Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-10-23

American Newspaper Alliance
Questions recording educotion and
careers should be oddEessed 10 him
at 37S Brewer svenue, Rockville
Centre, Long Island. N. Y.
sciences. He is very good in
calculus and Spanish. What
occupation would be best for
him?
A.: On the basis of the
information you give, no
one can answer your question
intelligently. What is he in
tereSted in? Does he want to
be q mathematician. a linguist,
a scientist? I'd suggest that
your son talk to his own ad-
visers in college. and see II he
can get any help. Or, better
still, why not wait another year
or two? BY the time he's a
junior or senior, he may have
a better idea Of what he wants
to do.
@. Do you believe in 100 per
cent promotion? My daughter
is in the sixth grade. She's a
slow reader. The principal says
that she'll probably have to re-
peat this grade. Won't that
leave an emotional scar on her?
We're heartbroken. Linda Is
beginning to hate school.
A. What do you mean by
100 per cent promotion? Some
school systems have passed
every child from one grade to
the next, permitting them to
go with their age group. But
II by the time q child reached
the eth grade, and could only
read at 5th grade level, she
could not keep up with her
classmates. Now. most school
systems have abandoned that
policy. They keep students
back. or funk" them - the
term we used to use-if they
cannot keep up with the rest
Of the class.
I am not in favor of indis-
criminate flunking. do not
think that 1t does the child
much good. Rather, I believe
in remedial reading, in tutor
ing. and in special attention to
the child in need Of help. DR..
James B. Conant. former presi-
dent of Harvard, in his recent
report on junior high schools,
advises that a policy Of nom
promotion be applied with care
and discrimination. No one, he
believes. should be held back
for more than two years in the
first eight grades.
Have you given your daugh-
ter special help? Is there any
emotional problem at home
that is disturbing her? Is she
achieving up to capacity? These
questions must be answered
before you can determine
whether it is to her advantage
to repeat the sixth grade.
Sometimes repeating a grade
can prove beneficial. Make
certain that your child doesn't
consider this act as punish
ment, but as a corrective meas
ure for her own good. And
please don't nag her, or per-
NIT anyone else to hurt her
through sarcasm. Children arc
cruel. The word dummy" is
used too frequently. And it
can hurt.
@. You've written about the
teacher shortage. and how i'm
portant 1t is to get good
teachers. But what about the
pay we get? I've been a
teacher. for % years, have a
wife and three children, a home
with q mortgage. and a take
home pay Of $3.50 a month.
can't live on that salary. So
I have to work evenings, week
ends and summers. How can
teachers get enough money to
make teaching attractive?
A. Unfortunately, your COM
plant is just one. 1 do not
think our teachers are paid
enough. The average salary
Of the classroom teacher is
$1,000 q year. or about 500 a
week. This is less than the
average truck driver or ex-
ecutive secretary gets.
To get good teachers. the
community will have to pay
for them. / would raise their
salaries by at least so per cent.
The average salary should be
$500 a year. not $1,000: And
good teachers should get
$4,000 or more. In the case
Of our teachers. we are pinch
ing pennies. In the long run
that will hurt us more than
anything else we can possibly
do.
Q. Do you believe in cor
poral punishment? I have q
few brats in my class that I'm
itching to whack across their
you-knoW-whats. But our
school principal says we can't
use the switch. How can I
keep discipline unless the kids
are scared Of me? They talk
back. and I have no recourse
except to take it. I've been
teaching elementary school for
II years.
A. No, / do not believe in
whacking or switching chill
dren in or out of school. The
good teacher does not need
this kind of crutch. Evidently
you are in need of a few les
sons in how to handle chill
dren in the classroom. I'll ad-
NIT that sometimes a group of
Youngsters can get Under Vnlir