The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-21

gathered they found that the 80 head
of stock consisted of one horse. one
mule, two cows and % hens. Several
years ago in a neighboring state a eAl-
lege president informed the finance
committee of the legislature that his
Institution was literally overcrowded
with students, and that more money
must be had to take care of them, add
ing dramatically that 1t was a crime
for a great state to be offering so cent
facilities to thousand dollar bows
A shrewd old farmer said. in reply, thai
1t WAS just as great crime to be ask
ing the state to provide thousand dol
lar facilities for 30 cent boys with
which the Institution in question was
|notoriously overcrowded. I beg par
don,' replied the president, after re-
gaining his composure. but we intend
TO advance our entrance requirements
as fast as the growth of the high
schools will permit That declaration
has a strangely familiar sound. l read
a statement the other day to the eff
feet that a declaration of this kind
coming from some colleges has grown
SO threadbare that, in meaning and in
value il deserves to be put on exhibit
tion with the equally familiar and sig
|nificant INJUNCTION, keep off the grass
Needs Impartial Expert
educational expert to study its needs. to
point the way to right system of
schools; and to lead us into the path OF
insttutlonalf harmony, corporation and
efficiency And il we are unwilling to be
led, we ought to be driven. When that
is done, our education army will no longer
know the meaning of guerilla tactics, but
will march forward in disciplined ranks
as natural allies in common cause.
.'5 There is time to mention only one
other problem. Let us call 1t the problem
of effective supervision and teaching
First, word concerning supervision. For
tunatey, we have at the head of the
system in Alabama, the dynamo of our ed
ucational mechanism, an able and devout
leader. There Is, however, no statute re-
quiring expert, full time service on the
part of the county superintendents. Ala
bama has standard of qualification pre-
liminary to the practice of law and of
medicine. There Is some kind of standard
in the case of the teacher. But in the
case of the man who is to supervise the
work of the teacher there is no fixed and
positive standard. Someone has said that
an army of stays led by lion will ac-
complish more than an army of lions led
by a stag Every large enterprise
whether industrial, financial, commercial
or Observation-Disclosures for fun success
expert full time supervision Shall this
great enterprise of education constitute
the sole exception The fact is that the
time has come when we should demand
for the schools expert whole time super
vision. No man can serve two masters
If he attempts It, he will be sure to cleave
to the one and forsake he other Paul
was philosopher when he said: This one
thing l do. The right kind of superin-
tendent Is the most important county Of
fetal. To this office we should set apart
and consecrate our strongest men.
Finally, let mes'ask, how are we to
improve the status and the quality of
teachers in Alabama? A gentleman was
recently discussing with me the gravity
of the situation In this particular. If
millions of money were ready he ex-
claimed, where are the teachers? OF
course, | told him that, whenever he got
the money ready ! should be glad to direct
him to the market of supply. The first
great step is to provide the money. |
am told that the average salary paid
teacher in the rural districts is less than
the average earnings of convict in Ala
bama. DIR. McIver used to tell the story
of an old woman who, when asked how
many children she had, replied, 'five--two
living, two dead, and one teaching school,
| have heard men complaining that many
of the teachers know nothing beyond what
is contained In the boks which they hold
in their hands; that they are inexperi-
enced; that one-third of them change
places each year; that four years Is the
average teaching life. All this may be
true. 1t would be surprising if 1t were
not In a measure true. Yet If 1t Is true.
the people are to blame. If II Is surprising
that communities employ such teachers, it
is equally surprising that even such
teachers continue to teach at all-strand-
ed In one room buildings, unsightly, un-
comfortable, unattraetive, insanitary-
with 30 or 40 recitations daily, teaching
all grades. and paid little more than star
walton wages.
..The teacher is the key to the prob
lem of educating the people. The school
building Is the body. the teacher is the
soul. Athens taught the civilized world
with no building devoted to the purpose.
Socrates taught on the street corner. Zeno
in public porch Plato in an olive grove.
Shall teaching in Alabama be made a
profession or a makeshift? A life work or
a stepping stone to something else? A
fortress for the flttest or an asylum for
those not equipped for the other profess
sions or who shrink from other work? Is
it true that the great mass of our teachers
are engaged in this work against their
own will?
Now | am DONE am an optimist l
believe that we shall some day find So
luton of all our problems for the simple
reason that I have faith in the rectitude
OF our cause and of the public impulse
concerning 1t. If our fathers had faith,
as their largest asset, In those tragic days
when the shadows were handing like a
pail on all this land. and darkness and
desolation were stalking even at noon
day, why shall the quality. of our faith
be weakened, now that the shadows are
gone and strength has come in the place
of weakness? Gone forever from this COM
monwealth are the days of poverty am