The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-10-22
The Governor and the Superintendent
News and Courier.

in the letter Of State Superintendent
Of Education Martin, thirty-six hours
lraving elapsed during which the
laughter has in part subsidized, It may
be as we'll to direct public attention
to the omission of the South Carolina
constitution-makers to create a gov
ernor's cabinet. South Cardinals
chief executive, unlike the president,
has no "official family" The eonsti-
tution-makers and other legislators
may have been ignoramuses, but GER
tain it is that they gave no intimation
to the governor that he is called upon
to advise with any state official, ex-
cept on his own motion, in making
executive appointments.
The suggestion is respectfully but
firmly advanced that the appoint
ment of members Of the state board
Of education was not placed in the
hands Of the superintendent Of edu-
cation for the simple and sufficient
reason that the lawmakers preferred
that it should be in the hands of the
governor. To be sure, it may strain
the credulity Of the public to believe
that the lawmakers knew their busi-
ness, but they are entitled to pre-
sumption to that effect.
The common schools and the COM
mon people are intimately connected.
Every Hold feld' school is controll,
ed by citizens who are not profess
sional teachers. There is much in
school teaching that is not technical.
The parent of the pupil is sometimes
better informed about some school
matters than some teachers. Above
all things to be avoided is the
building up of a clustered class Of
teachers; Of teachers so addicted to
their profession as to be Withdrawn
from pupils and parents. Over
specializing teaching is the undolng
of educational progress. The really
competent teacher has an open mind
that receives as quickly form the pu-
pills and their parents as from the
books of pedagogy. In short, common
sense IS nine-tenths Of teaching and
technicality the other tenth, while in
pharmacy or medicine or law techni-
cality may be five-tenths or more.
Hence the palpable value Of laymen
on the board Of education, especially
if they be "interested in school mat
ters," and may thus be qualified to
look at given proposition from the
viewpoint Of both teacher and school
- 8
For example, let us consider the Sc
lection Of school books, function OF
the state board. Teachers are very
prone to one-sided notions on this
subject. The sympathy between the
school book publishing house and the
teacher is often strong. The publish
ers' man points the teacher to a
slight improvement in a geography
|. All other biographies instantly be-
come intolerable to the teachers ex-
pert mind, and the drumhead con-
demnation of those in use seems to
MIN imperative. The layman, how
ever, has had more experience IN buy
ing biographies. He has seen I'M
provement follow Improvement in
books with no proportionate mental
strides by little Sammy and Susie;
and in the board of education, just
as likely as not, he may be obdurate,
perverse, stubborn and 'bull-head-
ed" In such case, the publishing
houses and the superintendent would
be likely to set down the department
as out of date and generally decayed,
but education would proceed in South
Carolina. Your layman on the board
is sometimes ultra-conservative, es-
pecially in matters that would IN
volve expense to the people. After all
the lawmakers may have known their
business when they protected the
state board from becoming over
burdened and unbalanced with teach
ers, and conserved lay representation
in it.
No evidence is at hand that the gov
ernor had adopted any policy OF lg-
noring the superintendent previous
to that gentleman's high kicking at
the time Of Ex-Governor Sheppard s