Paying of Teachers on Merit as Well as Seniority Said Working Out
School Boards
Said Inquiring
About Program
New York (UPII - The town
of Canton, Conn., appears to
be proving that teachers can
be paid on merit, like busi
ness executives, as well as on
seniority.
As a result, Canton's school
superintendent. Dr. H. B. Jes-
tin, is getting eager inquiries
from school boards all across
the land about the four-year
success of his plan.
For years, the National
Education Association and
other teachers' groups have
fought tooth and nail against
every proposal to introduce
merit pay raise and thus mod
ify the strictly egalitarian sen-
tority system. Two years ago,
teachers in Indianapolis
threatened to strike at the
mere suggestion of a merit
pay system. They said it
would produce all kinds of
jealousies and back-biting in
the schools.
Proportion Higher ;
"It hasn't done that in Can
ton at all," Dr. Jestin told
United Press International
"It simply has produced more
education for money. And the
proportion of our high school
graduates who have gone on
to college has risen from 43 to
54 per cent.
About 20 of the 50 teachers
in Canton's three schools have
qualified each year for the
"superior" rating in merit
evaluations by their princi
pals. That means they get
double the regular seniority
salary step-ups in some years.
On the other hand, teachers
rated merely satisfactory have
to realize their future earn
ings are in jeopardy.
Dr. Jestin said no teacher
has been fit to appeal an
evaluation rating although
the right of appeal is clearly
provided.
Used in Any System
Principal Paul Krikscium
of the Canton Elementary
ichool admits he approached
the merit pay evaluation task
four years ago with some
trembling. But he agrees with
Dr. Jestin that it has worked
well.
Dr. Jestin told United Press
International he believes now
the merit pay plan can be
used by any school system,
no matter how large, if suf
ficient time and effort are
taken to adapt it carefully to
local conditions.
. Dr. Jestin conceived the
Idea because of his early ex
perience with the merit raise
system when he worked for
Veeder Root Co. and Bristol
Brass Co. He became con
vinced later, when he had be
come a school executive, that
it would work better for
leachers than the rigid sen
iority step-up system.
Inspired by Studies
Some of the evaluation
methods Dr. Jestin adopted
were inspired by employee
evaluation studies made by
Minnesota Mining and Manu
facturing Co.
"School boards interested
in merit pay should realize
first that it's not a way of
pinching pennies-it's pretty
sure to run the payroll up in
stead of down, because every
teacher has to be allowed to
try for the merit raises. But
it will be economical in the
long run because it enables
the pupils to learn much
faster."
Top pay for the "superior"
teacher in Canton is $8,200,
MEDFpRD
Tribune
SECTION B MEDFORD, OREGON. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1960 PAGES 1 to 8
Quotes From the News
BY UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
London Lord Hurcomb, telling why Britain chose the
robin as its national bird:
"The British rac of the robin is distinguished from con
tinental races by its open and exceptionally friendly behavior
to human beings."
El Centro, Calif. The father of sailor Gordon Lawrence,
in a warning to police which came too late just after his
second escape from jail:
"You'd better watch him, he's slippery at an eel and he's
liable to escape."
West New York, N.J. The Rev. John P. Weigand, pastor
of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, asking his parishion
ers for a 10 per cent tithe to support the church and charity:
"At least try it for one year. You will never go back to
any other plan."
Small Worlds
Around Us
By Lynn M. Wat kin
Bed, Shop Damaged
In Christmas Fires
A hpH and hm unria rfaivi-
aged in fires Sundav. Med-
ford firemen reported.
They said that an elprhip
blanket shorted, got too hot
and caught fire about 7:10
p.m. at the home of Mrs.
Martha Suber. 414 Clark st.
Bed clothing, mattress, springs
and a six-inch spot on the
noor were damaged.
- Extensive riarmNTP thrnnah.
out a shop at the Leonard
Stenerson property occurred
aoout u:su a.m. Firemen said
that the fire originated in a
wall and resultnri frn, a cin.
being too close.
Bushmen,, the primitive in
habitants nf Ari-iro'e V-.1..1 1
Desert, probably never suffer
luuuiHcnes.
Even With Water Lettuce
There Must Be a Plan
In the great and compara
tively unexplored world "of
the so-called bog - plants are
many so common that they
are familiar to most every
one.' Considered to be noxious
weeds and a persistent nui
sance, their life history has
never been worked out.
You probably have, some
time or other, seen colonies of
these plants, called water
lettuce, or shell flower. The
distribution is rather wide
spread and their growth, once
established, is rapid; in fact
almost explosive, if the water
temperature is reason ably
warm.
In Aquariums
Millions of these plants are
used in home aquariums
where they seem to thrive and
grow as well as in a warm
lake or pond. Although books
on botany describe this aquat
ic plant as a "small, tender,
floating perennial of the Ar
um family," it will complicate
the text ' by" admitting the
plant will grow to a "mon
ster" two feet across and grow
under conditions seemingly
unsuited for any plant.
Ordinarily the water-lettuce
does best in water that main
tains a temperature '. which
seldom falls below 65 to 70
degrees or goes over 80. The
plant is also tolerant of shady
locations, doing particularly
well in sheltered coves or
pools shaded by overhanging
trees. It is a true aquatic
plant, often found in com-
regardless of college degrees
held. The merely satisfactory
teacher can't hope to go above
$6,650.
That pay Is well above the
national average of $5,500 for
high school teachers and $5,
215 for grade school teachers.
Among the towns that have
asked Dr. Jestin's advice
about starting merit pay sys
tems in their own schools
are Bloomington, Ind., Clay
ton, Mo. (a suburb of St. Lou
is), Edenton, N.C., Flat Rock,
Mich., and Blue Mountain,
Miss., and the number of in
quiries is increasing.
pany with the water hyacinth.
Beneath the fluted leaves
of the water-lettuce is a mass
of hair-like roots that strain
nutriments from the water
and furnish safe shelter for
small fish. Also embedded in
the root-tangle are numbers
of insects, all hanging on and
riding along as the wind car
ries the entire, floating as
semblage across or around
the pond, depending on the
wind direction.
Neat Arrangement
But if the underside breath
ing roots are a jumble, of con
fusion, the leaves .above are
always neatly arranged and
shipshape. The leaves are ar
ranged rosette-like around the
base and are delicately fluted
along their edges. They are a
gray-greenish color and look
fresh and crisp.
Viewed from above, the
plant looks something like a
small , cabbage or a .head- of
lettuce. Runners are constant
ly being pushed out from the
side of the parent plant on
the end of which a baby plant
takes, shape.
When growth is sufficient
the connecting root rots away
and the -new little plant is
water borne and on its own,
ready to drift with the wind.
Even the baby plants, in
water of the proper tempera
ture, grow rapidly and extend
side-roots to become child
mothers before they are a
quarter grown themselves. In
the over-all scheme of Nature
there must be a pertinent rea
son for such persistent de
velopment. There must be a design, a
purpose or a plan. Even in the
realm of common and simple
plants like the water lettuce,
we can see, if we want to
look, that there is an omnis
cient power that planned it
all.
(Released by The Register and
Tribune Syndicate, 1960)
CHURCH EDUCATOR DIES
Pittsburgh-lUPIl-The Rt. Rev.
Monsignor Thomas J. Quiglcy,
55, author and prominent
Roman Catholic educator,
died Monday night at St.
Francis Hospital.
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Jan. 2 Winter Term -Jan. 2
Wall Street Chatter
New York-IUPD-The current
state of business is not a
healthy one, a situation which
makes the present level of the
stock market all the more re
markable, the Value Line In
vestment Survey says.
The survey notes that in the
past few years slock prices
have climbed resolutely up
ward despite the sluggish rate
of earnings growth.
As long as high price-earnings
ratios prevail where
there are dim prospects for
rising profits-stocks will con
tinue to be dangerously over
valued, the survey advises.
Joseph E. Granville of E. F.
Hutlon & Co. says there is ex
pected to be a considerable
amount of switching into is
sues which stand out as fea
tures in the latest short-interest
report and away from is
sues which have shown sharp
reductions in the list. Those
stocks with big short in
creases that Granville men
tions are:. American Airlines,
AMF, A m p e x, Armstrong
Cork, CBS, Automatic Can
teen, Coca-Cola, Collins Ra
dio. Consolidated Foods, Cro-wcll-Collier,
General Foods,
Hertz, Corvette, Marquette
Cement, Martin, Minnesota
Mining, RCA, Reynolds Met
als, Sicgler, Spiegel, TWA,
United Airlines, Universal
Match, Universal Oil Prod
ucts and Vendo.
Some of the rally candi
dates from tax selling this
year, according to L. O. Hoop
er of W. E. Hutton & Co., are:
United Fruit, Chrysler, Amer
ican Motors, Erie-Lackawan
na, New York Central, Penn
Railroad, Eastern Airlines,
Jersey Standards and perhaps
Texas Instruments.
Bache & Co. notes that Am
pcx appears to be in the proc
ess of building a short term
base. A break through 25
would indicate a possible
move to the 30-31 area. Bache,
however, feels that while bet
ter electronic opportunities
are available, Ampex could be
considered for speculative ac
counts when the above-mention
objective is reached.
PORTRAIT PAINTER DIES
New York IUPI1 Mrs. Mar
garet Wood White Newton,
67. who had painted a portrait
of Franklin D. Roosevelt, died
Monday.
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