Evening star., 1947-02-22

they refuse to sign unsatisfactory
contracts and then refuse to work
without a contract, the resemblance
to what recently happened in the
coal fields Is remarkable-nott to say
striking.
Underpaid in Revolt.
In remote villages and great
metropolitan centers this is now
taking place. The underpaid teach
ers of America are in revolt. New
York, Chicago, Boston, Buffalo,
Syracuse, Dayton, st. Louis are only
a few of the cities in which the
teachers have followed or are pro-
posing to follow the successful ex-
ample of Norwalk, Conn, and st.
Paul, Mimi, where wage increases
were won by strikes that were frank
1y called strikes. Most of the aroused
instructors, of course, would prefer
the experience of Minneapolis where
the increases were obtained merely
by threatening to strike.
This Nationwide effort Of the
teachers to better their standard of
living may improve to some extent
q condition In American education
that has become deplorable, but it
will leave the greater part OF the
job still to be done. The desperate
fact is that, pay or no pay, not
enough competent teachers are now
available in this country to supply
the needs of the schools. Because
of the poor pay, teachers by the
tens of thousands have abandoned
their chosen profession in the past
decade. And for the same reason,
tens Of thousands Of young men
and women who might have had
the urge to teach have trained
themselves for other work; the
teachers colleges have gone begging
for students when all other COL
leges have overhowed. If the pay
problem were settled satisfactorily
all at once, in every section of the
country, some years would elapse
before the schools could be supplied
with properly qualified teachers.
An interesting aspect of the
present protest of the teachers is
its possible effect on the school
children. One subject now generally
taught in the public schools is
civics. The children are expected
TO learn how organized society
operates. They are told about the
public services provided by the
government. Federal, State and
local. They are told about the
taxes that support these services.
Whereas at home they may hear
only that taxes are nuisance or
terrible burden, at school they are
told that taxes are necessary. It is
not certain that this last lesson
sinks in, since many of them still
grow up to regard taxation as an
outrage.
Different Meaning.
That has been so in the past The
current Congress of the United
States is made up largely of mem
bers helding flercely to this idea.
But the present generation of
school children, witnessing the
spectacle of their teachers striking,
walking the picket line, carrying
banners, doing other undignifed
things just to obtain decent pay,
may come to a different conclusion.
Civics may take on a different
meaning. Some students, at least,
may discover that, by and large,
people get more in return for
their taxes than for much other
money they spend. And when they
grow up they may be willing to
curtail> their expenditures for
amusements and other nonneces-
stiles in order to spend more for
the education of their children.
Which won't help the present
situation, Of course. 1t won't have
any effect, for instance, on the