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SCHOOL LIFE

Vocational guidance, landmark, 6-7, no. 1, Oct. Vocational rehabilitation, 15, no. 6, Mar. "Voice of Democracy"; Second annual contest, 11. no. 1, Oct.; winners, 2-3, 16, no. 7, Apr.

W

War Defense, aid, legislation, 15, no. 1, Oct. Ways To Teach Peace (Moore), 15, no. 4, Jan. What Our Teachers' Association Did, 8-9, no. 9, June.

What the States Require in "Education for Freedom," 11-12, no. 3, Dec.

Where the School Takes Hold (McClure and Johnson), 7, 9, 13, no. 6, Mar. [S].

White Plains (N. Y.) High School, exhibit on atomic energy, 6, no. 6, Mar. [S]. Winners of Awards for Educational Writing, 3, no. 9, June.

Winning With the American Way, 2-3, 12, 16, no. 7, Apr.

Workshops: School building programs, Seattle, Wash., 3, 10, no. 2, Nov.; atomic energy, 10, no. 9, June. World-Wide Interest in American Education (Jones and McMurry), 15, no. 2, Nov.

Y

Year's Focus on American Education (Morris), 7, no. 9, June.

Youth camping programs, conference plan, 12, no. 1, Oct.

Zeal for American Democracy, 2-3, no. 9, June; emphasis continues, 11, no. 1, Oct.; publications, page 3 of cover, no. 3, Dec.; Latin-American Style (Ebaugh), 10-11, no. 7, Apr.

Zeal for American Democracy Across the Nation, 15, no. 3, Dec. Zook, George: Work as commissioner, 3, no. 8, May.

FEDERAL SECURITY AGENCY_
OFFICE OF EDUCATION.

OSCAR R. EWING, Administrator

EARL JAMES MCGRATH, Commissioner

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1949

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WHA

How Some Communities Are Doing It

HAT is "recruiting" for teachers? Is it going out into the highways and byways and flagging passersby-suitable or notto come take classroom jobs? This has had to be done, willy-nilly, to meet the emergency. Or does "recruiting" mean developing in young people an informed and emotional attitude that favors teaching as a career?

Jacques Barzun has given us his idea of the three personal qualifications that should be required of teachers in this order: A sense of vocation, an awareness of the duties and opportunities in teaching, and a predisposition for the work through home-grown familiarity with knowledge and ideas.

If such qualities as Barzun indicated are of first importanceand few authorities would quarrel with them-then of course intelligent recruiting must mean the discriminating attraction of first-class young people who have a talent for human relations and a taste for good hard work.

Nobody can pretend that attracting the right kind of new teachers will be an easy job. It will be an uphill climb every inch of the way-not only because teaching still fails to provide economic security, despite the country-wide salary gains, but also because the need for teachers is more acute than ever. The reason? The babies born in record numbers since 1942 are now of school age. And they are already overrunning the lower elementary grades. Look at this typical example of the need for elementary teachers: Last year one great university had calls for 3,376 elementary teachers but had only 83 to recommend. Is it any wonder that here and there "recruiting" has actually taken on hysterical aspects? In the long view, however, the prospects for attracting a continuing supply of able new teachers are distinctly encouraging. We say this for two reasons:

First, there has been such an upsurge of public interest in education that eventually, if we are able to stimulate citizens co

Volume 31, Number 1

maintain their concern about their local schools and the quality of teaching provided, we have the possibility of building a system that will be adequate for our needs. Undoubtedly there exists a relationship between the many recent community activities in behalf of schools and the fact that the Citizens Federal Committee on Education, serving as the Office of Education's lay advisory arm, has been waging an intensive press and radio program to present the facts about the teacher shortage to the American people. A highly successful Nation-wide "Improve our Schools" campaign has been made possible through the services of the Advertising Council of America.

Second, the prospects for attracting new teachers are encouraging because there is a new alertness on the part of teachers themselves to their own responsibilities in helping their profession come of age. There is no doubt whatever that increasing numbers of teachers are setting out to prove to their communities, and to themselves, that they represent a profession that may well hold the key to the Nation's future. Their critical needs and aims must be encouraged. And they are daring to say so.

The day of the long-suffering mouse in the schoolroom is gone. The forward-looking teacher is a professionally dedicated, articulate, community-minded, world-minded individual.

While cities and States are making long-needed salary, tenure, leave, and retirement improvements, and while elementary salaries are slowly but surely moving toward the ideal of "equal salaries for equal training," forward-looking teachers and teacher groups are sparking a great variety of activities that bid new teachers to join them.

Here are a few of the ways in which teachers and interested groups all over the country are helping sensitize young people to the duties, opportunities-and yes, the downright pleasures of a warm sense of vocation-that belong so importantly to teaching.

As early as the fall of 1947 lay groups participated in the "Teacher Recruitment Week" program organized by the Tucson (Arizona) Education Association Committee. They helped promote such things as editorials in newspapers, news items, cooperation of Tucson's four radio stations, lectures, letters to civic clubs, parents, and teachers; and posters printed by Tucson Senior High School Graphic Arts Department were displayed in 80 stores. The Junior League put on a radio program, one business woman staged a fashion show in the patio of her local dress shop, and local business establishments ran slogans with their newspaper ads in daily newspapers.

Scholarships

Two students were awarded scholarships-one for teaching in high school, the other in primary grades. One scholarship, providing for $100 yearly for 4 years, was made possible by 60 teachers who put on a play, "Teachers Are People." Awards were made by a committee of five citizens, who evaluated candidates on character, personality, leadership, and social consciousness.

The Future Teachers of America, active in 503 high school clubs, seek to interpret the profession to young people and, to those who develop a genuine desire to teach, foster experiences designed to strengthen that aim. One FTA club lists 20 different activities engaged in by its members in the past year. For example: Acting as guides for eighth-graders on "Recognition Day"; entertaining first-graders in the teacher's absence; making scrapbooks, "Helps for a Busy Teacher," during summer vacation; making posters for a "Better Homes Movement," and helping sponsor two "ParentGuest nights."

In 1946 Phi Delta Kappa, men's education fraternity, chose teacher recruitment as one of three national projects. Since then more than a thousand speeches to laymen have been made on the subject by members and hundreds of hours of radio time and columns of space have been given to the problem. Through the city schools of Los Angeles, this organization has put out a booklet, “I Choose Teaching," for use in vocational guidance and counseling.

A film, "Our Teacher Mary Dean," was also put out by Phi Delta Kappa, in cooperation with Pi Lambda Theta, to assist in recruitment. The journal of Phi Delta Kappa has sponsored a short story contest with a male teacher as the central character and has put out specimen briefs-affirmative and negative of a debate on teaching as a career.

Personal Recruiting

The American Association of University Women reports encouraging responses to first-hand contacts with students as part of their 1947-48 "Guidance and Teacher Recruitment" programs in nineteen different communities. The AAUW says, "It is hoped that, with additional money, more can be done next year in the high schools, and selective recruitment can be extended to the younger students in the junior high schools."

Francis L. Bailey, president of the State Teachers College at Gorham, Maine, believes in personal recruiting in the high schools of the State. He says, "Following talks to students in high school, I confer with those who are interested in attending our college or some other teacher preparation institution. We tell the superinendents and principals if they will help us to recruit good people we will send them back good teachers. They seem to think that that is a fair proposition."

In Mt. Lebanon, Pa., the superintendent of schools initiated a guidance program in an effort to lead a larger number of the better students to enter teaching. Out of 161 girls in the spring graduating class, 10 expressed interest in the profession. Nearly all thought of high school teaching.

A committee of 7 teachers, appointed for guidance, met weekly for 6 weeks with the students in their home rooms in order to bring them information about the teaching profession. At the end of this time, 37 students expressed interest. These were given a day each of observation and discussion with some teacher in the elementary or junior high schools of the system. After further counseling, 33 gave choices of work within the profession. Of these, 12 expressed a desire to teach in the elementary grades.

A definite plan for teacher recruitment has now been included in the guidance program of this high school, beginning in the tenth grade.

Some type of scholarship aid for students is now provided for by law in numbers of States, including Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah, Virginia, and Vermont.

Posters vs Pamphlets

Virginia's scholarship plan for preservice education provides for regular term scholarships (winter) to residents of the State of $300 each in Virginia colleges approved for training teachers. Scholarships are awarded to persons selected by divisional superintendents, under State Board of Education regulations. In 1947-48, only 189 of the 500 scholarships provided for were used.

One of the few efforts to evaluate types of printed materials for recruiting put out by professional associations and teachers' colleges we find reported is that by M. R. Trabue.1 Taking the position that "the first step in recruitment appears to be to stimulate an emotional interest in teaching, rather than to supply complete information about the profession," Dr. Trabue draws the general conclusion that "posters tend to be considered more effective than the booklets or pamphlets." He says, "While logically arranged factual material may be desirable reading for one about to make a final decision concerning his life's work, it is decidedly less effective than attractive pictures of children and well-written personal-interest appeals in attracting seniors in general toward teaching."

However comprehensive the program of public relations used to attract new teachers-and local teacher groups are clearly going

1 Trabue, M. R. Printed Materials in Recruiting Students for Teacher Education. Journal of Educational Research, 40: 641-51, May 1947.

Continued on page 4

THIS ARTICLE, written by Christine K. Simmons, Division of Elementary Education, Office of Education, is presented in an effort to help local administrators, members of school boards, teachers, and patrons of the schools attract alert young people into teaching.

Other recommended aids: (1) Reprint of Frances V. Rummell's human interest articles from SCHOOL LIFE (June and July, 1948) titled "What Are Good Teachers Like?" These articles about some of the country's outstanding teachers may suggest feature stories for use in your local newspapers; (2) Brochure, "Why It's Good Business to Improve Our Schools," listing free mats for newspaper and magazine use, available from The Advertising Council, Inc., 11 W. 42d Street, New York 18, N. Y. (3) Office of Education Bulletin 1948, No. 11, "Teaching as a Career" by Benjamin W. Frazier, price 15 cents.

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