Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1876-04-10
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA.
MONDAY, APRIL 10; 1875.
Our Public Schools.

the matter is one of general interest, We make
the following synopsis:
After mentioning the changes in the person
mel of the B ,ard aud the teaching corps, he
says:
1t gives me great pleasure to be able to re-
peat what said io my last report with respect
to all our teachers, that marked improve
mcnt continues 70 be apparent, and that the
reading of professional books aud other publ
cations intended for teachers, and the interest
taken 10 the discussion of educational methods
at the monthly meetings, give satisfactory as
surance Of their desire for improvement.
TIE question Of au increase OF salaries haV
ing occupied much Of your attention OF late, L
deem it not inappropriate to make some sug,
gestious 90 the subject, especially as severaI OF
your number have, both publicly and IN prl,,
vate, expressed appreciation OF the general
principles upon which those suggestions will DC
based Such of you as were trustees at the
time the salaries were originally fixed, will
doubtless remember that they were arranged,
not By the School Baard, but by meeting
composed of the Mayor and committee OF
Council, as we'll as the schoo! officers. No one
present had any experience In the manage
ueut of public school system, ard 1t Is, there,
fore, not to be W ,ndcred at that mistake was
made in the N tier. This mistake consisted
in making no provision for a gradual Increase.
aud 10 thus denying to experience the reward
to which it is undoubtedly entitled. 10 em,
blowing teachers as 10 all other matters OF pub
lie concern, the public interest, only, should
be consulted. Personal and private consider
atious should have no place 10 either the selec'
tiou or the salary. We should choose the best
qualified persoos we can get, ADD pay then the
salaries which they can command elsewhere.
We have no right to use public money to sup
port anybody, unless sufficient service Is ren
dered to earn it, at the rate usually paid for
such service. Now, we ordinarily employ 10
our lower grades young persons who have never
taught before, yet we give them the same sal
aries we pay 10 others Who have had years OF
experience. 1t is true that some persons have
decided fitness for teaching which outweighs
the experience of others who have little or
none; but, 10 general, We may assume that the
teacher, ike the physician or the lawyer, galus
largely by his experience, aud that, to GER
rain point, his services become clearly more
valuable as he grows older 10 his protessloo.
If this be so, provision ought to be made TOR
it, aud it can be, without an increase OF he pub
lie burdens. Employ teachers a. very low sal
aries for the first year and increase their pay
gradually up to maximum, and the changes
which pecessity causes will afford the meaus OF
paving those whose services are worthy OF
greater remuneration, without 40 increase OF
tax .tiup: to demonstrate this, | have carefully
prepared tables showing what amount OF money
would have been paid out for salaries since our
schools were opened, in case such plan as
now propose had oeen then adopted and con-
trasting it with the amounts actually paid.
From these tables 1t appears that had We ar
ranged our system as we have it now 1.-THE two
schools for small children eXcepted) aud fixed
the salaries Of principals at $500 for the first
year, risiug at the rate OF $50 year to 81 900;
those Of vice principals at $500 rising at the
sam rate to 5000; ADD those of assistants at
$3.50, rising TO $500, We should have paid as
follows:
S29l5 6 4SO $500 1900 1850
being S5U, 1925 for the five SESSIONS; while the
amounts VIC actually did pay we're:
1870 l 1902 1928 1873 1874
$3.50 7,Ul5 1900 1900 1850
or S32, los for the same time. 1t will be OBJ
served that the amount which would have been
paid under this plan last year only exceeded
by four hundred dollars, the amount actually
paid, though all the teachers who had been
with Us from the bcgiuniug except three prlD-
cipaiS, WOulu nave Ieacheu Ghe maAluutu VI
salary.
Ia arranging salaries regard should be had
both to the qualification of the teachers AMI
their experience. I'VE have some 10 our service
who, though excellent teachers Of rudimcuts.
have but a limited education and could DOT
render the service which is given US by others
1t is not reasonable. therefore, tina, they should
receive the same amount of pay. Nor is it just
that yuuog girls just from school, such as thJse
with whom We usually fill ruc vacancies iu the
lower grades, should receive as much as those
who have had ten and twenty years experience
and are, therefore, far more sk!I!tui 10 The man.
ayem-ut and instruction of children. Again,
one of our principals has charge Of more than
three hundred pupils; two others of but two
hundred; while a third has but one hundred
under his charge it would certainly be un-
equal to pay all alike for their supervision.
| respec iuily suggest, her.tore, that ii
would be easy for committee OF your body to
arr .nge scale of salaries that, beglunlog at
low figure, which would be readily ccapted by
e ,od teachers if they We're assured of an IN
G case, should gradually sugm2ut the pay OF
t .ose who r. III .iD 10 the service and do good
" ,rk. Itit Is appreheuded that the expense
would be increased too much, a proviso might
be adopted suspendiug the augmentation OF
salaries when a certain sun would be exceeded
In the payment. As matters are arranged al
prescott. the trustees are liable to constant au-
ooyauce from applications for Increase of salary
by Individual teachers and ii more pay is CIV
en- it is usually to the most lmportunate rather
than to the most deserving.
After an account of the Institute held ID
August last, 10 which he states that very sat
stactory results have followed the introduction
If the word met hod' Of teaching children to
cad, then SO strongly recommended by Prot
Newell and giving statistics showing the en-
:oIlment and average attendance since the
opening of the schools, he proceeds to show
low many persons between six and sixteen are
lot receiving any education at all. He says
The taking Of the trenna school census
his year has given US excellent opportunity
or obtaining exact data as to the proportion
# our youth who are not at school. There
we're 10 June last two thousand niue hundred
nd eighy-cight persons between the ages OF
tx and sixteen 10 the city; vi these eight
,nd oiohtp. fnur little over fhirtU |