SCHOOL FINANCES —OF- MONTEREY COUNTY CALIFORNIA —AND— THE CRISIS IN EDUCATION BY ARTHUR WALTER Free government, that is government by the people, cannot exist, or, if established, cannot endure, unless it be supported by a public opinion that is both intelligent and just. Without universal education opinion cannot be intelligent, and unless opinion be intelligent it cannot be just. The free public schools established everyzvhere through this Republic afford to every citizen the necessary means whereby intelli¬ gent and accurate opinion may be formed. GOVERNOR WILLIAM D. STEPHENS Additional copies ol this bulletin may be procured free of charge upon application to Miss Lilian Lang, Secretary Monterey County Teachers’ Club, Salinas, California. Table of Contents Page 1. Introduction ... P .... 4 2. Expenditures, Monterey County, 1919-1920.... 5 3. School Expenditures, 1919-1920....-... 6 4. Wealth per High School Pupil .. 8 5. Wealth per Elementary Pupil (H. S. Districts). 9 6. Wealth per Pupil in Union Grammar Schools. .10 7. Wealth per Pupil in Elementary Districts _ 11 8. Estimated School Incomes for 1920-1921____12 9. Average Daily Attendance in Monterey County...13 10. Estimated Incomes per Pupil _______14 11. County and District Taxes for 1920-1921 __15 12. Total School Taxes for 1920-1921.. .. . 16-17 13. General per Capita Costs and Tax Rates. ......18-19 14. Monterey County Free Library ...... .20-21 15. Salaries in Monterey County......22-23 16. The Crisis in Education .....24 Introduction The following report has been prepared for the purpose of pre¬ senting some of the conditions that exist in the schools of Monterey County. In addition to the presentation of the financial situation, there is presented a brief discussion of some of the factors that enter into the present crisis in education. The study is not intended to be one of exhaustive detail, but on the contrary, only the more general aspects of the situation have been presented. It is earnestly hoped that the citizens, and especially the school officials and teachers, will carefully consider the problems presented here, and that they will be free to offer such criticisms and suggestions as they may deem valuable. The author wishes to take this opportunity to thank all those who have aided in the preparation of this report and made its publication possible. Respectfully submitted, ARTHUR WALTER, Superintendent Salinas City Schools and Chairman Monterey County Board of Education. Salinas, California, March 7, 1921. Page Four EXPENDITURES OF MONTEREY COUNTY, GENERAL ITEMS. 1919-1920. Education ______ S 581,479.81__ .. 48.50% Highways and Bridges. 201,943.39. . 16.84% General Government.. 112,236.80... ... 9.36% Redemption of Debt .... 85,083.74... .. 7.09% Charities and Corrections. 69,401.43. . 578% State Highway Bond Interest 62,073.13. .. 5.18% Protection of Person and Property .. 42,090.66__ 3.52% Conservation of Health. 33,411.24. .. 2.78% Miscellaneous . 11,341.56. .95% Totals . $1,199,061.76. .100.00% The above chart shows that education receives nearly one-half of the expenditures. This item includes sites, buildings, county library. State school apportionment, etc. On the other hand money spent by the State for highways, bridges, etc., is not included in the above budget. This should be taken into consideration in making comparisons. * Page Five SCHOOL EXPENDITURES OF MONTEREY COUNTY, 1919-1920 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Teachers—154 Average Daily. Attendance- -3466 Total Per Teacher Per Pupil Supplies .... .$ 16,861.34 $ 109.49 $ 4.86 Janitors’ Salaries . . 10,690.83 69.42 3.08 Teacehrs’ Salaries ... ..... 160,814.73 1044.25 46.39 Books .-.. . 3,650.99 23.71 1.05 Apparatus . . 6 , 733.42 43.72 1.94 Sites, Buildings, etc. . 132,613.66 Transportation .... . 3,577.81 HIGH SCHOOLS Teachers—47 Average Daily Attendance—635 Total Per Teacher Per Pupil Supplies . .$ 14,095,52 $ 299.90 $ 22.20 Janitors’ Salaries . 7,652.40 162.82 12.05 Teachers’ Salaries . 81,472.93 1733.47 128.30 Books ... 2,641.63 56.20 4.16 Apparatus . 9,730.29 207.03 15.32 Sites, Buildings, etc. 94,215.72 . . Transportation . 11,300.28 . . Page Six a ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 1919-1920 Av. Per Teacher Total Expenditures ...-.$334,942.78 $2,174.9a Maintenance .... 202,329.12 1,313.82 HIGH SCHOOLS 1919-1920 Av. Per Teacher Total Expenditures .....$222,145.09 $4726.49 Maintenance ... 127,929.37 2,721.90 One of the fairest ways of considering schoo 1 expenditures is to determine the amount spent for each teacher. The teacher basis must always be taken into account in making adequate provision for the school no matter whether it is large or small. EXPENDITURE PER PUPIL IN MONTEREY COUNTY 1919-1920 Elementary High School Ratio Total .,.....96.63 $349.83 1—3.6 Maintenance ...... 58.37 201.62 1—3.4 Based upon the total school expenditures in the county last year, the cost of each high school pupil was 3.6 times as much as the cost of each elementary school pupil. If the comparison is made upon the basis of the maintenance cost, there was spent for each high school pupil in average daily attendance 3.4 times as much as was spent for each elementary school pupil. Page Seven WEALTH PER HIGH SCHOOL PUPIL IN AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE IN THE HIGH SCHOOLS OF MONTEREY COUNTY Average daily attendance for 1919-1920 Assessed valuations for 1920 ' - i .. ’ . g; ; ;• 1 \ * V. r i Av. Daily Wealth District A aluation Attendance Per Pupil King City __ .$ 9.501.286 84 $113,111 Gonzales .. .. 4.930.905 58 85,016 Monterey ... ... . 10,198.180 147 69,375 Salinas . . 9.130.383 225 40,579 Pacific Grove . . 1.801,010 121 14,884 Monterey Countv 635 56,003 The above table reveals the fact that educational opportunities are not equal when the possible district support is taken into consideration. The range of wealth per pupil in average daily attendance is from less than $15,000 in the Pacific Grove high school district to more than $113,000 in the King City high school district. There is one factor that should be noted, namely, not all the pupils of some of the dis¬ tricts are educated in the district. Page Eight WEALTH PER ELEMENTARY PUPIL IN AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF MONTEREY COUNTY Av. Daily Wealth District Valuation Attendance Per Pupil King City ...— .$ 9,501,286 662 $14,352 Gonzales .. . 4,930,905 355 13,889 Salinas ... . 9,130,383 825 11,067 Monterey . . 10,198,180 1255 8,126 Pacific Grove . . 1,801,010 369 4,881 Monterey County . .. 35,561,764 3466 10,260 The wealth per average daily attendance of the elementary pupils in Monterey County when the high school districts are taken as a basis does not show as wide a range as that found for the high school pupils. The ratio in the elementary schools between the highest and lowest wealth per pupil is about 3 to 1. For the high school pupils it is more than 7 to 1. These conditions indicate why it is necessary to put edu¬ cation on a state and county basis in order to equalize the support. Page Nine WEALTH PER PUPIL IN AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE IN THE UNION GRAMMAR SCHOOLS OF MONTEREY COUNTY Av. Daily Wealth District Valuation Attendance Per Pupil Chualar Union . .$1,290,560 30 $43,015 Parkfield . . 438,885 17 25,817 San Antonio . . 531,362 39 13,624 Soledad . . 1,522,355 127 11,987 Gonzales . . 1,666,235 139 11,987 Greenfield Union . . 1,041,305 98 10,625 Washington . . 220,35 22 10,016 King City Union . . 1,983,840 213 9,314 With the exception of two of the above districts, the unionizing' of the schools has equalized the amount of wealth per pupil in the par¬ ticular communities represented. It is at once seen that the educational opportunities in these districts are nearly equal so far as the amount of taxable wealth behind each pupil can make them so. In fact the average wealth per pupil is not far from that of the average for the county as a whole. Consolidation of schools removes one of the most marked injustices existing in the present school system. The chart on the opposite page shows the condition that exists in the elementary districts of the county. Page Ten Page Eleven ESTIMATED INCOMES FOR THE DIFFERENT HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF MONTEREY COUNTY For Both the Elementary and the High Schools in Each District District Elementary High School Gonzales ....... $ 32,500 $ 36,000 King City . 76,000 33,500 Monterey . 96,000 56,500 Pacific Grove . 27,500 21,000 Salinas . 70,000 84,000 Monterey County ... 302,000 231,000 The above incomes do not include the building and bond taxes. This does not mean that none of the money in the budgets given above will not be spent for sites, buildings, etc. Any of the special district taxes and as much as 50% of the county apportionment may be used for sites and buildings. But the accounts cannot be segregated with any degree of accuracy until the expenditures for the year are audited. The budgets should be considered in connection with the number of pupils educated. Page Twelve PUPILS IN AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE IN THE DIFFERENT HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF MONTEREY COUNTY Data given for Doth the High Schools and the Elementary Schools II. S. District Elementary High School Ratio Gonzales .. 355 58 6.1—1 King City .... 66 2 84 7.9—t Monterey _ .1255 147 8.5—1 Pacific Grove . 369 121 3.0—-1 Salinas _ 825 225 3.7—1 Monterey County .... ..3460 635 5.5—1 From the foregoing it is seen that the elementary schools are re¬ quired to educate between five and six times as many pupils as the high schools. Some of the inconsistencies are at once apparent when the elementary schools of the Gonzales Union High School district are compared with the high school. The elementary schools with less in¬ come are required to take care of more than six times as many pupils as the high school. A similar condition exists in the Salinas Union High School district. Page Thirteen ESTIMATED INCOME PER PUPIL FOR 1920-1921 FOR BOTH THE ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF MONTEREY CO. H. S. District Elementary High School Ratio Gonzales _ $92 $621 1—6.8 King City _ 115 399 1—3.5 Monterey . ..... 76 384 1—5.1 Pacific Grove _.... 75 170 1—2.3 Salinas __ 85 373 1—4.4 Monterey County . 87 364 1—4.2 The calculations in the above table are made upon the average daily attendance for 1919-1920. This is the attendance upon which the State and County apportionments are made for the present year. The above does not include the bond and building taxes. As remarked before some of the county and any of the special funds may be used for buildings, sites, etc. The basis for the tax computions is the assessed valuations and tax rates as published by the County Auditor. Page Fourteen COUNTY AND SPECIAL DISTRICT TAXES PAID IN THE DIFFERENT HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF MONTEREY COUNTY FOR 1920-1921 District Elementary High School Gonzales ____$ 29,700 $35,900 King City .....—... 58,700 38,000 Monterey .....|.. 64,500 56.000 Pacific Grove ....... 14,400 13,500 Salinas ............. 62.500 76,600 Monterey County ____.....$229,800 5220,000 The above taxes do not include the bond and building taxes. It should be noted in studying the above table that the elementary schools of the county are required to take care of more than ‘five times as many pupils as the high schools. In fact, based upon the county and special district taxes alone, the people of Monterey County are paying more than five times as much for the education of each high school pupil as they are paying for the education of each elementary school pupil. Page Fifteen Page Sixteen TOTAL SCHOOL TAXES PAID-IN THE DIFFERENT HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF MONTEREY COUNTY FOR 1920-1921 ELEMENTARY TAXES Dist. (H. S.) County Special Building Bond Totals Gonzales . ...$ 24,600 $ 5,000 $ 3,600 $ 33,200 King City . 47,500 11,200 4,200 $12,600 75,500 Monterey . .... 50,900 13,500 4,900 11,700 81,000 Pacific Grove... ... 9,000 5,400 14,400 Salinas . .... 45,600 16,900 1,600 10,600 74,700 TOTALS . ....$177,600 $52,000 $14,300 $34,900 $278,800 HIGH SCHOOL TAXES Dist. (Hi Schl) County Special Building Bond Totals Gonzales . .$ 5,900 $30,000 . $ 35,900 King Citv - 11,400 26,600 38,000 Monterey . . 12,200 43,800 . 56,000 Pacific Grove. 2,100 11,100 . 1,400 14,600 Salinas . . 10,900 65,700 . 31,000 107,600 TOTALS . .$ 42,500 $177,200 . $32,400 $252,100 The figure on the opposite page gives a graphic view of the dif¬ ferent school taxes in Monterey County for the year 1920-1921. It is rather interesting to note that in three of the high school districts more taxes are paid for high schools than for elementary schools. The State aid is in addition to the above and will amount to approximately $23 per pupil in the elementary schools and $2L50 per pupil in the high schools. In addition to this some of the high schools receive Federal aid. Page Seventeen Page Eighteen GENERAL SCHOOL DATA FOR MONTEREY COUNTY Elementary High School Total School Taxes Paid, 1920-1921- .$278,800 $252,100 Average daily Attendance, 1919-1920. . 3,466 635 Taxes per Pupil, based upon average daily attendance of 1919-1920. . 80 397 School Taxes per Teacher Employed in 1920-1921 . . $1,732 $4,584 Maximum legal County School Tax per $100 $.50 no limit Maximum legal Special District Tax per $100 $.30 $.75 Considering the total taxes paid for school purposes in Monterey County, the taxes paid for high schools are nearly equal to those paid for elementary schools. This is true in spite of the fact that the ele¬ mentary schools are required to educate nearly five and one-half times as many pupils as the high schools. Put in another way, the people of Monterey County are paying five times as much per high school pupil as they are for each elementary school pupil. The ratio for the United States as a whole is approximately 2 to 1. The tax paid for each high school teacher is 2.6 times as much as is paid for each elementary school teacher. Another thing that ought to be given attention is the maximum legal tax rates for the different school taxes. The maximum county elementary school rate is $.50 on each $100 of assessed valuation. There is no maximum for the county high school rate. The maximum special district rate is $.30 on each $100 for the elementary schools, but for the high schools it is $.75 on each $100. Why should there be no limit to the county high school tax and a limit for the special dis¬ trict high school tax two and one-half times that of the special district tax for the elementary schools? The least one can do is to wonder if the maximum tax rates were not made to the advantage of the high schools and not with a view to securing justice and equity throughout the entire educational system. Why should such a condition exist when the elementary schools must care for eight grades and the high schools only four? Why such a relation between the limits of support when in California there are five times as many pupils in average daily attendance in the elementary schools as in the high schools? Page Nineteen Page Twenty SUMMARY OF GROWTH OF MONTEREY COUNTY FREE LIBRARY 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 Books in Lib. 1,942 3,916 8,144 13,298 19,801 25,411 31,976 Branches . 11 22 37 70 75 82 93 Borrowers J (Incomplete) J 541 1,670 2,681 4,148 4,647 5,956 6,805 Total Annual ) Expense ( $ 3 > 402 - 90 $8,803.55 $11,798.41 15,016.06 J ..$7,083.40 $8,402.82 $12,886.10 One of the most important educational agencies in Monterey County is the county library. During the seven years that it has been in operation it has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that its service is eminently worth while. It is of inestimable value to the schools as well as to the general public. The charts show the service that it renders. Probably no institution in the county gives such large returns in proportion to the cost. The people of Monterey County can make no better investment for the general welfare of the county, and especially the welfare of the children, than that made through the county library. The expenses of the library as given above do not include the salary of the county librarian, who is paid from the general salary fund, but the salaries of all the assistants and those of the branch librarians are included. Page Twenty-one SALARIES IN MONTEREY COUNTY The figure on page 23 gives the average salary for each elemen¬ tary school district for three different years. The lower curve indi¬ cates the average salaries in 1913-1914. The middle curve indicates the average salaries for 1919-1920. The upper curve shows the aver¬ age salaries now in force. The condition in the elementary schools is chaotic in the extreme. There is not much evidence of a just and equitable salary schedule. In the figure given above the salaries for the different occupations are those that were in force in January, 1920. There have been some increases since then and also some decreases, but in general the salaries at the present time are not far from those in force then. Page Twenty-two Page Twenty three THE CRISIS IN EDUCATION. There is a crisis in education. No doubt about it. During the last few years the public has been aroused concerning the needs of edu¬ cation. However, at the present time there is danger that this interest may be only transient, and that the public will lapse into an attitude of indifference toward its schools. This tendency to reaction is one of the most dangerous enemies of education. CAUSES OF THE CRISIS. The present crisis has not developed suddenly. Far-sighted edu¬ cators have seen it approaching for several years. True, the war hastened it, but it did not cause it. The cause lies much deeper and is to be found in the system under which our schools exist. Among the tirst tangible evidences that there was a crisis developing was the exodus of the men teachers. This depletion of the number of men employed in the schools has continued unabated until there are com¬ paratively few men left in the profession. Recently there has been an exodus of the women teachers. This is not all. The source of supply is failing. Practically no men are going to the normal schools and the number of women is constantly decreasing. In California the enroll¬ ment at the normal schools is little more than half of what it was six years ago. In 1915 there were 27 students from Monterey County at the San Jose Normal. Today there are 16. The number of normal graduates last year was nearly one-third less than in 1914. This con¬ dition, coupled with the fact that the entire teaching reserve is already absorbed, portends a grave situation in the future. These conditions exist in spite of the fact that the salaries have been increased. INADEQUATE COMPENSATION. It certainly does not reflect credit upon Monterey County that last year twenty-three teachers received an annual salary less than the minimum wage set by the State Industrial Welfare Commission for women workers in California. This year there are six such teachers. When we consider that teachers are required to put in years of train¬ ing before they enter teaching, the situation does not argue well for the good of education. True, there are those who advocate the prin¬ ciple that anyone can teach school. But the warped and twisted lives of thousands of our innocent children testify in no uncertain terms to the falsity of such a contention. Business men would not think of putting untrained workers in places of responsibility. Teaching is one of the most difficult arts known and its responsibility ranks next to Page Twenty-four parenthood itself. However, these factors have not been reflected in the remuneration offered and, consequently, teachers have been forced by sheer necessity to seek other employment in which the rewards are more substantial. SOCIAL STATUS. Although the economic factor is a prominent one, the social status of the teacher is probably more important. This is especially true re¬ garding the elementary teachers. They are generally looked down upon as is shown by the attitude expressed when one quits and goes into some other work. “I knew you were made for something better than teaching!” is a common expression. It is unfortunate that one of the factors contributing to this con¬ dition is the high school itself . Both consciously and uncosnciously, the high school teachers and principals have boosted their alma maters rather than direct young people into the normal schools, and the teach¬ ing profession. This is not desirable either for education or for the general good. Under such conditions a psychological condition has been developed in which young people regard teaching as inferior work, and especially is this true in regard to teaching in the primary and grammar departments. This is fundamentally wrong. Teaching in the primary and grammar schools is just as honorable as in the high school or college. Primary work requires a training and skill not exceeded in any other department. Doctors do not consider it beneath their dignity to minister to little children. Lawyers regard it a priv¬ ilege to defend them in their rights. Why not the same social standard for their teachers? DISCRIMINATION IN SALARIES. One of the main reasons why the elementary teachers are leaving their work is the disparity in pay between the elementary schools and the high schools. No matter how much training and experience a primary teacher may have, she is always rated below a high school teacher in the matter of compensation. Thus, the elementary teacher with initiative and ambition will secure some special or other credential as soon as possible and transfer to the high school. Consequently, the elementary schools are losing their best teachers. Any system that makes the elementary schools a preparatory school for high school teachers is wrong. The principle of equal pay for equal training and experience should govern. State Superintendent Will C. Wood in his last biennial report to the Governor points out this fact very clearly. Page Twenty-five After discussing the need for a just and equitable salary schedule for the educational system as a whole, he suggests a salary “schedule that will enable school boards to give to each teacher, whether elementary or high school, or in special work, a salary rating according to her training, as well as her experience.” Further, he observes that “the high school teacher with no experience finds her place, not as a high school teacher, but as a teacher .” If the elementary schools are ever to be placed upon a sound professional and financial basis, this funda¬ mental principle of rating all teachers according to training and exper¬ ience must be established. SUPERVISION. The system of supervision that has developed in the last few years is responsible for driving many of the best teachers out of the schools. This is true of both the elementary and the high schools, but it is especially so of the elementary schools. Generally speaking, the super¬ visors have been high school teachers and principals, who were in the main college graduates. Their sympathies and interests were in the high school and not with the grammar schools. As a rule they were not fitted, either by training or experience, to undertake the work of supervising the lower grades. Knowing little of the problems of the elementary schools which they presumed to direct, they were unreas¬ onable in their demands and often dictatorial in their methods. They berated teachers when results were not forthcoming, even though such results were impossible of accomplishment under any circumstances. This has led to much friction with a consequent exodus from the teaching profession. One of the best school systems, that of Salt Lake City, in send¬ ing out its invitation to teachers to enter the service of. its schools specifically indicates that teachers in its system are not “supervised to death,” but on the other hand they will find the initiative and self-reli¬ ance of the teacher encouraged in every way. Some supervisors are needed, yes, but they must be of a different type than has been too often in evidence in the past. There is need for supervision that is helpful, and a great need for it. But what the schools need more than anything else just now is good teachers instead of so much supervi¬ sion. Instead of a so-called music supervisor arrogantly dictating to an over-worked class teacher what her duties are as regards music in¬ struction, and then berating her for failure to produce results under impossible conditions, it would be infinitely more valuable if the “supervisor” taught the class a real lesson in music. If the supervisor really knows her business and is so much better qualified in a particu¬ lar subject than the class teacher, she ought to be able to give the pupils far better service directly, than by trying to do so through the medium of some one else. What is needed is real teachers who will give real Page Twentv-six instruction to the pupils. We already have entirely too many major- generals and not enough old-fashioned privates to do some work. COURSE OF STUDY The present course of study in the public schools has developed by adding one subject after another until there is at the present time such a chaotic aggregation of subjects and materials that the teachers can¬ not do justice to any of it. Every new idea that came along has been expanded into a voluminous course instead of being properly evaluated and incorporated into one of the existing subjects. As a result, the schools have put so much time on the so-called special subjects that the essentials have been woefully neglected. Under the present conditions, even the most conscientious teacher cannot do good work and rather than continue to struggle against such adverse circumstances, she simply quits. Or if she does not quit, she becomes discouraged, a condition that is responsible for more dire results in our schools than is pleasant to admit. Teachers are fully aware that the only way to climb the intellectual ladder is by genuine, vigorous thinking. This cannot be obtained by giving a smattering of many subjects. It must result from a thorough training in a few, well organized essentials. Instead of measuring the results of the schools by the sincerity and thoroughness of the training, they too often are measured by the number of pupils enrolled, the multitude of courses offered, and the amount of advertisement and entertainment they can produce. In fact, the present course of study encourages this standard of measurement. All the material necessary for a course of study should be organ¬ ized into not more than ten subjects. The following are suggested: Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Spelling, History and Civics, Geography, Language, Hygiene, Industrial Arts, and Music. These subjects should be thoroughly co-related and all duplications eliminated. They should form a continuous, graded development throughout the entire school course. There is no need for an array of subjects as Hygiene, Physi¬ ology, Sanitation, Physical Culture, First Aid, etc. All this material should be welded into one coherent subject. The work laid out should be such as can be thoroughly done. The headings suggested above for the reorganized course of study may net be the most appropriate, and further condensation may be desir¬ able, but whatever the final form, the principle of reducing the course to a simpler form is sound. Nor should the above be construed to mean that no work in such subjects as domestic science, etc., should be given. In the course as now arranged the emphasis is not placed upon the essentials where is belongs. Page Twenty-seven The three fundamentals—reading (including spelling and lan¬ guage), writing, and arithmetic—should form the heart of the entire course of study. Certain theorists have even advocated the abolition of arithmetic at the end of the sixth year. Instead, the course ought to extend into the high school. With the possible exception of read¬ ing, arithmetic is the most fundamental branch of human knowledge. On this point the following quotation from the Report of the Presi¬ dent of the Carnegie Institution of Washington for the year ending October 31, 1919, is submitted: "The most elementary, the most essential, and hence the most widely used, if not esteemed, of the sciences is arithmetic. It is a fun¬ damental requisite, in fact, of all exact knowledge. Ability to add, sub¬ tract, multiply, and divide affords probably the simplest test of capac¬ ity for correct thinking. Conversely, inability or indisposition to make use of these simple operations affords one of the surest tests of mental defficiency * * * As bearing upon the subject of fundamentals in education. State Superintendent Will C. Wood recently stated at the convention of teachers in Santa Cruz that: “The time has come when we should restore to a place of respectability in our schools the subjects of read¬ ing, writing, and arithmetic.” Dr. Eliot, former president of Harvard, in a recent article says: “They, (the schools we ought to have), will teach only subjects that every child ought to have opportunity to learn before he is sixteen years old, subjects that will serve the child grown up, whatever its occupation. Pupils will learn to read, write, spell, and cipher much better than they do in existing school * * *.” Instead of the above, what do we have? A great current of knowledge spread out so thin that it ha-s no power. It has breadth, but no depth. To get power it must be narrowed within the confines of a few subjects well taught. Under such conditions it would be a pleas¬ ure to teach and teachers would not be required to wrap themselves in the mantle of hypocrisy by proclaiming the efficiency of a school system when they know full well that such efficiency does not exist. THE SPECIAL TEACHER SYSTEM. At the present time there is much comment on the subject of special teachers. Elementary as well as high school teachers have be¬ come enamored with the idea that the thing most convenient to do in order to escape the present routine of school work is to become a spe¬ cial teacher. Just why we should have any special teachers at all, except in extraordinary cases, in our school system is not altogether clear. True, it is very desirable and necessary that different teachers be qualified in different subjects, but just why those who are qualified in certain subjects should be rated as “special teachers,” while those qualified in other subjects are rated as “teachers,” is not yet satisfac- torily explained. Under the present system the special teachers are considered a favored class. The special teacher idea has developed to , such an extent that in many places the regular class room teachers are ranked inferior to the “special teachers.” There is plenty of evidence to show that we need special teachers of reading, arithmetic, and spelling quite as much as we need teachers of drawing and music. Fundamentally, the work of the teachers of arithmetic, writing, etc., is at least as important as the work of the special teachers. Why then should there be any discrimination? Another evil that is the outcome of the supervisor and special teacher ideas is the focusing of emphasis upon the so-called special subjects, rather than upon the fundamentals. In fact, there has been developed such a galaxy of side shows that the main three-ring circus of essen¬ tials has been largely abandoned. This, to say the least, has not been entirely to the credit of our educational system. NUMBER OF PUPILS PER TEACHER. Under the present educational organization there prevails the practice of giving to the primary teachers a greater number of pupils i than is given to the teachers in the upper grades and in the high school. The plea of high school teachers is made that effective work cannot be done unless much individual attention can be given. However, this is ^ a rather strange reversal of form. It is universally accepted as a fun¬ damental principle in education that the schools should train for self- reliance, initiative and independence. Why then should the primary grades be crowded and the number of pupils per teacher steadily de- ’ crease as the higher grades and the high school are reached? It is in the primary grades that the personal attention is vitally necessary in order to give the pupils the best start. - How pupils are trained at the start determines the kind of work that they will do later. The founda¬ tion must be well laid or the superstructure will at best be only a make¬ shift. To neglect the pupils in the primary and grammar grades and then try to reform them later is inconsistent with our conception of education and violates the laws of mental, physical and moral growth. In order that our education may be a formative process instead of a reformative one, it is necessary that the primary classes be small so that individual attention can be given. If necessary, the classes should in¬ crease in size as the more advanced grades are reached instead of de¬ crease as is now the practice. Under such a system the pupils would be prepared when they reach the high school and college and the schools would at least make an honest attempt to carry out the avowed purpose of education—that of training the pupil to live an independent efficient life. Page Twenty nine SUMMARY. The important causes of the present educational crisis and the remedies proposed may be briefly summed up as follows: CAUSES— 1. Inadequate salaries. 2. Poor working and living conditions. 3. Lack of just and equitable salary schedules. 4. Chaotic condition of the curriculum. 5. Non-recognition of the profession of teaching. 6. Discrimination between different parts of the educational system in the matter of support. 7. Evils in the present system of supervision. 8. Unjust discrimination between different “classes” of teachers. 9. Deflection of high school students away from normal schools to colleges by high school teachers and principals. REMEDIES— 1. Adequate salaries. 2. Improvement of working and living conditions, especially in the elementary schools. 3. Establishment of a salary schedule based upon training and experience, insuring to all teachers in the educational system a just and adequate compensation. 4. Reorganization of the curriculum. '5. Recognition of teaching as a profession. 6. Abolition of the supervisory evils. 7. Fundamental reorganization of the entire educational sys¬ tem based upon efficient business and professional prin¬ ciples, and securing to all departments equity and justice. 8. Establishment of teacher training institutions of collegiate rank. There are other factors that enter into the present educational crisis, but the foregoing are considered the most important. The con¬ ditions set forth must be met in some way or another if the entire edu¬ cational system is to be put on a high plane of efficiency. The public must arouse itself to the necessity of adequately supporting all the departments of its educational system, not only financially, but mor¬ ally as well, for only by so doing can it guarantee to all the boys and girls the opportunity which is their inalienable birthright. t Page Thirty Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness. In one in which the measures of government receive their impressions so immediately from the sense of the community as in ours it is pro- portionably essential. To the security of a free con¬ stitution it contributes in various ways : By convinc¬ ing those who are intrusted with the public adminis¬ tration that every valuable end of government is best anszvered by the enlightened confidence of the people, and by teaching the people themselves to knozv and value their ozvn rights; to discern and provide against invasions of them; to distinguish between oppression and the necessary exercise of lawful authority, be »- tzveen burdens proceeding from a disregard to their convenience and those resulting from the inevitable exigencies- of society; to discriminate the spirit of liberty from that of licentiousness, cherishing the first, avoiding the last, and uniting a speedy but tem¬ perate vigilance against encroachments zvith an in¬ violable respect to lazv. GEORGE WASHINGTON Index Print