Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1889-05-17
COMMUNICATED.
TEACHERS CERTIFICATES VS.. sALA
RIES.

nibo.
Whenever our public schools is the
tonic of conversation and the salaries
of teachers are named, the friends OF
popular education are told that you
have many teachers now that do not
earn one-half the pay they receive,
and ali because they are not proper
ly graded They admit, at the same
time, that there are many teachers
that do not receive one-half OF what
their services are worth, even as ordl-
narly estimated. In explanation OF
what they mean by mot properly
graded, we are told that there are
TOO many number one certificates. LII
is the hope of unraveling this com
paint that prompts this communlca-
ZION. The charge is indefinite and
no specifications are made so as To Tx
the responsibility, but its effect is Sc,
riously felt by the most successful
teachers in the county and is driving
many of them out of the school work,
so that the boards of education and
trustees are compelled TO adopt some
means to retain the good teachers.
The School Law will not permit the
boards OF education in liking salaries
10 make a distinction among teachers
holding the same grade of certificate,
and, hence, some boards fix the mini
mum salary for a number one certln-
cate, claiming that teachers knownto
be inferior by actual trial still obtain
number one certificates and are mus
classed with the best ones.
Is THERE A REMEDY?
Let us see, first, what the School
Law saws about examinations and GER
tificateS (Sec. 80:
mo teacher shall be employed to
teach any public school until he shall
have presented TO the trustees having
charge of the school for which he APP
piles, a certificate of his qualification
TO teach said school" The
board of examiners shall examine such
as TO his competency TO
teach photography, reading, penman-
ship, arithmetic, geography, history,
English grammar and physiology .
: : (Sec. 2g) They shall grade the
certificates granted, according to the
following scheme, numbering them
from one to three, according To the
merit OF tue dpplicdnt. ~ w
tain number one certificate, the ap
plicant must make a general average
ON all the branches of, at least, eighty
seven per centum and must not fall
below seventy-tive per centum upon
any one branch ; to obtain a number
two certificate, the applicant must
make q general average of seventy
seven per centum and must not fall
below sixty per centum on any one
branch; to obtain a number three GER
tifcate, the applicant must make
general average of siXty-seven per
centum and must not fall below fifty
per centum on any one branch.
These are all the requirements of
the law in reference TO fitness, with
the addition of good moral charac-
ter and sobriety.
To ascertain the competency OF the
applicants. in accordance with the
law. the county board of examiners
hold annual examinations, at which
they submit to the applicants a series
of questions on the several branches
to be generally ten questions
on each branch, attaching numerl-
cal value to each one. If correct an
swers are given sufficient to make an
aggregate of 81 out of 100, the appll-
cant is entitled TO number one GER
tificate; if sufficient questions are cor
rectly answered to make an aggre-
gate of y out of 100, the applicant is
entitled TO number two certificate,
and so on.
1t will be noted that the same ques-
tons are given to each applicant, and
the determination of the grade de-
ponds upon the number and numerl-
cal value of the questions the appli-
cant answers more than upon hoD he
answers them. This board having
granted certificates to the applicants
based upon the results of this exami-
nation, its duties end. Sec. &. says ::
The board of education, in deterinin-
ing the salaries to be paid the teach
ers of its district, shall have regard to
the grade of certificate, fixing to each
grade the salary that shall be paid to
teachers holding said grades, in the
several sub-districts. 1t will be seen
that this board has not the authority
to fix the pay of the teacher of one
sub-district different from one in an
other sub-district, though his ability
and attendance of pupils might Justi-
fy it. n