Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-11-19

males. In Pennsylvania Il az. .
per month to males. and sIo Z, lao.
males. In Ohio, it is sls - " e
month to males, and 1915 h e. ~
In Indiana, tits $1,000 Der ,a 'e.',a'ea
males. and $500 to fema' oil'a =
Michigan. it is 1921 Der ~. b
males, and $5.36 to femalas 2 p
in Massachusetts, it is onl,. si L's'
per month to males, and s. ~ s-4
males. All this is excIns; = e
board; but let it be compare (
what is paid to cashiers Of banl "a
secretaries Of insurance CONE y
to engineers upon railroads ~ ~a
intendents in factories. ia .na
house officers, to navy agents H.
and 1t will be seen what pecpn;
temptations there are OH ever ~
drawing enterprising and tsloa.
young men from the ranks 81 q
teachers profession.
Nor does the social estimst;on
corded to teachers much surpass .
pecuniary value set upon their sa...
ces. The nature of their caIl;no :
bars them almost uniyersaIlv
political honors, which THROUGH.
our whole country have a fctitioa
value so much above their real wo,,t
Without entire faithIesspess
their trust, they cannot engage !,
trade or commercial speculate
Modes Of education have hereof.
been so imperfect, that / do not knor.
single instance where teacher No.
been transferred from his school = I
any Of the departments of edncatsJ
labor in which such liberal saIar,'
are now given. And thus it is tb,,
the profession at large, while tbsr
enjoy but measured degree of nps
lie respect, seem shut out from N !
paths that lead to fortune or to fam.
No worldly prize is held up befon
them; and, in the present condito
Of mankind, how few there are vbs
will work exclusively for the immm
tai reward! 1t supposes the poss /
ession only of very low faculties h /
derive pleasure from singing Ii. /
praises of a martyr; but to the MAJ,
tyr ones self, requires very hpb
ones" In another place, after argu
ing in favor of ennobling the pro
fession and increasing the par
Of teachers, he proceeds, In
that case, our school COMMITTEES
when they 60 abroad in quest Of fit |
endowments and qualifications to
cultivate the immortal capacities Of
the young, would escape the NORTH
cation which they now sometimes
suffer of being oyerbid by a capital
list who wants them for his factory,
and who can afford to pay them more
for experimenting loom or a spin.
ming frame, than the people feel will
ing to give for weaving the infinitely
precious tissue of character. And
were the same policy adopted in ref
erence to those young men whom ma
ture has preadapted for school-keep
ing, they would not be lured away
from this employment, as some Of
them now are, by the temptation Of
more liberal pay, to become head
servants in gentlemen's families, or
to superintend the affairs of the
kitchen in expensive hotels"
Such is q picture Of school-teach.
ing twenty five years ago. But In
all respects the American school
teacher has advanced and is advanc
ling. When / visit the schools Of
to-day, and recall my own experience
as teacher, it is not difficult to
note the contrast between then and
now. THEN, teaching was an odd
job pursued reluctantly until some
thing better presented itself. Now,
| it is a BUSINESS; aye, more than a
| business,-it is PROFESSION.
Here / will be excused for introdn'
cling the opinion of an intelligent
| foreigner upon the character OF The
American school. A few years since
the Rev. Mr.. Fraser, of Edinburgh
was chosen, under the authority Of
the British Parliament, to visit aud
report his views of the American
school. In this report the repute o.
the teachers profession appears Z
strike the author as remarkable. II
use his own language, he says: "lh'
teacher of the humblest d.strlc
school occupies far higher socis
position than the teacher OF an ee
mentary school in England. Oplno'
and sentlm,2t, upon a matter Oh la'
| kind, are formed in the two eountrle
by two entirely different influences
| AS far as his (the teachers J profes
| sion is concerned, he - ap leYe
| with any body"
| While in the way of making Oh
tracts from this report, excuse N
for going step further. / do thi
not more to show the advance mad
IN the character of teaching, and IN
higher plane occupied by the teache
than to pay just tribute to the We