Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1920-04-27
Tuesday Afternoon April ~ 1920

lfuenced, and school officers who had
suffered in power or pocket.
The new law reduces, therefore, one
hundred certifcating agencies to one
agency and guarantees that a given
certificate shall represent the same
qualifications everywhere in the state
The advantage of this law to teachers
and employing agencies is easy to be
seen. If anyone objects that the law
takes power out of the hands of the
local boards, the answer is that il
does; but our school system is STATE
system not a county system. 1t is
financed by the state, governed by
Estate laws, suprintendended by state
officer, legislated for by state Legis
lature, the questions for teachers
examinations are prepared by State
Board of Examiners; and half the
certificates granted by the said Board
of Examiners. The Certifcation laws
Of the past have been inconsistent
with the State School System; the
new law is wholly consistent and in
line with modern thought. l can con-
celve OF no intelligent persons desir-
ing to go back to the old, discarded
system except the two types discov-
cred in West Virginia; namely, teach
ers who can not pass an examination
on their own merits, and people who
want to use the schools for their
private and personal profit. I predict
for them that those two classes will
get busy and make quite lot of
noise; but further predict that they
Will never dare urge the real reason
for their opposition.
In addition to securing uniformity
OF scholarship evidenced by given
certificate throughout the state, the
new law will secure a higher stand
ard Of scholarship in the common
branches, because teachers will make
more thorough preparation when
preparing for IN examination to be
graded by a competent, trained and eff
iicient board of examiner, board that
can not be influenced by the various
methods employed in so MANY cOun-
ties; methods of which it is probably
better that l shall not speak. And it il
highly desirable that the teachers q
the elementary schools have a broad.
er mastery Of these SO called common
branches; for, one of the common
causes of so many pupils quitting
school in the sixth grade is the power
t. Of education in the average teacher
Being only eighth grade scholars
themselves they can offer little to in
spire and. to hold the students SO Close
to thGm in scholarship. As said be
fore, the very fact that the; applicant
knows his papers will be sent. tc
Frankfort to be graded by trained
men and women who will give justice
and no more viii tend toward a more
thorough mastery of subject matter or
the part of the teacher. I have seer
many cases il my time where the
reputation Of an examining board fol
strictness has put scores Of teacher:
into school. Two c;.ses | clearly re-
call. In my homo county of Pike when
L was beginning teacher, a super
intendent came into my Office who was
not a scholar man. He secured two
competent examiners, directed them |
TO grade fairly but justly, notified Tho /
teachers that they would have to gt |
to school. There was weeping and |
wailing and gnashing Of teeth, but |
we went to school-the whole county |
of US. 1t was good for US, good for the |
schools. Whatever standard that may
be set, if it be reasonable, the teach |
ers will reach it. The other case was
Judge w. A. Wickliffe of Greenville,
Ky. His experience was practically |
the same as that of Mr.. Cline of Pike |
county. Under the system that is
passing, it was brave superintendent
who would jeopardize his future elect
ion or prefernent, jeopardise his
standing with his friends and relatives
and resist the requests, demand, and
tears of those who had elected him OF
brought to him tales of woe. No bet
ter thing has been done in recent
years to raise the standard of teach
ers than to take the whole matter out
of the hands of the county superin-
tendents, better for him, better for
the applicants, better for the schools,
better for the state.
In the third place, the new law
guarantees high school education of
the teachers of the future. In the
past the great majority of teachers
have had only 7th or 9Th grade
2 education: the result has been that, in
J, education, Kentucky has been and is g
1 fifth or sixth grade state. There are
] now hundreds of high schools in the
n state; and there is no valid reason