>> each week, american history tv's "reel america" brings you archival films that help provide context to today's public affairs issues. 1958 nationalis a education association film, which addresses the overcrowding in school as a result of the post-world war ii baby boom. the program begins with a frustrated teacher writing her resignation letter and then shows how her once happy classroom gradually becomes dysfunctional, and argues that overcrowded classrooms are incompatible with good education practices. it's just under 30 minutes. ♪

>> this is the classroom. the teacher's professional home. louise roberts has spent half her waking life for the past five years helping children to learn. feeling her worth as a teacher. >> with deep regrets, i hereby submit my resignation as a teacher in the school system for the forthcoming year for reasons -- >> it had happened within the school year. so many changes. changes that had taken so much out of teaching. there once stood the piano. there once the science corner and library.

special projects built around the world in which children live kept their minds brimming with ideas. but all of this is passed. reasons? how did the teachers explain her reasons for resigning? >> ms. roberts, may i read my report now? the name of my report is the telephone trip. my class went on a trip to the telephone building monday. we saw the switchboards, and then we went to another room where we heard the click click from the people dialing on her their telephones.

>> kassie and her classmates learning to read, write, and spell, creating their own stories about field trips into the city, learning what it means to live in a community, learning how people work and live together. >> number please. >> stimulated, the children carried over into the classroom what they had seen. >> this is the dentist office. >> one group practiced using the telephone. while a mo advanced group conducted a simple experiment in the transmission of sound. >> how is your brother? >> ok. how was your brother? >> fine. >> a third group practiced using

the telephone directory. >> that's fine. now, benji, let's see if you can find your name, and we will write your number down and the class directory. >> 14913. >> kassie, her eager mind running over with questions. >> 14913. >> that's fine, benji. children, may i have your attention please? kassie wants to know if she had to get a message quickly to someone in a foreign country, how would she do it? suppose for example, kassie wanted to reach someone in france. here we are, and here is france all the way across the ocean. what would she do? david? >> couldn't she just write a letter?

[laughter] >> i'm sure kassie wants something faster than that. >> she could send airmail and purush on it. >> she could use a telephone. >> yes, billy? >> there is a cable that runs under the ocean. you can send a cablegram with it. >> my father was in the middle of the ocean, and we got a telephone call in the middle of the night, and it was my father wishing my mother a happy birthday. >> how could he call from the telephone wires on the water? >> it would have to go from ship to shore over short wave radio. >> informal discussion -- questions leading children into broader field of learning, all as art of a school day.

>> we have learned a great deal in the two weeks we've studied communication, not only about the telephone but other ways of sending and receiving messages. what would be a good way to show each other what we have learned? >> a test? all: no. >> we will have a test friday on the new spelling words we have learned. we will need a committee. >> the children were learning to work independently. committees are groups responsible for developing their own projects. artwork helped the children express their feelings and ideas. then of course, there was time for functional drill in the yard and small working groups according to each child's needs.

some doing silent reading, a more advanced group working out a dramatization of a story they had read. >> we do have a train. >> while using special teaching aids, ms. roberts gave extra attention to those in need of help with their reading. >> becky? that is right. now, can you tell me two things betty wanted to do? kassie, can you read it? >> betty said i want see the dollhouse, but i would also like to ride the hobbyhorse. >> that's right. now, benji, can you tell us what ann wanted to do? >> i want to ride the

hobbyhorse. >> 24 children, all different physically, mentally, emotionally. children who could not be taught all in the same way. ♪ learning was related to the day's experience, with writing and spelling part of daily class responsibilities.

and there was plenty of arithmetic, too, with class work keyed each child rate of 's rate of progress. >> a, b, 7. >> kassie, you must learn to make straighter lines. a 7 should look like a policeman with his hand held up to stop traffic. >> mine looks like a tired old man. >> try again. >> kassie, enjoying her work and learning. davi but needing help with her reading. david, anxious to please, needing recognition. benji, needing to be pulled out of his shell.

joey, more advanced, needing greater challenge to prevent boredom. >> all right, children it's time for recess. kassie? could you stay after school a few minutes today so we can work on your reading? >> yes, ms. roberts, i can stay. >> this was the classroom -- 24 pupils with time for each child. time to know and understand each boy and girl, to handle and guide them in different ways along new paths, feeling her worth as a teacher. this is how it was until -- the

construction of the huge industrial plant that triggered the community to new life. suddenly, almost overnight, the quiet suburb became a small city. ♪

>> boys and girls, we have two new children for our class. this is barbara baker, who comes from cleveland, and this is john sykes from atlanta. until we get new desks, we will have to find a place for you to sit. children, will you please show them where to put their coat s? but it had only started. just as the community changed, so did the classroom. one by one, the class projects were removed to make room for more desks, more and more as the months went by.

for a time, ms. roberts tried to continue small-group work, reluctant to give up helping children with their individual needs. but various elements were working against her. restricted space, the sheer physical closeness of one child to another. lack of classroom projects to occupy their attention once they had completed their assignment. s. nothing to do. no place to go. what was the use? keeping discipline had become one of the biggest chores of the crowded classroom. >> all right, pick yourself up. those of you who have finished, get out your language books and fill in the blanks on page 72.

the rest of you go on working. >> and so, to control the crowd, to get their attention, ms. roberts was forced to return to teaching the mass instead of the individual, teaching by rote with no relation to everyday problems, with neither time nor opportunity to build on children's interest and experience. teaching no longer stimulating to the pupils or the teacher. but there were other losses. , too. losses in learning time, waiting for help, waiting while others received attention. waiting until ms. roberts found time to give them the attention they needed.

benji, the quiet child waiting, moving deeper into his shell. joey, the gifted child, frustrated, waiting for the school day to end. kassie, her eagerness slowly being slowly stifled. children lost in the crowd. at the weekly staff meeting, teachers tried to find solutions for what was happening. >> we are forced to work with groups that are much too large. the slow learners are not getting the attention that they need, and the bright ones are bored. >> i have been trying competitive games with my group, but even games can't keep these older children quiet for long. >> i had to postpone a parent conference this afternoon. i simply could not work it in. >> you are right, and it gets

worse every day. but for the time being, we've got to live with it doing the best job we can. >> even if it is a bad job? >> we are all carrying a pretty impossible load, miss gibson. i'm probably not doing the best job as principle as i can, but i'm trying the best i know how. that is what expected of all of you. >> the best a teacher knows how -- playground supervision, hall duty, cafeteria monitoring, crosswalk guard morning and afternoon, working late each day to catch up, yet test papers and reports piling up. >> here's another one we need to work on. let's all think of the difference between these two sounds. jennifer? can you give us a word with this sound? that's not fair, children. wait until you are called on. i'm going to say a word.

see if you can tell me if you hear this sound in the beginning, middle, or end of the word. draw. kassie? now remember, give kassie a chance. >> kassie takes too long. >> please remember to tidy up your desk before you go, children. >> ms. roberts, i'm still having trouble with my reading. >> i wish i could help you today , kassie, but i have hall duty. >> oh. >> no, better let her go. kassie needs help, but so do others, and with so many, there just isn't time. avoid it as she tried, miss

knew something happened weakened for her the meaning, the word of teacher. something had corrupt the value of her chosen career. but was that sufficient reasoning for retiring? where did her sense of failure start? >> ms. roberts, i did know you were still here. you got a phone call a couple of minutes ago from mrs. williams, i think it was. >> it's all right, mr. brady. >> she says she's just got to find you. >> kassie's mother. that's for the doubt in her mind had begun, in kassie williams' home. >> that's enough tv, kathy. -- kassie. let's work on your reading until mother gets home. >> aunt ellen, do i have to? >> gracious those you can do with practice.

if your teacher does not have time for you, your aunt ellen does. here we are. where we left off. don't change the subject. "sleeping beauty" is a charming story. come on, now. the first building the prince saw was the stable. >> when he looked in, he saw all these horses asleep. he went into the -- >> castle. >> castle. >> you know better than that. founding cook. >> what does it mean? >> hi. how are you? >> margaret williams, your daughter's reading is simply did deplorable. she barely knows half the words, let alone their meaning. we were reading "sleeping beauty" in the second grade.

>> oh, dear. >> if jim were alive, he would be doing something about it. i keep telling you that it's her teacher -- ms. roberts. >> ms. roberts is a good teacher. >> don't bother your little head about this. it's not your fault. just try getting her into a these in college when she grows up with their crowded conditions. margaret if you had any interest , in your daughter's education, -- >> of course, like every mother, you want the best for your child. the very best for kassie. but there are other cares on your mind. still, at your job at the neighborhood bank you take time , to inquire of other mothers. >> danny has fallen behind in arithmetic. >> ms. roberts is his teacher, too. >> that's the way things are run these days -- slipshod. >> as the week go by, you realize something is happening

to kassie. then, that sunday morning, with kassie home from sunday school, aunt ellen visited time for her to read a bible story. >> well, all i can say is you should have heard her yourself. poor kassie in front of all of those children, i was never so humiliated. >> maybe ellen is right. maybe you have been neglecting kassie. and that tiny feeling of panic that your child is receiving a second-rate education turns into anger, anger looking for a target. all that sunday, you try to call ms. roberts.

when you fail to reach her, your irritation grows and suddenly, your mind is made up. the next day at work, you get in touch with the member of the school board with whom you are acquainted and arrange to see him at his home. to him you state your case against ms. roberts. >> if it were only kassie, i would have her transferred to another teacher, but there are other children. >> are you active in the pta, ms. williams? in any school activity? i imagine our teachers are really busy -- too busy to give individual attention. this year, your child's nearly doubled its enrollment. and you know how birthrates all over the country are still going up. >> i came here to talk about getting rid of a teacher who

obviously does not know her job , and i'm speaking not only for myself. >> why not take an afternoon off from your job, mrs. williams? well to the school and talk to the principal. >> you are right. , mrs. williams. ms. roberts isn't doing a good job. >> you admit it? >> ms. roberts would be the first to agree with you. not that she isn't a good teacher, she's one of our best. but she's not being given a chance to teach the way she has been trained and the way she wants to teach. >> come now, mr. morris. we are all overworked. >> you haven't in here recently. , have you? why not take a walk through the corridors and take a look at the classrooms before you talk to ms. roberts? i will have one of our seventh graders show you around. i think you will find, mrs.

williams, that you have acted a bit hastily. >> you see a classroom in a corridor. another in a basement. you see a classroom being set up on the auditorium stage. the school library taken out of circulation. classes double up. you see a class operating nearby. a playground area designed for the safety of less than half its number. a child crowded out.

by the time you reach ms. roberts' room, your confidence and judgment is a bit shaken. nevertheless, you attend the next meeting of the school board. there, you sit among vacant chairs of those who in the long run frame school policy, who are responsible for our schools. the school board and the superintendent try to meet the problems of overcrowding. as they strive for solutions, you begin to wonder, whose fault is it that kassie is not getting the best in education? ms. roberts? suddenly you feel it a desire to help. you try to work out these problems with your neighbors, through your community organizations.

also, because it essentially you are a fair person, you begin to feel a sense of guilt about ms. roberts. guilt that grows, especially the next day when you hear from another teacher that ms. roberts intends to resign. ♪ you couldn't blame kassie's mother. it was only natural that she should want the best for kassie. >> the prince walked from one silent room to another. looking for the sleeping beauty.

at last, he discovered her in the tower room. there she lies, as beautiful as on the day she fell asleep. morris said?r. all we could do for the present is try the best we know how . but still, was that enough for the teacher? was that enough for for kassie? ♪

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> this weekend on the c-span networks, politics, books, and american history. on c-span tonight at 8:00 p.m., speeches by two republican presidential candidate. first, wisconsin governor scott walker visits eureka college.

then, louisiana governor bobby jindal at the national press club. former new york governor george pataki talks about his political career and issues shaping his candidacy. then former senator rick santorum talks about his time in congress, his 2012 presidential run, and why he is running again. book tv tonight at 8:45 p.m., jack cashill discusses his book "scarlet letters" that argues progressives have become intolerant to opposing political views. sunday and i :00 p.m. on "after words, minnesota senator" amy susan pagealks with on american history tv on c-span3 tonight at 8:00 p.m., on "lectures in history," paul christopher anderson take teachs

a class on how confederates viewed reconstruction in the wake of the civil war. he discussed how some white southerners romanticize the defeat and motives for fighting. sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m., the landmark u.s. supreme court decision in loving v. virginia ruled it was unconstitutional to prohibit interracial marriage. at the virginia historical --iety, author and historian discusses loving get our complete schedule at c-span.org. >> in the fall of 1781, american soldiers under george washington and french forces under the britishefeated at