Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1926-03-19

some difference in the mode OF
teaching of the two young ladies'
in question:" whilst Mr.. Gwynn
writes evasively of problems Of
discipline" and of the difficulty
of securing teachers for some
schools, usually those out Of the
way, with not enough children
attending to make it interesting
to a teacher, in a neighborhood
where desirable boarding places
are hard to obtain. !" By parity
of reasoning, from Mr.. Gwynn's
statements, it would follow that
schools in thickly populated COM
munities and with a consequent
ial large attendance, with board
ing houses aplenty. and with
well disciplined children. would
draw the lowest salaried teachers
of the low grade. On the other
hand, young ladies so physically
strenuous as to be able to survive
the CUISINE of undesirable board
ing houses, or else ride astride a
tractor over the rough roads to
these ''out of the way" schools,
and there administer discipline
to the few children who could
not otherwise interest them, are
possessed of the highest qualifi-
cation for the attainment of the
highest salaries among the un-
certiicated teachers Of this
county.
If the mode of teaching" as
surmised by Mr.. Williams, is
considered in the fixing of salar-
les, 1t would seem that the best
evidence Of the effectiveness of
the mode" of a particular
teacher would be the progress
of the pupils under her tutilage
and the satisfaction of the pa
irons of her school. If this test
was applied in the fixing Of the
salaries in question, then / chal-
lenge the Superintendent to at
tempt to So justify his action.
Also, in his rambling evasion
| of the issue, he writes of keep
| ing within the law" in the exer-
else of his discretion in the reg
ulation of the teachers salaries
of this county. Section 80 of
Article II of the Code, after fix
ing the minimum salaries to be
paid teachers of the various
grades, provides as follows:
Elementary school teachers
employed on provisional certifi-
Gates of the Third Grade may
be paid 500 per school year less
than the foregoing schedule re-
quires, and in any county such
teachers shall be paid at least
500 per school year less than
shall be paid in such county to
fully qualified elementary school
teacher Of that grade" Is the
$40 per month that is now being
paid an uncertiicated teacher
$40 per month less than is paid
every fully qualified teacher of
the Third Grade in this county?
If such is not the case-and the
Superintendent knows, and the
School Board should know, that
it is ot-why talk about keep
ing within the law" Will his
classification of the teachers of
the various grades support his
regulation of salaries? How can
he legally justify a $40 per
month salary to an uncertifcated
teacher, or $65 per month for
that matter, when fully qualified
teachers of the Third Grade, one
OF whom has been teaching for
more than twenty years, are re-
ceiving only $65 per month?
AS to the advice" given my
Younger daughter when, in COM
pany with her mother, she made
application during the summer
to the Superintendent for a
school, the fact remains that he
refused to consider her applica-
ton, and shortly thereafter ap-
pointed to a school a class-mate
of my daughter during the pre-
vious scholastic year. He writes
of having on file at the time ap-
plications Of First Grade teach
ers. and conclude that his du-
ties, assumed" and otherwise,
were too onerous to even permit
him to notify my daughter when
these First Grade teachers were
found to be unavailable.
No one, Mr.. Editor, questions
the discretionary power with
which the Superintendent is vest
ed, when once fully delegated by
the Board, either in the matter of
appointing teachers or regulating
their salaries over the minimum
prescribed by law. But when the
exercise of that power amounts
to unwarranted discrimination
and fragrant disregard of the
mandatory provisions of the law,
it is but natural that criticism
should follow and that criticism
come from the party aggrieved.
| cannot but believe that an un-
biased public will appreciate my
resentment Of this discrimination
against my daughters by a public
official, which, at the same time,
discloses an arrogant disposition
to disregard the mandatory pro-
visions of the law-the only safe
guard of the taxpayers in the
matter of teachers salaries. The
high-handed methods of the Sup
erintendent are deplorable. The
apparent inability of the Board
10 correct the situation is pitiable.
The united effort of both to ex-