The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-03-24
Poor Pay. Poor Tench.

Mr.. EDIroR: The Columbia Register,
under the above heading, has the following /:
"Pay for good teachers and you'll get
them. Starve out your teachers with
three months salary to support taem for
twelve months in the year, and what right
has q reasonable being to expect first class
services? ?"
This is all very true, and it is sound doc
trine to preach, but the State is, year by
year, drifting farther and farther from it,
The services of competent teachers cannot
be secured without sufficient pay for their
services. Neither can one afford to teach
three months i'll the year and "wait for
something to turn up during the remain
ing nine months. Under these crcum-
stances no reasonable 6einy can expect frs.
class services. In fact, I do not sec ho,p this
reasonable being can cnpect serriccs of any kind
Still this is the case, and you can hear
grumbling on every side at the condition of
our educational interests. Where lies the
blame? In the teachers? Nc. The gov
ernment of the State? Yes. And through
this government the people? Yes. The
government pretends to take the education
of the children to itself, but an sorry to
say it, but still it is true, the laws of our
State on this subject are farce. These laws
cover much ground, but no provision of
them is properly enforced, save the election
and maintenance of the State Superinten-
dant of Education and the County School
Commissioners, and perhaps few other
minor provisions. Money is required to
run the schools of the State, and laws on
the subject, not backed with money, are
perfectly useless. The people pretend to
look to the State under. these laws to edu-
cate their children, and they step behind
them and think themselves safe. This is
why the teachers are not paid living
| salary, and why our schools throughout the
State do not run on en- average exceeding
| three months out of the year. The State
can't pay and the people won't pay, still
these reasonable persons appear to expect
first class services. Our public school sys
| tenn, as 1t now stands, is doing untold in
jury to the educational interests of the
State. The Superintendent of Education
may make long reports to the Legislature !;
the newspaper men may write knowing and
eloquent articles On education, but these do
not educate the children Of the State. The
report of the Superintendent may show
5nnt 80 many thousand white and coiored
children have attended the schools during
tho year, but this does not add one dollar to
the amount appropriated by the State for
educational purposes, but the more in at
tendance the shorter term the schools run.
This is Ii0S helping the ali, anu the
teacher IL Just as Mear starvation rs ever
AS soon as the public funds are exhausted
our schools vanish like fogs before the
morning sun. The patrons, though the
same thing happens every year, are exceed.
ingly. surprised that the money has given
out, but most gracefully refuse to supple
ment the public funds with their private
funds, and their children are turned loose to
run ut large for at least nine months, and
the poor teacher must make the best posi-
BILE shift he can for living. The State
suffers by this the teacher suffers and the
children suffer, but those that suffer the
most arc the children. No State can secure
the services OF first class teachers under
tfoce circumstances and, since this is the
case, 1t becomes encunc5ent upon the State
to take the education of her children under
Its charge and see that they are properly
educated. a State has the right to do this,
not because q rich man owes an education
20 the children of his less fortunate neigh
bor; not that the State owes an education
to any Of her citizens, but that her own in
terests demand It,. If State can dig canal
arm and equip soldiers and ships of war to
protect herself from foreign or domestic en-
emies, she certainly has the power to pro-
iect herself ngainst the greatest of all ene-
| mies-iOnordncc.
| The stumbling block in the way of our
educational interests is our free school sys-
| tenn, so called. 1t hos been tried for num-
| ber of yenrs, and haS proved q fnilurc-a
| complete failure-as il fails to meet the ends
for which it was intended. If the people Of
| the State would take the public money in
| the light of an aid coming from the State as
n stimulus to tbs educating of the children
Of the State, and supplement this aid with
their private funds, then much good would
be accomplished. No reasonable person"
can tail to see that these reasonable people OF
our State wholly fail to look at the matter
In this light. Only two remedies present
themselves to me at present. One Is, to
| abolish our FREQ school system and Let the
people take the matter entirely into their