The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-08-05
TWO SIDES.

The summer school at Tallahassee
has been most successful, so j. G..
kellum business manager of the
Florida State College for Women has
announced. The School, which closes
August 9Th. has an enrolment of $50
young women, coming from all parts
of the State, practically all of whom
are preparing to teach, further fitting
themselves to secure certificates. A
few are making up college work.
This would seem encouraging for
Florida, were it not that ninety per
cent of those taking the course are al
ready a part of the teaching fosce of
the state. Mr.. Kellum declares that
there will be another shortage of
teachers in Florida this year, but he
believes, from information he has Sc
cured, that Florida will not be as bad
off as many of the other states of the
union.
1t is pointed out that young wom-
an will take a four year course, and
upon completing it, will receive a GER
tificate to teach at from $50 to $50 or
SIS per month, and continue to teach
Indefinitely at the same salary. On
the other hand, a young woman will
take course of instruction in the
higher grades for a year or two and
then leave and attend a business col
lege; after fitting herself as a stenog-
rapher, she will secure a position at
salary of $50 to $125.
There is some truth in this, though
all teachers do not get so low a salary
as SIS, and all stenographers do not
get so much as 500. Yet, in the
main, the point is well taken, for it
is fact that the teaching profession
is the poorest paid in the country
Yet, in summing up, it must always
that there is some
thing to say on both sides of the ques-
ton. The stenographer who gets $125
or even $50 per month, usually works
at least eight hours a day, and some
times longer; the teacher works from
8 a. m. until 8. or possibly A.
This is not intended to convey the
idea that the profession of teaching is
less difficult than that of stenography,
but it is only fair that, when we go
into these things, we try to strike a
fair balance, and not make teaching
out more difficult than it is, or be-
little stenography.
There is no profession in the world
of greater Importance than that of
teaching. 1t is also one of the most
difficult, and, in many ways, one of
the most thankless. On the other
hand. if rightly undertaken, 1t is one
of the most interesting.
Pensacola is proud of the fact that
the salaries of the teachers of this
county have received considerable
raise. and that conditions here will be
made less difficult for them than
Formerly through the $500,0 900 worth
Of bonds which have been authorized.
The board of instruction and the
people of Pensacola have tried to do
their part, and we believe that the
will do theirs. But this can
not be done, and never will be done, if
the teachers look upon themselves as
martyrs. They are not martyrs. They
are human beings, educated to fill
certain positions-or they should be |
so educated. and the teachers of this
county are receiving all that it is pos
5ible for the county to pay them at
his time
The teachers of Escambia have a |
strong organization and they have
done some splendid work The Jour-
nal believes that they will do more
and better work when they are more
effectively organized and when they
work together with the board of edu- |
cation and the people of Pensacola for
better schools. The ma jority of teach
ers do that now. When the others
Join in and take to that work the CO.
operative spirit that makes for eff
,iency, then will this county indeed |
come into it's own.