The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-01-22
WOULD HAVE CHANGE IN
SCHOOL SYSTEM MADE

Lakeland, Fla.
Dear Sir:-I notice in your edi.
torial in your paper dated Jan. 18th
You say that you would like to see a
law passed that would enforce com
pulsory education.
l very much agree with you in
this matter, but would like to ask
that you tell me how you are to en-
force compulsory education, unless
you have a law to enforce the teach
ing, after you force the children 10
go to school.
| want you to understand that
do not profess to be educated, and
that | do not pose as a teacher, but
do know that most of the learning
the children get is what they are
taught by their parents, and il
their parents do not know how 10
teach them, then they fail to learn
what they should.
Please understand that l do not
blame the teachers for not bother
ing their minds with them when
they can draw their pay without it.
The fault, / think. is with the law
governing such. l believe that we
have just as smart little girls aud
women for teachers in Lakeland as
we have anywhere in the State. I
think that the law should require a
qualification that very few of the
young girls have. First, they
should liot be allowed to teach un-
less they have had a certain amount
OF travel, and reached a certain age
and let that age be beyond their
teens.
In addition to the above qualia-
cations, they should have finished
education at some State College, re-
gardless of whether they are tc
teach small children or large ones;
for the more learned they are, the
better they can handle any grade.
Then you say we will with such
laws and qualifications keep lo'
of our little children from teachlug
that are now teaching, and so We
will, and that is what we want tc
do.
Why should school teaching not bt
made profession in place of con.
venience?
think that If we will demand
the right qualifications, and pa,
such wages as will warrant any one
who so desires to take up the pro-
fession, we can get those that are
qualified to teach.
If We are to bond to build nice
large school buildings, then why
should we pay taxes to pay teachers
to spend few short hours to hear
the lesson that has been taught tc
the children by their parents who
are not competent to teach? Why
should we not adopt the standard
eight-hour day, the same as others
are demanding for a days work?
AS you know, large percentage
oe our children have to quit school
as soon as they are large enough &c
go to work. Then, why should they
not be given all the attention posi-.
BILE while they have the time to &c
to school?
know of children in our county
and city that are not learning, sim.
ply because they have no one tc
teach them. They never get on the
honor roll because their parents are
not competent to teach them.
Would it not be better II we had
more good lectures from learned peo-
pie, in place of trying to make lit.
tie children learn hard problems
that would naturally come to them
after a few years?
ask the questions because 1 dc
not know, and I want to hear from
some one that does know. dc
know that we do not get much pleas.
ure out OF life when we have to
work hard all day, then go home and
try to teach the little ones some
thing for which we are paying taxes
to have taught them.
All that / do know is that 1 am
taxed for something / am not get
ting. Yours truly,