XH PROCEEDINGS. 



most advanced educationists. That it is frequently criticised arises from 

 the fact that there are in any community very few persons possessed of 

 sufficient knowledge of the science and history of education and at the 

 same time of the requirements of modern civilization to enable them 

 to jndge intelligently, and further, from the fact that but few of our 

 teachers are possessed of the necessary professional qualifications to adapt 

 themselves and their work to the various conditions and circumstances. 



To quote from Dr. Rice : " That the mass of our teachers are 

 incompetent for any very high quality of science-teaching is a truth as 

 unquestionable as melancholy." But it is not the fault of the teachers 

 that they are not prepared for their work. Out of 2,485 teachers we 

 have 1,750 who receive less than $200 a year, out of which they have to 

 pay for board and clothing, buy educational books and magazines, and 

 purchase the apparatus and materials for science experiments in their 

 schools. With such miserably inadequate salaries, insecure tenure of 

 office, and no pensions, it is no wonder that the brightest young men 

 and women look upon teaching as but a stepping stone to other 

 positions that offer more substantial rewards with the promise of greater 

 permanency. 



All complaints against our course of study will cease when the 

 complainants are capable of appreciating Ihe worth of good teaching and 

 are willing to give the moral and pecuniary support that will call forth 

 the best talent and training. As the country advances in population.' 

 wealth and civilization the course of study will need to be modified, but 

 to foreshadow the coming changes at present would be unwise. 



3. What means must be used to secure for science the place which 

 it should have in the actual work of the schools and colleges ? 



^ (a.) Make it an imperative subject in the College Matriculation 

 Examination for B. A. 



The colleges, more than any other agency, determine the character 

 of the. education given in the schools below them. They train those 

 who become teachers of teachers. Legislators look to them for direction 

 in educational matters. The High Schools and Academies work slavishly 

 to produce the kind of students upon whom they are most likely to set 

 their seal of highest approval. They have in every learned body 

 throughout the land an ever increasing constituency moulded by their 

 teaching and adopting their ideals. If there is a general lack of 

 interest in science, or if it is badly taught, the colleges are largely 



