La Tanya Robinson -History of Adult Education 1930's

 

History of Adult/Community Education 1930’s

Your Name	Commented On
La Tanya Robinson	Jayne Rohlfing, Claire Aldenhuysen, Ashten Lail, Josie Campbell

 

The Great Depression (1929 – 1939) affected many American families, from upper-middle class professionals to the middle and working class families.  The lower class families were already struggling to make ends meet and the Great Depression didn’t make it any better.  This period of time, which reflected the worse economic downturn, was the worse in modern day history (History.com Editors, 2009).  The daily lives of American families changed significantly. The cause of the Great Depression is contributed to the stock market crashed that occurred on October 24, 1929, known as “Black Thursday” and October 29, 1929, known as “Black Tuesday” (History.com Editors, 2009). This economic game changer affected the American people confidence in a negative way.  There was a drastic decrease in American’s spending and investing, thus causing factories and businesses to decrease production, which ultimately resulted in laying off their workers.   By 1930, 4 million Americans were unemployed and by 1933, 15 million Americans were looking for work and just about half of the country’s banks were closed (History.com Editors, 2009).  Unemployment was high especially among minorities, by 1932 approximately half of African Americans were out of work (US History.org, 2020). The economy was suffering and people were seeking and needing relief from this life changing situation. These were challenging times, but Americans were finding ways to come together to help one another.  Potlucks and thirsty gardens became a means for food sharing with one another, thus helping families cut back on their food budget (Konkel, 2018). Women began leaving their homemaker duties behind and started seeking opportunities in the workforce.  Some people frowned upon this because they felt the working woman was or had taken a job away from a man, but giving the circumstances it was inevitable and would eventually become the norm.  The economic change in America would eventually have a dramatic effect on the education system.

The effects of the Great Depression adversely affected the education system.  People could no longer pay their property taxes, which affected the funding for public schools.  Property taxes were the main funding source for public school (Encyclopedia.com Editors, 2020). School districts could no longer cover teacher salaries and administration costs (Lynch, 2016), therefore, the academic year was shortened or schools were closed.  Almost 20,000 schools nationwide had closed by the beginning of 1934 (Lynch, 2016).  Some districts struggled to pay their teachers, using promissory notes as a means of payment.  This form of payment created a reduction in teachers and an increase in class size.  Schools that stayed open were faced with closing classes and programs that fell under progression education.  These particular classes and programs, which were sometimes called “fads and frills”, included adult education, night school, vocational classes, home economics, summer schools, physical education, kindergartens, health services and the arts. (Encyclopedia.com Editors, 2020). It was believed that the traditional core subjects cost less to teach, therefore, the progression education classes and programs were eliminated. The financial and academic suffering would be a historical memory for the American people.

Unemployment was high and began to disrupt the lives of the American people.  People began committing petty theft to put food on the table, thus causing the crime rate to rapidly rise.  At one point the suicide rate had increased because people were depressed.  Alcoholism was prevalent because people began drinking alcohol to deal with the anxiety of everyday life.  More women turned to prostitution as a way to pay their bills.  Husbands were abandoning their wives and families using the “poor man’s divorce” option as their justification. (US History.org, 2020) People were fleeing from their homes, hitching train rides to seek opportunity elsewhere.  There were over 600,000 people hitching train rides during the Great Depression (US History.org, 2020).  The Great Depression was changing the lives of the American people.

Adult/community education took a hard hit during the Depression-era, but it still remained a resource for people to use to get through tough times.   During World War I there was a great need for highly trained mechanics, technicians, radio operators, and trained crafts personnel for the production of equipment and supplies.  To meet this need, the Federal Board for Vocational Education began establishing classes and training men prior to being inducted into the service. (Gordon, 2014).  Eventually, civilians were being educated and trained in industrialization production.  Military and civilian production jobs continue to be in demand until the 1929 economic crash, which resulted in the Great Depression.  Vocational education took a hard hit and the industrial activity decreased tremendously.  However, it wouldn’t be long before the need for vocation education would surface again.  World War II demanded effective training for military personnel, as well as, civilian employees in such jobs as welding, aircraft mechanics, radio, electrical and machine skills, and riveting. (Gordon, 2014)

Besides industrialization, adult/community education was used to educate Depression-era homemakers.  Times were hard and families needed help with providing the basic needs for their families.  Home economic classes were offered to teach homemakers life skills that could be used in the home.  Women’s magazines and radio shows taught homemakers how to stretch their food budget by making casseroles and one-pot meals (Konkel 2018).  Churches organized potlucks to bring people together to share food, information and socialize.  Families strive to be self-sufficient by learning how to keep small kitchen gardens and communities were taught how to develop thrift gardens.  The Depression-era was a challenging time but it did bring some families and communities together.

Another form of adult/community education used during the decade of the 1930’s was protests and movements. There was a growth in African American activism during the earliest days of the Great Depression.  African Americans began uniting together to protest for greater economic, social and political rights. (Klein, 2018).  Boycotts were organized to fight racially discriminatory hiring practices against companies that refused to hire African Americans. Organized meetings and gatherings were used to disseminate information to boycott participates and the African American community as a whole. The slogan “Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work” was used for boycotts and pickets throughout the North. (Klein, 2018).  African Americans began forming organizations to develop movements for communities that would eventually filter over into other states throughout the country.  Movements to fight for anti-lynching legislation, the elimination of the poll tax and the eligibility of agricultural and domestic workers Social Security was occurring throughout the 1930’s.  The growth of African American protests and movements presage the Civil Rights Movement.

There were other movements occurring throughout this era that wasn’t directly connected to just African Americans.  Throughout the south people were fighting for justice.  There were labor movements and labor unions being organized to fight for labor justice.   Unemployed and working people were being united, while leaders and organizers were being trained for the movement.  There were strikes organized to protest low pay and unsafe working conditions.   The movements, boycotts, protests and strikes that occurred during the 1930’s era would not have occurred, whether successful or not, without information being taught and shared among the participates. 

During the 1930’s there were organizations and programs that influenced adult/community education.  President Franklin Roosevelt implemented a relief and reform plan, New Deal, to help with the recovery from the Great Depression (Lynch 2016).  He created two organizations that assisted in the work relief programs, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the National Youth Administration (NYA).  Both programs were responsible for assisting the needy, people out of school and needy high school and/or college students with some type of employment.  It wasn’t long before CCC and NYA realized that its participants were deficient in basic skills and vocational skills.  This realization is what led the federal government, for the first time in history, to offer education courses in basic skills (Lynch, 2016).  Another program, Works Progress Administration (WPA) was responsible for employing teachers and getting them involved in adult education.  This program combined with another program, Public Works Administration, educated approximately 1.5 million adults, during 1933 and 1938. (Lynch, 2016).  Organizations, such as, the National Council of Negro Women, National Negro Congress and the Southern Negro Youth Congress were often known for educating and organizing boycotts and movements. 

Organizations and programs were not the only influential factor for adult/community education.  Schools, such as folk schools and labor colleges were contributors to the shaping and forming of adult/community education.  Highlander, a folk school founded by Myles Horton, was known for educating and training leaders and organizers of labor movements and social justice movements. (Carey, 2013).  Labor colleges were schools that also specialized in labor organization, as well as, instruction for adult industrial workers.  Both types of schools were an integral part in adult/community education.

Adult/community education has always played a major role in shaping and molding America.  Whether it was dealing with building this great country using industrialization or changing the mindset of people for social justice, adult/community education was an integral part of it all. The need for trained skilled workers is as prevalent today as it was in the 1930’s.  The Trades industry is in high demand for skilled workers, approximately 1 million jobs are being projected for the State of Indiana by 2025.  This high demand for skilled workers is throughout the United States.  We, America, were not vocationally prepared in the past and if we don’t start educating and training now, we won’t be vocationally prepared for the future.  This preparation should not be left up to the State and Federal Government to figure out.  The local government and local communities must be a part of the preparation team.  Community leaders must get involve to educate and bring awareness about the opportunities in the Trades industry, as well as, work with local Trade Unions and Career Centers to offer courses, programs and training in the specialized skills.  Hopefully, we won’t make the same mistake as we did in the past and began addressing this vocational need early by expanding and increasing the number of adult/community classes and program offerings.

The 1930’s era made a huge contribution to social justice.  Protests, boycotts and movements were strategies used for their voice to be heard.  These same strategies are being used today as they were during the 1930’s.  The strategies’ effectiveness seems to be somewhat the same today as they were then, for people are still fighting for some of the same social injustices that were occurring back then.  For example, racial discrimination, gender discrimination, religion discrimination and others.  Looking back at the 1930’s and looking at where we are today, has led me to believe that we will always be fighting for social justice. However, we must also continue to do as they did back then, continue to fight until our voice is heard and there is a social change.

  

Area	Summary
Social Background	Great Depression, worse economic downturn in history; Unemployment was high; Half of country’s banks closed; Half of African American out of work; 20,000 schools closed; vocational classes and programs closed; Crime rate high; Suicide rate high; Prostitution on the rise; Husbands abandoning families
Highlights	Industrialization production; Vocational education; Homemakers educated on life skills; Education on Social Justice on the rise through protests and movements; Labor movements an strikes on labor justice
Influential factors	New Deal relief and reform plan; Organizations: Civilian Conservation Corps, National Youth Administration, National Negro Women, National Negro Congress, Southern Negro Youth; Folk schools; Labor colleges
Implications	Need for educating and training adults in Trades Industry to meet the future demand through community and adult education. The continuation of protests and movements for social justice one mustn’t quit until your voice is heard and there is a change!

 

References

Carey, B. (2013, February 01). Highlander Folk School. Retrieved September 16, 2020, from https://www.tnmagazine.org/highlander-folk-school

Encyclopedia.com Editors." Historic Events for Students: The Great Depression.  Encyclopedia.com. 11 Aug. 2020. (2020, September 13). Retrieved September 17, 2020, from https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-and-education-magazines/education-1929-1941

Gordon, H. R. (2014). Factors that Influenced Career and Technical Education Development. In The history and growth of career and technical education in America (pp. 79-81). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.

History.com Editors. (2009, October 29). Great Depression History. Retrieved September 16, 2020, from https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/great-depression-history

Klein, C. (2018, April 18). Last Hired, First Fired: How the Great Depression Affected African Americans. Retrieved September 13, 2020, from https://www.history.com/news/last-hired-first-fired-how-the-great-depression-affected-african-americans

Konkel, L. (2018, April 19). Life for the Average Family During the Great Depression. Retrieved September 13, 2020, from https://www.history.com/news/life-for-the-average-family-during-the-great-depression

Lynch, M. (2016, September 02). Comprehending How The Great Depression Influenced American Education. Retrieved September 16, 2020, from https://www.theedadvocate.org/comprehending-great-depression-influenced-american-education/

US History.org. (2020). Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression. Retrieved September 17, 2020, from https://www.ushistory.org/us/48e.asp