ABSTRACT
If the 1960’s were known as the era of vigorous student militancy in most sectors of American education, the 1970’s may well go down in history as the decade of the angry teacher. With the advent of collective organization among teachers in previously unorganized areas such as the southeast as well as the passage of public employee collective bargaining legislation in several states, teachers and their organizations are emerging as a powerful force in school affairs Some perspective on this movement can be gained from a look at an earlier period in American education when teachers flirted with militant organization within the National Education Association.