General Education Board

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The General Education Board was a foundation that supported primarily secondary schools and medical schools in the United States. It also supported schools in the rural areas of the southern states and promoted agricultural research and education. The foundation was established in 1902 by John D. Rockefeller and Frederick T. Gates . Rockefeller donated $ 180 million and Gates took the chair. After the foundation's assets had largely been used up by 1950, the foundation was dissolved in 1964.

Foundation and goals

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled,
That William H. Baldwin Jr., Jabez LM Curry,
Frederick T. Gates, Daniel C. Gilman, Morris K. Jesup,
Robert C. Ogden, Walter H. Page, George Foster Pea-
body, and Albert Shaw, and their successors, be, and
they hereby are, constituted a body corporate of the
District of Columbia; that the name of such body cor-
porate shall be GENERAL EDUCATION BOARD and
that by such name the said persons and their successors
shall have perpetual succession.

Under Department 2, the purpose is named: " The promotion of education within the United States of America regardless of race, gender or belief " (Sec. 2. That the object of the said corporation shall be the promotion of education within the United States of America, without distinction of race, sex, or creed.)

The bill was passed by Senator Nelson Aldrich , father-in-law of John Davison Rockefeller Jr. Brought by Congress and Senate and signed by President Roosevelt in January 1903. The foundation's initial capital was $ 1 million.

In April 1905, Anna T. Jeanes , who had her own foundation in Louisiana , sent a check for $ 200,000 to George Foster Peabody , Treasurer of the General Education Board, to aid schools for Negro rural areas.

On June 30th, 1905, the GEB received another $ 10 million from John Davison Rockefeller and in February 1907 another collateral donation with a market value of $ 32 million. In their thank-you letters, Board Members Frederick T. Gates, John D. Rockefeller, JR., Daniel C. Gilman, Wallace Buttrick, Morris K. Jesup, E. Benjamin Andrews, Robert C. Ogden, Hugh H. Hanna, Walter H. Page, Starr J. Murphy, George Foster Peabody, Edwin A. Alderman, Albert Shaw, Hollis B. Frissell, Harry Pratt Judson that this is the greatest sum that has ever been given by a man in human history for social or philanthropic purposes ”. ("This is the largest sum ever given by a man in the history of the race for any social or philanthropic purposes.") The General Education Board is now the guardian and administrator of a foundation sum totaling forty-three million dollars guardian and administrator of a total trust fund of forty-three million dollars ($ 43,000,000).)

The last donation to the GEB received another $ 10,000,000 from Rockefeller in July 1909.

Rockefeller jr. was able to win six members of the Southern Education Board to work on the GEB board, who brought in their experiences from the south. Under the direction of Wallace Buttrick , a Baptist pastor like Frederick Taylor Gates , who headed the GEB from 1902 to 1917 as executive director, 1917–1923 as president and then from 1923–1926 as chairman, they worked with William H. Baldwin Jr. (Chairman 1902–1905) and Robert C. Ogden (Chairman 1905–1907) plans to make the GEB the most important philanthropic foundation in the field of education in the first half of the 20th century.

In 1904 Gates enthusiastically and full of idealism describes the role of the General Education Board as follows:

“In our dreams, we have limitless resources and the people yield themselves with perfect docility to our molding hands. The present educational conventions fade from our minds, and unhampered by traditions, we work our own good will upon a grateful and responsive rural folk! We shall not try to make these people or any of their children into philosophers or men of learning, or men of science. We have not to raise up from among them authors, editors, poets or men of letters. We shall not search for embryo great artists, painters, musicians nor lawyers, doctors, preachers, politicians, statesmen, of whom we have an ample supply. The task we set before ourselves is very simple as well as a very beautiful one, to train these people as we find them to a perfectly ideal life just where they are. So we will organize our children and teach them to do in a perfect way the things their fathers and mothers are doing in an imperfect way, in the homes, in the shops and on the farm. "

“ In our dreams we have unlimited resources and people surrender to our shaping hands with complete docility. The current pedagogical customs are disappearing from our heads and, unhindered by tradition, we are transferring our own goodwill to a grateful and receptive rural population. We're not going to try to make philosophers or scholars or men of science out of these people or any of their children. We don't need to raise writers, educators, poets or literary figures among them. We will not look for the seeds of great artists, painters, musicians, lawyers, doctors, preachers, politicians, statesmen, of whom we have plenty.

The task that we have set ourselves is both a very simple and a very beautiful one, to train people as we find them for a perfectly ideal life where they are. So we will guide our children and teach them in a perfect way to do the things their fathers and mothers do in an imperfect way, in their home, in the craft shops and on the farm. "

- Frederick Taylor Gates : General Education Board's Occasional Letter No. 1

The work

Statistics on the civil status of African-Americans, 1890
School attendance statistics in the southern states, 1890 (illiterate population)

The GEB had actually planned to develop mainly the education of the black population in the rural areas, but three priorities had developed by 1905:

  • 1. The promotion of agricultural work in the southern states
  • 2. The development of public high schools in the southern states
  • 3. The advancement of higher education across the United States.

During the first three years they collected reports and took stock of education in the southern states, where 85 percent of the population lived in the country and earned their income from farming. It was now being considered what means could be used to convey the best knowledge available in their communities to the farmers. In Washington, some board members met with Seaman A. Knapp , who in Terrell, Texas, with the fight against 1903 boll weevil had begun (Boll Weevil). In pursuit of this goal, Knapp set up model farms where the farmers learned how to control the pest. Knapp worked on the snowball principle. The successful should then teach other farmers in the neighborhood their new method. In 1904, the Federal Department of Agriculture appointed Knapp special envoy for the promotion of agriculture in the southern states. Thereupon the GEB also took part in these projects, because it was part of their principle never to support INDIVIDUAL PERSONS.

The farmers learned simple things such as: B. choosing good seeds, working or plowing the soil properly, using fertilizer, not placing the plants too close together so that they get light and air and do not suffocate. He warned against overloading with knowledge, but worked according to the step-by-step method, because "the average person, like a crow, can only count to three". and he made “10 Commandments for Farmers,” which included using more tech and writing down expenses. In this way the yield of the fields was increased and the farmer could earn money with his harvest.

The “corn” and “tomato” clubs of the rural youth

Knapp placed his hopes in the young, the farmers of the future, and hoped that their parents would also learn from the successes. The basic idea that originated from him in 1904 was that every boy should independently plant 1 acre of maize (corn) - if possible - on a piece of land belonging to his father (4046.9 m² = approx. 200 × 200 m) and, as a reward, the yield was allowed to keep his harvest. This was how the “corn clubs” were formed, which were soon organized from village to city and county to state level.

Father and son had only once reached Knapp with his idea. Now he thought about how he could get hold of the mothers and daughters, because no one could simply say that the household was badly managed without being thrown out. Chance came to his aid when he heard from Miss Marie Cromer , who in Aiken, South Carolina, was planting tomatoes with her students and canning them in a can. Knapp wanted to be self-sufficient and encouraged the schools to earn money by growing and selling fruit and vegetables. The first plant to be grown was the tomato. During the growing season, teachers were able to be briefed on the canning method and handling of the portable equipment. When the tomatoes were ripe, the girls would come together in one family's house and then in the next to canning them. In doing so, they learned the necessity of essential cleanliness, sterilization and labeling.

The clubs soon spread across the United States and resulted in the establishment of the "4H Clubs" (head, heart, hands, health), whose emblem was a four-leaf clover.

Even the New York Times made headlines for the GEB's involvement in girls' clubs.

The Smith-Lever Act of 1914

On May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Smith-Lever Act , introduced by Senator Hoke Smith of Georgia and Congressman Asbury Francis Lever of South Carolina. After many years of discussion between the Teachers' Association (NEA) and the Ministry of Agriculture, the change in government made it possible for the law, also known as the Agricultural Extension Act, to be ratified. The agricultural research institutes were obliged to pass on the findings of their research "co-operatively" to farmers and households who lived in the country and therefore too far away from the colleges or universities. The lessons should now come to the farmers on site - following the example of Seaman Knapp, who is considered the “father of extension”. Some of the colleges had already done this information work on their own because they saw it as necessary. B. Iowa or Tuskegee. The General Education Board had also pulled a lot of strings behind Wallace Buttrick and was glad that this extremely necessary work was now regulated by law.

Issues until 1914

At the present time (1914), the foundation's assets are $ 33,939,156.89, of which $ 30,918,063.80 are assets and $ 3,021,093.09 are reserves. The gross income on these deposits was $ 2,417,079.62 for 1913-14. In addition, the Anna T. Jeanes Fund generated $ 200,000 in gross income of $ 9,231.64.

General Education Board grants through June 30, 1914 U.S-$
Colleges and Universities 10,582,591.80
Medical schools 2.670.974.11
Negro Colleges and Schools 699,781.13
Miscellaneous Schools 159,991.02
Professors of Secondary Education 242,861.09
Southern Education Board 97,126.23
Rural School Agents (both races) 104,443.18
Farm Demonstration Work - South 925,750.00 (including Boys 'and Girls' Clubs)
Farm Demonstration Work in Maine and New Hampshire 50,876.45 (including Boys 'and Girls' Clubs)
Rural Organization Service 37,166.66
Educational Conferences 18,108.23
Administrative Expenses 304.794.99
Total 15,894,364.89

In December 1919, John D. Rockefeller senior transferred. the GEB again collateral (bonds and shares) in the amount of $ 50 million.

In a letter from John D. Rockefeller Sr. in December 1919 to the GEB, expresses the opinion of the public that the teachers are not sufficiently remunerated and believes that everything must be done to educate the youth. He demands immediate action with the utmost urgency. Due to the First World War, the GEB submitted a comprehensive report in 1928, which shows comparative figures between 1919-20 and 1926-27 with the corresponding increases in pay.

Some publications

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The General Education Board: an account of its activities, 1902-1914 . Appendix I - Certificate of Incorporation, page 212 ff
  2. ^ The General Education Board: an account of its activities, 1902-1914 . Miss Jeanes letter with check - Page 223 Appendix
  3. ^ The General Education Board: an account of its activities, 1902-1914 . Appendix II - Correspondence between Rockefeller and GEB page 216 ff
  4. ^ Definition of Chairman
  5. ^ General education board officials and members until 1915
  6. ^ Paolo Lionni: The Leipzig Connection: Sabotage of the US Educational System. Publisher: Heron Books 1993 ISBN 978-0897390019 Chapter 6 - Molding Hands
  7. ^ The General education board: an account of its activities, 1902-1914, p. 24
  8. ↑ Boll Wevil
  9. ↑ The General education board: an account of its activities, 1902-1914 table Government shares - GEB - other sources, page 48
  10. ↑ [1] op. Page 28
  11. ↑ The Ten Commandments, page 29
  12. ^ The Corn Clubs , page 58ff
  13. ^ The Canning Clubs , page 64ff
  14. ↑ James W. Clark, Jr .: CLOVER ALL OVER North Carolina 4-H in Action. North Carolina State University, Raleigh 1984
  15. ↑ ROCKEFELLER BOARD AIDS CANNING CLUBS
  16. ↑ Smith-Lever Act ( Memento of the original from October 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / jschell.myweb.uga.edu
  17. ^ The General Education Board: an account of its activities, 1902-1914 editions, pp. 15-16.
  18. ^ Letter from Rockefeller of December 18, 1919 in: Occasional Paper No. 8th General Education Board, New York, NY 1928
  19. ↑ Teachers' salaries in certain endowed colleges and universities in the United States by Trevor Arnett. Occasional Paper No. 8th General Education Board, New York, NY 1928