The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1897-02-03

THE PUBLIC SCHOOL sY STEM.
That there are defects in ou1
school system no one will question.
yet what concerns US most is not the
defects so much as the remedies to
be used to correct these defects. The
crying need of the hour is more mon
ey and better teachers. Every
thoughtful mind will at once see how
the one is dependent upon the other
In order to bring out the above ideas
little clearer, let US take glance at
the system as it now is. The
amount of money now raised by tax
alton for school purposes is sufficient
to run the schools only from two and
a half to four months during the
year at salaries-well not salaries ex-
actly-but pay at from SIS to s25 pei
month. Unfortunately, to the minds
of a great many who earn much less
these amounts appear quite large and
sufficiently ample, but are they
really? Well, for some teachers it is
big pay for the return given, but fol
teaching, real teaching it is not. We
find dotted over our country numer.
Gus little school houses that during
the greater part of the year there is
no signs of use whatever, but Just be.
fore the public term opens, the house
is put to rights and the teacher, fire.
quently his or her first term, takes
charge with many misgivings as tc
the duties to be performed. Time
flies by as usual and the children
flock in from the surrounding com,
munity many of whom are Ill sup.
piled with the necessary text books
BY and by winter sets in and bad
weather and sickness together cuts
down the average wonderfully, and
by the time the teacher is getting in.
to the work and the pupils beginning
to accomplish something, the district
trustees announce that the money is
out and the schools must be closed
Thus ends the chapter Of many
schools over the State until tie fol-
lowing year rolls around. During
the interval the boys and girls are
made to help on the farm and in a
few short feeting years every oppor-
tunity for obtaining anything like a
common school education is lost and
they pass out and become citizens, i'll
prepared to battle life's problems OF
to be properly enthused with the val,
ue of al education so as to do more
for their children than was done fol
them. To revert to the teachers it is
but natural that where the standard
of education is low that those will as
pire to teach who feel themselves SUI
perior in knowledge to those whom
they propose to teach, although they
feel and know their own weakness
Unfortunate is the lot of people SC
situated. Again others well qualified
to teach accept positions in the com
mon schools to gain experience tc
serve them in gaining better posi-
tions or they teach 10 make their ex'
penses while they study profession
Poor pay makes poor teachers ano
until we wake up to that fact we can
not expect to overcome these Difficult
ties.
Various methods have been used
to raise money to run schools nine OF
ten months during the year, anc
wherever a school is kept running al
the time Irregular term) you will fine
there community in better condl'
ton, socially, intellectually ard fnan'
cially. If the public cannot raise the
requisite amount to carry on the
school the full term, the patrons O.
such school should go down into
their pockets and raise the balance
If the money is there they can de-
mand the proper talent aud will gel
it and it will thus be the means O.
raising the standard aud producing
more professional teachers But
where the people are content to send
to little school during the time il
is fostered by the public, and when
the public term expires just stop and
let what little good there was done
die out they can never hope to build
up frst-class school and get first
class teachers.
Teaching is the worst paid profes.
sion there is,and yet the most impor-
tant. Just investigate and ascertain
how many teachers have been teach
ING FIVE, ten or twenty years in the