Teacher morale may be deteriorating because the intrinsic rewards for teaching are lower now than they used to be. High job morale, or "vocational adaptation," comes from an optimal relationship between job adjustment and personal fulfillment. Today's low teacher morale indicates low vocational adaptation. Teachers in the past had higher vocational adaptation, despite low salaries, because they got intrinsic rewards from helping children develop, receiving community and parent respect, and achieving personal fulfillment in an ethically concerned profession. A multistate survey of vocational adaptation among 125 male and 125 female teachers in private elementary and secondary schools, together with other information, shows that these intrinsic rewards are lower today. Children are harder to teach, parents and community give less respect, and teachers feel they are realizing less of their potential. Teachers' lower intrinsic rewards may be behind their widespread push for higher extrinsic rewards, such as higher salaries, but teacher morale remains low even when such rewards go up. These findings suggest teachers should enlarge their psychological diagnosis skills for students and their definitions of being a teacher, and headmasters and boards of trustees should pay more attention to faculty morale and self-fulfillment. (RW)