William G. Carr, secretary of the Commission, told the CRIMSON that the report was meant more for educators across the nation than as advice to the two sponsoring bodies. Both the NEA and the AASA form their own policies, Carr said.
The entire report was divided into three sections. The first part "described the outlook for the second half of the twentieth century as a period marked by two paradoxes: 1) The world is both united and divided...2) The...coexistence of fear and hope" in the world.
Task of American Education
"The lag between social change and technological improvement."
"The need for international cooperation and peace." Education must equip students to choose "methods for dealing with specific international problems in such a way as to make peace most likely to prevail."
"The totalitarian threat." while this "threat" continues, the commission suggested "four main lines of strategy for American education":
1. "Young citizens should have an opportunity to learn about the principles and practices of totalitarianism, including those represented by the Soviet Union and the Communist Party in the U.S."
2. "Teaching about communism or any other form of dictatorship does not mean advocacy of those doctrines. Such advocacy should not be permitted in American schools."
3. "The schools should continue with vigor their programs for giving young citizens a clear understanding of the principles of the American way of life. . . ."
No Communist Teachers
4. "Members of the Communist Party of the U.S. should not be employed as teachers."
The third part outlined "channels . . . for securing action on the recommended educational Program."
The Commission's stand against Communist teachers contravenes the position of the Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure of the American Association of University Professors. Last year the A.A.U.P. Committee stated, "(A) teacher should be dismissed because of his acts of disloyalty or because of professional unfitness, and not because he is a Communist.
"So long as the Communist Party in the U. S. is a legal political party, affiliation with that Party in and of itself should not be regarded as a justifiable reason for exclusion from the academic profession.