The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-12-27
COUNCIL OF EDUCATION.
Various Reports Of Committee
Read and Discussed.

Inc COUNCIL OIL EQucdtlOu met III lAio
Senate chamber at 2 p. m. and was
called to order by State superintendent
Kirk.
In the absence of Secretary Nc
Clymonds, Superintendent Foshay Of
Los Angeles was chosen temporary Sec
rotary.
The report of the Committee on
Course of Study was first in order and
was read by Professor Elber e. Brown
of Berkeley. 1t spoke of the work of
the committee for the past five years
and the difficulty of the subject and
recommended that in future the courses
of study presentedaby County and City
Boards of Education be divided into
three sections-time allotment four
fifths of it to be directed by the State
Board of Education and the other fifth
by the county and city boards, in which
it was pointed out where advantages
would ensue and the times to be de-
voted in each study for the different
grades.
It recommended that the State Teach
ers' Association appoint a committee
of fourteen, ten to be appointed from
among superintendent and ex-Super-
intendents and the remaining four from
the teaching force Of the normal schools
and universities.
DIR. o. P. Jenkins asked whether it
was proposed to adopt the report as a
whole. If so, he was not prepared to
vote.
Secretary McClymonds thought if it
should be passed over to the proposed
committee to formulate a course or the
1@r =
the councils shoulders the response
bility
Superintendent Linscott said that
five years ago he saw the greatness of
the question the committee had wrestcd
with for the past years, but dimly. He
had since realized it's vastness. AL
though no definite conclusion had beer
reached, he was fully satisfied that the
thought expended and the light thrown
on the subject by not only the COM
mittee but the teachers of the State
had wen repaid all the thought and
money expended on it. Already it's eff
feet had been seen in the partial uni
f1cation Of the courses of study in the
schools of the State. The subject was
too large for discussion in part of an
afternoon and if the council was to
finish the work it should take from one
to two days, some time in the future,
and settle on a course of action. Most
of the work on the report had been
done, he wished to say, by Professor
Brown.
Superintendent McClymonds was OPP
posed to passing the matter on to any
other body. He therefore moved that
the report be ordered printed ami
further action postponed until the mem
bers of the council have time to exam
inc it further.
Professor Brown said that the Com
mittee on Course of Study, after long
investigation of the subject, was of the
opinion that the best results were to
be obtained by getting in touch with
the teachers of the State, who, while
they have little or nothing to do with
adopting courses of study, have much
to do with making them success 1t
had worked along this line during much
of the past five years. 1t now seemed
best to bring this part of the work to
close and the report was presented that
it may be passed on to another commit
tee specially constituted for that pur-
pose
State Superintendent Kirk said that
If the reference to another committee
would lose the splendid work Of the
present one, he would be opposed to it.
superintendent Linscott thought a
special time should be set for consider
ing the report.
Superintendent Foshay thought it
should be taken up at the biennial
meeting of the County Superintendent
Further consideration of it was post
poned till a. m. today.
NEEDED LEGISLATION.
Superintendent Furlong of San RAJ
fael, Chairman of the Committee on
Needed Legislation, Certifcation of
Teachers, said his report was intended
merely as a basis for discussion of the
subject. None of the rights of teach
ers now teaching were to be invaded,
and their certificates were to be left in
force. The ideal to be arrived at was
the abandonment of examinations for
certification and the granting of certifi-
Gates on credentials to be defined.
G. w. Beattie of Berkeley read an
able paper on Examinations" giving
history of the system of examinations
from it's first inception in the early his
tory Of the State down to the present,
with the various changes made. A new
principle has grown.up, besides the ex-
aminations, however: that of certifica-
ton of credentials, which has been
broadened from time to time. He
stated that after consideration nv vari-