Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1921-04-23
CHERRY WANTS FOUR
YEAR NORMAL COURSE
President of Western Normal
Says Too Many Incompetent
Teachers Are Turned Out
(By Associated Press)

{ plea for the extension Of the
course of stud y in normal schools
, from the present two-year teach
er training program to a full four
r year course, was made here by
, DIR. H. H. Cherry, president of the
Western Kentucky State Normal
School, in an address before the
Kentucky Educational Associa-
ton. He declared that education
Ial thinkers are fast accepting the
position that just as much schol-
!arship and superior training is de
manded for successful teaching
in the elementary grades as in
1.-THE secondardy schools.
Raising the standard Of nor
NAL schools, he said, would re-
quirc a gradual evolution of sew
eral years. DIR. Cherry spoke on
Educational Leadership"
A distressing number" Of in
competent young teachers are an
,swering the call for trained edu-
cational leadership, Dir. Cherry
itold his hearers. They seem to
be more interested in getting an
education through quick superb
Ecial reviews. thereby getting a
certificate that will enable them
ITO secure position paying SIS or
500 a month when they are in
having democracy's vision of ser
vice and the teachers preparation
and conviction" =" The rush to Sc
cure certificates before the new
law raising professional standards
goes into effect, he said, is unprec-
cdented. Most Of these youngj
teachers, he asserted, will not
continue their education beyond
acquiring a two or four year GER
tilicate and will leave the profes-
sion. when their certificates cx-
ipire.
Telling of county superin-
! !tendent who recently told him
that he had Is schools and l25I
applications, DR.. Cherry said that
Il believe there is more danger in
Having too many teachers I'M
Western Kentucky than there isl
in not having enough. We areI
certain to have a surplus of
teachers with the minimum quail |
fications and we are equally Ger
tain to have a big shortage Of i'll |
istructors for those positions that
demand higher preparation, a
, teacher eliminating campaign as
we'll as teacher recruiting cam
paign is necessary, he said, adding
that the way should be made |
easy for the competent teacher
to remain in the profession and
easy for the incompetent to get
out.
The summer schools to be con.
Quoted for training teachers thl:
year will not be Gran" schools
he said, but will be centers Of
professional inspiration and
academic advancement"
One of the greatest needs, ac-
cording to the speaker, is for 4 !
just salary schedule with the
maximum as much as 100 per cent
above the minimum. Unjust and
undenocratic salary schedules
have driven much promising ma
terial out of the profession, he
said.
Some of the schools of Ken
tucky according to Dir. Cherry
are already dust and ashes in the
hands of dead teachers" In some
instances consultations have
been followed by reaction and dis
appointment because of incompe-
tent leadership. Progressive leg
lislation and courses of study
have been made inefficient be
icause Of lack of efficient teachers.
He declared that it might be inI
THE interest of education i'll the
state to temporarily stop school
consolidations, to refuse to build
another high school and tempo
rarily close the school houses iii
It'll competent teachers can be OBJ
tained.
"If the teaching profession
fails. he said, every educational
effort will fail. 1t is extremely
dangerous to push school i'm
lprovement too far ahead of effici-
Ient school leadership. He had
better continue the school in the
old dilapidated school house for a
few years longer than to erect
the wrong kind of a building.
There are school houses in Ken
Itucky not month old that arc
now behind fpresent day educa
tional progress. We had better
let the community sleep a little
longer unless we are in position
to aid it when we wake it up"
There are courses OF study, he
said, ''that are dead and buried
! three feet under the Ground and