Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-08-13
REBELLloUs TEACHER DEMANDS
CERTIFICATE FROM COUNTY
SUPERINTENDENT.
TEACHERS PAY TOO LOW
Wonderful and Astounding Answers
Given BY Those Seeking certifi-
Gates to Teach = Quotations From
Answers at Last Examination.
Emma Nye,

Emma Nye,
Madam.
Yours of the at hand today and
will say was not pleased with it.
I do not think l have been treated
Iust right and will see you later.
l have never failed before and don't
expect to this time or to speak plain
er l expect a certificate without far
Their examination. l hardly think it is
necessary for me to say more on this
subject just now but will call at your
office soon. Yours for fairness
That there is sorrow and bitterness
in many hearts as a result of the re-
ports of the last regular teachers eX-
aminations being sent out by County
Superintendent Emma Nye is evidenc-
ed by the above letter which was re-
ceived at the superintendent Office
yesterday morning. AS whole the
grades on the last examination were
lower than the average for some time
past and the result has been that sew
eral even of the older teachers have
failed in one or more studies and will
have to take their examinations over
or go without their certificates and
give up their schools.
The grades of the writer Of the
above letter whose name is not made
public were: Geography, ~; didactics
So; history Is and grammar As. The
writer has been one of the teachers Of
Wapello county for some time past
and was also one of the few teachers
who complained that they could never
secure good markings in their exam
nations under Superintendent Beniah
Dimmitt
Gradngs Lenient.
Miss Nye states that in this especial
case, the gradings were lenient and
that they were at least one-third high
rim comparison than they would have
been had the examination been con-
Quoted in the ordinary high school
course.
7cs One Great Trouble.
"0ne of the great troubles in bring
Ing the work of the country schools up
to q satisfactory standard is the fact
that there is a constant change in the
teaching force,' said Miss Nye in
speaking of the low grades and the
difficulty of securing capable and eff
ficient teachers for the country
schools. There are but five teachers
today on the roll who were teachers
in the county five years ago.
at takes the average teacher about
three years to learn her business and
to. become a capable and resourceful
teacher. Some become proficient in
less time but I-refer to the average
The record shows that before the
teacher spends enough time to thor
orghly learn her business and to real
ly become a professional and not a
mere amateur she quits teaching and
gets married, or goes into some other
business.
i r.t- Pay Is Too Small.
'Why do they quit teaching? Be-
cause the pay is so small The aver
age pay received by the Wapello coun-
ty teachers is about 800 Out of this
she must pay on an average $40 per
month for board. she must dress bet
ter than the average of those about
her, she must buy helps and charts for
the school room. periodicals and
teachers journals for herself, attend
educational meetings, summer schools
and county institutes. In fact these
things are not merely expected of her
but they must be done if she continues
in her. work. She has no alternative.
Thirty dollars per month will give
the teacher for her average of seven
and one-half months work about $215
as her salary for the year or a little
less than SIS per month for the year
out of which her expenses must all be
paid, Unless she is SO situated that
she can live and board at home she
can not live on this amount and bear.
the expenses that are demanded of
her.
~ Farm Hands Better Paid.
Farm hands get $25 per month,
their board and washing and the ma
jority of them the keep of one horse.
Their labor is unskilled labor of al
most the lowest order.
The low wages paid make it nee
essary for teachers to teach in their
own home district SO far as possible
and this to a large extent prevents
the introduction of new ideas and new
methods and is detriment to the
work as a whole.
A Strong Conscientious Body.
Il must say that the teachers of
Wapello county are on the whole a
strong conscientious body They are
hard and willing workers. Their at
tendance and their work at the insti-
tute showed that they are enthusiast
tic and are seeking every opportunity
for better preparing themselves for
their work. The instructors at the re-
cent institute declared that they
had never seen more enthusiastic
workers than the teachers in attend
ance at the session and in my
work among them have found them
ready, willing and anxious 10 improve
themselves in every possible way.
Wonderful Answers.
Some wonderfully funny and ridic-
ulous answers are received in the reg
ular examinations, said Miss Nye as
she drew out an armful of perhaps $50
sets Of papers that have been correct
ed and graded. A short examination
of these papers bore out her asser-