The Daily Worker Newspaper, October 9, 1926, Page 12

| apni wags les ‘cenieiene — SO eee By NAT KAPLAN. GINE corraling fifty-two Ameri- can youngsters of both sexes onto a thirty-acre New England farm and telling them: “This is your domain. Set up your government and rnuie.” Some of the old gray beards who think “thru their hardened arteries would answer, “Impossible, chaos, scandalous—petting parties, ete.” We hate to disappoint them, but nothing of the sort took place. From the first to the fifth week the Young Workers’ League Summer Training school held on Lake Dennison Farm, near Win- ehendon, Mass., was a perfect pic- ture of self-discipline enacted and en- forced by the students themselves. It is true that in the beginning we had some hazings. students, a member of the rules en- forcement committee elected by’ the students, was about to retire one fair evening, and found a cool reception awaiting him. Another student from Long Island had dedoratéed his bed with small lumps of—what the stu- dent lawyer in the student’s trial on the matter called—‘frozen ice.” The student’s court found the “culprit” guilty and promptly sentenced him to become the school ice man and to supply the refrigerator daily. Since that time no serious breech of disci- piine was recorded. ~ Purpose of the School. school was.one of a series of three district schools established for the Young Workers’ League this year. The main purpose of the school wag to give a minimum political- theoretical training to a number of chosen members of the Young Work- ers’ League so that they could be- come better functionaries of the league. When the instructors arriv- ed, they found: that a large number of the students were nonCommunist youths, many had no contact with working class orgamizations before. The Finnish comrades, who were helping to finance the school, had in this way extended its purpose. The Student Composition. Of the fifty-two etudents in the school, 30 were girls and 22 were boys, Thirty of the students of both sexes were American-born (American- ized yougsters in every sense of the word). The social composition was not of the best. There were 19 young workers, 2 young farmers and 31 were students (the majority attending high | school), Yet, we cannot be too dis- mal in regards to this composition. Large numbers of the students fi American schools have demonstrated their militancy in the struggle against compulsory military training in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Not only that but large numbers of the students from working class families will be forced into the industries af- ter leaving the schools, Twenty of our school students were not mem- bers in any part of the radical move- ment when they arrived. The Curriculum. TH of the instructors were una- nimous from the start in discard- ing the old socialist Sunday school type of curriculum, 4. e., one which starts with the evolution of the earth, of man and society and finally comes if ever—to a consideration of the present capitalist system and the problems facing us today. If for no One of the Boston | 5 other reason, the short school term, made this impermissable. Some of the students, who when they were younger, had attended socialist Sun- day schools, were questioned one day as to what they had learned there. One remembered -hazily that she had A New Cone 4 in the Ma Athletics and Side Features, ¢ ce school had a “cracker-jack” baseball team which won three games out of four, and lost only one. Besides baseball, there was swimming, canosing, fishing, high learned something about an ape; a2-| jumping, pole vaulting, shot throwing other had learned that, at one time there were cave men. Marxian “eco- nomics, i.e, an analysis of the capi- and track athletics. The real spirit of working class sportsmanship was built up in the school—and no little talist mode of production was Wgic-| part was played in this development ally our starting point if we aimed to be realists. From this starting point we were able to advance to a consideration of the question of the class struggle and the role of state; classes and parties in America; imperialism; forms and gy of the class siruggle and revo! ; the role of the party; the role of the Young Workers’ League and the youth problems, etc, Dusing the last two weeks we also added the study of American history to our cur riculum. The day,.was divided so that there was plenty of time for the school work, study circle work, recre- ation and. meetings of the students’ government, — ioe kaa Method a Vebaex” ae gna instructors merely tried to guide the students in thelr self- education. Neither of the instructors assumed that they were to present their lectures and disregard whether the students were actually deriving something from them. The instruct-) ors invited interruptions and inter- rupted themselves during the course of the lectures to present concrete problems to the students. The ordi- nary lecture method was turned into a discussion method and thus the ini- tiative of the students was developed. The main bulk of the discussion, how- ever, took place within the students’ study circles. There was one basic fauk in the teaching method. The school was too far removed from the actual strug- gles of the workers during the per- jod of its existence. The academic training should have been combined with real work in the factories of Gardner and vicinity. A factory could | to have been visited and studied, then a campaign among the workers plan- ned. Students’ Self-Government. LIKE the capitalist schools, the highest authority on this farm school were the students themselves, The final say on all matters was in the hands of a students’ body com- posed of all the students. This body elected a students’ council of 13 mem- bers which functioned between meet- ings of the students’ body. Some permanent committees (a re- strictive committee to enforce the ‘student rules, an athletic committee, a kitchen police committee, which ap- portioned K. P. duty to all students |, evenly, etc., were elected. Besides the permanent committees temporary ones were elected whenever neces- gary. Some of the students had been sent to the school under the instructions of their parents, not, on their own in- itiative and had #0 expressed them- |'er selves in the beginning. atudents’ within the school which absorbed these students and made them. refuse to leave at any price. It was the form of self government | in. by the girls. The school had a wall paper as its oficial organ which was’ called The Red Revel. A husky young farmer from Vermont was the editor-in-chief who was supported by an able staff of students. Michael Gold, would have received the thrill of his life if he had seen these Students present his mass. rect tation, . “Strike” to a -large: audience of .sympathizers.. Debates and..many other side activities arranged by the students, kept this youth community hustling all. the time, As the school. was coming to, a gloup the students all lined ' up in the Young Workers’ League. Speeches of de termination to win away the ‘youth from the grip of the capitalist ex- ploiters were made on all sides. Many of the students felt sad as they hag to say good-bye to their comrades who were leaving for their homes in all parts. “In our future work in the movement,” said one of the students in parting, “we will never forget the spirit and the lessons of the Lake Dennison School.” Salvation By HENRY GEORGE WEISS The volunteer clerks for the firm of Eva‘Booth and Jesus,” Second-hand clothes dealers and pie in the sky merchants, Come out every night and sing, of the Lamb? Are You Washed in the Blood When the drab men and women they sell castoffs to all day Have seldom the price of soap and water, . To give themselves a wash once a week! : THE TINY WORKER A Weekly. Edited by Dorothy Rubin, Minneapolis, Minn. Johnny Red, Assistant. Vol. 1. Saturday, October 9, 1926 No. 20 FUNNYBIRDS EXTRA! + ete On Oct. 23 the This one _Sunday Worker John Mank Cleveland. — will appear, That This bird has gy three letters his nick-name. He beats aged ers, ha al eavy shoes and chases kids off the street Johnny Red’s mother just couldn’t help a at him. j wr means our iittle Tiny Worker will be read by many many more chil- dren. So now we Johnny had a | B@ve to get real happy grin from ear to ear and it was good. Send in when Ten Lica tae all because of this donay letter from | many xs cortices ball, DOROTHY RUBIN, Minneapolis, ‘ no respect for him- | pear Comrade, Johnny Red: poems, jokes and oe wee Iam glad to ip “hoor you “are suing te so that get another jo! have a Sunday Worker. Good luck | we ‘can have areal to you Johnny and I hope it will mean iss more space for the TINY WORKER. ue évery HEY—WHAT'’s HERE IS M¥ DOLLAR SPENDING | Week. And espec- THIS? pon gh tO Hy I am also jally the first is- pawe. OV send you nice story for | gene, A bird that fies | the issue of the TINY WORKER only when he’s | im the new SUNDAY WORKER. Oh, and here's —_ and talks he Daily Worker is no shirker, another thing. For It is working like a bumble-bee. and. listens. | i¢ the workers send in their dollars It will help it fight to make us free. Oh let us all Tiny Workers pas 0 do our share. MY DOLLAR SPENDING Worker's care. Ghee, whillikens, kids, fendid? And i ta a “Johnny. just fests “1 80 38 | maze dumb and sates Negroes, At ight be® nig’ @° goes around in a bed and every- + AB of For The Daily too! When our teach- asked us at cause she didn't know I guess, sin as loud as*a dozen train whis- tinging pee eee er one dollar you can get four subs for ; | 20 weeks — that's only one. for a quarter. Go on, tell your daddy te Subscribe for the men in his shop like | ®nd the kids in your block so they can read the TINY WORKER too! A POEM ; By Florence J Philadelphia isn’t that Little girla And die like a The profits go For swell clothes and hats, NARA Biddy manu eompnnnnt ae a} Lage ’ ee