4i 6 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



encourage the development of this characteristic in children. It is a 

 fact, however, that teachers even of the highest scholastic training, with 

 extensive opportunities of forming judgments of their own, are unduly 

 impressed by the opinions of persons in authority. With the leaven 

 of intellectual capacity in the body of teachers as it is to-da3 r , there 

 might develop in the profession some general desire to study and un- 

 derstand the social and political conditions of life in this country and 

 elsewhere, and thus to see the problem of how to make the school con- 

 tribute to human progress — all this might happen if self-reliance and 

 independence of thought were permitted to develop in our military 

 system of school administration. There is probably no school super- 

 intendent in the country who would not urge his teachers to read and 

 contribute from their thought to the solution of academic problems. 

 He would welcome independence of thought as long as it is purely 

 academic. But it is a noteworthy fact that in general the opinions 

 of teachers on questions of school administration with local reference 

 are not wanted. If the opinions expressed happen to be in opposition 

 to those held by the " government," the teacher is guilty of " insubordi- 

 nation." Insubordination is anathema pronounced by principals, 

 school superintendents or boards of education against offending teachers 

 with such accompaniments of tyranny that it is small wonder that 

 teachers are most anxious to inquire what their superiors want them 

 to think or want. The writer was once informed by a superintendent 

 of schools of extensive reputation that in his opinion a teacher who 

 complained of the conduct of a superior officer should be punished for 

 so doing, no matter whether the complaint was based on facts or not. 

 Under those circumstances moral courage would seem to approach 

 foolhardiness. 



In large communities where the individual teacher is unknown and 

 ignored, and the school government, only, makes representations to 

 the people, the security of the teacher resides in occasional state and 

 municipal laws designed to protect him from the machinations of 

 political parties, and in his ability to keep his mouth shut and support 

 the administration. His advancement to the highest positions depends 

 not on the possession of unusual ability, but on his capacity to " mix " 

 and make fortunate acquaintances among the officially powerful. In 

 one of the largest cities of this country, it is common among men who 

 are ambitious to hold high positions in the local educational system 

 to make it a point to belong to as many dining organizations of educa- 

 tional officials as possible, to attend public installations of principals, 

 leaving their classes to be cared for by the stay-at-homes, and to put 

 officials of influence under lasting obligations to them by promoting 

 subscriptions for the purchase of expensive presents, under the guise 



