TRAINING FOR TEACHERS

Shall the profession of teaching be a vocation demanding special training or shall it be made the dumping ground for men who merely follow the line of least resistance? Governor Walsh, in his address to the Massachusetts Teachers' Association yesterday, indicated the answer: "Professional training for high school teaching seems to me to be essential."

The bigness of the task of teaching makes it all the more essential that prospective teachers should plan their college course definitely with the view of making this their life-work. Misfits in business are bad enough; undeniably worse are misfits in the teaching profession. The difference is that between making money and making men.

With the opportunities now offered by our universities, there is no reason why any man should enter the teaching profession half-prepared. Courses in education and pedagogy offer an opportunity for intensive training. And teaching is so important that it may well demand advanced study for a year or two after graduation from college.

"Those who can, do; and those who can't, teach," says Bernard Shaw. It is the duty of the individual teacher to see to it that he is not one of those who can't teach.