delegates, elect its officers and control its policies. As an organization it is simply these State and local associations functioning unitedly and nationally. The Association should be to every teacher in the United States "Our National Association," just as each of the State associations should be to all the teachers in the respective states, "Our State Association." Loyalty on the part of all teachers to their State and national associations will mean much in promoting the interests of the teachers and of the profession. There is always a shifting industrial class which changes from one occupation to another, attracted by the available positions which pay the best salaries. For several years those who make up this class have been employed in the various occupations which have paid high wages. Teaching has had no attraction for them because of the comparatively low salaries of teachers. They have no professional spirit, little if any professional training, and would never engage in teaching except for the money they may get out of it. The demand for workers at high wages is growing less. It is already It is already noticeable that many who have been otherwise employed are turning to teaching, not as a profession and not because they love the work or are fitted for it, but simply to take advantage of the increased salaries that have been granted teachers which in many places have not been safeguarded by proper professional standards. This shifting class of workers is not turning to the legal or medical professions, because the requirements of these professions are such that they could not be admitted without years of study, which they are quite unwilling to pursue. For the same reasons they are not turning to the other professions, but because in very many States "almost anybody can get a license to teach school" they are turning to teaching. Not only are they coming into open competition with competent, trained teachers, but their admission will prove disastrous to the interests of the unfortunate pupils who may come under their influence. The remedy is simple enough. Legislatures must throw around the teaching profession the safeguards of high professional standards. The intellectual and moral development of youth should be protected by law from the quackery of untrained teachers as their bodies are protected from the quackery of untrained physicians. If the teaching profession is to be elevated in public esteem it must be protected from the demoralizing influence of the incompetent and untrained. Our slogan must be not merely higher salaries, but higher salaries and higher standards. EDUCATIONAL OPINION a new National Education Association, a modern institution, that must grow in structural strength and scope, and and through these in service and achievement. They envisioned an edifice that was representative of every phase of American educational effort, and saw the necessity of welding the various forces into an organized whole, capable of expressing effectively, comprehensively and eloquently the educational tendencies and aspirations of the entire Nation. Build up the National Education Association. Let its leaders strive for numerical strength, for democratic methods, for the highest degree of service. Let the organization command the attention, the respect and the confidence of the statesmanship, of the press and the public of an entire country to the end that it may render a higher and nobler service to the cause of popular education and the progress of the Nation.-School Board Journal. The New N. E. A. THAT THE new N. E. A. is uni formly welcome is everywhere apparent. We are sure that the registration will go above 100,000 this year, and it will be no surprise if it goes above 200,000. This will give a financial support and organized sentiment that will make anything possible. The new National Education Association will inevitably be the greatest professional organization of any kind in the world. To oppose it would be foolish, to doubt it would be silly. The teachers of America welcome it heartily, and they will support it with virtual unanimity. Dr. A. E. Winship in the Journal of Education. A Matter of Common Sense WITH the suffrage extended to women, there is even greater need than ever before in the history of the Republic for an educated electorate. Every specialist worth his salt knows that all other methods of Americanization are as nothing compared with the value of the public school, and particularly the public school treated as a community center and accessible to young and old. It ought to be and will be viewed as a grave public scandal, therefore, if we do not stiffen the appropriations for educational purposes everywhere and work out that relationship of the Central Government to the States in the matter of educational development that is the crying need of the hour. During the last sessions of Congress all sorts of futile efforts were made to pass a law which would set up a real and not a makeshift Department of Education, with a Secretary in the Cabinet and with appropriation apportioned to the several States in due degree to their coöperation with the federal board. There is no invasion of States' rights in such a measure. It helps the States reach that educational level that the best minds of the country realize must be attained to get results in the future. That the country should gag over the expenditure of the proper amount necessary to secure trained teachers is unthinkable. It is about time we faced this issue flatly and realized that it is not a matter of sentimental altruism but of downright common horse sense. We have backed too many wrong horses in a wasteful way in our national budgets, and now is the time to put our money on the right team, the well-trained teacher in a properly appointed school.-Philadelphia Ledger. THE EDUCATIONAL ADVANCE California AS adopted by a vote of almost two HAS com to one an amendment to the constitution providing for the financing of elementary and secondary schools. The amendment was prepared by a mittee of the California Teachers' Association and is considered the most important educational measure submitted to the people of California since 1849. This amendment fixes the annual State contribution for elementary schools at $30 per pupil, which is an increase of approximately 50 per cent and makes it impossible to reduce this amount except by vote of the people; and fixes the annual State contribution for high school purposes at $30 per pupil, which is an increase of 100 per cent. It writes into the constitution the provisions of the county high school fund bill, which more than any other law has promoted the development of high schools in California; and the provisions of the county elementary school tax law, making their repeal impossible except by vote of the people. It guarantees that all the money raised by the State and 60 per cent of the money 'raised by the county for school purposes shall be used for teaching. HAS Georgia AS adopted constitutional amendments which practically create a new educational constitution so that for the first time Georgia may be called a public school State, according to State Superintendent M. L. Brittain. The last constitutional convention in Georgia met in 1877. It was hostile to public education and because of experiences with carpet-bag government it curtailed the taxing power, making it almost impossible to obtain local aid for education through local taxation. To remedy this situation two amendments to the constitution were ratified by large majorities by the people on November 2. The first amendment requires every county to levy a local tax throughout its boundaries in addition to State aid received. The second removes restrictions against State appropriations for high schools. THE A Richmond's New Schedule NEW single salary schedule has been adopted by the Board of Education of Richmond, Virginia, which places that city in the lead among southern cities. The schedule is based on the recommendation of the National Education Association as contained in the Evenden report. The minimum salary is $1,200 and the maximum $1,800 for teachers having two years of professional training, and up to $2,400 for college graduates, applicable to all grades. The total increase is about thirty-four per cent and will add $366,000 to the annual budget. To take effect this schedule must be approved by the City Council, which levies the tax. It was unanimously agreed upon by the teachers of Richmond, at whose request Field Secretary Hugh S. Magill appeared before the Board and presented arguments in its support. Members of the Board expressed themselves as being particularly impressed by the Field Secretary's report of the salaries' schedules. recently adopted by other leading cities. Denver's Salary Schedule HE BOARD of Education of Denver, Colorado, has adopted and put into operation a new salary schedule which adds over half a million dollars to the school budget and which is based on the principle that teachers with equivalent ability, training, and experience should be paid the same salaries whether they teach in high school, junior high school, or elementary school. Superintendent Jesse H. Newlon and his teachers are enthusiastic over the situation, Denver being the first large city to adopt a straight-out single schedule. The minimum professional training required for appointment to a position in the elementary schools is graduation from a standard two-year normal school course (two years above the high school) or its equivalent. The provisions of the schedule apply to all grades in the schools so that equal qualifications command equal pay throughout the system. Approved experience up to two years in other school systems is recognized in the new schedule and liberal provision is made for leaves of absence for advanced study or for sickness. The schedule became effective December 1, and provides immediate increases ranging from $500 down. Yearly Preparation Minimum Maximum Increases Teacher Situation-City Schools 'HE SALARIES, training and ex THE perience of public school teachers in Median Salaries Paid to Women Elementary the United States have long been known to be inadequate to maintain the schools at a reasonable standard of performance. Salaries were so low before the war that schools were fast drifting into inefficiency. If the cost of living had remained stationary, far-sighted management of public education would have required that salaries be greatly increased all along the line. But the cost of living doubled between 1914 and 1920, leaving teachers' salaries much more inadequate than they had previously been. Full light is thrown on the seriousness of the situation by a report, Know and Help Your Schools,1 which represents careful investigation of the teacher situation in 359 cities of 8,000 population or more, conducted by a committee, which is composed of 33 secretaries of chambers of commerce and 33 superintendents of schools. George D. Strayer, Professor of Educational Administration, Teachers' College, Columbia University, is Chairman of the Committee. Much of the work of preparing the report was done by Dr. M. G. Neale, Professor of Educational Administration, University of Missouri, and Dr. E. S. Evenden, who prepared the monumental report on Teachers' Salaries, which was published by the National Education Association in 1919.2 Dr. By consulting the figures here reproduced it is possible for any interested person to compare the salaries paid women elementary teachers in his city with salaries paid in other cities of the same size in his section of the country. By consulting the full report it is possible to obtain similar information for women high school teachers. The table at the right shows salary increases for various groups of teachers in the various classes of cities during the period from 1913-14 to 1919-20. The net increase is only 61 per cent. Single 1The report is published for the Committee by the American City Bureau. copies may be had postpaid for twenty cents; ten or more copies for fifteen cents each. Orders should be sent to Mr. Fred A. Richardson, Executive Secretary, American City Bureau, Tribune Building, New York City. Every member of an urban school board in the United States should study the report carefully. 2Teachers' Salaries and Salary Schedules in the United States, 1918-19. E. S. Evenden. Commission Series No. 6, National Education Association, Washington, D. C. Teachers During School Year 1919-20 .$1,275 Muskogee, Okla. Springfield, Mo. 974 841 Southern States Greenville, Miss. Selma, Ala. Suffolk, Va. Sherman, Texas Paducah, Ky. Martinsburg, W. Va.. 757 Winston-Salem, N. C. 828 750 Lexington, Ky. 795 750 Mobile, Ala. 746 750 Austin, Texas 741 744 Roanoke, Va. 695 Corsicana, Texas 740 Montgomery, Ala. 655 Brunswick, Ga. 730 Durham, N. C. 726 Frederick, Md. 723 Elizabeth City, N. C.. 650 Marshall, Texas Cleburne, Texas Rome, Ga. Owensboro, Ky. Anniston, Ala. CITIES 100.000 POPULA- 650 Buffalo, N. Y. 644 Bridgeport, Conn. 640 Fall River, Mass. 636 Yonkers, N. Y. . $1,599 1,523 1,521 1,518 1,423 1,420 1.373 had the number of years of training above the eighth grade indicated at the left of the table. The report contains a similar table showing the distribution of experience. The complete report also contains suggestions for local study and action on the teachers' salary problem. It is suggested that a central committee be formed of the educational committee of the chamber of commerce and an equal number of the school staff selected by the board of education upon the nomination of the superintendent of schools. Suggestions are given for the collection of data, for the development of a program covering a period of years, and for the determination of the kind of campaign necessary. A select list of sources of information is added. DISTRIBUTION OF NUMBER OF YEARS OF TRAINING ABOVE EIGHTH GRADE 633 Newark, N. J. 573 Springfield, Mass. 543 Jersey City, N. J.. 1,255 471 Lynn, Mass. 1,235 Rochester, N. Y. Paterson, N. J. 1,210 1,202 Providence. R. I. Camden, N. J. Erie, Pa. $1,847 1,140 1,048 1,038 New Bedford, Mass.. 1,037 1,707 1,656 Scranton, Pa. 985 Trenton, N. J. 962 1,482 1,400 1,245 1,236 Meriden, Conn. Everett, Mass. Great Lakes States Y.. 1,352 Chicago, Ill. 1,327 Cincinnati, Ohio 1,322 Milwaukee, Wis. 1,317 Cleveland, Ohio 1,316 Columbus, Ohio 1,307 Detroit, Mich. New Britain, Conn. Grand Rapids, Mich.. 1,115 Great Plains States 1,218 St. Paul, Minn. 1,169 Omaha, Neb. Less than 1 Year . $1,428 1,364 1,563 18 51 50 49 1,731 02.73 Allentown, Pa. 1,090 St. Louis, Mo. 1,336 Schenectady, N. Y.. Garfield, N. J._ Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 1,089 Des Moines, Iowa.. 1,063 Minneapolis, Minn. 1,053 Kansas City, Kans. 1,317 09.73 1.208 1,060 Lewiston, Me. Troy, N. Y. 1,052 1,038 4,283 9,489 15.00 Malden, Mass. 1,025 894 01.42 Binghamton, N. Y.. Seattle, Wash. 1,659 11 Years. 3 38 3 13 45 79 178 00.28 1,022 Perth Amboy, N. J... 1,010 Los Angeles, Cal. 1.488 Jamestown, N. Y. 1,007 1,289 Newburgh, N. Y. Elmira, N. Y. Altoona, Pa. Salt Lake City, Utah. 1,142 1,007 994 Southern States 979 Atlanta, Ga. 950 New Orleans, La. ... 1,234 1,186 .$1,254 7.54 1,071 854 San Antonio, Texas.. 1,060 843 Memphis, Tenn. 1,025 One-half of the men elementary school teachers in all cities reporting have had less than the median 6.16 years of training above the 8th Grade. Three-fourths have had less than 6.96 years of training above the 8th Grade and one-fourth less than 4.41 years. 823 Louisville, Ky. 880 A Platform of Service (Concluded from page 4) teaching should not be determined by the sex of the teacher, by the age of the pupils who are taught, nor by the location of the school in which the teaching is done. It means, positively, that successful effort for which one has paid the price of serious preparation and the selfdiscipline of experience should be adequately, even generously, recompensed. It means that there must be opportunities on each of the so-called 'levels' of the public-school service to earn through meritorious teaching a wage as high as that which can be earned upon any other 'level.' It means, also, that the ruralschool service should not suffer in comparison with the urban service. The second principle recognizes the need and the value of participation by classroom teachers in the construction of educational policies. The Association not only believes such participation to be essential to the development of the profession; it is convinced that the policies into which those most closely concerned with the actual tasks of teaching have read the results of their by an autocratic decree but by the simple, inherent, and inalienable right of the people to insure economy and efficiency in the management of their collective enterprises. One who protests against this as 'undemocratic' cannot have thought clearly through the fundamental principles of democratic government. IX. No professional organization faced with the serious and difficult tasks which the Association has assumed can work successfully without the coöperation and counsel of other organizations, both professional and lay, and the willing aid of men and women of intelligence and vision everywhere who recognize that only through education can be solved many of the serious problems confronting our Nation. The Association bespeaks, on behalf of the profession, the aid, sympathy, advice, and coöperation of all interested organizations and individuals in the It can carrying out of its program. form no alliances; it can offer no quid pro quo; it can accept aid only in so far as it retains its own independence and its own right to determine the movements, outside of its chief field, that it shall exert its influence to promote. Its only claim to consideration is the great cause to which its service is pledged. This cause reaches far beyond its own professional ranks. It is more closely bound up with public welfare and national progress than is any other cause today. today. The Association asks coöperation on this ground and on this ground alone. To do more than this would be to repudiate whatever claims it may now have upon the interest of the lay public. X The National Education Association is committed to a program of service-service to the teachers, service to the profession, service to the Nation. Its supreme purpose is the welfare of the childhood of America. experience, their study, and their reflec- Campaign for Education in Ohio' tion will be both wiser and more workable than policies framed irrespective of this important source of intimate, firsthand knowledge could possibly be. It is convinced that the establishment of this principle will do more to stabilize educational policies and insure their thoroughgoing efficacy than any other single step that could be taken. The Association, however, is cognizant of the system of delegated responsibility and authority under which a democracy seeks to meet its needs and realize its aim. The people as a whole have established the public schools and the people provide for their support. To legally constituted representatives the people delegate the power to control the schools. These representatives in turn delegate certain elements of their power to executive officers. Such officers are responsible to the people's representatives and through these representatives to the people themselves. This constitutes the 'recognized authority and responsible leadership' under which an Ten Things That Ohio Schools Need First: More teachers. Second. Better buildings. Third. Increased revenue. Fourth.-Active support of the people. effective plan of participation and coop-F eration must be worked out. This system need impose no hardships upon the classroom teachers. Whatever measure of 'subordination' it involves is in no sense an educational subordination; it is an administrative necessity imposed not Fifth. Good light and ventilation, Sixth.-Better methods of teaching. Seventh. More pay for the teachers. Eighth. Better training for teachers. Ninth.-More vocational education. Tenth.-Progressive people in charge of schools. IRST, we should pay teachers adequate salaries. Many of our finest teachers are staying with the work from a sheer sense of duty, but every year thousands are leaving. *From the N. C. R., Dayton, Ohio, October, 1920. Whether underpaying teachers results in having stupid, crude, and uneducated men and women bring up our children, or whether it results in inadequate compensation for those noble men and women who remain in the profession, the condition is one to make us. hang our heads in shame. Second, our school room classes should be smaller. A classroom teacher can do justice with 15 or 20 children. When classes are larger than this the results. are poorer. Until we are willing to greatly enlarge our teaching staff we will continue to waste the larger part of our children's time, and that can never be given back to them. Third, we must recognize individuality in our children. We herd them together in classes, and each pupil has to make the same progress as every other. Bright children become shiftless and lazy. The dull ones become discouraged and lose out. Fourth, we must house our school children in a decent, sanitary manner. Badly lighted, poorly ventilated, and crowded rooms make good work impossible. Fifth, we should keep our exceptional teachers and give them charge of our exceptional pupils. |