New-York tribune., 1908-04-06
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
LARGE SCHOOL CLASSES.
Called Result of Pay Too Small to
attract Teachers.

ers an hours interview. and the bill in all its
phases was discussed in his private Politics
now figure in the passage of the bill II is said that
Governor Hughes does not want the bill to be
put up to him second time His friends say that
veto OF it on the of a Presidential election
| might be injurious TO him. For that reason the
! Hughes Senator'S voted against it, The Hughes
men on the committee OF the Assembly are taking
this view of the political end of the bill and 1t is
| still hanging fire there"
! The differences to be drawn from the above
scarcely complimentary to the Executive of a
great commonwealth where twelve thousand of its
/ law-abidng citizens. without the franchise,
trying 10 have recognized injustice corrected by
the body that enacted the injustice eight years ago
! The writer wonders If the Hughes Senator'S mean
| what they practically say. If they do, the infer
! ences certainly need commentary in face Of the
! following well known facts:
Under the headlines Congestion in Schools
Inadequate Fairgrounds" and Glasses Which
Are Too Large" New York evening paper OF
March % printed the following
THE worst of the pedagogical difficulties due
! to congestion in the schools spring from the ex-
cesstve number OF pupils intrusted TO teacher.
According to Superintendent Maxwells report for
! 1907. the average number of pupils a class in
! the elementary grades, based the average
/ monthly register, forty-two, From the stand
/ point Of many educators this average is high in
| Itself and its significance becomes palmer in DR.,
| Maxwell S next statement. He adds: While the
/ average number of pupils to a teacher in ele
mentary schools is fOrty-tWo it should not be for
! gotten that there thousands of classes rang
! ing from forty-fve to sixty He goes TO rec
/ ommend forty as the standard number Of pupils
! TO teacher, but many of the most advanced edu-
Gators advocate classes Of not more than twenty"
In January 1907, there were 6S1 vacancies in
the elementary schools due to scarcity of teacn-
ers Counting fifty children 10 each class. 1850
! children were without teachers In many
! qualified and licensed substitute teachers could
not be found. on February l. 1908 there were over
four hundred vacancies in the elementary schools
due TO above causes. During the month of Febru-
ary' 1905 over one hundred vacancies were added
TO the above number
According to a rule OF the Board Of Education
forty pupils should constitute a class in the last
two years Of the elementary school course and
hfty pupils the maximum for classes in grades
oeloW the last two years. These rules are con-
stantIy broken by crowding the upper grades
with fifty or sixty pupils 10 class and the prf-
mary grades with sixty, seventy and pupils
to class
The above crowdlng together with the large
number OF pupils without regular teachers results
in a large measure in the unusual number of So
called deficient" children. Under these circum-
stances the individual child can get little If any
attention. There is little time or strength left
for the peculiarities of the child. More teachers
and smaller classes would greatly reduce the num-
Der Of ''defclents"
Deficient classes formed with teachers
chosen for this particular work These classes
nave in many cases been abandoned because Of
lack Of funds and lack Of teachers
The above conditions the results of a sys-
tenn OF economy practised in the city OF New York
In dealing with its citizens and their children Who
pays the penalty If the helpless child and his
often helpless parent?
Joseph M Rogers in the March number of Lip
pincotts Monthly Magazine" makes the following
statement in an article entitled Educating our
Boys:
The bulk of primary education is provided at
pubhc cost. We are proud Of our common schools
though they are far below what from an ideal
STANDPOINT they should be. No teacher is phvs-
lcally mentally cOmpetenr 10 era ,~onar
struction to forty children which is the average
size OF a division in the public schools Under
such conditions individual instruction is largely i'm
poSsloie ana must be devoted principally to the
IaggaTdS at the expense OF the brighter children
OF wee versa. Il IS amazing that so much
IS accomplished under such difficulties II is he
cause the average teacher-usualIy a woman-gives
OF Let vitality and sympathy mental force 10
an extent which is abnormal and deporabIe maj
the children Of tender years are SO well grounded
III the elements OF knowledge. The time will come
"heh no such task will be placed on the young
women or this country and when the teachers win
not only be honOred but we'll paid for their ser
wees. 1t may be said that, primarily, the need
OF the public schools is reduction of the num-
Der OF children in division TO twenty-five as q
maximum. It would be better TO place the number
al twenty II would pay in every way"
many or our high school girls do not care TO
qI0i''S Ior positions that pay Sl1 80 week after
six or seven years of preparation. A nurse girl
caring Ior one baby, receives quite as much few
weeks OF preparation will qualify girls for positions
as leIephone operators that very soon pay 81 80
week. A few months in school for stenog-
Faplers VIII prepare them for positions paying bet
Ter within short time. The maximum salary that
woman in our elementary schools receives after
seventeen years OF service is 81 26O a wear This
does not encourage those who are in the service N
remain A reward of $50 a week after ten wears
OF service does not invite the up state tes cher
10 come TO New York City, when she finds that q
hall bedroom with board costs 50 to $11 week
The teachers bill before the Legislature carries
with 1t provision for four mill tax on the prop
eT1y valuation OF the city OF New York in place
Of the present three mill provision an increase of
one mill each dollar or one dollar on each thou
sand On last years valuation this will produce 2
sum greater than S6O00.OOO bill also provides
that 80 per cent of said fund be used by the
Board OF Education for salaries OF supervising and
teaching staff of public day schools In other
words, II promises fund sufficient for the local au
thortes 10 make schedules that will encourage nor
sons within the city to qualify for teachers and
also that will teachers from outside the
city to apply for positions
The Dill leaves the matter of schedules 10 the
Board Of Education and the fund will be sufficient
to increase the salaries of the teachers in the eIe
mentary schools, 10 provide for equalization and II
the board so desires TO increase the salaries of the
men in the system
II the board wishes TO carry out the recomnlenda-
ton OF the city superintendent that there are no
sitons that should be filled by men" there is moth !
Ing in thu bIll that viii prevent It from creating
special schedule for these positions and filing them
with the proper persons If, however they continue
10 place women in those grades they shall have the
pay belonging to the position. TEACHER /
New York April 2 1908.
TEACHERS AND TAXES.