'GROSSLY UNDERPAID.'

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1448, 24 May 1912, Page 2

'GROSSLY UNDERPAID.'

? SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS. PROTEST AND RESOLVE. Among Assistant teachers in secondary schools, a burning question for some j years past has l»en thnt of obtaining ■ an increase in what has been considered J the inadequate emoluments attached to . their positions. The question came before . tho amnual conference of the Secondary 5 Schools' Assistants' Association of N.Z. > yesterday. It. was comprehensively ) reviewed in a paper by Mr. G. A. Lun- • die, of Palmcrston North, and it was J generally agreed in the subsequent brief • discussion that there was very little to 3 add to what ho had brought' forward. 1 s A Ministerial Admission. "There is a'crying and imperative , need," said Mr. Lundie, "for si thorough f overhauling and readjustment of tho 5 remuneration paid to secondary assistant 5 teachers, the majority of whom are _ grossly underpaid. in ins repcrt on . secondary education for the year 1310, . the then Minister for Education (Hon. 3 G. Fowlds) said thnt 'at present there _ was no doubt that in many eases the j salaries paid to assistants are inr too low. Efficient work cannot reasonably bo looked for in a secondary school unless the stall' is sufficiently, and well paicl." • "Since the Minister's 'pronunceanieutn,'" continued Jlr. Lundie, "matters have in no away improved, and tha , majority of teachers, especially male teachers, are accepting: stipends quite ini commensurate with the labour and cs- ' pense they havo entailed in qualifying for their profession, The public expects ! masters and mistresses of secondary schools to be gentlemen and ladies, to be of irreproachable character to identify i themselves with the. interests of their i pupils, to live and dress like gentle peo- ! pie, and to do all these things on salaries in many cases scarcely equalling 1 tho monetary reward of a grocers' asI sistant, a journeyman hairdresser, or the ■ driver of a municipal cart. All over i the country there is a growing tendency to beautify school premises, purchase exj pensive apparatus, build swimming 1 naths, gymnasia, etc., and generally to cuddle the child and gratify the vanity of parents—all at the expense of the ; patient sx, or, rather, tho patient ass, ' that treads out the corn. Tho whole question of secondary school _ teachers' salaries resolves itself into this: Is our colling a profession? and, if so, arc we to be treated as professional men and women, and rer/.uneratcd acY-irdingly? Or are we merely to rank as clerks in,an office, receiving by minute annual increments just sufficient sop to keep us from open mutiny? "Egregious Cant." "The egregious cant of the general pubs lie, which, with its tongue in its cheek, s talks about the dignity and high calling of being a teacher, such a power for good, J you know! simply acts as a goad to the . teacher and greatly aggravates the sense 2 of iiijus'tice under which ho labours. . Petty tradesmen and artisans rather desf pise'the teacher than otherwise. Plaster* 1 ers Can now earn about 16s. a day, and j they argue, that a man who 'with all his education' cannot earn .CI a week, must I bo cither a fool himself or else that teiich--9 ing must ba a type of profession which , only bookworms and impracticable peoi plo ore fit for. Tho profession of a scoiidary school teacher should rank with , that of a doctor or lawyer, or. in fact, ' with any profession in the Dominion. "After a teacher has taken his degree, and put in a few years teaching, he should, if ho is worth his s<ilt, be an expert in his profession. When a teacher has proved his ability to be a. formmaster, he should be paid a salary of at least i-250. It is quite impossible for an 1 educated man to rear a family, keep his wife as a lady, cuid t-ake that part in tho social life of the community which is his risM, upon any sum less than <0230and this sum should be obtainable after ■ not mojre than,.four-years' -service, /this should then increase' by annual increments of £25 until,. after six years ex- J perienc® he receives i! 300 a year, and j after ten years to at least <£350 per annum. The senior master of the school should stand in a special relation both to the other roasters and tho headmaster. Upon him at any moment may devolve the governance of the school and all its responsibilities. Ho should be a man of distinct force of character quite apart from his academical attainments. His emoluments should be from three-fifths to two-thirds of the sum paid to the hea<l- . master. Upon him falls the most, important teaching in the school, as the he-ad-master's time is largely taken up with extraneous duties other than actual teachiiifr In no co* c «? should tho first niaMOi s salarv be less than MOO a year, and this sum should bo paid him upon promotion to tho position whether ho nifty n&'vo taught five years or ten, A Tentative Scale. "As regards mistresses,'' said Mr. Lundie, '"ft radical change in their salary list is urgent. It is monstrous that a irivl with an M.A. dvßree should be paid ■f'l2o a year—exactly tho s'anw emolument earned 'by a grocer's assistant 21 years of age. I consider that they should all receive at least <£150 a- year to begin, and rise very much as tho men. However, as they quit teaching upon marriago and. have not homes to support, their remuneration might bo upon _ a lower scale, l'he reward- of the senior mistress, however, should be proportional to that earned by the head mistress, and should never bo less than <£3f!o a year. Mr. Lundie concluded by submitting a tentative scalo of salaries as follows;— Men. Women. ,£ .£ First year '50 Second year J«> J'/. 1 Third year j® Fourtn year -j™ Fifth ya-ir 2<o "5 Sixth year 2ao Seventh year 310 j!jo Eighth year 3.0 *«0 year 330 280 Tenth year ■' w In addition, teachers specialising in specific subjects, owing to superior knowshould receive at. least il year, whatever their length of service. Finally suggested Mr. Lundie, an immediate deputation to the Minister, j rnn ] t recognition of our claims, and schedule of remuneration; (2) "Tho regarding as illegal the emn'ovment of more than two junior teachers'(i.o., of less than three years experience), at any ono tinvo; m "in increase of the Government, grant to cover the ■ increased salary sheer; , ~ , "Per contra, I suggest that a case be made out and an award sought from tha Arbitration Court," , After a brief discussion as to the best method of proceeding, the eonfercneo appointed a sub-committee to go into the question of framing a draft schedule of 4,' aries, etc., for presentation to the Minister for Education.