CHAPTER VII 



NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION STATE AND OTHER 

 TEACHERS' ASSOCIATIONS 



It is said of the National Education Association that it "has 

 been, and is now the body-guard of public-school instruction in 

 our country." While this statement may not be taken literally, the 

 fact remains that this Association is the one educational organi- 

 zation which is truly national in character, embracing as it does 

 the interests of all parts of the country and all phases of educa- 

 tion. 



It was organized in Philadelphia on August 26, 1857, under 

 the name of the National Teachers' Association by a group of 

 teachers who met in response to a call sent out the previous year 

 to all the local teachers' associations. The call itself is significant, 

 for it expresses the spirit which has, on the whole, been manifest 

 during the entire existence of the Association: to teachers of 

 the United States "who are willing to unite in a general effort 

 to promote the general welfare of our country by concentrating 

 the wisdom and power of numerous minds, and by distributing 

 among all the accumulated experiences of all" (77). 



The name was changed in 1870 to the National Educa- 

 tional Association and in 1907 to the one it now bears. As it was 

 founded to meet the demands of a natural growth, it has never 

 departed from the essential principles on which it was founded. 

 The extent to which the "accumulated experiences of all" have 

 been "distributed among all" may be seen by a reference to the 

 published list of titles of papers and discussions from 1857 to 

 1907. This list covers over seventy pages and embraces almost 

 every imaginable subject of educational interest (78). Many 

 discussions are of only passing importance; some are but means 

 of exploiting favorite theories; others are real contributions to 

 educational thought. 



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