The Modern School Movement and Emma Goldman Katie Snyder Kuzmarov
Education is always imposing, violating, constraining; the real educator is he who can best protect the child against his (the teacher s) own ideas, his peculiar whims; he who can best appeal to the child s own energies. 1 This is the belief of Emma Goldman, and her predecessors Francisco Ferrer, Paul Robin and Louise Michel. Though Emma Goldman s role in the progressive education in the United States was not hands-on, she did not directly educate children, her education of the public about the modern school movement and issues of individuality and independence for children was a driving force vital to the school s success. Emma Goldman was born to an Orthodox Jewish family in Kovno, Russia in 1869. As a child she was rebellious and she witnessed a peasant being whipped in the street, which contributed to her distaste for authority. Despite being taken out of school to help her family, Goldman pursued education on her own, particularly the politics in Russia. 2 In 1885, she emigrated to the United States to escape the tyranny and extreme class disparity. 3 She was disillusioned quickly, however, with the American dream. In the United States, she saw just as much corruption and greed as she had left behind in Russia. In 1889, she joined the growing anarchist movement, which she became attracted to after the Haymarket Affair. Goldman quickly became a prominent figure in the anarchist and feminist movements. She lectured on many topics, such as prisons, religion, speech, capitalism, anarchism and democracy, free love, marriage, and military. Arguably the most important topic she committed herself to, however, was the issue of progressive education. 1 Goldman, E., & Drinnon, R., 163 2 Goldman, E., & Shulman, A. K. 3 Drinnon, R. (1961).
Her earliest and greatest influence in the Modern school movement was Francisco Ferrer and his work in France and Spain. Ferrer questioned the role of the Catholic church in Spain from a young age. He believed that they had too heavy an influence in the politics of the nation. In the Spanish Civil War he fought for the Republicans. 4 Ferrer was a pioneer of libertarian education, and at his school he educated both adults and children in the interest of continued education, but he was particularly interested in the nature of the child. In an article Ferrer wrote, he proposed two methods to change the education of children; to change the schools through studying the child and to found new schools without the issues of society. 5 First, he wanted to transform the school system through the direct study of the child. He, like Goldman, believed that the instructor was responsible for this. Teachers needed to be sensitive to the wills and needs of the child rather than pushing their own psychology. Though the curriculum was designed around the children s motivations, Ferrer also had fundamental values that he wanted to instill in students. Reason, truth, justice, respect for fellow men, the sense of personal dignity which is inseparable from the dignity of others, the conviction that work is the base and condition for rights- these must be the fundamental principles of all public education 6 The problem with this method is that the government bases much of their power on what they teach, and an educated and liberated generation is a threat. Ferrer said, Governments want education; they want a more and more complete organization of the school, not because they hope for the renovation of society through education, but because they need individuals, workmen, perfected instruments of labor, to make their industrial enterprises and the capital 4 Ferrer, F. (1913). 5 Goldman, E., & Glassgolg, P., 263-264 6 Avrich, P., 23
employed in them profitable. 7 He believed that the government in Spain had made education a form of enslavement, by using it as a means of controlling the population and indoctrinating their principles. Ferrer s second goal in his movement was to found progressive schools which taught the libertarian ideals in which he believed. In these schools he also hoped to restore contact with nature and let children develop based on their natural tendencies. 8 On September 8th, 1901, Ferrer opened La Escuela Moderna in Spain. 9 He was inspired by Paul Robin s large school at Cempuis, France. Ferrer saw this after he fled to France to escape government repression, and he threw himself into the liberal movements taking place there. Robin believed in children overcoming the legacy of their parents, which is why he accepted students from all backgrounds and classes. 10 Through education he hoped to take children born into poverty and rise them up through libertarian instruction. Robin s acceptance and support, along with the education and independence children received made his school incredibly effective and the students thrived. 11 An educated poor population is the ultimate threat to government security, because an intelligent lower class realizes that it is being exploited. The French government closed the institution at Cempuis but it proved to Ferrer the effectiveness of the modern school. Ferrer was also inspired by Louise Michel s modern school. She believed that hope to bring about social change was in the young generation. She said, The child, however, has no traditions to overcome. Its mind has 7 Goldman, E., & Glassgolg, P., 260 8 Goldman, E., & Glassgolg, P., 262 9 Avrich, P., 19 10 Goldman, E., & Drinnon, R. 11 Ferrer, F.
not been burdened with set ideas, its heart has not grown cold with class and caste distinctions. 12 In this, she saw the ultimate chance for a new era, without the restrictions of modern society and class disparity. Again, her school closed down following Michel s arrest. In Ferrer s own school, he sought to bring together the principles of both these schools he observed in France. His goal was to teach children how to study, and a strong desire for knowledge, so that when they grew older, they would not be deaf and blind to the things about them. 13 He also placed a high emphasis on learning by doing in a natural environment 14 and encouraged practical knowledge over theoretical. This type of instruction with focus on nature did not promote the powerful Catholic church. The church took his ideas to be blasphemous because he did not encourage faith in his students. Also, though instructors did not drill in information to the students, the principles being taught (liberty, freedom, etc.) emphasized a hatred for government. Ferrer went to great lengths to make the school had the best information to share with students. He equipped the facilities with a printing plant, and through the cooperation of many great minds and professors along with translators, he created textbooks that would embody the latest scientific discoveries and yet be couched in a language comprehensible to the untrained intellect. 15 This was the key, though Ferrer was teaching some of the most modern ideas and discoveries in the world, he was keeping this knowledge accessible to the masses. To the Spanish government, however, these texts undermined the established order of the state, and earned 12 Ferrer, F., quoted from Louise Michel 13 Goldman, E., & Drinnon, R., 152 14 Avrich, P., 20 15 Avrich, P., 23
Ferrer unwanted attention. Ferrer also saw the Escuela Moderna not only as a place to educate adults and children but also a center for propaganda and a training ground for revolutionary activity 16 The school doubled as a meeting place for anarchists 17 and this is ultimately what caused the downfall of his institution. Ultimately, Ferrer was an anarchist, despite his attempts to break from political ideologies publicly. Spain saw him as the enemy of all social foundation: Religion, Family, Property, Authority, and Army 18 This means that both the church and state wanted to see the destruction of the institution. Ferrer was arrested in connection to an assassination attempt which was believed to be planned at the Escuela Moderna. Though it is unclear wether Ferrer was indeed involved in the crime, the close ties between revolutionary anarchism and the educational institution proved the undoing of the school. On June 15, 1906, the school was forcibly closed. During what is referred to as the Tragic Week, a rebellion against the government occurred. Ferrer was charged with leading the rebellion. 19 Though he was not responsible for the uprising, it was proven to be a spontaneous occurrence, he was found guilty in a mock trial and sentenced to death by firing squad. His crime was worse than organizing rebellion. Instead he created godless schools and spread godless literature 20 which undermined the entire system. On August 31, 1909, he was killed. Goldman replied to his death, saying, I am broken in spirit 16 Avrich, P., 23 17 Goldman, E., Falk, C., Pateman, B., Moran, J. M., Falk, C., Pateman, B., & Moran, J. M., 61 18 Avrich, P., 27 19 Avrich, P., 31 20 Goldman, E., & Drinnon, R.
and body, I feel weary, just weary. My struggle never seemed more useless, a lone voice against a multitude. 21 Little did Goldman know the incredible influence Ferrer s martyrdom would have on his cause. His death caused widespread interest in the issue of educational reform throughout America and Europe. 22 In the United States, riots and strikes occurred at the news of his death, some led by Goldman herself. 23 She claims that his death made him a stronger opposition to the state because killing him was a crime to which the entire world reacted. In an article in her anarchist magazine Mother Earth, Goldman credits Ferrer s influence to hundreds of new modern schools with tens of thousands of pupils. 24 One of the greatest influences Ferrer s death had on American social issues was that it led to the creation of The Francisco Ferrer Association, an organization dedicated to perpetuating Ferrer s ideas. The group was founded on June 3, 1910, with Leonard Abbott elected president. The group was formed mostly of anarchists, with Goldman being one of the most prominent. 25 The group established three immediate tasks: to publish literature on Ferrer and his ideas, to organize memorial meetings on the anniversary of his death and keep his memory alive, and to establish Ferrer schools and centers in the United States. They quickly decided, The death of Francisco Ferrer were in vain, out indignation, sympathy, and admiration worthless, unless we translate the ideals of the martyred educator into practice and life and thus advance the human 20 Avrich, P., 34 22 Goldman, E., Falk, C., Pateman, B., Moran, J. M., Falk, C., Pateman, B., & Moran, J. M., 61 23 Avrich, P., 35 24 Goldman, E., Falk, C., Pateman, B., Moran, J. M., Falk, C., Pateman, B., & Moran, J. M., 461 from Francisco Ferrer article in Mother Earth, November 1909 25 Avrich, P., 37
struggle for enlightenment and liberty. 26 On October 10, 1910, the group pledged to establish a day school in New York. This was the origin of Goldman s modern school, one of the most enduring examples of libertarian education in the US. She took part in the inauguration and secured the largest donations, as well as the first school director, Boyard Boyesen, who was formerly a successful professor at Columbia but drawn to anarchism and feminism. 27 Despite that Goldman assured his role as director of the day school was one in which he could expect neither salary nor glory, he took the position. His prior experience granted the new school legitimacy, and Boyesen never looked down on the average pupils. He said, Each pupil will be free to be his true self. The main object of the [school] is the promotion of the harmonious development of all the faculties latent in the child. 28 The Ferrer center opened in October of 1910 on St. Marks Place. 29 The school officially opened its doors on New Years, 1911 as strictly an adult part-time school (due to funds) and headquarters for the Ferrer Association. The school offered Sunday afternoon lectures by respected intellectuals on social topics and questions. It also offered courses in English, Philosophy, History of the Left, Art, and Esperanto, a universal language. 30 The school became a point of intersection between anarchists and intellectuals. The in-house magazine The Modern School emphasized living artful and creatively. 31 On top of being a school, it also became a combined meeting hall, theater, and cafe. 32 26 Goldman, E., & Glassgolg, P., 265 27 Avrich, P., 45-48 28 Avrich, P., 73, from quote by Boyesen 29 Wexler, A., 201 30 Avrich, P., 71 31 Weiss, P. A., & Kensinger, L., 224 32 Wexler, A., 201
The real goal of the organization, however, was to create a day school for children, so they began fundraising efforts. This is where Goldman s role in the project can most be seen, because she played little role in the day-to-day operations of the institution. During her lecture tours around the United States, she started new branches of the Ferrer Association, some of which began their own small schools, gathered intellectuals to teach, and raised funds. 33 The largest financial backer was Alden Freeman, who believed in the encouragement of individuality in children. 34 In the International Socialist Review, it says of Emma Goldman that she was above all else, an individualist who believed that the enlightened few made social change. 35 This may have been Emma Goldman s most significant contribution to the modern school movement, her support and ideologies which she spread through her lecture tours. Her beliefs in individuality clarify her support of the modern school movement. She defined individuality as two types of consciousness, consciousness of self and consciousness of relations with others. This is why she wanted the modern schools to develop the individual through knowledge and the free play of characteristic traits, so that he may become a social being, because he has learned to know himself, to know his relation to his fellow men, and to realize himself in a harmonious blending with society. 36 The individual should realize their own unique needs, talents, and attitudes, including the sex impulse and love relations with others. Goldman, like Freud, believed that 33 Avrich, P., 74 34 Wexler, A. 35 Selfa, L. ISR, March 2004 36 Weiss, P. A., & Kensinger, L., 115
creativity was linked to sexual repression 37 and therefore took a very progressive stance on sex education in schools. She blames every institution of our day, the family, the State, our moral codes, [which] sees in every strong, beautiful, uncompromising personality a deadly enemy. 38 From Goldman s perspective, the schools simply bred more docility and led individuals to become cogs in the wheel of industrial capitalism. 39 This is why Goldman argued against compulsory learning and wished for less demands placed on schools and students by the board of education. Even within families, Goldman warned parents against imposing their own values on their children, believing that parents aid the continuance of the domination and instead the child would develop their own sense of right and wrong with freedom. 40 This fits well into anarchist theory, because anarchists believe that the potential of humanity is in self-directed individuals. The schools like those she saw in France and Spain encouraged just this type of individual spirit that held the hope for human progress. Another key aspect of Goldman s ideology was her true and ardent belief in children being capable of individuality and real thought. She talks about children not only as political subjects but also political actors; considers them not only as immature adults but individuals in their own right; asks not what the state needs of them when they are grown but what king of society they need in order to grow; and asks not what rights parents have over children, but what children need from their parents 41 In all of her theories, she considers children, such as when 37 Goldman, E., Falk, C., Pateman, B., Moran, J. M., Falk, C., Pateman, B., & Moran, J. M., 160 38 Weiss, P. A., & Kensinger, L., 115 39 Goldman, E., Falk, C., Pateman, B., Moran, J. M., Falk, C., Pateman, B., & Moran, J. M., 54 40 Weiss, P. A., & Kensinger, L., 124-126 41 Weiss, P. A., & Kensinger, L., 177
she discusses the problem of the government in education. She claims that the government manipulates not only children but also adults into sacrificing for the state and seeing their own as superior to other states. 42 Damage is done to children by society and external influences, but they are full of latent potential and spontaneity which needs to be brought out rather than pushed aside for the purpose of assimilation. Goldman understands children to understand and be impacted by their environments, as well as being able to impact society themselves. By spreading these ideas, Goldman furthered the cause of progressive education and made the public aware of the need to respect the innate qualities and individuality of children. The Day school finally opened on October 13, 1911 at 104 E. 12th St in New York. 43 Following the tradition of Paul Robin, Louise Michel, and Francisco Ferrer, the school sought working class or poor pupils. They attempted to fuse cultural and educational radicalism with a spirit of militant class consciousness. This played into the ethnic diversity of the students as well, many were immigrants and children of workers. By contrast, most of the teachers were of native, middle class background 44 but were repelled by capitalism and believed in the feminist and peace movements. Many teachers were also Mother Earth contributors, such as John Coryell, who wrote about women s sexuality. The Mother Earth editor, Alexander Berkman also took a role in the school. He believed that education and not violence would bring about social change. 45 Not all of the anarchists who made up the Ferrer Association felt this way however, and at the headquarters at the modern school, a conspiracy was hatched to blow up the 42 Weiss, P. A., & Kensinger, L., 180 43 Wexler, A., 201 44 Avrich, P., 114 45 Goldman, E., & Glassgolg, P., 265
Rockefeller Center. This was dangerous for the school, and as tensions grew police spies infiltrated the adult classes in the school. There was also considerable hounding by the media, and in light of the negative publicity, Freeman withdrew his financial support. 46 Though the Ferrer Center closed in 1918 as a result of anti-radical hysteria following America s entrance into World War I, the school moved to Stelton, NJ in May, 1915 and became the centerpiece for a new anarchist colony. Stelton was a living community, run primarily by the Ferms, early pioneers of libertarian education. 47 Though most supporters and participants had sympathies to anarchism or syndicalism, Stelton is where anarchists and communists effectively worked together, despite some tension over other opposing aspects of their ideology, the progressive education of children leading to individual inner liberation was a cause which they could both work toward. One failure of the Ferrer Association was in maintaining Ferrer s ideas through the years. Of Stelton, Ray Miller said, One heard little about Ferrer s educational theories, though a good deal about his martyrdom. 48 Ferrer had become merely a symbol for the movement. But the school remained a place for children to be independent and free. There was no separation of sexes, attendance was voluntary, no discipline, and the pupils were free to study whatever they wished. 49 The school lasted until 1953, proving the staying power of the progressive education movement. 46 Avrich, P., 226 47 Avrich, P., 231 48 Avrich, P., 229 49 Avrich, P., 228
Lance Selfa claims in the International Socialist Review that Goldman like many other anarchists, never really articulated a strategy of getting from here to the society she desired. 50 However, the modern school movement is how Goldman desired to move from the society in which she found so much fault and transition into an era of educated individuals who would enact true social change. It was in the Modern School in New York, later at Stelton, that Goldman saw the potential for a more perfect society, because an educated population of workers will not submit to being repressed by the capitalist system or greedy government, but will instead throw off the shackles of class distinctions. 50 Selfa, L. ISR
Bibliography Avrich, P. (1980). The Modern School Movement: Anarchism and Education in the United States. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Drinnon, R. (1961). Rebel in Paradise: A Biography of Emma Goldman. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Falk, C. (1984). Love, Anarchy, and Emma Goldman. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Ferrer, F. (1913). The Origin and Ideals of the Modern School. Retrieved November 08, 2013, from http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/francisco-ferrer-the-origin-and-ideals-of-themodern-school.pdf Goldman, E., & Drinnon, R. (1969). Anarchism, and other essays. New York, NY: Dover Publications. Goldman, E., Falk, C., Pateman, B., Moran, J. M., Falk, C., Pateman, B., & Moran, J. M. (2003). Emma Goldman: A Documentary History of the American Years (Vol. 1). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Goldman, E., & Glassgolg, P. (2001). Anarhy!: An Anthology of Emma Goldman's "Mother Earth" Washington D.C.: Counterpoint Press. Goldman, E., & Shulman, A. K. (1983). Red Emma Speaks: An Emma Goldman Reader [Electronic]. Selfa, L. (2004, March/April). Emma Goldman: A Life of Controversy. International Socialist Review. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://isreview.org/issues/34/ emmagoldman.shtml Weiss, P. A., & Kensinger, L. (2007). Feminist Interpretations of Emma Goldman. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. Wexler, A. (1984). Emma Goldman: An Intimate Life. New York, NY: Pantheon Books.