Show LET VALUE OF SERVICE DETER MINE SALARY fear of dismissal Is an ignoble incan alve to keep up to the standard the address of E G cooley superintendent in of the chicago schools at the grand opera house last evening was one of the most scholarly and helpful addresses ever delivered in this city the house was crowded to its utmost capacity and the speaker was listened to with the closest attention mr leys address n part is as follows there is borne contusion in the minds of men today as to what is the proper basis on which to estimate the remuneration granted individuals divi duals for service have been made to the giving of an equal share to each man regardless of the service rendered sometimes it has been proposed to reward each man according to his wants sometimes it has been proposed propos sd to reword each man accord ng to hla labor on the basis of time spent without special regard to the value of the alro duct mankind generally however acta on the principle that each member of society khouli bo remunerated in proportion to the value 0 the services rendered by him it the schools are to bo carried on in the interest of the children they must be governed in the teachers salaries by an estimate of the value of the services rendered by the teacher any consideration Is invalid except in so far as it affects efficiency an increase of salary based upon length of service can be defended only in so far as it can be shown that length of service conduces to greater efficiency in the work of the schoolroom differences of calary based upon sex can be defended boniv by showing that sex is a factor that must be considered in estimating the efficiency of the teacher increases of salary based upon zal habits and scholarship must alike be tested by tho criterion of efficiency many of our largo cit es have adopted schedules of salaries making advances in accordance with length of service some however are taking into consideration as well as length of service progressive scholarship we doubt whether length ot service is always an clement in efficiency sometimes it leads to a decrease in interest in the school and its work 1 I would recommend a schedule of salaries by making provision for advances yearly for a period of four or five years at the end of this period if a teacher did not give evidence of increase in efficiency in professional zeal and student habits she would be stopped and not allowed to go further I 1 believe that scholarship and habits of study are factors that must be considered in estimating the efficiency of a teacher I 1 am convinced that no teacher can long remain really efficient who is noi a student it is only by continuing to be a student that she can avoid tha depressing effect of constant association with immature minds and ideals and continue to grow in efficiency as long as she continues to teach I 1 insist that ability to utilize sources of information either in books or laboratories or in experience outside of the schoolroom Is vitally connected with the value of the teachers service to too school the proposition that teachers be permitted to advance from the minimum salary paid to the highest salary fixed by the board of education without first hindrance or interruption except that they continue efficient enough to avoid dismissal is demoralizing moral izing such an agreement absolutely ignores the real purpose tor which the school exists and looks at the school system from the standpoint of the job an arrangement suggests making the necessary effort to get into the system and then letting the clock work there Is a fundamental objection to the proposition that we ought to rely upon fear of dismissal to keep teachers up to the work fear of punishment Is the most ignoble of all motives which are not positively malevolent it fixes attention on tho neg loot of duty instead of on the performance of it every one too realizes how extremely difficult it is to get rid of the inefficient teacher or inefficient employed emp loyes of any sort the suggestion that we can keep people up to the mark in our schools by mere fear of dismissal Is made by people who are not familiar ath current history when the old teacher ano is a good fellow and who is simply looking for a comfortable position gets into one of our school systems the chances of removal till death or physical disability are exceedingly small we should frame every recommendation in such a way as to encourage work and growth we hear today a good deal of complaint about examinations wo all know that many things cannot be determined ter mined by an examination we nil recognize that an examination Is not an entirely satisfactory agent for selecting or promoting teachers we use however as an auxiliary in this work and there seems to be no special reason why they are less effective in tho work of selecting or promoting teachers than in selecting or promoting other public servants an examination will however test onea accuracy the fullness of onea memory and ones power of concentration tra tion you can find out from a set of papers whether a roan knows hla own mind or not it seems fair to assume that there is borne relation between knowledge and power wo un assume that th man who knows Is the man who can do and we believe tile only reason why people need to know Is that they may be able to do an examination however in many cases determines not so much the applicants cants ability to do tho thing desired as his ability to tell liow it should be done it la however fair to assume that tho person who has the knowledge la interested in doing the tiling that there Is a relation between knowledge of a particular kind of work and interest in doing it the man who has the best sort of knowledge about a particular piece ot work Is other things being equal the moat interested in it and the best prepared to do it teaching too calls for ability to state clearly what one knows it Is a part of the equipment of a teacher to b able to talk to ox plain to interpret the teacher who Is dumb in the presence of a problem demanding solution who lacks the power of expressing herself definitely and accurately is in a degree unfitted for the work she Is attempting to do an examination will test oils we hear a good deal today about cramming tor examination study as a preparation for an examination la called cram by persons who wish to condemn what they do not approve oy I 1 belleme that the man or woman ano has the ability to prepare really and thoroughly for an examination has in him the right sort of stuff to make a teacher of the teacher must possess the power to go to the right place tor material and to use this material when she gets it cramming mans simply ability to go to the sources of information and select the proper mn for the situation the power to cram Is the power that everyone should aleh for none more so than the teacher who must prepare or every lesson every day of her life examinations however do comparatively ively little to test the moral qualities they do not accurately such qualities as diligence patience sense of duty or interest in the work we are doing although they do so to a degre degree e an examination will not test the sympathy the power of working with or influencing others in other words an examination cannot be a complete teat somehow we are compelled to estimate the power of people whether by written examinations or by personal estimates phy phrenology social standing good clothes personality come into play here but in the last analysis we shall consider very narrowly what the person knows and anat we believe the person can do the problem of estimating fairly the efficiency of teachers in the school room has never been satisfactorily solved the teacher may ie so much interested in study that she forgets her schoolroom the ambitious teacher may get up so much energy to study that her health suffers as well as her schoolroom work teachers however much they may criticism criticise critic ise any scheme for securing greater efficiency are everywhere in favor of higher standards the teachers recognize as well as the public does that the schools are conducted in the interest of the children we realize that the schools do not belong to the teachers that they do not exist to furnish positions for teachers 1 I believe that encouraging a professional fess ional spirit is the best policy and that we can trus tto the final judg ement of the people as to the value of our work I 1 believe that we can trust to tha generosity 0 f the american people who have always appreciated the worth of the coro pion school I 1 bellere we can safely trust in the cm bency of the public school as a remedy for our civic illg r if you tile time to exercise regularly will prevent constipation induce abild easy healthful action of the bowels without griping ask your druggist for them |