SIE, — May I; as an elementary-school teacher, be- allowed..to express 'my
entire approval of the letter on this subject in • the Spectator- of March 12th, and' to give my reasons for feeling*-that your correspondent,." An Elementary Teacher," who. writes in the subsequent issue (March 19th) does not
represent the work and its c,onditions" in alair light P
I also spent seine years at the Ladies' College, Cheltenham, after -beilig educated at the Baker Street C.E..High*School, and have had practical experience of elementary-school teaching. I . cannot (like your correspondent) lay claim to experience of teach- ing in high schools, but having friends at work in both classes of schools; and also in private boarding-schools, I have some opportunity of-comparing this with other branches of the teach- ing. profession. I have no hesitation in saying that, on the whole, the profession compares well with most of • those open to and suitable for cultivated women. " An Elementary Teacher" compares the conditions chiefly with- those under which high- school' teachers work, but I Mill ask YOur readers to take a wider
view. . - •
In the: first letter quoted on the subject mention was made of the feet that many "young women of the upper and middle, classes "were Were to be found as nurses, typeWriterS, dressmakers, shop-assistants, lady-helps,' governesses, companions, 'and so forth": and' it is with these professions also that the comparison should be made. To 'discuss-whether a highly qtialified teache# with a University- degree and high-school experience would not be better of '(with regard to, material elnsi orations) in a high school than an elementary school is beside e point. Such a. one would only choose the latter pOsition if other considerations weighed more heavily with her than those of material advantage.' But the class referred to cannot all find work in high schools, and: I think any Head-Mistress .would bear-witness to the pathetio number Of applications rejected. each titine there is a vacancy to be filled. ' Moreover, there are many with' very average ability who, for intellectual or other reasonsy are debarred from the> University training so essential for the aspiring ., high-school:
teacher. To take your correspondent's objections in order :— , (1). The salaries.—These are certainly lower than those which
• a teacher with a degree can command in a high sehool,, though many less qualified teachers, even in higli schools, to say nothing of private schools, receive no more than the average elementary teacher, But I would remind the reader that the high-school teacher has had to pay for an expensive training herself, whereas the nation defrays a large part of the cost of the elementary teacher's training, , and she can, if she chooses, qualify herself with a very , small outlay. It is only fair to consider this in comparing salaries. Other points ' not mentioned are that in elementary schools the demand for teachere is so great that no efficient teacher need fear lack of work ; that in ' almost all cases (especially since the new order of .things I began) there is a definite scale of increase; and that, though , a fully qualified teacher may begin with £70 (especially in a country place where living is cheap), she is more likely. to • begin with £80, or possiblY 40, to say nothing of- the im- provement in salaries which we may reasonably expect in • the course of .time, and which is already beginning to be felt. Finally, the chance of 'a post as head is far greater than in high-schoolwork: ..
_
(2) As to time.--I think the first writer underrates the number of hours' work.' ' He gives 'the impression (I may mis- read him) that five to five and a half hours include the out-of-school work, which he rightly acknowledges to ,be necessary, whereas that-is additional to the time mentioned. Perhaps your other correspondent is nearer the mark in ' the number of hours.. Preparation of lessons is quite as necessary for the teacher in-an elementary school as in a high school, and to suppose that this is not the case is a fallacy, though the preparation may not take quite so long, . the work being of aloes advanced nature. ' Corrections out of school hours are however, generally speaking, purely voluntary on the teacher's part. If we choose to' do.them, • it is not fair to hold them up as one of the disadvantages under which we work. Many elementary teachers would not think of taking home corrections, whilst others prefer to do it. Let us own, then, that the hours are long, though not so long as those of many boarding-schools, or as those of some other profession; at least we have our whole Saturdays (worth any number of half-days) and our Sundays free.
(8 and 4) The work and the parents.—I may have been particu-
- larly fortunate, or your correspondent particularly unfor- tunate, in-the pupils and their parents who have come in our way. My experience of the children is, on the whole, that they are inteneely interesting, and both interested and affectionate. ' The touching little presents one receives, both from the children, and through . them from their : parents, do, Plot ,point to want of appreciation. I never before heard of 0, teacher being " held up as an objectrof dislike and contempt " by a parent. True, there are some diffiCult children and difficult parents. I have even heard of such in :Connection with secondary schools. In either case I believe them to be the exception, not the rule, and I. have received more than one proof of kindness and sym-
pathy from parents. . ' . .
• I should like to say more of the delights of the work, but dare not Claini the' spao. Let Inc only conclude by saying that • my experience is that whilst the work has its drawbacks and difficul- ties-(what work which is worth doing has not ?), it isdiatinctly a profession to be commended to a large number of the women of the upper and middle elegises who, whether by choice or of neces-
sity, intend to earn their own living. . •
—I' ate, Sir; 4., " M. B. E. •
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