The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1881-04-01
POOR PAY. POOR TEACH.

Fay for good teachers and you II get them
Starve out your teachers with TIN ee months
salary to support them for twelve months in the
year, and what right has a reasonable being TO
expect first class services p
This is oil very true, and it is sound doctrine
TO preach, but the State is, year by year, drift
ing farther and farther from it. The services
OF competent teachers cannot be secured with
out sufficient pay 70, their services. Neither
can one afford to teach three months in the
year and "wait for something to turn up" dur
ing the remaining nine months. Under these
circumstances no reasonable being can erpsct first
class service. In fact, 1 do not see how this rea
sona6te being can erpeet services of any kind. Still
this Is the case, and you hear grumbling on
every side ut the condition OF our educational
interests. Where lies the blame? In the teach
ers? No. The government Of the State? Yes.
And through this government the people Yes.
The government pretends to take the education
Of the children to itself, but I am sorry 10 say
1t, 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
the State Superintendent of education and the
County School Commissioners, and perhaps few
other minor provisions. Money 10 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 educate 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 OH m average exceeding
three months out of the year. The State can't
pay and the people won't pay, sill these reason.
able persons appear to expect first class services
Our public school system, rs it now stands, is
doing untold injury 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 elo-
quent articles on education, but these do not ed
ucate tue children Of the State. The report Of
the Superintendent may show that so many
thousand white and colored children have at
tended the schools during the year, but this
does not add one dollar to the amount appropri-
ated by the State for educational purposes, but
the more in attendance the shorter term the
schools run This is not helping the cause at all,
and the teacher is just as near starvation as ever
As soon as the'publio funds are exhausted our
schools vanish like fogs before the morning sum-
The patrons, though the same thing happens
every year. ore exceedingly surprised that the
money has given out, but most gr.eefas,y ssfu..
to supplement the public funds with their pri.
vate funds, and their children are turned loose
to run at large for ut least nine msnths, and the
ear m q ,ak bo hao
he can for @ living. The State suffers by this,
the teacher suffers and the children suffer,
but those that suffer the most are the children
No State can secure the services of first class
teachers under these circumstances, and, since
this is the case, it becomes encumbent upon the
State to take the education Of her children un-
der its charge and see that they are properly ed
ucated. A State has the right TO do this, not
because rich man owes an education to the
children Of his less fortunate neighbor not
hat the State owes an education to any of her
,itzens, but that her own interests demand it.
II State can dig canals, arm and equip SOL
iiers and ships Of war to protect herself from
foreign or domestic enemies, she certainly hos
he power to protect herself against the greatest
'f all enemies-iynoranee
The stumbling block IN the way of our edu.
'ational interests is our free school system, so
sailed. 1t has been tried for number of years,
Ind has proved o failure-a complete failure
Is II fails to meet the ends for which it was in
ended. If the people Of the State would take
he public money in the light Of an aid coming
rom the State as stimulus to the educating of
of tho toka ~:
lid with their private funds, then much good
would be accomplished. No reasonable per-
ION" can fail to see that these reasonable people
II our State wholly fail to look al the matter in
his light. Ouly two remedies present them
'eives to me at present. One is, TO abolish our
'ree school system and let the people take the
natter entirely into their own hards. The
':her is, for the State to raise enough money to
pay for good teachers for nine months in the
year, and pay them we'll, too. The no pay
'ystem is yearly driving men that are competent
rom the school room, and this will continue to
Dc the case until something is done to better our
educational system. Our present free school
'ystsm is delusive phantom, and we must use
'ome means to improve IL, or abolish It, before
gnoranee shall have bound the State hand and
loot.
without good pay the State or the people,
whichever you choose, will always have poor
leach. An educated man cannot afford to de-
vote his fin5c snd talents to calling that does
not susRciently remunerate him for his labor.
South Csroliaa to-day needs corps Of we'll paid
and well trained teachers in her schools, and
money alone will secure them and il the peo-
pie will not then the State must pay them.
hope that our free school system will be made
IN issue in our next campaign.
When state that the people refuse to supple
ment the public funds with their private funds,