What we have lost, comrades. What we have lost.

‘First Socialist Sunday School in Canada’ by Elizabeth Nesbitt from the International Socialist Review. Vol. 12 No. 12. June, 1912.

Last September Finnish, Jewish, Italian and English locals in Toronto opened the first Socialist Sunday School in Canada. All sent their children, all attended themselves when they could, all supported it financially, all helped when it was needed. It is inspiring to think over the good times we have had with the children; the love and goodwill they have given us. Best of all, this kindliness is making for brotherliness and comradeliness throughout the movement in the city of Toronto. Our first aim in organizing the S.S.S. was to do negative work, counteract the bad influence of the capitalist system of education on the impressionable young minds. At once, we found this meant substitution of positive teaching that would be a firm basis for later lessons on economics. Elementary science was accordingly taught, charts being used to illustrate the Botany lessons and specimens for the Zoology talks, showing evolution by concrete examples and pictures the children could understand. Simple talks on stars and the Nebular Theory led the older children and young people to ask questions. That decided us to set apart a few minutes each Sunday as “Question Time.” Economic Determinism has been shown the potent factor in every History lesson, e.g., Social Instincts.

We hope great things will be done by this club, most of whose members stand across the back row of children. They are full of earnestness and are taking an. active part already. This picture shows children of six nationalities, officers, teachers and members of the “Board of Education in the S.S.S.”

It was a lovely sight to see the respect and love of beautiful motherhood in every child’s face. A simplicity marked the service that was full of reverence for the sacred bond between mother and child.

What a lesson to the Capitalist class who point us out as the “destroyers of the home” and speak with bated breath of “The Red Peril.”

We Socialists need but to show them our Sunday Schools where children are loved, not patronized, taught and not deceived. We hold naught good or worthy of our respect that does not give mother and child the place of honor.

The International Socialist Review (ISR) was published monthly in Chicago from 1900 until 1918 by Charles H. Kerr and critically loyal to the Socialist Party of America. It is one of the essential publications in U.S. left history. During the editorship of A.M. Simons it was largely theoretical and moderate. In 1908, Charles H. Kerr took over as editor with strong influence from Mary E Marcy. The magazine became the foremost proponent of the SP’s left wing growing to tens of thousands of subscribers. It remained revolutionary in outlook and anti-militarist during World War One. It liberally used photographs and images, with news, theory, arts and organizing in its pages. It articles, reports and essays are an invaluable record of the U.S. class struggle and the development of Marxism in the decades before the Soviet experience. It was closed down in government repression in 1918.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/isr/v12n12-jun-1912-ISR-gog-Corn.pdf