Post on 05-Feb-2023
PROTECTION
by Francisco (Pancho) Puelles
ISSUES IN THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION
IN MANITOBA
From the Construction of the Common Schoolto the Politics of Voices
Edited byRosa del C. Bruno-Jofre
The Edwin Mellen PressLewiston/Queenston/Lampeter
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publicat ion Data
Issues in the history of education in Manitoba : from the constructionof the common school to the politics of voices / edited by Rosa delC. Bruno-Jofre.
p. cm.Includes bibliographical references.ISBN 0-7734-9330-11. Education~Manitoba--History. 2. Education-Social aspects-
-Manitoba-History. I. Bruno-Joffe, Rosa del Carmen, 1946-LA4182M3I87 1993370'.971'27--dc20 93-4629
CIP
A CIP catalog record for this bookis available from the British Library.
Copyright ® 1993 The Edwin Mellen Press
All rights reserved. For information contact
The Edwin Mellen PressBox 450
Lewiston, New YorkUSA 14092
The Edwin Mellen PressBox 67
Queenston, OntarioCANADA LOS 1LO
"We welcome teaching as women's work, and asmen's work. We believe that there is no way oflife personally more satisfying, professionallymore rewarding, socially more valuable, morallymore demanding. As women teachers we havean added excitement in these times of change.There is stirring in us a spirit of rebellion: thereis awakening in us a spark of divine discontent."
Sybil Shack, Women in Canadian Education.1975.
Edwin Mellen Press, Ltd.Lampeter, Dyfed, Wales
UNITED KINGDOM SA48 7DY
Printed in the United States of America
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 111
INTRODUCTION• Ken Osborne
PARTI THE PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION OF THECOMMON SCHOOL 17
CHAPTER ONEForging a New Protestant Ontario on theAgricultural Frontier: Public Schools in Brandonand the Origins of the Manitoba School Question,1881 - 1890• Tom Mitchell
CHAPTER TWOThe School Question Continued: The Issue ofCompulsory Schooling in Manitoba• Richard Henley
CHAPTER THREEThe Struggle over Modernization in ManitobaEducation: 1924 - 1960• Benjamin Levin
19
47
73
PART II OPENING PEDAGOGICAL SPACES 97
CHAPTER FOUR"To Rouse the Workers from Apathy andIndifference': The Educational Dimension ofUnionist and Political Practices in Brandon,1900 - 1920"• Tom Mitchell and Rosa del C. Bruno-!ofr£ . 99
CHAPTER FIVEMennonites and Modernism: The ChangingImpact of the Mennonite Collegiate Institute onMennonite Education and Society in Manitoba,1888 - 1948• Gerhard J. Ens
CHAPTER SIXUkrainian Language Education in ManitobaPublic Schools: Reflections on a Centenary• Marcella Derkatz
137
157
PART III TEACHER EDUCATION IN MANITOBA 225
CHAPTER SEVENTeacher Education in Manitoba: 1945 - 1982• Alexander D. Gregor 227
PART IV TEACHERS'ORGANIZATIONS . 293
CHAPTER EIGHT"We Must Stand Fast for the Sake of OurProfession": Teachers, Collective Bargaining andthe Brandon Schools Crisis of 1922• Tom Mitchell
CHAPTER NINEThe Manitoba Teachers' Federation, 1919 -1933:The Quest for Professional Status• Rosa del C. Bruno-Jofre'
PART V FORMAL EDUCATION AND THEABORIGINAL PEOPLE: BUILDING ARESPONSE .
CHAPTER TENIndustrial Education for Manitoba Natives:Case of Rupert's Land Indian School• Brian Titley
The
295
325
369
371
CHAPTER ELEVENHigher Education for Native Students atManitoba Universities: The Quest for EqualAccess• Deo H. Poonwassie 405
PART VI WOMEN 429
CHAPTER TWELVEThe Making of a Teacher, 1917-1935: OneWoman's Perspective• Sybil Shack
CHAPTER THIRTEENTeaching as Growth, 1935-1976: One Woman'sPerspective• Sybil Shack
CHAPTER FOURTEENThe Oblate Sisters, A Manitoban Order:Reconstructing Early Years, 1904 - 1915• Rosa del C. Bruno-Jofre
431
471
511
CHAPTER FIFTEENDecoding the Subjective Image of WomenTeachers in Rural Towns and Surrounding Areasin Southern Manitoba: 1947 - 1960• Rosa del C. Bruno-Jofre and Colleen Ross . . 569
PART VII MEMOIRS
CHAPTER SIXTEENRecollections, Reminiscences and Reflections• Compiled by Rosa del C. Bruno-Jofre
and Sybil Shack
595
597
1
CHAPTER NINE
THE MANITOBA TEACHERS' FEDERATION, 1919 - 1933:
THE QUEST FOR PROFESSIONAL STATUS
Rosa del C. Bruno-Jofre
Introduction
The Manitoba Teachers' Federation (MTF), now the Manitoba
Teachers' Society (MTS), came into being in 1919. From its inception, one
of its prime goals was to establish teaching as a profession. This chapter is a
preliminary attempt to explore the discourse of professionalization developed
by the leaders of the Federation.
Four issues appear central to the argument constructed by the
Federation in building the professional status of teaching. These are: the
negotiation of salaries on collective bargaining basis while gaining recognition
as a distinctive professional body (salary, working conditions, and community
status were perceived as closely related); the acknowledgement of the role of
education as central to the building of the social order; the demands for input
into the decision making process; and the pursuit of extended professional
326
training (acquisition of special knowledge). The two latter issues are closely
related to professional autonomy.
The conceptualization of teaching as a profession and the discourse
that nourished the politics of professionalization were male-based and
consequently exclusive. An internal conflict over salary reduction in the
Winnipeg Local Association in 1932 made clear that, in times of crisis, women
had to fight for acceptance of their status as professionals within the
organization.
A brief examination of the historical context framing the creation of the
Federation and the background of its leaders sets the basis for the
understanding of the thinking that nourished the Federation's approach to
professionalization.
Historical Setting1
As early as 1907, Manitoba teachers had attempted to create a
professional organization, The League of Manitoba Teachers, which was to
promote "the stability of the teaching profession as regards its social,
intellectual, moral, financial, and general welfare."2 The attempt did not
succeed. At that time Manitoba's educational system was still
re-accommodating to the political and educational consequences of the
Laurier-Greenway compromise of 1897 and the establishment of the bilingual
system that this agreement had created. The process of consolidating the
educational state was still in the making. It was also a transitional period
during which economic relations were beginning to change. Although the
concept of collective bargaining was beginning to gain ground among workers,
there was still little room for a professional teachers' organization attempting
to establish a basis for the defense of its members' financial interests.
It was not until the summer of 1918 that the first steps towards the
organization of teachers at the provincial level took place. Teachers from
different parts of the province, who were marking examination papers for the
327
Department of Education at the old Normal School on William Avenue in
Winnipeg, originated a movement which shortly thereafter resulted in the
creation of the Manitoba Teachers' Federation.
On the evening of April 22, 1919, four or five hundred teachers met in
Winnipeg, approved the final draft of a constitution, and elected an executive
committee. Of the ten members only three were women. The first president
was Mr. H. W. Huntley of Winnipeg.3 In 1920, the Federation was
incorporated by the provincial legislature.4 As early as May 1919, executives
of the Manitoba Teachers Federation invited teachers' organizations from the
other western provinces, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, to
discuss common problems. This was the initial move towards the creation of
The Canadian Teachers' Federation which was established in July 1920.5
The teachers' movement in Manitoba and in other Canadian provinces
needs to be understood in the broader ideological and political context of the
time. In 1916, the Manitoba legislature had passed the School Attendance
Act. The Minister of Education stated that this long overdue step was for the
protection of the state since the goal of education was to prepare a qualified
citizenry.6After 1900 Manitoba experienced an explosive population growth as
thousands of immigrants from eastern and southern Europe joined the earlier
immigrants from eastern Canada and Great Britain. Meanwhile there were
drastic transformations in the work place at the beginning of the decade; at
the time of the outbreak of war in 1914, Winnipeg was the third largest centre
of union activity in Canada. The War had damaged organized labour.
Unemployment, losses in wages, and conscription weakened the locals.
However, the inflation that went along with a slow economic recovery, the
unpopularity of conscription, the impact of veterans returning from the war,
anti-labour policies, huge corporate gains, and poor wages ultimately led to a
revival of organized labour. Brandon as well as Winnipeg was affected by this
process. In Winnipeg, the working class moved toward the creation of
328
industrial unions involving both skilled and unskilled workers. The reformist
integrationist approach of the Trades and Labour Council and the Trades and
Labour Congress (closely related to the American Federation of Labour) was
rejected in favour of the more radical labour activism nourished by parties like
the Socialist Party of Canada. In 1919, the movement finally converged in the
creation of the One Big Union (OBU).7
The second decade of the 20th century was characterized by the
creation of groups and organizations that along with labour and political
organizations challenged the prevalent passive notion of citizenship and
democracy. Thus, the Direct Legislation League, the Free Speech Defense
League, the Single Tax League, and particularly the People's Forum and the
Labour Church developed political oppositional discourses that challenged the
way power was structured. The Social Gospel movement had an important
place in the labour and political scene. Its preachers - notwithstanding the
opposition of conservative congregations - were involved with the Forum and
the Labour Church. They had a concern with education and democracy.
They were familiar with progressive education and applied some of its tenets
in popular educational practices. Winnipeg was a centre for the Social Gospel
in Canada. Salem Bland, J. S. Woodworth, W. Ivens, and Fred Dixon had
strong ties with the working class and achieved a high political profile. The
radicalization of the working class, however, went beyond the reformist
approach of the Social Gospelers.8
In 1919 the Canadian labour movement "rose up from coast to coast;"9
149,309 workers took part in 428 strikes across the country.10 It is not
surprising then that teachers decided to organize themselves. The Winnipeg
General Strike, the best known strike in the labour revolt of 1919, and the
sympathetic Brandon Strike took place less than one month after the first
convention of the Manitoba Teachers' Federation. The leaders of the
Federation recognized the relevance of organized action and collective
329
bargaining. They also recognized the relevance of education in the modern
state and wanted to claim their professional status.
Organized teachers across Canada were eager to avoid any stigma
attached to unionism and radical politics. In addition, the whole union
movement faced a severe crisis during the 1920's following the failure of the
1919 strike. Nonetheless, teachers' claims for better salaries were echoed by
labour leaders; and the teachers dismissed in Brandon in 1922 counted on
labour support.11 Incidentally, organized labour always valued schooling as
a means to gain political ground and to improve the standards of living for
their members. However, teachers' understanding of what constituted their
own self-interest and their social role set them on a different course. Unlike
the American Federation of Teachers which cultivated links with labour, in
particular with the reformist American Federation of Labour, the Canadian
Teachers Federation did not cultivate a formal relationship with organized
labour.12
The views of the Manitoba Teachers' Federation were conveyed to the
teachers and the public in The Bulletin, later titled The Manitoba Teacher
(1924), which began publication in 1919, immediately after the creation of the
Federation. In it the leadership tried to interpret the needs of teachers as an
interest group, and to conceptualize teaching as a profession in order for them
to organize their own reality and to define their role in the political and social
system. The Bulletin/The Manitoba Teacher also offered information about
the various national and international teachers' organizations as well as other
teachers activities, and it related the interest of teachers of Manitoba to the
interest of organized teachers in different places of the country. It is
interesting that all the activities of the Scottish National Union of Teachers
(NUT) had a prominent and consistent place in The Bulletin/The Manitoba
Teacher. There was also news of the American National Educational
Association and the American Federation of Teachers although it did not
330
appear regularly. The meetings and resolutions of the Canadian Teachers'
Federation were widely publicized.
The Leaders
Undoubtedly the character and political, educational, and social
background of the early leaders of the Federation helped to determine the
direction it took. Many of the leaders of the early Manitoba Teachers'
Federation came from eastern Canada although they were proud of their roots
in the "old country"; those of Scottish ancestry were usually identified as
Scottish. Early leaders such as E. K. Marshall, Charles Laidlaw, and Herbert
Huntley were well-educated, religious men, and mostly conservative, politically.
They were all familiar with progressive ideas in education. All of them had
important roles in the formation and policies of the Canadian Teachers'
Federation.
The inside politics that accompanied the creation of the Federation
remain to be explored. Active militant teachers of radical persuasion are
known to have been active in the early days. A case in point is James Skene,
who did undergraduate work at the University of Edinburgh and who later
obtained Manitoba industrial training certification. Skene, who was the
Director of the Manual Training Program in Brandon until he was fired in
1919, was very active in the Brandon political scene. Skene was a vocal and
apparently influential member of the Brandon Social Democratic Party, the
People's Forum, the Labour Representation League, the Dominion Labour
Party, and the Brandon Teachers' Association. In fact, in January 1919 he
served on the education committee of the Labour Party when E. K. Marshall
from Portage La Prairie was proposed as a speaker on the topic of
Democracy and Education.13 (There is no mention of Skene after 1922.)
Other interesting names are Fred Tipping, a veteran of the 1919 Winnipeg
strike, J. W. Murden, and Arthur Beech who are referred to as having
experience with the labour movement in Great Britain. Tipping and Beech,
331
who were industrial arts teachers and non-academic, were Winnipeg delegates
to the annual Federation's convention as early as 1920. Their names are not
as conspicuous in the public work of the Federation as one would expect
although Fred Tipping continued to play a relevant role in the local labour
movement. His active role in left wing politics could be a cause for his low
profile in the Federation beyond the Winnipeg Local.E. K. Marshall, who was the first editor of The Bulletin, became
president of the Manitoba Teachers' Federation in 1922, and the first General
Secretary of the Federation, a position he held from 1924 until 1945. He set
the tone of the Federation and was probably the most influential person in the
organization during those years.Marshall was born of Scottish parents in Shelburne, County Dufferin,
Ontario. He graduated from Normal School in Ottawa, the University of
Manitoba with a Bachelor's degree, Illinois University with a Master's degree,
and did research in psychology at Leland Stanford and at Clark. He taught
first in Ontario, and then in rural schools in Manitoba for four years. In 1905,
he was appointed to an elementary school principalship in Portage La Prairie
and then moved to the Portage Collegiate Institute where he was head of the
English Department. He was editor of the New Era (Portage), contributor to
the Free Press. Tribune. Farmers' Advocate. Grain Growers' Guide: he was
western correspondent for The School (Canadian Educational Journal). He
was chairperson of the Portage Ratepayers' Association, a leading figure of
the Conservative Party in Portage, and played an important role as Clerk of
Kirk Session in the Portage Presbyterian Kirk. He had been a representative
of high school teachers on the Advisory Board and President of the Manitoba
Educational Association, credentials that help to explain his later political role
in the Federation. The profile given by The Manitoba Teacher also reads:
His keen interest in the Progressive movement gives rise to much conjecture
both in Portage and elsewhere."14
332
Herbert W. Huntley, the first elected president of the Federation, was
born in Prince Edward Island, graduated from McGill with Bachelor's and
Master's degrees in Arts, and attended Harvard University where he
specialized in Science and Psychology. He began his teaching career in Prince
Edward Island. In Quebec, he taught at Wesley College in Montreal, and in
Manitoba where he was principal of Melita High School and then moved to
St. John's Technical High School (Winnipeg). He had been a member of
School Board and Trustee Associations. In 1923, he became the first
Manitoban president of the Canadian Teachers' Federation. He was sent as
a delegate to the World Federation of Educational Associations at San
Francisco in the same year. In 1924, The Manitoba Teacher portrayed
Huntley in the following way: "Education of the highest efficiency for the
Canadian schools, pedagogy raised to its inherent status, and Canadian
democracy safe-guarded by Canadian ideals is what Mr. Huntley is striving for.
If it be true that education is the guardian of young democracy, then must Mr.
Huntley be glad that he is a young man who has a share in the direction of
that education."15
Charles Walter Laidlaw, president of the Federation in 1923-24, was
originally from Guelph, Ontario. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
degree from the Manitoba College and attended Normal School to obtain his
first class professional diploma. He taught in a rural school, then moved to
Winnipeg where he was principal of the Isbister School. He was involved in
business for some time until 1914 when he re-entered the profession as
principal of Norquay School. In 1921 he was appointed to the principalship
of the Machray Junior High School. In 1919, he was Vice-President of the
Manitoba Educational Association, and from 1920 he had a leading role in the
Winnipeg Local and in the executive of the Federation.16
The leadership in the twenties shared similar characteristics in terms
of background, sex, and main lines of thought. There are, among others,
Wilfred Sadler from Scotland who held a Master of Arts degree from the
333
University of Dundee, Scotland;17 Alexander Campbell, a leading Baptist, who
did studies at the University of Toronto, received Normal training in
Winnipeg, was inspector, and a former President of the Manitoba Teachers
Association (1917);18 W. A. Anderson (a high school teacher from Virden
District), originally from Ontario, who had a Master of Science degree from
the University of Manitoba, and in 1928 was doing graduate work at the
University of Chicago.19 The challenges to this leadership came from the
different interest groups within the profession including women. Composite
locals developed, such as the Rural Secondary Teachers and later, the
Suburban Composite Local. Sub-locals, some based on sex lines, became
influential in the Winnipeg Local in the late twenties. These developments set
the stage for a more complex executive at the end of the twenties.
Women had a presence, albeit small, in the Federation from its first
beginnings, but there was no female president until 1935-36, when C.
Parkinson was elected. The first vice-president in 1919 was Barbara Ferguson
Stewart of Kelvin Technical High School, Winnipeg, who retired as teacher in
1924.20 She was originally from Ontario. There were two other women in the
first executive, Ms. Yemen (Souris) and E. Moore (Winnipeg). In 1927, E.
Moore, at the time on staff at Daniel Mclntyre Collegiate Institute, Winnipeg,
became the official delegate of the International Federation of University
Women to the World Federation Conference in Toronto. The Canadian
Branch of the organization had the privilege of nominating the representative
and appointed Ms. Moore who was Secretary of the International Relations
Committee of the Canadian Federation.21
Perhaps one of the most interesting women of the Federation's first
decade was Beatrice Maude Bradshaw. Originally from Guelph, Ontario, she
came to Manitoba when she was a child. She went back, however, to
Macdonald College in Guelph, to take courses to improve her skills in
elementary teaching. She started as a teacher in rural Manitoba in 1904; four
years later, she moved to Winnipeg where she taught, among other places, in
334
the primary department of the "Model" School. She became the principal of
David Livingstone School in 1922. The Manitoba Teacher describes her
involvement with the organization: "Some years ago when the Women
Teachers' Club was first formed Miss Bradshaw became an enthusiastic
member, was chosen a member of its executive and in 1918 was elected
vice-president."22 Later when the Federation came into being she became a
very active member. She served on the Local's executive for several years and
was elected vice-president of the Local for 1921. She served on the executive
of the provincial Federation. In fact in 1924, she was the only woman
member on it.
In September 1928, Margaret Bell became the first woman President
of the Winnipeg Local. She had been president of the Winnipeg Women
Teachers' Club and an active member of the Federation from its beginning.
She held Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees from the University of
Manitoba specializing in History.23
There is little information about the many women who were active in
the various locals in the early days of the Federation. These women were
better educated and had higher qualifications than the great majority of
women teachers of their day. Very few had executive positions at the
provincial level. There is no doubt that the women whose names appear in
the lists of the many committees, particularly of the Winnipeg Local, put
countless hours into anonymous work which is now difficult to identify.
The Issue of Salaries/Material Conditions
Salaries, working conditions, and tenure were central concerns leading
to the creation of the Federation. Salary was considered an important
indicator of community status. The initial meeting of July 1918 set the tone:
"Teachers salaries are no better than laborers' wages. Unite and we can
demand that they be raised."24 Charts 1 and 2 and Table 1 show the
comparison of Manitoba teachers' earnings with industrial salaries and wages
335
CHART 1
£arsi»«a CaapariMi «f MaBitsirt Ttictef » ta Isiwtri*! SaUriea «4W*jaa ii CiM*t an* ti C***4ia» Tetehera 1910-1955
1910 1920 1926 1929 1933 1938 1941 1947 1948 1549 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
YEAR
Mb. Teach Sal Can. Ind. Wage Can.lnd.Sal Can. Teach Sal
CHART 2
Ear.1 *a C..t«ri». .f Tweh.r» i • Hultota t. *••• Etrt*r. •«tataritt !• HHlteta 1910-1955
N20 .926 1929 .933 1938 .941 1947 ,948 .949 ,950 .95, ,952 1953 ,954 1955
YEAR
•*• Mb. Ind. Wage * Mb. Ind. Sal * f*. Teach Sal
336
TABLE 1
Wage Comparisons of Wage Earners, Salaries i n the Manufacturi ng 1 ndustries of ManitobaTo Average Teachers' Maries in Manitoba
andCanede, 1910-1955
Canadian Teachers' Federation, Research Study Ho. 2, Julg 1957 )Table 1.1(p48), Table1.2(p48), Table1.3(p49)Table 1.16(p55), Table 1 17 (p56). Table 1.18 (p56)
Note: The term "teachers" refers to the entire teaching staffof public schools--classroom teachers, principals,and special iiutrxtors
The term "wages' refers to thwt emplogment earningsthat are paid based on an hourly basis
The term "salary" refers to those emplogment earningsthat are paid based on an monthly basis
Year
19101920
19261929193319381941194?19481949
19501951
1952195319541955
ManitobaIndustry Wagerib. Ind. Wage
11531180861
10341181163418331900201322702442261926472745
ManitobaIndustry Salary
Mb. Ind Sal
18711926151816511650231925632729281830SO32193419
35253655
ManitobaTwcher Salary
Mb Teach Sal628949
120812091017935
10041635180420302108222423462514
28162940
CanadaIndustry WageCan. Ind. Wage
50011061029
1073
777956
1220
1713
1960
2067
2183
24342647279228532959
CanadaIndustry Salary
Can. Ind Sal925
18111891
1977
1608
1720
1801
248526872836
29983296
2513
370738543997
CanadaTeacher SalaryCan. Teach Sal
446841
1019
1061
985938993
1457
1623
1763
1903
1998
2192
236825402693
)urc«: Trends in the Economic Status of Teachers 1910-1955
337
in Canada and those of Canadian teachers between 1910 and 1955. Teachers'
complaints were well founded. By 1920, Canadian industrial wages and
Canadian industrial salaries were higher than both Manitoba teachers' and
Canadian teachers' salaries. The average teacher's salary in Manitoba was
$949 (the average teacher's salary in Canada was $841) while the Canada
industry wage was $1,106 and the Canada industry salary was $1,811. By 1926,
the average industry wage in Manitoba was $1,153; the average industry salary
in Manitoba was $1,871 and the Manitoba teacher salary $1,208.
Anecdotal references to salaries were usually included in The Bulletin.
For example, the principal of one of the largest secondary schools wrote: "I
have a staff of splendid teachers, all experienced and exceptionally
well-trained; yet the girl in the telephone office gets $250 more than the best
paid of them." The Bulletin commented: "This is not an isolated case, we
venture to think."25 The Report of Commission on Status and Salaries of
Teachers of 1919 referred to the tremendous disparities in salaries and the
lack of a schedule of salaries based on qualifications and experience,
particularly outside the large centers. For example, the report indicated that
in one municipality, salaries ranged from a minimum of $540 to a maximum
of $950 in the case of women teachers.26
The educational system was divided into small school districts: 2,077
for the academic year 1920-21 with 1,816 districts in operation; 2,094 for the
year 1921-22 with 1,792 in operation. Each had their own School Board who
had local control of hiring and salaries of teachers.27 Drops in agricultural
prices generated serious problems in the collection of taxes for school
Purposes. The system reflected not only class and rural-urban divisions but
the anatomy of provincial power in which ethnicity also played a role. From
the beginning, the Federation had as a major goal the elimination of the
district system and the substitution of larger units of administration. The
system had a direct impact on the working conditions that teachers had to
endure. The Murray Report (1924), produced by the Royal Commission,
338
established by Premier Bracken in 1923, recommended consolidation as
means of dealing with school problems in rural areas.28 The recommendatio
was not implemented for political as well as economic reasons since
consolidation was highly resisted in rural areas.29 In 1945 there were still
1,450 one-room schools, mostly located in rural areas and small towns
involving 1,875 school districts throughout Manitoba.30
The Federation always argued that the status of the profession would
be raised by securing salaries that would attract the best human resources to
the profession.31 In a letter, dated September 22, 1919, addressed to the
Winnipeg School Board, the Winnipeg Local Association of the Federation
informed the Public School Board of its formation and indicated that it
included 90% of the city staff at the time. It made clear that the objective of
the Association was similar to that of organizations among other professions:
to give standing and stability to the profession and to raise the standard of
service. Serving the interest of teachers would be of great value to the Board
and to the cause of education in Manitoba. This first letter contains two
resolutions that the Association expected the Board to approve:
1. That the Winnipeg Association of the ManitobaTeachers' Federation write the Secretary of theWinnipeg Public School Board announcing theorganization of a branch among the Winnipeg Teachersas a whole, including the revision of salary schedule shallbe decided in agreement, and in cooperation with therepresentatives to be appointed by the Federation.
2. That the Winnipeg Public School Board be asked toappoint a Committee of five to meet a similar committeeof the Federation to consider a revision of the presentsalary schedule. 32
On November 1st, 1919 the Winnipeg School Board announced the
salary schedule to be effective January 1920. The tone of the letter addressed
to the Winnipeg Local is instructive. The School Management Committee
stated that it examined schedules from various parts of Canada, the United
339
States, and the British Isles, considered local and general economic conditions
and recognized "the clearer perception by the public of the importance of
education to the life of the community and as a consequence a juster
appreciation of the service rendered by a good teacher."33 In the meantime
an exchange of letters made clear that the Board moved toward the creation
Of a mechanism to ensure the local association's participation in the
development of salary schedules. The process was characterized by the
request for clarification of meanings and responsibilities. In spite of the initial
indignation of some trustees, the Winnipeg Local of the Federation
established the Conference Committee in 1920 to negotiate and upgrade the
salary schedule with the School Board. The Board agreed to confer with duly
appointed members of the Federation for the purpose of reaching
agreements; all future salary schedules would be the subject of conference
before adoption.34 It was the Winnipeg Local Association's and consequently
the Federation's first success.
The history of the 1922 Brandon school crisis, however, shows the
difficulties encountered in initiating some form of collective bargaining outside
the city of Winnipeg. The Brandon School Board did not recognize the
teachers' right to negotiation. Tom Mitchell argued that the Brandon Board
based decisions on an archaic and oppressive model of industrial relations.35
The crisis in the middle twenties brought back difficult times for teachers who
suffered the impact of depressed grain marketing. Late in 1926, The
Winnipeg Local Association encountered great difficulties with the Winnipeg
Board when the latter ignored "the rights of the teachers to fuller conference"
and proceeded to revise the schedule for 1927 after a presentation by the
Conference Committee. There was an intense exchange of letters between the
Board and the Federation and the Board assured teachers that they would
have an opportunity for a free exchange; any decision, however, remained with
the Board.36 The crisis in the thirties proved that the Local had gained a say
'n the process of settling salaries.
340
The question of salaries and community status were intrinsically relate 1
to the question of power at micro and macro-level within the context of
creating the framework for political relations. The emphasis on the status of
teaching as a profession must be seen within this context. The teachers saw
the need to have a strong position in the set of political relations. This could
be achieved only through organization. At the Annual Convention in
December 1919, a resolution was passed asking for the creation of a board of
arbitration where disputes would be settled by a major body beyond the
jurisdiction of school boards. The Legislative Assembly approved the creation
of the Board of Reference. The Board was composed of representatives from
the Federation, the Manitoba Trustees' Association, and a member of the
Department of Education's Advisory Board. Many cases came before the
Board of Reference; but it lasted only three years. Not all school boards
wanted to abide by the Board's decisions and the Board could not enforce
them.37 Earlier in 1920, the Assembly had approved the act of incorporation
of the Manitoba Teachers' Federation. In an exhilarating letter President
Huntley wrote: "Hence, the teachers can feel from now on that they are like
the doctors and lawyers in having an organization which can legally represent
them in all vital matters; and that their differences can be referred to and
adjusted by an impartial body."38
The Federation argued that professional affiliation empowered
teachers. The Federation needed to build a case for professional autonomy
as part of the building of the teachers' political space. The Manitoba Teacher
used powerful examples. The editorial of March 1926 was entitled "Now and
Then." It refers to an alleged assault on a young woman in charge of the rural
school in Ashern and the attention it had received. It went on to say:
But note this, the teacher was a member of theFederation and she appealed at once to herorganization. And also note this, had such athing happened in pre-Federation days, theteacher would appeal to the trustees. In one case
341
out of ten it might work. You see the assailantwould commonly be well known to the membersof the school board, a personal friend, probablyof at least one member... No, there wouldn't bea chance of getting justice from the board.39
In June 1931, an article published by the Winnipeg Tribune entitled
"Rural School Teachers" was reproduced in The Manitoba Teacher. The
article is a review of the annual report of the Tenure Committee of the
Manitoba Teachers' Federation, which investigated cases of alleged unfair
treatment of teachers. In 1930, the Committee reported on 283 cases, most
of them in rural districts. It showed that 27 teachers were wrongfully
dismissed. The Committee succeeded in having them reinstated. In twelve
other cases, the Committee found evidence of unjustified campaigns in the
community against the teacher. The list of complaints went on: "There were
four district rows over a Christmas concert. Six teachers were slandered, four
had to put up with bad boarding conditions. There were two cases of
unlawful interference by ratepayers. In one case, the son of the school board
chairman interfered with the teacher's work. One teacher was forced to do
janitor work, and another was expected to pay for a broken window pane."
The journalist urged the public to support the Manitoba Teachers' Federation
in order to maintain the prestige of the teaching profession.40
The Federation had difficulties in reaching teachers in rural areas.
E.K. Marshall wrote in 1924: "Up to the present one of our most difficult
problems has been the rural teacher, often isolated, sometimes difficult to
interest, and hard to reach even with a permanent official."41 In most rural
school districts the initial salary was also the final salary. The Federation kept
asking for a salary schedule to solve the problem. "Rural trustees have not yet
been educated to the point of realizing that a good teacher who remains in
their service becomes more valuable to them year after year, valuable, not
only in the class-room but as a member of their community."42 The hiring
process contributed to teachers' lack of power and interest in becoming a
342
member of the Federation. The Board of Trustees tried to hire women whose
image corresponded with their own concept of a teacher. In many cases
graduates from Normal School went back to their own school system. In these
cases some degree of permanence was secured as well as a non-union teacher
Oral testimonies are eloquent. Constance F. had her first experience as a
teacher in 1929 in her own home area, immediately after Normal School. "It
was the school I attended when I went to school from grade one to nine. I
boarded at home and I taught my own sisters and one brother over the course
of the years."43
These teachers were often considered a possession of the community.
Teachers were simultaneously servants, role models, and sometimes leaders.
Literary sources and oral testimonies make clear that most communities
expected teachers to be happy with the spiritual and perhaps pedagogical
rewards of their vocation. Gabrielle Roy, nationally recognized Franco-
Manitoban novelist, conveyed the approach of many young women teachers
in rural areas when she wrote in Street of Riches: '"You give me so much in
salary, I give you so many hours of work ...' No, it was not in that spirit that
I wanted to do business with the village [Cardinal, Manitoba, in the twenties].
I should give it all I could. And what would it give me in return? I did not
know, but I gave it all my trust."44 Reorganization of districts, in particular
consolidations of rural schools with the schools of neighboring towns or
villages, or even with other rural schools, was advocated by the Federation.
This ultimately helped the professionalization process but in the meantime
alienated a number of one-room rural school teachers.
Occasionally, contributors confused service with personal dedication
and sacrifice which were seen as an inherent part of the profession. This
notion was, however, challenged by teachers who wrote letters to the editor
of The Bulletin. 'Service cannot be the only reward' resounded as a painful
complaint in The Bulletin. The following excerpt is an example:
343
"Service" and "sacrifice" - these are noble words,precious words in the teacher's vocabulary. Youngteachers and old teachers find their hearts warmwith disinterested care. However, they may losesome of their magic. When life becomes forteachers a grim struggle for existence, whenbusiness men and politicians with one breathdeclare ours a noble profession so essential forcitizenship, and with the next breath try to beatthe teacher's wage to that scarcely equal to theunskilled and untrained, we are tempted to cry ahalt to these fine words and ask for action. 4^
The Bulletin/The Manitoba Teacher emphasized the understanding that
teaching was an essential public service. The Federation put great emphasis
on the relevance of education in the social order.
The Gender Factor
Gender played a significant part in what was expected of teachers in
urban and rural communities. The notion of teaching as public service was
hindered by differential treatment based on gender. This treatment was
clearly reflected in salaries as shown in Chart 3 and Table 2, which compare
minimum and maximum salaries for male and female elementary teachers in
Winnipeg, 1910-1955. For example, in 1920 the minimum salary for females
was $1000 and for males $1,700; in 1929, the maximum for females was $2,200
and for males $2,800. Chart 4 illustrates differential minimum and maximum
salaries for female and male secondary teachers in Winnipeg. Table 3 shows
differential maximum salaries for female and male elementary principals in
Winnipeg. The Federation itself proposed a differential minimum salary in
1922.46 Thej-g was ajso the assumption that women were transient in the
profession. As Aileen Garland recalled, when the pension fund was in a poor
state in 1930, she heard a principal saying "that this was because so many
women had failed to marry."47 Married women were banned from the
profession until 1947. The Federation did not deal with equal pay for equal
344
tst Htxi»«» S«l*n« f»r M»lt lU FtTeteters 1910*1955
1910 1920 1926 1929 1933 1938 1941 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
Y»«r
345
TABLE 2
Minimum and Maximum Salaries For Elementary Teachers in Winnipeg,hale and Female, 1910-1955
Mal«Mint •*• FemaleMlnJ * M»l«t1m$ * F«maleM»x$ •*•
CHART 4
Ml jt BIO t* Mtxl••• SiUrle* T«r Scc*B*tr| Teacter* UM»lt 1*4 FtMlt. 1910-1955
6000 T
50000
0 4000LL 3000
AR 2000
1000
1910 1920 1926 1929 1933 1938 1941 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
YEAR
^ FemaledinJ MaleMaxJ •& FomaleMaxt
Year Minimum $ Minimum $ Maximum! Maximum!MaleMin! FemaleMIn! MaleMax! FemaleMax!
1910192019261929193319381941194719481949195019511952195319541955
1000170017001700129814401636160017801960196019601890188522972303
575100010001000855930974120013801560156015601890188522972303
1400250025002800216823522672380039804160416041605190518557475753
ysu170020002200165118482099380039804160416041605190518557475753
Source: Trends in the Economic Status of Teachers 1910-1955(Canadian Teachers' Federation, Research Study No. 2, July 1957)Table3.3(p83), Table3.11 (p91)
Note. The term "teacher" refers to the classroom teacherThe term "Elementary" refers to the public system only
346
TABI£ 3
Maximum Salaries For Elementary Principals in Winnipeg,Male and Female, 1910-1955
Year
1910192019261929193319381941194719481949195019511952195319541955
Maximum $MaleMax*
2700340038003800294231923606400041804360436043606290628568476853
Maximum $FemaleMaxj
1700220028002800210223522696400041804360436043606290628568476853
Source: Trends i n the Economic Status of Teachers 1910-1955( Canadian Teachers' Federation, Research Study No. 2, July 1957 )
Table4.19(p121), Table4.20(p122)
347
work. When analyzing the internal crisis in the Winnipeg local in the early
thirties, Garland wrote:
Equal pay for equal work was considered just anddesirable by most of the women and some of themen but the women on the Winnipeg Localexecutive advised the rank and file that the timewas not ripe to press for it. They were right. Thepublic was not ready to accept it. The strugglewould be to prevent an increase in the differentialbetween the salaries of men and women.48
In fact, the situation reached a critical point in 1932 in the Winnipeg
Local. The depression hit home in 1931 when tax collection dropped
considerably. At that time, there were already a number of clubs/sub-locals
that had become very active within the local, such as the Senior High School
Men, Senior High School Women, the Elementary Teachers (mostly women),
Winnipeg Senior High School Male Assistants Club, Women Principals
(requested recognition in 1931), Technical Teachers; Junior High School
Women's Sub-Local, Junior High Men Principals.
The School Board asked the Local's Conference Committee to meet
with a special committee of the Board to discuss the city's financial situation.
Effective March 1, 1932, teachers' salaries were cut 10%. By May, the City
Council was in serious financial trouble. Meantime the Senior High School
Men's Sub-Local had been in touch with the Board unofficially. On
November 30,1932, the School Board Committee proposed a revised schedule
for 1933. The new schedule proposed a drastic reduction in women's salaries
which strongly affected all women principals and women teachers in junior and
senior high school and purposely increased the differential between women's
and men's salaries. For example, the salary of women high school assistants,
women elementary principals, and supervisors receiving the maximum would
be reduced $400; the salary of those in the same categories but with the
minimum salary would be reduced $200; as would that of Junior High School
women. The changes in the schedule for women principals of Elementary
348
schools corresponded with those made in the schedule for Women Teachers
in High School. In reviewing the schedules, the sub-committee of the Board
considered that in view of the greater responsibilities of men, most of whom
were married and had families to support, any reductions made in schedulesapplying to them should be very moderate.49
Women representing the various sub-locals became members of the
Conference Committee. They also formed the Women's Salary Committee.
The four women's groups strongly rejected the proposal and the schedule as
discriminatory and requested that the necessary reductions be graduated
following a percentage scale. The men supported the schedule or failing that,
a flat cut. The Men Teachers' Club appointed a representative to consult with
and advise the Executive of the Local and was instructed to accept the salary
schedule as proposed by the subcommittee of the School Board. 50
The argument developed by women in defending their status as
professionals and their political space in the negotiation process questioned
the premise of the male's family responsibility as a basis for determination of
salaries. They placed emphasis on services rendered and denounced the
injustice of placing the burden almost entirely on women.
The Women Principals' Sub-Local resolved that they were "entirely
willing to accept such a reduction provided it be made on an equitable basis,
taking into account the services rendered and the responsibilities borne by
women as well as those of men."51
The Women High School Teachers' Sub-Local went on record "as
favoring payment on the basis of services rendered and not on the basis of
family responsibility but should any cut based upon the latter principle be
proposed that there be a survey made of the responsibilities of all members
of the staff -- men and women."
They protested against the fifty percent increase in the disparity
between the maximum salaries of women and men doing the same work. In
the 1932 schedule, they said that the disparity at the maximum was $600 while
349
. the proposed schedule the disparity was $900. In the proposed schedule
the maximum for women was the minimum for men doing the same work. "A
manifest injustice", women concluded. They further protested against the
reduction in the minimum of high school women and pointed out that under
the proposed schedule the minimum for high school women was $800 less
than for high school men; $400 less than for junior high school men and $100
less than for Grade Six Manual Training Teachers. The revision implied
average reductions for the high school women assistants of approximately 14%
and for men assistants of 3%; it increased disparity of 50% in the salaries of
women and men high school assistants. Finally they recommended that the
teachers on the lower schedules be treated as generously as possible.52
The Junior High School Women's Sub-Local pointed out that the
existing inequalities between women and men teachers doing the same work
was increased by the schedule. In this schedule there was a disparity of $1,000
between the salary paid to men and women assistants in the junior high
schools. Furthermore the maximum for women was the minimum for men.
They opposed the proposed revision and went on record "as favoring payment
on the basis of services rendered and not on the basis of family responsibility;
but, should any cuts based on the latter principle be proposed, there be a
survey of the responsibilities of all members of the staff, men and women."53
The Elementary Sub-Local passed a resolution as a body declaring that
in the interests of justice, the discrimination against women and in favor of
men was flagrantly unfair. It resolved that the Elementary Teachers' Sub-local
request the Conference Committee to consider the smaller salaries and
exempt salaries of $1,000 from further reduction apart from the stay of
increments, no matter what schedule is adopted.54
Women built strong solidarity ties and consequently a common front.
They made powerful arguments for the affirmation of their professional status.
The crisis made them and the existing inequities visible to the male members
1
350
of the Winnipeg Local. The Manitoba Teacher did not include references to
this matter.
At the general meeting of January 11,1933, the women's proposal that
reduction be done following a percentage scale was passed. At the meeting
of the local on February 8, it was known that men were applying to the
Manitoba Teachers' Federation for status as a separate local. On February
11, the executive approved the request with two dissenting votes, the only two
women on the executive, Gertrude Addison and Amber Glenn. Until October
there were two locals, the Men's Local and the Winnipeg local constituted by
the women and three men, Fred Tipping, J. W. Murden, and Arthur Beech,
the three who had a labour tradition behind them. In October, an
arrangement was made that persisted until 1966. Two Locals were
established, the women's and the men's. The Winnipeg Local, "the parent
body" (which was later called the Winnipeg Teachers' Association, and then
the Winnipeg District Association) acted as an executive committee. Every
measure concerning both Locals had to be passed by the two Locals before
the Winnipeg Local could handle the matter.55
Early in 1933 the Board had refused to deal with the two locals;
therefore the Conference Committee worked out a "rather bumpy sliding scale
which reduced the salary roll by 20 per cent... It was not what we hoped for
but it was the best we could do."56 The Board adopted this modified version
of the sliding scale prepared by women to which men had agreed. The Board
recognized the right of teachers to have an input in the decision on salaries.
The Issue of the Centrality of Education in the Social Order
The Federation argued that the teachers' demands for better salaries
and working conditions were in tune with the role that formal education had
in the social and political life of the country. Mr. H. W. Huntley addressed
this issue in his presidential address in 1919. The politically conservative tone
of his approach became apparent when he said:
351
The people of Manitoba seem to realize theimportance of education. They frankly confessthat if we are to escape to extremes of Russia,Austria and other illiterate countries it is onlythrough a system of education. They are willing tomeet us, hence the fault must lie with ourselves.Every teacher should be in this organization andshould try to do his or her best part.58
There was certainly a contradiction between the low status of the
profession and the increasing social role of education in the political
construction of Canada. The preoccupation with schooling as an agency of
political socialization was apparent in the National Conference on Character
Education in Relation to Canadian Citizenship that took place in Winnipeg
in October 1919. This conference was financed mostly by the business elite
of Canada. The Manitoba Teachers' Federation also thought of schooling as
the backbone of the nation. The teachers' mission was, in the view of the
Federation, to prepare the "highest class of citizenship."59
In the mid-twenties, the Federation felt liberated from the charges of
radicalism that the Brandon school crisis and fear of unions had brought in its
beginnings. The concern with social order and the evils of radicalism abated,
leaving room for a stronger emphasis on character building and juvenile
delinquency, on education and democracy, and on education and the building
of a citizenry. Articles from the Christian Science Monitor in which the role
of education is pivotal in the building of character were often reproduced in
The Manitoba Teacher. One of them reads:
Many citizens today are concerned over thelawlessness in community and national life.Respect for law, the development of symmetricaland upright character, in the case of thousands ofchildren, the citizens to-be of this republic, mustcome through the schoolroom or not at all. "Bigbusiness," this business of teaching? I know ofnone that is bigger. 6°
352
The Committee on Juvenile Delinquency, a committee of the Winnine
Local, was created in the mid-twenties and stemmed from the belief that
teachers had a role in the prevention of growing juvenile delinquency. T
1927, it recommended that teachers "use all opportunities that the law allows
for daily religious exercises, and every opportunity at whatever time of the day
for moral instruction in the school classes."61
The emphasis on schooling as a means to secure the dominant values
and hegemonic ideology took various forms during the twenties and early
thirties. The Federation always emphasized the centrality of schooling in the
building of Canadian citizenship although its publications never examined the
meaning of Canadian citizenship. One can safely assume that to be a good
British subject was considered the major thrust of being a Canadian citizen.
The Federation's approach was strongly assimilationist and had ethnocentric
overtones. Leaders of the Federation were disturbed by the nationalistic
tendency displayed by Ruthenians and Scandinavians on two counts. It
interfered with the process of Canadianization by not encouraging the hiring
of English speaking teachers; it interfered with the development of the
Federation.62 The exchange of letters, in 1923, between Alfred White and an
Ukrainian respondent made clear the strong resistance on the part of the
Federation to New Canadians trying to keep their own language and culture.
In the very early days, the Federation advocated the creation of a National
Education Department to help eradicate illiteracy and to "Canadianize all
immigrants past, present and future."63 There was no concern at all, at that
point, with the aboriginal people. A brief note about Jesuit missionaries who
died in the seventeenth century among the Huron Indians referred to their
work as self-sacrificing, self-effacing for the "temporal and spiritual good of a
savage and ungrateful people," This article had been reprinted from the
Quebec Teachers' Magazine.64
From the mid-twenties and in particular from 1930, however, The
Manitoba Teacher developed a rather sophisticated discourse imbued with
353
progressive ideas and Dewey's language about the relevance of education in
the development of a democratic society and not just in the preservation of
order. "Education is more than preparation for life, it is part of life itself ...
True democracy, in its very essence, is 'government of the people, by the
people'; there can be no lasting education of the people which is not equally
'by the people'. Educational Fascism, paternalistic training limited to the
earlier years of life, must be displaced by Educational Democracy, continuous
from youth to age ... Socially, the citizen is, at the same time, both the
governor and the governed; educationally, he must be both the teacher and
the learner."65 These ideas appear separated from the reality of school life
on two counts. Schools followed traditional pedagogical methods with little
innovation; the curriculum had a strong British orientation and it aimed, by
and large, to make students citizens of the British world-wide empire (marked
conspicuously in red on the Mercator world map). The Federation did not
contextualize these progressive ideas in the Canadian context. Furthermore,
most leaders were very proud of their British roots.
On December 1930, The Manitoba Teacher openly criticized the
Premier of Manitoba who did not priorize education as the Federation
expected it should. "Equality of Educational Opportunity, Representation by
Population, these things we have been taught to believe are the foundations
stones of our democracy - are they crumbling? Have they been forgotten?"66
At the same time, there was a preoccupation with national (including Quebec)
and international issues such as the League of Nations and childhood
education, culture, peace. The theme of international cooperation and the
role of education in building a community of nations dominated the scene.
The Issue of Input in the Decision Making Process
Input in the decision making process was an important goal of the
Federation. Like many other issues this one was of relevance to other
teachers' federations and to the Canadian Teachers Federation. The fourteen
354
points of what the Manitoba Teachers' Federation stood for in 1919 included
for example: "Increased representation of the profession upon bodies that
determine educational policy"; "Cooperation with all other bodies engaged in
educational work."67 In 1930, The Manitoba Teacher advocated a provincial
system of education with an underlying unity. The article commended the
work of the Advisory Board in pursuing that unity by drawing up courses of
study and choosing the textbooks. It goes on to say: "Such a body must be
in touch, on the one hand, with intelligent opinion, and, on the other, with
trained experts. In other words, it should consist, as it does, of representatives
of laymen and experienced teachers."68
The previous statement has significance because the Federation needed
to make the case for the teachers' special expertise in order to assert
professional autonomy. There was, however, a persistent tendency to equate
the relevance of experience with the relevance of theoretical knowledge. This
was noticeable in a comment, written in 1920, discussing the professional code
of etiquette, professional consciousness, and professional solidarity. It said
that the majority of those teaching were not as well prepared as they ought
to be, either academically or professionally. They lacked professional spirit
because they did not teach long enough to overcome the academic
deficiencies. This comment is in line with the actual situation in the field in
1920.69 The legislative report on the status and salaries of teachers shows that
in 1917 there were 1,028 teachers with third class certification in the province
of Manitoba.70 The construction of the argument supporting teaching as a
profession was constrained by the existence of a shortage of teachers,
particularly in the early twenties.
One of the Federation's major steps towards the building of
professional autonomy was the creation of the Research Committee in 1927.
The committee made a statement in 1928 which embodied its goals:
One aim of our Federation is the development ofa professional consciousness on the part of our
355
members so that our organization may take itsrightful place among well established professions.In order to do this we must take the leading partin the solutions of educational problems relating,not only to the welfare of the teacher, butespecially to the progress of education in generalthroughout the Province. To this end, theExecutive set up at the commencement of thepast year "The Research Committee" as a specialstanding committee.71
The Issue of Professional TrainingThe Federation was well aware that professional expertise was at the
core of any claim for professional autonomy. The number of poorly qualified
teachers was high. The 1919 legislative report on status and salaries of
teachers pointed out that the province did not have a teaching force adequate
for the educational requirements. Most rural schools (in particular one-room
schools) employed teachers holding the lowest grade of certificate, having the
least experience, and remaining for the shortest period in any school.72 It is
not surprising that at the beginning of its work, the Federation had a hard
time reaching teachers in rural areas.
Professional training was one of the main concerns of the Federation.
In 1921, it requested that the minimum qualifications for entering the teaching
profession be a four year course in high school (grades nine to twelve
inclusive) and two years professional training. It also asked that, in the future,
the Department of Education not grant a First Class Grade A certificate to
any teacher without a university degree or its equivalent. 73
Later, in 1924, the Federation stated that a Teachers' College at the
provincial university should be the ultimate goal. It requested, successfully,
that the short-term (twenty weeks) Normal School training be abolished. In
1925, the Minister of Education accepted the recommendation of the Advisory
Board that the minimum training for a teacher's certificate would be a one
year course at the Normal School, be it in Winnipeg, Brandon, Dauphin,
356
Manitou, or Portage La Prairie.74 The Federation had presented these
recommendations for professionalization before the Murray Commission on
Education (1923). In 1921, the Canadian Teachers' Federation had resolved
that it was desirable that a minimum requirement of four years' high school
training and two years' professional training be demanded of all candidates for
permanent professional licenses, provided that all outstanding permanent
professional certificates be continued, and provided that limited certificates
be granted after completion of three years' high school and one year of
professional training.75
From the beginning, the Federation encouraged its members to
improve their academic standing by taking summer school and extra-mural
courses. There was a steady increase in first class certificates from 10.8% in
1920 to 25.1% in 1928 and an equally marked decline in third class certificates
from 26.2% in 1920 to 8.8% in 1928. The Annual Survey of Education for the
year 1930 indicated that out of 4,378 teachers only 1,368 held first class
certificates (31.2%); 2,819 a second class (64.4%) and 73 a third class (1.7%),
the balance holding specialist certificates and permits.76 In 1930, Charles
Laidlaw reported on the revision and consolidation of the Public School Act.
He indicated that various obsolete clauses in the old Act had been omitted at
the request of the Federation; for example, the clauses dealing with public
examinations, official school visitors, the keeping of a visitor's book, and the
sections dealing with third class certificates.77 Professional training was central
to the Federation's argument supporting teaching as a profession since special
knowledge was considered a fundamental attribute of a professional teacher.
The Bulletin/The Manitoba Teacher devoted a great deal of space to
pedagogical matters, curriculum issues, book reviews, analysis of education
from a philosophical perspective (aims in education and the role of teachers
being the most noticeable) and of pupils' daily work, tests and examinations.
The Manitoba Teacher provided much systematic information about the
Dalton-Laboratory Plan of Education. It was described as a type of education
357
to satisfy the requirements of modern democratic life. It was conceptualized
as a new method, and as a different "way of teaching". There was also a
preoccupation with explaining clearly the Project Method. In October, 1924
Teacher published a lengthy review-essay of a book by Evelyn
Dewey which described the re-creation of a rural community through its
school. The review had been originally published by The Grain Growers and
was in tune with the Federation's view of the transformative role of schools
in rural areas.78
Teaching: A Profession as Construed by the Federation
The leaders of the Federation made a purposeful effort to argue that
teaching was a profession and conceptually to define teaching as a profession.
The Bulletin of March 1920 includes an article entitled "Professional
Consciousness". It identified four conditions for the use of the term
profession: a considerable body of special knowledge; an adequate period of
study of this special knowledge as well as practice in its application; a great
community need for the services of those in possession of that knowledge; a
consciousness of the members of the profession of their obligation to provide
service to one another and to the community. In the view of the writer of the
article, the great majority of teachers were not nearly as well prepared as they
ought to be, either professionally or academically. "The teacher situation
needs, on the part of all teachers, a long pull and a strong pull and a pull all
together."79
In 1921, President Huntley explored the notion of the teacher as a
professional in light of the role of the Federation. He argued that the very
existence of the Federation was at the core of the development of teaching as
a profession. He wrote that the Federation gave teachers "a means of acting
and thinking collectively, and in consequence, there has arisen a high
professional consciousness and a keen professional loyalty which is the main
358
factor responsible for the many notable advances made by the teaching
profession in this Province during the last two years."80
The argument supporting the professional status of teaching was well
expressed in an article published in November 1930. It discussed a
presentation at a meeting of teachers in which the speaker showed that
teachers had the "fullest right to apply that term to their vocation." It argued
that teaching fulfilled the three attributes of the recognized professions
particularly the ministry, law, medicine and engineering. These attributes were
the acquisition of special knowledge, the devotion of one's self, and service to
others. The writer emphasized modern pedagogy as "a highly technical subject
based upon the findings of psychology." The amateur instructor found it
difficult to train others because of ignorance of method. "Teachers and
doctors must be thoroughly trained before they are licensed to care for
education and health." The article closed with a powerful statement that
stressed professional autonomy and legitimized a place for teachers in the
educational political setting. It said: "If it is admitted that teaching is a
profession, the logical conclusion follows that teachers, trained experts along
special lines, should have something to say about what should be taught in our
schools."81
This conceptual preoccupation - which was not unique to the Manitoba
Federation - was related to the need to obtain recognition as a professional
body while having the right to negotiate salaries on a collective bargaining
basis.82 It is interesting to note that the concept of teaching as a profession
that was expressed in The Bulletin and The Manitoba Teacher, shows a viable
combination of contingent attributes of professions, such as community status
and salary, and properties, such as special knowledge and input in the decision
making process, which can be regarded as necessary conditions for applying
the term profession to an occupation following the standards of the modern
philosophy of education.83 The Federation tended to neglect the theoretical
contribution that teachers could make to the resolution of problems.
359
The nascent Federation found a favorable socio-legal climate which was
nourished by a mutually contradictory set of conditions. On the one hand,
education had gained a strong profile in the building of Canadian society. The
1914-18 war, massive immigration, the impact of the Russian Revolution, the
unsettling social conditions and political radicalization, especially in industrial
relations, created conditions for trusting education as the social panacea. On
the other hand, the movement toward unionization and the presence of unions
as legitimate political protagonists set the stage for legal recognition of
teachers' organizations. The leaders of the Federation were able to discern
their own political possibilities and articulated a discourse that took into
account the centrality of education in the social order and later in the
building of a democratic society. They even provided a pedagogical
alternative although it seems to have been limited to their own theoretical
interest.The Press of the time closely followed the Federation's development
and teachers' negotiations with the School Boards in major cities. The Press,
reported E. K. Marshall in April 1921, allowed free space in the newspapers
and gave his view of the ideals of the Federation in full.84 It showed a
concern with teachers' working conditions. The Press, on occasion, would
disagree with organized teachers. The Brandon Sun, representative of the
business elite constitutes a radical example. It did not hesitate to accuse the
Federation of practising Sovietism for its strong support of the Brandon
teachers in the school crisis of 1922.85
The Federation was instrumental in designing a political space for
teachers in which to exercise a degree of professional autonomy. It fought for
its place in the political setting of the time. In an article entitled "Why I am
a Federationist", the writer indicated in 1927 that the Federation was the only
means that teachers, as a body, had to make their voices heard by the
Department of Education; it was the channel the Department recognized
when seeking the advice of teachers; it was recognized by the Trustees'
360
Association as the teachers' organization with which it might cooperate to
develop policies. The power of the Federation was recognized by the Trustees
to prevent another Brandon crisis, the writer concluded.86 The Federation
had to differentiate itself from the Manitoba Educational Association, a body
which included inspectors, trustees, and departmental officials. The
Association's principal role was to operate the teachers' convention held
annually in Winnipeg during the Easter break. The Manitoba Teachers'
Federation defended its independence. According to the Federation's
leadership, the Manitoba Educational Association had a "useful function of
intermittent inspiration." It did not go beyond that.87
Government, educational bureaucracy, and trustees developed a
somewhat ambivalent approach to education and to the teachers as
employees. As a member of the early executive wrote: "The Teacher has
been and is still looked upon by many as a kind of necessary evil and it is
rather difficult to get away from this viewpoint."88 In 1920, the Winnipeg
Local wrote quite proudly that "Department officials, trustees and the public
in general are loud in their praise of our organization."89 This statement was
quite appropriate in terms of public relations after the 1920 gains of the
Winnipeg Local. Similar comments often appeared in editorials with
reference to the Federation, in particular on occasion of the Federation's
annual conferences in the early twenties. The comments did not reveal the
uneven character of the relations with boards and government that
characterized its political life. E. K. Marshall described the situation well in
1925. He said that the attitude of the Department of Education had been
sympathetic and he included the inspectors in his observation. He went on to
say:
"Trustee Boards are becoming more trustful ofthe Federation. So long as both of us are saneand reasonable we may safely debate points ofpolicy and procedure. It is not, however, thepeace of either fear or submission. Rather it is
361
the recognition of one another's separate sphereof action and desire to work together for thecause of education. All Boards and all teachersdo not yet measure up to the highest ideals, ofcourse, and consequently we have had a generousshare of controversy."9*
One area of controversy was the great difficulties the Federation had
with some rural districts. The goals of the Federation as stated in public
documents were certainly not shared by many rural trustees who opposed, for
example, consolidation or saw professionalization as an intrusion into their
micropower network, particularly in some ethnic communities. Nor could the
Federation fully reach most teachers in rural areas. Its goals and objectives
were not in line with the structural situation that conditioned their lives as
teachers. Thus, although the number of members of the Federation increased
from 1,800 in 1924 to 2,275 in 1927, more than a third of the teachers
remained outside the Federation.91
The Federation's discourse disguised in its universality the acceptance
of a patriarchal model of society that supported a sexual division of work. It
did not include the needs, experiences and perspectives of women teachers.
The Federation argued for professionalization yet retained women, the
majority of the membership, as second-class professionals, marginal in public
affairs. Equity was not an upfront issue. The 1932-33 internal conflict in the
Winnipeg Local clearly illustrates how, in a crisis situation, women had to
claim their status as professionals and their own political space inside the
Local and the Federation. Professional solidarity crumbled when men's
position of privilege was threatened with more egalitarian proposals. Women,
who were the majority, were able to assert themselves only with the power of
their own solidarity.
The Winnipeg Sub-Locals and Clubs that developed in the twenties
allowed the creation of strong interest groups representing women's interests,
in particular those of the junior and senior high school teachers. There is
362
certainly a difference in approach between that of the early pioneer women
who devoted time and energy to the Federation and the Winnipeg Local and
the women who, in 1932, clearly denounced discrimination and fought to
assert their group interest as women teachers.
The years between 1919 and 1933 can be characterized as formative
years in the life of the Manitoba Teachers' Federation. The Great Depression
deeply affected the financial ability of the Federation because most members
were unable to pay the fees.92 The Federation had to change priorities and
search for new directions. It created the Education Defence League to make
the public aware of the dangerous threat to the standard of education the
province had reached. The Federation emerged with a strong profile in the
forties. The Manitoba Teachers' Society Act was passed in 1942, when the
"Federation" became the "Society". Today, even without mandatory
membership, the Manitoba Teachers' Society represents almost 100% of the
teachers employed in public schools. The life of the Federation during the
"dirty years," however, still requires further research.
Notes
I thank Dr. Sybil Shack for her editorialcomments. Research for this study was madepossible by a grant from the Research GrantsCommittee of The University of Manitoba. Theauthor would like to thank Ms. Margaret Stevensfor the charts, and tables on salaries.
1. For a recent historiographical assessment of historical studies ofteachers' unionism see Wayne J. Urban, "New Directions in the HistoricalStudy of Teacher Unionism," Historical Studies in Education 2 (Spring 1990)and Andrew Spaull, "Fields of Disappointment: The Writing of TeacherUnion History in Canada," Historical Studies in Education 3 (Spring 1991)-Among the influential books published in Great Britain and the United Statesare the following: Martin Lawn and Gerald Grace, eds. Teachers: The Cultureand Politics of Work (London: Palmer Press, 1987); Martin Lawn, Servants^the State: The Contested Control of Teaching. 1900-1930 (London: ThePalmer Press, 1997); Roger Seifert, Teacher Militancy: A History of Teacher
363
1896-1987 (London: The Palmer Press, 1987); Paula Bourne, ed.,'s Paid and Unpaid Work (Toronto: New Hogtwon Press, 1985).
2. Harold Vidal, "The History of the Manitoba Teachers' Society."(M.Ed, thesis, University of Manitoba, 1958), 3.
3.
4.
Ibid., 4-5.
J. W. Chafe, Chalk. Sweat, and Cheers. A History of TheTeachers' Society Commemorating its Fiftieth Anniversary
19-1969 (Winnipeg: Manitoba Teachers' Society, 1969), 39.
5. Ibid.
6. Richard Henley and John Pampallis, "The Campaign forCompulsory Education in Manitoba," Canadian Journal of Education 7, 1(1982): 81.
7. See Tom Mitchell, "Brandon, 1919: Labour and IndustrialRelations in the Wheat City in the Year of the General Strike," ManitobaHistory, 17 (Spring 1989): 2-11; D. J. Bercusson, "Labour Radicalism and theWestern Industrial Frontier 1897-1919," Canadian Historical Review 58, 2(1977): 154-75; Robert Craig Brown and Ramsay Cook, Canada 1896-1921:A Nation Transformed (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1974), 144-45;Doug Smith, Let Us Rise! An illustrated History of the Manitoba LabourMovement (Winnipeg: Public Press, 1985).
8. See Tom Mitchell and Rosa del C. Bruno Jofre, "To Rouse theWorkers from Apathy and Indifference': The Educational Dimension ofUnionist and Political Practices in Brandon, 1900-1920" in Part II; Allen Mills,"Cooperation and Community in the Thought of J. S. Woodsworth,"Labour/Travail 14 (Fall 1984):103-120; Richard Allen, The Social Passion:Religion and Social Reform in Canada. 1914-28 (Toronto: University ofToronto Press, 1971).
9. Smith, Let Us Rise!. 37.
10. Ibid., 35.
11. See Mitchell and Bruno-Jofre, "To Rouse Workers".
12. It is therefore especially interesting that The Manitoba Teacherpublished an article by J. Dewey reprinted from The American Teacher inwhich he strongly argued for the need to relate teachers' unions to labour
364
unions. See John Dewey, "Why 1 am a Member of the Teachers' Union," TheManitoba Teacher IX, 2 (February 1928): 8.
13. Mitchell and Bruno-Jofre, "To Rouse Workers".
14. The Manitoba Teacher V, 4 (May 1924): 3.
15. Ibid., V, 2 (March 1924): 3.
16. Ibid, V, 1 (February 1924): 3.
17. Ibid, VIII, 7 (June 1927): 1.
18. Ibid, V, 3 (April 1924): 3.
19. Ibid, IX, 6 (June 1928): 6.
20. Ibid, V, 1 (February 1924): 3.
21. Ibid, VIII, 7 (June 1927): 2.
22. Ibid, V, 6 (June 1924): 5-6.
23. Ibid, IX, 7 (September 1928): 5.
24. Chafe, Chalk. Sweat. 17.
25. "Brevities," The Bulletin 1 (May 1919): 8.
26. Manitoba, Commission on Status and Salaries of Teachers.Report. 1919, 17.
27. Manitoba, Report of the Department of Education for the YearEnding 30 June 1922 (Manitoba: 1922), 161.
28. Manitoba, Report of the Educational Commission (MurrayCommission) (Winnipeg: King's Printer, 1924).
29. Benjamin Levin, "The Struggle over Modernization in ManitobaEducation: 1924-1960," 85, 88.
30. Robert Milan, "Education and the Reproduction of CapitalistIdeology: Manitoba, 1945-1960" (M.Ed, thesis, University of Manitoba, 1980),62.
365
31. G. J. Reeve (Secretary), Winnipeg Local, 30 January 1920.Informational leaf.
32. Letter from the Winnipeg Local to R. H. Smith, Esq., Secretaryand Treasurer, Winnipeg Public School Board, 22 September 1919; Report ofthe Committee on Salaries (Winnipeg Local), September 1919.
33. Letter from R. Smith (Winnipeg Public School Board) to Mr.G.J. Reeve (Winnipeg Local), 1 November 1919.
34. Letter from R. Smith to Reeve, 12 November 1919; Report ofthe Conference Committee, 13 January 1920.
35. Tom Mitchell, '"We Must Stand Fast for the Sake of OurProfession': Teachers, Collective Bargaining and the Brandon Schools Crisisof 1922", Journal of Canadian Studies 26, 1 (Spring 1991): 83.
36. Memo of Conference with School Board, 27 December 1926;Minutes of the Conference Committee, Winnipeg Loc'al, 4 January 1927; TheSchool Board to the Local, 11 January 1927; Letter from the School Board,9 February 1927; Memo of Meeting of Conference Committee, 28 February1927; Letter from Winnipeg Conference Committee to Winnipeg PublicSchool Board, 1 March 1927; from the Board to the Local, 13 April 1927;Conference Committee to the Board, 2 May 1927.
37. Chafe, Chalk. Sweat. 43.
38. H. W. Huntley, President, Manitoba Teachers' Federation.Letter to members, Winnipeg, 19 March 1920.
39. "Now and Then," The Bulletin VII, 3 (March 1926).
40. "Rural School Teachers," The Bulletin XII, 6 (June 1931).
41. The Manitoba Teacher VI, 7 (September 1925): 19.
42. Ibid, XII, 3 (March 1931): 2.
43. Interview with Constance Franzman by Rosa Bruno-Jofre,Winnipeg, 31 August 1990. Education in Southern Manitoba Collection,History of Education Resource and Research Project, Faculty of Education,The University of Manitoba.
366
44. Gabrielle Roy, Street of Riches, trans. Henry Binsse (Toronto:McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1967), 241.
45. The Bulletin 1 (May 1919): 8.
46. The Bulletin 20 (December 1922): 276.
47. Aileen Garland, "Old, Unhappy Far-Off Things and Battles ofLong Ago." The Manitoba Teacher (November-December 1968): 10.
48. Garland, "Old," 10.
49. Report of Sub-Committee on Teachers' Salary Schedule, 30November 1932; Garland, "Old," 11-12.
50. Men Teachers' Club, Resolution passed on Wednesday, 7December 1932, at 4:30 in Gordon Bell School.
51. Women's Principals Sub-Local, Resolution passed to bepresented to the Executive and Conference Committee of the Winnipeg Local,December 1932.
1932.52. Women High School Teachers' Local, Resolution, December
53. High School Women's Sub-Local, Resolutions to be sent toThursday's meeting with Conference Committee, December 1932.
54. Elementary Teachers as a Body, Resolutions, December 1932.
55. Garland, "Old," 13; Memo from Myrtle Johnston advising of ameeting of the four Women's Sub-Locals and the men who had remained withthe Winnipeg Local. Personal communication from Dr. S. Shack.
56. Garland, "Old," 14.
57. Ibid.
58. "President Huntley's Message." The Bulletin 1 (May 1919): 4.
59. See for example, The Bulletin 14 (1921): 164.
60. "Teaching as a Profession", The Manitoba Teacher (May 1927):20-21.
367
61. Report of Committee on Juvenile Delinquency, March 1927.This report was also published in The Manitoba Teacher VIII, 7 (June 1927):
19.
62. W. White, "The Educational Problem in the 'New CanadianSchools'". The Bulletin 26 (October 1923): 445-46; W. Mascuich, "The NewCanadian Problem," The Bulletin 28 (December 1923): 499-501.
63. The Bulletin I, 1 (May 1919): 6.
64. The Manitoba Teacher XI, 4 (April 1930): 2. Reprinted fromThe Quebec Teachers' Magazine.
65. "The Public and Education," The Manitoba Teacher XI, 1(January 1930): 2.
66. "Democracy 1930," The Manitoba Teacher XI, 3 (March 1930):26.
67. The fourteen points appeared regularly in the first issues of TheBulletin.
68. The Manitoba Teacher II, 9 (November 1930): 2.
69. The Bulletin 5 (March 1920): 40.
70. Manitoba, Commission on Status and Salaries of Teachers,Report.
71. The Manitoba Teacher IX, 5 (May 1928): 5.
72. Vidal, "History," 127.
73. Ibid.
74. Vidal, "History," 127.
75. J. Buck Geoffrey, "The Development of Teachers' Organizationsin Canada" (M.Ed, thesis, University of Manitoba, 1938), 12.
76. The Manitoba Teacher XIV, 5 (May-June 1933): 15.
77. "Report on the Revision and Consolidation of the Public SchoolAct," The Manitoba Teacher VII, 6 (June 1930): 14-15.
368
78. Amy Roe, "New Schools for Old," The Manitoba Teacher V, 7(October 1924): 26-28.
79. The Bulletin I, 2 (September 1919): 40.
80. The Bulletin I, 14 (November 1921): 144-45.
81. "Is Teaching a Profession?" The Manitoba Teacher XI, 9(November 1930): 1-2.
82. See for example, H. Charlesworth, "Is Teaching a Profession?"The Manitoba Teacher V, 9 (December 1924): 13. H. Charlesworth, GeneralSecretary of the British Columbia Federation was also the first president ofthe Canadian Teachers' Federation.
83. I used as a point of reference, J. E. McPeck and J. T. Sanders,"Some Reflections on Education as a Profession," Journal of EducationalThought 8, 2 (August 1974): 55-66.
84. Report of the Convention of the Manitoba Teachers' Federationheld in Winnipeg, January 1921. Manuscript.
85. T. Mitchell, "We Must Stand Fast."
86. A. M. S. "Why I am a Federationist," The Manitoba TeacherVIII, 7 (September 1927): 13.
87. "Cooperation and Independence," The Manitoba Teacher X, 6(June 1929): 1-2.
88. "From Mr. Nason," The Bulletin I, 2 (September 1919): 15.
89. G. J. Reeve, Secretary, Winnipeg Local, 30 January 1920.Notice of a meeting.
90. E. K. Marshall, "Manitoba Teachers' Federation," The ManitobaTeacher VI, 6 (September 1925): 21.
91. Chafe, Chalk. 59.
92. In 1933, the membership shrank to some 1,500 and the feeswere not being paid. Chafe, Chalk. 38.