Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1878-07-18
Educational Column.
CONDUCTED BY GEO. L. WILLIAMS
County Surf OF SCHOOLS.
TEACHER S WAGES.

duced the wages Of teachers. The |
cause given for such action is the old |
WORKOUT, haggard and disgustful cry |
of "hard times.' While reform has
been the clamor Of certain class for |
months past, many trustees and school |
officers have caught the idea that they |
must do something to relieve the
country of financial distress, and not
knowing what else to do. and being
very anxious to do some great act by
which they should immortalize them
selves, hove done the unwisest and
most impolitic thing they possibly
could have done.
We believe in economy retrench-
ment and reform, but we do not see
how it is possible to bring these about
at the expense of the education and
intelligence Of our children.
Above all departments of nation
it certainly takes trustees, directors
and school boards to be penny wise
and pound foolish"
The greatest need of our country
to-day is properly qualified school
teachers. Our education and intelli-
gence must keep pace with the ad
Vancements of the age. There is but
one way that this can be done, and
that is by filling our schools with COM
petant teachers. We have mauy
young women and men preparing
themselves for the profession. They
purpose making teaching their life
work. They can i'll afford to give
months and years to the preparation
for an occupation which gives them
work only part of their time at wag-
es lower by half than their services
are worth. But we have too many
teachers, and the supply must regu-
late the price, is urged as an excuse.
We most emphaticolly deny the asser-
ton. We hare not enough Of teachers
That wo have too many persons desiring
to teach, that thore are many crowd
ing themselves into our schools who
have no business there, we are frank
to admit; but that there are too
many teachers who understand their
business, and who give it their time
and attention as they should, is GER
tainly not the case.
GA poor teacher is dear at any
price, good teacher is cheap at any
price" is as true a saying as ever was
uttered.
We cannot afford to have our
schools filled this fall with inferior
teachers simply because we can get
them little cheaper than we can get
good teachers.
"But, " says one, "our school is
backward, and anybody can teach it."
Just so long as anybody does teach it,
just so long anybody can teach it.
Rest assured Of that fact.
IF we had a voice that could be
heard from one end of this Republic to
the other, we should make every |
school officers ears ring with the mot
to: "Good teachers or none. Nor
NAL Teacher.
Statistics prove beyond all question,
that girls are better scholars than boys
Here are few figures from the re-
port of the Chicago schools. They |
are significant.
Between 1859 and 1876 (both in
clusive) 773 graduated from our high !
school. Of these thirty five per cent,
or 22S were boys. The, thirty five
per cent of boys took only twenty |
eight per cent of the prizes-boys tax
ing nine prizes, girls twenty-threc
Between 1864 and 1876 (both inclus-
ive) 3,173 girls and 1851 boys enter
ed the high school. To the best was
given each year from fifty to sixty
four Foster medals; sos were taken by
girls and 1872 by boys That is, every |
six girls on an average received med
Al, while the average for, males was on
y one medal to eleven boys. Be- !
;ween 1859 and 1869 the relative pro-
portion of attendance at the same |
school was one boy to about one and |
one-half girls. To the very best was
awarded a scholarship in the Bryant & |
5tratton College. One hundred and
three girls, and fifty boys received
during these seventeen years the COW
,ted scholarship"
The following is heaportionment of
State school money to Wood County
or the year 1878, being upon the ba-
is of 80 cents per scholar.
City of Grand Rapids $179.79
AuhurndaIa 90 o.