The Lafayette advertiser. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], La.) 1865-19??, 1905-03-22

and women engaged in the teaching
profession NAV be divided into two
classes-those noble souls who are
willing to turn from the world and its
allurements, to give their hearts,
their strength, their earnest thought
to the improvement of the race, the
enlightenment of their fellow Great
ures, and those other lore numerous,
baser souls who teach because they
have failed at everything else, and so
must take up work which no one else
would do except the member of the
first class. As the ratio of these two
classes varies so would vary the
respect in which the teaching profess
sion is held. It is not without the
realm of possibility, indeed it is q
strong probability, that, following
the law of diffusion, the first class
would merge with and become lost in
the second. This would happen the
sooner because the second class would
out number the first, because the dull
ness and stupidity and inertia of the
second class would make them diff
cult to change, because the SENSIBLE
tiles of the first class would be
blunted by association with the men,
bers of the second class, because your
worker for charity's sake would with
but q crust and . coat have naught to
spend for books to quicken his wit, or
on travel to broaden his mind.
A word to the layman, the father,
the taxpayer, the man who foots the
bills. Experience shows that cheap
things IN dearly bought. Economic
on your shoe bill or on your meat
bill If you will, but ~ you afford to
economic on your child's education.
A lean, half-starved, stunted body
excites universal pity; how much more
pitiable is q h~alf-starved, stunted
mind. You call in the best medical
aid when your child is i'll in body, yet
for the care of his mind you secure
the cheapest possible aid. You won-
der why your children cost you SO
much. You must pay for his vicious
habits, you must pay for his shiftless-
ness, you must pay for what he
wastes, you must pay to save him
from prison. Why not pay q little
something for such an education as
will save you from the necessity for
these other payments? You, as an
American citizen, n proud of your
heritage Of freedom and count your
self the equal Of any king. You would
resent the gift Of clothing to your
child or of food. Do you not glory
in the right and power to supply them
yourself? Yet when it comes to the
small tax which is to be devoted to
the clothing and feeding Of your
child's mind, to the building up of
his character, the development of his
usefulness, you hold back with mig
gardly s~tinginess and whine for cheap
instructors. Is it right to your child
for you to hold back from his teacher
the money necessary to keep informed
and abreast of the times? Is it full
filling your full duty to your country
to lower the intelligence of the citizen
ship by cheapening the makers OF that
Are you afraid that the
offer Of . decent salary will attract to
the teaching profession the fierce COM
petition OF talent, brain and intelli-
In justice to the teacher, whose very
devotion to the cause has untitled him
for other occupation and has thus
him at your mercy, you should
hesitate to withhold . just stipend.
Has moi . teacher wants? Does he
not feel the cold as others do? Is
food unnecessary to . teachers
strength and health and usefulness?
Docs he not experience pleasure and
in the possession OF
property and = hnme?: The humbless
lrtisans the vendor Of peanuts has his
lee simple, bat few teachers of the
State Of L0uisisns today can make
such : boast. Teachers there are
those hair hac turned gray in the
who rank hiVh AMONG the