Statement Commissioner of Education Earl McGrath, Why Attend Summer School?

WHY ATTEND SUMMER SCHOOL? by Earl James McGrath * U. S. Commissioner of Education Federal Security Agency All over the country people are asking for better teaching for their children. For the past three or four years lay and professional groups throughout the Nation have been busy through newspapers, magazines, redio, and other media in attempting to bring to the public mind the strategic importance of the teacher. These efforts are bearing fruit. In reply, the teaching profession is lifting the effectiveness of its services to the American people. We have made great progress, but much remains to be done. Only 60 percent of the teachers of the United States now hold a bachelor's degree. Last summer our institutions of higher education attracted more than twice the number of students they had ten years ago. Teachers wanted to improve their personal and professional qualifications. Summer school was their answer. Here are more reasons for enrolling. Can you add to the list? - To meet a larger number of people who work in the same field and who have the same interests as you. To enhance your understanding of your own and related fields of subject matter. To acquire a more cosmopolitan view of education by living in association with teachers from other communities and schools. * Prepared for March 1950 summer school issue of The Scholastic Teacher Magazine.