Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-06-22
DAY LONG ENOUGH TAFT FOR FAIR CTYT TEACH FARMING
Teachers Deny Favoring an
Extension of School Hours.
PLENTY OF WORK NOW
No Advantage to Be Gained by
Longer Session, Declares Asso-
citation Statement.

Through the High School Teachers AS
ISOLATION a published report that the
teachers in the high school had recon-
mended to the board of education that the
school day be heightened was emphatic
ally denied today. An explanatory state
ment issued on the subject by the asso-
citation follows:
1.-The teachers of the high schools did
not recommend that the school day be
heightened. They beg that in this con-
nection it be considered that there is no
eight-hour law for high school teachers;
that they work In many instances long
into the night as we'll as all Cay correct
ing exercises and planning lessons for the
next day.
THE exigencies Of the program since
the establishment Of the semester system
mean that teachers often carry five DIFF
ferent kinds of work at the same time,
necessitating the planning of five dif-
ferent lessons at night. The establish
ment Of the semester system has always
meant the employment Of an Increased
number Of teachers. Here the high school
teachers have not been provided IN SUI
flcient numbers to meet the situation. so
that teachers programs are much heavier
now than they were formerly. AS result
of this curtailment OF teachers, some
high school teachers Of required subjects
have as many as forty pupils in class.
too large a number for even graded
schools. This means, with f1ve sections,
heavy burden in the correction OF papers.
Remain After School.
"In addition to their regular work
teachers now remain many hours after
school doing clerical work. which in the
case Of section teachers amount to q
clerkship superimposed upon teaching.
but with no additional salary for such
work, as In the case Of other cities.
Then consider for a moment the va
rious school interests. so varied and nu-
merOus that in the minds of many they
subvert the original purpose Of the estab-
lishment of high schools
Some Of them are foot ball, track ath-
letics. base ball. the school paper, the de-
batting society. the cadet corps and the
dramatic society. Teachers in every case
give unselfishly hours of their spare time
without thought of the time and life en-
ergy wasted. with no thought OF extra
comp ensatiOn. and, In many instances,
without any tightening of program.
A teacher rarely leaves school at the
close of the day. He stays for some one
or more of the reasons cited, and also to
help individual pupils For the teacher
who leaves promptly this Is no remedy.
He will leave promptly after the extended
time.
Hours and the Pupil.
1.-The school hours are sufficiently long
now for the pupil. They are already
overcrowded in their work, and no good
is subserved by driving either teacher or
pupil beyond his capacity, for the char
acter of the work will tell in the results
obtained.
THE manual training teachers of the
Mckinley Manual Training School offered
to teach in the evening school without
compensation, but the school board de-
cided that it would be illegal to accept
their services without extra compensa-
ton, and required the teachers to accept
a dollar each for their services.
1T is to be hoped that when the
principals recommendation for the
lengthening OF the school day is con-
sidered the board will also take into
consideration the fact of the already
overwhelmed nigh school teacher. due
to too few teachers to execute the
newly inaugurated semester system.
and also the hours Of extra work now
cheerfuly and unselfishly given to all
school interests by these same over
burdened teachers