New Years' Day in 1908 was also the first day of the North Dakota Educational Association's annual meeting. Its auxiliary organization – the “department of county superintendents” – held its own meeting nearby. The major topic of the day was a scarcity of teachers. Comments from a number of the superintendents appeared in the Grand Forks Herald.
Superintendent F. M. Wanner of Stutsman County presented a paper on the subject, pointing to the low unemployment rate, poor working conditions, and low salaries.
Superintendent Sherry of Rolette County focused on housing. He remarked that “one young lady spent an entire day driving around the district to find a boarding place, and the nearest she could find was three miles distant from the school.”
Superintendent Digness repeated an adage that “a good teacher is cheap at any price and a poor teacher is dear at any price.”
Superintendent Miller recommended raising wages and raising standards.
Superintendent McKinnon wanted higher qualifications for teachers, while Superintendent Lorin thought there was too much focus on scholarship and not enough on teaching ability.
Superintendent Stockwell said, “We would rather the schools would go untaught than to put the schools in charge of a teacher morally and spiritually unfit …” He felt the main reason for school was to teach morality.
W. L. Stockwell, the state superintendent of public instruction, had much to say about the “teacher famine.” Aside from low salaries in rural schools, he noted that teaching contracts didn't always last for an entire school year. He also thought that rural schools relied too much on towns for their teachers, saying, “The rural schools should produce their own …” He also commented that Germany and many other places provided the teacher with a house, a garden, and a retirement pension.
There was also a need for more normal schools, which referred to schools that taught teachers. Stockwell noted that the two existing normal schools in Mayville and Valley City “were crowded to their full capacity.”
It would be five years before a new normal school was established in Minot, with Dickinson following ten years later. But as indicated by the comments in 1908, the seeds for those new schools were being planted.
Dakota Datebook by Andrew Alexis Varvel
References:
- “HUNDREDS OF TEACHERS ATTEND ANNUAL ASSOCIATION MEETING”; Grand Forks Herald, 2 January 1908; page 1, columns 1-2; page 2, columns 1-7; page 3, column 3.
- “THE SCARCITY OF TEACHERS: Discussed by the County Superintendents at Yesterday's Session.” Grand Forks Herald, 2 January 1908; page 4, columns 4-7; page 5, columns 4-5.
- “TEACHER FAMINE MAY BE OVER: Supt. Stockwell Is of Opinion That Instructors Will Be More Plentiful.” Grand Forks Herald, 3 January 1908, page 3, columns 3-5.
