TEACHERS' SALARIES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 214, 29 May 1918, Page 6

TEACHERS' SALARIES

SOME OUTSPOKEN COMMENTS.

Mr. Thomas Forsyth, a member of th& Wellington Education Board, has no two opinions as to tho inadequacy of salaries paid to school teachers, particularly young teachers, and in his paper on "Improving our Education so as to Provide] for a More Economic, Scientific and Technical Training," read before the Wellington Chamber of Commerce last Evening, ha stated position plainly. Ho said: "Tho average age of teachers or. leaving our Training College is 21 to 22 years, and they arc then qualified, on obtaining an appointment, to receive .£llO per annum, which, age for age, is lower than was paid in any other branch of the Public Service, or to any other class of worker in the Dominion." The speaker stated! that a boy starting in the drapery trade at fifteen years of age earned ,£32 10s. the first year, ,£-1510s. the second, Jsßlos. the third, and so on, until.he was'earning in his seventh year JJI69. Assuming he remained at that salarj mtil .he hna complete"! his ienTTi year, he would, at 25 years of age, have earned .£1092. Tho teacher could not commence as a pupil teacher until 17 years of age. Tho first year the salary was .£55, second .£OS, third, .£4!), fourth JMO (the two years com'pulsorilv spoilt at the Training College). fifth .£llO. sixth ,£l2O, seventh ,£l2fl, eighth .£l3O. That brought the «ge of tho teacher lo 25 by which tim« ho for she) had earned 4,'CSO (as compared with the draper's ,£10!)2). The wages for a draper's salesman were quoted as those* demanded by law.

"Out of 1473 teachers In the Donuniort 379 receive .£11(M;120 per annum, 1728 receive .£l2O-.E140, and 1167 receive -£IKI,£IBO. The average salary of the 3274 accpunted for above'(73 per cent, of- tho teachers, including 1214 headmasters of small schools) was .£lsl IS?. 10il. The average annual salary of a draivry salesman was not less than XlB2. The mini* mum payable iflkler the drapers' award! was ,£IG9," the speaker remarked. Mr. Forsyth also drew comparisons between the clerical or professional cadet and fhe pupil teachers, showing that at the end of the fifth year the cadet had earned ,€515 (if- he belonged to "Wellington) and .£554 (if nwnv from home), whilst the pupil teacher had similarly earned .£3OO or .C 370. _ . "Tho present .system of > allowing n. youth fresh from school or college to teach our children for two years, anil then to reduce his pay and send him to our Training College to learn the theory of teaching based on model lines when he has already taught himself for two years, is to my mindl" said Mr. Forsyth, "simply ridiculous and demands immediate alteration. Just imagine any other profession being allowed such latitude. Imagine if you can the effect of such procedure if applied to medicine or law; for example, what would bo thought of our authorities if every medical student was sent out to practise medicine anil surgerv for two years, anil then 1 recalled and placed at our University lo acquire tho theory of medicine and Jio the mysteries of surgery, or can you imagine the authorities allowing and licensing a youth with no theoretical or practical 'knowledge of the law to practise on tho business men of Una cilv, and then order him to go_ up to our University and learn the rumments and theory of such a learned profession. Why, the whole .thing is preposterous, and yet that is exactly what our present educational anthorilios arc don.g with those desirous of becoming teachc s, so our most priceless possession, tie Young child life, is experimented on, and it is hard to estimate the . l J"£ done to posterity. My idea is to _Ua i our "oung tochers tho theor> of the art. before allowing them to pr.icli-o it in short, to feach them how o teach before they are allowed lo teach otlieis.