SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT

THE SCHOOLS AND POST BELLUM PROBLEMS

During the past two years the schools of this state everywhere directed their efforts to the end that Michigan should present a solid front in every crisis. It is a matter for congratulation that this great industrial state passed through the exigencies of the war without the slightest adverse incident to blemish its record. The credit for this does not belong to the schools alone. It will be granted, however, that the work of the schools past and present was the foundation of our conspicuous success.

The war had a profound influence on all branches of our educational system. As far as attendance in the elementary and secondary schools is concerned it was not affected materially. In our higher institutions of learning, however, the case was different. The attendance in our colleges was practically cut in two. The Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for last year speaks somewhat in detail of the efforts put forth by the public schools toward the winning of the war.

As soon as the armistice was signed the educational leaders of our state immediately turned their attention toward the problems of peace. The result is that the public schools are now teaching with renewed emphasis the things that pertain particularly to the fundamental principles of our democracy. They recognize that in winning the war the world was made safe for democracy, but they recognize also that a great task remains in laying an intelligent foundation for a practical working out of democratic principles. We may return here to a statement of the Ordinance of 1787, the document which furnished the first civil government for the state of Michigan, which expresses the whole matter in one sentence: "Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."

It is believed that if the people of our state only understand what the nature of our government is, how representative, how responsive to the will of the majority, we need not fear the consequences of any passing disturbance. For that reason the schools are giving special attention to the instruction of people of foreign birth. In the big cities this problem is especially prominent. The work of the schools of Detroit along this line is noteworthy, as it is in the whole country a conspicuous example.

THE SCHOOLS AND THE INFLUENZA

The work of the schools during the past year was seriously interfered with by the epidemic which visited the whole country and which was perhaps the greatest scourge that has ever afflicted us. In many instances schools were closed as much as one-third of the school year and in nearly all cases as much as a month or six weeks. This closing of the schools was of course to be regretted from the standpoint of the progress of the pupils, but it was done as a matter of necessity and can be easily justified as such. The behavior of both pupils and teachers under these trying circumstances was commendable. While the teachers were off duty owing to the epidemic they often offered their services to care for the sick.

THE TEACHER SHORTAGE

Inasmuch as the attendance at our colleges and normal schools during the war was reduced so emphatically, it is to be expected that the state will face a shortage in teacher supply. The urgency of war work and the general attractiveness of work along commercial lines has turned many persons away from the teaching profession. The condition is indeed serious and no solution seems immediate. While the wages of teachers have gone up appreciably, the rise has not kept pace with the cost of living nor with the rise in wages along other lines. This low wage level is obviously at the root of the problem. In this connection it will be of interest to note what wages prevail throughout the state. The Michigan State Teachers' Association through its committee on salaries, of which J. T. Knapp, Superintendent of Schools, Highland Park, is chairman, has made a careful study of the teacher salary situation in Michigan and presents a report which shows the following facts: