Bowling Green Education Association records

Collection – Multiple Containers

Identifier: MS-0081

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

The records of the Bowling Green Education Association document the history of this local professional organization and include minutes, negotiation files and published reports dating form 1954 to 1978.

Dates

Creation: 1954-1978

Extent

2.76 Cubic Feet (6 legal archive boxes)

Creator

Bowling Green Education Association (Ohio) (Organization)

Scope and Contents

The records of the Bowling Green Education Association document the history and evolution of the teaching profession in the city of Bowling Green, Ohio, from 1954 to 1978. The information contained in these records will be most useful to both historians and sociologists. Composed of executive committee and general minutes, negotiations, and a large number of publications, the growth and impact of this organization on the local community and the education system of the area can be seen clearly.

The minutes of the executive committee and the general membership of the BGEA are complete from 1954 to 1975. The provide the researcher with information about the operation of the BGEA on an annual basis. The names of key members of the organization, the committees and their functions, the social activities, the professional activities, and the negotiations with the City Board of Education are all included in the minutes. These combined with the extensive negotiation files document the changes in the education profession in Bowling Green.

A large amount of published research reports by the Ohio Education Association as well as the publications of the BGEA included in the collection document changes in the teaching profession within the State of Ohio. The records of the negotiations over the years and the teachers' strike of 1974 show the impact of the change in the United States. While this collection is not large, it covers a period of history when great changes were being made in the education systems in this country.

Biographical / Historical

In April of 1954 the Bowling Green City Teachers' Association held its final meeting and the Bowling Green Education Association was formed to replace it. The BGEA was to be a professional organization for the city teachers as well as a social group. Within the organization, committees were established to handle the multitude of activities and obligations that the BGEA was formed to oversee. From its inception in 1954 to the mid-1960s, the organization concentrated largely on the social and professional activities and acted more as an information dispensing agency than a negotiating organization.

The late 1960s and the 1970s saw a change in the BGEA as it moved from more of a passive to an active role. The BGEA became a negotiating force which attempted to improve financial and job security and increase professional status of teachers. A collective bargaining agent was appointed within the Association to deal with the City Board of Education in negotiation of new contracts. The power of the BGEA became very apparent with the teachers' strike of 1974.

The other purposes of the BGEA were not forgotten and it continued to send delegates to state and national seminars and workshops to improve the professional standing of its membership within the local community. As the needs and priorities of the teaching profession in the City of Bowling Green have changed, the functions of the Bowling Green Education Association also have changed.

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.