New-York tribune., 1909-03-16
CHARTER COMllISSTON IS
CONSIDERING IT.
Little Doubt That 1t Viii Adopt
"Sir and Sir" System Worked
out by Committee of Erperts.


dojbt that the scheme will be Incorporated III
the administrative code of the charter. as J.
Hampden Dougherty, chairman OF the commit
tee on educaticna affairs Of the commission
has become perfectly familiar with the plan ana
approves it. 1t provides for division OF school
training into six years in the elementary schools
and six years in high schools.
The system will effectually settle the question
of equal salaries for men and women teachers
and eliminate the problem that has vexed the
educational authorities for several years.
The committee which was formed primarily
to reconcile the differences between men and
women tachers and to shape legislation for the
general improvement of the school system, IS
headed by Henry n. Tiff, former president OF
the New York City Board of Education. Inc
other members are J. Edward Swanstrom. Tor
| five years president of the Brooklyn Board OF
| Education, later president of the Brooklyn Bor-
| ough Board of Education and after that vice
president and president of the New York City
! Board of Education: Miss Grace c. Strachan,
| president OF the lnterborough Women Teachers
| Association, which has led the fight for an
! equalization of pay for men and women teach
! ers; Dr. Charles o. Dewey, president of the Male
| Teachers Association; DR.. Walter B. Gunnison,
| principal of the Erasmus Hall High School ana
| a leader in various teachers associations; Dr.
| Frank X Perkins, president OF the Teachers
Association
! lanes ]. sheppard principal of the High School
/ of Commerce and president of the High school
| Principals Association; Mrs. Miriam Sutro
/ Price president of the Public Education Asso-
/ citation; Miss Katherine D. Blake, prominent as
/ an officer in several associations; Miss kather-
inc A. McCann, principal of Public School IL,
| and Mrs. Annie 3. Moriarty.
THE SIX AND SIX PLAN.
This committee adopted plan for reorgani5a-
ton worked out by Mr.. Swanstrom, which he
calls the six and six plan. The present school
! system provides for twelve years of public school
| work-eight years of elementary work and four
| years OF high school work. Under the swan
| strou1 system the twelve years will be divided
into two periods Of six years each, the first six
10 be devoted to the elementary work and the
last 81, 10 high school work. The six years Of
high school work will be divided into two equal
! neriods-three in what are to be known as sub
| high school courses and the remaining three
| years in the regular finishing work of high
! schools.
In the suh-high schools two courses Will be
( pro,idcd. one leading. at present. to the ad-
vanced work of the regular high schools and
| preparatory for college The other course IN
| The erb-bigh schools viii be of industrial or
a ocatlonal order. leading 10 the work OF ths
manual training high school or to other trade
81
To solve the salary question the plan provides
that only women shall be employed as teachers
! in the six years work of the elementary schools
and that in the six years Of high school work
| the teachers shall au be college graduates and
shall be paid according TO the Office held regard
| less Of sex As there will be no competition
! between men and women in the elementary
grades. the question OF different salaries Will be
| eliminated there The requirement for college
graduates in the high school work viii provide
| for higher class Of teachers.
There is 70 be a carefully graded scale pro-
vidine certain salaries for certain places and
increa sing gradually TO a certain point accord
| ing 20 length Of service. This plan. of course
! viii call for a somewhat larger salary budget
when (, has become fully operative. This in
crea So is figured at between $e60o.o00 and 81
100000 a year.
MUCH CHEAPER THAN EQUAL PAY.
IF .he bill providing for equal pay for men and
| women teachers under the present organization
had become a law it would have brought about
| a mandatory increase in the salary budget Of
some $4,000 600
Tho six and six" plan has not only been
| considered and approved by the City Club but
hes been submitted to leading educators in other
| parts of the country, receiving almost universal
conlmendation Elmer Ellsworth Brown United
states Commissioner OF Education at Washing
| ton. has expressed his approval, and the Ma
! tional Educational Association, at its last meet
| ing IN Cleveland. adopted a resolution favorins
the idea,
The women teachers and others who have
! made such d hard fight in Albany for a man
datory equalization of the salaries of men and
! women are ready to accept the provisions Of
the plan.
| This night has done much to demoraIize the
| teaching force" said a member of the commit
tee yesterday. and We believe the solution Of
the problem a most happy one
The provision to have college graduates in the
| high school grades; the moderate increase in
salary have been able TO provide for men
| and the placing Of women's salaries in the same
| scale as that of men will permit the school sys-
| tenn to get better teachers in the higher grades.
| We have found it hard TO get enough teachers
to take such places under the present scale.
VOCATIONAL TRAINING FEATURE.
"One of the big features of the plan is that
! providing for turning the child whose circum-
| stances or inclination make il desirable into
| the industrial vocational line of training ear
| iier than is done. our present system aims
! at the training of brain workers and ignores to
great extent the training for manual arts
When the six ny SIN plan was first submit
ted to the working force in the schools many
OF them opposed If, but after careful considera-
| ton of it's admirable features with the commit
I tee they have agreed to accept IT,
High schools cost about three times as much
as elementary schools. If one class is taken
from the present high school buildings the lat
ter viii he ample to provide accommodations
for some years to come. it is believed
II is not Thought that il will be necessary to