Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1919-03-26


for the coming year and their COM
pensation, which is q problem that
must be seriously considered by our
school board is dealt with in the -
lowing article issued by the National
Education Association of the United
States.
The time is approaching for the
election and the fixing of their sala-
ries for ensuing school year. The
recommendation of the Superinten-
dent and the action of the Board on
this important subject will, in every
case, effect not only the teachers con-
cerned, but particularly the welfare
of the children, and, in broad sense,
the cause of education generally.
Permit US to call your attention to a
few facts which bear upon this sub
ject.
Salaries Of teachers are so low that
they offer neither incentive TO profess
SIGNAL preparation nor cacouuaga-
uent to long tenure. Notcvar the
.o# and uo.s lucrative Opportunities
which the war has made available e.
teachers have made serious .rea.s
on the profession. 1t can not now be
expected that qualified persons viii
continue to teach, or that capable
ones will prepare for teaching, un-
less radical and sweeping changes are
forthcoming in the salary scale.
Authorities differ as to the increase
in the cost of living. Bradstrect
places it at 119 per cent since the be-
ginning Of the war. Dun at - per
cent. The Labor Bureau at 1913 Der
cent. Admittedly some items were
not considered in making the above
estimates, but from a study and com
parjson Of available reports on the
subject, an increase Of rs per cent
since 1913 might be considered q con-
--Na.E- estimate. Ji. nogGaai.. oE
increasing salaries and wages to meet
this increase in living expenses has
been officially recognized by the
highest authorities.
Statistics published in the Febru-
airy, 1919, issue of the "IlIinois
Teacher" show that the average
monthly wage of fifteen miners for
certain month, taken from the
pay roll at the mine, was SPLITS.
while the average monthly salary of
the fifteen teachers in the same town
was $55. In another town a certain
miner, who, by the way, was an Aus
trlan alien, drew more than $2,7OO
in wages last year, while the high
school principal in that town, an
American girl, trained for her work
in university, drew a salary of $765.
DR.. P. P. Claxton, United States
Commissioner of Education, in a re-
Gently published article, states:
at is only by very large increases in
pay of teachers that we may hope to
improve our schools appreciably. |
Small increases of 5, 10 or % per
cent will not avail, for they will not
be sufficient to hold in the schools |
men of superior ability. Teachers |
are now paid less fof their work than |
any other class of workers, and the !
increase in their pay in the last few
years has in no wise been in keeping |
with the increase in the cost of living. |
Many of the better teachers are leav- |
ing the schools and their places are
taken by men and women of less ma
tive ability, less education, and cul-
ture, and less training and expert
ence. AS an inevitable result the
character of the schools is being low
cred just at d time when it ought to
be raised to much higher stard ard." 1,
DR.. HlaXton declares that |
the remedy is 20 increase teachers /;
salaries unit! they shalt average at |
least $1,000 year.
The right kind of education is alb |
solutely essential to the preservation
of our democratic ideals. The recent |
war, with it's terrible cost in money
and human lives, was largely the re-
suit of the false philosophy of the
Germans as taught in their autocra-
tically controlled schools, and the
chaotic condition in Russia today is
due, in large measure, to the litter
acy of her people. The Commission
on Industrial Relations in the conclu-
sion of it's final report declares: Real
social service is the highest attain
ment the individual can aspire to
reach. The State should properly be
held responsible for the education of
her children, in order that the best
possible use shall be made by the
greatest possible number of the OPP
portunities of life as they present
themselves from year to year"
This very grave situation demands
immediate attention. The problem
bo eo1,,nJ h,, +hoeo ,,,Lo ,y,a ro