The Wilmington morning star., 1946-12-19
Letter Box
TEACHERS Paw
TO The Editor:

To The Editor:
From all the Comment.
newspapers of the state Ne
to salaries of school teacbar.
would appear that the ousS,
has become of such momooN
Importance that every citizan
North Carolina should take sor VI
stand on this question. The sih' .otle
has become so acute that !, Vn
not a matter of more or less mn,. ~
for the teacher, but it is 2 o,as@e
now Of the children who are bar
taught in our schools. No teacbas
can do his or her best work IN ~.
classroom if he or she is as disS.+i'
fed as teachers of North Carol;r,
are today. Therefore the leada-s
OF the school forces should 90, r.
gether and settle this matter s...
factorily for all concerned
Having been a classroom +e.o,
Ct ~ tlle sraoei, the high school
a high school principal. ann .
county superintendent, with . to..I
OF twenty years of experience
know the problems of the teaches.
and now being engaged in busine1,
having an executive Connects
with a large manufacturing organ.
cation I have had an opportuni4y
to observe the opinion of the oers.
raj public on this vital problem
In expressing my thoughts. I An
doing so after careful and delibar,
ate consideration from all points NJ
view.
Ihave always been an ardent SIN.
porter of the NCEA. beliving il n
be an organization for the better.
ment of the teaching profession
Since so many groups of teachers
have openly stated that their lead.
ers. are not expressing the opinion
of the teachers as a whole when
they limit their request 10 20 per
cent. I am beginning to doubt the
sincerity of the leaders of this
organization.
Certainly after being present in
Raleigh recently with a committee
composed of teachers and citizens
from all over the state, that an.
peared before the NCEA and ask.
ed the officers to reconsider their
request, and to hear these Officers
reafirm their stand and emphati.
callv state that as long as they
are in office they would stick by
their guns" I wonder if this or.
ganjzation is what l have always
thought it to be.
These leaders surely demon.
strated to me that their mind;
were made up, and they were not
receptive to any argument that
an open minded leader should
have in representing twenty-five
thousand school personnel on 50
vital a matter.
Comments which have appeared
in papers throughout the state have
left the impre ssion with the public
that in the opinion of the Officers
of the NCEA they have made a re.
quest that is reasonable. but that
a few extremists in certain sec.
tons of North Carolina are unreas.
enable in asking for 40 per cent
increase in salary, and that it is
not alarming enough to pay much
attention to these minority groups.
I maintain that any group Of
teachers-even one small COUNTY,
as small as Caldwell county, and
certainly one district-the South
Piedmont district would be a
minority group sufficiently large
to demand a alteration on
the part of the leaders of the Norm
Carolina Education Association.
The right leadership would not
permit such things to happen witt
out giving the minority group some
consideration.
Parent-teacher orsanlzaloN,
Gin spite of the state leaders stano
on the question: Civic clubs Out
standing citizens, and business COLI
Germs all over the state have open
ly expressed themselves as BENZ
of the opinion that the 20 per cen
asked by the leaders is not SUM-,
cient. Then why should Leaders IN N
view of these expressions, stu
maintain their original requea
Of 20 per cent Why could they nv y.
reconsider and present to ts
legislature a request for an III,
crease of salaries for teacneI'
that would give them a salary GU"
parable to that Of other gfoupS,,
I greatly fear our educa'OH''
Continued On Page Five,