Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1919-11-20
VOLUME LII.
The State Teachers Association.


Your correspondent attended the
Missouri State Teachers Association
in st. Louis Thursday, Friday and Sat-
urday of last week, and will give, for
the columns of the REGISTER, a brief
during our stay at the Association.
The first session was held in the Col
iseum, on Jefferson and Washington
avenues, on Wednesday, November
9th, and was called to order by the
president, Miss II. @. Gecks, of st.
Louis, promptly at'9A, M. More than
5000 teachers were present at this
morning session.
Samuel A. Baker State Superin-
tendent of Schools, made very in
teresting talk on the condition and
needs OF the schools OF Missouri. AS
to the salaries and vacancies, he said:
"The average salary paid the teachers
of Missouri In 1917-1S was 500 month,
based on an eight months term. The
salary of 1918-19 was $66 a month.
Reports received fom 81 counties with
in the last week shows that there are
only 81 vacancies in the state at pres
ent." "There must be more money
for the growing needs of the schools"
he said. "We can get this money, if
by our deeds and by the results of our
teaching, we can show that more
money is needed"
Jno. W. Withers, Superintendent of
st. Louis schools, in his address on
Educational After Effects of the
War;" advocated the nationaling of
schools as a means of establishing a
uniform system and higher general
standard all over the country. He
said "the country is not spending
enough on education; that the Amer
lean people last year spent 30 per cent
more for tobacco than they did on ed
ucation, and that the nations annual
bill for automobile repairs is much
more than the total amount spent on
education" He said ''143, 900 teachers
in the country have quit the profes-
sion since the beginning oi the war,
because of low salaries"
The meeting Friday morning wa
held on the sixteenth floor of the Stat
Ter Hotel, a large number of teachers
being present.
Fourteen group and sectional meet
ings were held, the meeting places
being rooms in Central and SoldaD
High Schools, Franklin Schools, and
Harris Teachers College, Union M E.
Church and Statler Hotel.
The meetings were interesting and
instructive, though great many sub
jects we're discussed, the wisdom of
which we have grave doubts. Entire
ly too,much theory by enthusiasts that
will not stand the acid test, and will
not produce tangible results in the
average rural school.
From very close observation we ar
rived at the following conclusions:
OF those in attendance, the per cent.
of lady teachers was about 80; as to
the age, between 20 and 80, go per
cent; between 80 and 40,30 per cent;
between 40 and so, s per cent, and
between 60 and 20, 2 per cent. This
report, OF course, is not official; but it
is based on what we believe to be very
close and accurate observation.
Among the many questions that
were discussed it was apparent that
none were more paramount than that
of the starvation wages paid the
teachers, particularly in the rural
schools. A town principal told US that
one of the teachers In his school, after
paying her board for the month, and
the expenses of the March examina-
tion and the August Teachers Meet
ing, had only 81 left. She went to the
store to purchase much needed pair
of shoes, and the merchant asked her
$3.50 for the shoes. But she got fhe
shoes and went in debt fifty cents,
promising to pay the balance out of
her next months wages. This is a
4 true statement, but did not occur in
Iron county. 1t may be worse in Iron
county, however. We do know of at
least one teacher in this county, who,
after paying his necessary living ex-
penses, has found himself in debt at
the end of the month, all the way
from ten to twenty dollars. The day
is not far distant when the minimum
yearly salary of the teachers in the
rural schools will not be less than. six
hundred dollars. There are now sew
eral school boards who are paying all
they can, Gall honor to them but there
are others who are paying three
fourths Of what they really could pay,
as the records in the County Treasu
rer's Office show.
Some of the ''Normal" men at the
Teachers Association were not in IA
vor Of issuing certificates to any
teacher who does not hold an equiva-
lent to high school diploma. Now
there you are. Why not say that nc
person shall be permitted to teach ir
the public schools of this state, unless
he has attended one of the State Nor
mails? This is true now so far as teach
ing in an approved" high school il
concerned, and the only thing to it il
an indirect way of forcing teachers tt
attend the Normals, though they may
have had college training.
The Association was instructive anC
entertaining, and many teachers re
turned to their homes and school
with broader conception of the rea
technique of the profession of teach
ing. ]. I. p.