IT WAS A WONDERFUL TRIP 



{Continued from page 24) 



Following the luncheon three di- 

 rectors of the AFBF spoke briefly, each 

 using the same topic, "Know Your 

 Farm Bureau." They were Herman C. 

 Aaberg, livestock department, Porter 

 Taylor, vegetable department, and Wil- 

 fred Shaw, dairy department. Another 

 speaker was R. B. Corbett, secretary of 

 the AFBF, who described and praised 

 "The Woman's Job." 



Those devout persons disappointed 

 in not being able to attend a church 

 service in the morning, as well as many 

 others with less religious inclinations, 

 were made happy and were inspired by 

 the Vesper Service which opened at 

 three in the afternoon with an organ 

 recital. This service was held in the 

 Opera house, located in the group of 

 buildings comprising the Civic Center. 



At the business session Monday it 

 was reported by Miss Elizabeth Mac 

 Donald of the credentials committee 

 that there were 101 delegates present 

 from forty-one states. Keen interest 

 was shown in a number of special pro- 

 jects proposed for the next year, but 

 one suggested by Mrs. Lewis Minion of 

 Minnesota was officially accepted — a 

 scholarship to be known as the Mrs. 

 Charles W. Sewell Scholarship, to be 

 given in honor of Mrs. Sewell's son, 

 and to be used in research dealing with 

 infantile paralysis, the disease by which 

 her son lost his life. 



Sandwiched in between sessions of 

 the A.F.B.F. were trips to Muir Woods. 

 Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, the 

 Qiff House, the bridges, and other 

 points of interest in San Francisco, of 

 which there are many and which one 

 can only mention in an article as brief 

 as this. 



Not many stops were made en route 

 home, but two were outstanding. With 

 the train running behind schedule it 

 was not possible to attend the regular 

 daily organ recital at the Mormon 

 Tabernacle in Salt Lake City. However, 

 arrangements were made for a short 

 recital in the evening so that the Illi- 

 nois folks would not miss this treat al- 

 together. Likewise, the proposed stop 

 in Denver was shortened, "but the stop 

 in the Royal Gorge was made as 

 planned. To some the grandeur of the 

 scenic beauty of the Colorado Rocky 

 Mountain region equals the under- 

 ground beauty of the vast Carlsbid 

 Caverns — for all a grand climax to a 

 wonder trip. 



By JOHN COX 

 lAA Oiractor of Rural School Rolotlont 



DUAL VERSUS UNIT DISTRICTS 



There is considerable discussion going on 

 over the state today amons; educators and 

 school patrons concerning the practicability 

 of the dual vs. the unit school system. The 

 main opposition to the unit system comes 

 from those who do not understand it as yet or 

 from some school men whose main interest is 

 the high school. 



Recognize Certain Situations 



In respect to this discussion, we recog- 

 nize the following situations: 



1. There are many good high schools under 

 the dual system. 



2. There are good elementary schools under 

 the dual system though the percentage 

 of good elementary schools is lower than 

 the percentage of good high schools 

 under that system. 



3. Even the best organization will break 

 down unless we make it work, and that 

 depends on an enlightened, active public 

 and school administration. 



4. There are a few cases where the grade 

 schools have been robbed under the unit 

 system, but these are exceptions and 

 are the fault of the patrons and the 

 school administration. These cases are 

 possibilities which can be avoided but 

 it has come to be the usual situation for 

 the grade school to be at a disadvantage 

 under the dual system. 



5. There are some places where it might 

 be inadvisable to establish a unit district, 

 as where such a district would include a 

 large urban center which would likely 

 deprive rural people of sufficient repre- 

 sentation on the school board to safe- 

 guard their interests. 



The Facts Speak 



However, these facts speak for themselves. 



1. Less than half as much money per capita 

 is spent in the grade school as in the 

 high school. 



2. Elementary teachers under the dual sys- 

 tem are paid considerably less, as a rule, 

 than high school teachers. 



i. Working conditions and building facili- 

 ties are often less attractive in the ele- 

 mentary school than in the high school. 



4. A recent law requires graduation from 

 four years of college before a teacher 

 can secure a certificate to teach in eithei 

 the grade school or high school, thus 

 forcing grade schools to compete with 

 high schools for teachers. 



5. Last year only 12.4 per cent of teachers 

 in training in Illinois were training to 

 teach in the elementary school. This 

 year the figure is 8V2 per cent. 



6. Approximately 72 per cent of our boys 

 and girls are in the elementary schools. 

 Therefore, only about 10 per cent of our 

 teachers are training to teach over 70 

 per cent of our boys and girls. 



7. Until we strengthen the grade school 

 financially and make working conditions 

 there more attractive, we shall continue 

 to have a serious scarcity of well- 

 qualified elementary teachers. 



8. This means that if the present situation 

 continues, we shall be using emergency 

 teachers in the grade school for years to 

 come. Grade school boards will have to 

 depend largely upon teachers trained for 

 high school but who are unable to secure 

 a position there. These teachers will 

 not be trained for teaching in the ele- 

 mentary school, their sympathies prob- 

 ably will not be there and they will be 

 rejects from the high school and, there- 

 fore,of inferior quality in many cases. 

 Also since recent and very wise legisla- 

 tion requires a teacher to do her practice 

 teaching in the elementary field before 

 receiving an elementary certificate, a 

 teacher qualified only for high school 

 teaching would have to have an emer- 

 gency certificate to teach in the grade 

 school. 



9. The single salary schedule for both grade 

 and high teachers is fairly prevalent in 

 unit districts and will be increasingly 

 so. It is almost unknown in the dual 

 system. Such single salary schedule is 

 fair in view of recent legislation estab- 

 lishing equal requirements for certificates. 

 It is more attractive to elementary 

 teachers and it recognizes teaching in 

 the elementary field as equally important 

 as teaching in the high school. It im- 

 proves the social status of the elementary 

 teacher, a factor that has loomed large 

 and has deterred many capable people 

 from taking training to teach in the 

 elementary field. 



10. Experience has proved that the elemen- 

 tary school has been unable to compete 

 with the high school for either financial 

 support or teachers. 



Completes School Study 



The research staff of the School Tax and 

 Finance Commission has recently completed 

 a study of Illinois schools. They listed IS es- 

 sential requirements of a good school and 

 rated 930 high schools and grade schools by 

 this standard. They studied 69 of our approx- 

 imately 100 unit districts, the rest being dual 

 system districts. They made the following 

 discovery: 



1. Efficiency — 



$3 per cent of the grade schools under 

 the dual systems met the foundation 

 program. 



81 per cent of the grade schools under 

 the unit systems met the foundation 

 program. 



87 per cent of the high schools under the 

 dual systems met the foundation pro- 

 gram. 



95 '/2 per cent of the high schools under 

 the unit systems met the foundation 

 program. 



According to that measure of efficiency 

 under the unit system, the elementary 

 school was 28 percentage points or 53 

 per cent more efficient than under the 

 dual system. The high school under the 

 unit system was 8V2 percentage points or 

 10 per cent more efficient than was the 

 high school under the dual system. 



2. Economy — According to that same 

 study there was very little difference in 

 cost on the grade school level in the unit 

 district as compared to the dual system 

 district, but on the high school level 

 there was an annual saving of $54.72 

 per high school pupil under the unit 

 system. 



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L A. A. RECORD 



