FFR VOL. XVII - No. 1 JANUARY - 1939 The Rural Teacher's Economic Status Published by the RESEARCH DIVISION of the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION of the UNITED STATES 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington, D. C. 1040 EDUCATION ASSOCIATION RESEARCH BULLETIN RESEARCH BULLETIN o¢ Published five times each year in January, March, May, September, and November President, REUBEN T. SHAW NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Executive Secretary, WILLARD E. GIVENS Director of Research: William G. Carr; Associate Director: Frank W. Hubbard Assistant Directors: Richard R. Foster, lvan A. Booker, Hazel Davis, Charles R. Tupper Research Assistants and Section Heads: Frances G. Bradley, Louise B. Sease, Helen H. Cox, Anna Haddow, Madaline K. Remmlein, Mildred Wharton, and Theo C. Hartman Executive and Editorial Offices Copyright, 1939, by the National Education Association of the United States Entered as second-class matter February 10, 1923, at the Post Office at Washington, D. 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Address communications to the Research Division, National Education Association, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington, D. C. = 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington, D. C. — ee - CONTENTS Page FOREWORD 4 [INTRODUCTION 5 I. ScHOOL SALARIES AND OTHER INCOM! ( ; Sources of Income School Salaries in Relation to Various Factors Il. Uses OF INCOME 14 : ic Comparison of Single Women and Married Men in Certain Living Arrangements 15 Comparison of Teachers in Different Types of School 19 Comparison of Teachers at Different Income Levels 20 Comparison of Teachers with Different Numbers of Dependents 21 Comparison of Teachers with Different Amounts of Experience 22 y Variations in Amounts Used for Specific Purposes by Individual Teachers 22 III. VALUE OF PROPERTY AND EXTENT OF INDEBTEDNESS 25 Amounts Reported for Each Type of Property and Indebtedness 25 Fotal Assets and Liabilities of Teachers Having Different Amounts of Experience 26 Total Assets and Liabilities in Relation to Home Maintenance and Ownership 9 IV. WHAT RURAL TEACHERS THINK ABOUT THEIR ECONOMIC STATUS 3() Teacher A 3() Teacher B 31 Teacher C 31 Teacher D 32 Teacher E 33 ; Teacher F 34 Teacher G 35 Teacher H 35 : Teacher | 36 Teacher J 37 Teacher K 38 Teacher L 39 V. SUMMARY OF FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS 40 A Composite Picture of the Rural Teacher 40 Differences According to Type of Rural School 41 : Outstanding Points and Their Significance 41 APPENDIX 47 A. Scope and Procedure of the Study 49 B. Copy of Questionnaire Sent to Teachers 55 C. List of Tables and Figures 61 [3] FOREWORD OR MANY YEARS the National Education Association has been actively interested in improving the economic status of teachers. The Association’s committees on salaries, tenure, and retirement allowances have contributed much to the development of basic principles and the formation of public opin- ion in these fields. In 1935 the Committee on the Economic Status of the Teacher issued a comprehensive report on the economic position of teachers in city school systems. The Research Division, ever since its establishment in 1922, has devoted a major share of its resources to studies of teacher welfare. Recently the Association has given special attention to the economic prob- lems of teachers in rural areas—those in the open country and in towns under 2500 in population. Leading the way in a study of these problems has been the Committee on the Economic Status of the Rural Teacher, consisting of William McKinley Robinson, Kalamazoo, Michigan (chairman); L. V. Cavins, Charleston, West Virginia; Frank W. Cyr, New York, New York; Walter H. Gaumnitz, Washington, D. C.: A. R. Mead, Gainesville, Florida; L. P. Terrebonne, Plaquemine, Louisiana; and Kate V. Wofford, Buffalo, New York. With the assistance of the Research Division, this Committee has just completed its survey of conditions among rural teachers, and will soon publish a complete report of its findings. To bring the principal facts and conclusions immediately to the attention of educational leaders, the Committee has coop- erated in the publication of certain parts of its report in this issue of the Research Bulletin. A study of this kind does not serve its ultimate purpose unless its findings are placed before schoolbéards, legislators, lay organizations, and citizens generally in such a way as to arouse them to appropriate action. To accomplish this pur- pose, the Committee expects to issue one or more small pamphlets showing the outstanding facts and implications of the study in graphic, dramatic fashion. Readers of this bulletin are urged to make use of these supplementary materials in their own states and local communities. This foreword would not be adequate without special mention of two impor- tant sources of help in making this study: (1) the General Education Board, whose grant of $1500 enabled the Committee to include a wider sampling of teachers in the southern states than would otherwise have been possible, and (2) the thousands of teachers who furnished information about themselves and about the conditions under which they live and work. Let us see to it that the facts revealed by these cooperative efforts are used to raise the status of teachers in rural communities. Wiiarp E. Givens, Executive Secretary National Education Association [4] trie fac t n aw the I CO F is = 2 eit! — the Sl wi — ye a | ed in ma ket ce ob tez pu Un Ma : Eci fine | : Introduction Nearly half of the pupils, and more than half { the teachers, principals, and supervisors in | ublic day schools of the United States are ited in rural areas—that is, in the open coun- This tance in towns under 2500 in population fact alone indicates the high relative impor f rural teaching in the nation’s total educa nal When the irked rural-to-urban shifting which has al task. one considers also nost continuously characterized our popula- tion? it is clear that the quality of instruction rural schools is hardly less important to city dwellers than to those who remain in small towns or on farms. In other words, the status of rural teachers should be of genuine concern to all persons who are interested in improving the social, cultural, and economic life of the communities in which they live. That the status of rural teachers generally is far below that of city teachers is not news either to the teachers themselves or to students of school administration. Such knowledge on the part of the educational profession is not sufficient, however. Only as the public comes to understand more fully the conditions unde1 which rural teachers live and work, can there be hope for significant improvement in rural education. Capable persons entering this field are not likely to regard it as a permanent career worthy of their best efforts unless they can see in it a chance to earn a reasonable wage, to maintain an appropriate standard of living, to keep abreast of professional progress, and to enjoy the cultural and social opportunities es- sential to effective work as a teacher. The sur- vey on which this bulletin is based sought to obtain a variety of significant facts about rural teachers, with a view to giving those facts wide publicity among laymen as well as teachers. 1 Blose, David T.., Specific Purposes and Procedures of the Survey Phe purposes and procedures of the as a whole are reviewed in detail in the Aj pendix at the end of this bulletin. It is sufhcient at this point to indicate the ceneral types of information obtained from the rural teachers as follows: (1) their professional tus; (2 their family responsibilities and | con tions; (3) their transportation facilities; (4 their cultural, recreational, and economic 0] portunities; and (5) their finan tatus, I cluding amounts of school salary and other 11 come received, uses of income during a twe month period, amounts of property and of in debtedness accumulated, and reactions ot teachers to their financial problems. Scope of This Bulletin Owing to the length of the complet report, only a part of it can be incl e survey uded in the Research Bulletin. After consultation with the +] committee in charge ot the Survey, the sect with the financial status of white te dealing ers were chosen as being best suited to separ Detailed on the othe topics listed above, presentation, information for whi e teachers well as all the data for Negro teachers found in the complete committee report. While the detailed data in this bulletin are limited to the financial aspects of teacher stat the closing section summarizes the entire SUT\ \ so far as the white teachers are concerned. ‘his arrangement will enable Research Bulletin readers who do not purchase the longer report to become familiar with many of its outstand ing facts and implications.‘ and Alves, Henry I Stat State Sche S Biennial Surve Education in th United States: 1934-36. U. S. Dept. of the Inte fice of Education, Bulletin. 1937, No Washingt D. C.: 4 i Printing Office, 1938. Vol. II, p. 49. (Advance page National Education Association, Research Div “Population T The Educational I / rch Bulletin 16: 13, 45; January 1938 rhe complete report, of approximately 125 printed pages, may be ed from the National Education A March 15, 1939 ‘To help arouse interest and appropriate action among lay individua thruout the nation, the ¢ Economic Status of the Rural Teacher expects t within the next ne or more popular lea ast ndings of this survey. I. School Salaries and Other Income ‘That the salaries of rural teachers generally are very low in comparison with those of city teachers is well known. There has been, how- ever, a lack of information concerning the rela- tion of rural teachers’ salaries to their income from other sources and to such factors as sex, marital status, general section of the nation, size and location of school, training and expe- rience of teachers, type of position held, and number of the teachers’ dependents. ‘This sec- tion of the bulletin presents data for white teachers on all these points. Sources of Income The cooperating teachers were asked to re- port the current income which they received from June 1, 1936, to May 31, 1937, under the following headings: 1. Money received as salary for school services (including any salary paid into, or deducted for, a teachers’ retirement or insurance fund) 2. Estimated money value of commodities ceived as partial payment for school services 3. Earnings from other kinds of work (including estimated money value of commodities produced for one’s own consumption) 4. Income contributed by relatives living in same household with teacher (including money value of commodities received from such relatives) as part payment for school services. All told ‘ ’ from sources other than the public schools. 5. Other current income (not including mor borrowed or withdrawn from savings) 6. Total current income (sum of items 1 to 5 Table | the entire 9822 teachers, the number receiving differen: amounts under each of the above headings, well as the mean amount received under eac! heading. There was a wide range in the amount of money received as school salary, 22 teacher. getting less than $200 and 160 teachers getting $2000 or more. A similar situation existed wit! respect to total income, 11 teachers receiy less than $200 and 337 receiving $2000 . more. Under each of the other types of incom: relatively few teachers received as much $200, and a very large majority received not! ing. The average total income of all these teach ers was $967, of which $867 came in the for of money for school services. Of the remaining shows, for group of $100, only $9 represented commodities received about 9 percent of the average income cam In Table 2 are given the proportions of average total income received from various sources by the teachers of each sex and marital status. Including the money value of commod ities received in return for school service, th TABLE 1.—AMOUNTS OF INCOME RECEIVED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES BY THE ENTIRE GROUP OF TEACHERS School salary Contribu- Money tions from value of relatives Amount commodi- in Other Total Money ties re- Other teacher's current current received ceived earnings household income income 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 $2,000 and over 160 1 9 9 3 33 1,800-1,999. 115 , 189 1,600-1,799.. 177 1 1 1 266 1,400-1,599 3 12 6 476 1,200-1,399 635 § 28 817 1,000-1,199 21 27 5 1,323 800-999 2,807 2 13 37 10 2.661 600-799... 2,640 5 38 72 16 2.270 4900-599. . 1,676 10 99 134 37 1.334 200-399 . 218 53 418 416 127 138 1-199... 22 321 1,700 1,253 493 11 None : 9,430 7,515 7.825 9.124 9,822 9,822 9.822 9.822 9,822 9,822 Mean amount.. $867 $9 $35 $44 $12 $967 Read table as follows: Of the 9,822 teachers reporting, 160 received at least $2,000 in money for school services; 115 rece | $1,800 to $1,999 from this source; etc., the mean amount thus received being $867. [6] the shor crea and tror crea soul cent mor econ Tura thei | 1 ey 5. = ~ tot: Pa’: ami per am 13 fro WoOl sur the — th con ; in s to | Wol of t 7 to ; TABLE 2.—PERCENT OF MEAN TOTAL INCOME RECEIVED FROM EACH SOURCE BY THE TEACHERS OF EACH SEX AND MARITAL STATUS Men Women Nature of income Roth Single Married Single Married sexes l 3 4 5 ¢ 1. Money received as school sal R65 Money value of commodities received for scl 0 e227 0.8 ( Other earnings 8.7 1.4 Contributions from relatives in teacher's household 1 3.3 5 ier current income 1.6 1.1 1 urrent income $1.003 $1.39 S84 ¢ < I | number reporting 1,530 5 . 803 Read table as follow Of the ean tota r oney for school service; 1.0 percent represented moditie 2 mean school salary ranged from 83 percent of larger additions to income from other sources total income among the married women to 94 in spite of increases in salary. It pertine! percent of total income among the single to inquire whether any teacher should have ti women (see also Figure 1). While the percent supplement his school salary by means of earned in other kinds of work was higher among the men than among the women, the percent contributed by relatives was higher among the women. Among the married women, 13 percent of the average income was received from relatives living with the teacher. The significance of the figures for married women is not entirely clear, as one cannot be sure how completely these teachers included the incomes of their husbands under “income contributed by relatives.” It is not unlikely that in some cases, only money actually turned over to the teacher by her husband was reported under this heading. If all or nearly all amounts earned by husbands and used for family pur- poses were correctly reported, the married women teachers obviously were bearing most of the burden of supporting their families. The relation between the size of income and the percent received from various sources is shown in Table 3. Here one notes a steady de- crease in the percent representing school salary, and a corresponding increase in the percents trom other sources, as the total income in- creases. The from all sources except the schools ranged from 3.5 per- proportion received cent in the group receiving incomes under $800, to 21.3 percent in the group receiving $1600 or more, It may be inferred from these facts that the economic desires, needs, or responsibilities of rural teachers increase more rapidly than do their school salaries, thus necessitating ever [ come trom other sources, School Salaries in Relation to Various Factors T he of hool, gene ral And Sex ‘| he prevailing rate of pay for teaching in a rural school depends in part upon the size and loca tion of the school. As shown in ‘Table 4, the teachers in one-teachet schools received the 1 lowest Salaries, on the iverage, while those in town schools received the highest. TABLE 3.—PERCENT OF MEAN TOTAL INCOME RECEIVED FROM EACH SOURCE BY THE TEACHERS AT FOUR INCOME LEVELS Income levels Und $800 $1,200 $1,600 Nature of income aan to to and $1,199 $1,599 over l 2 3 4 i. M | 95.5 ) 3 2. Mone r v 1.0 0 0 1.0 3. Oth 1.3 j 4 4, Cr bt r rel 4 T hou old 1.9 5 10.8 5. Other current income 0.3 1.0 1.4 3.1 Tot $618 $951 $1355 $? .069 Total 1 rting 3.753 3,984 1 3 9? Read i ows: Of ean t receive I he teache who had 95 | ent ed of mone pe ent represented dities received f Or of rent Paci yunt hers ting Ving ) : ine 1 as oth ach or! ning ived bald Old ame oT lous nod his was the al j ent me 3 gO 66 76 17 23 3 61 70 34 38 11 »? 67 [7] FIGURE I MEAN ANNUAL INCOMES OF WHITE RURAL TEACHERS, 1936 - 37 Single Men Married Men Single Women % 17% | Married Women tl | 0 200 400 600 800 7,000 7,200 7,400 KEY INCOME IN DOLLARS See School salary, including estimated money value of commodities received as part payment for school service. Based on Table 2. Research Division, National Education Association FIGURE II MEAN SCHOOL SALARIES OF WHITE RURAL TEACHERS IN DIFFERENT AREAS AND TYPES OF SCHOOL, 1936 - 37 NORTHERN STATES Town schools 2-or-more-teacher schools 1-teacher schools SOUTHERN STATES Town schools 2-or-more-teacher schools I-teacher schools 4 0 400 600 800 7,000 1,200 200 SALARY IN DOLLARS Note: Town schools are located in places under 2,500 in population. A\ll other schools are in the open country. Research Division, Nationa! Education Association TAB one- plin avel won sma 14 — \ N 43 1-tea and true ers 1 a tere! state in t and aver $13 Not tha: Un teac \ sch 4 ers a giv [3] TABLE 4.—MEAN SCHOOL SALARIES OF THE MEN AND WOMEN TEACHERS IN DIFFERENT AREAS AND TYPES OF SCHOOL Type of school Men Women Northern* Southern’ Northern* Southern sexes l 3 4 5 6 under 2,500 in population Mean school salary $1 $1240 $965 $8 S ( Number of teachers reporting 50 444 1.475 j + 090 ywre-teacher schools in open country Mean school salary $1.110 $1.00 $931 $749 $881 Number of teachers reporting 332 384 815 1.241 icher schools in open country Mean school salary® $ $575 $669 $ i $6608 Number of teachers reporting S¢ i8 050 8 4. Read table as follows: Of the men reporting fr tates designated those . _ , ol salary of $1,323; those in two-or-more-teacl in the ope 1 mean « California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, In lowa, Kansas, Ma M an, New Me N D ‘4 and Pennsylvania Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North ¢ 1a, South Car Te Includes estimated money value of con Odi tle d as pa il pay f } se , true for both men and women, and for teach- porting from each of the twenty states included ers in both the northern and the southern states. in the survey. ‘The states are listed in descend Figure II pictures the situation without dif- ing order according to the size of the average ferentiating the sexes. salary for both sexes combined. While this ran! For each sex and each type of school, the order is probably somewhat in error because of average amount paid to teachers in the southern the inadequate sampling of teachers in som« states was somewhat less than that paid to those _ states, it nevertheless gives a rather good in the other states. Within each general area eral picture of the difterences to be found and each type of school, the men received larger among states. average salaries than did the women (except in ‘The averages for men and women combined one-teacher schools of the South, where the sam- ranged from $559 in Georgia to $1501 in Cal pling of men was too small to yield a reliable fornia—a difterence of 169 percent. None of average). The differentials between men and _ the seven southern states was among the high women were greatest in the town schools and _ est five, and only one of them was among th smallest in the one-teacher schools. lowest five. Florida, Louisiana, and Texas were outh- Excluding the small group of men in ern one-teacher schools, the average salaries shown in Table 4 ranged from $621 for the women in one-teacher schools of the South, to $1323 for of the North. The unusually the men in town schools low salaries of teachers in one-teacher schools assume special significance when one considers that there are approxi- mately 130,000 such teachers, comprising more than a fourth of all the rural teachers in the United States. Is it possible to provide adequate educational programs for children when their teachers are paid such salaries as these? School location by states— ~The effect of school location upon the salaries of rural teach- ers is shown in greater detail in Table 5, which gives mean salaries for the men and women re- [9] in the second highest five, while North Caro lina, Kentucky, and South Carolina were in the third five. Of significance also is the fact that three central or north central state Kansas, lowa, and North Dakota stood among the lowest five, while another—Michigan—was next to last in the third group of five. In the foregoing comparison it is likely that the average salaries, and possibly the ranks, of some southern states are too high, and that the figures for some of the other states are too low. As shown in the Appendix, there is evidence that the total sample from southern states con lar ot teachers in town schools, while the total sample a disproportionately ge numbet tained too many It not possible, however, to determine in which from other states contained relatively hools. Is teachers in one-teacher country TABLE 5.—MEAN SCHOOL SALARIES OF MEN AND WOMEN TEACHERS IN TWENTY STATES Men Women Both sexes States Mean Number Mean Number Mean Number school of school of school of salary* teachers salary® teachers salary* teachers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. California $1,908 82 $1,414 383 $1,501 465 2. Connecticut aa 1,438 14 1,106 155 1,134 169 3. Indiana... aa 1,175 187 986 254 1,065 441 4. New Mexico 1,208 29 931 56 1,025 85 5. Pennsylvania. . 1,140 415 911 922 982 1,33 6. Florida 1,280 158 882 540 972 698 7. Louisiana peas 1,23 184 812 632 918 81¢ 8. Oregon ; ae 1,137 105 836 299 913 404 9. Idaho 1 2 63 796 149 864 1 10. Texas 1,02 81 782 177 857 258 11. Colorado er 1,047 56 779 175 844 231 12. North Carolina ‘ 997 131 779 424 830 555 13. Kentucky. ‘ 922 202 779 529 819 731 14. Michigan . , 1,016 142 746 452 810 594 15. South Carolina oe er 1,169 94 702 400 791 494 16. Kansas 1,043 94 598 239 724 333 17. lowa..... 1,090 110 627 706 690 816 18. Maine 948 39 558 126 651 165 19. North Dakota re ee ee 845 138 560 506 621 644 20. Georgia....... 817 83 486 291 559 374 All twenty states $1,113 2,407 $799 7,415 $876 9,822 Read table as follows: Among the men teachers, those in California received a mean school salary of $1,908; those in Cy necticut received a mean salary of $1,438; etc * Includes estimated money value of commodities received as partial payment for school services. TABLE 6.—MEAN SCHOOL SALARIES OF TEACHERS WITH DIFFERENT AMOUNTS OF TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE College or normal school work High-school All Length of service graduation Two years Graduation Some training or less Less than butlessthan from 4-year graduate levels® 2 years graduation course work 1 2 3 + 5 6 7 20 or more years: Mean school salary”. ................ $829 $847 $937 $1,139 $1,388 $1,024 Number of teachers reporting........... (36) (163) (367) (66) (178) (837) 10 to 19 years: $778 $753 $860 $984 $1,353 $980 Number of teachers reporting........... (45) (306) (1,203) (246) (607) (2,438) Less than 10 years: Mean school salary». ................ $490 $555 $737 $902 $1,122 $821 Number of teachers reporting.......... (176) (772) (2,783) (1, 266) (1,319) (6,341 All service levels:¢ Mean echool salary®............... “ie $584 $642 $787 $922 $1,208 $876 Number of teachers reporting........ << (267) (1,274) (4,426) (1,607) (2,124) (9,822) Read table as follows: Of the teacher whose training was represented by high-school graduation or less, those with 20 or more years of school service received a mean salary of $829; those with 10 to 19 years of service received a mean salary of $778; et * Includes teachers who failed to indicate training levels. > Includes estimated money value of commodities received as partial payment for school services © Includes teachers who failed to indicate years of service. ot su exper train depet ot m ot te with ot fin incre train salar level the | and amor! expe $494 schoc bevo amo! year: uate for ence TAI 3 mal 1 hi | wom tor e 1! ucl iral n ‘al 3 1. Ni 2. Te Bo 5. El recelv salary [10] 7 & ‘ndividual states this kind of selection occurred. For this reason, as well as because of the small number of teachers reporting from some states, high degree of representativeness is not claimed for the individual state figures in ‘Table 5 Undoubtedly the averages for men and women combined are more reliable than those tor either sex alone. Training and experience of teachers—How much increase in salary, on the average, can rural teachers expect to receive for increments of successful experience? How much can they expect to receive for increments of suitable training? Upon the answers to these questions depends, in no small measure, the willingness of many able young people to make a career of teaching in rural areas. Table 6 gives the mean salary of teachers with different amounts of experience at each of five levels of training. In general, the salaries increased with increases in either experience or training. However, the differences in average salary between the lowest and highest training levels were, on the whole, much greater than the differences in salary between the lowest and highest experience levels. For example, among the teachers with less than ten years of experience, the average salary ranged from $490 for those with no training beyond high school, to $1122 for those with some training beyond college graduation. On the other hand, among the teachers who had had at least two vears of college training but who had not grad- uated, the average salary increased from $737 for those with less than ten years of experi ence, to only $937 for those with twenty or 1 more years of experience. In the latter case, the increase of $200 would amount to exactly $8 per year if distributed evenly over a twenty five yeal period. Apparently persons beginning to teach in rural areas cannot generally expect t aries to increase much as a result of added ex perience alone. ‘They can usually obtain large: salary increments by raising the level of thei: training than by merely gaining additional ex perience. Even among the teachers who had done some graduate work and who had served in the schools for twenty or more vears, how ever, the average salary was only $1388. It is probable, moreover, that most of this group were teaching either in town schools or in large open-country schools. ‘The small open country school in which a teacher can look forward to receiving as much as $1400 per year is a rarity in most parts of the nation In addition to size and low ition of the school h as sex oft the there are other factors, suc teacher, type of school position held, veneral section of the country, and wealth of the school district, which may attect the amount of salary that a teacher at any given level of training and experience may expect to receive in a rural school. To analyze the group ot reporting teachers on the basis of all such factors simul taneously, however, would be impracticable in view of the very small numbers of cases which would be found in many of the subordinate groups. Type of school position—Table 7 presents the mean salaries reported by the men and the women in five types of school position. Among TABLE 7.—MEAN SCHOOL SALARIES OF MEN AND WOMEN TEACHERS IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF SCHOOL POSITION Men Women Both sexes Mean Number Mean Number Mean Number Type of position school of school of school of salary* teachers salary* teachers salary* teachers 1 2 3 4 > 6 7 1. Non-teaching principal, supervisor, or su perintendent $2,047 51 $1,342 17 $1,871 68 2. Teaching principal, supervisor, or super- intendent 1.349 836 93 315 1.25 151 3. High-school teacher only 1.151 499 O85 845 1.047 1,344 4. Both elementary- and high-school teacher 1,017 169 816 387 x 55 5. Elementary-school teacher only 756 770 156 5.730 5 500 Read table as follows: Among the men reporting, those who were non-teaching principals, supe or r ) tendent received a mean school salary of $2,047; those w.o were teaching principals, supervisors, or superintendents received a mean salary of $1,349; et * Includes estimated money value of commodities received as partial payment for school services [11] the men, these averages ranged from $756 for those who were elementary-school teachers only, to $2047 for non-teaching principals, super- visors, and superintendents. The rank of the five types of position according to salary was the same among the women as among the men, the averages for women ranging from $756 to $1342. The average salaries of the men and the women teaching exclusively in elementary schools were identical. In every other type of position the men’s average exceeded the women’s average by a substantial amount, espe- cially in the better paid administrative or super- visory positions. The relatively low average for the men engaged exclusively in elementary classroom teaching was probably due largely to the fact that a majority of these men were em- ployed in one-teacher schools, while a majority of the women in such positions were located in the town or the larger open-country schools. Number of dependents—The number of per- sons dependent upon a teacher seldom has a direct influence upon the size of his salary, altho dependents undoubtedly have an indirect effect upon the average salaries of men and women teachers because of the tendency of married men to have more dependents than do single women. Obviously, the number of dependents is an important factor in determin- ing the teacher’s economic needs and the ade- quacy of the salary which he receives. For this reason the average salaries of rural teachers ‘A “dependency unit” represents one person wholly dependent or two persons partially dependent, the teacher himself being counted having different numbers of dependency uni: are compared in ‘Table 8. This table shows that the average salary the men increased steadily from $920 for tho with no dependents to $1320 for those w 3.5 or more dependency units, while no su trend occurred among the women. In fact, ex- cept for the group with no dependents, the average salary of the women declined slight], as the amount of dependency increased. This situation was probably due largely to the fol lowing series of factors: (1) nearly two-thirds of the men teachers were married, while almost four-fifths of the women were single; (2) there was a substantial positive relationship between size of family and length of service in the case of the married men, while this relationship was much less marked among the single women and (3) there was a tendency, especially among the men, for the teachers with the longer ser\ ice records to receive somewhat larger salaries than did those with less experience. With these points in mind, it is not surprising that the men teachers with the most dependents were get ting the largest salaries, on the average, while the relationship between salaries and depend ents among the women was slight and incon sistent. Table 8 also shows, however, that among the men as well as among the women, those with the larger numbers of dependents were less wel! off, with respect to adequacy of salaries, thar were those with fewer dependents. For th TABLE 8.—MEAN SCHOOL SALARIES OF MEN AND WOMEN TEACHERS WITH DIFFERENT NUMBERS OF DEPENDENTS Mean school salary’ Dependency units* 3.5 or more 2.5-3.0 1.5-2.0 0.5-1.0 None Read table as follows: « A “dependency unit” is one person wholly dependent or two persons partially dependent, not Mean size of familye Among the men teachers, those with 3.5 or more dependency units re $1,320: the mean size of their families (including themselves) was 5.6; and their mean salary per family member was §$ Similarly read figures for women teachers, and for those with different numbers of dependents Men» Womens Mean salary per family member Mean size of family* Mean school salary" Mean salary per family member‘ eived a mean school salary } counting the teacher > The smallest group of men contains 357 cases, and the largest group, 606 cases. © The smallest group of women contains 237 cases, and the largest group, 2,698 cases. 4 Includes estimated money value of commodities received as part payment for school services ¢ Computed by adding 1 (the teacher) to the mean number of dependency units for each group f Mean school salary divided by the mean size of family for each group. {1 rural pend posit 4 pr more the g rouy nendé subst than W ncre va — = — — ee 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 $1,320 5.6 $236 $792 5.6 $141 1,246 3.9 319 818 221 2 ae 1,147 2.9 396 823 2.7 305 — 1,076 1.8 5°8 831 489 920 1.0 920 772 1.0 772 | >. 4 m2 | the average amount of salary per family proved, so far as the men are concerned, by ver (counting the teacher as a member) providing larger salary increments than are ised from $920 in the group having no now given for increased experience. This pro pendents to $236 in the group having 3.5 or cedure apparently would not improve the sit } e dependency units. The corresponding uation so much among the single women, be nount for the women dropped from $772 in cause the family responsibilities of the young croup without dependents to $141 in the single women are likely to be almost I ; roup with the most dependents. In every de- as those of the older ones. Evidentl; | pendency group the women teachers received in addition to the need for raising substantially less salary per family member _ level of rural teachers’ salaries, thers ' than did the men teachers. for some kind of salary adjustment to avoid ; While it is not claimed that a proportionate penalizing teachers for having dependents . . . ncrease in income is needed to care adequately whether the teachers be men or women.? The for each increase in the size of a family, the question of how to make such adjustments fairly rural teachers with the larger numbers of de- and efficiently deserves careful consideration by pendents are obviously in an inferior economic — schoolboards and administrative officers, and it ry . . . . position. Their position could be greatly im- will no doubt require further research 1: 2 Further evidence on this point is given in the next section CS ic EW PUBLIC QUESTIONS are more fundamental than the framing of policies on teachers’ salaries. The payment of a fair remuneration to teachers 1 is part of the larger national problem of a fair wage for all workers. ‘Teachers n constitute an important section of the gainfully employed in the United States ; their salaries have an especially significant influence on the national welfare because of the strategic place occupied by education in the further improvement I of our American Democracy. The economic position of teachers is also impo h O tant in the recruitment of future members of the profession. It is too mu expect that a sufficient number of young men and women of the highest intel lectual and personal qualities will be attracted to a profession which cannot offer them the security, comfort, and independence promised by other lines of work.—National Education Association, Research Bulletin, January 19 36, | + [13] : In exploring the economic status of an indi- vidual or group, it is essential to learn not only the amount of income received by that indi- vidual or group, but also the way in which the income is used. How much is devoted to cur- rent living expenses? What proportion is spent for betterments, including professional activi- How much is donated to institutions or to persons outside the teacher’s family? Is anything left ties, other education, and recreation? for saving or investment, and if so, how is it distributed among such items as life insurance, real estate, bank deposits, and other forms of investment ? ‘To obtain such information from the coop- erating teachers, the questionnaire called for their best estimates of the amounts of money (including the money value of commodities re- ceived without cost to the teachers) which they used from June 1, 1936, to May 31, 1937, for the purposes listed below: 1. Food—All meals and food supplies for the teacher and dependents living with him. 2. Housing—Rent for living quarters of the teacher and dependents living with him; or taxes, interest, and upkeep if he owned or was buying his home (payments of principal on a home to be omitted here). 3. House operation and furnishings—Everything used to clean, heat, light, and furnish the teacher’s living quarters (including musical instruments). 4. Sum of food, housing, and house operation— To be reported only if items 1, 2, and 3 could not be answered separately. 5. Clothing—Purchase, repair, and cleaning of clothing for the teacher and his dependents. 6. Health—Medical and dental care, hospital or nursing service, medicines, health appliances, and accident or health insurance for the teacher and his dependents. 7. Transportation and travel—Carfare, railway or bus fare, and payments for purchase and opera- automobile for the teacher and his de- tion of pendents. 8. Allowances or gifts of money to dependents— Dependents living with the teacher, and dependent children, parents, brothers, or sisters living else- where. 9. Other donations—To persons not dependent on the teacher, and to churches, charitable institutions, and relief or character-building agencies. 10. Miscellaneous personal items—(Other than those listed above and below) including barber service, toilet articles, tobacco, stationery, children’s toys, etc., for the teacher and his dependents. reports which were unusable for various reasons. II. Uses of Income 11. Professional activities of the teacher—Profes sional literature, membership in professional orga; zations, professional courses, etc. (cost of travel to be omitted here). 12. Recreation and nonprofessional education— All social, recreational, and educational expenses for the teacher and his dependents, except expens included under item 11 above (cost of travel to | omitted here). 13. School or classroom supplies—Furnished at the teacher’s expense because of the school distri failure to provide them. 14. Life insurance and annuity premiums—For the teacher and his dependents (including amounts paid into, or deducted for, a teachers’ retirement fund). 15. Payments of principal on a home or other real estate—For the teacher and his dependents. 16. All other amounts saved or invested during the year—For the teacher and his dependents banks, stocks, bonds, loans to others, etc.). 17. Repayment of old debt—Payments of principal and interest on debt incurred in a previous year for the teacher and his dependents (except payments on a home or other real estate). It was realized that many of these items would be difficult or impossible for most teach ers to report with perfect accuracy, and that some teachers would be able to give only rough estimates. To provide a partial check on this point, each teacher’s report was examined with respect to the amount of discrepancy between the sum of the above items (total money spent or saved) and the total receipts for the year (receipts including money borrowed or with drawn from earlier savings, as well as current income from all sources). In 52 percent of the white teachers’ reports this discrepancy (if any) was not more than 5 percent of the total receipts; in 12 percent of the cases it was be- tween 5 and 10 percent of the total receipts; and in 31 percent of the cases it was more than 10 percent of the total receipts.! A comparison then total amount of average total receipts reported by each of these three groups. The difference between these was made between the average money spent or saved and the averages was less than 3 percent for the teach- ers whose individual reports showed discrep- ancies of 10 percent or less, while it was about 10 percent for the teachers whose individual reports showed discrepancies of more than 10 percent. It was therefore decided to include the The remaining 5 percent of the white teachers either failed to report anything about their uses of money, or submitted [14] 1 3. 2 | repod val sent \ cern sing usud won 3) a ally. ried of tl t arat 2 TAI F | H = 5. 7. N 8. 9. P 10. O D Mear mean A b d e ‘a h — snorts of the tormer group, and to exclude was little ditterence between the ts those of the latter group, in tabulating the men and women having the same marital statu data on uses of income for presentation in this and similar living arrangements report. This procedure reduced the number ot l‘o show the rel ition between use OT income 4 ; , »vailable cases materially, but it is believed and several tactors other than sex "i that the increased accuracy of the data pre- status, and living arrangements, the group of , sented fully justines the exclusion of nearly a single women rooming and boardin Is usec third of the teachers’ reports. because t is the largest. Data fe thi oul Most of the information in this section con are shown according to type of school, size of cerns tour principal groups ot teachers: (1) income, number ot dependents, and length of , single women living with relatives at less than school service. For the other thre oups of usual rates for room and board, (2) single teachers no differentiation is made on the basis 3 or women rooming and boarding at usual rates, of these factors. its ? l } 1] 5) singie women renting liomes person nt sae Comparison of Single Women and Mar ' and (4) married men renting homes person : ;, ried Men in Certain Living ] \ ] | er ally.2 As a rule, data for single men and mat > Arrangements ried women are not included for two reasons: "9 1) the number of usable reports from each Amounts used for specific purposes lable 9 ot these groups was too small to justify a sep shows both the amounts and the percents of 4 al arate present ition of results : and (4) there mean income used tor ear h ot thirteen specifi , 2 Not sharing the operating costs with any other per purposes Dy the four groups of tear hers men ts TABLE 9.—MEAN AMOUNTS OF INCOME USED FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES BY " MEN AND WOMEN TEACHERS IN VARIOUS LIVING ARRANGEMENTS . Single women Single women Single women Married men living with rooming and renting homes renting homes h Use of income relatives* boarding personally personally = Is Amount Percent Amount Percent Amount Percent Amount Percent i} l 2 3 4 5 6 7 s 9 nN A 1. Food $155 16.7 $179 1.5 S758! 5 8 $358 2. Housing 50 5.4 R6« 10.3 150! 15.0 is 1 3. House operation 60 6.5 17 ».1 69t 6.9 150 10 ¢ Total for tood, housing, and l house operation 65 28.6 282) 33.9 477 47 690 {8 t 4. Clothing 130 14.0 140 16.8 111 11.1 128 0 5. Health 47 5.0 40 1.8 74 7.4 ate ( e ’ 6. Transportation 153 16.5 84 10.1 110 11.0 0 141 Money to de] len 31 3 3 40 18 45 4.5 I 8. Miscellaneous personal items 29 3.1 29 3 5 »3 23 43 2 0 ] 9. Professional activ 33 3.6 8 34 10. Other education and recreation 33 3.6 26 1 11. Donations to nondependents 10 3 40 i 8 »9 ».9 3¢ 12. School supplies 11 9 0.9 10 0 13. Surplus? 156 16.8 120 14.4 73 7.3 10 ( Total current income $928 100.0 $832 100.0 $1,000 100.0 $1. 41¢ 00.0 ’ Number of teachers 264 1,733 152 ¢ Mean number of dependency units 0.6 0.5 1.2 $ Read table as follows: The single women living with relatives who reported t expenditures received a c of which $155 or 16.7 percent was used for d, $50 « + percent for | $ 5 percent { I : " mean number of dependency units for th up was * At less than usual rates for roon urd b At usual rates ; © Not sharing the cost of maintaining the home 1 iny other pers¢ 4 Estimated on basis of only 125 cases in which t em was report ; ¢ Estimated on basis of only 618 cases in which t tem was reported | f Estimated on basis of only 127 cases in which em was report . & Estimated on basis of only 54 uses in wh ely : h Excess of mean total income over the sum of mear e ) 1 Based on only 241 cases in which this item was r , J Based on only 1,487 cases in which this item wa Kk Based on only 145 cases in which this item was 1 ! Based on only 565 cases in which this item was 1 | [15] tioned above. Before comparing these figures for the different groups, it should be noted that the average income ranged from $832 for the single women rooming and boarding to $1416 for the married men renting homes, and that the average number of dependency units ranged from 0.5 in the former group to 2.4 in the latter group. Both of these factors have an important bearing upon the use of income. It should be noted also that the separate figures for food, housing, and house operation are less reliable than the figures for these three items combined, especially in the case of single women not maintaining homes, because not all of the teachers were able to report the three items separately. In spite of their larger incomes, both the single women and married men renting homes used a considerably larger proportion of in- come for food, housing, and house operation than did the single women living with relatives or rooming and boarding. This may be ac- counted for largely by the much greater re- sponsibility for dependents and the larger living quarters of the teachers renting homes. How- ever, the men renting homes used only a slightly larger proportion of income for the three items than did the women renting homes, altho the families of the former were half again as large as those of the latter, on the average. This sit- uation apparently would not have been possible had not the men received an average salary which exceeded that of the women renting homes by about $400, or 40 percent. For clothing, the single women. living with relatives and those rooming and boarding spent more money, in spite of their smaller incomes, than did the teachers who rented homes. They also spent more than the single women renting homes for donations to nondependents, mis- cellaneous personal items, and recreation or nonprofessional education, while devoting less to health care and allowances to dependents. ‘The transportation expenses of the women liv- ing with relatives were much higher than those of any other group except the men renting homes. Subtracting the average current expenditures for all purposes from the average current in- come of each group, we find that the average surplus was greater for both groups of teachers not maintaining homes than for either group renting homes, in spite of the higher inc of the renters. The difference was greatest tween the single women living with relat and the single women renting homes, the { mer having an average surplus of $156 as « pared with only $73 for the latter. Four major uses of income—The pro, tions of income devoted to four major purpos —living expenses, betterments, giving, saving (surplus) may serve as a rough measu: of the degree of balance in an individual’s p| of living. While there is no absolute standa; for the wise use of money, current living e) penses obviously should not be so large, or cu: rent income so low, as to prevent the allocatio: of reasonable amounts to betterments, givin and saving. As shown in Figure III, the ave: age living expenses of the four groups of teac! ers ranged from about 70 to 84 percent of th average incomes. The percent so used was hiv! est in the two groups of home renters, and |o\ est in the group of single women living wit! relatives. Conversely, both groups not mai: taining homes devoted slightly larger propo: tions to betterments and to giving, and muc! larger proportions to saving, than did the hon renters. The average amount for betterment ranged from 5 to 7 percent; for giving, fro 3 to 6 percent; and for surplus, from 7 to 17 percent. The proportion of annual income saved n be appraised in terms of the retirement incom: which it will provide if continued thruout thi teacher’s period of active service. Compound interest and life annuity tables show that man must invest approximately 20 percent ot his income at 3 percent annual compound in terest each year for thirty-two years in orde: to provide himself with a life annuity at a; fifty-five equal to 80 percent of his averay: income during the period of saving.’ A woman would have to invest a similar amount for somewhat longer period to achieve the same result, because the life expectancy of middl« aged women is greater than that of men. Such a standard for saving was not being maintained by any group of teachers represented in Figure III, and it was not even closely approached b) those maintaining homes. Attention should be directed also to the mea ger amounts spent for betterments (professiona! activities, other education, and recreation ® Davis, Horace W. Money Sense. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1934. p. 168-70, 242, 246. [16] ese. Did omes spend omes sidere¢ ently | entin wome!l than t tives ¢ I nting ul creat nd omes! mpro\ ‘ | } | | 4 vt 4 4 4 4 | imounts ranged, on the average, trom mcorme \ not enous h to omy 248 in the group of single women rooming and — the difterenc the family respor of ng to $70 in the group of married men — these grouj x homes. It is difficult to see how a teacher Analysis of saving, investment eep well informed professionally and at = ment of a How do rural teacl ume time provide adequate cultura! and part of their incomes which is not current creational opportunities for himself and hi paid out for living expenses, bett endents without spending larger sums than — giving? Table 10 itemizes the average am ese. which the four groups of teachers said tl cde Did the teachers use so much of their in voted to (1) life insurance and annuity 1 mes for living expenses because of unwise miums, (2) payments of principal ot spending habits or because of inadequate in- estate, (3) other savings, and (4 omes? While there may have been room for on debt incurred in a previous year. ‘| mprovement in money management, the in of these reported amounts for each grouy omes of most rural teachers can hardly be con- considerably larger than the avera irplu sidered sufficient to provide a well-balanced shown in the two preceding tabl ( he program of living. The situation was appat average surplus is a met figure in which th ently least satisfactory among those who were — surpluses of some teachers are partially offset enting homes, whether married men or single _ by the deficits of teachers whose current exper women, altho their average incomes were higher ditures exceeded their incomes. These deficit than those of single women living with rela- must have been met either by borrowing or by tives or rooming and boarding. The difference withdrawing money from savings accumulated FIGURE III USES OF INCOME BY WHITE RURAL TEACHERS, 1936 - 37 Single women living with relatives at less than usual rates for room and board Single women rooming and boarding at usual rates Single women renting homes personally Married men renting homes personally o 200 400 600 800. 1,000 1,200. 1,400 7,600 INCOME IN DOLLARS KEY bed Living expenses: food, housing, house operation, clothing, health care, transportation, allowances to dependents, and mis cellaneous personal items. Betterments: professional activities, other education, and recreation. Giving: donations to nondependents, churches, charitable institutions, etc., and purchase of school supplies for pupils 9 Surplus: Excess of current income over the sum of “living expenses,” “betterments,”’ and “giving.” Based on Table 9 Research Division, Mational Ed eT 70° 7% 6% 17% 14 6% 6% 14° + | 84 4% 1% 84 5% 3% B% 17] earlier. In addition, some teachers found it nec- ing debts other than on real estate. Very essary to borrow in order to meet life insur- on the average, was paid as principal on ance or real estate payments. Table 10 there- estate. Among the single women not mainta fore shows also the average amount borrowed ing homes, about one-half of the average to or withdrawn from earlier savings—a figure savings or repayments was classified as ‘“‘ot! which must be subtracted from the average savings,” while a much smaller proportion \ reported under this heading by the teach; who were renting homes. The average total of reported savings o1 total amount saved, invested, and repaid, in order to obtain the average met increase in sav- ings (the average surplus). While the net increase in savings is the most payments varied from $189 or 23 percent significant single figure, the gross amounts re- income for single women rooming and boa ported as saved or repaid under various head- ing, to $262 or 18 percent of income for 1 ings are of interest for comparative purposes. ried men renting homes. These amounts \ For example, the average amount invested in offset, however, by average borrowings or wit life insurance or annuities ranged from $39 or drawals ranging from $69 or 8 percent of 5 percent of income for the single women room- come in the former group to $155 or 11 perce: ing and boarding, to $99 or 7 percent of income of income in the latter group. The resulti: for the married men renting homes. Amounts figures for average surplus, or net increas: as large as or larger than those for life insur- savings, have been discussed in connectidn wit ance or annuities were used to reduce outstand- earlier tables. | TABLE 10—MEAN AMOUNTS SAVED OR INVESTED, PAID ON OLD DEBT, AND BORROWED OR WITHDRAWN FROM EARLIER SAVINGS DURING THI YEAR BY MEN AND WOMEN TEACHERS IN VARIOUS LIVING ARRANGE MENTS Married men renting homes Single women living with Single women rooming and Single women renting homes relatives* boarding» personally° personally* Financial items — Percent Percent Percent Percent Mean of Mean of Mean of Mean of amount income t i amount income amount income 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1. Saved, invested, or repaid: (a) Life insurance and annuity premiums... ead F $41 4.4 $39 4.7 $61 6.1 $99 7.0 (b) Real estate payments (prin- 13 1.4 11 1.3 11 15 1.0 (c) Other savings. . eee 120 13.0 91 10.9 52 $.2 49 aus (d) Payments on old debt 53 5.7 48 5.8 68 6.8 99 7.0 $227 24.5 $189 22.7 $192 19.2 $262 18.5 2. Borrowed or withdrawn from ear- —71 —7.7 —69 —8.3 —119 —11.9 —155 -10.9 Net increase in savings (surplus)¢. . . . $156 16.8 $120 14.4 $73 7.3 $107 7.6 Total current income $928 100.0 $832 100.0 $1,000 100.0 $1,416 100.0 Number of teachers. . 264 152 576 Mean number of dependency units 0.68 0.5¢ 1.2« 2. 4h Read table as follows: The single women living with relatives reported a mean income of $928, of which $41 or 4.4 percent was used for life insurance or annuity premiums, $13 or 1.4 percent for payments on real estate, etc., the total amount saved invested, or repaid being $227 or 24.5 percent of income. However, this group borrowed or withdrew from earlier savings $71, on the average, thus leaving a net increase in savings of $156 or 16.8 percent of income. * At less than usual rates for room and board. » At usual rates. © Not sharing the cost of home maintenance with any other person. 4 Excess of total amount saved, invested, and repaid over the total amount borrowed or withdrawn from earlier savings. This net figure is the same as the excess of current income over total current expenditures, shown as ‘‘Surplus’’ in Table 9 * Based on only 241 cases in which this item was reported f Based on only 1,487 cases in which this item was reported. ® Based on only 145 cases in which this item was reported. » Based on only 565 cases in which this item was reported. [18 ] 2 poses en : hoo scr tor tions a teach mo schor Asa tem: Call Ith was teac 7 TAI 4 3 ag = 1. F 3. & 5. I ] 10. 11. 12. % Tot Nur Mez 4 nco tion — Ss Comparison of Teachers in Different those in one-teacher schools, and therefore used od Types of School 18 percent of their average income for this pur e tot Tables 11 and 12 show the average amounts ee ee ired to only 15 percent of income - in the case of the teachers in one-teacher ot} nd percents of income used for various put ‘ ny noses by single women teachers rooming and schools. Both groups had the same av ’ ache warding who were employed in three types of —S - dependents. tool. The outstanding point in Table 11 is Lable | summarizes, for these same gro Ips Oo that the higher incomes of teachers in the large of wwe the percents of average income de ent schools were paralleled by larger expenditures voted sehen = aed bett rments, ne 02 for certain important items, so that the propor and surplus. Like ‘1 able 11, it shows no — , tions of income devoted to such items by these ©" fo! = teachers in the larger schools to mI teachers were about as large as, and in some “© smaller proportions of theit re €s 101 ses larger than, those used by teachers in the CUrTent than did the teach om maller schools. For example, the average total teacher schools, tho ing ne mount spent for food, housing, and house op schools were considerably higher. ‘This tact hk ation was $90 higher for the teachers in town leads ge or both of the followin — g a schools than for those in one-teacher schools. —— |) that the eg a identica oods and \s a result, the percent of income used for these Services were § enerally higher for the iche q tems by the town teachers (33.6) was prac in town and larger open-country schools than tically the same as that used by the other group, for those in one-teacher schools; (2) that tl Itho the average income of the town teachers standards of living maintained by the te hers was the higher by $273. For clothing, the town in town and larger open-country schools were teachers spent 68 percent more dollars than did higher than those maintained by teachers TABLE 11—MEAN AMOUNTS OF INCOME USED FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES BY SINGLE WOMEN TEACHERS ROOMING AND BOARDING WHO WERE Ps LOCATED IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF SCHOOL es 2-or-more- a 1-teacher schools teacher schools Towns under 2,500 of Use of income in open country in open country in population ome 0 Amount Percent Amount Percent Amount Percent 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 $1368 20.8 $178 1.1 $20 /.0 Housing 665 10.1 10.7 10 House operation Qa 3.0 0 2.4 i¢ Total for food, housing, and house +9 tion 22 9) 34 9 31? v 4. Clothing... ; 98 15.0 13 16.4 165 Health 36 5.5 1? 5.0 42 j Transportation 65 9.9 95 11.3 86 3 7. Money to dependents 30 1 6 53 6.3 41 14 8. Miscellaneous personal items 3 5 30) 36 33 4 Professional activities 18 8 6 ‘ 0. Other education and recreation 18 » 2 $1 0 11, Donations to nondependents 31 1.7 ty) 4.8 1 ) 12. School supplies 11 ot 10 1 , Uv 3 Surplus¢ 10? 15.6 100 11.9 1349 0 - Total current income $654 100.0 $841 100.0 $927 100.0 en Number of teachers ‘ 484 840 ed Mean number of dependency units 0.5: 0.7! 0.5 or Read table as follows: The single women rooming and boarding who were located in one-teacher school I ncome of $654, of which $136 or 20.8 percent was used for food, $66 or 10.1 percent for rent, $20 or 3 yercent for ‘ er I tion, etc. The mean number of dependency units for this group was 0.5 This * Estimated on basis of only 118 cases in which this item was reported separate > Estimated on basis of only 131 cases in which this item was reported separately © Estimated on basis of only 358 cases in which this item was reported separately 4 Excess of mean total income over the sum of mean current expenditures © Based on only 440 cases in which this item was reported f Based on only 321 cases in which this item was reportec ® Based on only 704 cases in which this item was reported [19] | = the smaller schools. Unfortunately, data are not available for determining precisely the relative influence of these two factors. It is reasonably certain, however, that many goods purchased in stores were bought in the same stores by teachers from all types of school. Moreover, other data obtained in this survey indicate that housing conditions were generally better among teachers in the town and larger open-country schools than among those in one-teacher schools. For these reasons it seems likely that the larger expenditures of the teachers in the larger schools were due more to higher living stand- ards than to higher costs of identical commo- dities, altho the latter no doubt exerted some influence, especially in the case of expenditures tor food. It will be noted also that while the percent ot average income available as surplus was no greater among the town teachers than among those in one-teacher schools, the amount of money available under this heading was larger for the former group than for the latter. In general, therefore, there is little reason to doubt that the larger incomes of the single women teachers in the larger schools gave them a real economic advantage over those in the smaller schools. On the other hand, the incomes of the former were not large enough to permit them to achieve a better balance in their use of in- TABLE 12.—MEAN AMOUNTS OF INCOME USED FOR FOUR MAJOR PURPOSES BY SINGLE WOMEN TEACHERS ROOMING AND BOARDING WHO WER! come than did the latter, because of the what higher standards and costs of among the teachers in the larger schools. Comparison of Teachers at Different Income Levels Under similar conditions with respect to of living and number of dependents, one w: expect the percent of income used for li) expenses to decrease rapidly as the income it increases beyond the level necessary to pro a reasonably good standard of living for class of persons under consideration. ‘That large majority of the single women teach: who were rooming and boarding were pr ably not able to maintain such a standard indicated in Table 13, which compares t! teachers at four income levels with respect the proportions of income used for living e) penses, betterments, giving, and surplus. ‘T} proportion for living expenses dropped from percent for the teachers receiving less than $8\) to 71 percent for those receiving $1600 or mor The smallness of this decrease was undoubted! due largely to a combination of higher stand ards and costs of living among the teachers ceiving the higher incomes, since these teache: had little if any greater responsibility for pendents than did those with the smalle: comes. If the higher-paid teachers had felt sat LOCATED IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF SCHOOL 1-teacher schools in open country 2-or-more- teacher schools in open country Towns under 2,500 in population Use of income _— - Amount 1 2 1. Living expenses*® $474 Betterments> 36 Giving® 42 4. Surplus" 102 Total current income $654 Number of teachers aks er 484 Mean number of dependency units 0.5¢ Read table as follows: The single women rooming and boarding who were located in one-teacher schools received a ncome of $654, of which $474 or 72.4 percent was used for living expenses, $36 or 5.6 percent for betterments, et number of dependency units for this group was 0.5. ® Includes food, housing, house operation, clothing, health, items Percent Amount Percent Amount Percent 3 4 5 6 7 72.4 $646 76.8 $679 73.2 5.6 45 5.3 55 5.9 6.4 50 6.0 54 5.9 15.6 100 11.9 139 15.0 100.0 $841 100.0 $927 100.0 383 840 0.7! 0.5 transportation, money to dependents, and miscellaneous perso: » Includes professional activities, other education, and recreation. © Includes donations to institutions and to nondependent persons, and cost of school supplies furnished by teacher 4 Excess of mean current income over the sum of mean current expenditures. * Based on only 440 cases in which this item was reported. * Based on only 321 cases in which this item was reported. * Based on only 704 cases in which this item was reported. 20 | ( ‘ ore ain ghe ent s | > res or ch > ng ist, q In PI “4 Be Sy 4 4 rent th the physical standards of living which ye maintained at the lower income levels ms likely that they would have used con- ibly smaller proportions for living ex es, and larger proportions for betterments ing, or saving. While the percent saved in sed from 12 to 21, the proportions used for tterments and giving either remained con nt or decreased slightly as income increased. Since the lower-paid teachers were located ore often in the smaller open-country schools, may be contended that they did not need to aintain as high standards of living as did the gher-paid teachers in the larger schools. This mntention may be true so far as the require ents of the community were concerned. It is little validity, however, so far as the de res and the welfare of the teachers If teachers in were mncerned. small open-country chools cannot improve their standards of liv n l where they are, many of them, as in the ist, will seek better-paying positions elsewhere TABLE 13—PERCENTS OF MEAN INCOME USED FOR FOUR MAJOR PURPOSES BY SINGLE WOMEN TEACHERS ROOMING AND BOARD- ING WHO RECEIVED DIFFERENT AMOUNTS OF INCOME Income level as soon as they can quality themselves for such positions Comparison of Teachers with Different Numbers of Dependents Other factors being equal, one woutd xpect the proportion of income used for | ne ex penses to increase, and the proportion a il le ror betterments, giving, and Saving to aecrease, as the number ot 14 shows a among rooming dependents la rer. tendency in this direction singtie teachers vhnho wert women nd boarding. The percent to living expenses rose from 69 in tl up having no dependents to 82 in the group havin 1.5 or 2.0 dependency units. It failed to rise any higher, however, in the group having 2.5 or more units of dependency. Variations in in come cannot have aftected this trend materially, as the mean incomes of all four groups of teacl ers were between S800 and $875, and there w no clear-cut relation between numbe1 of de pendents and size of average income As the number of dependents increased, there was a slight drop in the proportion of income spent for betterments, a slightly larger decrease TABLE 14.—PERCENTS OF MEAN INCOME USED FOR FOUR MAJOR PURPOSES BY SINGLE WOMEN TEACHERS ROOMING AND BOARD- $800 $1,200 $1,600 ING WHO HAD DIFFERENT NUM- Use of income Below to to or BERS OF DEPENDENTS $800 $1,199 $1,599 more i 2 3 4 5 Dependency units Liv expenses® 73 .¢ Use of incom 2.5 or tel nts 5.8 5.8 None 0.5-1.0 1.5-2.0 more Giving? 6.5 5.8 Surplus 12.4 14.9 15.2 0.8 1 2 3 4 5 urrent it me $615 $942 $1,332 $1, 87* x 69.0 ) uc he 847 02 159 5 ». Be 5 3 G ( +1 f depend 4. Si 17.2 13 0.5 0 0 I $8) SRO ] hle as ] “he s le w n ad table a follow The 861 ( ho received incomes below $8 had a of which 75.3 percent was used Me t for betterments. ete The mean numbe de icv unit 0.0 0 1 3.4 7 this group was Includes food, housing, house operat th Rea Th é rtation, money to dependents, and miscell W 1 tems whi \ 1 n Includes professional activities ducatior é ett Ir 1S¢ Includes donations to in » m I i lepende and ns, and cost of school suppli tea I Excess of mean total income ove me I 1 the litures Based on only 715 cases in which this item was reported I n ler Based on only 614 cases in which this item wa f * Based on only 134 cases in which this item was rep¢ Ex me er tl er Based on only 24 cases in which this item was reported expend f livit it hat che evoted rd TI $80) no wad her at SES ‘RI 4 at Hic [21] in the proportion for giving, and a considerable may be attributed in part to the fact that th, drop in the percent available as surplus, espe- older teachers had slightly greater respons cially between the group with no dependents _ ties for dependents. It indicates also that st and that with 0.5 or 1.0 dependent. ards or costs of living on the material side we, These data support the conclusion that, be- probably somewhat higher among the o cause their incomes were little if any higher, on teachers. Whatever their causes, the highe: the average, the single women teachers who had ing expenses of these teachers resulted in dependents were at a distinct disadvantage eco- poorer balance between such expenses and +] nomically in comparison with those who had amounts used for other purposes than was fou no dependents. This disadvantage was appar- among the younger teachers. It may be co; ently felt with respect to both the amounts of cluded, therefore, that the economic advantage money saved and the standards of living main- of the older single women was, to say the least tained by the teachers with dependents. The far from commensurate with their longer exp balance between the amounts used for living rience in teaching. expenses and those available for betterments, giving, and saving was also less satisfactory Variations in Amounts Used for Specific among the teachers with dependents than Purposes by Individual Teachers among those without dependents. The information thus far presented on t! use of teachers’ incomes has been in the for of averages only. Some idea of the variability i: the amounts used for specific purposes by ind Table 15 shows that while the older and vidual teachers who were rooming and boar more experienced teachers among the single ing is given in Table 16. For example, in ¢! women rooming and boarding received higher case of food, housing, and house operation con incomes than did the younger ones, they failed bined, the amounts ranged from less than $5 to achieve a satisfactory distribution of income to more than $500, the median being $279 among the four purposes listed. Practically all Twenty-two percent of the teachers spent les of their additional income was used for living than $200 while 18 percent spent $400 or mo: expenses; little or none of it was devoted to for these items. betterments, giving, or saving. This situation For every other purpose except clothing an Comparison of Teachers with Different Amounts of Experience TABLE 15.—MEAN AMOUNTS OF INCOME USED FOR FOUR MAJOR PURPOSES BY SINGLE WOMEN TEACHERS ROOMING AND BOARDING WHO HAD SPENT DIFFERENT PERIODS OF TIME IN SCHOOL SERVICE Length of school service Below 10 years 10 to 19 years 20 or more years Use of income - Amount Percent Amount Percent Amount Percent 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. Living expenses* ; $591 73.2 $702 76.6 $743 77.1 2. Betterments>. 49 6.1 51 5.5 43 4.5 48 6.0 52 5.7 58 6.0 4. Surplus?...... ‘ 119 14.7 112 12.2 119 12.4 Total current income ; ; $807 100.0 $917 100.0 $963 100.0 Mean number of dependency units 0.5¢ 0.6! Read table as follows: The single women rooming and boarding who had spent less than 10 years in school service received mean income of $807, of which $591 or 73.2 percent was used for living expenses, $49 or 6.1 percent for betterments, etc. T! mean number of dependency units for this group was 0.5. ® Includes food, housing, house operation, clothing, health, transportation, money to dependents, and miscellaneous person items. > Includes professional activities, other education, and recreation. © Includes donations to institutions and to nondependent persons, and cost of school supplies furnished by teacher. 4 Excess of mean total income over the sum of mean current expenditures. © Based on only 1,136 cases in which this item was reported. f Based on only 253 cases in which this item was reported. ® Based on only 65 cases in which this item was reported. 3 ida 4 Be ‘one Ay t$ ces crs ce ees Rss res 6Z71$ 6/73 t tt O¢ 6t ORS gis Si 66-06 IRt 6s I I ) RSI ¢ S 9 Z I 61 9¢ 9 89 8 é t t OF S 66f-0S¢ ) t 1Z ¢ 16 66F-OSF al 97 t I 9! t 091 10 st eT Il ol 6 ® 9 I sjuowAed sumnmmoid soyddns sjuapued sure}! sjuspued uoneiedo po jo Ayinuue -apuou pue yeuosied -ap 0} -suvly asnoy pue pue 0} uonvonpe snoaur] pue junoury 1290 ‘poog SHSOdaNd AOA GAusn ‘ . AAZNOW AO OL DNIGHOOOV DNIGAVOd ANV DNINOOA SHAHOVAL AO ATAVL [ 23 ] transportation, a majority of the teachers used less than $50. However, for each purpose ex- cept miscellaneous personal items, professional activities, other education and recreation, do- nations to nondependents, and school supplies, a few teachers reported amounts of $500 or more. The proportion of teachers devoting less that $50 to each item was as follows: food, housing, and house operation combined, 0.3 percent; clothing, 9 percent; health, 74 per- cent ; transportation, 46 percent ; money to de- pendents, 75 percent; miscellaneous personal items, 80 percent; professional activities,’ 86 percent; other education and recreation, 79 percent; donations to nondependents, 72 per- cent; school supplies, 98 percent ; life insurance and annuity premiums, 71 percent; real-estate payments, 96 percent ; other savings and ir ments, 53 percent ; and payment of old de! percent. The wide spread of individual expendi: for these purposes reflects to some extent varied desires and needs of rural teache well as differences in cost of living betw different areas and types of community. P marily, however, the variation in expenditur is undoubtedly due to differences in the amo of income received. While there probabl) ways will be, and should be, considerable \ tion in the salaries paid to individual teac! for a variety of reasons, it is unfortunate f the schools that so many teachers have so lit: money for purposes which are essential t well-rounded program of living. gir lin st its tepen ce EISURE, itself a by-product of money, is absolutely essential to mental and : physical vigor. The teacher must have time for reading and study, time _ for recreation and diversion, time for cultural interests, and time for travel. If t the teacher’s salary is so low that she must either devote her out-of-school hours TE to making her own clothes, doing her own laundry, cooking, and cleaning, or else take on odd jobs to help defray expenses, she will have little time and less — energy for those outside interests which would contribute to her effectiveness in the classroom. Teachers whose nerves are worn to a fine edge by mental and physical exhaustion, by too much routine and too little diversion, cannot have the patience, the tolerance, and the infinite sympathy which are essential to successful work with children.—Elsbree, Willard S., Teachers’ Salaries, Teach- $5,000 00K ers College, Columbia University, 1931, p. 4. 00 00 40% = | t 4 r l i | A ~ & 4a ‘ a Ss “ke [24] III. Value of Property and Extent of Indebtedness One of the most important aspects of an lual’s economic status is the amount of vealth which he has accumulated for use 1n encies or afte reaching the retirement [lo obtain a significant measure of such th, it is necessary to considet both the \ ilue { property and the extent of indebtedness ax nulated by the individual. The cooperatin; achers were therefore asked for the following ms of information as of April 1, 1937: perty owned 1. Total estimated market value of home and her real estate owned by the teacher and his d: ndents (full market value regardless of mort yn the property Total present value of personal property mging to the teacher and his dependents house iid goods, clothing, automobile, etc., but mot in uding bank deposits, insurance policies, or othe vestments). Total present value of all savings and invest ents, such as bank deposits, stocks, bonds, notes, tirement deposits, etc., for the teacher and his pendents (except life insurance policies +. Total face value of life insurance policies in rce for the teacher and his dependents (value if insured person should die ndebtedness 1. Total amount of indebtedness accumulated by e teacher and his dependents (including money TABLE 17.—NUMBER OF TEACHERS PROPERTY AND borrowed but not repaid up to April 1, 193 veep amount Ui n rea state mortga 2. Tota nt still owed on re stat gages by the teacher and his d 1 The data thus obtained for whit teachers are presented in the follow page Amounts Reported for Each Type of Property and Indebtedness lable 17 show in addition to t ( unount reported for each type of prop I indebtedness, the number of teachers re porting each amount sted in column 1. ‘Tl mnie amounts for the four types of property nec from $350 in the case of savings and inve ments other than life insurance, to $1454 in th case of | te imsurance poli ies. On the the hand, the teachers owed an average of $243 o1 real-estate mortgages, and had other debt ( aging $201. Obviously, these figures do n indicate a very high degree of economic security tor rut il teac hers ; ‘The aver is a group. wes, of course, do not tell the hol story. Nearly three fourths of the teach had no real estate. Only 22 percent had as much $1000, and only 5 percent reported SSO00 o more under this heading. In the case of personal HAVING DIFFERENT AMOUNTS INDEBTEDNESS Property Indebtedness Personal Amount property Savings and Life except investments insurance Money owed’ Balance owed Real savings and except life policies except on on real-estate estate investments insurance face value real estate mortgages 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 $5,000 or more 43¢ 43 71 604 11 4,000-4,999 171 2 $1 33 3,000—3 ,999 320 109 62 516 1 ?,000-2 444 370 180 54 5? 1,.000-1,999 588 1.412 445 488 34 800-999 98 180 136 . 123 600-799 740 238 3 15 400-599 144 1.433 571 519 +4 00-399 05 1.810 1.123 10 1.040 1-199 59 1,258 1,724 ' 1,359 6 9 1.35 4.445 1 5. 460 l number reporting 9.033 9 034 9 036 034 039 4 Mean amount $876 $638 $350 1.454 $201 Read table as follows: Of the 9 teachers reporting the « n, 4 lr estate ilued a , | reported real estate valued at $4, $4, ' ; etc., the mean ar t I ein ® Total estimated market value regardless of mortgage n the prope 25] | | property other than savings and investments, 71 percent of the teachers reported amounts of at least $200, but 15 percent had nothing and nearly one-half had less than $400. About one- half had no savings or investments (other than life insurance), and only 19 percent reported as much as $400 in this category. Life insur- ance shows up somewhat better, but can hardly be considered adequate for the protection of the teachers’ dependents. While more than half of the teachers had policies of at least $1000, only 15 percent had as much as $3000 and 7 percent had $5000 or more of insurance. The proportion without any life insurance—38 per- cent—corresponds closely with the proportion having no dependents. The other side of the picture shows that 40 percent of these teachers had debts (other than amounts owed on real-estate mortgages), and that a majority of those having such debts owed at least $200. Real-estate mortgages were re- ported by 13 percent of the teachers, and in about half of such cases the amount still owed was $1000 or more. Table 18 presents, for the teachers of each sex and marital status, the mean amount of property and indebtedness of each type, of all types combined, and of total net assets except life insurance. Life insurance was not included in the computation of net assets because only the face value, and not the cash surrender yal, of insurance policies was known. With respect to these averages, the tot group of men stood uniformly higher than +} total group of women, altho the differenc were not especially striking except in the cas of life insurance. In general, the differences }y tween the single and the married teachers 0; each sex were much larger than those betwee; the sexes, due probably to the fact that the ma; ried teachers had been in school service mu longer, on the average, than had the sing! ones. The average assets of the married teac! ers were the higher except in the case of mon saved or invested by the women, and in th case the difference was very small. Of special interest are the figures for lif insurance and for total net assets other tha insurance. The average face value of insurance: policies ranged from $986 for single women t $3101 for married men, while the net total o! other assets ranged from $992 for single me: to $2176 for married women. Total Assets and Liabilities of Teachers Having Different Amounts of Experience As shown in Table 19 and Figure IV, lengt! of teaching service was a much more influentia factor than sex in determining total net asset: TABLE 18—MEAN AMOUNTS OF PROPERTY AND INDEBTEDNESS ACCUMU.- LATED BY THE TEACHERS OF EACH SEX AND MARITAL STATUS Men Women Type of property or indebtedness All All Both Single Married Single Married men women sexes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Property : 1. Home and other real estate*............ $563 $1,225 $630 $1,591 $986 $838 $876 2. Personal property (except savings and in- 609 1,035 447 937 881 553 638 3. Money saved or invested (except in life insurance) ..... 288 419 347 322 372 342 350 4. Life insurance policies (face value) : 1,643 3,101 986 4,837 2,574 1,062 1,454 Indebtedness: 1. Money owed (except on real-estate mort- 2. Balance due on real-estate mortgages... . 201 381 150 461 316 217 243 Total property (except life insurance) er $1,460 $2,679 $1,424 $2,850 $2,239 $1,733 $1,864 Total indebtedness. ........ —468 —738 —292 —674 —641 —374 —444 Total net assets (except life insurance)........ $992 $1,941 $1,132 $2,176 $1,598 $1,359 $1,420 Minimum number reporting on any type>...... 846 1,497 5,238 1,450 2,343 6,689 9,033 Read table as follows: Among the single men reporting on these questions, the mean amount of ieal estate owned was $5 the mean amount of personal property (except savings and investments) was $609; etc. ® Total estimated market value regardless of mortgages on the property. > A few teachers reported on some types of property or indebtedness but not on others. [ ? 6] T. er. q 3 | is ot | | ve | : n | : tl | mit fi ler valy he tot than tl flere; the is nces be chers oj betweer he n muc! men t otal ot e me! chers TABLE 19—MEAN AMOUNTS OF PROPERTY AND INDEBTEDNESS ACCUMU- LATED BY MEN AND WOMEN TEACHERS WITH DIFFERENT AMOUNTS OF EXPERIENCE Men Women 1 to9 10 to 19 20 to 29 +30 or more 1 to9 10 to 19 20 to 29 300rmore Property or indebtedness years’ years’ years’ years’ years’ years’ years years’ service service service service service service service service 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ) property (except lifeinsurance)| $1,452 $3,199 $4,857 $4,784 $1, 206 $2 $3. 841 $4 indebtedness 505 843 1,063 760 309 168 631 351 net assets (except life insur 947 3,794 4,024 1,891 3,210 nsurance policies (face value 1,995 3,765 3,863 >. 190 RRR 1.403 5 Minimum number reporting on any 1,500 573 189 55 1.702 $48 Read table as follow Among the men with 1 t yea chool s« e wh , ted on these que yroperty (except life insurance) was $1,452 the mean total indebtedne wa 5505: et | proj © A few teachers reported on some types of property or indebtedness but not ther other than life insurance. Among both the men _ tributing causes: (1) older persons g ind the women, the average amount oft such have less need tor life insurance than do those issets increased steadily with length of service. in the intermediate age range because of th In each case the teachers with 30 or more years decreased responsibility for dependents; and of service had more than four times as much (2) when the older teachers were at the no! wealth, excluding insurance, as did those with mal ages for buying life insurance, this form only 1 to 9 years of service. of protection was not so popular as it has be The face value of insurance policies showed come in recent years. 1 sharp increase from the first ten-year service Probably the most important conclusion to period to the second, but only a very slight in- be drawn from the data just presented is that rease from the second period to the third, and the assets of even the older teachers were in i sharp decline for the teachers of 30 or more adequate as a basis for retirement from teach vears of service. The latter group (among the ing. The average net cash value of all asset men as well as the women) reported little or possessed by the wealthiest group of men in no more insurance, on the average, than did ‘Table 19 could hardly have exceeded S6000. the group with only 1 to 9 years’ service. At while the corresponding amount for the women each service level except the highest, the aver- could hardly have been more than $4500. At we value of insurance reported by the men was present rates the former amount at age sixty higher than the average net total of their other will purchase a straight life annuity of about issets. On the other hand, the value of insur- $485 per year for a man, while the latter ance held by the women was lower at each amount will purchase an annuity of about $325 service level than the net total of their other per year for a woman at the same age.' ‘These assets. annuities are far below the average yearly The small number of teachers with 30 or amounts used for current expenses by the mat more years of service raises a question as to the ried men and single women teachers, respec reliability of the averages for such teachers. tively, as shown in the preceding section of this However, the consistency of the trends for men bulletin. Moreover, it is difficult to see how and for women indicates that the figures prob- rural teachers could provide themselves with ably have considerable significance. The rela- adequate retirement incomes on the average tively small amounts of insurance carried by salaries reported in this survey, even by the the older teachers may have at least two con- most careful management of their money 1 Based on data furnished by a large mutual life insurance company. The yearly payments include estimated dividends for the first five years. — 4 sing] 1 tea } mone in thy x for lif urance enct! entia assets MU- xes 8 876 638 350 154 01 5 43 44 : 20 = [271 FIGURE IV MEAN FINANCIAL ASSETS OF WHITE RURAL TEACHERS ON APRIL 1, 1937 30 or more years’ service TIT 20 to 29 years’ service 1 to 9 years’ service 20 to 29 years’ service 10 to 19 years’ service 1 to 9 years’ service 7,000 1.500 9,000 2,300 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 ASSETS IN DOLLARS KEY eRe Net assets (value of property minus indebtedness) except life insurance. NHI Face value of life insurance policies. Research Division, National Education Association Based on Table 19. +O LL it et | | | | Fil | | | mol Vas Ey 4 nt | \ yt no aS 30 or more years’ service ct — [ 28 ] Total Assets and Liabilities in Relation to Home Maintenance and Ownership [t is interesting to compare also the average of teachers in different situations with t to home maintenance and ownership lable 20 shows that average net assets othe life insurance varied from $876 for the not maintaining homes, to $4089 for the ot ers who owned their own homes clear Of the two groups falling between these ) extremes, the teachers with mortgages on homes had net assets about two and one lf times as great as those of the teachers who iintained homes but neither owned nor were ying their homes. In each of the three groups uintaining homes, the average face value of fe insurance policies was close to $2000, while mong the teachers not maintaining homes it vas approximately $1000. Evidently the average teacher who neithe: wned nor was buying a home could not afford to buy such property if he so desired. Even those who owned or were buying homes appar- ‘ntly found it necessary to hold their purchases f life insurance to a very low figure, consider the number of dependents for which they vere responsible. One wonders how, except for iaving a roof over their heads and the small cash value of their insurance policies, teachers could hope to meet serious eme ncie in the present or to live comfortably after re tron ictive service. tiring TABLE 20—MEAN AMOUNTS OF PROPERTY AND INDEBTEDNESS ACCUMULATED BY TEACHERS IN VARIOUS SITUATIONS WITH RE SPECT TO HOME MAINTENANCE AND OWNERSHIP Teachers maintaining homes Owning With Not Teach homes mort- owning ers not Property or indebtedness clear pages or main 4 of on buying taining debt homes homes homes l 2 3 4 5 Total pr surar $4.41 $4,705 $1.68 $1.1 T ] } 3 1.643 } Total net life insu 4,089 3.062 1 ( I insu ey ! 1,914 1,999 | O4 M iz on ‘ 596 621 1,81 Read table a \ the t ] es clear le 1 these i ilue i wa ean i i ©" A few teache eported or ome type a debtedne but not other which all of the factors affecting the economic we EACHERS ORGANIZATIONS should have a definite program in ‘Ifare of teachers are taken into account. It is not sufficient to concentrate upon the problem of teachers’ salaries or some other one phase of financial security. Attention should be given to ways and means of improving the status of salaries, insuring continuous em ployment during efficiency, budgeting one’s income wisely, saving money and investing it soundly, providing protection against loss of earning power, pro- viding access to credit facilities at reasonable cost, and protecting one’s property against loss. All of these topics may profitably be made subjects for group study in local associations, and some of them offer splendid opportunity for the estab lishment of actual plans for the relief of teachers in economic need. Education Association, Department of Classroom p. 180. National ‘Teachers, Sixth Yearbook, In planning this survey, the Committee felt that the statistical picture of economic condi- tions among rural teachers, as given in the pre- ceding sections of this bulletin, would be clearer and more significant if it could be viewed against a background of the teachers’ own re- actions to their economic problems. Conse- quently, the final page of the questionnaire was set aside for teachers’ comments on, and inter- pretations of, the facts reported in the earlier pages of the blank. The teachers were asked to indicate, especially, any advantages which they were unable to afford and which they “missed keenly” in 1936-37, including: 1. Material things, such as better clothing, an automobile, etc. 2. Professional advantages, such as attendance at summer school, professional books or magazines, etc. 3. Cultural advantages, such as nonprofessional books or magazines, educational trips, attendance at theaters, concerts, etc. About half of the teachers made use of the space reserved for this purpose. Some of their statements were too brief to throw much light on the teachers’ individual problems; some were perfunctory in tone and failed to carry conviction; but others lent color and reality to the factual data reported. While space per- mits the inclusion of only a few of these state- ments, it is believed that those reproduced be- low will give the reader a better understanding of the difficulties with which rural teachers were confronted in the year 1936-37. Each of the twelve statements included here is accompanied by certain basic facts drawn from the teacher’s detailed report. Teacher A This teacher was a young unmarried woman with six years of teaching experience, of which only one had been spent in her 1936-37 posi- tion in a one-teacher school. She had had some professional training at the college level but not as much as two full years, the completion of which would entitle her to “life” certifica- tion. Her school salary was $440—the only in- come which she received from any source. Out of this amount she managed not only to pay for her board, room, and other living expenses during the school year, but also to give a little ! Excess of property over indebtedness. IV. What Rural Teachers Think about Their Economic Status [ 30] money to her parents and younger brothe: sisters, with whom she lived on week-end during the summer. This left little or no gin for recreation or for professional imp; ment. She was not a member of any profe, sional association. In 1936-37 she distributed her income « the following items: Food and housing $195 Clothing Health Living expenses Transportation 22 | 83 percent Cash allowances to de- pendents 45 Miscellaneous personal items 15 } Professional activities 5 Other education and \ Betterments a5 | cent of incom: School supplies not fur- nished by school dis- aS estes 6 Giving 2 pert Other donations to non- | of income dependents ..... $3 Excess of current income over current expendi- tures | Surplus = 8 perce: | of income 35 J Total current in- come $440 Net assets’ other than life insurance $ 52 Face value of life insurance policies 1, The teacher’s own account of her difficulties is brief but convincing. Teacher's own statement—I am the oldest of eleven children. The family is on relief and the relief payments are so inadequate that | must supplement them as far as I can. Last summer we did not get relief and, in spite ot what I could contribute, we did not have enough to eat. I am trying to pay for the educational ad vantages which I have had, by helping the younger members of the family. They must have clothes and I have saved $35 for this purpose. This is not enough, but it is all that I have been able to put aside up to the present. I myself need glasses and dental work, which I must do without in order to eat. I ought to take out health insurance, for I have no one to fall back on in case of sickness. As far as professional growth is concerned |] am ucly syumn By 70 a ee : \ ith ntl any 134 In ld re! sumi rin; sour vee ccu 1 sf it a Ira vas Mi it Pro Od Do e Ex t ( Ne a Om ym standing still, which probably is not con icive to my continued success as a teacher. If y | could have atterded summer school last wmmer, and again this summer, | could qual- for a ‘standard”’ certificate. This certificate ssued on a “‘life’”’ basis and would afford me t least a measure of security fer the future. Teacher B Widowed at twenty-four years of age, and vith two children to support, this teacher has tinued her professional education thruout yny years of school service. She completed requirements for her bachelor’s degree in 134 and did some work at the graduate level. She was a member of her state and local edu tion associations in 1936-37. In that year, as a teacher of English in a llage high school on a salary of $720, she was thankful to be able to maintain a home for her iidren and contribute to the support of het rents and an aged grandparent. During the summer she earned an additional $72, thus ringing her total current income from all uurces up to $792 for the year. However, cut ent expenditures of $1037, plus the retirement f previously contracted indebtedness to the xtent of $250, made necessary the incurrence and a withdrawal from totaled f new indebtedness ccumulated savings which $495. The teacher’s expenditures in 1936-37 were together s follows: od, housing, and house peration $460 thing 200 alth 85 | Living expenses lransportation 175 126 percent Cash allowances to depend- of income ents 65 Miscellaneous personal items 10 Professional activities 10 \ Betterments 4 Other education and recrea- percent of in tion 20 | come Donations to nondepend- Giving 1 per ents 12 cent of income Excess of current expendi- tures over current in- come —245 Deficit 31 per cent of income Totai current income $792 Net liabilities ? (disregarding life insurance) Face value of life insurance policies * Excess of indebtedness over value of property. According to this teacher's own statement, given below, she and her children lived mod estly but happily on their meager income. Sh took a philosophical view of a situation which compelled continued borrowing in order t make ends meet Teacher's own statement—l began teachin: in a one-teacher school in 1918, when I wa: seventeen years of age, at a salary of $21 month. ‘This was in an old, dilapidated church where it was necessary to open an umbrel] when it rained. Next I obtained a position in a two-teache1 school at $35, and later at $50 per month. ] continued to teach, altho I was married in th meantime, until the spring of 1921, a few months before my daughter was born. My son 1922, and before he was two months old my husband, who was als tool his place as principal of a two-teacher school was born in November a teacher, was taken seriously ill and He never regained his health, and I continued to teach in rural schools until his death in 1925 when I found myself twenty-four vears old with two children to rear, and practically ne education beyond high school. By borrowing money I was able to go t summer school each year until I had earned my B.A. degree in 1934. For two years that I had served as principal of an « yeTore ht teacher consolidated junior high school. After obtaining my deg supervisor with the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, and took some postg: ree | was given a plac duate work in social service. On being dismissed fron the FERA, in the high school of this town. For the | was elected as teacher of English forct i time, I was able to take my children with me The girl is now a junior, and the boy a sopho more, in high school. We have a very modest little apartment. | have to help support my parents and grand father; therefore, with my meager salary, we have to be more than economical. But we very happy and have few troubles other thar financial ones. My philosophy is, “If you can help a thing, do it; otherwise, don’t about Teacher C was a married woman who hai This teacher completed twenty-eight years of teaching ex perience by the end of 1936-37. She had had tus no ne nses =7 pe 1.0 : I ties dest and it | OF 2 ave ad ust lat it. ’ ch Worry | to | d [ 31] more than two years of college training for Teacher's own statement—l am a her work, but not enough to fulfil the require- woman with two children. My husband ments for a degree. She was a member of her a small pension. He is a disabled soldie: state and local education associations. In her able to do chores about the home. As | position as teacher of both high-school and ele- afford to hire help, I have taught scho M mentary grades, which she had held for ten cared for my home and children, w vears, she received an annual salary of $1080. jroning, sewing, and even gardening } Her husband, a disabled war veteran, received summer. a yearly pension of $600, bringing their joint Many of the items of expenditure w income up to $1680. They had two children. have reported are higher than they wo De In 1936-37 they were making payments on jf my husband were teaching and if I were } the home in which they lived. In addition to to devote all my time to the house. \ her schoolwork, the teacher had the entire care as well as my husband, has been sick of the home and of the personal needs of her deal, requiring medical care, expensive 1 family. She owned an automobile of ancient ines, and special foods. This means less n vintage, in which she traveled the = miles for meeting other needs. | am at a disadvan between her home and her school, sharing I properly, and I have 1 operating expense with others. Phat little a had a vacation in eighteen years. F:; » bare necessities was available . ; is ible the I had no money for college in the first | samily ¢ = cvicent and what college training I have had data summarized below. These show a deficit , SFP | | oan? gained by teaching for a while and then atte: ou of $225 in income as compared with current . , og ‘op ing school. I want to take a course in sum: pa expenditures. This deficit was met by borrow- school to bring myself up to date with resp: ing $200 and withdrawing $25 from accu- 5 to teaching methods in my field, but fo: mulated savings. past eight years I have been unable to t ex’ Food, housing, and house even a correspondence course because | c li operation “— not spare the small sum required. I have t his Clothing 00 | fa all my life to get a degree. Since I have tau sta Health 400 | Living expenses tog ta deg l'ransportation 125 = 108 percent Successfully in larger cities, | could obtai: Cash allowances to de- | of income position, I feel sure, as head of a departme: cal pendents 30 in a larger system if only I had a degree. 1a Miscellaneous personal me ‘Semana a7 I want, more than anything else, to send : 7 children to college. But the question is, how ™ Professional activities 10) Betterments = 3 an Other education and recre- | percent of in- Teacher D ation so J come in} An unmarried man in his second year ot no Donations to nondepend- “i Giving ae Pet- school service, this teacher in 1936-37 earn tre ents ( cent of income a salary of $765 a year in a village high scho it ' , On this salary he was able to live and to wi Excess of current expendi- Deficit = 13 hy over eheit = I3per- off a part of his previously incurred indebt: > cent of income : ra come -225 ness, as well as to give a little financial assis ance to two partial dependents. He found = Total current income. $1,680 however, that he was unable to afford suita)! clothing, or an automobile in which to “‘escap | Jet assets ife i $2,300 sa Net assets other than life insurance $2,3 occasionally from the community in which Face value of life insurance policies 1,000 tu was teaching. He had a college degree, b . . - Al The greatest concern of this teacher, as stated his intention of postponing further ed a shown by her statement below, was a lack of cation until he was free from debt. He did 1 money to provide educational advantages for belong to a national, state, or local educativ' herself and her children. A relatively large part association. of the family budget necessarily consisted of A summary of his expenditures in 1936 . expenses for medical care and medicines. follows: [ 32] 2.) Ca 5 2 tr ind housing $384 50 | sportation 50 | Living expenses ( illowances to depend 68 percent ts 20 of income Miscellaneous personal ms ~ Betterments 2 Professional activities 15 percent of in come Lvsiving less Donations to nondepend than percent ents 5 of income Excess of current income Surplus 29 over current expendi percent of in tures 223 come Total current income $765 Net liabilities (disregarding life insurance $ 235 Face value of life insurance policies 1,000 > Of the $223 surplus of income over current expenditures, $205 was used to repay previ ously incurred indebtedness, $11 was used to pay an insurance premium, and the remaining $7 was saved. In his statement, which follows, the teacher expressed his dissatisfaction with the level of living which he could afford to maintain, and his sense of isolation from other parts of the state. -On salary | can buy only the cheapest kind of clothing. | Teacher's own statement my have been unable to repay money which I bor rowed in order to attend summer school last year; therefore, I do not intend to go to school any more until I am out of debt. As for a car, to say that I have missed hay ng one would be putting it mildly. There is no bus service thru this town, and only two trains stop here. One of these trains goes east it 5 o'clock in the morning, and the other goes west at 12:15 at night. how much I have wanted a car. However, From this you can see the railroad section hands have cars. It begins to look as if a college education is a luxury from which one can expect no financial return. Theoretically, a teacher should receive a salary large enough to enable him to live a cul tural life. Salaries paid teachers in this town are barely sufficient to provide the everyday necessities. Teacher E This was a married woman who, in 1936-37, had completed ten years of teaching service. For a number of vears she had been unable to attord summer school attendance, and sh ething less than two full y +} level. of training at he professional educ ation as completed son college She \ member of three tions local, state ind national Her teaching position, which she had he ror siX Vears, Wa one-teachet scho whet she received a salary of $810. Her husband health Was poo! but he Was able to work the farm, and dur ny the summer oft work for income ot $20 was realized f did some outside which he w A net the farm during $120. the year, bringing the joint income of husband and wife up to S950 They had one child. Altho paying for a f ot their they lived on a rented tf 1936-37. in own, ordet that the teacher n it De near her school. The rented house contained central heating plant but fe veniences. Expenditures reported by are summa! ized below Food, housing, and house operation $545 Clothing 80 Health 235 Living expe lransportation 300 12 t Cash allowances to depend of incor ents 6 Miscellaneous personal items 21 Professional activities 8 Betterments } Other education and recre percent fin ation 30 come School supplies not fur nished by school district 3 Giving 1 per Other donations to nonde cent of income pendents 10 Excess of current expendi tures over current Deheit otal current income $950 Total net assets (no life insurance $1,329 In addition to spending their current income of $950, the family a total of $548 during 1936-37 borrowed and withdrew trom Of this amount, $288 was used to pay current Savings expenses in excess of income, and the remainde: was applied on the purchase of the farm, or the payment of other debt, and on the purchase of new farm machinery and livestoc! thout he expected to improve their situation somewhat These people were forced to do wi | many material and cultural advant ives by moving soon to their own farm 1d q | a n in we ay ‘ cou all ] how 3 2 Tr hoo 4 fed SSist i ‘ [ 33] Teacher's own statement—We have been living on a small rented farm for the past six years. In August 1935 we made a first payment on a farm of our own—sixty acres—but have not lived there because snow is too deep in win- ter to permit me to travel as far as my present school. Now, however, I have secured a school only a quarter of a mile from our own place, so we will have no rent to pay next year. We have been paying $60 rent each year, as well as $35 in taxes on our own farm. My husband worked out last summer, mak- ing $120. We keep four or five cows, some pigs, chickens, and two horses. Last year we sold $300 worth of cream, but as we fed the cows ninety sacks of oats and fifteen tons of hay, we really made very little on them. Of course we had our own milk, butter, and eggs. Our little boy had to be operated on for appendicitis last summer at a cost of $150, with hospital expenses of $50. He is not strong; neither is my husband. So we have lots of extras to buy, such as cod liver oil and oranges, which may seem to be luxuries but which I consider necessities. My husband hasn’t had a new suit for six years. We drive a Model A 1929 Ford, which we bought this winter for $175 and then spent $40 to repair. I have not been able to save money for summer school since 1933, when I last attended. We should like to give our little boy—eight years old—music and books, but cannot afford it. Teacher F A school principal who received a salary of $1400 in 1936-37 found it insufficient for meet- ing the needs of himself, his wife, and one child. He was forced to supplement this salary with $550 earned during the summer months. He also added to his available funds by borrowing. Of his seven years in school service, two had been spent in the position which he held in 1936-37. He had a college degree and had com- pleted some professional training beyond col- lege graduation. He was a member of his state teachers association. The family lived in a rented home which was centrally heated and provided with elec- tric current, but which was without running water and all other modern conveniences. The principal was paying installments on an automobile which he used in connection with his schoolwork. His expenditures were reported as follows: Food, housing, and house ) operation ... $ | Clothing Health Transportation g5 | = 89 Cash allowances to de- [ of income pendents Miscellaneous personal items Living expenses percent Betterments percent of in Professional activities Other education and recre- ation come School supplies not fur- nished by school district 2 pe Other donations to nonde- cent of inco pendents Excess of current income -_ | Surplus = 1 px cent of incon over current expendi- \ 28 | Total current income $1,950 tures Net assets other than life insurance Face value of life insurance policies While the current expenditures of this pri: cipal’s family came within his total income ot $1950 (but not within his school salary ot $1400), he had to borrow to meet obligations previously incurred, including insurance pre miums. Of the $227 borrowed, $205 was used in meeting these obligations. According to his statement below, this prin cipal, like others in the same section, con tributed large amounts to the local school sys tem in the form of transportation expense. He also pointed out that the state in which he wa employed made no provision for the economic security of teachers after retirement or for thei: security of tenure during active service. Teacher's own statement—While I need to go to summer school and have desired, for the past four or five years, to improve further m\ professional qualifications, | have had to wor! whenever I could find an opportunity in orde: to keep living. I have denied myself and my family clothes, entertainment, and many o! the better things of life in order to pay for an automobile which I use a great deal for th school. I spend far more in transportation than for any other item. Half of this travel is fo: the school, for which I do not get a cent. Altho this travel is not absolutely required, all othe: principals in this locality do it, and it seems necessary in order to keep the job going. If al! [ 34] oO! on wl th ‘ no | ot | LO} th $ 62 WI scl ‘ 27 1 pl tal a * DO fa ca pr as Cl Pr Or Di penses ne of in tems of expense for the school were taken care of. it would mean a substantial saving to me. One of my greatest criticisms of the school system in this state is that there is no provi- sion for old-age pensions and no tenure law. As a result, many teachers work for a year in one place, and then have to move on to an other. All the teacher gets is what he is paid while he works. Young men are taken into the profession, used as long as they are useful, and then turned out, after giving the best years of their life to the service, to try to find some other means of livelihood. It takes all I can make, winter and summer, to live. What will become of me when I am no longer wanted as a teacher? The only thing to do, as far as I can see, is to get into some other profession in which | can work for a longer period, and in which I can save some thing for the future. Teacher G This is the case of a young unmarried woman with two years of teaching experience, both of which had been spent in the same one-teache1 school. Altho the possessor of a bachelor’s de- gree, she received a salary of only $450 in 1936- 37. An additional $35 was earned during the this gave her a total in $485. She lived within part of the indebtedness ummer vacation, and come for the year of this income, paid off a previously contracted for the purpose of ob- taining an education, made annuity deposits retirement system, and a $1000 life insurance policy. She received no financial help from her n the state teachers paid the premium on family or from any other source. During the school year she rented a room in a house lo- cated one-half mile from her school. This house provided no modern conveniences. This teacher’s expenditures in 1936-37 were as follows: Food and housing $185 Clothing 30 — Living expenses Health 50 na rransportation 70 of income Miscellaneous personal items 2 | Professional activities 3) Betterments = 1 Other education and recrea- percent of in- tion 2 come Donations to nondepend- Giving = 3 per- ents 15 cent of income 5 Excess of current income Surplus 26 over current expendi- percent of in- tures 128 come Votal current income Net liabilities (disregarding life insurance $ 178 Face value of life insurance policies he $128 surplus, shown above, included $50 used for the repayment of debt previously contracted, $56 for annuity deposits and an in ) surance premium, and $22 for othe Savings In her own statement the teacher contrasted the living standards which she would like to maintain with her actual way of life. in which unable to afford suitable clothing to she Was wear to the district teachers meeting. She was a member of the local teachers issociation only Teacher’ s “7 to have a little home. There W ill be a plano to statement—Sometime | hop practice on and no one to be disturbed by the noise. There will be a bed with a mattress and springs, instead of a straw tick on wooden slats There will be built-in bookcases, instead of books piled on the floor. Last vear I saved s+ Vhat will be there, too, and it will contain unbleached and bought an unpainted chest of drawers muslin and cotton prints to be made into school clothes—and yes, even some better cloth so that I can go to the district teachers meeting. [ went thru college wearing any,old clothes that came my way, but I’m not going to any thing bigger than a county institute until I can look fairly respectable. I hope sometime to have a car in the low price field, money enough to run it, and even enough money for a little recreation. In the last two years I’ve gone nowhere that required money, and about the only things I’ve bought which could have been avoided were the chest of drawers mentioned above, a one dollar plant for my grandmother who was sick, an Easter lily for an aunt who is seventy years old, and a ten dollar violin for a girl who had a chance to obtain lessons free. Teacher H This woman teacher was divorced and had She had schools of her state for more than twenty vears. one son to support. taught in the and had held the same position as elementary school teacher in a village of less than 1000 inhabitants for almost eighteen years. = Ico of of pre used rin ron SVs mi : heir to the m\ ork ? det oT the an For ho le! 4 ms all [ 95 ] She did not have a college degree but had completed more than two years of training at the college level. She was a member of her state teachers association. Her salary in 1936-37 was $75 per month for nine months, or $675 for the whole year. Except for about $50 in food products from her mother’s farm, she received no income from any source other than her school salary. The teacher and her son lived in a rented home, with no conveniences except electricity. Following is a summary of the expenditure data which she reported: Food, housing, and house operation Clothing 75 | Health 350 | Living expenses Transportation 30 | = 129 percent Cash allowances to depend- | of income ents 15 Miscellaneous personal items 6s | Betterments = 1 Professional activities 64 percent of in- come School supplies not fur- nished by school district 5 Other donations to nonde- pendents ) Giving =, 3 per- cent of in- 18 J come Excess of current expendi- Deficit = 33 tures over current income —239 percent of in- come Total current income $725 $ 300 1,700 Net liabilities (disregarding life insurance) Face value of life insurance policies To meet the current deficit of $239 and to pay the premium on a life insurance policy, the teacher borrowed and withdrew from her savings a total of $364. Her inability to meet the unexpected cost of illness without borrow- ing produced a feeling of anxiety which was undoubtedly detrimental to both her health and her teaching. Teacher's own statement—It would be im- possible for me to attend summer school in view of the other demands made upon my meager salary. During the past year my son, who is in high school, had acute diabetes and was in a hospital for one month, critically ill. I myself have arthritis and am under a doctor’s and a dentist’s care. My drug bill for insulin alone is $1.25 per week, not including alcohol, cotton, and hypodermic needles. The bill for medicine for both myself and my son averages [ 36 ] about $3 per week. My eyes failed this and so I have had still another expense. Hospital, doctor, and dentist bills hav: about robbed us of clothes and a livable hy The meager salary which teachers receiv: not permit provision for meeting emer; expenses. Many uneducated laborers are b paid than teachers. Teachers, harassed financial worries, do not have a chance to their best, which I am sure they all want to I am now forty-seven years old and been teaching for more than twenty yea: have been economical, have cut expenses and there, have lived in a home without m ern conveniences, and have denied myself m cultural advantages. Now, after all the st: gle, I am in debt. This is a hasty explanation from a depress: and worried teacher whose son wants to gi college next year. I still hope to see him grad uate, and to see the day when I shall ow: small home with modern conveniences. Teacher I A married man with fifteen years of schoi experience, this teacher 1936-37 in a six-teacher school located in th: open country. He held a master’s degree an was a member of his state teachers associatior He received a school salary of $1100, which h had to supplement with income earned during the summer vacation in order to provide fo the needs of himself and his wife and child In the summer of 1936 he earned $350, thus bringing his income for 1936-37 up to $1450 The family managed to live within this in come, but their rented house was without co: veniences except for electric current, and the) did without many of the things which help t: make life worthwhile. The teacher was fre: from debt, except for doctor and hospital bills of $150. Data on the family expenditures are given was employed below: Food, housing, and house operation $ 825 | Clothing 125 | Health 150 | Living expenses ‘Transportation 100 > = 87 percent Cash allowances to de- | of income pendents 50 Miscellaneous personal items 15 | ma | | | | tha oma ea | | Lo “Ss, | K- q m | vie | ne | chi 19: She m<¢ OW! nses cent > ynal activities 10 Betterments 2 education and rec- percent of in tion 15 come supplies not fur- 1 by school district 5 Giving 2 per donations to nonde cent of income lents 25 ss of current income Surplus 9 pel er current expendi- » cent of incom es 130 lotal current income $1,450 Net assets other than life insurance $ 35 ice value of life insurance policies 2,000 The teacher whether he and thers similarly situated could be expected to questioned naintain a proper professional spirit when ractically all their time and attention were taken up with the struggle for existence. His statement follows. Teacher's for me to find work during the summer in own statement—lIt is necessary rder to provide fuel to keep my home warm n winter, and sufficient clothing for me to wear when I am teaching. My current expenses eep me at the task so continually that travel r further education during the summer months : out of the question. Fortunately, I received I do not believe attend school now for that purpose. For the past two ny master’s degree in 1933; that I could afford the time or money ti ears 1 have been unable to reduce further the tor and hospital bills which I incurred in e summer of 1934. The supply of current magazines and pro tessional literature in my house is at a mini um, and many other worthwhile things must e entirely eliminated. My car now is six ears old and badly needs replacing. These naterial things may seem unnecessary, and ich one alone would possibly be insignificant. Collectively, however, they are of the utmost importance in the life of a teacher. It appears to me that not only I, but also other teachers similarly situated, are having a very hard strug gle to retain the spirit and self-respect that a member of the teaching profession should have. Teacher J This teacher, a married woman with three } ] Ll ildren, received $720 during the school year 1936-37 for teaching in a one-teacher school She earned an extra $170 by teaching in sum mer school during the vacation months. Her [37 husband’s earnings amounted to increasing the current Tamilv income ft t vear to SIS9O0 The fan expenditures durin ire summarized below: Food, housing, and house operatior Clothing Health 10 Living Transportation 300 101 Cash allowances t de ) pendents 350 Miscellaneous personal items Professional activities 2 Betterment Other education and ree percent { reation 15 come School supplies not fur nished by school district 5 Giving 1 pe Other donations to nonde cent of incom pendents 10 Excess of current expendi cit tures over current in = cent I come 5 Total current income $1,890 Net assets other than life insurance $1.85 Face value of life insurance policies } lo meet the excess of current expenditures over income, and to pay the premiums on life insurance, $97 was withdrawn from the fan ily’s accumulated savings. As shown above, the total income of this family from all sources was more than doubl the amount of the teacher's own salary. How ever, while both the family income ($1890 and the family) $1947) were con siderably above the average for expenditures rural teache1 families in 1936-37, this teacher's statement indicates that her family able to in was not dulge in many luxuries. She expected to move soon to another state, and to leave the teach ing profession permanently because she believed that economies effected as a result of her full would more management of the home than offset the time loss of her salary as teacher. Teacher’ -We have not had in food or good times that we own Statement the “extras”’ needed. We have not been cold or wet for lack of clothing, but I would have liked silk stock ings occasionally instead of cotton, and better than homemade cotton dresses for myself and the girls (two in high school). My boy, also Lis AV | crf d wit Ex = to t to : d } t mod ITESSE got | PTad scho dit in the atior ich h q uring 10 child thus 1450 the, lp te : bills iven rural | in high school, wore overalls all winter while many of his classmates had tweeds or “cords.”’ I am not going to teach next year, nor again at all. My husband has gone to an adjoining state and found steady work at better pay. | have liked teaching and hate to leave the pro- fession, but I think I can earn more by staying home and keeping chickens and a cow or two, by canning fruits and vegetables, and by having time to provide my family with more home- made luxuries. Teacher K This teacher was an unmarried woman who taught high-school grades in a six-or-more- teacher school in the open country. She was a member of both the local and the state asso- ciations of teachers. Altho she had completed three years of graduate study and had had previous experience in college teaching, she received only $1120 during the school year 1936-37. By money earned in summer school teaching, she brought her total receipts from teaching up to $1200. She reported having one total dependent and one partial dependent, the latter contributing $300 to the family income and thus raising it to a total of $1500. The teacher’s home, which was equipped with all modern conveniences, had once been fully paid for, but was again encumbered with debt in 1936-37, and she was struggling to pay off this debt. She owned no automobile and traveled the twenty miles between her home and her school by motor bus. Hér expenditures for the year were as follows: Food, housing, and house operation Clothing Health Transportation Cash allowances pendents Miscellaneous personal items Living expenses > = 84 percent to de- of income Betterments — 3 percent of in- come Professional activities Other education and rec- reation Giving = 1 per- 10 cent of income Donations to nondepend- ents Surplus = 12 percent of in- come Excess of current income over current expendi- tures 180 Total current income $1,500 Net assets other than life insurance Face value of life insurance policies Of the surplus shown above, $165 w vested in life insurance. The remainder, , bined with $85 withdrawn from savings, \ used to pay $100 on the indebtedness on home. This teacher blamed public selfishness stupidity, as well as a shortsighted schoo! ministrative policy, for the economic situati of teachers in her community. Teacher's own statement—lI appreciate th opportunity to present a few statements < cerning conditions which are typical not . of my own situation, but also of the situati: other teachers of my acquaintance. First, we live in an area where the ric! of the land produce fine crops and lives rather than fine intellects. The mental satisfaction of the district results in the struction of school buildings which are b: tiful to look at. Splendid efforts are made ¢ pay off the debt on these buildings, but salary cut of the depression has not been : stored to teachers and prices are about t! same, locally, as in pre-depression years. In a community as rich as this, an income o: $1120 is completely inadequate for the maint nance of a family and the pursuit of such a tivities as give even a minimum of intellectua growth and self-respect. If I had not alread finished three years of graduate study I wou! be even worse off, for | could not now reser) enough money to pay the expense of summ school attendance. I, like some of the me: have a family to support. It cannot be done or a basis of security at the present level of sal aries. I am unable to afford an automobil (and so waste time waiting for buses) ; or cook, to take over the household duties whic! members of my family are unable adequate! to assume; or trips, to provide the recreatio: needed to stimulate my mind and portant) my disposition and nerves. ‘There is little hope of cutting off the debt on my home altho home ownership provides the most eco nomical means of housing my family. In short the administrative policy and low salary lev in this district create a sense of futility and loss of self-respect. A brilliant young woman of my acquain tance who loved her own community but wh was free to get away, did so when a position (very in [ 38 Pipe Une mu | ‘al ‘m el k Pri for och Ch n ‘ 100 25 150 pol wh 20) 20 J 4 mim me! ne ol vhic! jatel atio! In pened which had a future. The community This ounty does not realize that it is driving away lost one of its greatest assets. rs most valuable human assets by its policy of naintaining fine buildings at the expense of its teachers, who are mere “slaves” to the com- Unfortunately some school adminis rators are willing to sacrifice their faculties in rder to cater to public popularity by exhibiting vidences of so-called thrift. The above is offered as an unexaggerated statement of a situation as shameful as it is ommonplace in our public schools. It is my earnest hope that the National Education Asso- iation will find interest in forcefully attacking these problems in communities where they xist. Teachers acting as individuals without protection, who are dependent upon arbitrary mployment for even the necessities of life, are elpless. The National Education Association, like the American Association of University Professors, can be beneficial as an instrument for publicizing unfair practices. Teacher L A young unmarried woman, this teacher in 936-37 earned $464 teaching in an elementary school in a village of less than 1000 inhabitants. She had completed two years of college train- ng and was working toward a degree. She was member of her state and local teachers asso ations. For support she depended only partially on rt salary from teaching. During the year she ‘ceived $300 from her mother, $210 of which vas in the form of free board and lodging. The school district provided her with free trans- portation between her home and her school which was five miles away. Following is a summary of the expenditure data which she reported in 1936-37: Food and housing Clothing Health lransportatior Miscellaneous items Living expenses personal Professional activities Other education and recrea tion Donations to nondepend ents Excess of income over cur! expendi tures Total current income. $764 Net liabilities (no life insurance) $113 The figures reported by the teacher show excess of $39 in current income over expenditures. ‘his surplus was used towari the repayment of previously contracted in debtedness. Because of the financial aid received from relative, this teacher did not lack material con forts. She found her income insufficient, how ever, to provide for the professional develop ment which she desired, or to permit savin, for future economic security. Teacher's own statement—lI cannot say that [ especially missed any material advantages dui mother, | ing the past year. Living with my do not pay for board or laundry, and imply try to stretch my income to cover my othe: expenses. I attend one summer school term each year and would like to attend two so that | might get my degree more quickly. When | degree, I can draw a larger salary. I am still in debt for my teacher training and am anxious to get that paid off. get my\ Thus far in my career I have been unable to make any savings or investments for sickness. accident, or old age. $210 >5() : 5 Was tr >) 73 percent ES, W 25 : on SO Be tterments 17 percent of 5 ESS an income ad tuatio: (riving > pel 4 cent of income ate th cent of come it On| 39 4 tion of ° — riche self 3 cor } ade t ut tl en of lainte ch At ectu: : read voul SSery t sa robil or ; re is ome = eco hort leve nd a | lain whe ition [ 39 ] a V. Summary of Facts and Conclusions The survey on which this bulletin is based obtained information from rural teachers in twenty representative states for the year 1936- 37. The following aspects of teacher status were investigated: (1) professional status; (2) family responsibilities and living conditions; (3) transportation facilities; (4) cultural, rec- reational, and economic opportunities; and (5) financial status, including school salaries and other income, uses of income, value of prop- erty, extent of indebtedness, and reactions of individual teachers to their financial problems. The preceding sections’ of the bulletin have presented detailed information for white teach- ers on the last of these topics—financial status. This concluding section summarizes the find- ings for these teachers under all five of the topics mentioned above. The summary is ar- ranged in three parts: (1) a brief, generalized picture of the rural teacher and his environ- ment, (2) a tabular review of differences in teacher status according to type of rural school, and (3) a discussion of outstanding points and their implications. A Composite Picture of the Rural Teacher The following description of the white rural teacher is based very largely on the responses of the entire reporting group. It does not usu- ally take account of differences associated with such factors as sex, marital status, and type of rural school. Moreover, the reader should bear in mind that where averages are given, there are usually wide individual variations above and below the average. The white teacher in rural areas is three times as likely to be a woman as a man. For convenience, however, the masculine pronoun is generally used in referring to this composite teacher. Professional status—The rural teacher is more likely to be employed in an open-country school than in a town school. If he works in the open country, the chances are about even that he is the only teacher in his school. In two cases out of three, the teacher is em- ployed solely to teach children in the elemen- tary grades. The chances are 7 to | against his having the title of principal, supervisor, or superintendent. He has served in the schools for about seven years, and in his present tion for three years, on the average. He u has had at least two years of college or n school training, and in two cases out of he has a degree from a four-year college This teacher usually belongs to his teachers association, and he is more likely } not to belong to a local or county teache sociation also. Seldom, however, is he a me: ber of a national organization of teachers. } rarely desires to leave teaching for anot! gainful occupation, and he would gene: prefer to continue teaching in rural scho salaries there were the same as in city sch If there were no difference in salaries, he w: more often than not, preter to remain in same general type of rural community in w! he is now located—that is, either in the oj country or in a town under 2500 in pop tion. If he teaches in a one-teacher sch however, he has a 4-to-1 preference for a larg school. Family responsibilities and living condit —Altho the rural teacher is twice as likel; be single as married, he has, on the averag: the equivalent of one other person wholly pendent upon him for support. In two out | five cases he maintains a home either personal! or in cooperation with someone else, but as rule he neither owns nor is buying a hom Rooming and boarding is nearly as frequent the maintenance of a home, while in only o: case out of five does the teacher live with re! tives at less than usual rates for room board. His residence on week-ends is usual! the same as during the school week. The availability of modern facilities at the teacher’s living quarters varies according type of facility. The teacher usually has mag azines, newspapers, and a radio. A little mor often than not he also has electric current, ru: ning water, a bathtub or shower, and an indoo: toilet. On the other hand, the chances ar against his having a telephone, central heating a heated bedroom, and gas for cooking heating. Transportation facilities—The chances nearly 2 to 1 that the rural teacher owns « is buying an automobile. However, since lives only about one mile from his school, | the average, he is as likely to walk as to rid [ 40] t Nee TO! whan ls ne n « at th A al 0 me | WI re : | Ww Sci } ~ #4] th = of 0 e to pre m ~ 4 ot “8 When he rides, he in his own ear or in that of a from school. friend: ely uses a bus or a train. Cultural, recreational, and economic oppor . ties In two cases out of five the rural ner does not have access to a rood library “y ring the school week, and in only one case a t of three does he have access to a collection 1000 books or more. He usually subscribes ‘ad it least one professional magazine, and is ore likely than not to subscribe for at least a | ne nonprofessional magazine. ‘he chances are wing nly 50-50 that he will buy any professional = ooks during the year, and they are 2 to | Z gainst his buying books of any other kind. “A On the average, this teacher attends a total group gatherings of various types during bark the vear. Of these, 38 are religious services; 20 seat are commercial affairs of a recreational or edu wi cational nature; 16 are social events of a non e oper ommercial character; and 9 are professional opul meetings of teachers. sche Three times during the school year, on the larg verage, the teacher takes a trip of at least fifty miles outside his school community, not includ- ditiv» ng week-end visits to relatives. He spends the cely t ummer vacation in a variety of activities, of erage which working at his own or his parents’ home lv de without pay occupies the most time, with at- put tendance at college summer school not far onal! hind. In one case out of six he devotes a part i f the summer to working for pay at an occu lean ition other than teaching. He often spends a me time either resting or traveling, but rarely as ves such activities more than a minor fraction his time. en Financial status—On the average, the rural aol teacher receives a total income of $96/, ot which $876 or 91 percent is his salary for al school service. The remainder consists largely - of contributions from relatives who live with cae him, and of his own earnings from work other than teaching. a The single woman teacher rooming and “a boarding has an average total income of $832, - of which 74 percent is used for living expenses, a 6 percent for betterments (professional activ- oe ities, other education, and recreation), 6 pet e cent for donations to institutions or to persons "7 not dependent on the teacher, and 14 percent tor saving or for payment of old debt. ‘he : married man teacher who rents a home per- sonally has an average total income of $1416, of which 84 percent is used for living expenses, | 41 per and o pei tions, | ot old debt After serving on the average, our in the schools for sev composite rul owns pre perty othe than lite In anes lue of SI864, and he $444. His total net insurance thus an average indebtedness ot than $1420. In addit a total face value of about $1500 assets ion, he has life insuranes pol icles with Differences According to Type of Rural School Since the foregoing picture of the composite rural teacher does not show ditterences ir teacher status according to type of school, ‘Table 21 summarizes certain findin for white teachers in three types of school : one-teacher schools, (2) two-or-more-teache: schools in the open country, and (3) school in towns under 2500 in population. ‘The rel: tive importance ot these three groups 1s indi cated by the fact that of all the white rural teachers employed in the United States al proximately 26 percent are in the first grouy 33 percent in the second group, and 41 percent in the third group. Outstanding Points and Significance pr ofessional ualifie ali Be VW hile the rural teachers are by no means tdeal, they are to justify the payment of larg these feacher high enough salaries, on the average, than now receive. A large majority of teachers rural schools have had previous teaching ex perience. Nearly all of them have had at least two years of college or normal school training and nearly 40 percent are graduates of four year colleges. Many belong to local or count teachers associations, and most of them art members of state education associations. They are not, as a rule, interested in leaving the educational field to enter other occupatio! Neither would they prefer positions in urban schools if salaries in rural and urban school were the same. In fact, if salary difterentials are left out of consideration, a majority of the open-country teachers would prefer to continue in open-country schools, and most of the town teachers would prefer to teach in towns unde 2500 in population. ai betterments, 5 percent for dot cent tor saving or for | : ich in 4 of : | TABLE 21—SUMMARY OF CERTAIN ASPECTS OF TEACHER STATUS IN THREE TYPES OF RURAL SCHOOL l-teacher 2-or-more- Towns schools teacher Aspect of teacher status in schools open in open country Professional status 1. Percent teaching elemen- tary grades only 2. Median years of service to date 3. Median years in present position . Percent with 2 more of college ing . Percent with 4-year ‘col- lege degrees . Percent belonging to ‘state teachers associations . Percent belonging to na- tional teachers associa- tions . Percent choosing. educa- tion as permanent career 9. Percent preferring to con- tinue in present type of school * . Family responsibilities and liv- ing conditions: . Percent who are men... . Percent who are married . Mean peered of depend- ency units > . Percent mi: sintaining homes . Percent ow ning | or buying homes. . . Percent having same resi- dence on week-ends as during school week. . 7. Percent having heated bedrooms. . Percent having electric current . Percent having running water... . Percent having bathtub or shower. . school years or train- 1-teacher 2-or-more- schools teacher Aspect of teacher status in schools 250¢ open in open popula country country tion Transportation facilities: . Percent owning or buying automobiles . Percent riding to school . Median miles to school ural, recreational, and eco nomic opportunities: . Percent having access to library of 1,000 books or more. . Percent purc chosing 1 more professional books . Percent purchasing 1 or more nonprofessional . Percent subsc ribing for 1 or more professional magazines..... . Percent edeectibias | for 1 or more nonprofessional magazines . Median number of gious services attended . Median number of com- mercial events attended . Median number of social events attended.... Median number of profes- sional meetings at- tended . Median number of special trips taken during school year....... . Percent attending college summer school.... . Percent traveling at least 2 weeks during summer. 13. Percent earning money during summer (not teaching) Mean school salary 12. 18.9 - 16.1 $668 $1, 005 4 “Present type of school’ ’ refers to one of the three main types indicated in the headings of columns 2, 3, >A “dependency unit” represents one person wholly dependent or two persons partially dependent. The situation revealed here is much better than that found in most rural schools a decade or two ago. Moreover, in the Committee’s judgment, the facts indicate a degree of pro- fessional interest and competence among rural teachers with which the present low level of their salaries is distinctly inconsistent. Even if these teachers were never to become better qualified than they now are, most of them would deserve more money than they now re- ceive for teaching. Furthermore, a higher sal- ary level would enable many teachers in service to improve their qualifications in ways which they cannot now afford. 2. A majority of rural teachers have famii; responsibilities. It has frequently been assumed that teachers—especially those who are unmai ried—have few if any dependents. According to this survey, however, nearly two-thirds ot the teachers in rural communities are support: ing one or more other persons wholly or in part. A fourth of them have the equivalent ot two or more total dependents, and a few have ten or more such dependents. While the mar- ried teachers have more dependents, on th average, than do the single teachers, half ot the latter have some responsibilities of this kind. Of special significance is the fact that [42] lo wal 1 2 3 4 | 1 2 3 4 a Lars a 94.0 65.0 49.8 61.6 69.1 60 55.8 63.8 31 ( 5.3 vou 1.9 2.0 0.4 nu 2.9 3.4 3.5 e | 62.3 88.8 95.2 28.9 39 4 33 na’ | 10.0 38.9 56.9 43.0 49.5 ee 74.7 88.4 93.4 | \n 8.7 15.9 19.6 87.1 84.8 84 me 75.6 85.8 79.0 5¢ 1 ¢ 7 3 22.7 $0.4 63.1 | 30.¢ 40.0 42 26.6 37.5 31.6 ‘i 0 ted 14.6 19.7 15.3 ho 2.5 3.3 4.2 v1 72.3 84.1 86.6 22.8 33.2 32.5 sc 39.3 40.1 50.4 h ‘ 33.3 55.3 72.5 pe t the | ho mi tes as: te: re tri w amil umed ymar rding ds of port- nt of have Mmar- the f of this that .achers with the larger families receive sub rantially less salary per family member than those with few or no dependents. [he Committee believes that salary scales yr rural teachers should make more adequate rovision for dependents. Rural communities ed a reasonable proportion of teachers who families and who want their homes to Such a reacher cannot be expected to maintain an ap ive vital factors in community life. ropriate standard of living or to give maxi num service on a salary which is barely sufh ent for a single person without dependents. \loreover, the best teachers among those who have families are not likely to remain long in school district which fails to provide ade ately for their economic welfare. If the {merican people really want the kind of rural school service which these teachers are capable f giving, they will furnish the additional noney necessary to obtain it. 3. Home ownership is not common among rural teachers. One would perhaps not ex pect to find many of the unmarried teachers wning homes. Even among the married teach rs, however, only about a third own or are uying homes. This situation may probably be ttributed to three major factors: (1) rural teachers usually cannot afford to purchase homes of their own; (2) many of them do not vish, or are not permitted, to remain in one school district long enough to make the pur hase of a home a wise investment; and (3) ny rural schools do not serve any true com- unity, and hence are not especially attractive t) teachers who wish to become closely and permanently identified with community life. If rural schools generally are to attract and eep competent teachers who wish not only to raise families but also to establish homes of their own on a more or less permanent basis, the salaries offered to such teachers must be suficient to permit the acquisition of modest homes within a reasonable period without too much sacrifice in other important aspects of living. The problem, however, is not one of teachers’ salaries alone. Rural teachers need assurance that they will not lose their positions for reasons unrelated to their effectiveness as teachers and community leaders. In addition, thousands of rural school districts need to be reorganized in such a way that each new dis- trict will represent a genuine community in which the teacher who loves rural life will be [ 43 ] eager to participate both as teacher and as « zen, and in which he can be proud to estal his own home. 4. The ho fy using facilities of rural teachers as a grou are inadequate. Fewer than half of these teachers have the advantages of central heating, a heated bedroom, or a_ telephone Nearly half of them do not have an toilet, a bathtub or shower, or even running water. One-third do not have electric curret and one-fifth are without a radio. The situation is about the same whether the teachers n tain homes, room and board away from home or live with relatives. \loreover, nearty of the unmarried teachers in rural areas have one or more roommates, whereas every teachnet! needs a room 1n which he can Work or relax without interruption. The conditions just de scribed are not, of course, found in all rural areas; in some areas the housing facilities of teachers are much better, while in others they are much worse, than the foregoing pictur indicates. Higher salat solve the problem of housing for rural teachet 1€s alone cannot be « xpected to The poverty and backwardness of many rural districts are such that adequate living quarters cannot be obtained there at any price In many other communities the people who live in the better homes neither need nor wish to rent rooms to teachers. ‘These people could mak: an important contribution to the school and the community by providing teachers with comfortable and attractive places in which to live. In localities where no adequate quarters } t ner citizens are available, the schoolboard or o should see to it that present facilities are mod ernized or that new quarters are constructed and equipped to meet the needs of teachers. In a few states, local districts have sought to solve the problem by establishing teacherages homes purchased or built at public expense fo: the use of teachers, and either rented to them at reasonable rates or provided as part payment for their teaching services. Among those who have tried such a plan, opinion seems to be divided as to its desirability. 5. In spite mobile in rural areas, a substantial proportion of the importance of the auto of rural teachers are without this means of transportation. That these teachers need cars of their own can hardly be doubted. Many of them have to travel several miles to and from school each day. Shopping trips must be made iti ish S IN re- Towns | Inder 2500 a POpula y tion 0.4 84 4.2 | 29.4 16.1 | 1,005 4 in to neighboring towns, and occasionally to more distant centers. Numerous cultural and recreational opportunities can be enjoyed only if rapid and dependable transportation is con- tinuously available. The use of buses and trains is often impracticable ; in fact, most rural school districts are not touched by railway or commercial bus lines. Hence, the teacher who has no automobile of his own must usually either walk or await the pleasure of a friend who will take him where he wants to go. In the face of this situation, more than a third of the rural teachers have no cars at all, and many who have them own them jointly with other persons. This statement will occa- sion little surprise in view of the salary situa- tion among these teachers. Indeed, a study of their annual expenditures suggests that many who have automobiles are able to maintain them only by seriously curtailing other essen- tial elements of living. In readjusting salary scales in rural schools, therefore, due allow- ance should be made for the purchase and op- eration of automobiles by the teachers. 6. Many rural teachers lack adequate facil- ities for cultural and professional improvement during the school year. According to this sur- vey, about 38 percent have no reasonably good library available during the school week, and 28 percent have access only to libraries contain- ing fewer than 1000 books. Probably most of these small libraries are located in schools, as other studies show that nearly three-fourths of the entire rural population of the United States are without public library service. This proportion varies widely from state to state, and from one major section of the nation to another. However, except in a very few states, the unit for providing public library facilities is still the city rather than the county or small town, and most rural counties have no such facilities. In addition to the lack of sufficient school and public libraries, there is room for much improvement in the building of private libra- ries by rural teachers. In a year’s time probably 15 percent subscribe for no professional mag- azines, and one-half buy no professional books ; one-third subscribe for no nonprofessional mag- azines, and two-thirds buy no nonprofessional books. Such conditions obviously handicap the cul- tural and professional growth of teachers. Every teacher should be familiar with recent [ 44] publications in his own field; he also ne stimulating and enriching influence of cant literature which is not directly rel teaching. At least two steps are necessa: rural teachers are to enjoy these essential! ences thruout the school year: (1) the t must be paid enough so that they can to develop small libraries of their own (2) additional funds must be made ava in most rural areas for both school and | libraries. 7. Rural teachers generally devote mor to work than to rest or recreational act during the summer vacation. The po, notion that teachers take life easy for seve: months each year has little or no basis in t so far as those in rural schools are concern According to this survey, 42 percent of t! spend more time in working without pa their own or their parents’ homes than in other way. Twenty-seven percent give mo time to attendance at college summer sch while 12 percent give more time to wor! for pay at an occupation other than teaching In contrast, only 15 percent devote more of t! summer to rest or travel than to any oth activity. These facts, together with the data on ru teachers’ salaries, leave little room for dou that the financial resources of many su teachers provide little opportunity for relax tion or recreation while schools are not in ses sion. Indeed, lack of money is undoubtedly o1 of the chief reasons why more of the teache: do not attend college summer schools ea year. The relatively infrequent pursuit of pa ing occupations during the summer is probab! due largely to the widespread scarcity of su jobs in recent years. It should be financially possible for ever teacher to enjoy a stimulating and invigoratin: trir vacation each year, including occasional to places of historical, occupational, or sceni interest. Such opportunities are essential to ¢! teacher’s professional efficiency as well as his personal well-being. As a rule, the teache: vacation need not occupy the entire period tween the spring and fall sessions of school perhaps one month would be sufficient in mo»! cases. During the remainder of the summ« most rural teachers would be willing, eve! eager, to engage in‘ useful work for the scho or local community if they were to receive ade quate remuneration for it. There are mai \ rl ( ni . ec the he | ps ni 4 tn to est ex’ th = and recreational possibilities in rural fe which could be realized more tully thru the tion of competent teachers as leaders the summer months. In addition, regu tendance at college summer school might timately be included among the activities which the teache1 would be expected to earn ear-round salary. It is doubtful whether rural teachers genet should be encouraged to obtain commercial ys during the summer. While occasional ex riences in other fields may broaden the out ok and enrich the background of the individ il teacher, it should not be necessary for him iugment his school salary by work unrelated teaching. Teaching and its related activities ould be a full-time occupation and should be d tor on a full-time basis. 8. The salary situation among rural teachers a group is unsatisfactory. The mean annual lary of all such teachers is less than $900. nd while a few receive more than $2000, some eceive less than $200 per year. Not only are the salaries of beginners verv low in most dis ricts, but additional experience and training re not sufficiently rewarded. As a rule. ele- entary-school teachers receive substantiall\ ss than do high-school teachers, even when comparison is limited to teachers of the ne sex. ‘Teachers’ dependents are not ade iately provided for; salaries, especially among > women, have little relation to the number dependents. Because of this situation, rural teachers gen lly are unable to maintain appropriate stand ls of living or to provide adequately for th ture. Even with a supplementary income of uly $100, on the average, they have to end too large a part of their incomes fo! rdinary living expenses, and have too little left tor betterments, giving, and saving. The prob m is especially acute among teachers who ive dependents and among those who are ttempting to maintain homes. As a result. nost of the teachers have very little in reserve tor future emergencies or for retirement. Even those who have been in school service for thirty or forty years do not have enough assets » yield adequate retirement incomes. It is estimated that the average net assets of the men teachers who have served this long do not exceed $6000, and that those of the women teachers do not exceed $4500. At present rates, these amounts at age sixty will purchase woman. In cont of about $1190 pet has living expenses of about $615 in the spending this means alone. Si; a general increase school salaries. The need for is especially great among teache schools, among those with the lat of suitable training and successful expel and among those with the larger numb: lless ot the sex of t Le S§ Satisfactory in thi country districts than in the town dist) are least ade in the ‘Teachers in the have had less training and experience ; protessional organizat more of them are dissatisfied with thei: tf them live with relat of them stay in the school trict on week ; tewer of them have me ccess fo vood libraries: recreation il, or prot take tewel spec ial tri much lower thar ot teachers in the inequalities could While complete equal much progres the establishment of larger schools. Such ranization should ates, by the col of a substantial share of school revenue state, and the distribution of suc} to local school units [ 45 ] + straight life as Nnuities Of about pe Cu 5 ot tor a man nd about $325 per vear ¢ relat ast, the average married ma Sary if te ts a home has living expens nt not includins Derte € teac! ments, giving, or saving), and the avera: an att single woman teacher roomit and boardi wn ava Inprovement nd pul teache m tatu can D 4 n0re tin : Qctivit ura popul Cast S@ver far $s in fa unt ncerne of ther rs of pa rependents, regar teache ay 9. Generally st mor Den schor ana vorking als aching 0] of t} othe ns ent A rur at doub: lis = elax mveniences ] rs; tewe 3 In ses f them have ee they bu ; ly or rewer books : they t ( ring oO! iche religious, social, > herd received in 1936-37. According to the latest information on rural school salaries tor the United States as a whole, the estimated mean salary of all rural teachers, principals, and supervisors (white and Negro combined) was states. Hence, altho the number of replies from : tea ed in her Ll ve found in the ymmplete report of the 3 [ 51 ] $827 in 1935-36.* Separate estimates for white When this is done, the composite mean obtained from the present study for 1936 $833. The close agreement between this | and the one given above for the United as a whole in 1935-36 indicates that the + ers covered by this study probably were ¢ representative of the nation’s rural teachers and Negro rural teachers are not obtainable for that year. To obtain a roughly comparable figure for the present survey, therefore, it is necessary to combine the mean salaries of the white and Negro samplings, weighting each according to the proportion of white or Negro rural teachers in the entire United States. far as average salary was concerned. 4 Blose, David T., and Alves, Henry F. “Statistics of State School Systems, 1935-36." Biennial Survey of Educatioy United States: 1934-36. U. S. Dept. of the Interior. Office of Education. Bulletin. 1937, No. 2. Washington, D. C.: G Printing Office, 1938. Vol. II, p. 49. (Advance pages.) TABLE 23.—NUMBER OF WHITE RURAL TEACHERS REPORTING FROM EACH COUNTY OR COMPARABLE DISTRICT IN THE TWENTY SELECTED STATES Both Both Men Women sexes States and districts Men Women sexes States and districts 2 3 4 Florida (counties), Marion California (counties) Colusa | | Sumter........ Suwanee Walton... Madera Merced Monterey...... Placer San Bernardino Sonoma Trinity Tuolumne. . Georgia (counties) Bulloch...... Camden Carroll Clinch Colquitt Floyd Jones Laurens.... Morgan Oglethorpe Sumter Walton.... Colorado (counties) Archuleta. Baca Gilpin Kit Carson La Plata Mesa Moffat Rio Blanco Saguache. San Miguel Idaho (counties). . Ada Bannock... Boise Bonner.... Butte... Cassia Clark Custer Kootenai Lemhi Owyhee w= Connecticut (supervisory districts)* Florida (counties) Indiana (counties) Alachua.... Brevard. Dade De Sote...... Franklin... Gult Hendry Hillsborough Johnson. Knox Lawrence. . Rush Starke Spencer. . White.... * Towns represented in each of the supervisory districts listed under Connecticut are as follows: 1. Columbia, C Mansfield, Tolland, and Willington; 2. Ashford, Eastford, Hampton, Pomfret, and Woodstock; 3. Avon, Burlington, East Granby, Granby, and Rocky Hill; 4. Beacon Falls, Bethany, Middlebury, Oxford, Prospect, Southbury, and Wolcott Ellington, and Somers; 6. Canaan, Cornwall, Goshen, Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury, and Sharon; 7. Chester, Essex Branford, Old Saybrook, and Westbrook; 8. Colchester and Marlborough. 5 [52] TA ( ae 1 2 3 4 on Inyo 6 18 24 Putnam 2 ) 1 Kern ‘ 7 33 40 Santa Rosa....... 13 35 18 28 35 17 33 5 62 6s | 11 52 12 28 40 5 18 10 11 14 19 5 29 56 175 231 | 14 35 8 9 | 11 57 38 46 3 17 tes 9 30 39 0 9 11 | 10 29 3 “a 14 26 25 25 7 12 17 19 1 3 bee 53 56 15 15 ai 21 24 1 4 19 23 2 13 0 g 4 21 1 2 6 17 23 82 105 | 32 48 10 28 38 Jay 33 49 46 52 | Pee 32 60 3 14 17 26 15 5 9 14 15 22 2 7 9 il 11 70 88 7 10 ir Ha Bo n Is e ef 1¢ TABLE 23.—_NUMBER OF WHITE RURAL TEACHERS REPORTING FROM EACH COUNTY OR COMPARABLE DISTRICT IN THE TWENTY SELECTED STATES (Continued ) Both Both Men Women sexes States and districts Men Women sexes States and districts nklin ruthrie icas O'Brien 2 43 45 6 0 \ s Pottawattomie 18 150 168 7 3 & Ringgold... 16 65 81 8 0 Van Buren 22 58 80 9 6 ) 5 Webster.... 5 60 65 10 1 0 1 Winnebago Kansas (counties) 94 Brown 11 27 38 5 ( Chase 0 10 10 15 ; j Comanche. 18 2/ Michigan (countie 142 15? Crawford. . 6 12 18 Branch 54 Decatur. . 4 5 9 Case 3 14 : rogebi 10 5 35 Franklin. . 32 38 * Hillsdal 9 Gray Ionia 14 6? 6 ‘ Isabella 12 43 55 Sumner ‘ 17 47 64 n 19 an 00 Thomas....... 13 21 34 9 37) 20 Muskegon 20 418 68 Kentucky (counties) 202 529 731 Cececia 12 45 57 2 Bath - 48 New Mexico (counties 9 56 85 Bourbon. . 31 38 3oyle 4 19 2 Eddy . : i 9 10 Breathitt 43 50 93 ? = 4 6 10 10 Fayette. . 21 77 98 Quay 16 8 44 Grant... 18 29 47 R Grayson. . 11 20 31 ) Hopkins...... 0 1 1 Jefferson... 31 99 130 North Carolina $ 131 424 Lewis...... 24 53 77 3ertic 6 Nelson.... 4 15 19 Blade 12 5] 2 Pulaski.... 1 1 2 Guilford 11 53 j 14 31 45 Halifax 14 3 Warren lisiana (parishes Avoyelles. .. 50 99 149 : Bossier..... 11 38 49 Stoke : 10) Calcasieu 22 134 156 W Claiborne 12 43 55 North Dakot t 138 506 4 Concordia 6 14 20 Cas 3 90 113 De Soto 1 0 1 Dunt 6 4 East Carroll 3 il 14 Gr 14 Franklin 8 28 6 Het ) Grant 18 55 3 I ; Jackson ‘ 17 54 1 La M La Salle 7 17 MclInt 19 Morehouse 6 29 35 Ramsey} 11 Plaquemines 5 33 38 Rol } St. Charles 7 23 30 Vv i 15 St. Martin 11 54 65 > Towns represented n ear r Maine are as f A 1 \lexar ( Grand Lake Stream Plantation n, | en, New | i N \ 4. Ast ( 1 tation, Masardis, and Oxb« ( 1 Planta M v, Plea intat tation; 6. Bluehill, Brookli - I SI t W Planta ( and Plymouth; 9. Cornish, zat lls, mington, Parsonsfield, and Porte 10. Greenville; 11, East k, I Hancock, and Lamoine; 12. East Machias, Machias, Machiasport, and Ma a Monmouth, Ricl nd \ 14. Fayette, Livermore Falls, Mount Vernon, and Wayne; 15. Mechanic Fa Minot, and Poland. A few of t t uded in any of the town unions listed for Maine in the 1938 Educational Director lished by the federal Office However, teacher responses from all the towns in each district listed here were received thru the same state supervising agent . 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Z x unties) 110 706 816 Maine (town unior 20 12 AS \llamakee ; 3 24 27 1 0 5 5 > Cedar ‘ : 15 66 81 2 3 10 . 47 48 3 ; 5 68 73 4 4 5 9 1 15 5 ( 10 EACH 3 22 110 13 11 ATES 13 8 Both | 4 N [ 53 ] TABLE 23.—NUMBER OF WHITE RURAL TEACHERS REPORTING FROM EAcy COUNTY OR COMPARABLE DISTRICT IN THE TWENTY SELECTED STAT RE: (Continued ) Both States and districts Men Women sexes 1 3 Oregon (counties) 299 Baker Clackamas Clatsop Crook Douglas (rant Josephine Lake Lane Lincoln Malheur Morrow Union Pennsylvania (counties) Bradford Centre Clarion Columbia. . Crawtord.... Franklin Indiana Lancaster Lehigh McKean Monroe Washington South Carolina (counties) Anderson, Bamberg | States and districts Barnwell Calhoun. . Charleston... Chester Colleton Darlington Greenville. Hampton.. Harry Laurens Orangeburg Saluda Spartansburg Williamsburg York Texas (counties) Cameron Clay Denton Frio Hays Hudspeth Palo Pinto Red River Smith. . Tom Greene Tyler Washington Wharton 1 South Carolina (counties), conlinued Men Women 2 3 — UN Nm wh Ce | a | 4 404 49 | 10 24 83 | 3 15 8 | 5 23 gi eae 10 9 66 re 3 17 | 1 58 16 | 18 To 54 | 24 on] Si | ‘ . 34 60 94 . 22 57 79 I tee . 216 | su 56 93 | us . 41 88 129 | : . 400 494 6 15 193; 6074 | 7 8 nd 1 2 3 | 19 54 3 | 5 All ond ruré ’ id Nat and T Tea: Mai 1S W re [54] j B. COPY OF QUESTIONNAIRE SENT TO TEACHERS Confidential Report to the COMMITTEE ON THE ECONOMIC STATUS OF THE RURAL TEACHER of the National Education Association of the United States 1201 Sixteenth St., N. W. Washington, D. C. 9 Teachers, Principals, and Superintendents ONLY AS THE fre COMES TO U NDE RSTAND MORE FULLY THE ECONOMIC STATUS OF RURAL TEACHING, CAN THE WORKER IN THIS IMPORTANT FIELD OF SOCIAL SERVICE HOPE OR SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMEN T. Persons ent I es ire not likely to regard it as a permanent profes mn worthy of their best efforts unless they can see in i standard of living. TO GIVE THE PUBLIC THE FACTS OF THE SITUATION, the National Education Association’s Commit- tee on the Economic Status of the Rural Teacher is making a survey of economic conditions among rural teachers—those nthe open country and in communities under 2500 in population. The survey will include CLASSROOM TEACHFE RS, UPERVISORS, AND ADMINISTRATORS hold l positions in such areas. WE ASK YOU TO HELP US by answering the questions in this blank. n a reasonable wage and maintain an adequate ding schoc These questions cover such matters as your professional status, money income, expenditures, savings, debts, living con- jitions, number of dependents, and social and cultural opportunities. Please answer e a question as accurately as possible. f you cannot give exact answers to certain questions, be sure to give your best estimates. Directions for answe ring are given in each question. You will find it helpful to read thru the entire blank before answering any of the questions All questions, unless otherwise indicated, refer to the period of TW ELVE MONTHS from June 1, 1936, to May 31, To give a complete pictur e of your situation for the year, you will! eed to estimate what your ir me, expen litures, nd canted other financial items will be from the date of ig ay the questionnaire to May 31. Please be sure that your figures for such items represent the ENTIRE YEAR from June 1 1 136, to May 31, 1937. j YOU NEED NOT GIVE YOUR NAME if you prefer not to do so, altho space is provided below for that purpose \ll information which you give will be held strictly confidential, and will never be used in connection with you as an indi- vidual. It will be combined with information from other teachers and used to help improve the teaching profession in rural areas. Send your response as soon as you can to your county, district, or National Education Association, 1201 Sixteenth St., N. W.,Washingt your convenience. Your cooperation in this survey will be greatly appreciated and will, we believe, contribute significantly to the economic and social welfare of rural teachers. ion superintendent, or to the Research Division, D. C. An addressed envelope is supplied for Sincerely yours, McKintey Rosinson, Chairman Committee on the Economic Status of the Rural Teacher I. Professional Information l. STATE, COUNTY, AND TOWN (IF ANY)—- 2. TYPE OF SCHOOL OR COMMU NITY WHERE Write the names of the state, county, and town (if any) EMPLOYED—Indicate by check mark (1 ) the typ where you have been employed during the school year of school or community in which you were employed 1936-37 : during the school year 1936-37: mee ------ (1) One-teacher school in open country 2) Two-to-five-teacher school in open country County i , (3) Six-or-more-teacher school in open intry ; 4) Town or village less than 1000 in population Town (5) Town or village 1000 to 2500 in population EACH TATES — [55] oe ee 4 OF SCHOOL OR COMMUNITY PRE- FERRED—Indicate by check mark (1) the type of schvol or community in which you would prefer to work if salaries were similar in all types: . (1) One-teacher school in open country (2) Two-to-five-teacher school in open country (3) Six-or-more-teacher school in open country . (4) Town or village less than 1000 in population . (5) Town or village 1000 to 2500 in population .---- (6) City over 2500 in population . PRESENT SCHOOL POSITION—Indicate by check mark (1 ) the one item which best describes the kind of school position you held during the school year 1936-37 : (1) Elementary-school teacher only ... (2) High-school teacher only (3) Both elementary and high-school teacher . (4) Teaching principal, supervisor, or superintendent (5) Non-teaching principal, supervisor, or superin- tendent (6) Other (name it) . VOCATION ULTIMATELY DESIRED—Indicate by check mark (1) the vocation which you hope to follow ultimately : .. (1) Elementary-school teacher . (2) High-school teacher . (3) Principal, supervisor, or superintendent of schools . (4) Home-maker (full time) . TEACHING EXPERIENCE AND TEN Write the total number of school years you |} in active school service, and the number spe: position which you have held during the s 1936-37 : total school years of active school servi ing 1936-37 school years in present position, including (how many?) (how many?) . ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL TRA —Indicate by check mark (1 ) the one item w! describes the total amount of schooling you ha Less than high-school graduation High-school graduation only (no college « school work) College or normal-school work, but less ¢ years (72 weeks) At least two years (72 weeks) of college mal-school work, but less than graduation {; four-year college Graduation from a four-year college, with deg Some training beyond graduation from a f college of teachers organization to which you belonged 1936-37 : (1) Belonged to no teachers association or clu! (2) Local or county teachers association (or clu! (3) State teachers association (4) National teachers associatior. (5) Other (name it) . MEMBERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL ORGAN! ZATIONS—Indicate by check mark (V) each ty . (5) Other vocation (name it)- II. Income and Other Receipts in 1936-37 Please report below, to the best of your knowledge, the amounts of money which you received from various s (including the money value of commodities or services received without cost to you—such as board, lodging, farm product laundry, etc.), during 1936-37. If you received nothing from a particular source, write a zero (0) in the appropriate space The year 1936-37 means the ENTIRE TWELVE MONTHS from June 1, 1936, to May 31, 1937. Annual amounts received, 1936-37 Nature of receipts (in dollars) . MONEY WHICH YOU RECEIVED AS SALARY FOR SCHOOL SERVICES RENDERED DURING ENTIRE YEAR— including any part of your salary which was paid into, or deducted for, a teachers’ retirement or insurance fund . ESTIMATED MONEY VALUE OF COMMODITIES OR SERVICES RECEIVED AS PARTIAL PAYMENT FOR SCHOOL SERVICES RENDERED . YOUR OWN EARNINGS FROM OTHER KINDS OF WORK—such as writing, selling books, or farming (including estimated money value of com- modities produced for your own consumption) . INCOME CONTRIBUTED BY RELATIVES (INCLUDING PARENTS) LIVING IN SAME HOUSEHOLD WITH YOU— including money value of commodities or services received from such relatives . ALL OTHER CURRENT INCOME—Do not include money borrowed or withdrawn from savings 95. TOTAL CURRENT INCOME—sum of items 1 to 5, inclusive . DEBT INCURRED DURING YEAR BUT NOT REPAID DURING SAME YEAR—Include money borrowed to meet operating expenses, and charge accounts incurred but unpaid. (Do not include money borrowed for in- vestment purposes.) . WITHDRAWALS FROM ACCUMULATED SAVINGS OR INVEST- MENTS TO MEET OPERATING EX PENSES— including sale of securities, real estate, etc. (Do not include amounts withdrawn and then re-invested.) . SUM OF ITEMS 6, 7, AND 8 / 6 RI PI year mi erpos nely In oe colt 4 bu 4 (2) ve with hom 8 HOl 4 5 lean T 4. SU) port and TRA and | ur ALI EN1 brot! agen tione YOU ture, | etc. REC socia pend trave expe LIF pend 6. ALI TH } } ona m7. REI on d tion [56] III. Expenditures, Saving, and Repayment of Debt in 1936-37 Please report in column 2 2 below, your best estimates of the amounts of money (including the mone ervices recewved without cost to you) which vou used during the year 1936-37 for the pu iclude all cash payments, and all bills incurré ut unpaid during the year. If the « t r any is “none,” write a zero (Q) in the appropriate space. 2 umn 3, 4, or 5 please indicate by check mark (\/) your judgment as to the ad ) unn 2. For example, if you consider that the amount reported for food was quite adequate, place a cl barely adequate, place the check in column 4; if quite inadequate, place the check in column 5 year 1936-37 means the ENTIRE TWELVE MONTHS from June 1, 1936, to May 31, 1937 Special note: If you cannot separate the amounts spent for purposes 1, 2, and 3 (food, housing, and | tal amount for these three purposes as requested in item 4 Purposes for which money was used (1) OOD—all meals and food supplies for yourself and dependents living HOUSING—rent for living quarters of yourself and dependents living with you; or taxes, interest, and upkeep if you own or are buying your home. (Omit payments of principal $ HOUSE OPERATION AND FU RNISHINGS—everything used to lean, heat, light, and furnish your living quarters (including musical in- 4 SUM OF FOOD, HOUSING, AND HOUSE OPERATION—Re- port here only if items 1, 2, and 3 cannot be answered separately....... ) LOTHING—purchase, repair, and cleaning of clothing for yourself 6. HEALTH—medical and dental care, hospital or nursing service, medi- cines, health appliances, and accident or health insurance for yourself ] ANSPORTATION AND TRAVEL—carfare, railway, or bus fare, a payments for purchase and operation of automobile for yourself and ALLOWANCES OR GIFTS OF MONEY TO YOUR DEPEND- ENTS—dependents living with you, and dependent children, parents, rothers, OF Sisters not living With YOU... ( ALL OTHER DONATIONS—to persons not dependent upon you, and to churches, charitable institutions, and relief or character-building BPOTICIES S$ : MISCELLANEOUS PERSONAL ITEMS—(other than those listed above and below), including barber service, toilet articles, tobacco, sta- tionery, children’s toys, etc., for yourself and your dependents........ $ ) i. YOUR OWN PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES- professional litera- ture, membership in professional organizations, professional courses, 2 RECREATION AND NON-PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION—all f social, recreational, and educational expenses for yourself and your de- endents, except expenses included under item 11 above. (Omit cost of SCHOOL OR CLASSROOM SUPPLIES —furnished at your own expense because of the = district’s failure to provid ethem...... $ SY ) 4. LIFE-INSURANCE ANNUITY PREMIUMS—for yourself and your dependents (including amounts paid into, or deducted for, a S.PAYMENTS OF PRINCIPAL TOWARD PURCHASE OF HOME OR OTHER REAL ESTATE—for yourself and your de 6 ALL OTHER AMOUNTS SAVED OR INVESTED DURING THE YEAR—for yourself and your dependents (in banks, stocks, VV. REPAYMENT OF OLD DEBT— payments of principal and,interest on « ‘debt incurred in a previous year for yourself and your dependents 8. GRAND TOTAL OF ALL THE ABOVE ITEMS—This sum should be approximately equal to the total cf receipts reported in item 9 of Sec tion I] mt rit 4 Bolum k in columr u 4 Amounts Check here if amount was : used in (Juite Bas 3 1936-37 ade (in dollars) quate 1ate it (2) (3) (4) - = ) ) urce duct space 57 IV. Value of Property and Amount of Accumulated Indebtedness Please report as accurately as possible the amounts requested below, as of April 1, 1937. If the correct ansy item is “none,” write a zero (Q) in the appropriate space. Items of property and indebtedness . TOTAL ESTIMATED MARKET VALUE OF YOUR HOME AND OTHER REAL ESTATE owned by you and your dependents (full present market value regardless of mortgages against the property) . TOTAL PRESENT VALUE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY belonging to you and your dependents (household goods, clothing, automobile, etc., but not including bank deposits, insurance policies, or other types of investment) . TOTAL PRESENT VALUE OF ALL SAVINGS AND INVESTMENTS, such as bank deposits, stocks, bonds, notes, retirement deposits, etc., for yourself and your dependents (except life-insurance policies) . TOTAL FACE VALUE OF LIFE-INSURANCE POLICIES IN FORCE for yourself and your dependents (value if the insured persons should die) . TOTAL AMOUNT OF INDEBTEDNESS ACCUMULATED by yourself and your dependents (including money borrowed but not repaid up to April 1, 1937, except amounts owed on real-estate mortgages ) . TOTAL AMOUNTS STILL OWED ON REAL-ESTATE MORTGAGES by yourself and your dependents V. Social and Economic Factors Unless otherwise specified, the year 1936-37 means the twelve-months period from June 1, 1936, to May 31, ly The “school week” means those days of the week during which school was in session. 1. RACE—Indicate by check mark ) : 4. RESIDENCE ON WEEK-ENDS—Indicate (1) White check mark (7 ), and by a brief statement if n (2) Negr where you usually resided on week-ends during school year 1936-37 : (3) Other (1) Same place as during the school week SEX AND MARITAL STATUS—Indicate by check whee) mark (VY) your status during most of the year 1936-37 : . HOME OWNING OR RENTING—If you | ; , . tained a home,” either personally or jointly, dur wikewed, of most of 1936-37, indicate by check mark (\) \ situation as to owning or renting: (2) Single woman (unmarried, widowed, separated, or divorced) (1) Owned home clear of debt (3) Married man (2) Home fully paid for, but encumbered by debt (4) Married woman (3) Buying home on installment or time-payment (4) Rented home LIVING ARRANGEMENTS DURING THE (5) Home provided rent-free by school ‘district SCHOOL WEEK—Indicate by check mark (1 ) the one phrase that best describes your living arrange- .» FACILITIES AVAILABLE AT LIVING QU! ments during the school week in 1936-37 : TERS DURING SCHOOL WEEK—Indicat (1) Maintained a h F ally (paid enti check mark (V ) each of the following facilities y aintained a home personally (paid entire oper- (2) Maintained a home jointly (shared operating cost 6 ‘ of house or apartment with one or more other (1) Central heating persons ) (2) Heated bedroom (3) Rented a room (or rooms) and boarded or pur- (3) Gas chased meals at rates generally prevailing in the (4) Electricity ived with parents or other relatives (except hus- : band or wife) at less than the usual rates for room (6) Indoor toilet and board (7) Bathtub or shower bath (5) Lived with school patrons and received board and ~ oa room free of charge om urrent magazines and newspapers (6) Other (describe briefly) (11) None of the above facilities (Questions continued on page 5.) el ¢ - ¢ 3 b 5 = § 6 DE ing sone you we! Wr did (b (b q Al mat hol ME I a you ch fi | DI mil | a [58] 21 Cate Ou iV, \ » OTHER LIVING CONDITIONS (SINGLE PER- single person during NS ONLY)—If you were a st of 1936-37, please answer questions a and b elow a. Household duties—Indicate by check mark (¥ ) each of the following duties which you were ex- pected to perform at your place of residence during the school week in 1936-37: (1) No household duties (2) Keeping your own sleeping room in order (3) Helping keep other parts of house in order (4) Helping with preparation of meals (5) Other duties (state them) b. Sharing of sleeping room—Write the number of other persons with whom you usually shared a sleeping room at your place of residence during the school week in 1936-37 (if none, write a zero) : .... other persons (bow many?) 14 k DEPENDENTS—Write in each space below, the number of persons (not counting yourself) who dur- ing most of 1936-37 were dependent upon your per- sonal income for support in the manner indicated. In- clude all dependent persons living with you, as well as your own children, parents, brothers, or sisters who were dependent upon you but not living with yo. Write a zero (0) for any type of dependents which you did not have. iteehttiaimeiliaces Wholly dependent upon you, and living with you (how many?) pees Wholly dependent upon you, but not living with (how many?) you sikiiitiatilietidaia Partially dependent upon you, and living with (bow many?) you ignited Partially dependent upon you, but not living with (how many?) you AUTOMOBILE OWNERSHIP—Indicate by check mark ( ) your situation as to ownership of an auto- thobile during most of 1936-37: cca (1) Neither owned nor was buying an automobile 2) Owned an automobile free of debt (3) Buying an automobile on installment or time-pay- ment plan (4) Joint ownership or operation with another person 16. MEANS OF TRAVEL TO AND FROM SCHOOL Indicate by check mark (1 ) the one means by which you usually traveled to and from school during the chool week in 1936-37 : (1) Walked (2) Rode on bus or train at own expense (3) Rode on bus or train at expense of school district (4) Drove an automobile at own expense ---.- (5) Drove an automobile at expense of school district (6) Rode in automobile and shared cost of its operation with others ) DISTANCE TO SCHOOL—Write the number of miles (or fraction of a mile) from your living quarters to your school during the school year 1936-37: miles between living quarters and school, by (bow many?) route commonly traveled (one way only) 12. 13. SPECIAL TRIPS OUTSIDE THE SCHOOI COMMUNITY—Write the approximate number of times during the school year in 1936-37 tl e! on trips of at least 50 miles (one way) from the scl community in which you worked (except res week end trips to visit relatives) : ahead trips of at least 50 miles (how many } ACCESS TO A GOOD LIBRARY—Indicate by check mark (\/ ) whether or not you usually had ac to a reasonably good library (either public or g during the school week in 1936-37: ipiphead (1) Did not have access to any good library nesta (2) Had access to good library of le than 1000 book a -- (3) Had access to good library of at least 1000 books BOOKS AND MAGAZINES PURCHASED Write in each space below, the number of pur chased or magazines subscribed for by you during 1936-37 (if none, write a zero): Non-professional books purchased : Non-professional magazines subscribed for (how many?) Professional books purchased (how many?) .----------. Professional magazines subscribed for (how many?) AFFAIRS AT SOCIAL AND OTHER —Write the a you attended « 1936-37 (if none, write ppr lurit "ENDED yroximate nuraber of such affairs which 1 ig a zero) ......----. Affairs requiring an admission fee uch as com (how many mercial lectures, concerts, mot pictures dances, etc.) . = Social affairs not requiring an admission fee (how many?) (such as parties, picnics, club meetings, parent teacher meetings, etc.) Religious services how many?) = Professional meetings (teachers conventions, is how many?) stitutes, faculty meetings, etc.) USE OF SUMMER VACATION—Indicate by check mark (VV) each type of activity in which you engaged during the summer vacation of 1936. U i ich double check (\/ Vy ) to indicate the activity to which you gave the most time: .----- (1) Attended summer school at a college or university .... (2) Worked at own home, without financial remunera tion (3) Worked at home of parents without financial re muneration -- (4) Worked for financial remuneration at a ipa tion other than teaching (5) Taught in summer school ..... (6) Took a trip of at least two weeks wit! tl United States .._.... (7) Took a trip abroad sia (8) Rested at home (own or parents’ home) Other activity (state it) (See space for remarks on page 6) VI. General Remarks Please write below any comments which you think will help to clarify or explain the foregoing report of , situation. /ndicate especially any advantages which you could not afford, and which you missed keenly in 19 ing (1) material things, such as better clothing, an automobile, etc., (2) professional advantages, such as summer school, professional books or magazines, etc., and (3) cultural advantages, such as non-professional | azines, educational trips, attendance at theaters, concerts, etc. If you prefer to write a letter containing such statements, the Committee will be very glad to receive it [ 60] gs > 7 +4 17 23 | Fig II IV C. LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES nts of Income Received from Various Sources by the Entire (¢ sroup of Teachers ent of Mean Total Marital Status Income Received from Each Source by the Teachers of Each Sex rcent of Mean Total Income Received from Each Source School Salaries of the Men and Women Teachers in Different Areas and School Salaries of Men and Women Teachers in Twenty States School Salaries of Teachers with Different Amounts of raining and Experience School Salarie of Men and Women Teachers in Different Types of School Position Mean School Salaries of Men and Women Teachers with Different Numbers of Dependents Mean Amounts of Income Used for Specific Purposes by Men and Women Teachers in \ Living Arrangements Mean Amounts Saved or Invested, Paid on Old Debt, and Borrowed or Withdrawn from Ear! Savings during the Year by Men and Women Teachers in Various Living Arrangements 11. Mean Amounts of Income Used for Specific Purposes by Single Women Teachers Rooming an Boarding Who Were Located in Different Types of School Mean Amounts of Income Used for Four Major Purposes by Single Women Teachers and Boarding Who Were Located in Different Percents of Mean Income Used for Four Major Purposes by Single Women Teachers Roomin and Boarding Who Received Different Amounts of Income i14.-Percents of Mean Income Used for Four Major Purposes DY ong Women Teachers Rooming and Boarding Who Had Different Numbers of Dependents 15. Mean Amounts of Income Used for Four Major Purposes by Single Women Teachers Roomins | and Boarding Who Had Spent Different Periods of Time in School Service Distribution of 2,194 Specific Purposes Number of Teachers Having Different Amounts of Property and Indebtedness Mean Amounts of Property and Indebtedness Accumulated by the ‘Teachers of | Marital Status ?, Mean Amounts of Property and Indebtedness Accumulated by Men and Women Teachers with Different Amounts of Experience Mean Amounts of Property and Indebtedness Accumulated by Teachers in Various Situations with Respect to Home Maintenance and Ownership 21. Summary of Certain Aspects of Teacher Status in Three Types of Rural School 22. Numbers of Rural Teachers in Three Types of School for the Entire United States and for the Samples Included in This Study 23. Number of White Rural Teachers Reporting from Each County or Comparable District in the Twenty Selected States Figure I. Mean Annual Incomes of White Rural Teachers, 1936-37 II. Mean School Salaries of White Rural Teachers in Different Areas and Types of School, 1936-37 III. Uses of Income by White Rural Teachers, 1936-37 IV Mean Financial Assets of White Rural Teachers on April 1, 1937 [ 61] Teachers Rooming and Boarding According to Amounts of Money Used for ich Sex and the Teachers at Four Income Levels Mean Types of Scho 7 Mean 11 12 Is SAS 1s 19 : Types of School 21 21 23 25 26 27 42 50 52 Page 17 28 : PUBLICATIONS BY THE COMMITTEE ON THE ECO- NOMIC STATUS OF THE RURAL TEACHER Rural and Urban Schools. June 1937. 20 p. 15¢. (Out of Print.) The Economic Status of Rural Teachers: A Preliminary Report of a Survey of 11,000 Rural Teachers. June 1938. 32 p. 25¢. Teachers in Rural Communities: A National Survey of Their Profes- sional, Social, Cultural, and Economic Status. (Available about March 15, 1939.) RESEARCH BULLETINS ON RELATED TOPICS The Teacher’s Economic Position. Vol. XIII, No. 4; September 1935. 104 p. 50¢. The Preparation of Teachers’ Salary Schedules: Part I: Administrative and Fact-Finding Procedures. Vol. XIV, No. 1; January 1936. 48 p. 25¢. The Preparation of Teachers’ Salary Schedules: Part II: Drafting the Schedule. Vol. XIV, No. 2; March 1936. 48 p. 25¢. Salaries of School Employees, 1936-37. Vol. XV, No. 2; March 1937. 32 p. 25¢. Salaries of School Employees, 1938-39. Vol. XVII, No. 2; March 1939. (Available about March 20.) All orders for publications should be accompanied by funds in payment for same and must be so accompanied when orders for material amount to $1.00 or less. Orders not accompanied by funds in payment are subject to transportation charges. Discounts on quantity orders of the same publication: 2-9 copies, 10 percent; 10-99 copies, 25 percent; 100 or more copies, 331% percent. Make checks or money orders payable to the National Education Association of the United States, 1201 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington, D. C. 4 ’ he ‘ 5 id RESEARCH BULLETINS Safety Education thru Schools. Vol. XV1 PUBLISHED 1931 TO DATE No. 5, November 1938. 64 Statutory Status of Six Professions: Aec- countaney, Architecture, Law, Medicine, Nursing, Teaching. Vol. XVI, No. 4. Sep tember 1938. 56 p.. Why Schools Cost More. Vol. XVI, No. 3, May 1938. 56 p..... aegis 25 From High School to College. Vol. XVI, No. 2, March 1938. 64 p... Sins ee Population Trends and Their Educational Implications. Vol. XVI, No. 1, January Improving Social. Studies Instruction. Vo! XV, No. 5, November 1937. 56 p.......... a0 Federal Support for Education: the Issues and the Faets. Vol. XV, No. 4, September Teacher Retirement Systems and Social Security. Vol. XV, No. 3, May 1937. 64 p. 50 Salaries of School Employees, 1936-37. Vo! Financing Public Education. Vol. XV. No. 1 Safety in Pupil Transportation. Vol. X1V, No. 5, November 1936. 44 p............. 20 A Handbook on Teacher Tenure. Vol. XIV. No. 4, September 1936. 32 p............. 23 The Efforts of the States To Support Edu- cation. Vol. XIV, No. 3, May 1936. 64 p. 50 The Preparation of Teachers’ Salary Sched- ules: Part II: Drafting the Schedule Vol. XIV, No. 2, March 1936. 48 p..... ae The Preparation of Teachers’ Salary Sched- ules: Part I: Administrative and Faet- Finding Procedures. Vol. XIV, No. 1, Jan- Better Reading Instruction. Vol. XIII, No November 1935. 56 25 The Teacher’s Economie Position. Vol. XIII, No. 4, September 1935. 104 p............ oo) Creating Social Intelligenee. Vol. XIII, No. Salaries of School Employees, 1934-35. Vo! No. Z, March 21085. 32 The Nation’s School Building Needs. Vol. XIII, No. 1, January 1935. 36 p......... 20 Modern Social and Educational Trends. Vo XII, No. November 1034 iS p National Deliberative Committees in Edu eation. Vol. XII, No. 4, September 1934 Education for Character, Part If. Improv- ing the School Program. \: XII, No May 1954. 64 p.. Edueation for Character, Part L. The Social and Psychological Background. Vol. XII No Mareh 1934. 40 D Five Years of State School Revenue Legis lation, 1929-33. Vol. XII, No. 1, January Current Conditions in the Nation's Schools. Vol XI. No. 4. November 1033 20 p Constructive Eeonomy in Education. Vo xl. No. 3. Septembe r 1933. 36 p Salaries in City School Systems. Vol. X1 No. 2, March 19383. 16 p The School Board Member. Vol. XI, No. 1 January 1933. 41 p. (Out of 1 Facts on School Costs. Vol. X, No. 5, Noven ber 1932. 24 p........-. Crime Prevention Through Education. Vo X, No. 4, Septe mber 1932. GS p Estimating State School Efficieney. Vol. X, No. 3. May 1932. Administrative Practices Affecting Class room Teachers. Part Il. The Retention, Promotion, and Improvement of Teach- ers. Vol. X, No. 2, March 1982. 44 p Administrative Practices Affecting Class- room Teachers. Part IL. The Selection and Appointment of Teachers. Vol. X, No. 1 January 1932. 32 p..... Teacher Demand and Supply. Vol. IX, No 5, November 1931. 102 p The Outlook for Rural Edueation. Vol. IX No. 4, September 1931. 72 p ; Salaries in City School Systems, 1930-31. Vol. IX, No. 3, May 1951. 64 p The Principal at Work on His Problems. Vol. IX, No. 2, March 1931. 66 p. (Out OE Ethics in the Teaching Profession. Vol. LX, No. 1, January 1931. 90 p. (Qut of Print) > = > owe) 4 owed owe owed owe? Py we i HE ECONOMIC STATUS of any teacher is naturally of major personal concern to that teacher. The economic status of teachers as a group is, or should be, a matter of fundamental professional concern to all educators and to parents and citizens generally. From the purely personal point of view, a satisfactory economic status is important because it means having the necessities of life in sufficient amounts for one’s self and dependents; a reasonable amount for giving to worthy causes outside one’s own house- hold; ample opportunity for wholesome recreation and for cultural and professional growth; and a chance to make adequate provision for future emergencies and for retire- ment. From the strictly professional point of view, these things are important because they help to maintain the morale of teachers and to improve generally the efficiency of our schools. The profession of education may well give even more careful consideration than in the past to the economic conditions and problems of its members and to ways of getting other citizens to do the same.—National Education Association, Research Bulletin, September 1935, p. 169. | | i 4 ||