The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-04-14
TOO HARD FOR THEM
REAL EXAMINATION PAPERS THAT
READ LIKE FICTION.
MANY CALLED, FEW CHOSEN.
FUNNY ANSWERS To QUESTIONS
ASKED PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS.

Are Called to Teach Have Misun-
derstood the MessaGe-How SPELL
ing Should Be Taught the First
Year, According TO Some of the APP
plicants - Differences as to the
shape of south America-TroubIe
With the Amazon River.
ut is true of the profession Of teaching,
as of Others" said Superintendent of
Schools Otis Ashmore, yesterday,
that many are called, or think they
are, but few. very few, are chosen. The
making of this choice, from the vast ar
ray who think they are called to teach,
is delicate and important duty"
Mr. Ashmore, at the request of the
Morning News, had been explaining some
thing Of the manner in which the posi-
tions of teachers in the public schools of
the city and county are filled and how
the teachers, thus selected, are trained
and fitted for the most competent per-
Torrance of their duties.
Each year examinations are held, not
only under the auspices of the County
Board of Education, but of the State
School Commissioner as well. Both class
es of examinations are usually conducted
by Mr. Ashmore. In the search for an
Illustration of the methods pursued in Sc
lecting teachers, he dug down into his
desk and brought up bundle of exami-
nation papers. They were those handed
in on an examination held by him for the
State School Commissioner, and as Su-
perintendent Ashmore read some of them
over, a reminiscent smile dawned upon
his countenance and sat there.
Here" he said, ARE some capital il
lustratons of the mistakes made by some
persons who think they have been called
to teach. For instance, one of the ques-
lions on this examination was: How
should spelling be taught in the first
years work? 1t was one of the oues-
tons on the subject of methods, and here
are some of the answers:
" By sight, by holding the book, SPELL
ing looking al the words. The first year
oral spelling should be taught BY hav-
ing the pupil to spell every word he comes
into contact with, without the teachers
assistance Spelling should be taught in
the first bywords of one, two or three let
ters' With the most stickest of notice
of instiliment of the mine
What the last answer is intended to
mean," said Mr.. Ashmore, will not be
revealed, perhaps. till the last day"
To the question, How many words are
sufficient for the first year?' the answers
are as varying as guess work could well
make them. Ten words said one sable
Solomon. whose high-soundng namo
would lead us to expect better things.
One, said another while others said
fifteen hundred and three thousand.
To the question, What words are most
important? We have, Words of peculiar
pronunciation compound words the
English words words of one two and
three syllables, while one coIored brother
solemnly gives "a, i, u, o, e..
Many of the answers to the questions
| in history indicate to what profound
depths in this department Of human learn
ing some of the would-be teachers have
| plunged.
ITO the question, What should be done
| the first two years to stimulate interest
in history?' One answered, The child
should be taught his relations to history,
while another says, BY hard study and
comiten to memberry.' Should the text
book be memorized? is variously answer
| ed. Yes NO Yes, it should Only TO
a certain extent Yes, but not verbatim
ad literatum.'
ION what should the emphasis of history
| be placed?" asks the examiner, and the
candidate answers: Should bee on the
mine The examiner asks the applicant
to mention some historical games, which
may be used in the history class. Free
dom to all nations says one, while an
other ventures, Baseball, football, tents
croquette.'
Geography seems to be the rock upon
which many were shipwrecked. To test
the knowledge of geographical form and
| location, the examiner asked the follow
ing question: Draw from memory a sin
| gle outline map of South America, and
locate upon il the Andes mountains, the
Amazon, the Orinoco, the Parana Rio
Janeiro, Quito The maps vary in size
from that of the thumb nail to a sheet
of paper, and the shapes from a sprouting
Irish potato to the skin of a wild car
stretched upon a barn door. One locates
the Andes mountains in the eastern part
and Quito on the ragged edge of a long
panhandle extending nearly TO the
South Pole. On one map the Amazon
river rises in the southern part of South
America and runs northward, but never
reaches the ocean. Whether it dries up
or dives under, deponent sayeth not. One
makes South America in the shape of a
long lizard, while another draws it a
perfect square with the Andes noun
tains in the northeast corneR and the
Amazon river running from east to west
!
the Orinoco river never reaches the South
Atlantic, though it seems to struggle
very hard to do so, while the Amazon
runs boldly over the tops of the Andes
and sticks out some 500 miles into the
Pacific ocean.
THE definition of longitude brought out
the following answers: The distance from
North to South The exact situation of
a place and state;' 'longitudes are mag
mary lines running from north to south
measuring distance, east and vest
places on an equal line with the equator
Longitude is the distant on right and left
Of the equator
Naples is located in Spain by one, and
in the Indian ocean by another BARGE
Iona is a strait Crete is an island south
east of Asia Naples. Corsica, Client and
Barcelona are situated on the east and
west coast of SPAIN Naples is in the
southern part of South America
AN outline map. according to the idea
Of one. is a map denoting directions and
localities Another thinks it is "A map
showing the general form and length and
width of a place while still another says
it is a map to show wheare differnt parts
Of the 'worr IS.
Under the heading OF theory and prac-
tice OF teaching. Whites School Manage
ment had been prescribed for study and
the questions were based upon that book.
What is education. rightly viewedT is
one OF these questions Hero ire eop1a ~