The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-02-04
SCHOOL INSPECTORS.
A Correspondents Reasons for
Abolishing the Office.
litor OF The Times-Dispatch:

.
Editor of The Times-Dispatch:
Sir,-I can endorse you in a general way
on questions of public policies. but you
will pardon me for taking issue with
you on the one measure of creating at
this time the new offices OF inspectors
and division superintendent of public ed
ucation. You ask In recent editorial
why abolish such offices, and express
amazement5 that the House OF Delegates
should have assumed their recent atti-
tude toward them. One reason of the
action of the House, Is that the tax
payers of the counties have been heard
from. do not call in question the hon
esty and sincerity of purpose and in
tention OF the incumbents OF such offices
to earn their salaries II they can. but the
question naturally arises how can they
do so? You say that the county SUI
perintendent is poorly paid and can not
AFFORD to do the work Of inspection OF
schools. They, however, make 1t a point
to visit their schools Mt least once dur
ing the session, which Is as much as
an inspector, with his largely increased
number Of schools, can do. Whilst rec
ognize the necessity OF head of an
institution In each county I fail to
see tho Importance of these desultorya
visits from any source whatever; visits
not sufficiently protracted nor frequent
to comprehend the peculiar environments
or circumstances connected with any
country school. On these lines 1 think
a bill might be passed to increase the
compensation Of school trustees at least
to an amount adequate to actual loss
of time required to ascertain whether
n teacher honestly and intelllgently dis
charges the duties OF his position, for,
after all. the trusteeship Is the driving
wheel OF the entire system. Before we
employ men to better conditions in any
thing, we should inquire as to whether
it Is within the individual power of
any one to change those conditions. Some
may think that an inspector may Sc
cure a better class of teachers: d,
not think So The most experienced teach
ers of our best graded schools in cities
are as liable to prove failures under tho
same conditions and circumstances as
those OF moro humble pretenslons. One
can not always adapt beautiful theories
to stubborn facts. ] speak from an
experience of thirty-fiye years, as n prt-
sYate and public teacher OF schools In both
town and country. have evr found
1t necessary, that when tho mountain
will not come to me. to go to the noun
tain as gracefully as possible and adapt
myself to the circumstances when such
were beyond the power of the individual,
man to change, But allow me to say
hero that do not believe that the cause
of the want of efficiency In our public
schools can be traced to the teachers as
a class. I have had fifteen or twenty
years experience In visiting teachers in
their meetings, both North and South,
and have never met a more earnest
class of workers than the teachers or the
Virginia public schools. have. from
the necessity Of my position. to be a
constant reader of educational Journals.
and have never received V from them
anything more helpful than tho paper
from these same teachers, III believe
that our public schools have deteriorated