"I am deeply concerned with the diminution of the teaching strength of the country as a result of the disproportionately low salaries that are paid to teachers throughout the country"
- Bainbridge Colby
About this Quote
Bainbridge Colby's quote reveals his stress over the decreasing number of instructors in the nation due to the low wages they are paid. He thinks that the wages are disproportionately low, meaning that they are not in line with the amount of work and commitment that teachers put into their tasks. This lack of financial payment is triggering many instructors to leave the occupation, resulting in a reduction in the mentor strength of the country. Colby's quote is a call to action for those in power to recognize the importance of instructors and to provide them with the wages they are worthy of. He believes that by doing so, the mentor strength of the nation will be brought back and the quality of education will improve.
"Learning and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch the river flow by; instead, they should embark together on a journey down the water. Through an active, reciprocal exchange, teaching can strengthen learning how to learn"
"Teaching is the only major occupation of man for which we have not yet developed tools that make an average person capable of competence and performance. In teaching we rely on the "naturals," the ones who somehow know how to teach"
"I went to school at this log school house. A white woman was my teacher, I do not remember her name. My father had to pay her one dollar a month for me. Us kids that went to school did not have desks, we used slates and set on the hued down logs for seats"
