Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-09-21
THE AMERICAN SCHOOL MARIN
By Frederic J. Haskin

Your Uncle samuers school
marin niece does most to in
crease his wealth and influence in the
world. 1t has become as true of her
as of Queen Victoria that the sun never
sets upon her realm. She has follow
ed the American flag to it's farthest
outpost. The hot sun of the Philip
pines and the icy winds of Alaska have
been powerless to daunt her perse-
verenee or courage. Wherever she
goes she carries civilization, sanitation
and humanitarianlsm, rs well as
English language. She is a pioneer or
voted fervor and a creditable type of
American womanhood.
Over half a million women are en-
elementary public schools of the United
States. Thousands of others are con-
nected with high schools. private
sSdition s66GGtS; to t6e ncreasingiy @ large num-
Der who are acting as state, county
or city superintendents or supervisors
of some particular branch of study.
ed to the lower grades; she has taken
her place in the highest executive and
university circles. She is doing eff
done by men a few years ago. Each
year increases her numbers, and despite
her low average earnings, the two
highest public school salaries paid in
the United States go to women.
Women in most states have few civic
rights, but they are everywhere invest
training men to meet their civic duties.
More than sixty per cent of the school
children of this country receive all
their education from women. In New
York, 80 per cent. of the boys never
come in contact with a man teacher.
Whatever principles of manhood.
patriotism and honor they possess
teachers of the lower grades.
The percentage of children in
closely populated city who advance to
grammar grades. is relatively small 1t
is smaller for boys than 1t is for girls.
One reason for the increasing pre-
larger number of girls who remain in
school long enough to receive the quail
flying education. 1t is typical of
is unable to educate all of his chill
boys go to work. An opposite course
is likely to be pursued in Europe.
Five to Three
The New York high schools graduate
Chicago, two girls graduate for each
boy. In Philadelphia the proportion is
even greater because of the great COM
mercial high school, exclusively for
girls, which turns out yearly 400 grad
yates. The Philadelphia Board of Edu-
cation established a school of peda-
nificent normal school for girls in the
hope that it would attract more young
men to the teachers profession. It
has. not accomplished this. Notwith
gogues start with a considerably high
er salary than the girls from the nor
NAL school. the school marms in the
Quaker City are still increasing and
Few OF them are receiving salaries
closely approaching those paid to men.
The charm of infinite variety at
greater degree than any other class of
women. AS whole. she is attractive
wholesome and wellbred. The anti
school. with her bunch of switches and
general ignorance, has nothing in com
mon with the woman teacher of to-day.
her work. She has finished a course of
study that broad and far-reaching. 1t
covers ethics and economies as well as
the regular grade studies.
Although supposedly a teacher of
English, the American school marin
may have to be familiar with other
languages. In cities having an immi-
dren each year must first receive in
struction in their native language be-
fore they. can prot1tably enter a class
where only English is spoken. So the
school marin may be only American by
adoption, but she is invariably the most
american of Americans. She may be
Polish, Hun, Lithuanian, Russian or
any other nationality by birth, but she
has been trained to impart American
methods to the young fellow country
men assigned to her care. She does this
so effectually that within six months
they are not only ready to enter the
English speaking classes, but are fill
ed with love for my America" the
land of their adoption, not excelled by
the descendants of Bunker Hill patri-
OTIS.
The high salaries paid to many wo-
men teachers in America are indicated
oy the large parties of American
school marms who for years have been
swellink the ranks of Europe tourists.
This summer, whole special trains and
hundreds of private cars have been
chartered by bodies of school marms
who have attended the San Francisco
Exposition, and spent their vacations
touring the great Northwest of their
own country.
Marms Not Satisfied
But the school marms are not quite
satisfied yet. They are still agitating