Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-12-07
JANE ALLEN
On Needed School Legislation

TNIIERE are certain of the school laws OF
L the state which are in need Of revision
In the interests Of the communities and the
children as well as Of the teachers, according
to Miss Jane Allen, president of the Penn
sylvana State Teachers League.
"Our organization" said Miss Allen. "is
strongly for this legislation, and an effort
will be made at the Forthcoming meeting OF
the Legislature to have the members see
just what should he done to make the school
laws more effective in number Of ways.
What Organization Stands For
"Rut. first. let m" make the purposes of
our organization perfectly clear. The Penn
syvania State Teachers League Is an
organization formed in tn" interests Of the
public 1t does not stand for anything in
the nature of an educational bloc nor is it
a group which tries to influence legislation.
but It was simply formed for the purpose
of safeguarding as far as we can the best
interests of public education throughout
the State.
"We are trying to raise the standard OF
teaching to that of n profession and to
arouse the interest Of the various COM
munities to the importance OF school mat
tcrS. Until the communities are ii crested II
will be impossible to get any legislation
through under any circumstances.
"Teachcrs are not treated In our state
as il they were members Of profession {;
that Is, ! mean that the laws relating to
them do not make this incumbent upon the
various school boards. The basic measure
to bring about the proper status OF the
teacher in the State is for the Legislature
to pass bill assuring tenure of Office
Exists in Philadelphia
philadelphia is today the only place in
the State where tetchers are not elected
annually. Even here it Is custom ana not
Al, 80 N nj
one and virtually amounts to lew. Never
thclcss. there is the legal power here rs
elsewhere in the State TO elect the teachers
annually Every other school district IN the
State is subject to the annual hire ana
fire. system. and many OF them nctualS
work under il.
I'VE do not ,losire TO protect the incom-
petcnt teacher in his or her job, although
the opponents Of the tenure OF ofhcc Dill
make this claim. Most cmphatically this is
not true. We are willing that DR.. Finegan
shall raise the standard Of teaching as high
as he pleases and the teachers VIII glanaly
meet any reasonable educational tests One
point is that. after meeting those tests sue
cessfully and after having served the pro.
bationary period with satisfaction, the
teachers should, in justice. be reasonably
secure IN their positions.
'When this Is the case, the teachers
can settle down and become a part OF the
community in which they live, but they
! cannot do this without an assurance OF rea :
scnable security in their jobs. when the
| present law does not grant. On'y IN TINS
| way can the teacher become nj asset TO n
| community as a general thing he or she Is
| willing to do this and to assume TINS COM
| munity position, but the law as 1t now
stands will not permit 1t.
Where Politics Enters
1.-THE old epoils system enters into this
| matter. We can never get the schools out
| OF politics until this basic measure Is passed
| and the teachers are secure from political
raids on their jobs. The firemen, the police
and the judicial officers are not elected
| annually according to the political COM
plexion of the administration. They have
| the civil service to protect them the meas
ve which we propose is the civil service
/ protection for the tencher.
| .'Thcre are more than 1000 school dis.
tricts in the State Of Pennsylvania. nnd
there are IN those Districts more ( han $4,000
| teachers With the annual election OF
teachers, this often means that II newly
| elected director has a relative whom he
wishes to place in such position, teacher
who has been part Of the community fol
perhaps twenty or more years must leave
The community in which he has been valu
able factor and seek a place elsewhere:
''In this case he often has not only "a