The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-12-27


gree Of efficiency through the marked
scholarship of their teachers and their
thorough equipment of laboratories and
libraries. The two years given in the
normal schools to the work which in
the high schools requires three and
four years necessarily means that the
normal school courses of instruction
In the essential foundations of an edu-
cation-language. literary culture, his
tory, scince and mathematics-must be
measurably inferior. The condition
which permits the degree of scholar
ship of our teachers to be considerably
inferior to that possessed by persons
who enter the other vocations of life
from our high schools is one which the
demands now being made upon our
school system and easy opportunity OF
securing this preparation cannot long
er tolerate. A degree of scholarship.
in general intelligence, language, pow
er, culture, science, history and mathe-
NAUTICAL equivalent to that possessed
by high school graduates clearly must
be the minimum permitted in an ap-
plicant for admission to our normal
schools.
tpOSSCoSAOAh
teachers Of scholarly and professional
training, our elementary schools must
have competent pedagogic supervision.
To maintain good schools, expert peda-
gogic judgment in the selection of
teachers is essential We need expert
direction and leadership in conducting
the work of the teachers and above all
to assign individuals to duties to which
they will be most pedagogically suit
able. In the complete sense of the
term. we as yet have practically no SUI
pervision whatever of the elementary
schools of California. We have many
capable city superintendent, but they
ARE not, with two or three exceptions,
delegated with sufficient power to exer-
else their true functions. In the rural
schools, which most need supervision,
there is no supervision whatever
worthy of the name. The County SUI
perintendent under the law is essen
tally a clerk. He has no legal voice
in the selection of teachers and the
number of his visits to schools are far
too few to be of sufficient service.
There are no provisions which require
anything of the candidate for the Office
of County Superintendent in the way
OF evidence of scholarly fitness, peda-
gogic training or qualifications as an
educational expert. The office is filled
by popular vote, or, in other words, po-
litical fitness is the first essential and
it is only singular and fortuitous acct
dent when the politically fit is also the
professionally fit. These are remnant
rags of California's swaddling clothes
and present advanced conditions justify
prompt reform. The only Supervisors
recognized by our law are the members
of the Board of Education and Board
of Trustees. Now, whatever is done in
the way of change, history in this State
as well as in others, makes it manda-
tory that nothing shall interfere with
the business authority of local boards.
The authority of local boards has justly
become recognized as the safeguard of
the public school.
But there is place for supervision,
nevertheless, under certain limitations.
The chief weakness of the local boards
can be almost exclusively traced to
their incompetency to handle the pro-
fessional side Of supervision. Trustees
are business men, but as such they are
manifestly incompetent to fulfill duties
which require pedagogic insight into