MORE MEN NEEDED FOR SCHOOL WORK, April 1912

ANTRIM, BUDDE, MCCORMICK, ALLEN, WENGER

Posted By: Pat Ryan White (email)
Date: 8/10/2019 at 06:49:26

MORE MEN NEEDED FOR SCHOOL WORK

CLAIM MADE THAT SCHOOLS ARE BECOMING FEMINIZED.

Supt. Antrim Home From Meeting of County Superintendents Where Question Was Discussed – Scholarships Are Offered.

County Supt. Antrim returned this morning from Cedar Falls, where he attended a meeting Thursday and Friday of the county superintendents of the state. Among the most important matters discussed was the lack of men teachers for the county schools, or more particularly to take charge of township or consolidated schools. The claim is made that the schools of the state are becoming feminized, that few men attend the state normal school, and if men teachers are obtained at all they must come from the colleges and the men who graduate from college and enter the teaching profession usually go into High school in the cities and towns.

SCHOLARSHIPS OFFERED.
The situation is becoming so serious that the State Board of Control of state institutions, is offering to each county superintendent two honor scholarships to two students from each county to the Iowa State Teachers College at Cedar Falls. This is done to boost the male attendance at the state normal, where there is such a large proportion of women students.

“Colorado and other western states are offering large salaries,” said Mr. Antrim this morning, “for men teachers, and are getting many of our men teachers from this state and other middle western states. Every county superintendent present at the meeting reported that he needed from one to twenty male teachers.”

CONDITIONS IMPROVING.
Mr. Antrim reports a splendid time at the meeting. Practically all the superintendents were there, and the discussions were interesting and profitable. He says that Henry county is not the only county in the state which has some country schools with small attendance. “The situation is improving all over the state, though,” he said. “More of these small schools are being disbanded, and the consolidation movement is becoming general.”

While in Cedar Falls, Mr. Antrim saw four of the Henry county students attending the state normal, - Henrietta Budde and Alma McCormick, of this city, and Edith Allen and Jessie Wenger, of Wayland.

[“Mt. Pleasant News”, April 19, 1912, page 3]