OCR Text |
Show Know Your Schools .... How Can We Get And Keep Good Teachers? By Supt. Rowan C. Stutz This is the third problem to be included in he agenda of the White House Coiir:rence on Education. The heart of the education system is the eacher. The teacher is the most important single influence in-fluence in the life of the child while he is attending school. Everything else about schools the buildings, the facilities, the organization is designed to enable the most effective ef-fective teaching to take place. To find enough teachers .to staff our classrooms is one problem; to find enough good teachers is another. an-other. Utah faces a shortage of teachers now with prospects of its con- tinance for the next ten years. The teacher situation in Utah greatly effects the problem here in Duchesne Du-chesne County. Most of our teachers teach-ers are people who have been raised in other counties. For all of our teachers we are in competition compe-tition with other countias and states. The adequate supply of good teachers is a major concern at this time. The number of teachers trained at the five institutions of higher learning in Utah has diminished di-minished since 1950. During this period the need for teachers has increased sharply. During the past four years, Utah has been able to employ only 1698 teachers from the universities out of a total of 4149 graduates. One of the factors which makes it possible for our schools to continue con-tinue to operate even though there is not a sufficient number of certified cer-tified teachers is the use of authorized au-thorized or emergency teachers. In our district this year, 20 elementary ele-mentary and 7 secondary school teachers are not certified. The State committee for the Utah Conference on Education lists seven basic causes of the teacher shortage these are: 1. The high rate of employment in an expanding economy. 2. A relatively fewer number of students entering college as a re- (Continued on Back Page) KNOW YOUR SCHOOLS ... (Continued from page one) suit of the lower birth rates in the 1930s. 3. Earlier marriages of young women teachers. 4. The loss of men teachers to other vocations. 5. Inadequate salaries. 6. Generally poor teaching conditions con-ditions a. Large classes. b. Inadequate housing. c. Lack of community prestige. pres-tige. 7. The attacks on education. All of these problems have to be solved if we are to have an adequate supply ,of good teachers. It has been said that you can't pay a good teacher too much and that anything you pay a poor teacher is too much The Utah Conference on Education last week recommended that teachers' salaries salar-ies in Utah "be brought in line with those in the inter-mountain states. Rural areas are somewhat at a disadvantage in competing with urban areas for teachers and it is felt that some provision be made in the state school equalization equal-ization program to permit rural districts to pay higher salaries. Non-certificated teachers should be encouraged to take courses and attend .summer school to qualify qual-ify for certification. It is interesting interest-ing to note that this year, two of the Duchesne County teachers became be-came certificated and that a total of 451 college credits were earned by our teachers during the past school year. AH of tne non-certificated teachers teaching in Duchesne Du-chesne County schools acquired some additional credit .during the school year. This is fairly good progress toward the solution of one part of the total problem of getting good teachers and keeping keep-ing them. A great deal of honest, constructive con-structive public relations work needs to be done by both professional profes-sional educators and other people actively interested in improving the schools toward- raising the prestige of and public respect for school teachers. Parents should be encouraged to support the teachers both at home and in the school room, in order to obtain better discipline and higher regard for the teacher. Communities that have made teachers feel wanted and liked have been able to keep good teachers. As a possible means of keeping a greater number of good teachers in our schools several plans of incentive pay are being studied. In three school districts in our state merit rating of teachers is bpine studied. Some questions as the following should be considered:. consid-ered:. 1. Should salaries of seed teachers teach-ers be incrca-sed: salaries of out-stfinHint out-stfinHint or superior teachers not be limited by salary schedules such as those now in use? 2. Should ways be found to offer incentives to promising young men? 3. Should merit rating form the basis of the salary schedule? Space will not permit here a discussion of teaching conditions, teacher reciuitment and other facts of this important problem. But it should be recognized that the problem of getting and keeping keep-ing enough good teachers is a problem of utmost importance, particularly in our district. The solution of the problem, in part at least, is a local responsibility. j Much can be done through P-TA., civic clubs, local teachers association, associa-tion, local press and others. Let's accept the challenge of this important im-portant problem and add what can be done locally to effect a solution. |