Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-08-01
SCHOOLS FACE CRISIS

tShortase Of Teachers Seriously A0ects
schools ia the Countless
State Superintendent of Schools. NJ
Bates stephens. reports that a serious
danger confronts the public schools
on account of a shortage of properly
! qualified teachers The many new de-
partments created by the National
Government in the conduct of war.
+ as well as the hundreds of vacancies
in Baltimore and the larger towns.
( caused by the absence of men in mill
tary service. have created an unceas-
ing demand for Office and other help.
and the liberal salaries offered have
induced hundreds of Maryland's best
teachers To forsake educational work
The situation is particularly acute
in counties adjoining the larger in
dustrial centers and Washington In
Montgomery county more than fifty
teachers have resigned since May. and
in Anne Arundel. and several other
counties. the superintendent are UNI
able TO find enough teachers to open
all the schools.
While living expenses were relative
ly low. and not so many other avenues
of employment were open, il VAS
comparatively easy TO find teachers
for all The schools. Today, girls with
less than high school education have
little difficulty i'm securing positions
in business offices and government bu-
reaus at twice the salary their teacher
receives, As result teachers are leav-
ing the schools TO go into other lines
of work, and since fewer young men
and women are now in colleges and
other schools preparing for teaching.
it is a serious question with school au-
thorities how The schools may be kept
open and mp to the standard.
The great need of the public schools
Of Maryland for years has been prop
eTly qualified teachers. trained espe-
cially for service in the one and two
teacher schools, with a desire TO live
in the country. To render the best
service in country schools. teachers
need to be specially fitted TO meet ru-
raj life problems. They must be rural
minded, with an interest in the coun-
try community and its institutions,
and must have a good capacity for ini-
tiative and leadership; and while this
need has never been adequately met,
a good beginning has been made under
the progressive school Legislation
passed by the last three sessions OF
the General Assembly Following the
report of the Maryland Educational
Survey Commission, the Legislature
of 1916 passed laws providing for
many improvements in the State
School System, which have given
Maryland the credit for having the
best school legislation of any State in
the Union. Just as this law is getting
into operation. there is extreme dan
ger that its high standards set up in
the interest of the school children of
Maryland may be nulifed through the
lack of teachers who measure up to
former standards.
The underlying causes for the lack
of adequately trained teachers is
general apathy towards the needs of
the schools and m S a k e n
en- notion of economy in public school
support. over three thousand teachers
il the counties of Maryland are paid
the minimum salaries permitted by
law. With the increasing cost of liv-
ing, and the other avenues OF employ
ment open to teachers, more money
must be available for teachers sal
aries if the schools are to be kept up
to former standards In no other way
will teachers be able to continue max
ing the necessary preparation for their
work, and meet the expenses for
/ further improvement while teaching
The Advertiser Republican, October
| %, 1917