The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1916-06-30
PUBLIC EDUCATION IN NARY
LAND.
Address BY DR.. Abraham Flexner
Before Federation of
Women's Clubs.

The new Maryland Education Law
is one of the most comprehensive
statues ever written upon the law
books of an American common
wealth. It furnishes the people of
Maryland an opportunity to bring
about, with patience, tact, and in
good time, very considerable i'm
provements in the educational adj
ministration of the State. You will
notice that say advisedly that it
furnishes an opportunity" The
statue itself has been called by your
chairman, and in a sense properly
called, great achievement Never
theless, from the point OF view of the
education which the children of
Maryland are going to get, it is not
an achievement, it is not perform
ance-it is simply an opportunity.
1t is possible that the children of
Maryland may be as poorly educated
under the new law as they have been
under the old. Whether any changes
in educational law will follow the
enactment of this law remains to be
seen.
have gladly taken advantage of
this opportunity to- speak in order
to point out to you what you doubt
less already know, that it is very
largely in the hands OF the women.
of Maryland to determine whether
+bo ,roroicoS| ,1oec;I,:1;+ios re ~ ro,x
law shall or shall not be more or
less fully realized.
The law itself simply changes and
improves the conditions under which
the educational game is henceforth
to be played in Maryland. The old
rules, to use the sporting phrase
ology, left the public education in
Maryland open to politicians and
amateurs. The new rules seek to
exclude the politician and the anna
teur and to install the professional.
do not mean, of course to imply
that all persons who have dealt with
public education in Maryland are
either politicians or amateurs. Some
very admirable men and women are
to be found in educational positions
in the State of Maryland in admini
stration, supervision and teaching.
do not mean to say that under the
new law you will necessarily be rid
of politicians and amateurs and be
dealing with well-trained profession
ais. What l do mean is this, that
the natural tendency OF the old law
was to- leave public education in
Maryland in the hands of unframed
persons. Whenever a highly trained
person obtained an educational
position, it was more or less the
result Of accident or good fortune.
The new law is designed to bring
disinterested citizens into school
boards, and to fill technical posts
with highly trained men and women.
Whether or not this viii turn out
to be the case depends in no slight
measure upon the intelligence and
activity of the women of Maryland.
Let me run over for you very
law brings about.
Under the old law which governs
until the first of June, almost any
one who had been occupied In school
work was eligible for the important
post of State superintendent of
Education. 1t is hardly less than
miracle that a skillfuI, competent
and able man has held that position
for number of years. Under the
old law the State Board of Educa-
tion had to be something of polit-
ical body, and the county board
was also politically constituted. The
county board was, under the old re-
gime, not only liable but almost sure
to choose an unframed or slightly
trained superintendent. True
enough in several counties this ex-
pectation has for one reason
another been disappointed; there
are few extremely well-trained
county superintendent in the State
of Maryland; but the whole tenor
and tendency of the old law was in
favor of the amateur and the poll
tician. Neither state nor county sup.
erintendent of education was pro-
vided with the technical, assistants
absolutely indispensable to the
effective Performance of their duties.
In respect 10 the teaching STAFF we
counted something like twenty or
thirty perfectly legitimate ways of
entering the teaching service of
Maryland. 1t is quite fair to say
that any ordinary educated person
who had gone through the elemen-
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