Curriculum and faculty Brookwood Labor College

charles a. beard 1 of brookwood s famous faculty members.

brookwood s director a.j. muste, christian , pacifist. served chairman of faculty, , taught world history. john c. kennedy director of studies, , tom tippett director of extension activities. cara cook acted both brookwood s librarian , served administrative assistant muste. in later years, taught classes , tutored students @ college well.

faculty taught either full- or part-time. notable faculty taught there (for part or of school s history) included:

charles a. beard (history)
louis budenz (labor organizing , strike management)
dr. arthur w. calhoun (sociology , history)
sarah norcliffe cleghorn (writing , nonviolent techniques)
josephine colby (public speaking)
katherine pollak ellickson (writing , economics)
jack frager (labor history)
abram lincoln harris (economics)
john c. kennedy (economics)
john martindale (union organization , parliamentary procedure)
dr. broadus mitchell (economics)
helen g. norton (labor journalism)
roy reuther (labor organizing)
liston oak
lawrence rogin (trade union organization , labor journalism)
john nevin sayre (nonviolent techniques)
dr. david j. saposs (economics)
dr. joel seidman (economics , union issues)
mark starr (british labor history)
dr. lazare teper (economics)
tom tippett (strike organizing , music)
nat weinberg (economics)

clinton s. golden claimed have been on faculty. golden s biographer thomas brooks, points out, golden lectured @ brookwood never appointed faculty. role on board of directors precluded it.

it worth noting faculty integrated (harris african american). faculty unionized, teachers members of local 189 of american federation of teachers.

faculty @ brookwood integral part of school s administration. faculty had formal role in directing school , in setting educational policies. faculty helped establish , maintain brookwood s clearinghouse on worker education materials, , hosted annual conference on worker education drew labor educators across nation.

curriculum

generalizations curriculum difficult because changing.

however, brookwood s curriculum emphasized general education, strong emphasis on labor economics, labor history, , trade union organizing. curriculum focused on humanities, , included courses in contemporary politics, creative writing, economics, english literature, labor history, literacy , reading comprehension, sociology, language studies, public speaking, rhetoric, , world history. because many students immigrants or had low levels of education, basic courses in reading , writing taught. faculty taught courses in how better student, such how study , use of english language . brookwood s curriculum emphasized theory , practice of trade union organization , administration , labor militancy. common courses included history of american labor movement , trade union organization work , , foreign labor history . preparation field work , labor course, analyzed successful , failed strikes , organizing campaigns, ways generate positive publicity, , difficulties of organizing disparate groups of workers. there courses in running meetings , parliamentary procedure. texts included works john r. commons, david j. saposs, , william z. foster. courses in economics emphasized maldistribution of wealth, problems of free market, , benefits of socialism, while in psychology discussed how best approach workers in union organizing campaigns. exceptionally strong labor journalism course offered, , school published own weekly journal, brookwood review. lawrence rogin, joined school in 1934, journal s editor until 1937, , students encouraged submit pieces publication sharpen skills learned in class.

one of brookwood s innovative aspects emphasis on personal learning. non-competitiveness emphasized. there no grades, no tests, no report cards, , no diplomas. high quality work demanded 1 s fellow students, protested vocally , publicly when peers turned in poor work.

wood chopping 1 of manual chores faculty , students @ brookwood expected assist with.

another innovation in brookwood curriculum emphasis on manual labor. students expected engage in manual labor keep school clean , make repairs buildings, equipment, vehicles, , furniture. cooking, serving meals, farming college s extensive vegetable gardens, chopping wood fuel, , assisting food , work animals on campus expected. faculty , guests expected participate in manual labor well.

brookwood worked foster strong sense of community among leadership, faculty, , students. enrollment in each course kept small encourage group cohension. small group work common. since many students poor readers, learning read, or had english second language, educators made sure each group had @ least 1 reader. together, group conducted research, organized work, , reported orally rest of class. faculty ate @ same tables students, , meals communal. number of extracurriculur activities offered not enhance health of faculty , students promote sense of community. these included athletics, dances, group hikes, , communal singing.

brookwood s educational program two-year one. courses 3 hours week 15 weeks. however, students , others pressed college make program shorter reduce demands on workers, , one-year program added in 1926. brookwood began offering two-week summer institutes in 1926 not take longer program. speakers @ these institutes included u.s. senators, corporate executives, u.s. military personnel (often corps of engineers), , representatives state regulatory agencies. correspondence courses , extension courses (primarily delivered through labor unions) part of offerings well. college s educational efforts included publication of number of short, pragmatic pamphlets, worksheets, , booklets workers use in union organizing campaigns , strikes. brookwood began offering chautauqua in 1934. organized students, traveling show of speakers, drama, singers, , others traveled throughout new england, new jersey, , pennsylvania.