Little did I think, during my college days, that I should ever become a teacher. It would have made me unpopular to have said so, even if I had had any designs in that direction. My college mates, who were planning to be lawyers, engineers, or commercial men of prominence, considered teaching creditable only as a “fill in job.” I joined them in their happy aspirations and tried to think I was preparing for something. Just what that “something” was, I was unable to say.

Finally the day of graduation arrived. I was ready to go out into the world with a college diploma, but was unprepared for a definite position. My false aspirations had failed, and I was looking hopelessly about for something to do that would save my pride. I must not accept just a mere job, and to escape that humiliation I became a teacher. It certainly was not a very creditable manner for a young man to enter a profession, to say nothing of the doubtful compliment of such an entry to the teaching profession. Such a confession, however, could be made by many of my associates of fifteen years ago.

The situation that confronted me after deciding to become a teacher temporarily, and two ways of meeting it, can be illustrated by the experiences of two young men who entered the teaching profession under similar conditions.

A few years ago I made a trip to a neighboring state to visit a friend who was engaged in farming. On a sunny July morning I arrived in an enterprising village a few miles from his home. While sitting on the porch of the hotel waiting for my friend, I met a man whom I had known years before. He recognized me. After stating that he was president of the local board of education, he invited me to go out to their school building, which was being remodeled.

One of the first rooms that we visited was the study hall. We found the janitor busily engaged in arranging the seats. He said he didn’t know just which way the desks should face, as no one had told him, but he remembered that the pupils needed plenty of light, so he was facing the desks toward the side of the room which had the most windows.

We then went to a room set apart for manual training work. There was one bench in evidence and Mr. —— told me that the board had not decided on the kind of benches or tools to buy, as the superintendent had not said in what grades the manual training work would be offered. “In fact,” he said, “the superintendent forgot to tell us anything about the building equipment before he left for his vacation.”

We next visited a room which, he explained, might be used for a gymnasium; but, since the superintendent had made no plans for using it, they were leaving it unfinished.

We looked through some of the grade rooms which had been in use for years. The seating was in bad condition, as little or no care had been taken to keep the proper distance between the desks and the seats. Some of the third grade seats were out of alignment at least four inches. I pointed out the irregular distances between the seats and the desks and asked my guide if it were due to the different sizes of the children. He said, “I think so.” I made no comment, as remarks were unnecessary. As we left the building he said, “I guess our superintendent is more interested in something else than he is in his job here.” This statement proved true.

Now for the second young man I have in mind. At one time it was customary for me to represent the state superintendent’s office at county school board meetings that were held during the summer months in the different parts of one of the leading middle western states. On this particular trip, I was forced to stop over in a small town for about two hours, in order to make connection with the train that would take me to my destination. I was now really interested in education and thought it would be well to visit the school building. The first thing to attract my attention was the well-kept lawn, with flower beds along the walk that led from the street to the building. This was somewhat unusual for a school yard. I noticed that the front door was open, and entered the building.

After looking through the well-kept lower rooms, I ascended the stairs to see the high school portion of the building, which contained eight rooms. Upon reaching the second story landing, I heard some hammering in one of the rooms and proceeded to locate it. I soon found myself confronted by a young man about twenty-five years of age, whose face gave the expression of accomplishment. He enthusiastically told me that he was interested in the agricultural conditions in the surrounding districts, and was preparing boxes and equipment to offer a course in agriculture to the boys in and out of school who might wish to elect it. “The course,” he said, “will be offered outside of the regular school hours, at a time that will be best suited to those who may wish to attend. I hope to make it an evening class, and that the fathers may also become interested.” He told me about the short summer course he had taken at the state agricultural school and the help that he expected to get from the dean through booklets and suggestive lessons.

He then invited me to go through the rooms of the building. When we reached the fifth and sixth grade room he said, “In this room I have corrected a condition that caused the failure of one or more teachers. When I was elected here a year ago, the president of the board told me they had been unfortunate for years in securing a satisfactory fifth and sixth grade teacher. The teachers had all failed because they were unable to maintain good order. I was asked to secure a teacher for the room, which I did, after careful investigation. It was less than three weeks, however, after the semester started, when the restlessness of the pupils became apparent. I was at a loss to know the source of the trouble until a bulletin from the state superintendent’s office reached me, which gave suggestions as to the care and equipment of school grounds and buildings. I noticed in this bulletin that the correct distance between No. 3 seats is twelve inches. I thought immediately of our troublesome fifth and sixth grade room. It took me but a few moments to discover that the distances between the seats in this room ranged from twelve to fifteen inches. I observed how the pupils were forced to sit on the edges of the seats in order to work at the desks and soon became tired and restless. The desks were changed immediately and the ”teacher problem“ in this room was solved. That experience was a lesson to me, and since then I have given much time and attention to making the building attractive and comfortable for the teachers and pupils.” It was quite evident, as we went from room to room, that he had put the lesson into practice.

I shall never forget that young man. Three years later he was at the head of one of the largest consolidated high schools in the state, and when I met him at the meeting of the Department of Superintendence in Detroit in 1916 he told me that he had recently been appointed to take charge of one of the state agricultural schools.

One man had made school teaching a job; the other had made it a profession.