The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-04-14
INFORMAL MEETING
OF SUPERINTENDENTS
II Was Held In the Office of County
Superinten endeut Taylor.
THE CONCLUSIONS THEY REACHED
Believe n Provisional Certificate
should lie Limited by Law TO Three
or Five fears--The standard OF
Graduation in Normal schools
should BE Raised - Subjects on
Which the Teachers Of This Part of
state Arc Deficient.

An Informal and social meeting Of
county superintcndents was held
Tuesday, in the Office of Supernten-
dent j. G. Taylor. The meeting was
called by superintendent Taylor at the
request Of neighboring supernten-
dents TO consider questions of common
interest in the counties represented,
and arrive at a basis of harmonious
action in securing professional i'm
provement.
Those who attended were Superin-
tendent Charles j.. MoXley, OF Susque-
hanna county; superintendent II, $.
Putnam, Of Bradford county; Super
intendent ID. l.. Hover, of Wayne
county; Superintendent i. II. Jarvis,
Of Wyoming county; and Superinten-
dent j. G. Taylor, of Lackawanna
county. Superintendent +. ID. Bovard,
of Dunmore was present in the after
noon, Superintendent Harrison, of
Luzerne, would have been present, but
was detained by the funeral Of rela-
tive.
The meeting opened at 10 o'clock, but
adjourned at IL a. III. to visit the city
institute. where the superintendents
listened to an earnest plea for higher
education by that learned and eloquent
DR.. Martin Brumbaugh.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
The afternoon session of the super
intendents opened at , o'clock and
closed at 430. The leading topics dis
cuSsed were examination of teachers,
teachers certificates, professional
reading, teachers institutes, teachers
summer schools and normal schools.
Some conclusions reached in these
discussions with practical unanimity
are as follows:
First-That teachers should not con-
TIME to teach through a long series Of
years on the lowest grade certificate, but
should advance from year to year by PR
vatc study until they reach the profess
sional and finally the permanent ccrtiti-
cate, and that the provisional certificate
should be limited by law to three or five
years.
Second-That the professional certit-
cate (good for three years. should he
granted only to teachers who have ac-
quired skill in the art of teaching and
who have made a careful study of tho
histroy of education, school management
methods of teaching, and some academic
branches, such as algebra, civil govern
ment, rhetoric and general history
Tntrd-Indt 1ne county IISlllulc mas
been a leading factor in educational prog
ress in Pennsylvania, and furnished an
excellent opportunity for improvement to
all teachers who wish to advance in pro-
fessional knowledge.
Fourth-That summer schools for teaCn-
crs giving them a chance to review their
studies and add to their store Of knowl-
edge are an important aid and should be
literally patronized.
Fifth - That professional or normal
school training for those who are pre-
pairing TO teach is very desirable and
should be encouraged.
STANDARD SHOULD BE RAISED.
That the standard Of graduation in nor
nal schools should he raised, and the
normal school diploma should bG granted
only to those whose knowledge of the
subjects and fitness for teaching are such
as to command the respect Of the COM
munties where they may teach.
The superintendents expressed the
belief that teachers in the tlve Coun-
ties represented are most deficient in
their knowledge of arithmetic, gram
mar, history and spelling, and that the
chief fault in these schools is the
tendency to memorzing and mechani-
cal teaching without developing in the
pupils the power to think.