Show FiEG ONAL IONAL S wash washington lugt on twel twelve vo citizens regional conferences on oil education will lie be held throughout the nation according to announcement of the bureau of education beginning with a conference tor for the states of illinois indiana ohio michigan and wisconsin scheduled to be held in chicago on november 29 and concluding with a conference tor for the states of INI maine alne new hampshire vermont massachusetts rhode island and connecticut on december IS 13 the regional conferences announced aro are the 0 outcome acom of the national citizens conference on ea education hold la in washington in may as as this conference voted that the commissioner 1 ot of education should call another I 1 similar conference late in the fall of this year for the purpose ot of i d discussing the educational situation at that time legislative measures to be p presented to the tha legislatures pt of the several se veral states next year and tile the means adl 0 contini ing th tha fostering of 0 such interest among the people at large and their representatives in legislative bodies as may be necessary i to obtain the needed legislation alter carefully considering the matter the of education has decided that a series of regional conferences would bo be more effective than one conference tor for the whole cottry country could be as this will make possible a much larger total attendance and a more practical and de detailed discussion of conditions and needs and methods of meeting them in n the states of tb the several sections to these conferences there have keen been invited governors of respective states mayors of cities members ot of chambers of coni comerce erce rotary clubs boards oi of trade organizations patriotic and civic associations labor unions farmers unions in members of state boards of education county anti and city superintendents of public instruction presidents of 0 universities versi ties college and normal schools ministers lawyers physIc physicians laus editors business men and all who are interested as citizens in the improvement of the schools which as citizens they own control pay for and use in the promotion of education from the standpoint of statesmanship and the public welfare important things to be emphasized in coming educational campaigns were set forth in a letter recently written by dr P P claxton united states commissioner of education in ic to inquiries in fit regard to the matter dr claxton claston says tile the crisis in education edu catlan consists essentially in this llis that whereas in the past we h ave vo been able despite low salaries paid to teachers tea cheis to obtain for the schools a constant stream of men I 1 and many of 0 whom though without professional preparation have been young men arid and women of more than usual native ability many of them possessed of firle fine culture and fairly good general scholarship eliou h these have not long and hiva have had no definite lii hr of the processes of teaching and little still in applying them thein still their personality and culture have been such that it has boea been good for boys an and d girls to como come lit in contat conta t with them usually quite young they have remained in teaching for two pr jor ahree or four years while ft alting tor for the maturity necessary for success in or even admission to lo other professions and voca 1 tia biora mi awa frequently have taught in order to prepare themselves for other work hundreds ot of thousands of 0 loeft have become successful home makers leaders in soI society ety engineers gi gl lawyers physicians ministers captains of industry statesmen to he be sure there have always been many young teachers teacher s who lack lacil this ability and culture but there hae ateon con very many of the class just juat described however under changed conditions we may not expect many ot of tills this class in the future and unless salaries are arc raised and policies changed tho the teachers of tile the public schools lit in the future will lie be imado up of young men and women of very mediocre ability serving in tile the schools for short terms lenns aud and of those of still less ability who will remain longer because tie cause they have not the energy clergy personality or ability to undertake anything else this means deterioration and disintegration of the public school the only cavion agnir ir it is to lo increase inci ease salar salaries fes to uch auch 11 c eon fent fas as w alln duce young men and women or of su philor acil lor abaiy and culture to prepare for teaching arid and then adopt a policy by which they may be kei act t ja in the schools after they have proven their ability and gained gained power I 1 and skill by experience this means a large increase in the average pay of teachers we shall need to spend two or three tamea as much for this purpose as wo now do dd spend in the country at large anil and this increase of expends ex expenditures must be made at a time when taxes for other purposes purpose national state and local are ara unusually unusually large the close relationship between education and wealth and wealth power must be clearly shown so that the people may understand der derst stand aad that this expenditure for education will not constitute a burden but rather an investment through which they may be the better te able to bear the other burdens of ax axa atlon tion put no amount of money will en atlo abic us to obtain good teachers for the tha schools in sufficient numbers until there are means of preparing the 3 for this there must be more nori ncr pl schools and other training schools tor for teachers and they must all be much better supported than they are now it if all the persons ever from any normal school or ry yno normal mal school ol of any kind hind in tho the ignited states from the establish mert of the th e first school at bridge ader r mass until now were still alv 6 and all teaching there would sill be need ot of teachers to fill the elementary schools the normal nal 1 F chool graduates of last spring are only sufficient to supply about iq 0 or r cent of the teachers needed to td r 11 the vacancies in the ho el elemen emers tara tar schools this fall all W we are now spending cipf axling between and 05 ap for the support of nor nial aal schools hoos ss wo we must spend at least 7 california Is soine chrt wh t better supplied with normal alic than ihan other oilier states elates yut yet a very large proportion of the young teace ars ot of california are not normal chool graduates graduate nor have they had equal preparation elsewhere 4 |