Council for Basic Education

Beliefs

CBE endorsed the belief that all children of U.S. citizens were entitled to a tax-supported, world-class education designed for the preparation of lifelong learners with the capacity to function in a global society: a dogma inconsistent with the trends of its time. Tracking, ability grouping, and other discriminatory practices to categorize and separate students who were viewed as less capable was discouraged by CBE. And, educators sought more relevant approaches to education as replacements for the banking concept exemplified by teachers delivering (depositing) a set body of knowledge to children and characteristic of traditional methods. While the Council promoted its beliefs through activities that engendered discord with some organizations, the pendulum-like development of curricular reform persuaded it to a modest reassessment of those beliefs.

CBE viewed itself as an organization established to reform education. It attacked the National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), in the early 1960s, for what CBE perceived as NCATE's excessive influence over the accreditation process and NCATE-accredited institutions. Furthermore, in 1975, the Council embraced the arts as a foundational aspect of basic education and added it to its canon of subjects, thus modifying its position on the structure of curriculum. CBE advocated a standards-aligned curriculum consisting of seven subjects: English, history, mathematics, science, foreign language, geography, and civics. It championed basic education in research initiatives, publications, and fund-raising that focused on standards of excellence in academics and teaching and placed liberal arts education at the forefront of educational reform. Over the years, CBE grew in national and international recognition to become a rising independent voice in education. By 2001, its work was evident in at least eight countries and approximately 50% of the United States.

For example, the Council was a resource to numerous professional organizations, as well as federal, state, and local government entities. CBE was the organization that convened panels to review the National Center for History in the Schools' first edition of the National Standards for History in the Schools in an attempt to address the bias some historians found markedly present in the document.

Organization and Funding

CBE employed a full-time staff of 11 to 20 employees and a part-time staff of 1 to 5 employees during its 2003 fiscal year. An independent 20-member board governed CBE. The founding members were Arthur Bestor, also the organization's first president, Paxton Blair, Maynard M. Boring, Harold L. Clapp, Clifton Fadiman, Sereck H. Fox, Harry J. Fuller, Howard A. Meyerhoff, Mortimer Smith, Sydney Steele, and Howard Whitman. In addition to Bestor, Thomas A. Bledsoe, president and chief executive officer of Housing Partnership Network; Christopher T. Cross, senior fellow with the Center for Education Policy; A. Graham Down, acting director of the College Board's Advanced Placement Program; and university professors Raymond Bartlett and Mortimer Smith also served as presidents of CBE. It obtained partial funding through subscriptions and dues collected from a [Page 226]somewhat small (200 at the most) membership; however, contributions and grants were its greatest sources of revenue. Federal grants accounted for $140,422 of revenue in 2004. The Council's annual income and assets in 2003 were $2,107,994 and $1,429,891, respectively. It used its resources to cover the organization's basic operating expenses and fund activities including endowments, and fellowships. The Independent Study in the Humanities Fellowship provided teachers with the opportunity to renew their enthusiasm and intellectual interest in the humanities through a self-directed, rigorous course of study. The course was offered during the summer to elementary, middle, or high school teachers who were employed full-time and in their fifth year of full-time teaching, and scheduled at least half time to teach classes in the humanities. Recipients of this fellowship had to plan to teach humanities classes for at least 5 more years and could not have previously received an Independent Study in the Humanities Fellowship.

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