9. talk of education
During the campaign, Reagan maintained his talking points, that were mostly unchangeable throughout his tours around the State, speaking around the need for crime control, the end of welfare and then break the power of the left-wing in the State, the last point somewhat affected by the dropout of Governor Pat Brown, as the Republicans had planned to set out against his broken promise of not seeking a third term.
Feynman, rather than go against what Reagan stated, possibly because he didn’t disagree entirely with some points either, decided to continue to pursue his interests in the office – namely, the improvement of public education and the providing of infrastructure for California, especially as it gave both employment opportunities and increased the business attractiveness of the State.
Education was, therefore, a major talking point on Feynman’s list. Having worked in the State Curriculum Commission, he was aware of the lack of proper textbook material for the schoolchildren of the State, a situation he made a key issue throughout his campaign.
In early September, as parents prepared to send their children to a new school year, Professor Feynman spoke before a great crowd, mostly made of schoolchildren’s parents, teachers and other supporters in the field of education, where he exposed his program for education during his governorship.
“It is a thrill to see such a crowd of young families coming to see me. It is always enjoyable to see young faces raising children, providing for them teaching them how to be good Americans, good scientists, good citizens of this fine State. Those children are our future, and it is a joy to see how our future flourishes. I have looked it up and, in California alone, almost 4 million and 8 hundred thousand boys and girls will be attending school this year. That is almost one in each four Californians, a tremendously great proportion. Their parents account more around 4 million Californians, or one in each five Californians.
I am sorry if I bore you with the numbers, but I am a physicist, a mathematician at heart, and the math is simple on this – you are not alone. The parents of California make a significant proportion of the electorate, and if they rally together no elected official can forgo their promises to them.
I am a parent myself. And I am an educator. And I am a citizen, a concerned citizen, who sees that only through education can the efforts of our country come to fruition. It is for those reasons I see the education of our children as paramount and the number one point in my work in public service.
The first and most urgent need for the schoolchildren of California is for their textbooks to the best ones conceivable. For that reason, I will put the State Curriculum Commission to work on finding and composing the finest piece of material they may find, with the help of experts from our great research centres. I know these people, I worked with them and I know which ones our children will need to teach them the crucial points of their education.
What is also needed is that our children have access to the finest pieces of equipment in their schools, be them for the classroom, for their physical education or for their laboratory work. Nothing is as dangerous for an active young mind than to see old and wasted things in its way. It shows them we do not care and it makes them not care either. We will have none of that, and supply our schools with the best material so that our children can go hands down on it and set on work. That is true education, to create and see how things work. That is how men and women are built.
Our education needs to refocus. I have seen many students with impeccable remarks come through my classroom. Some of them were fine young minds, ready to create new things and work with the degree of excellence that I always demand for my students and will demand from your government. They are capable of thinking for themselves and assess problems and create solutions. That is what we need! That is what California needs and should create. Others, however, went through their education never truly learning to do anything, merely memorising the phrases and concepts and knowing nothing of how to apply them. I am always unimpressed with such a man. I do not want to work with them, and I do not want to be responsible for bringing more of them into the world.
From there comes my greatest grievance with our current Superintendent of Public Instruction. This November, the people of California will be going to the ballot and, beyond choosing a governor, will also choose many key elements of the Californian State government. Among the most important for a parent such as myself, the Superintendent stars on that list. To choose a good Superintendent is an important part of the duty of the citizen. I will do everything to ensure that our children receive their best education, but without a great Superintendent to execute those plans, it will be a more arduous and slower task. For the sake of our children, who grow up so fast, immediate action is needed.
I have met Superintendent Rafferty. I worked with him when I was at the State Curriculum Commission, and through this campaign, as I got to know more and more people who make this great State function, I had the opportunity to meet him too. I have also read his books, one of them called “Suffer, Little Children”. I was not impressed. I did not think the title of the book meant the goal of the philosophy written within its pages.
Superintendent Rafferty’s view of education is the education I have seen time and time again fail my students. It puts memorizing concepts that they do not understand and have them report them back without contemplating them thoroughly. The study habits he wants our children to follow and the textbooks he wants them to learn from are devoid of content and applications. Physics, mathematics, science, they are not about knowing things, memorising theorems. They are, in the end, about knowing to put your hands to work and create things that are useful for our society, for our families. You can know a lot about everything, and have memorised all names in the encyclopaedias, but if you do not know how to do great things with your knowledge, you are not a scientist.
This is not a partisan issue. This is not between liberal and conservative. This should not be a political matter. It is a travesty that a man has to run for office for his grievances around education be heard, and it is a travesty how Rafferty has made this office a political one. This is not about politics, this is about our children. It is not about liberal or conservative, but about their future.
I have talked with Superintendent Rafferty and expressed my concerns. I exposed him my program for the education of our children and asked – are you ready to put this into motion? He didn’t seem willing to cooperate. He is too bent in his ways, despite being proven wrong. That is the opposite of what a man of science and a public servant should be like. That is the opposite I am at Caltech and the opposite I will be in Sacramento.
With that in mind, I have come to the conclusion that I cannot endorse Mr. Rafferty to continue serving as our Superintendent of Public Instruction. Upon understanding this, I thought about all Californian educators I knew and had met in these last months, I enquired about the subject with many people knowledgeable about the matter and a number of fitting candidates were found. I personally interviewed them, and found that this State has been blessed with many competent enough to fulfil such a position, and with whom I hope to work with from next year forward.
However, one man distinguished himself. I had the pleasure to meet Wilson Riles, a devoted educator working in our Department of Education. This was one strong man, born in the most precarious of conditions, in poverty and being tormented throughout his life, working his way through elementary school, and still always keeping his head straight on to his goals, serving our country during the war and returning to hold the noble position of teacher to the most disadvantaged of children, making all he could to provide them with the best education his meagre resources allowed him.
His efforts have allowed him to rise greatly, and he has devoted his life to the pursuit of education opportunities for all. Today, he is the head of our compensator education program, that improves the opportunities of students that suffer from disabilities, allowing them, despite their frailty, to pursue an honest living. This is a very important job, and I wouldn’t take him away from it if I didn’t know that there is a more important job yet for him to do.
Such a man is the one who we need as Superintendent, for he knows of the most concerning of cases, those of the people who don’t have enough to live with, and have come to believe they will not rise from that position. That is un-American thinking and it is wrong. In America, in California, everyone has the opportunity to rise, regardless of where they begin.
With that in mind, I now introduce to you the man who I will be working with as Superintendent of Public Instruction for California. I hope you find him as fitting and as qualified as I did, from the many conversations we have had the opportunity to enjoy”.
Then, Professor Feynman gave way and allowed Wilson Riles to stand forward and speak. A general shock was felt. Until then, the name was virtual unknown to Californians, and even Riles hadn’t considered the office until Feynman came up with the suggestion of endorsement, and even then he had his doubts. The paramount concern was the fact that Riles was a black man, which meant he would be the first black man to be elected to State office, and this amidst the racial tensions due to the Watts riots in 1965. This endorsement made clear Feynman’s position regarding civil rights and racial relations, at the very least.
Many were surprised with how well-spoken, articulate and thoroughly nice Wilson Riles was, starting with he short speech he gave presenting himself and his campaign for the position of Superintendent. He spoke of his life and childhood struggles, but in a very cordial manner, looking back on his efforts as being character-builders rather than anything he felt anguished for. He spoke of his experiences meeting white colleagues, and how he understood that most Americans didn’t care the least about other peoples’ race, as they had their own personal matters. This resonated will with the audience, many of whom disliked the radical ways of the student movements but were not fond either of the violent struggle for segregation of the conservatives throughout the nation. Riles also spoke of his goal of ensuring early education with mastery on reading, writing and math, with efforts towards parental involvement and teacher instruction, and his promises of keeping the office non-partisan by creating a league of conservatives and liberals to allow every idea to be heard when discussing educational policy.
Wilson Riles seemed to be quite competent, as Professor Feynman had said. There were no particular persecutions of the man outside of some fringe segregationist conservatives, but his endorsement had left many wondering what was exactly Feynman’s opinion on racial policy.
The answer they would get was thoroughly simple, as found out by a quick interview with a local radio, during a campaign stop in central California.
INTERVIEWER: Professor Feynman! What is your stance on Wilson Riles bid for Superintendancy?
FEYNMAN: I fully endorse and support Mr. Riles. I look forward to working alongside him to provide the best education to all schoolchildren of the State of California.
INTERVIEWER: Our audience questions what is your opinion regarding Mr. Riles race.
FEYNMAN: Mr. Riles is a black man, as far as I am aware of.
INTERVIEWER: Our audience wonders what your statement on race relations and civil rights is.
FEYNMAN: I hope to govern alongside the best minds that California has to offer, regardless of their race. I come from the scientific world, where we promote the best people to the job. I don’t know how public servants usually do this, but I will continue using the methods I have seen working to produce the great technological developments of our era. I hope I have been candid towards your audience.
He was. For better or for worse, Feynman became closely associated with the ideals of equal opportunities and of racial integration. Unlike what had been thought, however, his always moderate position regarding the matter cost him little support, possibly because those disinclined in voting for a pro-Civil Rights candidate were already on the polls for Reagan. It did, however, bring the bulk of the African American vote to his side, a partnership that would become loyal through the remaining election. In November, more than 90% of polled black voters stated they had voted for him.
The other great demographic group that Feynman captured with this speech was the parents, who had until then polled mostly for Reagan. With his focus on education, Feynman was able to pull most of what would normally be a conservative group and bring it to his side, if not on as overwhelming numbers as the African-American vote, at least as a healthy majority; his statistics were also correct, which proved he created a great dent on Reagan’s numbers.
Education was a major point in favour of Feynman. Often, he brought familiar faces from Caltech and elsewhere in the scientific community, who gave speeches alongside him addressing the matter Feynman hoped to address in the particular rally, often regarding education and technology. For that reason perhaps, he never seemed to drop it throughout his campaign.