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UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN, LAWRENCE, KANSAS
TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 1943
Teacher Shortage May Lower Standards Of Education If War Continues Demand
Oklahoma board of education has lowered the requirements for teaching certificates recently in order to meet the emergency of the teacher shortage which steadily grows more serious as war drains the school houses of young draft-age instructors. Not only is the neighboring state affected by this problem, but other states, including Kansas, are equally facing the possibility of having to take such measures.
The small rural schools seem to be the ones suffering the most from this war casualty. In many high schools where the teacher shortage has been felt, classes have been combined, the courses have been altered, and teachers have taken on heavier duty in order to keep the standards of education at their none-too-high level. In the rural schools, however, where the attraction to the teachers remaining is none too strong and where the salary scale is low frequently through necessity, it is hard to add work to a teacher's schedule; and an already too thin course of education begins to crumble when it is weakened by further alteration.
It is a tragic thing for education to have to be slighted in any way during wartime. The long process that is necessary to bring it back to a normal level is slow and discouraging. In the post-war period, too many things that need immediate attention are allowed to crowd the needs of education to one side. States as well as the federal government keep their minds busy with ideas on reconstruction, production, ways to avoid depression, and plans of continued peace. These things are, no doubt, of utmost importance; and it is because of their newness and importance that too often such an established system as that of education is left to take care of itself.
It can not be denied that something is necessary to keep these small schools going, and if it is necessary to lower the standards of teachers to do so, then that measure must be taken. In many sections of the country, consolidated schools might be the answer to the situation. Teachers having only a few pupils might be relieved to go to other teaching positions if their students were sent to a school combining other rural school students. With the transportation problem and the difficulty of providing and supplying buildings adequate for such a plan, however, this system too has its obstacles.
At this time it seems that more care than ever should be taken on the part of teachers and school boards to see that students will be assured that they are being given the correct training, and those persons who have had the advantages of education should take the responsibility to see that such an opportunity is kept available to others and that the education standard will become stronger instead of weaker in the future.
Nation Faces Inflation Threat Unless People Demand Action
Unless the people in this country — the "masses" of the people — wake up to the serious threat of inflation hanging over their heads and take some immediate action toward stopping it, run-away dollars are soon going to reach the point of hindering our war effort seriously.
Just Wondering
If the University Concert band doesn't deserve a lot of credit for giving a concert this spring even though many of its members have been called to service.
Ever since the outbreak of war in Europe prices and wages have been on the increase. For a while this increase was sought and furthered by government because it proved helpful to our defense effort and to the morals of the people. The object was to let prices and wages rise just so long as the results were good and then stop the increase. A partial brake was applied in 1940 when price ceilings were first put on certain commodities, and such ceilings have since been extended. This slowed the rise, but now when a total stop is needed, an adequate check has not been found.
The curtailment of civilian goods sent prices soaring as more and more money poured into the pockets of the people. Rationing, increased taxes, price controls, and credit restrictions have all aided in combating inflation, but still prices rise. If they are not checked the United States is going to face inflation of the same variety that faced Germany after the last war—and the U.S. will face the same disastrous results.
This year there will be a several billion dollar gap between the purchasing power of the American people and the amount of goods they can buy. All of the existing measures to head off inflation are inadequate at present to close this gap. The people of the country must see that inflation can injure only themselves, personally and severally, and they must show that they are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to head it off.
These sacrifices must be made before rising prices reach a point where they cannot be stopped. Unless the people elect to do it voluntarily, a system of forced savings or one of rationed expenditures may become necessary. It is up to the people to keep these dollars off of the market and thus prevent inflation, or select one of two alternatives—have the government force them to do it, or let the war effort go to rot while they have a short-lived good time on their extra dollars.M.B.
EDITORIAL STAFF
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Student Paper of THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Lawrence, Kansas
Editor-in-Chief ... Virginia Tieman
Editorial Associates ... Don Keown, Jimmy
Gunn. Maurice Barker
NEWS STAFF
Managing Editor...Joy Miller
Sunday editor...Bill Hage
Campus Editors...Jane Miner, Florence
Brown, Clara Lee Ovlet
Rock Chalk Talk
By James Gunn, Guest Columnist
This Is War
When the going's getting tough,
And this life is getting rough
Till it grinds your nerves to slivers raw and sore,
When you feel that you can't stand it
Even though your life demand it,
Keep your upper lip still stiff; this is war.
When you can't get meat or butter
And your pocket book's a-flutter
Even though your pay check keeps on getting more,
When there's scarce a man in sight
And your date looks like a sight,
Grit your teeth and make it last you; this is war.
When they shower you with blanks
To be filled with many thanks
And they ask you: please don't do this any more,
When you have no car or shoes,
Heads you win and tails you lose,
You will have to shrug your shoulders; this is war.
I have heard that phrase repeated
And repeated till its pleated
With the wear, and makes me weary to the core.
I can bear that phrase no longer.
Wait until my heart grows stronger!
There! We must accept the sorrow; this is war.
Hill Men To Be Rationed Take Your Pick
BY JEAN JONES
Will men be rationed by way of the coupon book, or will they be auctioned off weekly to the highest bidder with dating rights not to exceed one weekend?
With the general exodus of the "spice of life" from the limestone hills of Mt. Oread, the coeds left to hold down the fort will have to polish up their in-
With the general exodus of stone hills of Mt. Oread, the c will have to polish up their ingenuities or spend many a quiet evening at home. Since the Utopia of the three-to-one ratio has died a violent death, and the women will have to stand in line for the few remaining men, the old Date bureau might be revived to take charge of the rationing.
Eight years ago, a phantom benefactor of blushing beauties and bashful beaus started a Date bureau. This charitable soul agreed to keep the thing going only as long as his identity was kept secret.
Made Dates For Less Fortunates
The main purpose of the institution was to arrange dates for the less fortunate souls who for some reason or other didn't "get around." Men and women alike were invited to mail in applications. Since the existence of the bureau depended on its own revenues, a charge of one dime was made for registration. The first cost entitled the applicant to one date and the privilege of getting his name "on the books." Each additional date cost a dime.
A prospective registrant was asked to state his name, age, address, height and weight, classification in school, and his dancing ability. The fact that even in those days the car sometimes made the man is evident in that every applicant was asked to state the make and model of his automobile, "if one was available."
According to regulations, a photograph and the time and day desired for the date had to be included in the application. Usually, the student was satisfied with surprise
packages; but for an additional 25 cents the bureau promised to do its part to promote dates with specified individuals. As soon as the date was arranged, the applicant was notified by telephone. If he found it more convenient to find out the gory details by mail, he could get this special service by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelop to the bureau.
Reputation Spread Abroad
The story of the Date bureau spread throughout the United States. A rancher in Montana wrote the bureau that he had read about the enterprise in a Helena, Mont., paper, and requested he be sent the names of three University coeds with whom he could correspond.
The buerau was so successful that, despite its repeated efforts to close, the numerous requests from students kept it open. The fateful end came, however, when the local paper unveiled the mysterious situation and loudly acclaimed Leo Gottlieb, an Independence, Kansas, boy, the miracle man. Gottlieb made good his threat to dissolve the business as soon as his identity became known.
Senior ROTC's Fingerprinted
Seniors in the advanced course of the military science department who will graduate May 12 were fingerprinted today. The identification will be used when they report to special service schools soon after graduation for a three-month training course at the completion of which they will be commissioned as second lieutenants.
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