Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1907-06-13
Teachers Institute.

The Audubon County Institute will con.
vene June Ii, 1907, for two weeks session
| including the three days for State Exam
nation, which will be held the last We'd
| nesday, Thursday and Friday. Monday
| Will be enrolment day. We hope all those
expecting to attend the institute will be
| at the building some time during the day
to enroll, classify and make all arrange
ments necessary that we may begin our
| regular work Tuesday without interrup.
| ton.
| The Institute is primarily professions
al school for the training of teachers. it's
| purpose is to bring about better teaching.
1t should bring inspiration to it's teachers.
1t should furnish higher ideals and more
hopeful views of life. 1t is in our insti-
tutes that we should find practical solu-
tions to the everyday problems of teach
ing. 1t should also be a time of social re.
generation, time for the renewal of old
friendships and the acquisition of new
| friends. 1t should be a week of happy so.
cial life. One of our greatest philosophers
has said: THE great object of education
is to teach us to live rightly with our fell
bowman, and he who does not live right
eously is neither educated nor cultured"
| Believing the Institute should be inspi-
| rational rather than academic, we have
| planned our work as nearly along that
| line as our limited means will permit. We
| cannot bring to you many lectures by ed
| ucationalists, specialists in their particu-
lar work, for the Institute fund in the
county is very limited compared with the
larger and more populous counties. Yet
| we believe our regular faculty for the COM
| ing Institute is as strong as we have ever
had in our county institutes. Superin-
tendents Repass, Minis, Mantz, Mrs Stat
eel and Miss Brown need no space taken
| for introduction to the teachers, their
| former work speaks for them. There are
two new members of the faculty, Miss
Dora Larsen, science teacher in the
Estherville high school, and Miss Eva
Luse, critic teacher in the Iowa State Nor
NAL, both Audubon county girls, and both
have made record of which their Audi
bon county friends are proud. We had
hoped to have Miss Beason with us, but
we can make no definite statement at the
| present writing.
| AS to certitication of teachers, we are
subject to the rulings of the State Board
| of Examiners. The following will show,
that, so far, they have been liberal in their
Certi ticates prior to October 1st, 1905, and
who show a professional spirit in attend
ing institutes, teachers meetings, and in
re aiding professional literature will not
be required to take the examination, their
| certificates will be renewed by the State
Board upon the writing of creditable
theme of from three to five hundred
words. Also Second Grade certificates
l nv hn ha inn.
ously teaching for the past five years will
be renewed upon the same conditions as
required for the First Grade. Continuous
teaching for the past five years means at
| least six months teaching in each year
since July /, 1902.
| Attendance upon normal institutes and
educational meetings evidence profess
sional spirit. Section % of Certificate Law
provides as follows: The County Super
intendent shall annually on the first Mon
day of September file with the President
of the Educational Board of Examiners
list of all persons who for the preceding
year have held certificates and have at
tended the Normal Institute with the
number of days of attendance of each.
Teachers not attending Summer School
are expected to attend Institute.
! Everything indicates better things in
store for teachers. "A movement for in
creased salaries is gaining ground not
only over the State of Iowa butl.all over
the country. There has never been time
when teaching promised more to those
who would seriously take it up as
profession than it does today, Every in
dication points to steadily increasing
demand and higher compensation for
teachers. We want to see teachers have
their share in the general prosperity of
the times, and we also wish to see them
prepare themselves to give returns com.
mensurate to the rapidly advancing
wages, and we believe our teachers are
willing to make this return. In our vista
tions over the county we find the maj ority
of them working earnestly and conscien-
tiously.
Our new Certificate Law seems to have
caused considerable unnecessary appre-
hension among the teachers of Iowa.
This is due partly to misunderstanding
of the law by the many, and partly, am
sorry to say, to intentional misrepresen-
tations on the part of the few. We sim
cerely hope that all the misunderstan d.
ings and Misrepresentation, too,swill be
duly adjusted. We are expecting the
teachers of the county out in full force to
the coming Institute.
ELLA NJ. STEARNS,
County Supt.