The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1920-11-25

| was dealt with In the same manner
with certain restrictions of age, S the
adult offender. He was tried bsore
| criminal court with all the f'fmality
and notoriety of jury, SVEN testi-
mony and confronting witnesses. II
found guilty" the child Suffered the
penalty. If mot guilty" re went free.
In no case did the law extend any CON
structlve help.
chiId's Rights Move Recognized.
OF recent years, however, the law
has recognized the right of the child
to a reasonable minimum of care, OF
decency and of well-belng. ConSidera-
ton has been given to the natural I'M
pulses of youth and to the adverse
conditions under which the child may
have been brought up. Because OF the
differences in the structure OF their
judicial systems the states nave hau
to meet the problems by various meth
DDS of legislative attack. In every
state however, the attempt has been
made through legislation to solve the
difficult problems involving the I'M
favorable nditions-domestic social
and economic-under which children
are living and developing today.
The report recommends that every
juvenile court, not only in the cities
but also in the rural districts, which
has TO deal with any considerable mum
Der of offenders should have chill
drens probation officer His duty
would be not only to supervise cases
himself but to secure the cooperation
of teachers, scout masters, officers or
boys and girls clubs, and other So
cial organizations so that every chlld
in his charge should be introduced to
one or more of these agencies.
1t seems altogether likely that the
next congress will take up the ques-
tion of additional federal child labor
legislation. The subject was discussed
in the campaign in many congressional
districts and a large number OF rep
resentatives are pledged to help along
this line. The legislation which is now
persons who are interested in this &C
tivity. There are many persons VINO
believe that the whole subject should
be left TO the states, hut this is not
the thought of those persons who have
given most time and study to the prob
lem
Teacher Supply Short and Poor
According to the federal bureau
of education, conditions In the pub
lie schools Of the country with
respect to the supply of teachers and
the rate of pay have not improved to
any appreciate extent during the last
two years. Reports to the bureau show
that more than $4,000 schools, or
about 3 per cent of the total in the
United States were at the beginning
of this school year without teachers
of any kind, and that more than 40
600, or about per cent of the total,
we're supplied with teachers whose
qualifications ,7ere below the minimum
standards of the states in which they
tal@ht. The shortage of teachers APP
plies to elementary schools and high
schools alike. According to the reports,
II is especially difficult to find com
petent teachers for the sciences and
technical subjects.
Studies made by the bureau just
before we entered the World war in
dicated that in the country at large
1 per cent of the rural teachers had
less than eight years Of elementary
school % per cent had no high-school
education; 30 per cent had less than
four wears of high-schOol education.
Only 45 per cent were high-school
graduates and only 10 per cent gradu-
ates of normal schools or colleges. In
one of the richest states of the North
west only 50 per cent of the rural
ana village teachers were graduates of
normal schools and colleges; 52.6 per
cent had less than high-schoOl educa-
tlon. In one of the Western states %
per cent of the teachers had high
school education AZ per cent had no
higher education, and only per cent
had as much as four years beyond
high schools. In many states, 1t Is
asserted, conditions are still worse.
on the average, the teachers teach
less than AZ months before quitting
school for other occupations. In some
states the average life of the teacher
Is less -A4n half this. The average
age of the country teacher Is less than
twenty-five years. In one state the
average Of country and village teach
ers was, before the war; twenty-thee
wears. and the average time which
they had been teaching was only two
years.
The bureau says that more than one
half of all the teachers of the United
States have had less preparation than
two years beyond the high school and
more than one-half did not teach long
enough to acquire the skill which
comes from experience.