Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1878-10-03

paper, 70 give expression 20 lew SEN
iiments which think deeply concern
them.
| I was present at meeting offhe pco-
pie held IN your town on the 18th inst,
the purpose Of which, | presume. or
rather was told, was 20 express indlg-
nation al some OF the acts of the School
Board and Examiner; but whether the
injury complained cl--the product of
those acts--was real or supposed, will
not attempt to say al present, but this
much viii say, that i attended one Of
fb6sexamsnaffane fee9nlIg bed y Mss
Thomas, the Examiner, and found it, in
my humble estimation, to be a fair,
practical and impartial one, with the
exception that time enough was not al
lowed TO write out the answers TO some
of the questions, which no doubt les
sened the per centage Of some of those
applying for certificates 60 teach. Yet
can see no just cause why the Exami-
ner should be censured for carrying out
the imperative commands Of his supe-
riors and the school law (time allowed
TO answer questions accepted). 1t is
futile 10 say that partiality was shown
in the examination, as each applicant
had the same questions, the same length
Of time to answer them in, and the same
per centage was required OF the one as
Of the other TO obtain the required cer-
tificate TO teach. Then how can an Ex-
aminer be justly censured when he does
his duty fairly, justly, impartially and
according to the law governing him /?
Besides, his report either has TO be ap-
proved or disaPproved by the Board Of
School Commissioners, and If censure
is at all necessary, il is the Boayd that
should receive the condemnation OF the
people, for ! contend that the Board of
School Commissioners should (when an
examination is necessary canvass the
questions proposed by the Examiner,
and If deemed 10 be impractical or of
too high standard, TO modify .hem to
suit the requirements of the age.
Now, Messrs. Editors, ] don't wish
10 be understood as becoming Mr..
Thomas advocate. He, like many OF
us, may have faults and not be able 70
see them, but do think that we should
be more reasonable and when we ar
raign person, an officer, we should be
able TO produce specific charges, and
upon the arraignment 10 give the party
arraigned an opportunity Of refutation.
Was this done at the late indignation
meeting? I emphatically answer no.
have always held to the principle that
justice should be given to hlm TO whom
justice belongs, hence the aforegoing
remarks. Had the late meeting taken
up the pro rata order (passed by the
Board of School Commissioners 5th in
stanO and made a specific charge of it
against the Board, il would have been
done with some business, for in my
humble opinion il should receive the
condemnation Of all fair minded and
honest people. ! will here give rerbd-
Tim the order alluded to: "Ordered,
that an average attendance of ten pu-
pills for a given term shall entitle the
teacher TO full salary for the term, and
that IN all cases where the average at
tendance falls below ten, the teacher
shall be paid pro rata"
Is il not plain, Messrs. Editors, that
this order will act detrimentally to the
cause Of popular education Does it not
bear upon its face injustice towards the
teacher, patron and pupil Why ?
Because the teacher, under the school
law, must be in his school room six
hours each school day for the purpose
Of giving primary instruction, morally
as well as intellectually, to the little
ones placed under his charge, and nee
il is in our primary schools that the
| child's character is formed and brought
out for development, and as the respon-
sibility of the teacher is scarcely if at
all below him who sits in the minister
al chair for like purpose, he should
receive fair remuneration for his ser
vices. Any common sense man can
see that under The pro rata order il is
possible the teacher may receive moth
ing, or at all events, not enough to pay
his board bill, which nature herself must
necessarily create. Under the school
law, it is the duty of the Boards of
School Commissioners to fix the salary
OF teachers of their respective counties,
which law has, believe, been strictly
adhered to in our county till the last
meeting. 9th instant, of School Com
missioners, when the pro rata or
der indefinitely fixing the teachers
salary was passed. How gentlemen
Of such known capacity and experience
as compose our present Board should
fail to see the evil effect of such an or
der | am not able to fathom, although 1t
is plain that some object was sought TO
be effected and the teacher, the instru-
ment through whom il was TO be pro-
duced, yet for the life of me fail to see
1.-THE object. II cannot be that teach
ers need a siimulant TO exert them to
new exertion TO obtain greater aver
age, for TO my certain knowledge there
are few teachers in the field that have
not done and still continue 10 do their
duty faithfully and according TO law.
Even admitting that there are some in
Efficient teachers, even then. has not the
Board power to reject them by refusing
to confirm their appointment, and not
make The innocent suffer for the guilty.
II is certainly not because the teacher
does not command respect enough to
cause the patrons to send their children
TO school, for If he did not command re-
spect he would moi be in the school. II
is equally certain that ii is not for want
Of ability to teach, because he holds the
requisite certificate Of qualification. II