The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1913-04-10

lueTe prevails among the country
schools of South Carolina a wide
spread custom of changing teachers
and positions at the end of each year.
This habit on the part of school
boards and teachers is most disas-
trous to the welfare OF the schools
and the children. 1t needs no argu-
ment to convince a sensible man that
teacher can do better work in a
school during the second year than
she can during the first She knows
the children and their attainments,
their deficiencies, and their personal
peculiarities. She can adapt her
teaching to their needs and can grad
ually fill the gaps which so often
exist in the classification of children
In our country schools. During the
second year she should know the par
ents of the community and the home
conditions under which the children
must work. She should know all the
children and can more easily secure
full enrolment and a better at
tendance. She can take a larger part
in the church work of the community
and in the social life of the young
people. She can organize the liter
ary society and the Agricultural Club
among the boys and girls.
The best country schools of the
State are those which nave succeeded
| in keeping their teachers for a period
OF years. In fact, the tenure Of posi-
tion is usually sufficient to give one
a clear idea as to the efficiency of the
school,
In view of these facts it is deplorable
that between 80 and 75 per cent of the
country school teachers in South
Carolina change positions every year.
| The fault sometimes lies with the
trustees who assume that n teacher
loses his influence with the pupils
when they come to know him well
enough to be afraid of him. Some
times the teacher is allowed to leave
i because the year of experience has
brought increased efficiency which
some other district is eager to secure
at larger remuneration. In this
case the trustees should recognize
that a teacher is worth more the
second year and should increase the
salary accordingly. Most of our cities
have adopted a salary schedule under
which Tie salary varies from a fixed
minimum to a fixed maximum in ac
cordance with the eXpercnice and ten
ure of the teacher. Such a salary
might most prolitably he adopted by
The teacher who knows that her sal
airy will be increased five or ten dol
lars n month if she makes good in her
! present position, will be more likely
to devote her energy to making her
present school good one than to
spend the closing months of the year
looking for a better position some
| where else.
The change of position sometimes
results from the instability and tickle
ness of the teacher herself. Teach
ers sometimes bring to the school
| board testimonials from five or six
different schools in which they have
been teaching in as many years If
trustees could not only realize it,
such testimonials are usually sufIici-
ent to brand the applicant as undesira-
bic. When a teacher accepts a post
ton it should be his aim to spend
| long enough time in that one school
to accomplish something definite and
| to leave it as memorial when he
steps up higher. Dr. Payne, the Presi-
dent of Peabody College, always gave
this advice to his students, "You must
hunt for your first position. Endeavor
in that position to do your work so
we'll that the next one will seek YOU"
/ believe that the trustees in some
of our best country schools should i'm
prove the tenure of position by the
erection of a teachers home, as has
been done in perhaps twenty school
districts In South Carolina The
| teachers home at which the princi-
pie and his wife may live and where
other teachers may sometimes board
identifies the teacher with the life Of
the community
recent study of the Swiss school