Arizona republican., 1918-04-01
WARS INVASION IF THE RANKS 0F
 SCHOOL TEACHERS
The Shortage of Public School Teachers

puDHc cscnOOlS TOT the opening Tn sep tember and the public and directors may as well squarely face the situation now.
 In every part of the United States school teachers are resigning their po- sitions while school is in session to &C.,
 cept positions in the business world
 that pay them in many instances
 double what the school boards were
 paying them. The cost of living has in- creased as much as 50 per cent on gen.
 eral principles, but the teachers sal
 aries have remained where they were
 before war conditions. The teachers
 can't live on the old scale of salaries,
 and in sheer self defense and self-re-
 spect they have been obliged to seek
 employment which pays enough so they
 can live and pay their debts
 For several years teachers have been
 growing scarcer and scarcer because
 even those who loved to teach. had to
 quit the profession in order to make a
 living. And these ex-teachers have
 been eagerly sought cy business people , because of their trained head. and the , remuneration paid them by business men mas been in many cases double 2 what the school boards paid, so that a } living was assured as well as a chance 10 lay by little sum every week for a possible rainy day. The rural dis trcts everywhere have, of course. suf l Tered most from low salary conditions
 TOT Tn many sections the salaries have : been nlggardly; taking it on a yearly basis their pay has been about what inc farmers hired man made. It is inc rural school that will most keen1v suf Ter Tor the want of teachers durine inc . next three or four years; an irrepara ble ' euucdllonai loss to the innocent and
 nelpless chllden. The urban teachers
 nave Jared better both in salary and
 tne longer term of teaching. but in
 elther case the salaries have not heen
 commensurate with The time and the
 money spent in preparing to teach T
 an saIe Tn saying that in at least 5O per cent of the teachers the revards TOT their efforts have been too maa oe,.
 10 warrant making teaching matter
 oI a llfetlme. Do you wonder at teacb-
 CTS reslgnlng who have been recaiI.;r {, or rom $6O to s70 per month with 9 term duration of seven or eight nnon+bs ana luie the rest of the year? Take ' euese same teachers will get in business
 nom S'o 10 s125 per month for twelve
 nIoiths ot the year and with f,,t,,re
 5Trr,o'pecls Tn the commercial world o e tedcher problem for the past 1s n n-orsa .lia ma mas been serious, and will be n n,1Iona TOT !1 'ile next three or four years 70 unless the school boards wake ,,r .ai ; lc realization of the seriousness os 1p eo d
 tions oI condl- 't' Take the maximum of se2o nar TOT teaching, as against the ma axi,,,,11 val i i"tneu Tor business beginnings whiot S is Sl,oVV per year and the caee or,-,'o.
 Tn business services and co1, iiouIlles bring what they are uorth n business offers one fntnr, ,5 osso 0CIooi teaching cannot noss;h,, ,b NioreoVer teaching is a far nor, ~ soile occupation than work i, Du9iiIesS' and the chances for Q nor ,o fnoil' Ileid of labor are so differen ie rom the pillar to post" teacb;rs e,, en 1t 5l t1sa iences' The public has not give, ." ttie teachers fair dail Mammal Iaho iI Aiilus now pays better than 4aac oh ar .ns ana mas never cost the worl,eI. on of p0ssnS II, money or time for preparatior id ocnool boards might as well face th a tacI that Tn school teaching for san Ii @ years to come, there will ha n
 oinpelition' The taxpayers arc m nd u oidlhe so much for the low teacher, ,le salaries paid, as the directors or com D. missioners who lack forsight. Som at school boards are trying to hire teach on CTS and to run schools by the 1S1 mt ideals instead of the 1918 demands. an as our children are the sufferers now an ;ix the teachers of every succeeding grad ty or school will feel the bad effects fc ot years to come of the present condition ny In schools where there is no cohesiy NO system and no real oversight or super sst intendence, and in some instances thre
 or four different teachers in fou its months time, what progress can yo all expect from the students school going b. Surely, regularity of attendance ca als not compensate for lack of method is shiftless systems, and purposele: od teaching.
 ,ry Without a doubt. the demands upo als the intellect in the future will be grea re- CT than in the past and it is the dut lie of the schools to raise the sandard
 general intelligence, fact whi( pu should rouse us up and not let ol
 schools bump along in this shiftle
 manner It is certain that most of u
 courses of our public schools will ha'
 to he recast within a few years tim
 and conditions will demand it, If u
 schools are to keep up anywhere nei with the age.
 Already commercial business is a tively in the process of adjusting itst
 to different method of this new al
 more strenuous age. It's pity tn r public schools should drag behind Il h their function and their duty to HI leaders. True in most states, norm ! U schools have done and are now doil
 excellent work in educating boys al
 girls for the profession of teachin
 but they too will have to make sor III, IT., radical changes to bring up some I-i their courses to meet changed conc la. tions.
 . na Most school boards in hiring noVlc So. give preference to normal school gra ;ol, uates. and some boards will not co -yo slider applicants who are not grad ; a ated from high school or normal. The inc young teachers at best are only eXpel
 mentors. and in no other professi nt- or calling would we accept unprov ex- ability as we do in teaching our cilii rge ren. The university graduate fares Toel better at the hands of the schC ;am boards so far as remuneration is co Lee, cerned than the high school gradua eke, although not less than four years til 'gia have been spent upon higher stud liss as well as some thousands of dollars two training.
 an It is a big job to teach as teachi