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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 1958)
MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, On., Thursday, November IS, If 51 7A Great American Education Need ToOd Expert iff America to Keep lead PROF. WILLARD S. ELSBEE Director Div. of Administration and Guidance. Teachers (ollefe, Colombia 1,'niversity (Written for United Press International) New York -TPD- What are the most urgent needs today of the public schools in Am erica? I believe thoughtful students of education would include most, if not all, of the following in their re sponse to this query: 1. Better qualified teachers. Public school teachers are vastly better prepared today than a quarter of a century ago, but socio-economic con ditions and resulting manpow er shortages have combined to slow up the improvement in the quality of our staff per sonnel. Teachers, whose, wisdom and skill condition the ulti mate efficiency of the mem bers of all professions and oc cupations, have been and are being recruited too often from the middle or lower-middle groups in scholastic attain ment, personality and intelli gence. A larger proportion of gift ed high school and college students must be guided Into teaching if high quality in struction is to be assured. 2. The standard of living of teachers needs to be elevated substantially. This need is obviously close ly related to the need just discussed. Whereas teachers must be dedicated persons and possess more than an average amount of the missionary spirit, they cannot meet their responsibilities and render their best service on current salaries. To measure up to the re quirements of the office, tea chers must be generously paid. To pay a salary of $4,- Out SMC mm It's the balance of ingredients in baking powder that governs its leavening action. Only when these are scientifically balanced can you be sure of uniform ac tion in the mixing bowl plus that final rise to light and fluffy tex 'ture in the oven ... That's the story of Clabber Girl's balanced double action. Guaranteed 1 CLABBER VjIKL. SlJiiI 500, the typical annual sum now awarded to public school teachers in America, is a pen ny wise and pound foolish policy. 3. The current tax base needs to be revised and a larg er share of the cost of educa tion borne by the State and Federal Governments. With income taxes limited primarily to the - State and Federal Governments, the tax returns from real estate have been almost the sole reliance of local districts in financing schools in most parts of the country. The State is gradual ly entering the picture and lifting - some of the burden from the backs of the poorer districts, but the situation is still serious and quality edu cation is being provided in a relatively small number of school systems. 4. Teacher preparatory in stitutions must be greatly im proved. The public school teaching profession is in a state of tran sition and, unlike medicine and law, "it has because of its numbers and its relative youth as a profession been slower to emerge as one of the truly learned professions. One can scarcely classify teachers with less than col lege preparation, and we have a significant number who fall in this category, as profession al. Not only are we in need of increasing the amount of preparation of teachers, but we. must also improve the quality of the instruction pro vided in our teacher prepara tory institutions. 5. Certification arrange ments need to be overhauled. Education being a State function and not a Federal one, it is understandable that a variety of requirements would emerge over the years as the number of teaching po sitions increased, a supply and demand relationships shifted, and as standards were eleva ted to meet the demands of the changing social scene. Re gional efforts have resulted in compacts and agreements between states which have eliminated much of the local ism which characterized early practices and policies. But there is still need for greater flexibility and for a broaden ing of the requirements so as to admit to teaching those whose qualifications are clear ly superior. 6. The public image of the American public school tea cher must be radically chang ed. Teachers as a group have not enjoyed the prestige ac corded members of other pro fessions. The public image of a school teacher, as reflected in the movies and television programs, is wholly distorted. While one can cite numerous exceptions, teachers are view ed as somewhat strange, less human, and to some degree as socially inferior. The psychological reasons for this are probably some what complex. But so long as this image exists, able, enthu siastic, dynamic young men and women will hesitate to Editor's note: If the United States is to meet the challenge presented by Soviet Russia's tremendous con centration on improving its school system, says U. S. Commissioner of Education Dr. Lawrence G. Derthick, "we cannot afford to tolerate a single weakness in our educational system." Yet most American experts point to one great weak- By LOUIS CASSELS UPI Correspondent Washington-CPD-A close-up look zt Russia's school system is "somewhat frightening" to Americans who believe that education is the key" to the future. That's the reaction of Dr. Lawrence G. Derthick, U. S. Commissioner' oi Education, who recently returned from a month-long official visit to the Soviet Union. Derthick led a delegation of 10 prominent U. S. educators who studied Soviet schools at every level from kinderparten through college. They found weaknesses as well as strengths. They came away convinced that Russia's system "would not fit our way of life." But they were nevertheless awed by the sheer scope of the Soviet ed ucational effort. "The Russians have made a total national commitment to education," Derthick said in an interview. "It is a kind of grand passion with them. They are convinced that fu ture supremacy belongs to those with the best-trained minds. "The desperate intensity of their race for knowledge is somewhat frightening. We came back convinced that we cannot afford to tolerate a single weakness in our edu cational system." The visiting educators were especially impressed by the abundance of money available to Soviet schools. Russia is invest from 10 to 15 per cent choose (teaching as a career. The problem cannot easily be resolved. The agencies which have a great influence in molding public opinion, such as the movies, TV and the radio, could, if persuaded, change the public image to one that held appeal for virile young men and women. 7. Teachers should be grant ed freedom to teach and en couraged to be creative. Historically, public school teachers have been subjected to close supervision and have had little freedom with re spect to what and how they taught. Supervisors and prin cipals have devoted much of their time in the past to training teachers to teach and with justification, since the latter were, poorly, educated. The training job was only partially completed in normal schools and colleges. But it is impossible to de velop a great profession of teachers (or for that matter any other profession) without freeing the members to make decisions and allowing them to experiment. There will be mistakes and failures if free dom is granted, but the loss sustained will be minor in comparison with the gains re alized. cf its gross national product in education. The U.S. invest ment is less than five per cent. Russian schools have plenty cf teachers. Teaching is a highly respected profession, and salaries are comparable to those of doctors and en gineers. There are about six times as many applicants as there are teaching jobs. Staff of 102 At a typical Russian school in the Lenin Hills District of Moscow, the amazed Americ ans found a staff of 102 per sons, including a doctor and a nurse, serving a student body of 928 children. Like the United States, Russia has a classroom shortage. This has necessiated double shifts in many schools. But both shifts get a full schedule of classes, rot the abbreviated "half day" schedule found in overcrowd ed U. S. schools. Russian school children assigned to the "second shift" don't get home until nearly 8 p.m. Much publicity has been given to the curriculum of Russia's 10-year schools, in which every student is re quired to take mathematics through trigonometry, six years of foreign languages, five years of physics and four years of chemistry. When Russia beat America into space last October, U. S. high schools came under na tionwide pressure to eliminate some of the "frill courses" from their own curriculums, and to put "more emphasis on math and science, "like they are doing in Russia." In light of this recent his tory, the visiting American educators were intrigued to discover that Russian schools nets in that system a shortage of teachers both in num bers and proper qualifications. In the following dispatches, Dr Derthick sounds the warning to American education, and one of the nation's foremost authorities on the problems of teachers tells what he feels must be done to make American teaching what it should be. "direct comparisons" between Soviet and American educa tion. The goals of the two home economics, automobile j driving, vocational training and other "practical" studies of the type long found in U.S. high schools. Trying New System This fall, some Russian schools are trying out a new system under which students from the 9th grade up will attend classes only three days a week The other three days they spend at work on farms or in factories. Premier Nikita Krushchev, who decreed a new system, told Soviet educators they must stop giving children a purely academic course which is "divorced from life," and concentrate on prep aring them to perform a "produc tive role" as Soviet workers. On the face of it, this sounds as though Russia were going whole-hog for the "life adjustment education" phil osophy which has been ac cused of wrecking the aca demic standards of American high schools. Derthick warned against making too much of this ap parent trend, at least for the present. Russian students are still getting massive doses of math, science and languages far more than the average American student. Has "Full Pipeline" The most likely explanation of Khrushchev's sudden inter est in vocational .education is that Russia has a "full pipe line" of future scientists and engineers all that its colleges can handle in the next few years. So the Kremlin has ordered the school system to shift into production of farm and factory hands for a while. This is a good illustration of why Derthick considers it are now adding courses in virtually impossible to make Quotes From the News By United Press International Washington - Harold Stassen, who led an unsuccessful "dump Nixon" drive in 1956, on why he failed to include Vice President Richard Nixon in a list of GOP presidential contenders: " "My views on that are well known and I believe the results of the recent elections proved ma right." Atlanta - Rep. Brooks Hays (D-Ark.), a moderate recently defeated by a segregationist candidate, on the South's racial problems: "I believe that this problem that has grown into severe racial tensions will be finally solved largely by extra-govern ment efforts outside of government. Congress or the courts. Tacoma, Wash. - U. S. District Judge George H. Boldt, trying former teamster President Dave Beck on income tax evasion charges, on a defense attorney's objections to news paper coverage: "Let's not try this case in the newspapers. The gentlemen of the press must do their job just as you must do yours and I must do mine." Yosemite National Park, Calif. - Wayne Merry, one of three men who climbed the sheer granite face of a cliff called El Capitan, on why he did it: "Some people play golf, some bridge, soma tiddlywinks. I climb rocks." 2 Lb. Pkg. TABLE ROCK ROAD AT 4 CORNERS PHONE NO 4-1511 STEW OR FRICASSE OMENS in 35 $U5 FISH FILLET 23 U.S. GRADED GOOD CHUCK STEAL 55' SUGAR CURED BACON JOWLS 25 MEDIUM YELLOW onions so. im CELLO BAG CARROTS -2..15' CRISP GREEN CABBAGE lk 4 SNOW WHITE CAULIFLOWER W GOLDEN DELICIOUS apples mm NEBERGALL'S BEST BACON 25 OCEAN FRESH SNAPPER MIDGET PRICES Thursday, Friday, Saturday OPEN 8 A.M. TILL 7 P.M. EVERY DAY ROYAL CLUB STRAWBERRY PRESERVES .11 W- SANALAC PRY MILK! s69 HOODY'S PEANUT BUTTER . 49. BEST FOODS MAYONNAISE 59 CAMPBELL'S SOUP ......... J , 40 FOLGER'S COFFEE regular ... .'u,83 CANNED DOG FOOD BONNIE 8 93 SUNSHINE KRISPY CRACKERS 2 . 49 GENUINE TILLAMOOK CHEESE 163 school systems are vastly dif ferent. Russia s schools exist only to serve the needs of the state for trained manpower. American schools are con cerned with the individual de velopment of each child, for his own sake, as well as for the sake of society. POSTING bail on drunk driving charge, Lady Mary Hardwicke, 30, wife of Sir Cedric Hardwicke, British actor, leaves Los Angeles police station. POSITIVE THINKING Los Angeles -IUPB- Dr. Nor man Vincent Peale, author of the best-selling book "The Power of Positive Thinking," advised the county board of supervisors" Wednesday that positive thinking is just what they need in dealing with the smog problem. "You must be lieve you can eradicate smog," he said, "if you think you'll never get rid of it, you never will." NO LONGER RECEIVING Los Angeles -(UPD- Fred L. Edwards, 32, caught looting a Beverly Hills dress shop, told police "I needed $350 for a court appearance on, a charge of receiving stolen goods." Smorgasbord Is Planned al Big Y The Southern Oregon Sales man's club is sponsoring a smorgasbord on the porch of th.; Big Y, just north of Med ford, Friday starting at 11 a.m. Proceeds from the event will go to the Medford High school band fund to help pay expenses for the band to. at tend the annual East-West Shrine football game in San Francisco in late December. This is the eighth consecutive year the Medford band has been invited. A similar smorgasbord to the one which is planned here was held in Grants Pass re cently to help finance the trip for the Grants Pass High school band. Booths will be set up on the porch of the Big Y, and per sons will be charged 25 cents for all they can eat. Tickets are available at the Big Y, the Elks club in Med ford, and Crater Department store in Central Point. Prizes will be given away at draw ings every 15 minutes. Three Plead Guilty In District Court Three men pleaded guilty in district court Monday af-1 ternoon to charges of petty larceny. Johnson Creed Sells, Eu gene, John Arnold Simmons and Riqhard Earl Smith, both of Medford, all waived the privilege of having an at torney. Their cases were con tinued for sentencing on Nov.-17. The three men are charged with taking cash from Charles Milton Turner. Charles Vernon Burgess, Klamath River, Calif., pleaded guilty in district court Mon day, to furnishing liquor to minors. Judge James Main ordered him released to Cali fornia authorities to be tried there on felony charges. Bur gess signed a waiver, he said. He was charged with giving beer to two minors Nov. 7. A. C. Smith Named Director of Congress A. C. Smith of Medford Cor poration has been elected to a one-year term as a director of the Pacific Logging Con gress, which met recently in Portland. ... Directors were elected from 11 states and two Canadian provinces to the board of the logging organization, which is celebrating its 49th year. S.R.O. Toms River, N.J.-dTD-There were 72 prisoners in Ocean county jail, which has a legal capacity of 28, so Sheriff Har ry Roe boarded out the over flow in the prisons of five other counties. More than 500,000 milk bottles are lost in Britain daily. Each costs the equiva lent of five cents. WHY WAIT? DONT BE LATE THEN SUFFER A CHILLY FATE! CALL SP 2-8086 TIMBER PRODUCTS COMPANY Serving th Valley "Fuel From Timber Since 1918" Kibbled with 6 FLAVORS, 6 COLORS! meat, liver, milk, fish, vegetable, chicken only Kibbled that's slow-baked for quicker mixing with liquids. only Kibbled that's kennel-tested for complete nutrition. Buy Friskies Kibbled today-it's another eomplete . dog food from (arnation on Delicious new hot cereal discovery with active protein for active people Rich, whole-wheat flavor like you've never tasted before! Carnation Instant Wheat provides all the truly active protein of natural whole wheat - the kind of protein you can't possibly get from any cold cereal. The secret is Carnation's special "low-heat" process that does not harm the protein or precious B-vitamins. Try this wonderful new cereal. Save . 10$ on your first package with coupon below. ' . , - V 1 m in fTcrotrr mm-m VHEAJ I I I iftft4.-2V Vw ''ff y' To Daalan This coupon la redeemable for 10 (plus 2 for handling) through Albers salesman or if mailed to CARNATION-ALBERS. LOS ANGELES 5. CALIFORNIA, provided it has been used for the purchase of Carnation Instant Wheat in accordance with offer shown above. Void in any state or municipality where prohibited, taxed or otherwise restricted. Cash value 120 cent. Albert Milling Company a Division of Carnation Co. 5 I 'J 2KM ISTAtrr Limit: one per family. Expiration date: Feb. 28, 195?.? tm i I i m
