The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1907-03-28
Fasset A. Cotton's Report
Gives Interesting Facts
About Schools.
INCREASE OVER 1905
In Salaries Especially This Is Noted
I'm Some Respects Falling
Off Appears.
fspeslaI to Lake County rlmeu1.

D..
indianapolis. March 2S-As a gener-
al average the teachers who taught
school in Indiana in the year 1906 re-
ceived just about six cents more a dav
than those who taught the preceding
year. This. and a number of facts Of
interests in connection with general
educational problems. is to be obtained
from the mass of material which Fas-
sett A. Cotton, state superintendent of
public instruction has in his biennial
report, just published
The average daily salary of each
teacher Of the state in 1906 was S278:
in 1905, the average daily wage was
$2.72. The average yearly salary has
increased in the year from $37S29 to
$394,76.
1T will be noted" says the report,
that men and women in the town
ship schools received an increase of 4
cents and l cent a day. respectively; in
towns, an increase Of and cents, re-
spectively; in cities, an increase of s
and 13 cents, respectively. In the state
the average annual pay of the teacher
in the commissioned high school in
creased from $S1S.37 in 1905 to sSS2.46
in 1906, an increase of $6409; in the
on-commissioned high schools the
average annual pay for 1905 was $525.SO
and in 1906 was $5SO.62, an increase of
$500"
Increase I'm Common School Fund.
Continuing. the report shows the
steady increase in the common school
fund since 1880. year by year In 1880
10 fty,1
1902 1t Increased each year q little,
until In 1906. the amount in this fund
was sS.e7O.255.s6. The amount in the
congressional township fund remained
about the same during that period,
varing only from $2.249,143 in 1880 to
S2.473 in 1906
The revenue for tuition made a great
advance in that time, jumping from
$2,s43,107 in 1880 to s6,S43,075.71 in
1906. In 1905 this sum was slightly
larger than 1908. The special school
revenue increased steadily from $1,461,-
S91.15 to $S,S37,5911S.
The total expenditures for school
purposes for the past ten years are
given also. showing that the expendi-
ture of 1906. which was $11,44O,2 ,221 was
about $4,000,000 more than in 1897, but
a little than In 1905. The per capita
expenditure on the school enumera-
tion increased from $10.25 in 1897 to
$147T in 1906. there again being less
than the per capita for 1905. which was
$15.26. The per capita expenditure on
the school enrolment increased in the
ten years from $1396 to $20.74. the
1905 record again beating that of 1906.
School Houses Reach Limit I'm 1902.
In 1902. the number of school houses
In the state reached their limit, ac-
cording to the report. when there was
a total of 9,9S7 school houses reported.
Since then the number has steadily de-
creased until in 1906 there were only
9,T02. The number of teachers, on the
other hand has increased almost stead
lily since 1850. when here was 1855. In
1906 there was the largest number on
record, 1851 The average length Of
tho schoo! term in 1906 was 142 days.
After directing attention against
high school fraternities and saying
that the tendency to APPS college life
In the part of high schools is to be dis
couraged always for the reason that
most frequently the least desirable
phases Of college liSo are copied. all
of which was given from the advance
pages OF the report in these columns
some months ago. the state superin-
tendent decides that so many pupils
drop out OF the high schools of the
state because the work in them does
not appeal to the pupils
If 1t was meeting tho needs of the
pupils and the people. the people would
make every possible effort to enable
their children to finish their course" :"
says the report. 'They would see that
such sacrifice would help their chill
dren to earn more bread with the
same expenditure of time and money.
In other words, school work that meets
the needs OF the people would be look ed
upon as a paying investment, and the
people would take advantage of it
THE Introduction of practical. sup
Elemental industrial work would in
my opinion, come very near providing
a remedy 1t would supply work that
would appeal to a larger number of
boys and girls who are not now in
terested in ordinary high school sub
jects. 1t would make the work prac-
tical and concrete and build habits of
accuracy and industry. 1t would tend
to teach the children that there is a
work to do in the world and help each