The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-08-02
EXAMINATION OF TEACHERS.

| Editor DemOeTat--For several days past the
Times has contained communications censflr.
ing tae action OF the School Board in requr.
| ing teachers to pass an examination prior to
receiving an appointment, and as these com
munications are bat one mass of conglomer-
ated sophistry and pretension avail myself
of your valuable columns to expose their true
| inwardness to the public.
There Is no profession which demands 80
| much of it's members as that Of teaching
educated mind. disciplinary powers, ability
to demonstrate clearly and forcibly and great
perseverance and patience. Without these
| qualities no one can be good teacher and
those not possessing them should select an
| other field of usefulness.
| The present school board comes into office at
| q time when the maladmnistration of it's
| predecessors is 50 palpable that a remedy
must be applied and such remedy as will
not fail to reach every affected part Of the
body educational. Persons wholly unauaIi-
fled to teach are found to occupy some of the
highest places In the schools, but upon being
reported as incompetent they Immediately
flucnce with the members of the board to
have them retained Some Of these incapa-
bles have very influential friends, and fre-
quentiy a ma jority of directors are enlisted
in their favor, believing, at the solicitation of
the friend aforesaid, that these teachers have
been ,unwittingly nisrepresented, or that
they have been underestimated, and giving
them the benefit Of the doubt. Thus many
Incompetent persons would be retained to the
exclusion OF the qualified and meritorious,
and the cause OF education would suffer in
consequence
Again the board finds that there are twelve
hundred applicants for positions, and only
four hundred and thirty places to be filed.
They feel the delicacy and importance Of the
task before them, and wish to contrive some
method, which, while it will be for the benefit
OF education, will at the same time, be per-
fectly just and equitable towards applicants
At this juncture, Mr.. Capdevielle introduces
q resolution in conformity with the. school
thus giving to all applicants equal chances
for appointment.
Now in lieu of approaching the Just course
pursued by the board, the majority (and a
large. oneJ OF those holding teacherships, and
@ majority OF new applicants, utter q wall of
rage and despair, and open a shower of abuse
on fair and impartial men.
Those who were resting In fanced security.
because relying on the exertions of friends,
find out that something more than friends is
great pretension, but little intrinsic worth,
discover that the present is not an auspicfous
time for bamboozling the public
With regard to compelling those that have
taught number OF years to undergo an ex-
ANIMATION now, much might be said in oppo-
sition and much in approval. Those, for in
stance, VINO have been teaching for twenty
five or thirty years, should naturally be CON
sidered competent; at any rate, this would be
the presumption. But if, upon investigation,
it turned out that their classes were inferior
to those Of other schools, equal in respect to
poverty Of material and impecuniosity of
pupils, it is fair inference that those teach
ers are failing, and certainly not so perfect as
younger and equally competent teachers II
their minds are losing strength, and age de-
prives them OF the requisite energy, no mat
ter what their experience as teachers NAV be
they are scarcely qualified for the discharge Of
teachers functions. Yet by virtue of Mr.,
Capdevielles resolution, they can conceal
certain defects and re-obtain their position If
they can control their mind sufficiently to
pass a good examination.
This applies to the ladies long in the service
as well as to the gentlemen. The resolution
is beneficial to them, therefore, while # nrn-
tects the schools from ignorant teachers
There IS an another class that has been employed