Financial support

Financial supportfor U.S. public education comes almost entirely from local, state, and federal taxes. Private schools are supported mainly by tuition fees and by contributions from churches, private organizations, wealthy benefactors, and former students.

In the past, almost all the money needed to support the public schools came from local property taxes. But increased enrollments, higher salaries for teachers, and inflation have helped cause a sharp rise in costs. In 1960, public elementary and secondary education in the United States cost taxpayers a little over $15 ½ billion. By the late 1980s, the annual cost had soared to about $215 billion. As a result, most school districts need more money than property taxes alone can provide.

State governments and the federal government together supply most of the money that keeps the public schools in operation. Today, local school districts pay about 44 per cent of the total cost of U.S. public elementary and secondary education. The states pay 50 per cent, and the federal government pays about 6 per cent. Many school districts face grave financial difficulties.

Teachingis the process by which a person helps other people learn. It is one of our most important activities. Teaching helps people gain the knowledge and attitudes they need to be responsible citizens, earn a living, and lead a useful, rewarding life. It also provides. The chief means of passing knowledge lo the next generation. Without teachers, people would have to learn everything by themselves. Few people could learn enough on their own to get along in the world. The world would change greatly as humanity lost the knowledge, skills, and ideals inherited from past generations. Much teaching takes place informally - that is, outside school. In the home, for example, parents teach their children everyday skills, as well as values and habits. Businesses and industries often teach their employees necessary job skills. Bui when people speak of leaching. They usually mean formal teaching - the kind provided in schools by professional teachers.

More people belong to the teaching profession than to any other. About 32 million men and women throughout the world are teachers. The United Stales has about 3¼ million teachers, and Canada has more than 330,000

The teaching profession has developed mainly since the early 1800s, when the first teacher-training schools began in Western Europe. Before then, schoolteachers received little or no special training. Today, most countries require teachers to complete a professional training program and to meet professional standards.

This text deals chiefly with the teaching profession in the United States and Canada. It discusses teaching careers in both countries and current issues in U.S. teaching.

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Control and support of U.S. education	\|	Teaching as a career

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