Teaching A Profession

Dr. J. M. Rice, who has attracted considerable attention during the past few years as a writer ou the work of our schools, iu the current number of the Forum says: "The greatest fault in the schools of our country lies in tho professional weaknoss of our teachers. ' ' That Dr. Rice is oorrect in tliis view of the case there will probably be few to question. Of course this criticism does not imply that there are not many teachers in our schools who in profes sional knowledge and skill are the equals of the practitioners in any other profession.but that the number of those who lack a knowledge of pedagogical principies and skill in their practical application is so large as to be a source of serious weakness to the schools. That such a condition should exist is due in large measure, no doubt, to the fact that our people hare been slow to recognize that anything more than a general education is necessary as a preparation for teaching. They have not, and many do not yet regard teaching as a profession in the sense they do law and medicine. Nor is this opinión held by nonprofessional and busines people alone. It is no anomaly to fin lawyers and physicans on boards of edu cations who, while clairaiing for their own professional opinions the weigh conceded to experts, are slow to admit that the professional ideas and opinions of the teacher should be entitled to the same consideration. The result is that boards of education which are or should be business organizations rather than educational, fail many times to recognize the proper boundary between the business and educational adrninistration of a school. Instead of permitting the professional headjof the school system.the superintendent, to select his assistant, under snch restrictions as wil prevent favoritism and abuse of power, they, with little knowledge of the teachers' preparation and the work he wanted to do, proceed to elect some relative or some person who "needs" the place, or who has a "pull" with a member of the board. Thus our schools are many times made asylums for the "halt and the -lame and the blind" teacher rather than institutions the object of whose éxistence is the good of the children, the proper training and developing of their powers and the storing of their minds with useful knowledge. For the accomplishment of these ends the teacher stands, or should, for vastly more than brick and mortar, the text-books, and in fact than all other factors combined. The controlling principie in the selection of teachers sho-uld always be therefore, moral worth combined with a knowledge of pedagogical principies and skill in their practical application. The weakness of onr schools, resulting from poor ers, can only be overeóme where this principie is given its due weight and the selection of teachers is intrnsted to those who are competent to judge of the teachers' professional preparation and ski 11 in practico.