The herald., 1898-03-20
NEEDED REFORMS
REMARKS BY MEMBERS OF THE
BOARD OF EDUCATION
They Tell the Teachers Where I'm
provements' Could Be Made in
the Present School System

The Los Angeles County Teachers asso-
citation met yesterday morning in the audi
ence room of the high school, Prof. Mil
lard In the chair. The meeting was ad-
dressed by several members of the board
of education on the general subject, "Re-
forms in Electing and Retaining Teach
ers.''
The president Of the board, Charles Cas-
sat Davis, was the first speaker of the
morning. Mr.. Davis took the position that
the employment Of teachers should be in
the hands Of the superintendent of schools,
who should be held responsible for the kind
OF teachers employed. At present many
teachers obtain their positions by personal
influence, and retain them in the same
way; therefore. the best talent is not al
ways secured. He would like to see the
profession of teacher the highest In the
community, and the result would be to the
petterment Of the whole CITY,
N. P. Conrey, the next speaker, thought
our present system not SO far wrong. We
have good source of supply to draw upon
for our teachers-American homes and
training schools, in which the instructors
are men and women fitted for their work
There are degrees of natural talent and
differences in training. The arbitrary au-
thority in employing teachers rests in the
board of education; the city superintend-
ent has no voice in the selection. The board
OF education Is elected from the commun.-
ty,and two years. the time for which the
members are elected, is not adequate to
give any man a knowledge of what he is
called upon to perform. This can be
changed only by change in the law, and
that cannot be done in year. A proposed
change In the law contemplates selecting
members on a scientific and educational
basis. and drawing fixed and defined line
between the educational and business de-
partments of the board Put the employ
ing power in the hands Of the superintend-
ent and hold him responsible. The re-
sponsibility such position would carry
with 1t would impress any man with the
0ust. The speaker would raise the stand
ard of the profession and make 1t more diff
ncult Tor mediocre teachers to obtain posi-
tions. The certificate must not only certify
that the person is qualified to teach, but
must specify his or her particular endow-
ment for the profession.
Mr. Braly. the next member to address
the meeting, said he realized as never be-
fore how thoroughly the teacher holds in
U
and women Of the future. Children get
more from the teacher than they do from
books. therefore 1t is important that the
teacher should be a person of high char
acter. We will never have teachers better
selected until we have a better selecting
power. We will never have stable, eff
cient school system until we have differ
ent method of selecting trustees. Two
IL a1Orf
to hold Office; 1t requires year at least for
them to learn how to handle the teaching
force. The board should not consist of
more than five members, and hold office
not less than six years, and have rota-
tion so arranged that at least three of the
board should have three years experience.
They should be appointed, not elected. by
the superior judges of the county; we
might then have men fitted for their great
work, the best curriculum Of study and the
best teachers. The board of education
would then be taken out of politics. The
teachers tenure of Office should be gov
erned by the merit of their work, and they
should be retained for life, until they re-
sign or are dismissed for good cause
Mr.. Poor concurred in thd opinions of
the preceding member that there should
be reform In the method of selecting the
board of education and that the schools
should be taken out Of politics. To insure
the public the best service, the board
shopld be paid a salary sufficient to ih-
duce capable men to accept the RESPONSE
bilfty and the office should be appointive.
They should not all 60 into nor out of
office at once. The teacher would then be
assured of position without the aid of
influence. The speaker made the rather
broad statement that there was no teacher
before him who had not received her posi-
tion through influence.
Professor Foshay, who opened the dis
cussion that followed, FASTENED to refute
the statement He said many excellent
teachers he knew, who never had any one
speak in their behalf, were holding posi-
tions on their own merits. 1t is serious
mistake, he thought, for the board of ed
ucation to all be elected at the same time
We should have teachers who see that the
child Is their first consideration.
Professor Hutton of the normal school.
Professor Graham of Pasadena and others
participated in the discussion.
INSURANCE AND ESCAPES