Education: Serious Menace

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"Serious Menace."

Given $1,000,000, how many people would continue to work? Dr. Harry Dexter Kitson, psychologist and Professor of Education at Columbia Teachers' College pondered this question, determined to find out just how interested people are in their jobs. Most accessible for his experiment were teachers and nurses. To them he put this question: ''As the 100 degree point, think of that activity in which you would spend a major portion of your time if you had $1,000,000 and were not obliged to work. Then check the point on the scale which denotes your interest in your present occupation."

The results: Maximum degree of interest for nurses was 33%; for pedagogs, 19%. Lamented Professor Kitson: "Several stated bluntly that their interest was at the zero point. Such workers are in a most unhappy plight and constitute a serious menace to the effectiveness of their professional group."