Evening star., 1920-03-06
Wholesale Quitting
of Teachers Feared if
Bonus Is Not Restored

| Ieachers ana Other employees Oh tne
; District public school system are
greatly disturbed over the action of
| the House in cutting off the $24o
yearly bonus from their meager pay.
1t was predicted today that II the bo-
nus is not restored without delay
there will be wholesale designations
from the teaching corps at once.
| AS matters now stand the force Is
short of high-grade teachers. and
there are few candidates taking work
at either the Wilson Normal or Miner
Normal schools 1T Is almost impossi-
BILE to get competent janitors and
| caretakers for the school buildings.
because the requirements are exact
Ing and men who can meet them can
get much better pay elsewhere than
| in the school system.
Mr.. ThurstOn Sees Loss OF Teachers.
| Ernest L. Thurston, superintendent of
| schools said:
III Congress cuts off the bonus now
attached to the present inadequate pay
| teachers and all other school employe es
now receive it will have results nothing
! less than disastrous to the schools |
cannot believe Congress will take such
action, and l cannot believe that any
member of either house really would
| seriously advocate reducing the pay of
! school teachers. clerks, janitors and
others in the public service of the Dis
| trict of Columbia
| Miss Alice Deals View.
| Miss Alice Deal. president of the
| High School Teachers Union. made
| the following statement:
IF the hlgTest good fortune of
earth's children is personality, then
! the greatest danger to the public
| schools from a. reduction in salary of
| the teachers would not be that this
| reduction might mean wholesale res
| ignations. The real danger lies in the
possibility that the teachers might
! not resign. If the teachers remained
| in the schools at reduction in sal
! airy while the cost of living is still
4 increasing. 1t would mean either that
| they are second-rate people. who can
not get position elsewhere. or they
have lost all ambition. and their at
| titude toward life is the attitude of
! bitter despair or some other even
: tuality which would inevitably affect
! their efficiency.
An article in current magazine
contains this sentence: 1t is hard to
kindle the ashes of a dead enthu-
siasm. 1t is not only hard. it is inn
possible. For a number of years now
l have seen how this ranking griev-
| ance' of the teachers. because of lack
! or financial appreciation of their serv-
| ice by the public. is affecting the work
/ OF education. Some teachers attempt
to supplement their scanty pay by do
! ing outside work. This necessarily
dulls their enthusiasm and energy for
their school work. In other cases all
sorts of inefficiencies are excused ON
the ground of What can you expect
for the salaries you pay?'
Before the enthusiasm of all the
fine teachers now in the schools be-
come ashes impossible to rekindle to
life. Congress should hasten to in
crease their salaries rather than to
decrease them.
"Iu the last ten or twenty years as
rule the finest woman graduates of
our high schools and colleges entered
the teaching profession This is no
longer the case since SO many new
avenues are opening to women and
the salaries of teachers are lower
than in any other profession or busi-
ness which requires equivalent prep
aration. The number of men entering
the teaching profession has been for
years, of course, deplorable, and is
growing worse every year.
Nothing but salary scale based
on the relative value of the services
rendered by the teachers to the COM
munity as compared with workers in
schools to their proper status. This
must be done Immediately without
any delay"
Miss Alton Makes Statement.
Miss Maude Alton. president of the
Grade Teachers Union, made the fol-
lowing statement:
"The loss of the bonus will be fatal
to the schools. Teachers are leaving
the schools this year with the bonus
added to their salaries 1t Is almost
impossible to get sufficient number
of teachers. even with the supple
mentary pay.
with a minimum salary of $1.1o0
year. only ten students have con-
sidered it worth while to enter the
normal school this semester. at which