The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1899-02-16
SLAVES OF CAPITALISM
Women Teachers the Victims of
Doodle Politics.
How the Teachers of Our Public
Schools Are Treated by the
Capitalist Politicians.

The women teachers in the Boston public
schools feel that they deserve larger sala-
ries, and the matter has been brought to
the attention of the School Committee. A
resume of the situation as outlined by one
of the teachers is as follows:
lin 1877, or Whereabouts, the salaries Of
all the instructors in the Boston public
schools were reduced, the masters to
50, 500 and the majority Of the women
teachers, known as third and fourth assist
ants, the regular teachers of the grammar
and primary schools, to STA per year But
in order to reach this maximum the teacher
has to serve seven years, after having spent
six years in learning the profession.
Every year since the reduction of sal
aries the work has grown harder. The
children are not kept in the school rooms
more hours, but the teachers are. Every
new supervisor and many masters have
some new study to introduce, some new
experiment to try. But every enrich
ment of the programme means added
work for the teachers-work Of prepare
ton as well as of teaching. Within a
few years the primary school teachers
have given great deal Of time and CON
siderable money, car fare and otherwise,
studying the Swedish system of gymnas-
tics, clay work, paper cutting, drawing and
nature work. Much time has to be given
out of school hours to pencil sharpening,
since the states have been taken out of
school, cutting paper into suitable lengths
for drawing and spelling lessons, and pre-
pairing nature work. All this means many
more than five hours of labor.
For long time many of the teachers
have felt that they deserved more salary,
but the constant cry of small appropria-
tions and reduction of expenses has de-
tered them from making an appeal. Judge
of their surprise, therefore, when they
learned that the masters, who are already
| receiving nearly four times as much as the
teachers, had petitioned for an increase of
S50Ol
1.-THE Primary Teachers Association
decided that if the time to raise the
masters salary had arrived, so also
had the time to raise that of the lower
grade teachers. They, therefore, asked
hearing from the Salary Committee. At
the last meeting of the School Board an
amendment to the order which was to
raise the masters salaries was offered by
member of the board, proposing to raise
the teachers salaries so that in six years
from date the maximum for third and
fourth assistants shall be a little over 5000.
The board passed the order as amended,
and for ten minutes the teachers who were
present dreamed of comforts for the future,
and into some minds even came dreams of
bit Of luxury. But, alas in few mo
ments the committee voted a reconsidera-
| ton, and the whole matter was referred
back to the Salary Committee, with direc-
tons to report at the next meeting.
1t is said the public is not ready for the
question; that no one except the teachers
themselves are interested in the subject
1t seems that every good citizen should be
interested; that, if they gave it any thought,
the faithful, hard worked, lower grade
teachers should be as well paid as women
clerks in City Hall and elsewhere, who
need only Grammar school education, and
who do not need to expend time, money
and nervous force in learning ever some
new and better way of working
Amy argument which can be given for
masters increase of salary is equally
applicable to the women teachers. Many
of the women teachers have parents or
younger relatives dependent upon them,
and very few teachers are able to save
anything for illness or old age.
SIT is said they can never raise the
salaries of a large body of teachers at
once They did reduce large number
at once. The increase the teachers ask
for would be gradual The teachers who
have been years in service would have to
work six years more before reaching the
maximum. Many teachers will retire
befone reaching that glorious future. 1t is
easy enough to raise money for supervisors.
one of whom receives nearly four times
as much as the teachers ask for, for police,
for parks, for many objects of greater or
lesser use or necessity. Ought it to be hard
to increase the salaries of the women
teachers in proportion to that of the
masters?
lit is said, raise the masters first; let
the teachers turn come later. That means
delay Of at least year before the women
| teachers can begin to work toward the max
imum salary. Why should the women
teachers, whose salaries are small and ex-
penses great, who have to pay for substi-
tute for every half days absence, have to
wait longer than the masters, whose salaries
are comfortable and who have many priv
leges?'
Editorially the Boston Herald makes the
following soft remarks
On Tuesday evening the School Board
viii take action in order to increase the sal
aries Of the masters of grammar schools,
who now receive 81, $50, while the g.eat
body of wome teachers have but STA.
The order will give an increase of
S42O to the masters, but it makes
no provision for increasing the sal
aries of teachers in general. The
general feeling is that the pay of men
and women in the public schools is very I'M
equal, and in the case of women, many of
whom bring very high qualifications to
their work, entirely inadequate. While we
should be glad to have the pay of the mas
tiers increased, we believe that it should not
take place unless that of the men and wom-
en- in other grades of work is increased also.
The truth is that none of our teachers are
properly maid for the servica which the
public demands and obtains
1t is disgrace to our Republican insti