The Schoolmaster; His Past, His Present, and His Future

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: hence the necessity for present and immediate action. Every upright teacher, conscious of the proper discharge of his duty, must rejoice that means are being adopted to test the efficiency of his work, and, by distinguishing between good and bad teaching, to force something like order and system on the whole of the profession. There is another cause for congratulation in the tests now applied?the earnest teacher will be able to measure his own success, and direct his efforts for the future accordingly. First in order comes the Royal College of Preceptors, the members of which were the first to prepare and carry out a plan for the examination of pupils of middle class schools, and the granting of certificates of different degrees, intended to act as a stimulus to the exertions of both teachers and pupils. These certificates are admirably classed with a view to real usefulness. Being of several kinds, they are fitted to act on, and apply to, the immense variety of schools connected with the middle classes, where the variety is so great, and the prospects of the pupils so various, that it appears almost impossible to bring a very large proportion of the whole to one test. First in order there is the Commercial Test, which comprises but few elementary subjects, such as the youth who simply needs what is called a plain English education must acquire. Next in order comes the third class certificate, taking, with the subjects before named, Latin, Algebra, and Practical Geometry, intended for those who ascend a little higher in thescale. Next is the second class, which offers fair scope to the elder pupils of our best schools, and, as the range of subjects is pretty large, for boys especially, no one can affirm that there is not room for the display of superior talent and acquire...