Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-03-04
INDICATIONS POINT TO GREAT
En- LACK OF TEACHERS
NEXT SCHOOL YEAR.
plscouRAolNo OUTLOOK
NOTED EVERYWHERE
Standard Of Efficiency Constantly
Lowered In Effort to Secure
rssehsrs for Recurring vaeane'ss
Normal Schools Show lnsrsassd
Attendance In loNa.
ecial TO rimes.Rspnblican.

Special to TtmeS-RepuDhcan.
Des Moines. March I'm the opin-
lon of John E. Foster, state inspector
of secondary schools. the shortage OF
school teachers In the school year OF
1920 and 1921 will be more serious
in Iowa and elsewhere than ever be-
fore. He bases his prediction on the
conditions which he finds in his trips
over the state and the reports made
at teachers conventions and the
meetings Of school executives.
Professor Foster attended the con-
vention Of the department of super
intendence OF the National Education
Association in Cleveland last week,
where he was elected president of
the National Association of High
School Inspectors and Supervisors.
The decline of the teaching profess
sion was one of the principal sub
iects up for discussion at Cleveland,
he reports.
Zone Of the prominent educators
in attendance stated that there had
been decline of 20 per cent in the
on normal schools thru
out the country said Professor Fos-
ter today In discussing this subject.
Those figures are borne out in
our own state" he continued. while
the college at Ames and the state
each has the largest at
tendance in history. approximately
4 900 students being in attendance at
each OF these schools. the state nor
NAL school at Cedar Falls has an at
tendance of only 1900.
Those who are attending the nor.-
NAL schools are not taking the full
course for they say they can get
as much money after at
tending one year as they can if they
complete the entire course. One
normal school professor told me he
didn't know where the second year
class would come from next fall as
all Of the first year class this year
expected to quit and so to teaching
at the end of their first years train
ing.
school boards are continually
lowering the requirements for teach
ers instead of raising them. They
have to in order to secure instruc-
tors. As you know 1t is becoming
almost common practice in smaller
districts for boards to employ girls
as young as II years as teachers.
Migration From Iowa.
in my judgment there will be the
greatest migration among school
teachers in Iowa this spring ever ex-
perienced. Everywhere go the
school superintendent. principals
and teachers are talking about
changing. Low wages is not the
only cause. The insecurity of an
position and the
treatment which school heads receive
at the hands of school boards is
driving many good men and women
thing for a school board to
dismiss q school superintendent over
night and for no apparent cause.
School elections will be held all
over the state Monday next and
many changes are imminent as the
result of these elections. A school
in an important Iowa
city told me recently. that he expect
ed to resign at the end of this year
and move to farm. A young pro-
fessor in physics stated recently he
was going to get out of the teach
ing profession because it hurt his
pride to see men of little or no edu-
cation doing so much better finan-
Aally than he altho he had spent
much time and money securing his
In the Judgment Of many educa-
tors not only the matter of salaries
will have to be adjusted but condi-
tons in the teaching profession will
have to be made more inviting if
teachers in the public
schools are to be secured.