American Deacher Democracy in Education; Education for Democracy Vor. V. No. 3. NEW YORK, MARCH, 10916 so Cents A YEAR K< ae y The Case Against Efficiency 9 » 1916 Uy ba If Efficiency Means the Demoralization of ro School System; If Efficiency Means Dollars Saved and Human Material Squandered; If Efficiency Means Discontent, Drudgery and Disillusion—— We'll Have None of It! * If Efficiency Denotes Low Finance, Bicker- ing and Neglect; If Efficiency Denotes Exploitation, Suspicion and Inhumanity; If Efficiency Denotes Larger Classes, Smaller Pay and Diminished Joy— We'll Have None of It! We Espouse and Exalt Human Efficiency— Efficiency that Spells Felicity, Loyalty, Par- ticipation and Right Conduct. Give Us Honorable Efficiency and We Shall Rally to the Civic Cause. —_—__o BUSINESS METHODS IN SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION C R JeFForDs Boys’ High School, Brooklyn THE New York City public schools are now taking a starvation treatment very similar to that administered to Ger- many by the Allies. The Board of Esti- mate, in the kindly role of expert dieti- tian, has decided that the amount of money consumed by the Board of Edu- cation is greater than is really necessary for the suport of the educational body, and has accordingly cut off part of the supply, alleging that the application of business methods to school affairs would render the reduced amount entirely ade- quate. Directions for use did not ac- company the prescription, but it is not difficult to find educational practises rad- ically different from those common in successful business management. The existence of these weaknesses is largely due to the fact that they are in matters affecting the efficiency and output of the schools rather than in the actual running expenses, and for that reason are not so readily detected and remedied. The first striking contrast is in the method by which managers are selected to engineer the whole plant. Did you ever hear of the owners of the control- ling interest in a great enterprize leaving the selection of managers to the judg- ment of the political leader with whom they sympathize? Can you imagine any captain of industry allowing the actual control of his great factories to be put in- to the hands of minor political satellites as a reward for campaign services? It is painfully apparent that any business the supervisors of which owe their ap- pointment to political patronage or per- sonal favoritism is liable to be misman- aged, and there is no reason for thinking that the schools are exceptions to the rule. The men who control the details of the management of any great commer- cial enterprise are selected on account of having broad experience and a strong grasp of problems incident to that in- dustry. There is nothing more technical than education, yet the public allows its schools to be controlled by a body of men whose main qualification is usually their affiliation with the leading power in city politics. When the manager of any business de- partment needs employes, his chief con- cern is as to their ability to perform the actual work demanded of them. He would not test the ability of a clothing salesman by giving him a written exam- ination in the history of the develop- ment of sartorial art since the time of Adam, or by requiring him to construct a suit on Fifth Avenue lines. He would try him out directly on the specific task required of him, not on the theory of how the thing should be done. Why should a college graduate, who has often forgotten more about his particular sub- ject than any of the Board of Examiners ever knew (no matter who they may be), be put thru a series of examinations | which have no more connection with | teaching ability than the atomic theory | has with the work of mixing concrete? The proof of the teacher is in the teach- ing, and one of the least important fac- tors in successful teaching in secondary schools is a highly technical knowledge of the subject matter. The prime re- quisites for really effective teaching are strong personality, patience, tact, and sympathy ; and actual performance in the class room is the only reliable test of these qualities. If a preliminary exam- ination seems necessary for the elimina- tion of superfluous candidates, a severe test in oral English and extempore Eng- lish composition, accompanied by a searching physical examination, directed especially toward incipient neurasthenia, would be of far greater practical value than the extremely technical examinations now given. The latter discriminate in favor of the recent graduate and deter many older and more experienced teach- ers from entering the system. THE AMERICAN TEACHER 35 It is a fairly well established principle of business efficiency that in hiring workmen the best is generally the cheap- est, even at a much higher price. In hiring teachers, cheapness and economy are supposed to be synonymous. In the Boys’ High School of Brooklyn, which was once the most efficient school in New York City, more than one-fourth the teaching is now done by inexperi- enced men without a permanent license. The degeneration inevitable under such conditions has begun and is liable to increase gradually for many years. Work which is done in western schools by low salaried clerks is done in New York by the regular teachers, with a dou- ble loss in efficiency. It seems strange that New York teachers are not required to sweep and dust their own class rooms, and wash windows during vacations, as much money could be saved in that way; and saving money is supposed to be the same as economy in school management. What a volume an efficiency expert could fill with instances of time, energy, and money wasted in school administration here! The Board of Estimate knows this and has tried to force real economy by restricting appropriations. The result has been simply wasteful skimping. After securing his employes, how does the business man test and rate their proficiency? Chiefly by results attained. And the school supervisors ?—Chiefly by methods used in teaching. Even where the results of teaching, as shown by the advancement and maintenance of pupils, are considered, the methods of determin- ing and evaluating these results are fre- quently so haphazard and uneven as to be practically worthless. It would be possible, by uniform examinations and impartial marking of classes taught, to get a fairly accurate rating of the rela- tive efficiency of the teachers in any grade or subject, but supervisors seem to prefer a system more flexible and adjustable to circumstances. The teach- ers realize this, even the pupils know it, and it is probably the greatest factor in creating dissatisfaction among public school teachers. In most kinds of work, employes on the same plane as teachers in ability, training and responsibility are considered reliable and allowed to exercise their own judgment in many matters in which teachers are treated like children. This is especially true with regard to absence due to serious personal illness. The atti- tude of first class business houses toward their employes in such cases is admir- ably expressed in the following reply of Frederick Loeser & Co., of Brooklyn, to an inquiry regarding deductions for absence: “We consider the men and women employed by us in positions of responsibility conscientious and honor- able. We do not believe they would absent themselves from business unless it was absolutely necessary, and under the circumstances we make no deduc- tions from their salaries for absence for illness, whether or not such absence cov- ers a period of a week or longer.” While it is not to be expected that this high spirit should animate all school boards in their relations with all teachers, it ought to be possible for experienced teachers to receive the same courtesy in New York City, and for all teachers to be allowed a few days absence every year, if necessary, without any deduc- tion. It is a very difficult matter to determine what is a reasonable or aver- age amount of absence per annum, since circumstances differ, and there are so many factors to be considered. But cer- tainly no deduction should be made where fellow teachers carry on the work with no additional expense to the school. When a deduction is made for short absences, many teachers go to school when they should go to bed, with a con- sequent impairment of health and effi- ciency. Probably the greatest contrast between business and school methods is in the percentage of efficiency which is consid- ered satisfactory. In high schools, where promotions are most carefully regulated, 60 per cent. is the passing grade, and 70 per cent. of promotions is considered normal, a net efficiency of 42 per cent., and this, too, under circumstances which are almost completely under the control of the authorities in charge. What sabe SAL A eT RE TES would happen to a tailor who spoiled six suits out of every ten he made, or the automobile factory which could pro- duce only 42 perfect machines out of every hundred finished, or the shrapnel maker who had three-fifths of his out- put rejected? The boy who can add a column correctly three times out of five can satisfy the requirements of school work, but he wouldn’t last long as a bookkeeper or business accountant. The cashier who made change correctly three- fifths of the time might be all right in school, but she would not be highly de- sirable in actual business. When we are training pupils to be satisfied with 60 per cent. of accuracy, it is not sur- prising that business men so often find our graduates unsatisfactory. In view of the fact, however, that the public school curriculum is merely a copy of the course of study in the medieval private professional school for gentlemen’s sons, and has never been really adjusted to fit problems of modern public education, it is not surprising to find it lagging far behind business methods which are revised constantly to meet the exigencies of keen competition. Teachers are notoriously conservative and have little opportunity and less in- centive for improving school conditions. There is much reason to believe, how- ever, that the efficiency of the schools as a whole could be greatly increased by the following factors: 1. A paid administrative board, elected either by the teachers or by the public, consisting of a small number of men familiar with teaching problems and experienced in school administration. 2. A method of selecting teachers whereby personality, teaching ability, and experience have more weight than tech- nical scholarship. 3. A salary schedule high and stable enough to attract and retain capable and experienced teachers from all parts of the country. 4. A rating system based largely on results and leaving no room for personal prejudice of examiners or supervisors. 5. Regulations for teachers based on 36 THE AMERICAN TEACHER the assumption that “the men and women employed by us in positions of responsi- bility are conscientious and honorable.” 6. A curriculum so simplified and ad- justed to the ability of the average child that a minimum of 90 per cent. efficiency rather than 60 per cent. would be pos- sible. 7. A readjustment of public schools to public needs, with the creation of a general course that is really universal in application and value, and the segrega- tion of studies which are largely techni- cal to the special courses where they belong. Probably a large part of this program will seem to most people too utopian for serious consideration. No doubt it would be if left to the gentle mercies of the powers that be at present in the edu- cational world. There has just appeared on our horizon, however, a factor which may make all these improvements pos- sible—the possibility of the affiliation of public school teachers with the Labor Movement. This would put teachers in touch with the great public which they serve, and provide the necessary support for the adjustment of public schools to public needs. Education of the masses being the foundation of democracy, the union of teachers and other laborers for the common welfare should be a long step toward ideal democracy. BUSINESS AND THE PUBLIC When the administration increases the burden of the teacher in any one of a dozen ways, it is simply applying the principles of “economy and efficiency” to the management of public affairs. When teachers attempt to apply the methods of modern business—the methods of bargain and coercion and strike—in their dealings with the ad- ministration, they are depriving the children of their rights, they are ap- plying extortion to the public. How solicitous are the trustees and the tax- payers of the dear children and the dear public! i- % d y Ss § Ft = ww | ee a ed wae er OS Oe ier Clee CUD THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL FOR INCREASED ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY CuHarctes S. HARTWELL Eastern District High School, Brooklyn IN CONVERSATION with a new chair- man in the Board of Education the writer stated his belief that, if the five million dollars proposed by the Board of Estimate for the introduction of the Gary system should be divided into three sums and allowed for the use or experi- mentation of the Gary, Ettinger, and Junior High School systems, in two years it could become apparent that one million dollars spent to introduce Junior High Schools would go farther and ac- complish more than two million dollars with either the Gary or the Ettinger system. Now, what could be done with one million dollars and the Junior High School system ? The long standing injustice to teachers in the seventh and eighth years could be removed and the best efforts of these teachers requited. In the departmental estimates for 1916 there is an item for promotions to grades of the last two years in elementary schools : To fill vacancies existing May 31, Baia a ial ala ani e ita le $261,480 To fill vacancies in fall term of 1915, persons not in service May 31, i 4: cpihh ctcmeaaaabas eases 31,200 For 1916 appointments .............. 17,150 0 rere eer $309,830 This measure of justice might be the first item. The number of pupils on register in November, 1915, the latest available figures, in the seventh and eighth years is as follows: DE sdwshananneese eds 43,763 0 Gee ee eee 17,548 DE ninéskceuebtedsoun 46,927 SEE