The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-01-15
TEACHERS MADE,
NOT BORN, SAYS
SCHOOL OFFICIAL
j. i. O'Brien of us. Bureau
of Education Urges More
Normal Institutions.

ton. Department of the Interior, has
issued the full statement:
With the eloquent and logical plea
of j. Sterling Morton for professional
~ trained teachers still ringing in our
ears it is good time to CONSIDER the
views Of a prominent man VINO saw
this question in very different nsnt.
This man served his state and coun-
4 try in many posts of honor. He was
+ a man Of means. His character was
( above reproach. 1t is hard to under
stand how a man Of such ability, in
tegrity, and experience could hold
such erroneous views as he did on the
I preparation of teachers for their
| work. After all the positions OF hon.
or which he had held, he was elected
a member of the state Senate. There
was but one state normal school then
I (19O1) in that state. A fight was on
in the Legislature to establish one ad-
ditional state normal school, on which
| occasion, this Nestor of the Senate de-
i clared: "God Almighty makes teach
ers; you can no more make teachers
at a normal school than you can
make whistles out Of pigs tails at a
butcher shop; we have too much edu-
| cation Of the head already; educate
the heels"
! pity rather than censure of him who
I was the author Of this declaration.
/ God Almighty no more makes teach
ers than He makes lawyers or doctors
Training and experience make a law
yer. Training and experience make
a DOCTOR Training and experience
make teacher.
And so thought the people of the
state In which this good, though mis-
| taken, man lived. The normal school
! idea has made such a growth in that
state since this good mans declaration
3 against it until now there are four
great state normal schools there with
splendid faculties and literally sup
| ported by the state.
rs Probably the most advanced opfn-
ion yet advocated by any man of
/ prominence today in favor Of profess
J, sionally trained teachers and state
normal schools is that Of the United
| States Conn missioner OF Education,
| DR.. r. p. Claxtonl Briefly stated it
is this:
A six months term of school with
a professionally trained teacher at a
| salary Of 500 per month is a longer
term and better and cheaper school
than a twelve months term with a.
teacher Of poor. scholarship and no
professional training at a salary Of
4 $50 per month. We need enough
state normal schools to provide a pro-.
\ REASONABLY trained teacher for every
( rural school in/America. The. people
of the entire state are taxed to sup
!; port the state normal school or
| schools and are, therefore, entitled to
( their just share Of the teachers who
I fit themselves for their work In these
! schools. And yet q very small num-
Der or normal school graduates ever
| teach In the rural schools because the
a city and town sch
4 professionally trained teachers. The
demand for professionally trained
! teachers In city and town schools is
! greater than the present number of
! our state normal schools can supply
I under their present equipment. We,
therefore. need a greatly increased
!, number of normal schools or else a
!, great increase in buildings, faculty,
i and funds for our present state nor
! NAL schools IL our rural people are
10 receive fair treatment for the taxes
| they pay for the support Of the state
/ normal schools. The work OF the
/ state normal schools and profession
/ ally trained teachers is so important,
30, valuable, 50 necessary that we
should establish q sufficient number
0f state normal schools to provide
every rural school with a profession
ally trained teacher, even if we have
~ take the necessary money to do
this from the state common school
fund. In the end this would be bet
ter policy Of public economy than our
present short-sghted policy which is
expensive and which sorely neglects
our rural schools in the matter Of
properly. trained teachers. This is evil
dent from the fact that there are over
100000 juvenile teachers teaching In
the rural schools Of our country at
this time with less than high school
education and no professional train
ing.
The only way to have better rural
schools is to have better rural teach
ers- For as is the teacher, so is the
school. The only way to have better
teachers Is to provide better oppor-
tunities for their preparation, and re-
quire by law all who aspire to teach
to make due preparation. and then
pay the teacher a. salary commensur-
ate with the service rendered. IF we
reduce the wages Of the school teach
er we must raise those OF the recruit
/ ing sergeant"
I, We need better qualified men and
! women in many of our state normal
schools, colleges, and universities to
teach our prospective teachers. So
believed Colonel Parker, the great
] teacher of teachers who said:
1.-THE day has come when steps
4 should be taken to see that no college
or university graduate is ever allow
/ ed to take upon himself the sacred
office Of teacher without at least two
4 years professional training in a
school or college fully equipped for
that purpose.
What more priceless legacy can
we leave to the millions yet to be than
to make it possible for our spiritual
descendants to be SO educated and SO
trained that they will, under God, eff
fectually work out the destiny Of this
mighty continent, and through 1t of
all humanity"
It seems fitting and proper to re-
view at this time the evolution of the
Misunderstanding idea in both Europe
and America for the reason that many
state legislatures will wrestle with
this problem during the early part of
1917. Talk Four" will be devoted
to Europe and several succeeding
talks on this subject to America.
PRINCES AS AVIATORS
Amstarda Tan 1S-Ancord;oo -