be the case if the subject were isolated in a special course 
 or unit. 
 
 1. The soundness of this approach is clearly and initially under- 
 lined by stating what communism is — a movement which, as 
 a contemporary reality, must be understood in light of the 
 historical context in which it has developed and achieved 
 such far-reaching proportions. Creating special courses or- 
 units for its study could isolate it, thus leading inevitably 
 to distorted and shallow understanding which could be even 
 more dangerous than no understanding. 
 
 2. Within the established social studies framework, the study 
 will be more thoroughly safeguarded against the likelihood 
 of dictated answers or beliefs from those holding extreme- 
 views. Instead, the social studies framework will place 
 information in perspective and will encourage each student 
 in his own study and investigation. Thus, his views will be 
 progressively refined by gradual, democratic, free inquiry 
 and experience. 
 
 3. A generous opportunity for investigation and thought, with- 
 in the context of several subjects at varying grade levels,, 
 will further the ideals and processes of American education 
 and democracy, the true end for which the study of com- 
 munism is undertaken. 
 
 4. Integrating such a study with available materials, through 
 methods and procedures already familiar to the social studies 
 teacher, will strengthen his position; for it is he that bears- 
 
 10 
 
y 
 
 the basic responsibility for the introduction, instruction, and 
 implementation of any effective study of communism. 
 
 Preparatory to emphasizing study about communism in any 
 school, specific and clear policy' action should be taken by school 
 authorities. The subject has strong emotional overtones, and 
 every school board should provide its professional staff the pro- 
 tection of an unequivocal statement of official board position. 
 The staff, in turn, should give the board as much help as it 
 can. 
 
 In administrative planning and preparation, the following 
 approaches in skeletal form are suggested: 
 
 . Civics provides the opportunity for comparative govern- 
 ment studies and, most important of all, a thorough 
 grounding in American institutions, practices, and at- 
 titudes. 
 
 . World History provides the opportunity to study com- 
 munist development, ideology, and expansion as a major 
 aspect of modern world history. 
 
 . World Geography provides the opportunity to explore the 
 physical and economic resources of communist as well as 
 underdeveloped nations. 
 
 . United States History provides the opportunity to investi- 
 gate the communist movement in the United States, re- 
 lationships between the United States and communist 
 nations, and international factors contributing to the 
 Cold War. 
 
 , Problems of Democracy, Economics, and Sociology cour- 
 ses provide opportunity for studies of communism, com- 
 munist living, and communist behavior, in greater depth ^ 
 and with greater intellectual understanding. 
 
 The social studies textbooks now used in North Carolina 
 public schools contain fairly comprehensive coverage of com- 
 munism and permit comparisons and critical analyses at the 
 proper places in the various courses. The basal text coverage, 
 however, is not sufficient for full and significant understanding. 
 Therefore, very carefully selected informational materials, audio- 
 visual aids and community resources should be utilized exten- 
 sively. 
 
 11 
 
HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE STUDY 
 
 Schools that engage in a program of teaching about com- 
 munism will be embarking upon a significant undertaking in- 
 volving many possible complexities. Therefore, certain precau- 
 tions and preparations should be considered very carefully. 
 
 Though circumstances peculiar to the individual community 
 must be taken into account, the following broad considerations 
 should be thoroughly understood: 
 
 1. In the teaching of any subject and, perhaps, even more 
 especially in teaching about communism, the major objec- 
 tives of education should be held uppermost in preparation 
 and presentation. By way of elaboration on this point, Dr. 
 John H. Fischer, President, Teachers' College, Columbia 
 University, states: 
 
 "Subject matter in any field of education is but the 
 means to more important ends: insight, under- 
 standing, judgment, wisdom, well-oriented and 
 effective action. A major measure of the quality of 
 our teaching about communism will be the degree 
 ■ to which it contributes to the development of 
 these attributes in the student and so enables him 
 to relate one social system to another in the light 
 of his own experience. "s 
 
 2. Emotionalism, propaganda, fear, and ignorance are ideal 
 seedbeds for the growth of any totalitarian system. In 
 teaching about the subject of communism, many persons 
 may be inclined to use the classroom as a public forum to 
 teach vehement hatred for communists and communism. The 
 provocation of fear and irrational response to communism, 
 
 ;*, evoked by emotionalism, must be studiously avoided by teach- 
 ers. A presentation based on facts and understanding is 
 the only valid way to create in the students a well-founded 
 appreciation of the challenge of communism to the American 
 way of life. 
 
 3. In teaching about communism, or any other subject, the 
 teacher is the key to success. Most teachers of social studies 
 
 8. John H. Fischer, "Teaching the Nature of Communism," Social Education, XXII (April, 
 
 1958K p. 187. 
 
 12 
 
are not adequately trained in this sensitive area. Their 
 college education, background, and experience have not been 
 concentrated on or directed toward a comprehensive study 
 of the history, philosophy, and tactics of this ideology. 
 Perceptive and informed understanding must be the founda- 
 tion upon which teaching about communism takes place. If 
 it cannot be upon that basis, it should not be undertaken. 
 The teacher will be presenting a system created by men who, 
 despite our total disagreement with their ideas and methods, 
 were and are brilliant thinkers and strategists. It would be 
 a disservice to scholarship and an injustice to democracy 
 to present a warped, incomplete or superficial approach to 
 communism. 
 
 4. In the social studies program, the primary emphasis should 
 continue to be on American heritage — local. State, and 
 national. This is one of the major objectives in the teaching 
 of social studies, an objective which can well be strengthen- 
 ed by the student's having a knowledge of other systems. 
 This knowledge creates the opportunity for contrasts to be 
 made; but such contrasts can only be drawn with value, if 
 the student has a full and sound understanding of his own 
 system of government. Therefore, not only teachers of 
 social studies, but also the entire teaching staff should 
 consider the feasibility of accepting the challenge of becom- 
 ing better instructors in the teaching of citizenship skills, 
 and in developing their own and their students' fuller under- 
 standing and appreciation of what America stands for. 
 
 In conclusion, for all persons involved, it is believed that the 
 following quotation presents a broad challenge that must be 
 met in this most important study: 
 
 ''We face the brutal inhumanity of a totalitarian 
 regime which uses unrest and revolution throughout 
 the world to weaken and coerce, while flaunting 
 the banners of liberation and democracy. We can 
 meet and defeat such an enemy only by develop- 
 ing and employing weapons equal in effectiveness 
 and appeal to his ovv^n — the principles and ideas of 
 the ideology of freedom. The battle for the minds 
 of youth everywhere, and, first of all, within our 
 own Nation, must be fought with the weapons of the 
 
 13 
 
mind. Nor need we fear to use them. The tradi- 
 tional principles of the West, individual liberty 
 and human dignity, are superior in the strength of 
 truth to the false concepts of the communist 
 ideology. These weapons of our intellectual arsenal 
 were forged and tested over centuries of struggle. 
 The plain fact is that we have allowed them to 
 rust unused in the magazine of historical docu- 
 ments; it is time, and past time, to draw them 
 forth, resharpen them against the hard stone of 
 present circumstance, and use them in the battle- 
 field of the classroom." 9 
 
 9. Strausz-Hupe and Kintner, op. cit., p. 119. 
 
 14 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR TEACHERS 
 
 To know a subject thoroughly is an essential first step in all 
 good teaching. This is particularly true in teaching about com- 
 munism. Teachers need to become familiar with the contents 
 of important publications pertaining to this subject if they 
 are to acquire the background necessary for competent teaching 
 and to be able to select wisely materials suitable for classroom 
 use. Materials concerning communism are voluminous in amount 
 and diverse in nature, thus making it difficult to compile a com- 
 plete, current bibliography; however, it is believed that teachers 
 will find the following publications helpful: 
 
 Colegrove, Kenneth W. Democracy Versus Communism. Prince- 
 ton: D. Van Nostrand, 1957. 
 
 Ebenstein, William. Two Ways of Life: The Communist Chal- 
 lenge to Democracy. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 
 Inc., 1962. 
 
 Education for Survival in the Struggle Against World Com- 
 munism. United States Senate, Committee on the Judiciary. 
 Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1962 
 
 Fainsod, Merle. How Russia Is Ruled. Cambridge : Harvard Uni- 
 versity Press, 1953 
 
 Smolensk Under Soviet Rule. Cambridge: Harvard University 
 Press, 1958. 
 
 Gunther, John. Inside Russia Today. New York: Harper and 
 Brothers, 1958. 
 
 Hahn, Walter F. and Neff, John C, Eds. American Strategy for 
 the Nuclear Age. New York: Doubleday and Co., 1960. 
 
 Hartshorn, Merrill F. and Gillespie, T. Marcus, "A Selected An- 
 notated Bibliography to Assist Teachers in Teaching About 
 Communism." Washington The National Council for the Social 
 Studies, 1961. 
 
 Hoover, J. Edgar. A Study of Communism. New York: Holt, 
 Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1962. 
 
 Masters of Deceit. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1958. 
 
 15 
 
Hunt, R. N. Carew. The Theory and Practice of Communism*^ 
 
 New York: MacMillan, 1957. 
 
 Jessup, John K. and Editors of Life. Communism : The Nature of 
 Your Enemy. New York: Time Inc., 1962. 
 
 Joint Committee of the National Education Association and the 
 American Legion. Teaching About Communism : Guidelines for 
 Junior and Senior High School Teachers. Indianapolis: The 
 American Legion, 1962. 
 
 Lee, Baldwin. Capitalism and Other Economic Systems. Wash- 
 ington: Council for Advancement of Secondary Education, 
 1959. 
 
 Lovenstein, Meno. Capitalism, Communism, Socialism. Min- 
 neapolis: Curriculm Resources Inc., 1962. 
 
 Overstreet, Harry and Bonaro. What We Must Know About Com- 
 munism. New York : W. W. Norton and Co., 1958. 
 
 Swearingen, Rodger. The World of Communism. Boston : Hough- 
 ton Mifflin Company, 1961. 
 
 Wolfe, Betram. Three Who Made A Revolution. Boston: Beacon 
 Press, 1959. 
 
 "World Communism: A Selected Annotated Bibliography," Le- 
 gislative Reference Service, Library of Congress. Harrisburg: 
 Department of Public Instruction, Commonwealth of Pen- 
 nsylvania, 1958. 
 
 16 
 
UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
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 FOR USE ONLY IN 
 THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION 
 
 Form No. A-368, Rev. 8/95 
 

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