Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1907-01-12
THE DAVIDSONV|LLE SCHOOL
contlnued lrom lsl page.


try has passed laws restricting child
labor, n,ostly. l think. 10 fourteen
years OF age. But here is an instance
where children nine years of age are
required to do work that believe is
far more damaging TO health than the
duties exacted OF children by the
employers Of child labor in factories
and large corporations. II is FAR more
Injurious TO health TO sit in cold
room with damp clothing for one hour
than 10 work out in the rain for half
a day.
Are the people OF Annapolis v filing
TO accept the Advertisers suggestion!
Let them try it and see the result.
Private schools would spring up and
the attendance in the public school
would be reduced TO half.
Again, the Republican says that the
teachers should not have been allow
ed 10 resign. Does he know the
facts. Things had arrived at that
state in which something had to be
done. 4 meeting of all the patrons
was called by the trustees. Ten fami-
lies were represented in this meeting.
some did not attend. vote was
taken to determine whether the teach
ers should be retained or DISMISSED.
The first teacher or principal received
one vote for retention and nine against.
The assistant received three for and
six against with one ballot blank.
These ballots were left in the hands
of the trustees. What they did with
them | do not know, but the result
of this vote was no secret. The teach
ers evidently knew of these facts and
resigned, rs | think any self-respect-
ing lady would have done. They have
my sympathy. as have also the trus-
tees. ] think the trustees acted accord
ing to their best judgment in the mat
ter and | believe, through the advice
of the School Board.
The real trouble. in my opinion, lies
in an ambiguous expression in the
school laws. II not ambiguous, then
vague at least.
The school laws require the teacher
10 be at the school building fifteen
minutes before time to begin school
and see that the room is comfortable
and in order, but does not say who
is TO make it comfortable or put il in
order. The teachers construe this to
mean that they are simply to "see
that the room is comfortable and in
order,' but that the children must do
the work.
The parents, on the other hand, con
tend that the rules of the school do
not require the children to be at the
building until9 o'clock, at which time
the rooms are supposed to be com
Portable and in order, and therefore
are not to be depended upon to do the
work.
My own Interpretation is this: That
the county makes the teacher respon-
sible for the work. If the pupils will
do the work gratis and without con
tention all is we'll so far as the teach
er is concerned. But if they object
the teacher must do the work or have
ii done.
This is hard on the teacher l will
admit, but if the country places this
work upon their teachers, and the
teachers accept the position under
those rules, they have no right TO force
it upon lot of little children.
And now a word as TO the remedy
for this evil. A small allowance for
each school as janitor's fee would do
away with this evil. | do not know
of any other county in the state land
/ have lived in several) which places
this work upon the children. BY a
careful comparison of the tax rates of
the various counties in which | know
janitor's fees are allowed, j do not
find them any higher than in Anne
Arundel. But if the county cannot
afford this then give us nine months
school instead of ten. No large amount
of ianitor's fees is necessary. The
stoves cleaned out we'll and fires made
on Monday mornings will go n great
way to remove the trouble. Then if
the teacher will give the fires little
personal attention on closing up the
school the fire need not go out before
Friday night. The sweeping is
small thing compared to having the
room comfortable. Any teacher who
will lead in this matter Will find
plenty of voluntary assistance. But,
il she stands off and says 81 wi II
resign before | will touch a broom, -
she may expect trouble. The people
will say at once: My child is
Just as good as she is. This is the
secret of much of the trouble here.
Is Anne Arundel county any poorer
than Prince George? / would think
that conditions ought to be about
equal, yet Prince George pays its
teachers more and makes an allow
ance for janitor's fees. Certainly
there must be something radically
wrong somewhere.
Some time after this trouble arose,
| was in Annapolis, and / called on
the president of the School Board
to ask if small allowance could not
be had so that thes fires could be
made on Monday mornings. This is
the reply / got: You people down
there that want so much ought too
move to the city Well, fortunate
ly, or unfortunately, as the case may
be, we cannot all live in the city. /
was greatly surprised at this remark,
both from the lack of courtesy on the
part of a city gentleman, and also
from the fact that one of the great
questions of the age is not how 10
get people to the city, but how TO re-
tain the boys on the farm, and make
them contented. This, / notice, was
one of the subjects before the meeting
of the county superintendents and
Baltimore some time ago. As panacae
for this it was proposed to Introduce
the study of agriculture in the public
schools. / am opposed to any such
nonsense. There is but one place to
make practical farmer, and that is
the farm. l believe in experiment
stations that give the public the ben
eft of their research, and no doubt a
knowledge of chemistry would be a
great help to the farmer, but ehemis-
try is great study, too great indeed
ever to be taught in the public schools
without great expense.