The sun., 1905-09-11
Teachers in This Country.

Teachers in This Country.
The criticism Of our American school
system on which an English educational
commission sent to this country few
years ago dwelt most emphatically was
that we are "feminizing" our boys by
reason Of the great preponderance Of
woman teachers. 1t seems, however,
from census bulletin prepared by Prof.
WALTER F. WILCOX of Cornell Univer-
sity, a distinguished statistician, that
relatively to the whole number Of teach
ers women are about as numerous in
England as in this country. The per-
oentage OF women teachers in England
in 1901 was 1872; in this country in 1900
it was 1874. The percentage here, how
ever, was much greater than in other
European countries, where it was,
according to the latest census returns,
only sl.5 per cent. for Germany, $40 for
France and 84.e for Italy.
Another fact brought out by Prof.
WILCOX will doubtless provoke surprise
1t is that proportionately to the popula-
ton of teachable age there are more
teachers in England and Wales than in
this country, though the proportion here
is greater than, in Germany, France and
Italy. In specific groups Of our States,
however, where the school system has
been best perfected, 1t is larger than in
England and Wales. In New England
it is 2ol to 10000 persons between
and "a years of age; in the Western
division 1sl, in the Pacific States 207,
,while in England and Wales it is
175. For the whole continental United
States it is lao; but the general average
is reduced by the relatively small num-
ber in the Southern States. the propor-
ton Of teachers to population Of teach
able age being twice as great in the
North as in the South.
1t appears from the statistics pre-
sented by Prof. WILCOX that the sup
ply of teachers to population is slightly
greater in the cities than outside them
in the LOO cities having population Of
25,000 and over i46 to 10000 people be-
tween and "a years, and outside them
1873. In the cities nearly five-sixths and
in the country only seven-tenths Of the
teachers are women.
OF the teachers in the United States
in 1900, the white numbered 424, ,422 and
the negro only 2l,2e7. It Is interesting
to note that there we're also ss4 Indian
teachers and 90 Mongolian. OF the
white teachers, moro than two-thirds
were natives Of native parentage, about
a quarter natives Of foreign parentage,
and less than one in sixteen OF foreign
birth. 1t appears, however, that while
generally the immigrant population
contribute fewer teachers relatively to
their numbers than the negro, the daugh-
ters of immigrants are numerous, as this
table, computed from Prof. W1LLcox's
statistics, shows:
White teachers. Observation-Disclosures. %24.473
Females. 6S,Ss3
Males. foreign parentage. lS.oo0
Females, foreign parentage.. se.ss
Males. foreign birth. Observation-Disclosures. $3.50
Females. foreign birth. l7,7A&
This much greater proportion Of
women Of foreign birth or parentage is
explained by the fact that they are
numerous in cities like New York, where
the population Of foreign birth or par
entage is largely preponderant.
The progress Of euu eation in this ooun-
try is indicated by the fact that the pro-
portion of teachers doubled in the last
thirty years. The greatest increase has
been in the Western States.