What nobler employment, or more valuable to the State, than that of the man who instructs the rising generation? -Cicero.

I had rather earn my living by teaching than in any other way... I love to teach as a painter loves to paint, as a musician loves to play, as a singer loves to sing, as a strong man rejoices to run a race.- William Lyon Phelps.

TRACHI

A PROFESSION

GENERAL NATURE OF THE PROFESSION

EACHING is by far the largest of the professions. The total number of workers in professional education in the United States in 1939-40 was 1,170,593. This is nearly three times the total number of physicians, lawyers, and clergymen combined. Nearly one-third of all professional and semiprofessional workers are teachers. In normal times the profession requires from 80,000 to 110,000 new recruits annually. There are more women in teaching than in any other salaried occupation; and there are more men in this profession than in any other.

The social importance of teaching, and its importance to the State and the Nation, are as great in times of war as in times of peace. In the training of the Armed Forces, of workers for war production, of essential workers on the home front, of homemakers, and of future citizens of the country, teaching has an indispensable place. It has been declared by the War Manpower Commission to be an essential service in the support of the war effort. Military and governmental leaders from the highest to the lowest have made repeated statements which, in the words of the President, have "served to confirm the faith of the American people in the schools as a major bulwark of the Nation."

The place of teaching among the professions has now become established. It is true that where teaching is poorly supported, as in many backward rural areas, teachers are only partially professionalized. It is also true that during the present war, teachers' salaries have not kept pace with wages in competing occupations, and that other adverse conditions have affected the prestige of the profession. There have been serious losses in the number and quality of teacher personnel. However, history shows that while such losses have been suffered during all of our major wars, they are only temporary. The long-time conditions that prevail throughout the total period of service, and not temporary conditions during wartime, should be given chief consideration in choosing a profession.

The professionalization of teaching is indicated by the extent of its organization into professional groups. There are hundreds of national, sectional, and State associations and other organizations of teachers, and thousands of local professional organizations. The largest professional organization is the National Education Association, with a membership in 1943 of 219,334.

The professional nature of teaching is further indicated by its importance to society. Teaching ranks second to no other profession in the preservation and development of the intellectual life and civilization of mankind. The accumulated knowledge and experience of the human race is passed down from one generation to another chiefly through the profession of teaching. The teacher constantly draws from the storehouse of the richest, finest, and best in human thinking and feeling. He transmits the practical and technical knowledge and skills which have led to the material development of the modern world. He develops an appreciation and love for the beautiful in the arts. And not least, he assists in upbuilding the noblest in the character of men.

The work of the teacher is essential in the preservation of our country. Through the classrooms pass the citizens of the Nation. Theodore Roosevelt said: "If you teachers did not do your work well, this Republic would not outlast the span of a generation." The foundations of our democracy rest upon the ideas, attitudes, and actions of its citizens. Through their leadership of America's youth, teachers determine to a very large extent the destiny of the Nation; and for this reason leading statesmen from the time of George Washington to the present day have paid tributes to the profession of education.

Teaching is one of the most important of all governmental services. There is more money invested in the conduct of the schools than in any other single enterprise of government, except national defense. Approximately three and one-half billion dollars are spent annually for all types of education (19). No governmental function is administered more democratically than teaching. Each of the 48 States is in charge of its schools; and most of the detailed administration of the public schools, including the appointment and supervision of teachers, is in the hands of the school officers of more than 117,000 local school districts, containing 223,295 public schools. There are about 15,000 private elementary and secondary schools, about 1,700 colleges, and many other instructional units.

1 Figures in parentheses refer to the numbered references given at the end of this publication. For more detailed information on the topics discussed in this report, the reader is referred to the references listed.

The relationships of teachers to the people are exceedingly close. The American people as a whole spend a good share of their childhood and youth under the direct tutelage of teachers. Each year about 30,000,000 pupils and students, or somewhat less than onefourth of the entire population of the country, are somewhere in school. Of these, 26,393,586 are in publicly controlled schools, and the remainder in privately controlled schools.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR SPECIALIZATION

No profession offers better opportunities for the exercise of intellectual interests than teaching. There are teachers of subjects in practically every field and on every level of human knowledge (19). Almost any educated person can find a field in teaching appropriate to his abilities and likings.

The extent to which men and women were employed in 1939-40 on the chief school levels varies considerably (table 1).

Table 1.-Number of teachers and school officers classified by sex and by levels and types of schools, 1939-40

There are many possibilities of specialization in professional education in addition to those just indicated. Teachers prepare especially for service in nursery, kindergarten-primary, intermediate, junior high, and senior or regular high-school grades; and for teaching a great variety of academic, special, and vocational subjects in junior colleges, technological schools, 4-year colleges, and universities, including graduate and professional schools. Teachers also prepare to instruct special groups of children, such as the mentally retarded; to instruct in vocational, evening, adult, and other special-type schools; and to teach or serve as educational specialists in business, industry, and government. Included also in the foregoing table are some 31,521 elementary- and secondaryschool teaching or supervising principals and their assistants, and 4,837 general-subject, special-subject, and rural supervisors.

Number of U. S. Teachers