Where I Stand — Hank Greenspun: Our society depends wholly on education

Friday, June 22, 2001 | 10:19 a.m.

Note to readers: Hank Greenspun's final Where I Stand column was written in 1989, the year he passed away. Over the past several weeks, Classic Sun has featured columns written by Hank throughout his tenure at the Sun. In this column, written on Sept. 26, 1958, Hank takes issue with a Sun editorial about relations between Las Vegas teachers and the school board.

The right to disagree!

This newspaper has long been a champion of those who exercise their constitutional privilege of freedom of inquiry, criticism and dissent.

Many of our readers disagree with what we say or write. We welcome their criticism and attempt to give them the opportunity for rebuttal.

I, too, have long been known as a dissenter. My disagreements have brought me into conflict with many persons on high. Sometimes I have come out second best, and not without cause, because of a somewhat unreasonable position. But the height of ridiculousness might be reached today.

As the editor of this newspaper, I intend to disagree with an editorial which appeared in the Sun on Monday, Sept. 15, headlined "More trouble for our schools."

I am responsible for everything which appears within the pages and especially for the editorial policy; so in effect I am disagreeing with myself.

In defense of this apparent absurdity, I must add that when this editorial appeared, I was fishing in Mexico instead of staying home minding the store.

Although I agree that there should be an attempt to develop more harmonious relations between the teachers and the school board and that it should not be necessary to import outside help to attain an adequate salary for our teachers, I disagree that trouble for our schools will develop by teachers pressing for proper compensation for their efforts.

The first duty of government should be education!

It is a great and serious question -- one which cannot be resolved through strife and turmoil which is definitely an improper environment for cultivating the minds of our children.

The progress of our country, and of humanity, depends upon the development of the human brain through education. This is a process that separates mankind from lower members of the animal kingdom.

The greatness of a nation depends upon the average mental power of its citizens, and mental power depends absolutely upon education.

The strife presently dividing sections of the nation and foisted upon it by opportunistic bigots such as Gov. Faubus of Arkansas is a result of ignorance.

The holders of slaves in the Southern states desired to keep their slaves down. They wanted them to be content in slavery. They desired them and their children to remain willing, humble, helpless machines.

They punished as a criminal any man who taught a slave to read or write. They knew that slavery and education could not long endure in the same human being.

And they accomplished their ends by keeping teachers in the Southern states under their complete domination through inadequate salaries so that their security would always be threatened, thus insuring the kind of teaching desired.

This certainly was no atmosphere for academic freedom, which is the foundation of education.

There are still many unthinking persons in this community who believe that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" and that we devote entirely too much tax money to half-educating the vast multitude of our young citizens.

A little knowledge is still preferable and less dangerous than a great deal of ignorance. Half-education of our children can only result from half-educated and inadequate teachers. We can only hope to get good teachers as the salaries will allow, so, if our teachers are inadequate, the fault lies with those who are in position to pay the salaries, but because of supposed frugality do not do so.

If the salaries of teachers are inadequate, and we believe they are, it is incumbent upon the school board to fight for higher appropriations instead of placing the responsibility on the shoulders of those whose complete time should be devoted to training young minds.

It should not be necessary for teachers to become lobbyists at the state legislature or import strangers to make us aware of our responsibilities.

By the very nature and importance of their work, teachers should be the privileged class instead of the beset, economically insecure, downtrodden element of our society.

The most important institutions in this country are the public schools -- the training ground of children's minds. The most important citizens of the nation are the teachers.