The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1896-05-05
GOTHAM PEDAGOGY.
THE LIFE AND DUTIES OF A NEW
YORK SCHOOLTEACHER.

tions- Male Teachers Have Wider OPP
portunities Than the Women.
Everything taken into consideration,
there are few public offices i'll the city Of
New York which are more desirable
than those within the public school sys-
TEN. From almost every point Of view
the life Of a schoolteacher is q desirable
one in this city. The pay is good, the
promotion tolerably rapid, the work not
onerous, and the hours are better than in
almost any other field Of labor. About
1000 teachers are employed in the pub
lie school system Of New York whose
salaries range from 5000 to 81, 900 a
year for women, and from l,0s0 to So
600 foi rlen. But 81, 600 is by no means
the limit to the financial ambition of n
New York schoolteachcr. On the part Of
the men there are several greater prizes
within their reach if they have the prop
er qualifications and can secure the right
influence i'll the board Of education. For
instance, there is the office Of assistant
superintendent Of public schools, Of
which there are ten, each drawing q sal
AIRY Of about $4,000 IA year. Then there
is the superintendent office itself, with
its handsome pay of $1,000, and it has
been the goal toward which scores Of
educators in this and other cities are
constantly keeping their eyes. Both the
Offices Of assistant superintendent and
superintendent are filled absolutely by
the board Of education. The assistant
superintendent is elected for two years,
and, as a matter of practice, has a life
position. Then the male teachers can
look forward to a promotion to the City
college either as III instructor at a sal
AIRY of 81, 500, or a full ledged professor
at g., 500.
y There are few of the SO male princi-
pals in New York's public schools, how.
ever, who do not get more than their
salary of IS, 200 a year. Almost every
one Of them gets some little additional
pay, as $500 or $500 a year for extra
service as an instructor in the evening
schools or as clerks of the ward board Of
school trustees. Some of the principals
hold both of these little plums and make
a clear 81, 600 a year ont of the school
system. The principals of boys schools,
Of course, have their pick in these choice
perquisites, but there are so many addi-
tional offices to be filed that under male
teachers in the public schools come in
for a good round share.
The four evening high schools alone
give employment to 20 or 80 teachers,
each Of whom gets anywhere from g to
&6 a night for the additional work.
Then there are some % boards of school
trustees, each of which has its clerk,
who gets pay for the amount of work
done, the average mounting up to $500
or $500 a year. Nearly all these clerks
are principals of some schools.
In the case of women sc~hoolteachers
the chances for earning extras are very
limited. The maximum salary she can
get is 81, 900. She starts into the system
with a salary of about 5000, which is
gradually raised until she becomes the
principal of a girls department of a
grammar school,
In order to become a schoolteacher in
the public schools of New York it is first
necessary to get a recommendation from
a member of the board Of education.
This enables the candidate to try a pre-
liminary examination, which, if he is
successful, entities him to be placed up
on the eligible list Of teachers. After
satisfactory work III this capacity for
not more than a year the candidate Sc
cures a permanent license as a teacher
in New York's public schools, and az
such is entitled to teach in any part u
the city.
This does not mean necessarily that
the teacher will Immediately find en-
ployment. That depends entirely upon
the local board of school trustees. The
city is divided into "a school districts,
the schools in each of which are COZ
trolled by a school board, who are APP
pointed by the board of education. The
boards have the selection of all teachers
below the grade Of principal, these be-
ing appointed by the board of educa-
ton. AS a rule, however, the licensed
teacher soon finds an opening aud then
is in the regular line of promotion.
What has made the school service SO
attractive to many are the easy hours.
NAAe-'eu'ns VI Tie saAafy CARRIERS Ill New
York get to work at s a. LII. and are
lucky if they get away by s p. H., with
half an hour for luncheon. The work Of
the teacher begins at 8 IA. m. and is over,
as a rule, by 8 p. NJ, with an hour for
luncheon. Nine-tenths Of the salary
earners get only 2'weeks ont of the 81
in the year for q vacation, and they
work 6 days in the week at that. The
schoolteschers get q vacation Of I3
weeks in SO and draw full pay during
that time. Besides this they work only
8 days in the week and have all holi-
days. 1t has been estimated that the
schoolteachers Of New York work less
than 200 of the S65 days in the year.
If a schoolteacher is to rise in the
calling, however, the work does not end
with school hours. Studies In pedagogy
and advanced education must be kept up
at home. The work is not SO hard, how
ever, or the pay so poor as to induce
many to resign. In fact, it has become
a saying in the system that school
teachers never die and never resign. -