Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-06-20

mer nHw cr"rat,ns these schools were
/ ~ 50 sntc other lines OF business their
average earnings would be very m,cl,
Increased, This Is 4 statement made
after much consideration. and without
tCar W successful contradiction. Both
the ucn III tho public schools and the
, men IN the colleges have been too prone
10 look upon tho private school rs Il
very good business. II IL true that
some schools are cummcrciolizcd ana
are making money. II il also true that
a few men are becoming rich in the
managemcnt ct good schools. Eut tho
average ability OF hose doing this
work is high and the percentage of
those nakinc what they could make in
other lines is very small. The great
est obstacle To the growth OF efficiency
I'm these schools is lack of mcpcy
IL this is true. ii is pertinent to ask
why il is true. and to ask where the
money is to he had.
First let us consider the great reason
for needing more money. If the law
of supply and demand is operative in
this line, the successful teacher in the
secondary school should receive better
compensation than does the successful
college professor. \ college professor
scholarship alone. Such is not the
case with the school teacher. In order
for him to prove n great success. he
must have scholarship ana far more.
lie must be Il man OF strong person
ality, endowed with tact and sympathy
and buoyancy, backed up by strong
character and good habits. In the col
lcge the professor has to do primarily
with the direction OF the intellect. In
the school the teacher has to do pri-
marily with the development of char
acter, the formation of habits, and in
addition the development of the in
tellect. u large number of men and
women endowed by God with the quail
fications OF a great school teacher have
had to give up this great work because
the Immediate compensation was in
adequate and the future too uncertain.
Not only are great school teachers hard
to find: their average length of service
is short. Their work is far more wear
ing. Even If they could last twenty
five years they have no Carnegie Foun-
dation 10 come 10 the rescue when the
WORKOUT time comes. The great rea-
son for need of more money is, there
fore, 10 enable the schools to get and
retain the services OF efficient workers.
TOO DEPENDF.NT ON WfiMS
OF ITS CONSTITUENCY
The question very naturally arises
as to the advisability OF getting more
money by charging higher rates OF
tuition, etc. There are two reasons
for not doing this. one is that the
school entirely dependent upon the
fees collected from the patrons is too
dependent upon the whims OF its con-
stituency, and is. therefore. in a posi-
ton where it is difficult TO dominate
the situation sufficiently. The other is
that people of more or less limited
means will not be able TO patronze
the best schools if they are TO be those
charging the highest fees
Where. then, is this money to be
had? The best way to answer this is
10 ask where do the higher institutions
get their money. study of their prob
lens has resulted in the Carnegie
Foundation. the General Education
Board and the Sage Foundation. All
three OF these corporations restrict
their hclpfulness TO higher education:
even ii one does have the title OF
general" 1t is probably not over
stating the case TO say that at least
thrce-fourths OF the financial help
given TO colleges and universities dur
ing the past few years has been due
either directly or indirectly to these
three agencies. The report of the com
missioner OF education for the year