The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1907-08-01
The National Educational Association,
ITS PRINCIPLES AND AIMS.

| The National Educational Associa-
ton, at its 45th annual convention in
Los Angeles, representing teachers and
| friends of education In every State of
| the Union made the following declara-
ton of principles and aims:
The National Educational Associa-
ton notes with approval that the quail
| fcations demanded of teachers in pub
lie schools, and especially in city
| schools, are increasing annually and
| particularly that in many localities
| special preparation is demanded of
teachers. We regret the attempt that
! is being made in some quarters to
evade the consequence of low salaries.
| The salaries and often the conditions
under which teachers in the public
! schools teach do not offer sufficient in
ducement to offset the more promising
| positions in the commercial life OF a
| large city. Recourse is had, therefore,
in selecting students with incompetent
High school or Normal school training
to fill these yearly increasing vacancies.
| Hence we believe that constant effort
eSted in education to secure for teach
ers such adequate compensation for
their work that both teachers and pub
lie will recognize teaching as profess
sion. We wish heartily to endorse the
action of those legislatures that have
| fixed minimum salary at living
| wage.
| The rapid establishment of township
and rural High schools is one of the
most gratifying evidences of the prog
ress of education. The constitutional
! provision that all taxpayers must con-
! tribute to the support of the public
| schools logically carries with it the i'm
| piled provision that no persons should
! be permitted to defeat the purposes of
! the public school law by forcing their
children at an early age to become
bread winners. The National Educa-
| ton Association wishes to record its
! approval of the increasing appreciation
among educators of the fact that the
| building Of character is the real aim of
schools and the ultimate reason of the
expenditure of millions for their main
tenance.
The National Education Association
approves the efforts of the simplified
spelling board and other bodies to pro-
mote the simplifcation of English spell
| ling by the judicious omission of useless
silent letters and the substitution of a
more regular and ineligible spelling in
place of forms that are grossly irregu-
| lar or anomalous, such amendments to
| be made according to the existing rule
and analogies of the English spelling,
with a due regard to the standards ac-
cepted by scholars; and the association
! hereby approves the simpler forms con-
| tanned in the list of three hundred
words now spelled in two or more ways,
published by the simplifed spelling
board and containing the twelve simpli-
fled forms now used by this association
and directs that those forms being used
in the publications of the association in
accordance with the rule now in force
The National Educational Associations
believes that the forces of this world
should be organized and operated in the
interests of peace and not of war: we
believe that material commercial and
social interests of the people of the
United States and of the whole world
demand that the energies of these gov
ernments and people be devoted to the
conservative and the healthful pursuits
of peace and that the people be relieved
Of the burdens of providing an enor-
nous expense the ornaments suggest
ed by the competitive desire for su-
premacy in war.
We further believe that the fear of
war and the possibility of war would
alike decline if governments were to
rely more upon the sentiment of the
people and less upon the strength of
their armies and navies.