for white schools; $10,750 is invested in colored schools. The average 

 xahic of each white school is about $2,095; of each colored school, $470. 



The Teaching Force 



The white schools have a teaching force of 128, 27 male and 101 

 female. An attempt was made to obtain accurate information as to 

 the training of these teachers, and although our data are incomplete 

 and not always reliable, it appears that a fair proportion, probably 25%, 

 have had a college or normal-school training. Somewhat more than 

 half of the whole number have had the equivalent of a high school 

 course, while the remainder have had only a grade school training. 

 Fifty-two reported first-grade, first-class certificates. The 30 colored 

 schools were in the charge of 33 teachers, 6 male and 27 female. Of 

 this number, 27 reported that they had had a normal or industrial 

 school training. 



It has been observed in many rural districts that one of the chief 

 weaknesses of the schools has arisen from the fact that the teaching 

 force is so constant4y shifting. In 3 counties surveyed in Missouri, 

 for example, it was found that practically all of the rural teachers moved 

 every year and that changes were frequently made during the school 

 term. The causes of this condition are various but the results are 

 fairly constant. The one-year teacher can only begin to understand 

 the pupils and the community she is to serve and get ahold of the parti- 

 cular problems of the school. Each year the process is to be gone through 

 with and can never be completed. At least three or four years in one 

 community are necessary before the best result can be obtained. In 

 Montgomery County, on the whole, quite favorable conditions prevail. 

 All the teachers reported the length of time which they had held their 

 present positions. The average for the white teachers was four years 

 and for the colored teachers three years. This average is in part due 

 to a few cases of exceptionally long tenure, but a large proportion of the 

 teachers reported that they had held their present positions two years or 

 more. The average number of positions held during the last five years 

 was, for white teachers, l.G, and for colored teachers, 1.8. The average 

 number of years of teaching experience was 8.1 and 9.6 years for white 

 and colored teachers, respectively. The advice of the President of the 

 Colored Teachers' Association to the teachers on this point of tenure of 

 position was brief and pithy. "Stay in a locality until you know it 

 and make the people love you; but leave while they are still loving you." 

 Fifty-five of the white teachers and 30 of the colored reported that it 

 was their intention to teach permanently. About 50 white teachers 

 had definitely decided to give up teaching. The remaining number, 

 mostly young ladies, expressed themselves as undecided. Last year 



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