Pupils have choice between the courses marked with *. In addition, all pupils are required to take work in spelling, writing, drawing, vocal music, and physical culture. Subjects studied by High-School Pupils.-A good indication of the type of work done by students in the high schools in the United States is given in the following table. An effort was made to determine just what work each pupil was taking, and to secure an idea of the relative popularity of the various lines of work that are offered. TABLE XXIII 1 Students in Certain Studies in the Public High Schools in 1910, in Percentage Cost. For the education of pupils in the public high schools of the various states $64,159,952 were spent in 1913-14, an average of $56.54 per pupil enrolled. This is more than twice the cost of elementary education. The cost per pupil in attendance for the year 1913-14 for the same cities as were chosen to illustrate elementary school costs is given in Table XXIV. opposite. Teachers. High-school teachers in the United States are somewhat better trained than those of the elementary schools. Certain states in their laws regarding the certification of teachers require a special certificate for high-school teachers, and several others require a higher grade of certificate for secondary than for elementary school teachers. Twenty of the forty-eight states make such provisions in their laws. California, having the most ad1 U.S. Commissioner of Education, Report, 1911, vol. ii. p. xli. vanced laws in this respect, requires graduation from a standard college (eight years beyond the elementary school) together with TABLE XXIV Cost per Pupil in Attendance in High Schools in Certain Cities in the United States, 1913-14 the examination to teach in a high school. Such examinations are no more difficult than the examinations for graduation from the high school itself. The real situation in the United States as regards the training of high-school teachers can be summarised as follows: (1) Only a few states have adequate minimum standards. (2) Most of the states set no standard for high-school teachers in their law beyond graduation from the elementary school. (3) The result is that poor districts and small towns have poorly prepared teachers. (4) Large towns and cities have well-trained teachers so far as their academic training is concerned. In Ohio, for instance, the state survey committee received data on the training of 939 high-school teachers who attended county teachers' institutes in 1913. Their training, compared with that of the teachers of Maryland, was as follows: TABLE XXV Training of High-School Teachers in Ohio and Maryland Having some high-school training, but not graduates These conditions are typical of states which have given insufficient attention to the requirements of candidates for positions in high schools. In the cities, on the other hand, much better teachers are secured. The present standard for teachers in the better schools is at least graduation from standard four-year college. The average number of years' training beyond the elementary school in certain cities reported by Bobbitt for the high-school teachers was as follows: 1 Ohio State Survey Commission, Report, 1914, p. 57. 2 General Education Board, p. 64. Bobbitt, p. 218. Reporting for the country as a whole, Thorndike found that of 100 male teachers in the high school, 10 have had less than four years' training beyond the elementary school, 45 have had from four up to seven inclusive, 30 have had eight years, and 15 have had nine years or more. Of 100 women teaching in the public high schools, 6 or 7 have had less than four years beyond the elementary school, 40 or 41 have had from four to seven inclusive, 41 to 42 have had eight years, and II or 12 have had nine years or more.1 Salaries. The salaries of men teachers in public high schools range from less than $300 to $3500. . . . Their median salary is $900; that is, of men engaged in public high-school work, there are as many who receive less than $900 as there are receiving more than $900. Of 100 such' men, 5 receive less than $500, 51 receive from $500 up to $1000, 27 from $1000 up to $1500, 10 from $1500 up to $2000, and 7 from $2000 up. Fifty-three per cent. receive from $600 to $1000 inclusive. The salaries of women engaged in public high-school work range from less than $200 to the group $2500-2999. . . . The median salary is $650. Of 100 such women, 22 receive less than $500, 59 from $500 up to $1000, 14 from $1000 up to $1500, and 5, $1500 and over. The average salary, together with the highest and lowest for the cities of the United States, in 1904 for men and women is given in the following table: Conditions in 1914 are shown in the following table. Sex differences are not shown. 1 Strayer and Thorndike, pp. 113-31. 2 * Monroe, Cyclopedia of Education, vol. v. p. 509. |