Little did I think, during my college days, that I should ever become a
teacher. It would have made me unpopular to have said so, even if I had
had any designs in that direction. My college mates, who were planning
to be lawyers, engineers, or commercial men of prominence, considered
teaching creditable only as a "fill in job." I joined them in their
happy aspirations and tried to think I was preparing for something. Just
what that "something" was, I was unable to say.
Finally the day of graduation arrived. I was ready to go out into the
world with a college diploma, but was unprepared for a definite
position. My false aspirations had failed, and I was looking hopelessly
about for something to do that would save my pride. I must not accept
just a mere job, and to escape that humiliation I became a teacher. It
certainly was not a very creditable manner for a young man to enter a
profession, to say nothing of the doubtful compliment of such an entry
to the teaching profession. Such a confession, however, could be made by
many of my associates of fifteen years ago.
The situation that confronted me after deciding to become a teacher
_temporarily_, and two ways of meeting it, can be illustrated by the
experiences of two young men who entered the teaching profession under
similar conditions.
A few years ago I made a trip to a neighboring state to visit a friend
who was engaged in farming. On a sunny July morning I arrived in an
enterprising village a few miles from his home. While sitting on the
porch of the hotel waiting for my friend, I met a man whom I had known
years before. He recognized me. After stating that he was president of
the local board of education, he invited me to go out to their school
building, which was being remodeled.
One of the first rooms that we visited was the study hall. We found the
janitor busily engaged in arranging the seats. He said he didn't know
just which way the desks should face, as no one had told him, but he
remembered that the pupils needed plenty of light, so he was facing the
desks toward the side of the room which had the most windows.
We then went to a room set apart for manual training work. There was one
bench in evidence and Mr. ---- told me that the board had not decided on
the kind of benches or tools to buy, as the superintendent had not said
in what grades the manual training work would be offered. "In fact," he
said, "the superintendent forgot to tell us anything about the building
equipment before he left for his vacation."
We next visited a room which, he explained, might be used for a
gymnasium; but, since the superintendent had made no plans for using it,
they were leaving it unfinished.
We looked through some of the grade rooms which had been in use for
years. The seating was in bad condition, as little or no care had been
taken to keep the proper distance between the desks and the seats. Some
of the third grade seats were out of alignment at least four inches. I
pointed out the irregular distances between the seats and the desks and
asked my guide if it were due to the different sizes of the children. He
said, "I think so." I made no comment, as remarks were unnecessary. As
we left the building he said, "I guess our superintendent is more
interested in something else than he is in his job here." This statement
proved true.
Now for the second young man I have in mind. At one time it was
customary for me to represent the state superintendent's office at
county school board meetings that were held during the summer months in
the different parts of one of the leading middle western states. On this
particular trip, I was forced to stop over in a small town for about two
hours, in order to make connection with the train that would take me to
my destination. I was now really interested in education and thought it
would be well to visit the school building. The first thing to attract
my attention was the well-kept lawn, with flower beds along the walk
that led from the street to the building. This was somewhat unusual for
a school yard. I noticed that the front door was open, and entered the
building.
After looking through the well-kept lower rooms, I ascended the stairs
to see the high school portion of the building, which contained eight
rooms. Upon reaching the second story landing, I heard some hammering in
one of the rooms and proceeded to locate it. I soon found myself
confronted by a young man about twenty-five years of age, whose face
gave the expression of accomplishment. He enthusiastically told me that
he was interested in the agricultural conditions in the surrounding
districts, and was preparing boxes and equipment to offer a course in
agriculture to the boys in and out of school who might wish to elect it.
"The course," he said, "will be offered outside of the regular school
hours, at a time that will be best suited to those who may wish to
attend. I hope to make it an evening class, and that the fathers may
also become interested." He told me about the short summer course he had
taken at the state agricultural school and the help that he expected to
get from the dean through booklets and suggestive lessons.
He then invited me to go through the rooms of the building. When we
reached the fifth and sixth grade room he said, "In this room I have
corrected a condition that caused the failure of one or more teachers.
When I was elected here a year ago, the president of the board told me
they had been unfortunate for years in securing a satisfactory fifth and
sixth grade teacher. The teachers had all failed because they were
unable to maintain good order. I was asked to secure a teacher for the
room, which I did, after careful investigation. It was less than three
weeks, however, after the semester started, when the restlessness of the
pupils became apparent. I was at a loss to know the source of the
trouble until a bulletin from the state superintendent's office reached
me, which gave suggestions as to the care and equipment of school
grounds and buildings. I noticed in this bulletin that the correct
distance between No. 3 seats is twelve inches. I thought immediately of
our troublesome fifth and sixth grade room. It took me but a few moments
to discover that the distances between the seats in this room ranged
from twelve to fifteen inches. I observed how the pupils were forced to
sit on the edges of the seats in order to work at the desks and soon
became tired and restless. The desks were changed immediately and the
"teacher problem" in this room was solved. That experience was a lesson
to me, and since then I have given much time and attention to making the
building attractive and comfortable for the teachers and pupils." It was
quite evident, as we went from room to room, that he had put the lesson
into practice.
I shall never forget that young man. Three years later he was at the
head of one of the largest consolidated high schools in the state, and
when I met him at the meeting of the Department of Superintendence in
Detroit in 1916 he told me that he had recently been appointed to take
charge of one of the state agricultural schools.
One man had made school teaching a _job_; the other had made it a
_profession_.