IV

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHING


Progressive women to-day resent the social system which requires them
to be economically dependent upon others. They realise that social
service needs labour of a highly skilled variety, and they therefore
demand, on the one hand, training for their work as a guarantee of
their efficiency in its performance, and, on the other hand, monetary
payment and security of tenure as guarantees to them of economic
independence. As a natural corollary to woman's lack of political
power, there are no spheres of professional work in which prevailing
conditions are in these respects completely satisfactory. Perhaps the
teaching service in the State schools comes nearest to complying with
progressive demands: at any rate Government recognises the need for
training, and, to a large extent, meets its cost; a salary, more or
less adequate, is paid in return for the teaching given, and security
of tenure is, with few exceptions, assured. Again, the work done
in the State schools is now generally and rightly regarded as of
first-rate importance to the community, and therefore as meriting
national gratitude in the form of Government superannuation. Popular
prejudice against compulsory education, once so strong, may now be
said to have disappeared, and the work of the pioneers who endeavoured
to create a public opinion in its favour, has borne fruit. To-day
the parents' attitude towards the teacher is normally one of friendly
co-operation and respect, with the result that the latter is fast
becoming a powerful factor in shaping and influencing the democracy.
The school is extending its influence in every sphere which touches
on the social, physical, intellectual, and spiritual well-being of the