Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-09
LACK OF HARMONY
IN LOCAL SCHOOLS
Northeast Washington Citizens Asso-
citation, by Practically Unanimous
Vote, Arraigns the Management.


sive processes. This frst-named teacher
| chose certain associates, and these have in
| turn chosen others. from groups nominated
ostensibly by the various grades and de-
| partmentS of the school system. This body
! Is FAR from being representative of the
| teaching force.
Under One Controlling Mind.
| ut u.s. the contrary, clique CEN
| tered around and controlled by single
| teacher, against whose will 1t is impossible
! for any other teacher to be elected to men,
bershfp. Here. then. We have the type Of
| political machine, organized by the super
| intendent for the removal from his pres
ence OF the teachers of the District and for
| the government Of the schools through
| favorites
| This advisory council has created jeal-
| ousies and has engendered factional quar-
rels. 1t Is regarded by the teachers with
| suspicion. for 1t stands for the doctrine
| that the superintendent declared in an in
terView with one Of the teachers who were
discharged early in the season by him
| without cause or warrant Of law-the doc
trine that the, school system is a hierarchy
| of which he is the head.
| The cause of this condition lies pri-
| marily with Congress for attempting to
| reorganiZe our school system, of which we
| We're justly proud; and this association
| strongly urged Congress to let our system
alone and results have shown the wisdom
OF that advice. When the bill reoreanizing
/
| 1t would have been hard to find a body of
| teachers more in sympathy with their
i superintendent and more loyal to him and
the school board than were the teachers of
! Washington
Good results were expected and good
! results were obtained notwithstanding the
| poor pay received by the teachers. We be-
| lieve the present Management is composed
| Of men of the highest personal integrity
/ and honesty Of purpose. but that they lack
experience IN the management of schools"
The Report Discussed.
DR.. Starr Parsons. a member of the COM
mittee, was the first to discuss the report
"A survey of the school situation" he
SAID. reveals a chaos complete and ire
parable, at least SO far as the current year
| is concerned. Time is too short to consider
| all the phases of this deplorable condition,
| but one or two may be taken illustrative
| Of the whole. Since the teachers because
| of their immediate influence upon the pu-
| pills are, next TO the pupils. TIE vital force
| IN the school body, 1t becomes imperative
that the citizen take recognizance of the
state OF panic and terror in which these
teachers are working. Not one of them is
| living the Independent fear-free existence
i upon which good work depends. This
| Gus apprehension and general uncertainty
about the future must inevitably react upon
| the pupils and it is doing this
1T Is small wonder that our teachers are
| thus unsettled and relatively pacitated
| for full service. That this state of mind is
| nut the logical outcome of existing condi-
| tons Is fully proved by a review of the
| proceedings of the present school year AT
! Its beginning a new superintendent came
| at the call of a new board of education
| The fact that one of these agencies was
absolutely ignorant of local affairs and
| that the other was unfamiliar with the aims
ana plans OF education might dictate mod
Grafton. But the safe vantage ground of
caution appears nowhere In the plans of the
new school administrators.
/ Based Upon Assumption.
| Their initial act was based the as
sumption that the entire corps of teachers
was officially dead. Later however, this
disquieting attitude was abandoned and the
| teachers We're resuscitated and reinstated-
not as a whole, but in successive groups
| with niggardly admission of wrong and
| reluctant restoration of rights Even then
| number Of teachers. all of experience and
| some of marked efficiency, suffered prac-
teal dismissal from the service This
| seemed conspicuously q time OF reprjsals
| Naturally, this action added greatly to the
apprehensive fear of the teachers. Again
| when a member of the board Of education
was heard to say that the annual elimination
| of 10 per cent of the teachers would bene-
| MT the system, another factor of unrest was
! set In motion. And so 1t has gone on, every
| day adding some new element of terror to
| this already fear-ridden situation Asser-
| tons that the teachers not troubled
| based on the fact that they do not COM
| plain, count for nothing. Reasonable tenure
| of office is their great Inspiration: uncer-
| talnty of tenure Is the dominate note of the
| new order.
| Another Danger Cited.
| The next eminent danger Is that the
| teaching force is suffering professionally
| Up to the present time no definite instruc-
tons have been given. To be sure, the
| superintendent has seen all the teachers
| once by meetings, but at these instead of
| reassuring them with careful we'll
| planned. applicable scheme of work for
| them to follow. he used the time in COM
| planning about his troubles and in starting
some half dozen irrelevant themes, each Of
| which died abortively by the pressure of
| Its successor At the end of these meetings
he stood convicted, like Rudyard Kipling's
| 'Bimi.' of having too much ego in his
| cosmos to permit the interests Of a mere
| school system to find Judgment there The
| teachers came away no wiser than they
| went.
| Even this might have been excused as a
| first performance on the plea of getting
! acquainted If it had been Immediately fol-
lowed by definite directions and substan-
| tial help from either the superintendent or
| his delegates. But this has not come, and
| with the year more than half gone. the
| teachers are still waiting. 1t is absolutely
| safe to affirm that the superintendent and
| those closest to him in office have given
| out no crumb Of information and no CO.
| operative assistance.
Franklin Building the Harbor.
| The Franklin School building Is the har-
Dor in which these dignitaries are anchored.
! Upon the occasions-the rare occasions
when these officials go into the schools
| their only concern is about the number o.
| pupils, vacant seats and other items OF
| this class. No teacher can tell of assist
ance in teaching. Of advice concerning real
| problems, or of the stimulation Of an in
| spring presence. Very little though, OF
even the perfunctory and mechanical kind
of visiting before referred to is being done.
Instead, these people. each supplied with
! clerk, sit in their offices busying them
selves with all manner of things. many of
! which properly belong to the work of the
| secretary's office, where hitherto IL has
| been most efficiently done. and where 1t now
! properly belongs. Washington is paying
$10.6O annually, plus clerks salaries, for
| this splendid exhibition of efficiency.
Added to the lack Of oral instruction is
the absence Of any printed course of study
for the use of the schools. True, a frag-
ment-a course In geography-was imported
| from Paterson, N. j., and slightly modified
| to meet the local needs, but that Is ALL At
present large committees appointed by the
superintendent are now engaged In con.