Essay: The School Question, 1918

91.84.171 The School Question

How anyone in their right mind can answer such a question now, when our thoughts are so constantly imbued with ideas of greater possibilities for our school and with practically no material with which we can adequately work, is entirely too momentous for my mind, right or wrong.

And just how the discussion will be handled is also a hard problem. I have written to our County School Superintendent and here is his reply to me.

(Read Letter)

If we as patrons of Sherwood School can work up a petition or go in a body before the school board, can we do anything to relieve the situation?

I have lately talked with one of the Trustees and he says that now so far, there have been No applications for the position of Principal and he thinks the only course we can follow at present is to suggest some one to fill the positions and in some way to make sure that the salaries will be increased.

We cannot blame the girls who have been teaching and it is no easy job) and receiving $450.00 a year and who leave when a salary of $1100.00 is offered!

I am surely interested in securing good teachers for next winter, as during the past year my boy has had 7 different ones in his room.

Such a state of affairs is certainly demoralizing to the children, and hard too for each succeeding teacher. I shall be very glad to hear of some plan that we can pursue and I am ready to do what I can to assist, tho I feel like a very little pebble beside a big, big ocean and suggestion to "The Neighbors" is to try to have a meeting of the patrons (if we cannot speed enough here tonight) when we can properly discuss the situation after wo have each made a more thorough investigation. We want the sanitary conditions imporved, we want running water and staionary washstands in the vestibules, we want a proper system of heating, we want a more satisfactory method of lighting, we want medical inspection and in other words, we want what we want when we want it! Then if our fondest hopes are realized and we can have a first clause professor as Principal with good assistance in the grade teachers we can rest assured that our children will be as well qualified for the problems that confront this war worn world now, as

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were their predecessors. Daniel Webster, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, paid [?] Bell and Frances E. Willard, Jane Addams, Harriet Beecjer Stowe, Ida Tarbel and others of our great United States whohave won a reputation for themselves and fame for our nation thruout the world.

In my letter to Mr. Broome, the one I recommended to fill the principalship was, Samuel Janney Hutton, who has "made good" in his connection with the Brooksville School.

When the hour of noon peals forth and we pause in our daily occupations, for a prayer for our boys in the service of their Country, let us not forget the crying need of our little children here at home and try to make better facilties for their education here in our midst so when necessity calls them away from our doors, we shall have faith that they will be reputable and loyal citizens, and that we can trust them to keep the lasting peace that we feel will really come when this war is over, and we can gratefully hear, "Well done, thou good and faithful servants", and we will be ready to enter into His Kingdom, feeling that our mission in this line has been accomplished and we have left behind us, men and women who are worthy.

June 13th, 1918. "The Neighbors" Ethel F. Thomas.