Examination of Teacher
3 *G.Northrop.
Egv/' Haven, 18.00.
[From the Report of Connecticut Board of Education, 1880.]
Examination of Teachers
BY
B. G. NORTHROP,
Secretary of Connecticut Board of Education.
NEW IiAVEN:
TUTTLE, MOREHOUSE & TAYLOR.
1 8 8 0.
[From the Report op Connecticut Board op Education, 1880.]
Examination of Teachers.
BY
B. G. NORTHROP,
Secretary op Connecticut Board op Education.
TUTTLE,
NEW HAYEN:
MOREHOUSE & TAYLOR.
1 8 8 0.
In one of the New England States, and in nearly all the Middle and Western
States, teachers may procure " certificates" of State or County Examiners. To
bring this matter fully before the people of Connecticut, I applied to the Superin¬
tendents of Schools in these States for their opinion as to the results of this law.
I had previously learned the general fact that though unpopular at first, this
law had steadily grown in favor and had been productive of great good. Their
replies, some of them not received till February, were of course too late to
have any weight with the people or the Legislature during the session of 1880.
A form of a bill, copied from the Statutes of other States, and embodying the
modifications made by the Committee of the Connecticut Council of Education,
was printed in the Report of the State Board of Education, so that, as therein
stated, " if it shall be referred to the next Legislature, there may be ample time
to consider its provisions and learn the popular will." Public sentiment creates
law and repeals it. Any law in violation of public sentiment is a 'dead letter.
The question of the expediency of such a law in any given State depends on the
enlightened public sentiment of that community. I have no faith or practice in
lobbying and desire the adoption of no law which when fully and fairly presented,
the people do not approve.
This bill is simply permissive. Its provisions would not be obligatory upon
any town or any teacher. It does not touch the question of the election of teach¬
ers or the supervision of schools. An erroneous impression on this point, widely
circulated soon after the bill was presented to the Legislature, naturally created
some prejudice against it.
The Free School Law, when first proposed in 1861, encountered general opposi¬
tion. The bill met no favor in either House, and only out of courtesy to its
author, was referred to the next General Assembly. During the next year, the
subject was fully discussed in all parts of the State, the Secretary giving over two
hundred lectures on this and kindred topics, and presenting full arguments and
testimonies from other States in the Annual Report for 1868. The Legislature
of that year passed this law with unexpected unanimity, and it has since been
most amply ratified by the people. Opposition and discussion helped this meas¬
ure as they ultimately do any other, which can bear close scrutiny and stand the
test of experience. This experience confirmed my view of the wisdom of referring
the proposed bill to the next General Assembly. It comprises two distinct plans
—a County and a State Board of Examiners. The objections urged, so far as I
know, apply only to the plan of County Boards. In either case the candidates
pay all the expenses of the examination. If a State Board only should be organ¬
ized at the outset, that would stimulate the scholarship and professional spirit of
the most ambitious candidates. The discussion of this subject has already done
good by calling attention to the great harm needlessly inflicted upon our schools
by incompetency and nepotism, and leading many School Visitors to adopt a more
thorough system for the examination of teachers.
EXAMINATION OF TEACHERS.
The examination of teachers is a vital question, for " as is
the teacher, so is the school." The present method of examina¬
tion is the weakest point in our school system. Teachers are
approbated only by the school officers of the townships in
which they teach. Candidates rejected in one township may
be certificated in the next. Hence many of our schools suffer
greatly from the incompetency of teachers. This evil arises
not so much from the scarcity of good teachers, as from a
vicious method of selection. The importance of this subject
demands a thorough discussion.
It is the part of wisdom to heed the lessons of experience.
The intelligent European Commissioners sent by their govern¬
ments to inspect our school systems, like the Lord Bishop of
Manchester from England, Monsieur Buisson from France,
and others, have noticed the inefficient method of examining
teachers, which still contrasts New England with the rest of
this country. In Germany, Switzerland, and indeed in all the
countries of Europe where an efficient system of public instruc¬
tion is maintained, the examination of teachers is thorough and
systematic.
v But to many minds, European experience seems remote
and inapplicable to Republican ideas and institutions. .For¬
tunately there are ample illustrations of improved methods in
this direction nearer home. The weight of American example
and experience is already in favor of plans like those now pro¬
posed in the Legislature of, Connecticut. New England in
this respect has* isolated herself from the usages of the country
and with an extreme conservatism keeps in the old ruts. In
the Middle and Western States this subject has recently received
great attention, and in nearly all of them County and State
Boards of examiners have been organized.
It is too late for New England to flatter herself that in all
points her schools continue to be superior to those of the West.
Formerly this was everywhere conceded. The geographies pub¬
lished less than forty years ago pronounced the schools of Con¬
necticut the best in the country. But if we now dream that
wisdom will die with us, it is because we need to be aroused
from a Rip Yan Winkle sleep. The educational exhibits of
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4
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and other
Western States at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia,
though no better than I expected, were to many a new reve¬
lation of the remarkable progress recently made by those States.
It has been my good fortune during the last twenty-five years
to visit schools or confer with teachers and school superin¬
tendents in educational meetings held in all the Northern States
this side of the Mississippi river and in several other States.
Anxious to learn as well as to teach, I have valued these
opportunities of observing the comparative working of differ¬
ent school systems. In the certification of teachers most of all,
we may profit by the experience of other States. The testimony
of educational" experts " throughout the country is almost
unanimous in favor of county and State boards of examiners. ^
Several of the" Western States originally copied the Connec¬
ticut school system. But the old Connecticut method of cer¬
tificating teachers has been abandoned in all but one of them.
The State school superintendents of the Western and Middle
States now regard State and county boards of examiners as an
indispensable part of the system, as the right arm of power for
the uplifting of their schools. It has done more than any one
thing to vitalize their schools and promote their improvement.
This method, founded in reason, has stood the test of a varied
experience, and everywhere proved beneficial in practice. A
dozen years ago the schools of New Jersey were ridiculed as
behind the age. Now, they are among the best in the country.
My first experience as a school teacher occurring in New Jersey,
I early had ample opportunity to learn the lpw condition of
her schools. That early impression was confirmed when, some
eleven years since, I gave an address in Trenton on the " old
rate bill" then maintained in New Jersey, and heard from ber
leading citizens sad reports of the poor schools and poorly
qualified teachers in the rural districts. Having more recently
met most of the teachers of that State in each of their county
Institutes, which all are required by law to attend, I have been
struck with the marked contrast now presented. Their State
Board of Education, efficient Superintendent of Schools, Nor¬
mal School, county supervision, and especially their methods
of State and county examination of teachers, have been chiefly
5
instrumental in working out this great and happy change.
Watching with interest this movement in other States, I have
long waited for the fit time to initiate a similar plan in our own.
Massachusetts is moving this year in the same direction. Con¬
necticut can no longer afford to neglect that plan which has
elsewhere proved the simplest and most economical method of
advancing the standard of teachers.
The economy of the plan recommends it. There need be no
increase of expense to the districts or towns by the proposed
law. The examiners are to receive no pay from the State, town
or district. It is a striking fact that the call for such a law comes
from our leading teachers and school visitors. It seems to be one
of the prominent objects of forming the Connecticut Council of
Education, and is the only definite measure which that Council
has voted to recommend to the Legislature. On this point the
Council #was unanimous and urgent. The able Committee of
the Council, consisting of Charles Northend, Superintendent of
the Schools of New Britain, Prof. F. A. Russell, Principal of
St. Margaret's School, Waterbury ; A. P. Somes, late Presi¬
dent of State Teachers' Association ; J. A. Shores, Principal of
the Connecticut Literary Institution, Suffield; George E. Elliot,
Agent of the Morgan School, Clinton, together with Ariel Parish,
Superintendent of the Schools of New Haven, strongly advocated
the proposed bill before the joint Standing Committee of the
Legislature. Five of this number have long served as school
visitors or superintendents. Therefore knowing fully the needs
of teachers, the wants of schools, and the wishes of school visitors,
they felt that the interests of teachers and schools alike would
be promoted by such a law, and that no worthy candidate would
hesitate at the trifling cost or trouble of an examination.
The expense of traveling to the places of examination would
be slight, as the most convenient localities would be selected in
each county. An opportunity for examination would be given
at the County Teachers' Institutes, which are now generally
attended by our teachers, and where they are gratuitously
entertained. In such cases no expense for traveling would be
incurred merely for the examination.
Economic committees may object that such a law will tend
to enhance the wages of teachers. There is no doubt that
6
those thus " licensed" would be worth more than many now
enlisted, and even if employed for less time they would accom¬
plish better results. The certificates are to be graded accord
ing to the qualifications, and no one ought to be employed even
in the smallest school who is not at least worthy of a certificate
of the lowest grade. After weeding out the incompetents,
there remains a supply of well qualified teachers ample for all
demands, and at current rates of compensation.
Giving annually from the State Treasury and from the
School Fund over $332,000 for the support of public schools,
the State has a right to insist that this money shall accomplish
the best results practicable, and not be wasted by the employ¬
ment of drones or incompetents, nor perverted to schemes of
nepotism. While candidates are plenty, the State has a right
to the services of the best, and therefore should guard against
the undue influence of interested friends in placing^an unfit
candidate in the chair of the teacher.
In town examinations there is a strong temptation to favorit¬
ism, which would not exist with a county or State Board.
When the Acting Visitor is a physician or clergyman, the
pressure of patrons, parishioners or neighbors to approbate a
son, a daughter or favorite, is often too strong for even a
fair-minded man to resist. But what if there be examiners
who are not impartial, and if political, denominational, or
social influences be brought to bear? In the sacred interests of
Education, every precaution should be taken against the danger
of dispensing patronage at the expense of the best interests of
our schools. There is too much evidence that mal-appointments
have been made, to the lasting detriment of many youth deprived
of the better instructions and influences otherwise open to them.
It should be distinctly understood that it is not always those
who pass the best examination in mere text-books whb make
the best teachers. Tact, good judgment, aptness to teach,
power to stimulate and magnetize, and love for children cannot
be clearly determined by an examination in literary acquirements
only. Skilled and experienced examiners can judge fairly of
these characteristics and qualities, but a certain minimum
amount of knowledge ought to be the condition of all teaching,
enough at least to close the door to ignorant and incompetent
applicants.
7
The many advantages claimed for this system may be briefly
epitomized as follows :
1. It is an economic plan. It costs nothing to the township
or State. The entire expense is paid by examination fees of
candidates, who prefer and solicit this method of examination.
2. Such a law is called for by the teachers and school visitors
themselves. These representative educators who urge its pas¬
sage understand as well the general interests and wishes of the
teachers of the State, as the methods best fitted to improve our
schools.
8. It will secure a fair examination by a competent Board,
who make this a business so far as to prepare specially for it,
men of sound judgment, impartiality, thorough knowledge of
human nature, and a practical knowledge of the needs and du¬
ties of the school room, whom an extended experience would
make skilled in this difficult art, whose certificate will mean
a 7
something and be valued by teachers as a substantial testimo¬
nial, valid throughout the State, and appreciated by the public
as a genuine recommendation to those who are seeking teachers.
4. The examiners are to be appointed by a judicious non¬
partisan Board, who will aim to select the best men available
for this service. The character and high standing of the mem¬
bers of the State Board of Education, who have always been
non-partisan in their official action, is a sufficient guarantee
that they would endeavor to select those best qualified by
training and experience for this specific work.
5. This Board will have a reasonable standard of qualifica¬
tions for several grades of certificates, viz., for six months, and
for one, two, three, four, five and seven years, and for life.
6. This standard will be practically uniform throughout the
State. Probably the same list of questions, say ten in each
branch, would be used in each county examination throughout
the State.
7. The examination would be partly oral, but mainly written.
8. The examinations would be held in several accessible
places in each Count}7, so that the trouble and expense of travel
would be slight, and probably in connection with the County
Teachers' Institute, now7 generally attended by the teachers of
the State.
8
9. This plan removes the tendency to favoritism. The ex¬
aminers would be relieved from the bias of social and personal
influences so natural where both parties are acquaintances and
friends, or where the examiners are also the employers of the
candidates.
10. This plan effectually excludes all sectarian or political
influence. In Ohio and some other Western States the ap¬
pointment of County Examiners by popular election or by the
Judge of Probate or some other County officer, elected by the
people, and on political grounds, has often brought a party bias
into the Boards of Examiners, and thus greatly injured the
system. That danger is prevented by the proposed bill.
11. This plan, by its various grades of certificates, provides
teachers for the poorer and smaller districts where the wages
must be low. The interests of the most sequestered nooks
and corners of the State are to be carefully guarded. For
many such districts a teacher of limited education is better
than none at all, which would sometimes be the alternative.
12. As the test of experience is often most decisive, testimo¬
nials of past success would have due weight with any judicious
Board of Examiners.
18. This method of examination promotes a stropg stimu¬
lus to teachers to improve themselves. The testimony of New
Jersey and many other States is strong on this point.
As a matter of course this measure must meet opposition
at the outset. But that it may no longer be ignorantly de¬
nounced as " an experiment," " an impracticable theory," "an
untried and visionary project," I give below the testimony of
the School Superintendents of the leading Northern States to
whom I sent the following inquiries :
" 1. Will you give me your opinion of the desirableness of
appointing State, District, or County Boards for examining and
certificating teachers ?"
" 2. What influence has your plan of examining teachers
by county officers exerted upon the qualifications of your
teachers and the condition of your schools ?"
The following letters comprise the fullest and strongest testi¬
mony ever collected on this subject: " Though unpopular at
first, it has grown stronger year by year," is mentioned as
a matter of experience in many States. One only of all
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these School Superintendents doubts the practicability of yet
attempting this plan in his State, but that is the State which
appropriates the least money for the training of teachers of any
State in New England, and probably in the whole North.
It is a significant fact that though the older Western States
at first adopted the New England plan, they have long since
abandoned it, and that in all the newest Western States the
plan of County Examiners has been adopted from the outset.
The interest manifested in education and the excellency of the
schools in many of the youngest of our States, is a good omen
for their future.
Educational Department, Augusta, Me., Jan. 12, 1880.
My Dear Sir :—In this State teachers are examined and cer¬
tificated by local Boards. There are in Maine five hundred
cities^ towns and plantations, each with its local board, and
each entirely independent of all the others. A certificate,
granted by the Board of the largest city in the State, has not
the least significance, legally, in the remotest plantation.
What is needed in Maine is a county board of educators for
examiners in each of the sixteen counties of the State. Let
the examinations in each county be up to the same standard—
let the boards of the counties issue certificates of different grades,
but to be good throughout the State. Then an examination
will be worth something. A law student is examined by a
committee, " learned in the law," appointed by the court. If
he passes examination he is admitted to practice in every
county in the State, and by courtesy in other States. If a
medical student desires to become a member of the profession, he
is examined by medical professors, and his certificate (diploma)
issuing from proper authority is recognized everywhere. If it
is desirable to elevate the calling and make it a profession, it
must be entered in the same way as the other professions.
First. The applicant must be fitted by proper study and
training.
Second. The public must have evidence of this fitness and
framing by the certificate of a board properly qualified.
I sincerly hope your State will lead off in this much needed
reform. Respectfully, E. S. MORRIS,
State Superintendent of Common Schools.
10
[Mr. White, now President of Pnrdne University, has had
wide opportunities of studying the school systems of different
States as teacher, State Superintendent of schools in Ohio,
editor of the National Teacher, and lecturer at Teachers'
Institutes in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and several of the
Western States, and as member of the State Board of Educa¬
tion of Indiana.]
Purdue University, )
LaFayette, Ind., Jan. 13, 1880. \
Dear Sir :—You are right in judging that I still have a deep
interest in common schools. As a member of the State
Board of Education of Indiana, I have official connection
with the administration of the public school system, and I have
also a part in the preparation of the questions for the examina¬
tion of teachers in all the counties of the State. Thus, as you
see, not only my heart but my head, and my hands are still in
the good work.
If a wide observation and experience are trustworthy, every
efficient system of certificating teachers meets three conditions,
namely:—
1. The examiner is so far removed from those whom he
examines, that he can act with little personal restraint. It is
not easy for an examiner to sit in judgment on the qualifica¬
tions of a personal friend, or of a neighbor with whom he has
intimate social or business relations.
2. The examiner is called to decide on the qualifications of
a sufficient number of applicants to necessitate the adoption of
a reasonable standard. An examining board that determines
the qualifications of two hundred to three hundred applicants
annually, will almost necessarily adopt better and more
thorough tests and a more uniform standard than it would use
if it examined twenty applicants at one or two examinations.
The more that depends on the standard, the more carefully
will it be adopted.
3. The officers who examine and certificate teachers are not
entrusted with the duty of employing them. The certificate
of qualification and the contract to teach a given school should
not be signed by the same officers. One board or officer
should decide upon the qualifications of teachers, and another
11
authority should decide what certificated teachers shall be
employed in the schools.
In the light of these statements, it is seen that the New
England plan of examining and approbating teachers by town¬
ship officers has not the elements of -efficiency. If my obser¬
vations are not at fault, it is but little better than no method.
As a rule, as well-qualified teachers would be selected without
the examination as with it. It strikes me as a convenient way
to reject the applications of those whom the Town Committees
do not wish to employ! In no other section of the country
could good common schools be secured under such an inefficient
system of certificating persons to teach.
The county system of examining teachers, now in general
use in the Middle and Western States, meets the above specified
conditions, and is much more efficient than the local system,
still used in many incorporated towns and cities. No one
familiar with the school systems in the several States will deny
that the county system has been a most efficient agency in
improving the qualifications of teachers. I prefer a county
board of examiners to a county examiner, since three men can
act more independently than one man.
In several States, State Boards of Examiners have been con¬
stituted to issue professional certificates of a high grade and
valid for life to teachers of eminent qualifications and success.
I had the honor to draft the law for Ohio which creates such a
State Board. In Indiana, life certificates are issued by the
State Board of Education. This recognizes teaching as a pro¬
fession, and calls into existence a corps of recognized profes¬
sional teachers. I have advocated for several years the placing
of life professional • certificates of a more elementary grade
within reach of the best qualified and most successful teachers
in our common schools. This would increase the number of
certificated professional teachers, and it would greatly stimulate
and encourage teachers of elementary schools.
What is needed to administer such a system is the creation
of an agency to put the examinations within Teach of teachers
who can not be at the expense of attending State examinations.
The examinations should be open only to teachers of marked
success, who have received in succession at least two county
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12
certificates of a high grade. This final examination sliould be
both scholastic and professional; and it should be thorough.
The teacher who passes it should be admitted to the ranks
of professional teachers.
I am glad to see that the educators of New England are
urging changes in their school systems. The excellence of the
New England Common School has been attained in spite of
the system, not in virtue of it. The claims made respecting
the so-called " Quincy System" has caused many progressive
educators to smile. Will you excuse me for saying that the
States, until recently called "Western," have made much
greater progress in school work in the past ten to twenty
years than New England has made f Come on, good
friends; keep step with us!
Most truly yours,
E. E. WHITE,
President Purdue University.
Department of Public Instruction, )
Harrisburg, Pa., Jan. 13, 1880. [
Dear Sir:—In this State we have five grades or kinds
of teachers' certificates. The lowest grade, called a Pro¬
visional certificate, is granted by the county or city superin¬
tendents to beginners in the work of teaching, or to persons of
moderate scholarship whom it is considered expedient to em¬
ploy as teachers, and is good for only one year, and can¬
not be renewed without a reexamination.
The second grade is called a Professional certificate, and is
granted by county and city superintendents to those who have
passed a thorough examination in the branches required to be
taught in our common schools, and have shown themselves to
be skilled in actual school-room work. They are good in the
county or city where issued during the term of the superin¬
tendent granting them, (three years), and one year thereafter.
The third grade is called a Permanent certificate, and is
granted only to those who have for some time held a Profes¬
sional certificate. All certificates of this class are issued at
13
the Department of Public Instruction, and are signed by the
State Superintendent. Applications for them must be signed
by the boards of school directors for whom the applicant has
taught, by the proper city or county superintendent, and by a
committee of five teachers holding the highest grades of cer¬
tificates elected by ballot at the annual County Teachers' In¬
stitute. Such certificates are good permanently in the county
where issued, and if properly endorsed, in any other county in
the Commonwealth. We have some 1,200 or 1,500 teachers
holding this grade of certificate.
In addition to these, two grades of certificate are granted at
the Normal Schools. The first is called a Teacher's Normal
Certificate, and licenses the holder to teach anywhere in the
State for two years; the second is called a Teacher's Normal
Diploma, and licenses the holder to teach anywhere in the
State for life. The first of these is granted to Normal School
graduates, in connection with the proper faculty, by a board
of five examiners appointed by the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, and of which he is president. It is never done
without a rigid examination. The Teachers' Normal Diploma
is granted by the same board to graduates of the Normal
Schools who have taught two furll years after graduation, and
who present recommendations setting forth their skill and suc¬
cess as practical teachers from the school boards for whom they
have taught, and the superintendents in whose jurisdiction
they have done their work.
This is an outlipe of our plan, a little complicated, it may
be, but admirably calculated to make good teachers, to build
up a teacher's profession, and to strengthen a system of public
schools. Such a plan, however, could not be carried out ex¬
cept in States where there is a county agency competent for
the purpose. Pennsylvania has had in operation a system of
county supervision since the year 1854. It was unpopular at
first, but it has grown stronger and stronger year by year, until
now no one questions its value, and most thinking men
consider it the right arm of our whole educational work.
Yours, very respectfully,
J. P. WICKERSHAM,
Superintendent Public Instruction.
14
Office of Secretary of Board of Education, )
Boston, Mass.) Jan. 13, 1880. J
My Dear Sir:—The schools of a town may be properly
graded, good courses of studies may be constructed, good
methods of teaching may be invented, and all the necessary
means of teaching may be provided, and yet unless the schools
are supplied with good teachers, good -schools will not exist.
Gfood teachers are discovered by examination, and no one
but an educator can make such an examination as will have
either value or significance. An examination worthy to be
considered a test of good qualities must be made by compe¬
tent persons with reference to natural gifts, to knowledge of
subjects to be taught, to methods of teaching, to experience in
the practice of the art, to ability to organize and control, and
with reference to moral character.
The usual examination of teachers, as now conducted by
those who know little or nothing of these thing's, must be with¬
out value.
It seems strange that those who do not understand what are
the requisites of a good teacher should be put to examining
for these requisites. There is no other instance of such con¬
duct in the affairs of men. For lack of a proper test before
election, many of our schools are suffering waste caused by in¬
competent teachers. This waste will continue until the exam¬
ination of teachers is committed to trained educators.
J. W. DICKINSON, Secretary State Board of Education.
Department of Public Instruction, )
Trenton, N. J., Jan. 15, 1880. j
Dear Sir:—Your inquiry relative to our method of exam¬
ining and licensing teachers, and its results, is received.
We have a County Board of Examiners for each county,
consisting of the County Superintendent and two teachers
holding State certificates appointed by him. The examinations
are quarterly on stated days, which are the same throughout
the State. The questions used are also the same. A set is
prepared by the State Superintendent for each examination,
and the County Superintendents are supplied with the number
15
they require. Ten questions are given in each subject. The
answers must all be written, and no certificate is granted to
any one whose average falls below seventy in any of the
branches. These boards issue certificates of three grades,
called first, second and third. They are good respectively for
three years, two years, and one year, and are determined by
the number of studies passed by the candidates. Rules are
prescribed by the State Board of Education governing the mode
of conducting the examinations and of determining the results.
The whole matter is so managed as to give us about as many
licensed teachers as is required to meet the demand. The num¬
ber of applicants who fail to pass the examinations according to
the regulations prescribed ranges from 900 to 1,300 annually,
or from thirty-five to forty-five per cent, of the entire number.
We also have a State Board of Examiners, consisting of the
State Superintendent and the Principal of the State Normal
School. This board is authorized to grant State certificates of
three grades, good respectively for five years, seven years, and
for life. The lowest grade of State certificate is one grade
above the highest county grade.
So far as scholarship is concerned, these examinations enable
us to select those best qualified for teaching out of the candi¬
dates presenting themselves. But this is not all; the teachers
must stand the test of experience. The County Superintend¬
ents as they visit the schools are authorized to revoke the cer¬
tificate of any person who does not come up to the standard of
teaching and governing.
These examinations are productive of great good. A powerful
stimulus is afforded the teachers to improve themselves* No
other feature of our school system has done so much to
elevate the standard of teachers and to improve the schools as
this. The teachers not only keep fresh in their studies, but
they are ready to avail themselves of all opportunities for
improvement, as local Teachers' Associations and County Insti¬
tutes. The examinations in the different counties being virtu¬
ally the same, the certificates granted mean the same throughout
the State, whatever may have been the county in which they
were issued. Yours truly, ELLIS A. APGAR,
Superintendent of Public Schools.
16
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, )
Madison, Wis., Jan. 16, 1880. J
My Dear Sir:—In reply to your inquiries I would say that
this State has tested both the town and the county systems of
examining and licensing teachers and of inspecting our public
schools. These duties were performed for nearly fourteen
years by town superintendents, and for the last eighteen years
by county superintendents. The administration of the latter
officers has improved, in a much greater degree, the qualifica¬
tions of our teachers and the condition of our schools. Their
work has been more intelligent, vigorous, and painstaking.
A smaller number of inefficient teachers have been employed.
The instruction given in the schools in each county is more
uniform and more in accordance with the best methods and
principles of education.
The weakest point in our present system is the visitation of
schools by the County Superintendents. Five-eighths of them
supervise each from one hundred to two hundred and fifty
schools, and cannot, therefore, devote the time needed to the
careful inspection of each school. Still, most of them learn
better than the town superintendents the real character of the
schools under their charge, and influence these schools more
efficiently by their advice and management. Our County
Superintendents organize county associations of teachers, es¬
tablish libraries for their teachers, secure among them subscrip¬
tions for educational periodicals, correspond with school boards
in regard to special and general school interests in the county,
and hold, in connection with the State authorities, annual
Teachers' Institutes.
Yery truly yours, W. C. WHITFORD,
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Department of Public Instruction, )
Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 17, 1880. f
Dear Sir:—In our State the examination of teachers is
conducted by County Superintendents. The longest time for
which a certificate can be granted is one year. We have no
State examinations nor State certificates. The examinations
are almost universally made from questions prepared under the
17
direction of, our department, though County Superintendents
are not obliged to use these questions. I consider this an ad¬
vantage, since it is a very decided check to fraud.
The improvements which we hope to make are of a two-fold
character. We hope to have three examiners instead of one, for
county examination, witb an extension of the time for which
the certificates may be granted, and we also hope to estab¬
lish again a board of State Examiners, who may grant State cer¬
tificates and life diplomas, in order to recognize the profession
of teaching.
We have had the system of county examiners (superintend¬
ents) for so long a time that it is impossible to make a compari¬
son with the old method of township examination.
It certainly would result in great injury, especially to our
country schools, to let townships ascertain for themselves the
qualifications of teachers. Some older citizens in our State oc¬
casionally recite the ridiculous modes of determining the quali¬
fications of teachers when the Board of Directors were the ex¬
aminers.
It is my opinion that written examinations, from questions
prepared by competent persons, superintended by an impartial
board of county or State examiners, give the best security for
obtaining qualified teachers.
Yours respectfully,
C. W. vojst COELLN",
Superintendent Public Instruction.
Department op Public Instruction, )
St. Paul, Minn., Jan. 18, 1880. j
Pear Sir:—Being a native of Massachusetts, and formerly
a teacher in that State and in Connecticut, I understand the
workings of the law as to the examination of teachers. It
used to depend very much on the character of the town board.
I was once examined at Windsor Locks, and about the only
question asked was, "Who will be the next President?" (It
was in the year for this topic to be up). I was once examined
at Southington by Jesse Olney,* Dr. Barnes, Dr. 'Hart and
* Hon. J esse Olney, when State Controller, strongly advocated a new and better
method of examining teachers.
18
Dwight Whittlesey, and they put me through a six hours'
course of the most rigid examination that I ever had, (and I
passed with the compliments of Mr. Olney.) If we could
everywhere have such examiners, the town plan or any other
would be safe.
I do not think that our Minnesota plan for examinations by
the County Superintendent is any improvement on the New
England plan, from the fact that the teachers are hired by the
petty distinct board, and the examiner is elected by the people,
by the same persons that select the candidates for the schools,
who will be angry if the County Superintendent rejects them,
and threaten that they will not vote for him next time. It was
better under our old plan of having the County Commissioners
appoint the County Superintendent; but the people changed
this in order to gain more control in the matter.
It seems desirable that the examiners of the teachers
should be required to visit the schools and be held to some
extent responsible for the character of the teaching. If the
examination is made mainly in writing on set questions—on
the answers to which percents of standing are to be made,
and are to determine mainly the question of a certificate, the
thing becomes too scholastic, and teachers holding such cer¬
tificates may utterly fail in school management. I think that
examinations by persons somewhat remote from the school
rooms, and not required to visit them, would be liable to this
difficulty.
Western counties are almost as nearly related in school work
as New England towns. Considered as units for school inspec¬
tion and examination of teachers, there is as much mutual
knowledge of each other and as much unity as used to exist,
for instance, between Southington, Bristol and Meriden, and by
issuing State questions by County Superintendents as a guide
and means of securing uniformity, we succeed in having about
the same standard of scholarship in teachers throughout the
State. Not having been in the school work of New England
in twenty years, I am not able to give an opinion that would
be worth much to you on the question, how to get rid of this
weakness in our school system.
Very cordially yours, D. BURT.
19
Office of Superintendent of Education, )
Randolph, Vermont, Jan. 17, 1880. j
Dear Sir:—In "Vermont, licenses to teach are derived from
three sources : the town, the county, the State. Those derived
from the town are granted by the town superintendents ; those
from the county by an examining board of three, two of whom
must be practical teachers, and the third must be a town super¬
intendent ; those from the State by an examining board of
three, two of whom must be teachers, while the third is the
State Superintendent of Education.
For admission to the town examination, no qualifications are
prescribed; for admission to the county examination, women
must be eighteen years of age, men twenty, and candidates
must have taught with success for at least ten weeks; for ad¬
mission to the State examination, one must have completed at
least one course of study in a State Normal school.
About eight-ninths of the teachers of the State hold town
certificates, and about eight-ninths of the remainder hold State
certificates.
The inefficiency of our present method of licensing teachers
is generally acknowledged. The vice of the town license is,
that it is local and temporary, and non-professional. The
other licenses are not local; they are good for a longer time
(five years), and they are quasi professional.
My belief is that any mode of licensing teachers by public
officers will prove unsatisfactory, though if educational qualifi¬
cations and experience in teaching be required of the licensing
officers, as is done in Pennsylvania, the evils now existing may
doubtless be considerably diminished. I hold that license
to teach should issue only from boards of teachers, themselves
appointed by teachers, and required to act in accordance with
rules prescribed by teachers.
To introduce such a plan, let described classes of teachers be
empowered to organize under a directive law as a college of
teachers, or preceptors, with power to establish rules for the
admission of members, to appoint examining boards, to expel
unworthy members, etc.
This college may be divided into classes, and membership
in a higher class may be constituted a license to teach in
higher grades of schools than membership in a lower class : but
20
a certificate of membership in the college should always be,
while retained, a license to teach. The college examiners
might, for a time, have power to grant permits to teach for
short periods, and within specified territory to persons not fitted
to become members of the college.
Membership of the college of teachers should be a necessary
qualification for school superintendents. Let teachers be elected
and employed by the local authorities, and let superintendents
be elected by school boards for such districts as will require
the devotion of their whole time to the work of supervision.
In some such way as this we might secure the advantages of
skilled labor in the work of education, of professional inde¬
pendence for the teachers, and of local control by the people
of their schools. Very respectfully,
EDWARD CON ANT, State Sup''t of Education.
Office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction, )
Lincoln, Nebraska, Jan. 20th, 1880. j
Dear Sir:—To your inquiry of the 10th inst., I reply that all
my experience leads me to prefer the plan of examination of
teachers by county rather than township examiners, and for
the following among other reasons :
1. It is easier to find competent examiners when you have
a whole county to select from, than when the selection is con¬
fined to one township or neighborhood.
2. A person who examines all the teachers in a county be¬
comes skilled in the difficult art of examination sooner than
one who has no opportunity for such extended experience.
8. County examiners have better facilities for excluding-
from employment immoral or otherwise unworthy persons.
It is notorious that in States where the examination of
teachers is in the hands of the local officers,* immoral teachers
who have been detected and exposed in one place, have little
difficulty in securing employment in other places not far dis¬
tant. A county examiner when once informed in regard to such
characters, can effectually exclude them from his county, and
by a little effort, from neighboring counties also.
As between a county board of examiners and a county super-
* A sad illustration of this danger occurred in New London County during the
last. year.
21
intendent, my experience leads me very much to prefer the
latter. For some years subsequent to 1847, the writer resided
in northwestern Pennsylvania, near the Ohio line, and had op¬
portunity to become pretty well acquainted with the schools of
two counties in each State. At that time teachers in Pennsyl¬
vania were examined and licensed by the district boards; in
Ohio by a County Board of Examiners. From my earliest recol¬
lection up to this time and for some years after this, it was gener¬
ally conceded by intelligent people that the schools of this part of
Ohio were better than those of the adjacent parts of Pennsylvania.
Of course there were some exceptions on both sides, still it was
true that the schools in Ohio were kept open more months in
the year, teachers were better paid, and a higher standard of
qualification was demanded. But when, in 1854, the county
superintendency was established in Pennsylvania, a change for
the better began at once ; and in less than ten years, the con¬
dition of things educational in the adjoining parts of the two
States was exactly reversed. While under the former condition
of things, many teachers whose qualifications would not allow
them to get certificates or employment in Ohio, came over to
Pennsylvania, and there easily secured both. Under the
changed conditions brought in by the county superintendency,
teachers rejected by the county superintendent in Pennsylvania
would go to Ohio and get employment.
In Nebraska since the organization of the State, we have had
county superintendents; and though there have been some
efforts to abolish the system, it has come safely through all op¬
position and to-day stands stronger in the confidence of the peo¬
ple than at any time in the past. As far as I now recall, no one
has proposed as a substitute for our county superintendency,
the district or township plan. Generally, the substitute pro¬
posed was the scheme of a county board, or it was proposed
to turn over the work of examining teachers to the County
Clerk. I do not remember that any one has seriously pro¬
posed to confide the examination of candidates for the legal
profession to the road supervisors, or to compel all doctors
to go for a certificate to the Sheriff of the county, bnt we
know not what a day or an hour may bring forth.
With highest respect, yours truly, S. R. THOMPSON,
State Superintendent of Public Schools.
22
Office of State Commissioner of Common Schools, )
Columbus, Ohio, Jan. 20, 1880. }
My Dear Sir /—The Stale Board of Examiners in Ohio has
done worthy service and is a valuable part of our machinery
for advancing the teacher's vocation towards the rank of a pro¬
fession. There, is no doubt that there are many, very many,
persons teaching in our public schools, or going through the
motions, who are utterly unfit for their position. There is just
as little doubt that their number would be much larger but for
the barrier interposed in the shape of an examining board.
The class of those is not small whose decent attainments are
mainly due to preparation to meet the examiner's tests, leav¬
ened and made usable by fresh material gathered at the exam¬
ination itself, where there is usually some contact with supe¬
rior minds, a good example set by the officers on duty, a word
of advice dropped in season, and the applicant, by means of
proper questions, made to see how much he lacks of the full
stature of a teacher, and, if the root of the matter be in him,
he may be led to take earnest heed how he may add the cubit.
In my opinion, such good results are possible under our sys¬
tem and are, to some extent, attained by our best boards of
examiners. " Best," I say, for while the same plan for the con¬
stitution of these boards obtains in all the counties, the practi¬
cal working out depends—I speak of County Boards—upon
the man whom the people have chosen for the performance of
entirely different duties; that is, upon the Judge of the Pro¬
bate Court. (There is a nice, logical chain linking the objects
of this Court's jurisdiction—wills, widows, orphans and school¬
teachers.)
I do not wish to be rash in statement, but I fear that some
of these judges must be mortal, with feelings of gratitude
toward friends who have rendered signal service at the election,
or with a lively sense of the same sort of blessings to come
the next time the Palladium of American liberty is to bt
approached with votive offerings. In plain Saxon, here is ar
evil that these appointments are, sometimes, somebody's pay
Oftener, however, the selection is virtually made by the teachers
and merely ratified by the appointing officer. This surely it
an improvement on the former method.
23
Of course the best mode, the theoretical plan, is for him
whose high function it is to appoint, competent himself to
decide upon the necessary qualifications of an examiner of
teachers, and with an acute eye for the detection of these qual¬
ities in whatever form of man they may lie hid, to sieze upon
the three men of his county who come nearest to his ideal and
appoint them, if willing to serve, the County Examiners of
teachers.
The defects suggested are not beyond remedy—indeed, as
we become more inspired with the true spirit of popular educa¬
tion and the relation in which our school system stands thereto,
we shall outgrow them. The radical defect is that the literary
qualifications of applicants must stand for vital things of which
they are no true test. Actual inspection by a skilled workman
of work done, is the only certain test of skill, and the licensing
of teachers should depend upon what they have done in the
school-room and are able to do again, not, altogether, upon what
they can write down on a sheet of paper of what they know
of books, and guesses at what they think they can do.
This element of definiteness is added in our system of organ¬
izing city districts and managing their schools, as they have
examiners of schools and teachers and, besides, over all, the
critical eye of a superintendent. The examination of the
school is the best examination of the teacher.
Written examinations are good things when they show text¬
book knowledge, ability to do neat work, and the possession of
good methods even if not yet clothed in the body of practice.
But, after all, the best proof of power is the doing.
To sum it all in four statements : Our city schools need no
new legislation to enable them to enjoy a model system for
obtaining the best teachers for which they are able and willing
to pay, while our special boards of examiners in the village
districts should be abolished.
In some counties our mode of doing this needed business
produces excellent results, is sensibly raising the teacher's
standard, thus aiding the good and weeding out the bad, and
offering an alternative to the indifferent.
Our rural schools need, as inspector of work done, as educa¬
tional missionary among their patrons, as conductor of Insti-
24
tutes, as member of the Board of County Examiners, and as
protector of teachers against unworthy competitors, an efficient
County Superintendent. "We have desired it long.
Very truly yours,
J. J. BURNS,
State Commissioner of Common Schools.
' Department of Public Instruction, )
Albany, N. Y., Jan. 21, 1880. \
Sir:—It is now nearly a quarter of a century since the sys¬
tem of town superintendents, who were authorized to examine
and license teachers of public schools in this State, was abol¬
ished. In the year 1856 the office of School Commissioner was
created, and School Commissioner districts were established by
act of the Legislature. In the main those districts were in¬
tended to correspond with the Assembly districts of the State,
but in some counties there are more School Commissioner dis¬
tricts than there are Assembly districts.
These School Commissioners, who have jurisdiction over sev¬
eral towns in their respective counties—sometimes as many as
ten, twelve or fourteen—have authority to examine and license
teachers of first, second and third grade, under such forms as
may be prescribed by the State Superintendent of Public In¬
struction. In my judgment the standard of qualification of
teachers has been raised by requiring them to be licensed by
officers having jurisdiction, over the schools of several towns,
rather than by town superintendents ; still I am free to admit
that under our system teachers of an inferior grade are some¬
times licensed. I am free also to admit this fact, that while we
have in this State so many districts in which the assessed val¬
uation of real and personal taxable property is below five or
ten thousand dollars, we must expect to have a proportionate
number of inferior teachers, for these districts cannot and will
not pay salaries which teachers of a higher grade can readily
command elsewhere. The question is simply this: shall we
have schools of inferior grade, or no school at all in such dis¬
tricts ? Looking over the whole matter, I am of the opinion
that we might better support an inferior school, in which
25
the rudiments of an English education shall be taught, even
though by a teacher of low grade, than to have no school at all.
There are two other classes of teachers licensed under the
laws of this, State, aside from those who receive certificates
from School Commissioners and city Superintendents of
schools, or Boards of Education in cities, authorized by special
act to examine and license such persons. These are : first, the
graduates of our several State Normal Schools,, who have re¬
ceived the diplomas which are awarded upon their gradua¬
tion ; second, persons holding State certificates granted under
the law of 1875. At first it was intended to hold these exam¬
inations at least twice in each year at convenient points in the
State. My experience, however, has convinced me that it is
not necessary to hold them oftener than once in each year,
and that will be the policy pursued by this department while
I am Superintendent. The next examination of applicants
for State certificates will probably be held in July of this year.
There are, in my judgment, enough competent teachers in
this State to supply all our public schools. Not all of them
are employed, however, and some of them becoming discour¬
aged, find more profitable employment in other professions.
The fault, if fault there be, is not with the supply of compe¬
tent teachers, but in the demand for their services. You will
readily understand that in school districts in which the as¬
sessed valuation of property is very low, consent will not be
given to the employment of teachers at such rates as can be
demanded and must be received by graduates of the Normal
Schools and other professional or higher institutions of learn¬
ing. I believe, however, that our system of examining and
licensing teachers is far better, and gives in the main a far bet¬
ter class of teachers than we would obtain under a system of
examination by town superintendents of schools.
Your obedient servant,
NEIL GILMOUR,
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
26
Office Commissioner Public Schools, )
Providence, R. I., Jan. 21, 1880. j
Dear Sir:—I have no hesitation in saying that all of the
proposed reforms in educational work centre in the work of
securing good teachers, and then in putting the right person in
the right place.
Our present system, from its very nature, cannot do that work
successfully. In the first place the qualifications of the local
school boards are as varied as their composition, hence the
standard is equally variable; Then the rotation in office inci¬
dent to any elective position prevents the acquisition of that
experience and good judgment which make a wise adaptation
of means to ends. A thorough reform, therefore, cannot be
expected until the duty of deciding upon the qualifications of
teachers, and of assigning them to their respective fields of
labor, has been put into the hands of a board or boards of
educational experts, whose term of office shall be comparatively
permanent.
But, of course, such radical changes can only be made one at
a time, and tentatively at that. Prom the brief consideration
which I have given to your proposed ".optional" plan, I am
led to think very well of it. I hope you may succeed in the
effort, and shall be very glad to see a copy of the scheme when
it is in print.
Very truly yours,
THOS. B. STOCKWELL,
Commissioner Public Schools.
Department of Public Instruction, )
lopeka, Kan., Jan. 21, 1880. \
Dear Sir:—Replying to your favor of the 10th inst., I
have to say:
1. In my opinion the county should be the unit in the di¬
vision of territory for the examination of teachers and the
supervision of schools. The examining board for the county
should consist of the County Superintendent as chairman and
two assistants, all of whom should hold certificates of quali-
27
fication issued by a State Board of Education. I would have
the County Superintendent and his assistants elected for a
term of three years by a convention of the school officers of
the county, to be held annually, the term of one examiher ex¬
piring every year.
2. In this State, County Superintendents are chosen by the
people at general elections. Assistant examiners are appointed
by the committee that has charge of the general business of
the county. No educational or professional qualifications are
prescribed for either the County Superintendents or their as¬
sistants.
Under our plan fair results are being secured. Gradually
the standard of qualifications for teachers, though not uniform
throughout the State, has been raised. Through our system of
County Normal Institutes, by which we reach nearly all our
teachers for a four weeks' drill annually, better methods of in¬
struction are being introduced.
I am satisfied that the teachers of our common schools are
considerably above the average in the United States. Of
course the condition of the schools improves with the character
of the teachers.
Yery truly yo.urs, ALLEN B. LEMMON,
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Department or Public Instruction, )
Indianapolis, Ind., Jan. 21, 1880. [
Dear Sir:—In reply to your questions,.I would say that each
municipality may properly be left to select its own teachers,
but the selection should be made from those persons who have
been properly examined and licensed under the authority of
the State.
I am very much in favor of county or district supervision,
and of the examination of teachers in each county or district
by a county superintendent, or by a district board of examin¬
ers under the supervision of the State Superintendent, or of a
State Board of Education. These county or district examiners
should be persons who hold a State license, or have received
some certificate of qualification from the highest educational
authority in the State.
b4
28
In Indiana the State Board of Education proposes the ques¬
tions for the examination of teachers. These are sent to the
county superintendents, who submit them to the candidates on
the last Saturday of each month. A great deal of pains has
been taken by the board to instruct the superintendents in
regard to marking the manuscripts of candidates.
This scheme enables us to secure a uniform standard over
the State; to raise the standard gradually; to educate the
examiners in respect to the best mode of marking manuscripts;
and to prevent ill-feeling against examiners on the part of
applicants who are rejected.
A statement of the per cent, of applicants rejected for several
years:—In 1872, 14 per cent.; 1878, 15 ; 1874, 24; 1875, 23;
1876, 18; 1877, 26; 1878, 36; 1879, 32. This table shows
one result of the new departure, inaugurated in 1872.
In former years nearly all applicants were licensed, and for
the longest term allowed. "We generally had a surplus of
teachers. In 1879, there were 20,763 applicants, of whom
6,806 were rejected. Tn the same year we employed 13,590
teachers.
It is our purpose to raise the standard as rapidly as the law
of supply and demand, the ambition of'the teachers, and the
condition of the schools will permit.
The county superintendents have heartily cooperated with
State Board in this work, and the result has been to raise the
standard to a very appreciable extent.
Yery respectfully yours,
J. H. SMART,
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Department op Public Instruction, )
Concord, N. HJan. 27, 1880. \
My Dear Sir:—I'can see reasons in favor of State or county
boards for the examination of teachers, but upon the whole my
judgment would be against them, certainly for New Hampshire.
One reason would be the expense to the teachers in many parts
ol the State. Second: local boards can better decide upon
a teacher's qualifications for a particular school.
29
My hope for our own State is that committees and super¬
intendents will become better qualified for their duties.
Truly yours, CHARLES A. DOWNS,
Superintendent of Public Schools.
Department oe Public Instruction, )
Lansing, Mich., Jan. 28, 1880. \
My Bear Sir:—In reply to yours of the 10th inst., allow me
to say, briefly:
1. I believe that for Michigan a County Board, properly con¬
stituted, would be the best examining authority.
2. The County Superintendency whibh we had for eight
years (1867-75) did much toward elevating the standard of
qualifications of teachers. Under the township superintend¬
ency, which we now have, the standard has been lowered greatly.
The examination of teachers is by far the most important
work of our supervising agencies, and one that should be
entrusted to none but experienced Educators of thorough
scholarship, sound judgment, and good common sense, who
are free from all local and political prejudice.
A teacher should have a thorough knowledge of the studies
usually pursued in our common schools, with their underlying
principles. To this should be added a natural aptness to teach,
strengthened by careful training in the best methods of pre¬
senting the different subjects to pupils. He should also pos¬
sess such natural qualities as shall make him successful in the
discipline of a school. When we have added to these qualifi¬
cations, a sound moral character, that shall make him a safe
model for his pupils, we have the minimum amount of qualifi¬
cations that should be accepted from any applicant for the
responsible office of teacher. This examination cannot be com¬
pleted in a few minutes, while the examiner is resting his team
in the plowfield, but should be the work of deliberation and
care, with all possible help from a record of previous work of
the applicant in the school-room.
Very truly yours.
C. A. GOWER,
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
30
Office Sup't Public Instruction, )
Carson City, JVev.,Jan. 22, 1880. \
Dear Sir:—Teachers' certificates should be issued from
what is as nearly as possible the head and fount of educational
integrity and judgment in the State. The whole business of
granting authority to teach, should be administered by a State
Board of Education presumably chosen with reference to
their work in this sphere alone. I do not approve of County
Boards of Examiners, except as created and acting under the
directions of the State Board. Their work is too often influ¬
enced by neighborhood considerations, to say nothing of the
fact that they are not likely to be composed of the best men,
for the purpose, that the community affords. Had we, in
Nevada, a properly constituted State Board of Examiners the
standard of professional art among our teachers could doubt¬
less be much improved. Yery respectfully,
D. R. SESSIONS.
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Department of Public Schools, )
Jefferson City, Missouri, Jan. 23, 1880. f
My Dear Sir:—The questions you submit in'reference to the
best plan of examination of teachers do not reach the diffi¬
culty presented in Missouri.
Here, each County School Commissioner examines (or is
required by law to do so), and grants certificates, which are
valid only in the county for which he is Commissioner. The
law also requires that the Commissioner shall possess the quali¬
fications of a competent teacher of the public schools. No
means are provided for securing compliance with this require¬
ment. Were the law complied with, or did the means of
enforcing it exist, there would be scarcely any objection to our
plan., Now and then a Commissioner's nerve might yield, or
his judgment be swayed by local, social or political influences.
But this would happen so seldom as to create no material
objection to the plan. Could I obtain such an amendment to
our law as to secure thoroughly qualified Commissioners, under
31
control, it would not be desirable to change the present plan
for a board of examiners—State, District or County.
I believe that in the foregoing I have indicated what my
answer to your second query would be. In all the counties in
which we have competent Commissioners our plan has manifestly
improved the qualifications of teachers and exerted a salutary
influence on the condition of our schools.
We have one other plan. The State Superintendent of
Schools may grant certificates. These may be permanent, and
not limited to any county. I said " plan," but as the law stops
with granting the privilege, does not require him to examine
or issue certificates, and gives him no power to employ exam¬
iners—prescribes no rules nor vests him with any power to
use the necessary means to exercise his discretion—you per¬
ceive there is no plan about State certificates. This state of
facts I desire very much to change. I should prefer District
Boards of Examiners. Very truly yours,
R. D'. SHANNON,
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, )
Denver, Colorado, Jan. 20, 1880. J
Dear Sir:—I mail you a copy of a circular, which I send out
with "the questions," to County Superintendents each quarter.
Nearly all counties use the questions sent from here and in the
manner suggested, and think it an improvement over the sys¬
tem in use when I came into office, which was liable to the
objections you urge against your town system of examinations
—only the area was enlarged.
Circumstances are so very different in Colorado from those
which surround you in New England, that our experience here,
in this particular, may not be valuable to you. It is my obser¬
vation that, east or west, the character of a school depends, not
on the system so much as on the temper and determination of
the community in which the school is held. In Ohio and the
States east of her we must admit the general average of the
schools has been at least fair, yet their success has been in spite
of an utter want of system. In Colorado, and the newer west-
32
era States, we have, I think, a pretty good system ; about as
much centralization of power as Americans will endure in edu¬
cational affairs, and we are proud of the prevailing character of
our schools, yet we have some poor ones in spite of a good sys¬
tem.
I think it would be an improvement if all the teachers of a
county were brought before the same tribunal, or subjected to
identical tests for examination with you as with us, but my ob¬
servation here and in New England convinces me that the
greatest advantage of our county superintendency comes from
the Superintendent's discharge of his duties as supervisor of
schools and of advisor of teachers and district officers.
Yery respectfully yours,
JOS. C. SHATTUCK,
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, [
Springfield, III., Jan. 24, 1880. \
Dear Sir:—In your letter of recent date you say that in the
New England States teachers are examined and approbated by
the school officers of the townships in which they teach, that
the standard of teaching is often low and fluctuating, that can¬
didates rejected in one. township may be approbated in the-
next, and that hence many of your schools suffer from the in¬
competency of teachers. After making these statements you
ask ray opinion of the desirableness of appointing State, Dis¬
trict or County Boards, or agents for examining and certifica¬
ting teachers, and also ask what influence the plan of examin¬
ing teachers in tbis State has exerted upon the qualifications
of our teachers and the condition of our schools?
Speaking to the second point first, I have to say that our law
provides for the election in each county of a County Superin¬
tendent of schools, whose duty it is to examine and license the
teachers of his county. This, system of county supervision
has, I think, proved to be more efficient in securing competent
teachers than the system that entrusts the examination and
licensure of teachers to officers having a more limited jurisdic¬
tion, for the reason that these county officers are, of necessity
38
almost, compelled to be more independent and systematic in
the discharge of their duties, and for the further reason that
this smaller number are, as a class, better qualified for this
work. The result has been, and is, more care in the examina¬
tion and greater uniformity in the requirements for certificates.
But because County Superintendents are elected at the same
time and in the same manner that other county officers are, it
frequently happens that the best person offering as a candidate
for the office is not elected, and sometimes that the one the
least competent is chosen. As a consequence what is true of
your township is sometimes true of our county system—
namely : that an applicant failing to secure a certificate in one
county may succeed in securing one in an adjoining county.
Consequently the schools of some counties are in a much better
condition than the schools of other counties.
Under the present law, the pay of County Superintendents is
left to the various county boards. The members of these
boards are seldom elected with reference to their views upon
educational matters. As a result, there is no uniformity in the
compensation of these officers in the.various counties, and it
sometimes happens that superintendents well qualified for the
office are not allowed sufficient pay to afford them a living, per¬
haps because the political views of the superintendent elect are
not in accordance with those held by a majority of the board,
or because the board thus hope to obtain a cheap reputation for
economy. But notwithstanding this unwise feature, as it
seems to me, of the present law, the fact still remains that in
many counties competent persons have for years been chosen
and authorized to devote their whole time to the supervision
of the schools, and that, without exception, the schools in these
counties have been greatly benefited and improved. This is
the testimony of all who have taken pains to know the facts.
The county sending the best work from ungraded schools to
the Centennial in 1876, was a county that had, for twelve con¬
secutive years been under the supervision of one of the most
efficient County Superintendents in this State. The result was
not at all surprising to those who knew of the kind and
amount of labor that had been bestowed upon the schools of
that county. My conclusion, therefore, is that a system of
84
supervision that gives to one person the charge of a sufficient
number of schools to keep him actively and judiciously em¬
ployed in laboring for their improvement, is the "one thing
needful," especially for our country district schools.
I have no hesitation in saying, in answer to your first ques¬
tion, that I know of no other agency that can so readily make
efficient our systems of public schools as a well-devised plan of
supervision that shall secure for all the schools a direct and in¬
telligent oversight, with authority to determine, by examina¬
tion and school visitation, who shall and who shall not teach.
The superintendence of the schools by local school officers,
whose principal business lies in another direction, will not
answer the purpose. Competent and responsible persons must
be secured and paid to give to the schools their time and best
thoughts and energies. Very truly yours,
JAMBS P. SLADE,
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
In the extensive correspondence of this officer with the
friends of education in all the towns of the State, our attention
is often called to the various evils and failures arising from the
employment of incompetent teachers. As a long and varied
experience in previous relations, and a continuous engagement
as Clerk of the Board of Education for over a dozen years,
have made Rev. J. Gr. Baird most intimately acquainted with
the needs of our schools, the deficiences still remaining, and
the best methods of removing them, I requested an expression
of his views, knowing that his conclusions, though like my
own formed long since, had been confirmed by increasing ob¬
servation.
Hartford, January 26, 1880. '
Dear Sir:—Having had occasion several years since to put
in writing my opinions upon the subject referred to in your
inquiries, I will now, with your consent, repeat what I then
wrote.
" The manner in which many certificates of teachers are
given, tends to render them a mere form. A teacher must
have a certificate, or the public funds are not obtainable for
35
paying the salary. Those who are to conduct the examina¬
tion and sign the certificate are, in multitudes of cases, the
townsmen, neighbors, friends, and often the relatives of the
candidate. In such circumstances it is not accordant with ave¬
rage human nature to declare a candidate incompetent, or to
refuse the needed signature. In hundreds of instances the cer¬
tificate is given, not because the would-be teacher is believed to
be well qualified, but because the examiner cannot well do
otherwise. To refuse the certificate might lead to broken
friendship, rancor, bitterness and strife. It might be the be¬
ginning or the aggravation of neighborhood feuds, to be per¬
petuated through successive generations. That must be a very
bold, independent individual, who would incur the risk of
such evils for such a cause. For what, apparently, is the ques¬
tion to be decided ? Merely whether a particular person shall
spend three or four months in charge of a score or two of chil¬
dren! True, the person in question may not be the best that
might readily have been secured. But if this candidate is re¬
jected, the next will probably do no better. And then, it is
for one term only, and on the whole, it is better to let her pass
than to provoke angry contentions, or to disappoint cherished
expectations. If it were 'for one term only,' or for a few
schools here and there, the evil would be comparatively small.
But when the same thing is done term after term, and year
after year, and that not in a few and exceptional cases, but for
large numbers of districts, the evil becomes general and perma¬
nent. True, there is the possible remedy of annulling an in¬
competent teacher's certificate. But this is of* little practical
value, for the same reasons which lead to the giving of the cer¬
tificate to a teacher of doubtful or less than doubtful qualifica¬
tions, will prevent the annulling of a certificate once given. It
will be thought better to endure the admitted evil, and submit
to the temporary loss, than to risk the alternative evil of angry
words, alienated friends, and disappointed hopes. Who shall
say that this view of the case is not correct ? The evil is in¬
herent in the system. No person, or class of persons, is re¬
sponsible for it. Practically, a teacher's certificate is seldom
revoked.
There is the possibility, also, of evil in the opposite direc-
36
tion. When a certificate is refused, however justly, the accu¬
sation of unfairness and prejudice, may be alleged against
the upright, independent examiner. The giving of the certifi¬
cate comes to be regarded as a matter of course. But there is
a possibility of actual prejudice and unfairness, and a certificate
may be withheld merely to gratify personal vindictiveness or
party opposition.
Such, then, is the evil ; now what is the remedy ? The na¬
ture of the evil suggests the removal of the examination be¬
yond the possibility of personal feeling, whether friendly or
unfriendly, that strict impartiality may be secured. Each
candidate should be accepted or rejected solely upon his
own merits. The greater part of the examination should be
in writing. There should be, in a certain sense, competitive
examinations. The certificates should be classified as of the
first, second or third class, and should state in what branches
the holder is competent to instruct, aud whether in the higher,
intermediate, or lower grade of schools. Their validity should
not vanish when the holder crosses an imaginary line, sepa¬
rating one town from another. The Examiners should, of
course, cease to be town officers, nor should they be elective
officers, directly responsible to any constituency. The ter¬
ritory over which a Board of Examiners should have juris¬
diction, should consist of several adjacent towns or of a whole
county. They should derive their appointment from some
competent authority, and their compensation should be fixed,
by law. They should hold annual, semi annual, or quarterly
sessions, at convenient points in different parts of their districts,
giving due notice of times and places of meeting. A certifi¬
cate given by them should be valid for the time for which it
was given, but should be revocable by the same authority that
granted it, for sufficient and specified cause, and after a fulf
hearing of the case."
Since the above was originally written, a few of its sug¬
gestions have been embodied in our school law, and others
have been adopted in the practice of many local Examining
Boards. But the system remains unchanged, and its evils and
defects cannot be fully remedied. A new method of examina¬
tion is still needed, in order that our' public schools may be
37
served by the best and most competent teachers that can be
obtained. All classes of the people have a common interest in
securing this result.
I. The pupils in the Schools.—The majority of them have but
very few ye&rs for completing their school education. It is
therefore important that their time in school should be spent to
the best advantage; in other words, that they be in charge of
the best obtainable teachers. " Get the best," is a good motto.
But the present method does not secure the best, unless by a
kind of lucky accident.
II. The parents and guardians of the children.—Their interest
in this matter is identical with that of their children.
III. The tax-payers, who support the schools.—More than five-
sixths of the money for maintaining the schools is raised by
taxation. Those who pay it have the right to ask that teach¬
ers be selected solely with reference to their qualifications, and
not through favoritism or nepotism. More than one million
dollars a year is paid as wages of our public school teachers.
Let the best obtainable teachers be selected to receive this, and
let the best method of selecting them be established by law.
IY. The teachers.—Teaching is becoming more and more a
profession. Increasing numbers prepare themselves for it as
their life-work. Such persons should not be placed nor kept on
the same level as those wbo merely teach a term or two to fill up
a little time, or to earn a little ready money. Nor should those
who succeed in their work remain undistinguished from the in-
' competents and incapables. The novice who has yet to win
his first triumph, should not stand in the sarfie rank as the
tried and tested veteran.
In a word, teachers who make it their business to teach, and
#to know and keep up with all that peVtains to their vocation,
should have an established and admitted position in the com¬
munity.
Yours very truly,
JNO. G-. BAIRD.
The following is " the bill" which I recommend for adop¬
tion. Its provisions are permissive but not obligatory upon
any town or any teacher. I can see no reasonable objection to
38
granting the privilege asked for by the representative teachers
and school officers of the State.
If this measure should work as happily in Connecticut as it
has done in other States, and there should be a demand to make
its provisions obligatory, I should advise that cities like New
Haven and Hartford be excepted from its operations. In New
Haven, for example, the majority of the teachers are graduates
of the High School, and many of them also have attended the
Training School, where they are practically drijled in normal
methods. A large proportion of the teachers of Hartford, in
like manner, are graduates of the admirable High School of
Hartford, and that diploma is an ample testimonial as to lite¬
rary qualifications. Hartford is willing to pay for the best
teachers, and carefully inquires as to their capacity before em¬
ploying them.
County Examiners.
Sec. 1. There shall be a Board of Examiners for each
County, which shall consist of three competent persons to be
appointed by the State Board of Education; such persons
shall be residents in the County for which they are appointed ;
their term of office shall be three years; but the State Board
of Education may revoke the appointment of an Examiner
upon satisfactory proof that he is incompetent, negligent, or
guilty of immoral conduct; when a vacancy occurs in the
board, whether from expiration of the term of office, or other
cause, the State Board of Education shall fill the same by
appointment for the full or unexpired term, as the case
demands; no person shall be appointed to the position or
exercise the office of State or County Examiner of teachers
who is the agent of or is pecuniarily interested in any book-
publishing or book-selling firm, company or business.
Sec. 2. The Board shall organize by choosing from its mem¬
bers a president and a secretary; the secretary shall keep a rec¬
ord of the proceedings, showing the number and date of each
certificate issued, and to whom, for what term, and for what
branches of study, and such other statistics relating to the ex¬
amination and proceedings as the State Board of Education
39
may require, and shall report such statistics to the Secretarj'
thereof annually, on or before the first day of November ; and
such Boards may make all needful rules and regulations for the
proper discharge of their duties.
Sec. 3. Each Board shall fix upon the number, place, time
and other details of meetings for the examination of applicants
for certificates, subject to the direction of the State Board of
Education, due notice of which shall be published in two news¬
papers of general circulation in the County, or by sending a
written or printed notice to the Secretary of the Board of
School Visitors of each town in the County in which the
session is to be held ; the meetings shall be held at such place
or places in the County as will, in the opinion of the Board,
best accommodate the greatest number of applicants; a majority
of the Board may examine applicants and grant certificates;
and as a condition of examination each applicant shall pay to
the Board a fee of fifty cents.
Sec. 4. The secretary of the Board shall pay to the treasurer
of the State Board of Education, quarterly, all fees received,
and file with the same a written statement of the amount, and
of the number of applicants, male and female, examined
during the quarter, and the necessary traveling expenses of the
examiners. Each member of the State and County Boards of
Examiners shall be entitled to receive not more than three
dollars for each day he is necessarily engaged in official ser¬
vice and his necessary traveling expenses ; but said payments
for services and expenses shall not exceed the amount of fees
received by each Board ; and the balance of such money, if any,
§,hall be set apart for the support of Teachers' Institutes, under
the direction of the State Board of Education.
Sec. 5. The Board may grant certificates for six months,
or for one, two, three or four years from the day of examina¬
tion, which shall be valid in any town or district of the State;
if, at any time, the recipient of a certificate be found immoral,
incompetent, or negligent, the examiners, or any two of them,
may revoke the certificate; but such revocation shall not prevent
a teacher from receiving pay for services previously rendered.
All certificates issued by each County Board shall be counter¬
signed by the Secretary of the State Board of Education, and
40
such certificates shall supersede the necessity of any and all
other examinations of the persons holding them, by any Board
of School Visitors, and shall he valid in any school district in
the State, unless revoked for good cause.
Sec. 6. No person shall be employed as a teacher in any
public school who has not obtained from a Board of Exam¬
iners, or School Visitors, having competent jurisdiction, a cer¬
tificate of good moral character, and that he or she is qualified
to teach orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography,
and English grammar thoroughly, and the rudiments of his¬
tory, and possesses an adequate knowledge of the theory and
practice of teaching, and if a person is examined in and found
qualified to teach other branches besides those required in
all cases, such branches shall be named in the certificate;
but persons who desire or are expected to teach only special
studies, such as music, drawing, penmanship, German, and
French, or any one of them, may be examined in regard to
such study or studies only, and having obtained a certificate
of qualification therein, and of good moral character, may be
employed to teach such study or studies.
Sec. 7. The secretary of each Board shall prepare, and for¬
ward to the secretary of the State Board of Education, on
or before the first day of November in each year, a statement
of the number of examinations held by the board, the number
of applicants examined, the total number of certificates granted,
the names of those approbated, and the number for each term
mentioned in section 5, the amount of fees received, the amount
received by the members of the Board for their services, and
such other statistics and information in relation to the duties
»
of the board as the State Board of Education may require.
Sec. 8. A diploma certifying the completion of the full
course of study prescribed in the Conn. Normal School may
be accepted on the part of those hereafter graduating from that
institution, as the legal equivalent of a three years certificate
from the County Board of Examiners.
Sec. 9. The School Visitors in any town may dismiss any
teacher who shall be found on trial to be incompetent to teach
or manage a school, or fail to conform to the requirements of
the Board, and annul the contract of such teacher. They may
41
refuse to examine any candidates for teaching, and refer them
to the State and County Boards of Examiners.
State Board of Examiners.
Sec. 10. There shall be a State Board of Examiners, which
shall consist of three competent persons, residents of the State,
to be appointed by the State Board of Education ; the term of
office of such examiners shall be three years ; and when a
vacancy occurs in the board, whether from expiration of the
term of office, or other cause, the State Board of Education
shall fill the same by appointment for the full or unexpired
term, as the case demands.
Sec. 11. The board thus constituted, after organizing by
choosing from its members a President and a Secretary, may
issue certificates of high qualification, for five years, for
seven years, and for life, to such teachers as are found, upon
examination in algebra, geometry, trigonometry, natural phi¬
losophy, chemistry, geology, botany and physiology, in addition
to the branches named in Section 6th, to possess the requisite
scholarship, and who exhibit satisfactory evidence of good
moral character, and of eminent professional ability ; and the
secretary of the board shall keep a record of the proceedings,
showing the number and date of each certificate, to whom
granted, and for what branches of study, and shall report such
statistics to the Secretary of the State Board of Education, on
or before the first day of November in each year.
Sec. 12. All certificates issued by such board shall be
countersigned by the Secretary of the State Board of Education,
and such certificates shall supersede the necessity of any and all
other examinations of the persons holding them, by any Board
of School Visitors, and shall be valid in any school district in
the State, unless revoked by the State Board of Examiners for
good cause.
Sec. 13. Each applicant foq a certificate from the State
Board of Examiners shall pay to said Board a fee of three
dollars.
The above bill is printed here, so that if it shall be referred
to the next Legislature there may be ample time to consider
its provisions and learn the popular will.
43
SUPERVISION OF SCHOOLS.
My duties for over a dozen years have brought me into close
connection with the School Visitors of Connecticut, and led to
a high regard for them as a body of faithful and judicious men.
Though their pay is small, often far too small, as a general rule
they evince commendable interest, and in many cases show a
genuine zeal in the improvement of our schools. 1 have abun¬
dant reason to present to them, without distinction of sect or
party, my grateful acknowledgments for their earnest coopera¬
tion in my efforts to advance the great cause of public instruc¬
tion. Whatever good has been accomplished is largely due to
their valued assistance. The cordial friendships growing out
of fellowship in work in all parts of the State, have been a
rich reward of manifold labors and a stimulus to their vigorous
prosecution. I have never favored the plan adopted in many
States of entrusting the supervision of schools to county
superintendents. Among the reasons for this conclusion are
the following :
1. My observation and experience confirm the opinion that
the work of supervising the schools in our country towns is bet¬
ter done by our Acting Visitors than it would be by county
superintendents. Living in the same town, they know the
scholars, their needs, plans, possibilities and prospects, better
than would a county superintendent. Their advice and sug¬
gestions are more likely to be adapted to the real wants of
individual scholars and classes.
2. They visit the schools much oftener than county superin¬
tendents usually do or can, and therefore become better ac¬
quainted with the teachers, often acting as their friend and
confidential adviser, to whom they may freely state their diffi¬
culties, and from whom they may receive timely counsel and
friendly criticism.
3. In difficult cases of discipline the advice of a judicious
School Visitor near at hand is often of great service, forestall¬
ing serious trouble, and showing how much better prevention
is than cure. At such times teachers need encouragement as
well as advice. Isolated and unvisited by equals or superiors,
44
perplexed if not discouraged by difficulties, a teacher needs
and merits the cheering words of sympathy and approval.
4. School Visitors can do more to awaken popular interest in
behalf of education in each locality than could a county super¬
intendent. The character of the schools in each town answers
to local public opinion. You elevate public sentiment by im¬
proving the schools no more surely than you improve the
schools by elevating public sentiment. They reciprocally influ¬
ence each other. Popular ignorance, or indifference even, will
cripple the best educational system, for a law in violation of
public sentiment is a dead letter. Effective school laws must
depend largely upon public sentiment.
While advocating progress, I still admire that conservative
element of Connecticut character which closely scrutinizes in¬
novations upon established usages. If our people are slow to
move, they move strong when once roused and resolved. The
progress thus made is more substantial and permanent than are
the strides prompted by a thirst for novelties. Once convince
such men that education is the great interest for which " every
one's hearthstone cries out in his ears," and you find an active
interest, where you feared a settled apathy.
In New England, the township is the unit, but in the Southern
and in many of the Western States the " parish" or the county
is the unit, while the township organization is wanting or is
comparatively insignificant. The maintenance of schools and
roads and bridges, the support of the poor and many kindred
matters which in New England are town affairs, are there man¬
aged county wise. The town organizations with the town meet¬
ings where every citizen is the peer of any other, have been
one of the prime factors in developing the sterling traits of
New England character. They have fostered that self-reliance,
independence and energy which have given strength and vitality
to our northern civilization and effectively aided in the main¬
tenance of our free institutions. The influence and importance
of the towns of New England was early and ably set forth by
Samuel Adams. It was a sound motto of old John Adams,
that " the ownership of land is essential to individual self-respect
and thrift and to national dignity and prosperity." It is not
the landless, but farmers, who have been foremost as defenders
45
of liberty because tbey have been thus defenders of bome. The
free land tenure, the system of small farms grouped into town¬
ships from the early settlement of New England fostered the
free, liberty-loving spirit of our fathers, without which the Rev¬
olutionary war would have been impossible, for these "little
democratic republics" nurtured that capacity for self govern¬
ment to which was due the achievement of our independence.
Says Professor Joel Parker: " It was through these organiza¬
tions that an industrious yeomanry, while following the plow,
and the diligent tenants of workshops while handling their
tools, were converted into an armed soldiery on the first news
that the British left the limits of Boston and were marching
into the country. The dragons' teeth that produced that har¬
vest were sown in the shape of farmers and mechanics, who,
holding themselves in readiness as minute men, required but
the heat of warlike intelligence to burst into full life and vigor
as a patriotic army. It was through these towm organizations,
and not through a want of patriotism elsewhere, that the sup¬
port of the Declaration of Independence was more effectual in
New England than in any other of the colonies."
Nothing analogous to our town system prevails in the South¬
ern States or in England. The influence of these town organi¬
zations and town meetings, where all meet on a level with¬
out distinction of race or party or sect, has largely caused
the contrast in the civilization of the North and the South, from
our early history till to-day. In the language of Senator Dawes,
"With the township here, its vital force unimpaired, New
England can never become South Carolina or Mississippi, and
without the educating influence that comes of the town, neither
South Carolina nor Mississippi will ever become New England
in the enjoyment of liberty regulated by law. They are the
very corner-stone of republican institutions among us, and they or
their equivalent must take the place of that unorganized parish
system by which Southern plantation society is loosely linked
together, before a representative republic, in anything else than
name, can be maintained among them. The town is not
therefore to fade, but is to continue to be the nursery of intelli¬
gent, untrammeled, thinking freemen, the source, the supply of
the government they themselves have instituted on this conti-
46
nent." My sympathies and efforts have long been enlisted in
behalf of the declining towns which most need help and encour¬
agement.
This is one source of my interest in the work of Rural
Improvement, now so widely diffused through the State.
Connecticut cannot afford to allow any of these old towns to
die out. Many of them have a noble history, and if we of the
present generation do our duty, they are to have a grand future.
A most encouraging history would be that fitly recording the
achievements of those who have gone out from these rural dis¬
tricts which are thus continually enriching the great centers of
population and wealth.
State or County Boards of Examiners on the plan I have
recommended, would not detract from the proper function of
town authorities nor lessen the dignity and responsibility of
the office of School Yisitor. Indeed, this act is called for by
some of our ablest and most experienced School Visitors. The
committee of the Educational Council that advocated this mea¬
sure before the Legislative Joint Standing Committee on Edu¬
cation, were, with one exception, Acting School Visitors, one of
whom had served in that capacity continuously for over thirty
years.
The supervision of schools stands on a different basis from
that of the examination of teachers. From our early history,
as in all civilized nations, the lawyer, physician and clergyman
have each been licensed, or admitted to the profession by some
State or provincial examiners authorized to perform this special
duty. The privilege of admitting candidates to these profes¬
sions has not been held as a town right. In order to elevate
their calling and in some measure raise it to the dignity of a
profession, our most eminent and successful teachers and School
Visitors ask that those who desire to make teaching a business
worthy of their highest ambition, may have a similar recogni¬
tion from a competent board, whose license, like that of the
lawyers', may be good in any town of the State.
Gaylord Bros.
Makers
Syracuse. N. Y.
PAT. JAN. 21.1908