The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-09

knowledge cf pedagogy is to be com
menSHate With advance in other lines
or knowledge. certainly some invest
ment OF money must be made. No bust
ness investment pays so well as that
which produces courage. enthusiasm, in
teiiigent zeal, and devotion in the en-
ployes. If this is true in mercantile
and manufacturing pursuits. how much
more true is it IN a profession whose
members deal directly with the plastic
minds and souls OF our children
Can't Keep Best Ones
Commenting on the loss of teachers,
the memorial says
Seventy teachers have left the Wash
ington schools within the last fifteen
y-ears to accept positions elsewhere The
average salary vacated was s1,e76. the
average salary received in their new
positions. s.. $685. an increase of 57.S per
cent
Those teachers who have left the
service are the teachers of the higher
grades, the more experienced and
among the pnst valuable teachers II.
the Washington public schools, nifty OF
the seventy being drawn from the nigh
schools. Our schools must suffer by the
loss of so EIany men and women, who.
in places Of responsibility and leader
shin, have been the inspiration OF their
various schools and departments OF
long as there are not available salaries
adequate to keep experienced teachers.
or TO replace them by others of equal
experience and efficiency. These places
have been filled in most cases by young
men and women who either accept a
small salary as a ulakeshift, or come
here to learn their teaching trade, and,
when trained, in turn go elsewhere
Hard on Efficiency.
Those directly IN charge of our high
schools report that each year it is In
cre;tsingIy difficult 70 maintain the eff1ci-
ency OF the high schools in the face Of
such losses and they hold out no hope
OF betterment If the losses are to con-
tinue The Importance OF this fact to the
city viii be understood when it is re
WONDERED that there are enrolled in the
high schools about $500 young men and
women. 80 per cent of whom get here
their last schooling. In these schools.
TOO. practically all Of those who become
teachers in the grades spend four IN
pertant years To the certain knowi-
edge of this committee. the number OF
teachers leaving The Washington schools
would be much greater If il were not
for the pensions provided by the retire
ment fund-a fund supplied through the
teachers own efforts, and not by either
the District or The National Govern
nent-
The charge made in this connection
by Prof Mensterberg, OF Harvard. that
we are the first nation TO put the educa-
ton OF our children into the hands OF
The lowest bidder, is strikingly exempli-
;.ed in our city
The low salaries in Washington sub
Ject the school system to another dan
ger-the ina5Ility to secure men There
are in the United States too few men
teachers. Frzm 1880 to 1901. in the en-
tire country the percentage of men
teachers had fallen rom 20 per cent to
- per cent In Washington the per-
centage is 12.9- Members of the Moseley
commission. which recently examined
American schools, have commented on
this weakness in the American school
system, and one member of the commits
sion. writing for the Scientific Amer
ican' instanced Washington as a con-
spicuous example