, and of
women, slightly more than two years. This is to say that our rural
schools are taught by those who have had only about half of a high
school course.

It is evident, therefore, that the rural teacher cannot meet the
requirement urged above in the way of preparation. He does not know his
subject-matter. Not only has he not gone far enough in his education to
have a substantial foundation, breadth of view, and mental perspective,
but he frequently lacks in the simplest rudiments of the immediate
subject-matter which he is supposed to teach. The examination papers
written by applicants for certificates to begin rural school teaching
often betray a woful ignorance of the most fundamental knowledge.
Inability to spell, punctuate, or effectively use the English language
is common. The most elementary scientific truths are frequently unknown.
A connected view of our nation's history and knowledge of current events
are not always possessed. The great world of literature is too often a
closed book. And not seldom the simple relations of arithmetical number
are beyond the grasp of the applicant. In short, our rural schools, as
they average, require no adequate preparation of the teacher, and do not
represent as much education in their teaching force as that needed by
the intelligent farmer, merchant, or tradesman.

The rural teacher does not know the child. But little more than children
themselves, and with little chance for observation or for experience in
life, it would be strange if they did. They have had no opportunity for
professional study, and psychology and the science of education are
unknown to them. The attempts made to remedy this fatal weakness by the
desultory reading of a volume or two in a voluntary reading-circle
course do not serve the purpose. The teacher needs a thorough course of
instruction in general and applied psychology, under the tutelage of an
enthusiastic expert who not only knows his subject, but also understands
the problems of the teacher.

The rural teacher does not know the technique of the schoolroom. The
organizing of a school, the proper classification of pupils, the
assignment of studies, the arrangement of a program of studies and
recitation, the applications of suitable regulations and rules for the
running of the school, are all matters requiring expert knowledge and
skill. Yet the rural teacher has to undertake them without instruction
in their principles and without superviso