“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 L13 L20 L12 From L12 to
in residence L22 according
to accommodation. 
(It is to be noted that the Government maintenance grant
for men students in residence is L40, which can be
made practically to cover expenses.)

Women students    L13          L20          L12             ...
living at home              (paid to student)

Men students receive L25 maintenance grant.