The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1920-10-16
CITY SCHOOL TEACHERS
ARE WORSE OFF THAN
BEFORE THE VAR
Average for $50 Cities Having a Popu-
lation of 5000 or More Reported
By National Committee.

states with population OF S,U00 o.
more will receive to-day from their ma
tlonal committee for cooperation Will
the public schools the results of ma
wide survey relating TO salaries
training and experience of teachers, il
which it is declared that in point 81
salary the average school teacher is
worse off than before the war; Tho
report, the first OF four interpretive
inquiries will enable these cities, il
is said, to learn for the first time the
truth about their own schools and to
compare them with the schools of 9th.
er cities throughout the country.
This survey, which was undertaken
by the American city bureau, after a
conference of superintendent of
schools with. chamber of commerce sec.
retaries at Cleveland, O., last Feb. "A,
has been in progress more than six
months The questions to which an.
swers were sought and obtained in the
$50 cities were: How much training
do your teachers have z" and How
well do you pay your school employ
es -
/ One half of the men elementary
teachers in all cities reporting, il was
| shown, have had less than the median
OF $40 years of experience. One
fourth have had less than 81 years
! experience OF 6S.29l teachers, 3.493
/ have had only one years experience
! and OF this number 1873 are men and
women high school teachers and 2,135
are men and women elementary grade
81
and 800 men in the cities surveyed,
however, have been teaching 20 years
or over
! Emergency teachers lacking proper
| training for their work are said to
compose IAN alarminGly large proper
ton" OF these now in the classrooms
1t Is commonly accepted standard
among city boards of education, the
report points out, that the teachers in
Nthe elementary schools should be at
least graduates of standard normal
schools which means two.year pro-
fessional course above graduation from
a four year high school at is very
significant to note ..in this connection"
the report says, that more than one.
third of the teachers OF American cit.
les have less training than this low
standard and that there are thousands
Of teachers in the elementary 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 con.
troversies, equalization of educational
opportunity, health, industrial organi.
cation, require that the product of our
schools be thinking Americans. provid-
ed with the knowledge and habits which
will make them contributing members
of a Democratic society" the report
says that teaching 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 con-
corning teachers salaries" The aver
age increase the country over since
lol3-l4 has been 90 per cent The in.
crease in the cost of living, meanwhile,
il is shown. has been. more than 100
per cent. In view of the decreased
purchasing power of the dollar the ay-
erage school teacher in the United
States is. therefore worse off than she
was before the war the report states.
The method of calculation used in the
report is based on median, or mid
point, in the scale Of salaries which
divides il exactly in half. one half the
cases falling below the median and the
other half above il
The following cities, respectively,
paid the highest and lowest median ,
salaries during the school year 1919
1920, according to survey charts ,
Eastern states Holyoke. Mass. ST..
~ Oswego, n Y, $500; Great Lake /,
'tatesl Chicago, 81 ,0o4; Coshocton and !
Belle Center, O.. 1858: western !
'tates Oakland Cal, Sl.sl4: Sand ;
'oint, Idaho. $3.50; great plains I
tates ST Paul Mimi. 81 SOS: Inde
'endence Mo. 500; tsouthern states h
ireenville, Miss. Sl,2T5; Jackson. y
Tenn, SAT- .
DR., George d Strayer chairman of =
he national committee, in speaking of 4
he situation said What we need 4
throughout the nation is better un "
Outstanding Of the school situation (
ased upon careful assembling of the c,
acts. These inquiries are intended TO il
erre Just this purpose The Amer h
an people believe in the public school a
ystem That they have not always "
Imported i as generously as they 4
hould is not due to any lack of faith. "
ut, rather. because of lack of infor b
latiou. II superintendents of schools :,
lake available the facts with regard n
. the present situation. and if cham
ers Of commerce undertake the obli- "
alton to carry these facts to the C
ublic, we shall have an informed pub d.
c The American people. when they IT
ome 10 a full realization of the pres NJ
ut emergency. can certainly be count 50
! upon to provide the support neces- 81
Try for the maintenance and develop b.
lent Of our public school system. "