Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-10-25
RIGGS WOULD
REDUCE TEACHERS
superintendent Wants a Law
For County Uniformity of
Teachers Certificates
THEY COULD BE INDEPENDENT
Is At Work Creating Sentiment For
The Scheme And Will Then March
on LesisIature-Would Reduce The
Number of Teachers and Improve
Their Pay.
Special to rimes-RerublIcan.

special 10 IlmeS-RepuDlICaH.
Des Moines, Oct 25.-John F. Riggs,
superintendent of public instruction in
Iowa, is greatly encouraged over the
reception which has been accorded by
the educators of the state to his plan
which was carefully worked out and
presented to the last general assembly
for effecting much needed reform In
the matter of certification Of persons
to teach in Iowa schools. Superin-
tendent Riggs, on assuming his office,
began study Of the legislation pro-
posed to the assembly then in ses-
sion and worked out plan for a law
to bring about uniformity in the stan
dard of qualification for teachers.
Il want to see the time in Iowa." he
said, at the meeting of the North
eastern Iowa teachers, "and hope
may see it very soon, when the strong
successful teacher can demand reas-
enable wages for her services and
when she can say to the school board,
"if you do not wish my services at a
fair salary I will teach somewhere
else" She can do this when her GER
tificate is good in any county and when
there are more schools hunting teach
ers than teachers hunting schools"
Superintendent Riggs does not pur-
pose to increase the number of schools
but to decrease the number of teach
ers, and his plan is to have the state
board of educational examiners,
which now prepares the questions for
the scholastic examination In the
state, also complete the examination
by inspecting. the papers.
There are many good things to be
accomplished by this plan" said SUI
perintendent Riggs last evening. 1T
would establish uniformity thruout the
state and we would have one standard
instead of ninety-nine. A teacher
would be the same In one county as i'll
another. There would be nothing gain
ed by an unqualified teacher going in
to county to find one where the
standard was low. All would be on
the same basis. l find by the reports
of my predecessor in office that in two
counties last year every person who
applied for certificate got one. In
other counties only one or two or three
failed. Now in states where the state
system Is in vogue it is found that any,
where from 20 to 40 or larger per-
centage of the applicants fail. 1t proves
only that local influences surrounding
the county superintendents make it
impossible in many cases for them to
do absolute justice to the schools and
to the applicants. The system l pro-
pose would rid the examinations of
this unfavorable local influence. 1t
would relieve the county superinten-
dents of much labor In inspecting the
papers and giving them more time to
attend to visitation of schools and
other work. County superintendents
report to me that they spend, on an
average, fifty days a year in the exam
ination of the papers of applicants
for certificates. Then by having a
uniform standard we could have GER
tificates made good in any county of
the state. This would be desirable and
be a means Of compelling an increase
in the pay of teachers. The examina-
tions would be held about four times Il
year. The whole system would tend
to raising the standard in schools and
securing better teachers at better wag-
es / feel sure that we shall adopt
some such plan as this at no distant
day and will be pleased with it,"
The plan was outlined in the sec
tional meeting of teachers at Dubuque
last week and the association approv-
ed the same by resolution. The same
plan was presented at the district
meetings in Burlington and Sioux City
and next week Superintendent Riggs
will go to Red Oak to present it there.
Then next winter he will again bring
it to the attention of the teachers at
the state association. In this way it is
expected that a wholesome sentiment
back of the law will be created and the
legislature will the more readily ac-
cept it. A Legislative committee last
winter considered at length the plan,
but decided that the sentiment was
not quite ready for 1t in this state.
II. E. Griswold, Of Atlantic, first de-
partment commander of the G. A. r.,
Of Iowa. visited Adjutant General
Newman at department headquarters
in the capitol Monday on his way to
Keokuk. Mr. Griswold was the first
elected department commander under
he reorganization and served in 1879.
General Parrott and Mr.. Perkins were
provisional commanders to organize
he state. Mr. GrisWold related how
The first department encampment was
held in a small room in Burlington,
18th six delegates present, four from
Burlington and two from Atlantic. At
kton mo afrNf fnV ~
lad a little banquet among themselves
It restaurant and told stories Bob
3urdette wrote 1t up for them In his
aper and out into the mouths of each
ne an eloquent speech. Mr. GrtsWold
-aid that there was not one Of them
who could make speech but the re-
5ort was good story. The late Judge
Conrad Of Des Moines. succeeded MI