The state herald., 1920-05-28
A QUESTION ON COMMENCEMENT

the occasion and expected to fill the
place of the old-fashioned Com
mencement exercises has come and
We may well ask what is the mis-
sion of that speaker. Is his address
primarily for the class who is about
to graduate; is he to help them get
IA clearer vision, and better, more
complete and helpful view of life
and inspire them to go higher in
educational things; or is he to stand
before them, and in an hour or an
hour and one half talk, bring them
to the idea that their time has been
wasted and nothing in their school
life of endeavor up to this point is
worth while, that education rs we
know it in the school amounts to
nothing in after life, or that in sub
stance? or is he to spread Propn =
ganda for some pet scheme he may
have of his own?
Last Friday night, DIR. j. G. Crabb
of Greeley, Colorado, member of
I the teachers profession and teach
ing in the State Normal School came
to Holyoke to give an address to the
graduates and spoke for about one
hour. The speaker began by telling
us, in substance, that conditions
were abnormal due to the influence
of the World war. He then launched
into discussion, where for the next
forty-five or fifty minutes, by n ser
les OF bare statistics he compared
the financial returns of the teaching
profession and teachers as salaried
persons to the other wage earners.
Comparisons were made by the use
OF chart, tending to show that
even the hod carrier, trade which
requires no special preparation, re
ceVed more pay than the school
teacher and professor who was en-
trusted with the teaching of the
youth. The speaker dwet long and
specifically upon the fact that all
trades which involved manual labor
simply, had secured greater increase
in compensation than the teaching
profession, which had stood still or
nearly so. That because of the poor
pay, teachers were striking, they
were leaving the profession and 20
ing into other lines; that as result
hundreds of people, poorly prepared.
were acting as substitutes in the
teaching profession and under them
the youths of the land are being
taught. While the speaker did not
say it, Mr.. ClaNton, the Commission
er of Education snys that 4l,gOO
teachers were being employed in the
United States as substitutes without
meeting the requirments for regular
teachers The speaker might also
have said, but he did not. that sixty
per cent OF the Normal school, Of
the country show n decrease in at
tendance ms compared with The pre-
war period, that the per cent Of men
teachers is decreasing rapidly.
The learned gentleman might have
read with profit the Articles of Mrs.
Wilkinson which recently ran in the
Independent upon this subject OF the
Teachers job, and if he were thrice
better posted than he appeared, if
We concede all he said, We MAINTAIN.
his address was out of place as a
commencement address; admit all he
said that You are forced 10 the con
clusion il was little more than Il
class cry for a raise in wages. 1t
was discourse which presented
only one side of problem which
has already gripped thinking people.
The duties of the employer of teach
Ing force was set out and reiterated
but nothing was said as to the duty
of the employed, the argument in
volved no reciprocal relations. 1t
involved no discussion of the causes
which 90 TO Great all of the condi-
tions against which the gcntlemnn's
argument was directed, 50 far as il
could he called an argument, the in