The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1920-10-16
NATIONWIDE SURVEY
OF SCHOOL TEACHERS

States with a population OF 5000 OF
more will receive today from their
national committee for cooperation
with the public schools the results of
a nationwide survey relating to sal
aries, training and experience of
teachers in which it is declared that
in point of salary the average school
teacher is "worse off than before the
war" The report, the first of four
"interpretative inquiries" will enable
these cities, it is said, to learn for
the first time the truth about their
own schools and to compare them
with the schools of other cities thru
out the country.
This survey. which was undertaken
by the American City Bureau after
a conference of superintendents OF
schools with chamber of commerce
secretaries at Cleveland, o.. last Feb
ruary "a, has been in progress more
than six months The questions to
which answers were sought and OBJ
tanned in the 359 cities were:
"How much training do your teach
ers have? ?" and Chow well do you pay
your school employes?"
One-half of the men elementary
teachers in all cities reporting, it was
shown, have had less than the medium
of $40 years of experience. One
fourth have had less than 371 years
experience OF 68,291 teachers, 3499
have had only one years experience
and of this number 758 are men and
women high school teachers and 273E
are men and women elementary grade
teachers. More than 10000 women
and 800 men in the cities surveyed
however, have been teaching 20 years
and over.
Emergency teachers lacking proper
training for their work are said ia
compose "an alarmingly large proper
tion" of those now in the cIassrooms
1t is commonly accepted standard
among city boards of education, the
report points out, that the teachers in
the elementary schools should be at
least graduates of standard normal
schools, which means a two-year pro-
fessional course above graduation
from four-year high school. aIt is
very significant to note in this con-
rection," the report says, "that more
than one-third of the teachers of Am
erican cities have less training than
this low standard and that there are
thousands of teachers in the elemen-
tary schools of our American cities
who have even less preparation than
graduation from a four-year high
school course"
Declaring that national problems
of illiteracy, Americanization, racial
controversies, equalization of educa-
tional opportunity, health. industrial
organization, require that the product
of our schools be thinking Americans
provided with the knowledge and
habits which will make them contri-
buting members of a democratic so.
ciety," the report says that "teachine
needs to be made real profession
and that adequate salaries are an
absolute essential for the realization
of this IDEAL"
The returns disclose what are de-
scribed as "many surprising facts
concerning teachers salaries" The
average increase the country over
since 1913-14 has been so per cent.
The increase in the cost of living,
meanwhile, it is shown, has been more
than 100 per cent. "In view of the
decreased purchasing power of the
dollar the average school teacher in
the United States is, therefore, worse
off than sFao xzzac bofo-o kI,o ,.ys... - Al. J.,
report states.
The method of calculation used IN
the report is based on a median, on
mid-point, in the scale Of salaries
which divides it exactly in half, one
half the cases falling below the me-
diam and the other half above it.
DR.. George D. Strayer, chairman Of
the national committee, in speaking
of the situation said: "What we need
throughout the nation is a better un-
0erstanding of the school situation
based upon careful assembling of the
facts. These inquiries are intended
to serve just this purpose. The Amer
ican people believe in the public
school system. That they have not al
ways supported it as generously as
they should is not due to any lack of
faith, but, rather. because of lack of
information. IF superintendent of
schools make available the facts with
regard to the present situation, and
if chambers Of commerce undertake
the obligation to carry these facts to
the public. we shall have an informed
public. The American people, when
they come to a full realization of the
present emergency. can certainly be
counted upon to provide the support
necessary for the maintenance and
development Of our public school sys-
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