Table 3.-The statistics relating to teachers emphasize certain marked deficiencies in the data attainable for use in this report. Continuity of service, if not the chief, is certainly one of the chief conditions of efficiency in a teaching body. The rural schools of the United States suffer greatly from the want of such continuity; the evil is everywhere recognized, but too often in vague or partial showings. In respect to this, as to other conditions of the school system, it would undoubtedly be found that investigations resulting in exact information would have ultimate remedial effects. As the city school systems are comparatively free from the evils of frequent changes in the teaching force, the changes occurring in a State during a year would represent with a sufficient degree of approximation the status of the rural schools in respect to the permanency of their teachers. Obviously the difference between the number of teachers necessary to supply the schools and the number absolutely employed would indicate the number of changes during the year. By reference to Table 3 it will be seen that the two items are reported from five States. The percentages of change are as follows in four of these: Kansas, 9; Missouri 16; Ohio, 33; Wisconsin, 40. In Oregon, the remaining one of the five, 1,985 is given as the number of teachers necessary to supply the schools, and 1,861 as the number absolutely employed, from which it would appear that 7 per cent. of the places remained vacant. The total number of teachers is 2,409 larger than the previous year, being an increase of 1.1 per cent. So far as returns classified by sex have been received, the total number of male teachers is 104,249, female 191,439, the males being 35.24 per cent. of the whole. The States reporting an excess of male over female teachers are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Of twenty-three States in which the change during the year of the average monthly salaries of teachers is recorded, there has been for males an aggregate increase in ten States of $13.39, and an aggregate decrease in thirteen States of $23.75; for females an aggregate increase in eleven States of $3.06, and an aggregate decrease in ten States of $18, there being no change in Ohio, and Wisconsin not giving the average salary of all female teachers. On the whole, the salaries of teachers, both male and female, have decreased during the year. a See Table 1, p. 5, for year of report. tricts. e Including $100,261 paid on temporary loans. 53, 728 I....1,000 1,413, 474 1,467, 202 816, 776 (682, 410) (783, 480) 9, 510 417 j 63, 967 370,674 17,964 .324 12, 643 39, 179 2,276, 455 350, 672 106,874 7,533 84, 341 18, 432 527, 096 339, 319 840, 776 11,483 D. 11, 796 D. 296, 082 I...1, 130, 534 12, 514, 204 .231, 532 8.3, 115 46, 145 373, 641 393, 326 20, 491 20, 163 I....1, 171 907, 661 .31, 432 927,824 33, 428 425, 903 1,047, 223 I. .33, 759 e Returns incomplete. Excluding local funds expended by cities and dis- Includes salaries of superintendents. |