Milford chronicle., 1925-12-18
STATE CHANGERS
BACK new SCHOOL
PLAN FOR DELAWARE
CONTINUED from irst pagel


will have something which no ont
can take away from them? We arr
so accustomed to free education, ant
having our children taught by rea'
.sonably capable teachers that We
take it for granted. The topics which
your committee presents, however
will point out some of the problems
of the school system of our state.
First, "let us consider the build
ing program. In many schools OF
our State we find school houses that
are very old. New ones are needed.
The statement is often heard that
buildings will cost too much. From
the chart which I will hold before
you you will see that large sums of
money are spent for things which
would more than build our school
houses.
Let us think back to the days
when your grandparents or parents
we're young. What were their con-
Veyances? Perhaps an OK cart, GER
tainly, nothing better than a horse
and buggy. Yet, in 1924, there were
about thirty thousand motor vehicles
belonging to Delaware. Six hun
-dred thousand dollars was paid for
operators licenses and for the reg
istration of cars. In our State we
have five hundred miles of as fine
roads as can be found in the world,
built at a cost of over twenty mill
lion dollars. Can we give the answer
that we cannot build schools be-
cause there is no money? We do
not think so. What is the reason,
then? The reason is probably found
in the fact that money spent in edu-
cation is a lifetime investment. 1t
is true that every community bene-
fits by having a nice school in its
midst, but other things, such as
roads, seem to be a greater appeal.
In a democracy, can we get along
without education? We cannot, be-
cause, if the laws are to be made by
the people, then they must have the
intelligence to make good laws, so,
to keep up with the times, we need
many new buildings in the State, /
which can be provided just as soon /
as public sentiment will permit.
2. 1--WE would next like to speak
of life lived by the average teacher. |
Suppose that we have provided a
school house, then a local board
hires a teacher in this state for a 4
period of one year. At the end of
that time, that teacher, officially, i
has no more right to consider her
position hers than as though she
had never been in that particular
school house. How would you feel
in your farm operations If you had b
no more connection with your farm
than a one-year contract. Would
it not reduce you to the same stand
ard as a tenant has who moves
every year? We are speaking, here,
aSaply of teachers who have been in
seaching work Of long period Of
years, say at least twenty, usually
nearer thirty. By tenure of Office ,
we mean a system whereby a teach
er cannot be dismissed for political
attack or petty personal reasons, or
because someone wants to put an
other person in charge simply to get :
the salary. A tenure Of office en-
cOurages a teacher to improve, and :
tends to attract to the profession J
able and confident young persons, :
because of increased stability and
better opportunities.
"The average teacher turnover is ,
sometimes as high as sixty-eight :
persons, and the average tenure Of
superintendents of schools, is only
three years.
After a recent wholesale dismissal
of teachers in Portland, the State Of
Oregon adopted teacher tenure. The
dismissal of sixty-eight teachers in
Chicago in June, 1916, in which all
teachers had been rated satisfactor-
lily; the dismissal in Denver in June,
1915, of seventy-six teachers, forty
nine of whom had ratings of A or B,
without hearing, are glaring exam
ples of something which operated
throughout our country.
every administration knows the
and political pressure that
is continually brought to bear by the
placing Of friends of persons who
have prestige, influence, or political
power. It is true that the argument
may be advanced that the tenure Of
Office makes it hard to dismiss in
efficient teachers. This argument
may be answered by saying that dis
missal may be affected at any time
if just cause can be shown. New Jer-
sey has such a law that turnovers
comparatively low, incompetent
teachers are removed as is shown by
The fact that the State Commissioner
Of Education sustained sixteen cases
1ut of thirty-three, presented for dis
nissal.
"In order that we may get
glimpse of all the conditions exist
ng in most of our neighboring coun-
.ries, we find Germany, Denmark,
switzerland, Netherlands, Norway,
Sweden, Great Britain and France
lave the tenure of Office.
8. LET us suppose that teacher
las given a life time of service in
eaching. Does the state then have
my responsibility for that teacher?
During the war, schools were called
he second line of defense because
deas were broadcasted to homes
through the school children. Great
for the public defense
vas aroused. Yet, when the war
vas over, what thought was made
f giving any bonus to the teachers,
+ caring for those who had become
unfit during that time?
cry little, if any. In peace time,
re may call the school the first line
( defense because it is in our
chools that cooperation between
eople, state and nations is taught.
We probably today stand on the