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Show ..BK.a The cool crisp air of the late-Autumn late-Autumn mornings is just a quiet yet subtle reminder that Autumn is just around the corner. According Accord-ing to recent estimates by school authorities, some 10,000 Alpine District youngsters will be trooping troop-ing back to the school rooms come September 7. Like old fire horses, the members mem-bers of the teaching profession who retired last Spring, will be somewhat restive as the school bells clang on opening day. This sense of slight frustration will soon pass however; to be replaced by a feeling of quiet calm, as the realization realiz-ation come that the cares and responsibilities of teaching are permanently per-manently laid aside. In retrospect they will realize that great changes have taken place in methods, salaries, facilities facilit-ies and personnel in the Alpine District during the past 30 years. A recent news release from the office of Supt. Alma Burton is to the effect that Alpine District now has 110 full-time non-teaching employees. em-ployees. This includes of course custodians, bus drivers, secretaries, secretar-ies, maintenance men, mechanics, etc. I recall that during the early years of consolidation, when Dave Gourley, Joe Walton, Jense Fugal, and a few "janitors" and bus drivers driv-ers ran Alpine District. About the some time I was Principal of the Lincoln High School. We had about 500 students in grades 9 to 12. In addition "to my duties as Principal, I taught three daily classes; and had the help of a student-secretary two hours each day. The magnanimous magnan-imous stipend for such rigorous services was $2,200 per year. Of course the school population hereabouts has more than doubled Bince then, and no one would want to go back to the days of "education "educ-ation by privation". However, the above recapitulation indicates that there have been some changes made. No one of fair and reasonable reason-able mind can survey the improvements improve-ments noted especially during the last five years, without concluding that on the whole the people have been rather kind to education. All of the embellishments that have come to the educational program pro-gram recently, cost money. A. glance at our 64-mill tax notices will bear that out; but most folks are not so concerned with the money they spend, as for what they get in exchange for it. In this connection, Dr. Hilde Bruch of the Department of Psychiatry of Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, said the other day, "In he United States, where the teaching of child psychology psy-chology is propogated'most vigorously, vigor-ously, and child guidance most extensively practiced, juvenile delinquency de-linquency is on the increase." With the salaries of veteran teachers near the $5,000 per year mark, and the employment of supervisory and non-teaching personnel per-sonnel at an all time high, the people of Utah are expecting results re-sults and not promises. Teachers, who in the past have regarded teaching as a part-time occupation, occupa-tion, had best move out into the vocations that prevent them from doing a bang-up job in the classroom. class-room. This is just plain common sense. In spite of omnious predictions predict-ions to the contrary, there is now no acute shortage of qualified teachers. To Superintendenat Burton the School Board, and to the 415em-ployeeas 415em-ployeeas of Alpine District, this column expresses best wishes for a most successful school year. So long 'til Friday. |