Women Workers in Seven Professions | Page 6

the socialist teacher, while the socialist administrator and legislator
must see that their side of the work leaves full room for individuality.
In the following section it is obviously impossible adequately to

consider all branches of the teaching profession, and it has therefore
been thought the wisest course to select the leading varieties of work in
which women teachers are engaged and to treat them in some detail.
The writers of the various articles express their own points 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