Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1906-02-08
TEACHERS SALARIES AND DUAL
IEICATIONS.

meeting at Hurley, January 26s 19O6s
wish to say in the beginning thai
there iss in this paper, not the slightes,
intent Is criticise any one or any class
of people; and that / am not decryine
the ability of the teachers of Turner]
county en- South Dakota. For believed
sincerely that they rank well wititl
those of any county or state; but do
4 tbelieve*iust as sincerely that teachers
in general are not as capable as the!
4 might, Eaer never will be, till they are
! paid much higher salaries and require,
to meet much higher and broader quail
i ificatiOhs The IDEAS advanced in this
/ paper, sn-far as they are my own opiI-
twenty Four years experience III the
Il schools of South Dakota-twolve years
as pupil and student, twelve year.
i as a student and teacher.
/ 1t is my aim to show, that both fron
the standpoint of right and justice
teachers and pupils alike and from the
standpoint of a business proposition
4 teachers are paid too little for thei
Il services and the qualifications require,
i are too low.
i First, let us make some comparisons
4 Last year a committee i'll this stat
very carefully collected statistics II
gartling the incomes of various cal
ings. quote you II few of the facts
II For college graduates the average IL
come Of doctors was found to be abou
i 81 ,9O0. of lawyers 81 800, and of schoo,
men 500 ! know two men in thi
I state. reared i'll the same home, havin$
the same natural ability, received a.
most identically the same education
il the one chose the law, the other tht
Il school MS professions. Today the law
d yer is drawing IL yearly income O.
$500 md the teacher receives $500
One of the brightest and ablest school
men in this county plans to quit the
4 profession at the close of this school
II wear. because he knows that with the
same energy and ability he can earn
much larger income and because 4
private company has offered to double
his present salary.
Under such circumstances is there
amy inducement for an intelligent and
[ ambitious man to stay in the school
n business? Is it any wonder
there are 40 few men in the
| yJ,l,., hn
men teachers: it is no more the proper
course to leave the teaching of the chill
dlen entirely to lady teachers than to
leave the rearing of children i'll the
home almost entirely to the Wife.
! The salary is so low that teachers III
the rural schools do not continue IL
the work on an average more thar
three years-just when they have hat
: about experience enough to be fairly
successful they turn to other things.
The average salary of rural teachers
in Turner county is about forty dollar:
4 per month for eight months $500 PEI
4 year AS rule a lady teacher cal
earn no money during vacation; sh
Ipays for board about $12o, clothes S15
y trips to county association Sc, attend
4 ance at institute Sic. books, papers, etc
n necessary for live school work S25, per
h hapss Il doctor bill so, dentist So, ca
d fare for other trips $40, incidentals S20
= total $296. Think of it. she may saw
J with good luck $24 per year or $40 il
4 ten years.
a Is it any wonder that as soon a
4 they have learned the fallacy of thei
r one-time dream they give up the strue
gle in about three years and agree t
y the first acceptable offer of marriage
a 1t is unfair to argue that teacher
4 receive as large salaries as clerks, farm
4 hands or day laborers. Few teacher
4 have spent less than $500 to $500 ant
4 from one to three years time i'll specia
preparation. while the latter have spen
4 neither time nor money in any specia
4 preparation But it is a universal bus
mess principle that it isall right to bu.
T viding the seller parts with it withou
coercion, so it is almost useless to ar
que for raise in teachers salarie.
4 simply because it is right.
But the question we must consider
most carefully is: Is the pay of small
salaries to teachers procedure tha
4 will bear the tests of good business
4 methods?
~ Whoever stands prepared and willin.
4 to pay, the highest price and who buy
r wisely and carefully is sure to get th
best You cannot expect to buy a goo,
4 horse, Il good machine or Il good sui
4 tof clothes for the price of a poor one
you cannot expect to hire an able-bod
led. Industrious man for the wages o
r a boy nor an intelligent, ambitious per
r son for the wages of an ignoramus
ri IConcnuuautIy ,,ptil battar Salariac ar