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University Daily Kansan
Monday. May 2. 1960
Survey Shows Elementary Teacher Shortage
Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of articles dealing with the teacher throughout Kansas and educating teachers throughout the country. The first article indicates a need for elementary school teachers and for teachers in the field of special edu-
By Susanne Shaw
Your baby brothers and sisters will not have an adequate elementary school education unless more young men and women decide to teach in the elementary grades.
This is the situation in Kansas and elsewhere throughout the country, a Daily Kansan survey indicates.
The studies show there is an ever-increasing need for teachers at this level, but the supply of teachers does not appear to equal the great demand.
THE REASON for the elementary teacher shortage, and for the shortage of teachers of all kinds, is complex. As the school population increases, more and more teachers are needed. Despite this need, salaries are not adequate in many areas to keep young people in the teaching field.
The recent Kansas educational survey headed by Dr. Otto E. Domian of the University of Minnesota also indicates that more college students are preparing themselves to teach at the high school level whereas the greater need is in elementary education.
THE COMPREHENSIVE educational survey forecast that Kansas will need 3,300 more public school teachers by the 1964-65 school year to meet the rising enrollments in elementary and secondary schools.
This represents an average increase of 550 a year, and is in addition to the usual 10 per cent turnover of about 2,000 teachers a year who retire, leave the state or the profession.
The KU Teachers Appointment Bureau annual report for 1958-59 reports that there were 2,655 vacancies for elementary teachers reported to the KU bureau alone. This bureau assists seniors, graduates and former students in securing positions in the teaching profession.
Picnic to Feature Band, Food, Kegs
Big Bob Dougherty and his band, fried chicken and 34 kegs of the students favorite beverage will be the featured attractions at the Senior Picnic at 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Lone Star Lake.
"If the band and refreshments aren't enough, novelties will be given away spasmodically," said Bob Luce, Ottawa senior and picnic chairman.
AT 10:30 a.m. a car caravan with "Hell Yes I'm A Senior" pins and honking horns, will make the rounds of the campus gathering all seniors, and then proceed to Lone Star as one group.
There is no set route for the caravan. It will circle the campus until all seniors are out of the pad and headed for the picnic.
"In case anyone loses his wav in the caravan, the picnic will be held in the Recreation Hall at the Girl Scout Camp at the lake," Luce said.
TICKETS ARE available through all House Representatives and at the Alumni Office. The tickets also will be on sale at the Information Booth on Wednesday and Thursday.
The price for the tickets will be 50 cents through Wednesday and 75 cents from Thursday until Saturday.
NOTICE!
With regret, the University Daily Kansan must enforce an established policy of requiring payment before running of any ad placed by a student organization. Thank you for your cooperation.
Business Office U.D.K.
HEROLD REGIER, director of the bureau said the demand is greatest for elementary teachers. Also there is a constant need for teachers in the new areas of special education.
Mr. Regier said:
"We have found that every recruiter has indicated his greatest need is at the elementary level. A typical interviewer is looking for elementary teachers, and when he comes here for his interview schedule he is given a list of 10 secondary teacher prospects but only three elementary teacher prospects."
It is quite typical that the school districts have a need for elementary teachers and find that young people's interests are at the secondary level.
HE SAID that the smaller Kansas communities are having a difficult time in securing elementary teachers.
Mr. Regier said that in April alone, the city of Hoisington requested four elementary teachers, Olathe five, South Riverside in Wichita six, and Norwich and Coffeyville, two each.
"An elementary school teacher can pretty near pick the geographic location he wants," he said.
MR. REGIER told about a Denver interviewer who came to KU. Nineteen secondary education majors signed up for interviews, but only three elementary education majors were available.
He said there also is a need for men teachers in elementary education.
"There is a very definite feeling on the part of some people that there should be some men teachers in each elementary school. At KU there are comparatively few men in elementary education," he said.
DR. DOMIAN writes in his survey that standards and qualifications for elementary teachers have shown progress. Until 1948 one could teach in the elementary school with only a high school diploma. In 1952 the state required 60 credit hours in college for certification. The minimum requirement of a college degree for all
The Commission on Teacher Education and Professional Standards of the Kansas State Teachers Assn. in its February report stated that in all Kansas two-year and four-year colleges, 11,628 students were enrolled in teacher education in 1959-60. This represented an increase of 6.2 per cent.
new teachers went into effect last year.
There were 4,459 enrolled in elementary education and 7,169 enrolled in secondary education.
AT KU IN 1950-60 there were 685 enrolled in elementary education and 1,046 in secondary education. This represented an increase of 6.8 per cent for all teacher enrollments over 1958-59.
A shortage of well-qualified teachers continues to exist in language arts, physical science, music, mathematics, women's physical education, home economics, library science and foreign languages.
Teaching fields in which candidates find some difficulty in locating positions are men's physical education, coaching and social studies.
NOW LOOKING at the special education field, Alfred Moore, assistant professor of education, said there is a shortage of teachers for exceptional children in all areas.
"If people write in wanting a teacher for retarded children we just don't have a teacher," Prof. Moore said.
Too few teachers are going into this type of work, he said.
"The way that many schools get their teachers in special education areas is that the school system selects one teacher already on the staff and he or she takes work in the special education field," he said.
Some of the areas in the special education field are educatable mentally retarded (IQ's 50-75), trainable retarded (IQ's 30-50), crippled children, emotionally disturbed children, speech and hearing therapists, and instructors for the deaf, blind and partially sighted children.
SPECIAL education teachers must have a basic teaching certificate first, preferably elementary. Eight to 12 hours of basic course work is required for special education teachers and each specific area requires additional work beyond this.
Prof. Moore said teachers can get tentative approval to teach in Kansas on a year-to-year basis with only six hours in the special education field.
He said the biggest shortage is for teachers of retarded children and speech and hearing therapists. This is partially due to the fact that these are the largest programs.
In Kansas, there are 90 classes for the educatable retarded, 16 classes for trainable retarded, one class for the partially sighted, two for the blind and five for crippled children.
PROF. MOORE said at KU there is a program now underway which may help to overcome the shortage of teachers in this field. He said about a year ago special education was made an area of emphasis in the elementary education program.
If a teacher has a degree with this emphasis, he or she can get a job as a special education teacher.
Spectrum Editorial Job Applications Due
Tomorrow's article will examine teachers' salaries in Kansas in comparison to other states.
Applications for editorial board and business manager positions on Spectrum magazine are being accepted in 105 Flint.
Qualifications, interest and academic centers of interest should be included in applications. Other business staff positions are also open. Deadline for applications is May 11.
Radio-TV Fete Set
Richard Goggin, head of the radio-TV department at New York University, will speak at the annual radio-TV banquet at 6:30 p.m. today in the Kansas Room of the Kansas Union. Awards will be given to the area's outstanding broadcasters and to outstanding students in the University's radio-TV department.
DEADLINE EXTENDED
Turn in your letters to Dennis Hayes or Ron Komatz or the engineering office.
Applications for all staff positions will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 4.
For Every Occasion
Fashions & Accessories
Sizes 5 through 16
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