Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-05-23

made by individual colleges. The
only thing the board does is to say
that its members agree not to accept
certificates from schools not on the
| list but to accept certificates from
approved schools for those subjects
which the college thinks are salts
factory for college work. The colleges
and not the board, then, are respon-
sible for the present requirements
The board does state that no school
is placed upon the approved list I'M
less it can prepare for college accord
ing to some one of the recognized
plans of entering the colleges repre-
! scented on this board. So far as l can
| follow Mr.. Morrison's logic here, he
seems to think that II is arbitrary for
| the board TO place on its list only
! schools that prepare for college; IN
| other words, that any High school
] should send it's pupils to college from
the very fact OF their having gradu-
ated from the High school. In other
words, that there should not be any
college preparatory High school at all.
On this point, of course, the colleges
under existing conditions would have
to take sharp issue. But the small
High school that gives courses enough
so that a student can get into, for
example, any of the three colleges on
| the board in our state, has now just
| as good a chance of getting on the
approved list as any of the other
schools. / do not hesitate to say that
any school in Maine which would
| have the backing and recognition of
the State Superintendent of Schools,
would be allowed, if it applied, to send
| specimen students on certificate to
!, Bowdoin or Bates or Colby, and then
/ if these specimen students did sat
! isfactory work, would be placed on
the trial list. This privilege has been
| given this last year to at least two
| of our small schools. The board be-
llevss in the small High school; it be-
| lieves that a community which sup
ports a small High school with a col
| lege preparatory course is better off
/ than a community where the High
school gives training along practical
| or agricultural lines alone; and it be-
lieyes that in Offering opportunity to
the small school to be approved, and
in treating it on the same terms with
the large schools, 1t is helping the
cause of education throughout New
England. 1t should be remembered
that the Certificate Board is only IL
years old, and that 1t has had to go
slowly and make changes by expert
ence. Half a dozen years ago the
board could with some justice be
criticized for not giving the small
| schools chance enough to be approx
| ed; under the present rule, any de-
cent, self-respecting small High school
| can get itself on the list of approved
schools if it graduates pupils who are
capable of taking college courses sat-
isfactorily
The second point that I wish to dis
cuss is the criticism made by Mr.. Nor
rison and by others, that it is unfair
to judge a school by the records of
the pupils in the first semester at col
lege. Let me quote from Mr. Morri-
son here: Il refuse to admit for one
moment that when a pupil has had
a creditable record in High school, and
passes from High school to college
and fails in the college the presump-
ton is at all against the High school,
but that, on the contrary, it is against
the college" l think the board would
consider that this statement was per-
fectly fair provided "a creditable rec
ord" meant two things: in the first
place, sound and thorough training
and in the second place, good charac-
ter When a principal uses the privi-
lege of the certificate, he means to say,
or at least the board means to have
him say, that in his judgment that
pupil is qualified both by training
and character to go on with college
work. The Certificate Board was es-
tablished some years ago, largely be-
cause of the feeling of the schools
that the college examination system
was not fair, and that a principal who
had been acquainted with the work
of his boys for four years could tell
whether or not those boys were fitted
for college. Now some school officials
seem to say that even to hold school
responsible for such statement as
this is in the highest degree unwar-
rantable, and that the college has no
business to say, if pupils fail that 1t
is at all the fault of the schools. There
Is no doubt some poor instruction CIV
en- to our college freshmen there are
no doubt many temptations in the way
of Freshmen, which make the trans
itional year in some respects a hard
one. But l do not know a college
that does not regard this freshman
year as the crucial year; that does not
place most Of its instruction in the
hands of full professors; and that does
not give Freshmen particular care.
Under these circumstances. and with
, the understanding that the Certificate
Board is ready to hear the reasons
for exceptional failures during the
hrst semester; it Is entirely right, is
! In fact the only reasonable way, to
hold schools responsible by judging
them by the work of their pupils in
! the first semester. After that time,
the question of college instruction, one
| way or other, enters in. During the
; period of transition the schools are
! responsible. But the board is not ar
: bitrary here either Let me quote
: from one Of its rules: "Those who
have failed without reasonable ex-
cuse to meet the requirements of the
college in any subject during the first
term or semester of the college year.
shall be reported as unsatisfactory in