The united American : a magazine of good citizenchip., September 01, 1925, Page 6, Image 6

Page Six
THE UNITED AMERICAN
have been in the hands of the state superintendent
of public education were, in the bill that passed, given
into the hands of a commission of five, to be appointed
by the board of education, the commission to have
the power of appointing a state director of Ameri­
canization.
With the right state director in charge of the new
department it matters little what the technical terms
are in the bill.
When the state commission of Americanization at
its first meeting early in September appointed as State
Director of Americanization Schools, Mr. A. C. Strange,
formerly Superintendent of City Schools in Astoria, the
State of Oregon and the foreign-born were most fortu­
nate in the selection of the man to undertake the task
of laying the foundation for state Americanization and
adult educational work in Oregon.
While in charge of public education in Astoria, Mr.
Strange gained considerable public attention for his
ability to organize and standardize the night schools
for aliens in that city. His articles on “Becoming an
American,” written for aliens seeking citizenship
education, which have been running in the United
American since last January, have been read with
great interest by many people interested in American­
ization. When it was reported last spring that he
had resigned from his post in Astoria, ail real friends
of Americanization in Oregon expressed the wish that
Mr. Strange might be persuaded to assume the director­
ship of this new department of education.
A consolidation of the. Portland Americanization
Council, which is the financial beneficiary of $3000
annually, with the state department, which was given
the amount of $2500 annually, was proposed and
adopted in order that by pooling their financial
resources a capable executive could be appointed to
take charge of the Americanization work in the State
and to promote greater interest in the communities
where such work has been established.
After considering the offer for a few days, and after
a conference with Mr. J. A. Churchill, State Superin­
tendent of Public Education, Mr. Strange accepted the
appointment and immediately assumed his duties,
establishing his offices in the Portland Americaniza­
tion Council’s office, 812 Chamber of Commerce Bldg.,
Portland, Oregon.
In answer to a request from the United Ameri­
can for a statement covering briefly the plan in mind
for a state-wide activity of Americanization, Mr.
Strange first called attention to the general outline
contained in the state act which reads as follows:
“For the purpose of advancing the education and the
Americanization of adult immigrants in the State of
Oregon, it is hereby provided that a separate department
of the State School system to be known as the “Depart­
ment of Americanization” shall be and the same is here­
by established. That the said department of Americaniza­
tion shall be conducted in conjuction with the public
school system of this State and shall be directed and
operated under the supervision and control of the super­
intendent of public instruction of the State of Oregon in
accordance with such regulations as hereinafter set forth:
“The State Commission of Americanization is hereby
authorized:
(a) To have a standardized course of study in Ameri­
canization Schools;
(b) To have general power to promote and advance
SEPTEMBER 1925
the work of Americanization throughout the state in con­
junction with the general public school system.”
In support of these provisions the new Director
of State Americanization Schools submitted the follow­
ing plan:
I. In accordance with the terms of this act, our effort
shall be to aid in the organization of schools for adult immi­
grants wherever there is a field for such work. In these
schools, they will be given instruction in reading, writing
and speaking of our language, in our history and geography,
and in our ideals and government. Wherever possible, these
should be organized by and conducted under the supervision
of the local public school authorities. If, for financial or
other reasons, this cannot be done, we shall organize the
school under the direction of local organizations or through
the patriotic effort of volunteer teachers.
II. We shall try to arouse the interest of native-born
Americans in these schools with the purpose of giving a
better appreciation of their value and of stimulating the
attendance of the foreign-born in the schools. Particular
effort will be made to interest the owners and operators of
industrial plants in this movement. Employers have found
it to be true, that the immigrant employe is worth more to
his employer when he has learned our language and our
ideals and has become a citizen of our country.
III. We hope to influence the native-born American to
practice a kindlier, more neighborly relation to the alien.
Someone has said that “Americanization is neighborization”
and it is certainly true that being neighborly goes far toward
making the immigrant love and believe in our country. With­
out doubt the disloyalty to our country, which has troubled
us in recent years, has been in part due to the resentment
many aliens have held because they felt that they were
considered inferior, looked down upon, and discriminated
against. A neighborly attitude on the part of the native-born
American will remove this feeling and build that “under­
standing love for America” which is true Americanism.
IV. We shall stress, where there is opportunity, those
fundamental principles of government upon which America
is founded. We need a newer and stronger emphasis in all
our teaching upon respect for law and order, upon justice
and fair play, upon active citizenship, upon individual oppor­
tunity, upon character.
V. We shall -prepare the necessary courses of study, shall
instruct teachers in the methods of doing the work and aid
them in organizing their adult schools. Efficiency in work
in the adult schools depends very largely upon the training
of the teachers. Excellent training courses have been offered
by the University of Oregon each summer and our work has
been much benefitted thereby. We hope to stimulate an
interest among the teachers of the immigrant adult the State
over in obtaining this very much needed training.
VI. We hope, also, to bring about a very general apprecia­
tion of the importance of these schools, of their value to
the immigrant, to industry, and to the State so that the depart­
ment may be firmly fixed as a part of our educational system.
VII. Other activities will be the arousing of interest in
the study of the immigrant problem, racial backgrounds, immi­
grant needs, means of dealing with the immigrant, etc. and
the enlisting of the foreign-born themselves in the support
of the movement.
In the doing of this work we shall always bear in mind
that the primary purpose of the movement is not merely
the preparing of the immigrant for the citizenship examina­
tions, but rather his useful life in America. America’s great­
est need is not more citizens; it is better prepared, more
competent citizens. Hence, in dealing with the foreign-born
in an educational way, it is our hope to be able to give him
such an understanding of, and such an attitude toward Amer­
ica as will make him, when- he becomes a citizen, as we
trust he will, an active, loyal citizen, respected as such by
all his fellow citizens.
Citizens at large in Oregon who are interested
that aliens in their neighborhood become naturalized
should first consult the State Director, obtain his
advice how they may help these aliens before they
(Continued on Page Eleven)