Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1871-11-16
TEACHER AND EXAMINER

fully give 1t place In our columns:
TEACHER AND EXAMINER
A, who has never served an appren
ticeship as house builder, may law
fully contract to erect dwelling fol
B. When the job is finished, if it be
not done in workmanlike manner; OF
the plan therefor be disre yarded, there
is remedy in dollars and cents, which
the court will administer. AS labor i:
upon m'atter; it can b tried with phys.
ical tests, and its defects readily found
BY the laws of the State, A is not per.
mitted to place himselfbefore the pub
| lie, and to practice rs a physician.
| Why this difference? II, being ignor.
ant of the nature of the ills flesh is heir
to, and Ofthe ommOn remedies Science
| has discovered, he undertakes the treat
ment of his sick or wounded neighbor,
and said unfortunate loses his life, the
results of his service are hard to test;
while the remedy is utterly insufficient
even if malpractice be proved to the
satisfaction of jury. Hence, evidence
of skill and leaning is required in the
shape Of a license or diploma from a
Medical Institute.
The State of Ohio, in common with
many other States AMI countries, do
mates a large fund to be paid out for a
certain purpose. namely: The educa-
ton of young citizens. A large por-
tion of this money is expended in pay
ing persons to instruct those youth.
How about results in this case? If the
teacher-like the blundering builder
and ignorant Quack-be not prepared
for his work, aad faiI in duty, be guilty.
of sins of either omission or commis5-
ion; in short, if he be other than true
teacher, where is the renPilv? Prove
him inco npatent, mi refuse him his
salary? WHAT a miserable satisfaction
would that be for time wasted and bad
habits gained! And suppose the teach
er i,nmoral-a suppSab @ caSe-th2n,
though his bad work is not buried out
of 81 sht of men, like the ignorant pill
vendors, far greater wrong is done
bad seed soWn i'll the fertile soil of
young minds, there to bring forth
ruinous harvest-a life i0LSted.
Hence it is, that befnre man or a
woman is permitted to tamper with
that precious thing-an immortal mind
-StDfIlc AS VI ohAAA W
rightly use the tools in that ETHEREAL
workshop.
At the entrance then, of the school
d01r the State places sentinel to
guard against the entrance of unski.l-
full workmen. That sentinel is the
Examiner. His duties may be easily
stated-tO decide upon the fitness OF
applicants for tsachecs' certificates. If
rilat could be done bya Fairbanks, or a
tape-line, the performance would be as
speedy afittsure as the statement of his
:iuty wassIlhple. No more discretion
word be nssadsl in an Examiner than
is required ID the ke per of the town
Gales. Bitinstel OF that artthm I'll
al simplicity, 50 that if he carries one
for every ten, his result cannot be in
error, We lind ne has q task Of great diff
Fl .ulty, in many cases, to perform, call
Ing for the exercise of prudence, pa
tience, and a keen insight into that
more complex thing than all the COM
pounds of the chemist-human nature;
and the question-has A. B. or c., those
qualities which will fiji him to do his
duty rs a teacher?-is- sometimes very
harsl to answer. AS I claimed before,
it is not a mere matter of arithmetic in
averaging "per cent"
However, in sounding the applicants
knowledge in The "legal branches"
Examiners have to rely mainly on an
sWers to their questions, as our State
has not made provision for the applica-
Lion of more substantial tests, which
could be applied by County Superin-
tendent.
I have often felt il to be a grave act
either to grant or refuse Il certificate in
these ca5aI which border on the line.
The applicant may have that in him
which would develop into useful, de-
voted tea her; while, assuming the Ex-
questions to be unerriIg tests
of what a teacher should know, he falls
oeloW the standard. His failure may
make the county to be Tess one good
teacher. But right upon this suggestion
follow other5-applieant shOu d not
have certificate unless he pOsSe5S at
least the stated minimum of scholastic
knowledge. In every county there are
enough poor journeymen schoOl-keep-
ers now, to serve as dead-weights, and
bring discredit upon the profession. II
/ refuse him, he perhaps, suffers; If l
90 omission him, ulquGtyfed, many
suffer. On the other side, again, the
Board must admit that all standa ds
t ley set for gulging mental depth, md
estimating moral worth are apt, like a
barometer, TO 'fluctuAte from day to
day in me aphysical atmosphere,
and that when we attempt to examine
the mind of our fellow man, we often
''see through a glass, darkly." Thus
we may note soLe of the influences
that bear upon the mind of the Exam.
who is trying fairly to act his part.
No one will claim that our schools,
though their progress has been great,
are to-day what they should be. No
one will deDy that there is serious
evil somewhere point of great fric-
ton in our educational machinery. In
my own mind there is n decided con-
viction that this drawback is ia lack of
properly qualified teachers; and the
only wonder is, that with the very
crude agencies employed, so much has
been done. r.
Well, what can Examiners do to re-
move this clog-tO relieve this friction?
The answer seems to me to be, to stead
lily, wisely, encouragingly raise the
standard of required qualifications. l
say "wisei "" for this may be done
Otherwise-ly. Ifthe bar be suddenly
raised too high, the leaper cannot clear
it, and his muscles will not be any
improved by a tumble backwards
The raise should lie gradual-each
time calling out little more stiffening
of sinews, summoning of blopd, aud
success crowning each faithful effort.
1 say "eneouragingly." Let not the
Examiner hedge himself about with
dignity-so-calle6-so that the weakest
brother may not be repeiled from APP
proach for advice or instruction. He
may do much tor many young work
er by sword in season." Oh, how
good it is!