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Show 7 Out of 10 Teachers Prefer Teaching To Anything Else Seven out of ten Utah teachers said they liked teaching better than anything else they could think of doing, and if they had it all to do over again 65 percent would choose teaching again as a career. One elementary teacher described de-scribed how she felt about teaching teach-ing in the following words: "I feel that teaching brings more happiness and satisfaction than any occupation except motherhood. mother-hood. I love the children I teach and I sometimes feel that I am really helping them to have a better life." These are some of the highlights high-lights of an opinion poll of Utah teachers conducted for the Utah Education Association by Clark, Bardsley and Haslacher, Re search Consultants. Those teachers who said they liked teaching only moderately well, or considered it an unsatisfactory unsatis-factory occupation, gave as reasons rea-sons for their feeling, "Low pay scales, unreasonable work loads, crowded classrooms and unsatisfactory unsatis-factory social status in the community." com-munity." Between one-third and one- fourth of Utah teachers said they were well satisfied with the results re-sults being achieved by the public pub-lic school system in which they teach. Sixty-one per cent were fairly well satisfied and 8.5 per cent were not satisfied with the results being achieved. Male high school teachers with less than ten years experience were most critical. While a majority of the teachers teach-ers were either well satisfied or fairly well satisfied, with the results being achieved by the schools, they had a number of suggestions for improving school services. For example, teachers were asked what suggestion they would have for improving communication com-munication between the schools and the public. Closer relationships relation-ships between parents and the teachers got the largest response. Better press relations, with a closer cooperation and better understanding between the press and schools received the second largest vote. Asked what changes would do most to increase their satisfaction satisfac-tion in teaching, almost one third of the teachers suggested a more reasonable work load by reducing reduc-ing clerical work, cutting extra curricular duties and reducing the work day. One teacher expressed it this way: "Eliminate the mounting clerical work. Give me five minutes min-utes during the day I can call my own." i In second place, as a means of increasing satisfaction in teaching teach-ing and close on the heels of a lightened work load was a better pay schedule which would permit per-mit teachers to maintain a reasonable rea-sonable standard of living. Teachers were asked: "Providing "Provid-ing there were no financial barriers, bar-riers, what curriculum or program pro-gram change would you suggest making to improve service in your district?" Among the suggestions sug-gestions receiving the heaviest vote in order of the number of responses were: "Reduce the number of students per class room. Set up special classes related re-lated to the ability of students, and change the curriculum to include more science, less ath-letcis ath-letcis and various other curriculum curricu-lum changes." Most Utah teachers generally feel free to deal with controversy contro-versy in the classroom. Seventy four per cent of Utah teachers said they were free to explore controversial subjects. Sixteen per cent said they were not free and 5.9 per cent gave qualified answers. Utah teachers generally feel that they are encouraged to try out new ideas and methods in the classroom, About 81 percent answered Yes to the question: "Are teachers in your district generally encouraged to try new ideas or methods or not?"y Features of the school program pro-gram most misunderstood by the public, teachers said, were: A lack of understanding of the general aims and goals of education, edu-cation, including the academic programs and teaching techniques. tech-niques. In second place- was the school financing, problems of taxation, methods of financing, and the general need for school funds. |