The Press., 1920-08-05
Lower Efficiency and Unopened Schools Expected Result of
 Lack of 600 Teachers.
LOW SALARY - CHIEF CAUSE.
State Teachers Seeking improvement In Educational Conditions, Promote "Save Our Schools" Campaign and Urge Cooperation in Behalf Of Our Future Citixens-the
 Children

discouraging and future prospects indi
 cate that Connecticut must remedy thi.
 situation or submit to constantly de
 creasing educational standards and tho closing of schools in some districts
 One teacher out of every four in the state last year was untrained,-h attended neither college nor normal school. In 1916, the total enrolment in our normal schools was 900 stu
 dents; last year 1t was 465,-a de
 crease of about 30 percent. These schools graduated only 182 prospec
 tive teachers this June Rural schools will suffer from this decrease more than city schools as the normal scho" principals state that the rural districts are failing to supply their quota of students and are thus receiving fewer trained teachers. 1 Serious Teacher Shortage.
 | Connecticut faces shortage of about 600 teachers this fall The de- mand will be for about 1000 new teachers; the supply will consist of 182 graduates from normal schools and about POO from the colleges. Ex. perienced teachers are leaving the work. In 1917, only 500 new teachers were employed in the state; in 1919 the number had increased to 1,O35.
 President Hadley of Yale recent, stated that How salaries are the cause of f1ve-sixths of the teacher shortage ' Last year 107 Connecticut towns were paying their teachers an average sal ! Q nf were paying $1.OOO- or better. Thirty. five towns paid $500 or less and one | town paid only $4OO. Of course this is | made possible by the loyalty of local men and women who live at home. thus keeping their living expenses at a mini mum, but such salaries do not allow professional training and cannot meet the ever increasing competition caused by the teacher shortage
 The State Board of Education re- gently received complete returns from S2 towns regarding next years sala- ries for rural teachers. The average salary to be paid in those towns is se59 The average minimum salary Is SS54 The lowest minimum salary re- ported Is $583; the highest $1,2OO. In ten of the 82 towns the average salary for rural teachers will be below $500, and in p more it is between $SO0 and SoOO. Such are the causes of the edu- cational crisis.
 Teachers Plan Campaign.
 The people are beginning to recog- l nize these conditions. In some places the town officials have given increases such as would have incurred serious criticism in past years. The teachers, | through the Connecticut State Teach CTS Association, have taken steps to provide remedies. AS recently stated by Superintendent Stanley H. Holmes Of New Britain, president of the asso- ciatfon, the teachers have taken up the problem not because they are teachers, but because they are good citizens and understand the problems
 The campaign is in charge of a general committee composed of Stan ley H. Holmes, chairman and cam. paign director Fred S. Camp of Stam- ford; Grover c. Bowman of Thompson vile; Miss Carolyn Merchant of New Haven; Mrs. Bertha G. Daley of Stamford; Miss E. Mae Keefe of Wa terbury; Clement c. Hyde of Hart ford; John R. Perkins of Danbury Levi T. Garrison of Willimantic Thomas H. Patterson of Bristol; Miss Mary Stapleton of Bridgeport; Gilbert W. Miller of New Haven; Miss Harriet D. Condon of South Manchester; Ed | ward B. Sellew of MiddfetOwn There l are also committees on finance, leg l islation and publicity. The members | of these committees represent cities | and towns in all parts of the state and all groups of educators from su perfntendents to classroom teachers. In order to make more permanency in the teaching force, and to attract l suitable persons to the teaching pro | fession, the teachers association be lieves that higher salaries and better tenure for teachers, more state aid for education and certain changes ir the Connecticut Teacher Retirelnen, law are necessary, and these have been made the objects of the cam paign. The efforts center exclusively on the improvement of conditions 1T our own state, and the campaign head quarters have been established 1T Hartford. e.-.i The movement has already received hearty endorsement from organiza tions such as the Connecticut Congress of Mothers. and from such individuals as President Hadley of Yale, Wilbu, F. Gordy of Hartford, Mrs. John Laid law Buel of Litchfield. Joseph w. Al SOD of Avon and Mrs. Edwin c. Butler of Rockville.
 President Holmes has emphasized the fact that the campaign Is for tht benefit of the children who suffer wher untrained teachers are put in charge of the classes. It is campaign fol the people and the association eK pects> and is receiving the cooperation and assistance of the people.
 Bugs That Birds Eat
 According to a paper on behalf ot bird protection published by the State Horticultural society of Kansas the bird population of that state Is 256,. 100000, which every year eat enough insects to fill 4S0 trains of 50 box cars rach-24,OOO cars of minimum weight of 24,OOO pounds to the car. These insect trains would be long enough to reach from Oklahoma to Ne. braska. Reduced to pounds, Blair fig ures that the birds of Kansas every year eat 576,O0O,OOO pounds of insects. It Is hard to conceive the dollars and cents value of the fnsect-eating birds to the Kansas farmer.
 Things We Forget.
 Folks here seem to have developed