Women Workers in Seven Professions | Page 6

of view, gained by practical first-hand experience of the work they describe. Allowance must, perhaps, in some cases be made for personal enthusiasm, or for the depression that arises from thwarted efforts and unfulfilled ideals. At any rate no attempt has been made to co-ordinate the papers or to give them any particular tendency. As a result, certain deductions may be made with some confidence. Women teachers of experience are convinced of the manifold attractions of their profession, and at the same time are alive to its disadvantages as well as to its possibilities. Alike in University, secondary school, and elementary school there is the joy of service, and the power to train,
"To riper growth the mind and will.
"And what delights can equal those That stir the spirit's inner deeps, When one that loves, but knows not, reaps A truth from one that loves and knows?"
Of all teachers, perhaps she who elects to work in an elementary school is in this respect most fortunate and most rich in opportunities, since, to many of her children, she is the one bright spot in their lives, the one person who endeavours to understand and to stimulate them to the effort which all normal children enjoy. For her, too, particularly if her work lies in a poor district, there is the opportunity, if she care to take it, for all kinds of social interests. There will, of course, be much to sadden her in such experiences, but at least they will add a sense of reality to her teaching which will keep her in close touch with life. She will find that there are compensations for hard work and red-tape regulations, even for low remuneration and slowness of promotion. Nor must it be forgotten that, inadequate as is her salary, it contrasts not unfavourably with that of other occupations for women, _e.g._ clerkships and the Civil Service, in which the work is in itself less attractive. As compared with the assistant mistress in a secondary school, her lot is not altogether unenviable. If she has shorter holidays, larger classes, and at the worst, but by no means inevitably, a lower stipend, these facts must be counterbalanced by remembering that she has comparatively few corrections, much less homework, and no pressure of external examining bodies, that her tenure is far less insecure, and that her training and education have been to a very large extent borne by the State or by local authorities.
The following table gives the approximate cost of College education for elementary teachers-in-training. If it be compared with the expenses that have to be met by other students from private sources (vide p. 7, or, in greater detail, pp. 82 et seq.), it will be seen that the elementary teacher begins her career with a substantial subsidy from the State.
Elementary Teachers.
The following is a typical table of annual cost at a University College which provides for two-year and for three-year students. The training is obtainable at slightly lower cost to students in some other colleges.
Grants by Board of Fees payable by students Education to College. to College.
Tuition. Maintenance. Tuition. Maintenance.
Women students ��13 ��20 ��12 From ��12 to in residence ��22 according to accommodation. (It is to be noted that the Government maintenance grant for men students in residence is ��40, which can be made practically to cover expenses.)
Women students ��13 ��20 ��12 ... living at home (paid to student)
Men students receive _��25 _maintenance grant.
Apparently the Government policy, as evidenced by its maintenance grants, is to discourage women students from entering residential colleges. Yet it is a well-known fact that the wear and tear involved in living at home is far greater than at college--especially for women--and the educational advantages correspondingly fewer than those resulting from residence.
County Councils frequently provide "free places" at local colleges, together, in some cases, with supplementary bursaries for maintenance. Non-resident students--_e.g._, in London--seldom have any out-of-pocket expenses for their actual education. Nor must it be forgotten that education up to college age is free to junior county scholars and to bursars, who also receive small grants towards maintenance.
_College Fees for other than Elementary Teachers-in-Training_[2]
Oxford and Cambridge Colleges From ��90 to ��105 a year for a minimum of 3 years (of 24 weeks).
Other Residential Universities and Colleges From ��52 to ��90 or ��110 a year for a minimum of 3 years (of 30 to 35 weeks).
Non-residential Colleges From ��20 to ��55 a year for a minimum of 3 years. (The cost of maintenance must be reckoned at about ��40 a year, as a minimum.)
Students who desire to do advanced work will need at least one, and probably two, additional years at the University, while all women who intend to teach in schools ought also to spend one year in training.
A large number of County Councils provide "senior" scholarships to