The Covington leader. (Covington, Tenn.) 18??-current, 1920-08-12

money and trained teachers are
the two greatest needs of the public
school system now" was the state
ment with which P P Claxton, Com
missioner of Education, in an adj
dress in Nashville recently, summed
up the educational situation in Ten
nessee and elsewhere.
at is foolish to levy taxes for
schools and then use the money to
pay poorly educated, unqualified
teachers" Mr. Claxton continued. /
do not long to increase the taxes
which l, as a citizen, have to pay,
but do want to increase what those
taxes will buy"
Commissioner Claxton explained
that people in Tennessee and other
Southern States are not giving
enough money to education to make
what they do give bring useful re-
suits. During the past year, he said,
1000 teachers failed on elementary
examinations, while never more than
one-third of the public school teachers
throughout the country have been
adequately prepared.
Tennessee State Normal Schools
are putting out now only 10 per
cent Of the number of trained teach
ers needed, Commissioner Claxton
stated, and unlil the problem of
furnishing trained teachers can be
solved, there will be in his opinion,
no sufficient progress in education.
He was of the belief that each Of the
present State Normal Schools should
have $150,000 a year instead Of the
$4,000 which they annually receive.
People would readily pay double
the money they are now paying for
schools, Mr.. Claxton thought, if they
could only secure in their communi-
ties as teachers men and women who
were wide-a awake, well trained in
their profession, resourceful and
equipped to be real, contributing
citizens, instead Of having SO many
half 1rained, inexperienced and often
inefficient persons, frequently too
young. who would be often only tenn
porarily members Of the profession.
The citizens conference on educa-
ton recently held at Monteagle,
according to Commissioner Claxton,
should be the beginning Of a tremen-
dous step forward for Tennessee in
mat +ers Of education.
It's objecv, as stated by Commits
sioner Claxton, is ito give the people
Of the State of Tennessee. who own,
pay for, and use the schools, an OPP
portunity to confer on the needed
improvements, the methods Of i'm
provements and the means of bring
ing them about"
Tennessee's greatest need today
is well-traineG teachers in we'll
equipped schools, declared Prof. j.
B. Brown, rural school agent of the
State Department Of Education, in
his address to the Southern Citizens
Conference recently held at Mont
eagle under the United States Bureau
of Education.
In 1918, Prof. Brown declared,
over 1000 temporary certificates
were issued to Tennessee teachers.
In 1919 only 1900 temporary GER
tificates in order that the schools of
their communities may be opened.
It is time, Prof. Brown stated, for
people Of the Safe Of Tennessee to
realize that good schools depend not
only on good salaries for teachers and
equipment, but also on well qualified
men and women of the highest char
acter. Good salaries, adequate equip
ment and community interest are es-
sentials which must be provided he
declared, but even high salaries in
some places are failing to bring back
to the schools the men and women
who have had to enter some other
profession in order to earn a liveli-
hood.
Of the 6,342 schools in Tennessee,
Prof. Brown said, there are 5000 one
teacher schools. 1t is becoming in
creasingly difficult, according to
statements from educators in Tonnes
see and in other States alike, to Sc
cure men or women who are willing
to 20 back into the little one-room
school and ATTEMPT to teach with the
poor Aools and the poor salaries Of
fered them.
Friday and Saturday, the two con-
GLIDING days of the conference, were
given over entirely to the discussion
Of school problems in Tennessee.
Large delegations Of citizens from all
parts of the S ate were present to
take part in the conference and to
plan for some way to assure Tonnes
see children adequate schooling dur
ing the coming school year,
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