50 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXIX. No. 732 



we are speaking to the man whose aptitude 

 lies in that field. Let us turn again for a 

 moment to its bug-bear, the financial side, 

 which will then be finally dismissed. Con- 

 ditions are not just as we, the teachers, or 

 the college authorities, would desire them 

 to be, but there are signs of improvement, 

 which this Association and the Chemical 

 Society can promote. But after all, the 

 teacher's patience is ultimately rewarded 

 by a monetary return which for the really 

 able man (who alone would receive the 

 higher rewards in the commercial field) is 

 not inconsiderable. Moreover, his tenure 

 of office is in general secure during good 

 behavior, and it is no small comfort to feel 

 that the salary cheek, though of moderate 

 amount, will appear regularly during those 

 times of stresfe when our supposedly more 

 fortunate brothers are growing grey with 

 anxiety regarding the next turn of the 

 market. 



The science teacher of to-day is, more- 

 over, usually something of a specialist and 

 expert, and I believe that it is his duty, 

 as well as his privilege, to make himself 

 acquainted with the applications of his 

 specialized knowledge in the technical field, 

 and so far as it may be done without vio- 

 lence to duties already assumed, to avail 

 himself of opportunities for expert service, 

 especially where these involve an impartial 

 treatment of problems of some importance. 

 Service of this sort well-performed is highly 

 remunerative, and serves at once to broaden 

 the teacher and to contribute to the com- 

 fort of those dependent upon him; and in 

 individual instances, to relieve much of the 

 disparity between the income of the teacher 

 and the teehnicist. In this respect the 

 science teacher possesses a distinct advan- 

 tage over his brother in the academic field, 

 and the engineer or chemist an advantage 

 over the specialist in a descriptive science, 

 such as astronomy. 



The effect of the establishment of the 

 Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement 

 of Teaching must not be overlooked. Its 

 generous endowment provides, as many of 

 you know, retiring pensions which may be 

 claimed as of right by teachers who have 

 served in a professorial capacity for twenty- 

 five years, or who have reached the age of 

 sixty-five, with a record of fifteen years of 

 professorial work. Provision is also made 

 for the family of a teacher who at the time 

 of his death was entitled to a pension. It 

 may, however, be noted that at present no 

 general provision is made for the same class 

 of junior professors referred to above as 

 struggling with meager salaries. It would 

 undoubtedly prove exceedingly helpful, 

 both by relieving anxiety and by making 

 the teaching profession more attractive, if 

 it were ultimately found practicable to pro- 

 vide widows' pensions in the case of the 

 death of junior teachers who have not com- 

 pleted the prescribed twenty-five years of 

 service. It is apparently true, however, 

 that the trustees of the Foundation would 

 even now consider individual cases of need, 

 on their merits. 



But what of the opportunities, the privi- 

 leges of the teacher? They are almost 

 limitless. Is there drudgery? Yes; but 

 what vocation is without it ? Does he have 

 to repeat the same story year after year? 

 In part, yes; but it never need be wholly 

 the same and the audience is never twice 

 the same. And the long vacations ? They 

 are available, if they are needed (and then 

 they are blessed indeed), but they are sel- 

 dom periods of continuous idleness, but are 

 rather one of the great opportunities which 

 come to the teacher, as to few others who 

 are under obligations to render definite 

 services. To the progressive, enthusiastic 

 teacher these should be periods of growth; 

 a chance for uninterrupted thought re- 

 garding his specialty or his work ; a chance 



