The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1908-02-28
TINE PROFESSION OF THE TEACHER.

Mr.. L. p. Scott, vlce-presldent 0
the Mississippi Teachers Associa
ton, asks us TO "tell" something t
the people Of his state, says TIT
Commercial Appeal.
Tell them," says Mr.. Scott, "tha'
it took the writer half a dozen years
of trying to learn to teach lat tht
expense Of helpless little children.
and a thorough course in pedagogy
to open his eyes to the real secrets
of his profession and the great re.
sponsibility resting on the teacher
But some of them will tell you that
they have done a little teaching
themselves and found no difficulty
in doing so without normal training
Well-just remind them that they
are exceptions, of c~ourse(?), and
should not expect the average young
teacher to be as smart as they-es-
pecially when more than half our
teachers are young girls who have
not even finished the rural school
course"
1t is neither our purpose nor our
practice to seek to decide questions
of this kind for the state of Missis-
sippi; but what Mr., Scott says about
learning to teach at the expense Of
helpless little children is as strik-
ing as it is convincing. 1t carries
with it pitiful suggestions of the
murder of the minds of children, OF
mayhemed intelligence and of stunt
ed intellectualities, due to inexpe-
rlence, 1t also recalls the story told
of a famous London oculist.
A young practitioner stood by the
famous man, when, with one swift,
deft, certain stroke Of the knife, the
great oculist performed successfully
an operation upon the eye Of a pa
tent.
"Ah," exclaimed the young ocu-
list admiringly, that was wonder
full"
Yes" was the half sad, half
gratifed reply, but, my boy, before
| could do that my unskilled knife
sacrificed a double handful of hui
man eyes"
Now comes this distinguished
Mississippi educator, begging his
state to make it possible for Missis-
sippi teachers to acquire skill in
their high profession before they
sacrifice this double handful of stu
dent mentality and intellectually.
1t is an uncommon plea and an
unusually strong one. The wonder,
however, is that it should be needed;
for though there are many fads in
present day education, it is never
theless universally admitted that it
is quite as essential for teachers to
seek and receive proper training as
teachers as it is for the members of
other professions to acquire profess
fessional attainments. If the public
schools are factors for the better
ment of citizenship, most certainly
they are the more effective for pos
sessing the better qualified teachers.
If it pays the state to qualify the
children for citizenship through the
medium of education, undoubtedly
it will pay the state to provide suit
able means whereby the teachers
may be thoroughly qualified to give
the children the desired education.
Besides, the cost of an institution
of this kind is insignificant, while
the good it is likely to do is meal
culable, The profession of the
teacher is not the petty and simple
thing many suppose it to be. 1t is
no trivial matter to form the mind,
to prepare it and plant it with the
invisible seed of that mighty
and potential crop gathered
through education. In this work
there is required knowledge, skill
and preparation of no mean de-
gree, and in order to secure edu-
Gators possessed of these acquire