Teaching as a Profession.

MRS. J. E. WILLIAMS.

Read before the Glenn County Institute, October 28, 1901.

Many years ago, when I knew a great deal more than I now know abouteverything, especially school teaching, I heard this subject discussed at a teachers' institute in Colusa by a very great man from San Francisco (for this was before Berkeley had professors to loan), who declared teaching was not, and never could be, classed with the professions, because men used the calling as a stepping stone to law and medicine, while the women taught only until they had earned enough money to buy their trousseau, when they left the schoolroom to embark on the matrimonial sea - and he said this as tho it were not a woman's right to marry.

The men didn't mind what he said, but we women were furious; for one of the teachers was married, another was engaged, while the rest of us were only waiting for an opportunity to be so. After returning from institute, we held an indignation meeting, and, after exhausting all the adjectives without fihding one adequate to the occasion, we further relieved our feelings by drawing the great man's picture on the wall and battering it with our shoes. From that time on I had never considered teaching as one of the professions, so you may be able to appreciate my feelings when commanded by our superintendent to talk about something that did not exist.

Again and again I said, "What shall I say?" At length my eyes rested upon the dictionary. "I will see what Webster says about it," thought I, and turning to the right place I read: "profession -a pretense." Teaching as a "pretense" did not sound pleasant, so I looked further and found this: "profession - the occupation, if not mechanical, to which one devotes himself, the business one professes to understand and to follow for subsistence." "Ah, surely, then," thought I, "teaching is a profession." But the following caused my heart to sink within me: "the three learned professions are theology, law, and medicine."

It is very evident from this that up to the time of Webster, teaching was not called a profession. Nevertheless, long ages before Webster or the great man from San Francisco, there came to earth a perfect Child, who grew to manhood, the only perfect man Earth ever knew. He chose the vocation of teaching because of its unlimited possibilities for good to humanity. He sacrificed His life for the principles He held to be true.

Then who shall say that teaching is not the noblest calling in which the powers of man can be engaged? In importance, ours stands at the head of all professions. In our hands the clay becomes a living, thinking soul; from chaos comes order; the future men and women are formed; principles of citizenship are instilled.

Fellow-teachers, your earnest, anxious faces tell me that you feel the responsibility of your positions and the importance of cultivating in ourselves such traits as we wish to perpetuate. Our high ideals may never be realized, but may be approximated each day.

In your faces I read, too, the traces of conflicts in which you have well nigh lost courage; but these are the opportunities for soul growth and should cause but a passing sigh. There are difficulties to be encountered in all the walks of life, not more in ours than in others. Then let us stand up like true women and brave men and unflinchingly look fate in the face, feeling that we are each a spark of Divinity, and that our efforts are united with the efforts of the All-Wise, with Whom we are co-workers and partners in the great plan; and may the lessons we teach live in the memories of our pupils, and, like those of the great Teacher of mankind, go down the ages making the world better for our having lived.

Official.

H. T. GAGE, President of the Board

THOMAS J. KIRK, Secretary of the Board.

.Governor, Sacramento. Superintendent Public Instruction, Sacramento. President University of California, Berkeley.

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

BENJAMIN IDE WHEELER

MORRIS ELMER DAILEY.

E. T. PIERCE..

C. C. VAN LIEW

FLETCHER B. DRESSLAR, Prof. of Theory and Practice of Education, University of Cal., Berkeley.

SAMUEL T. BLACK

FREDERIC BURK..

President State Normal School, San Jose.

. President State Normal School, Los Angeles. President State Normal School, Chico. .President State Normal School, San Diego. . President State Normal School, San Francisco

SACRAMENTO, October 24, 1901. County Superintendent Baldwin submitted to District Attorney Hon. T. L. Lewis of San Diego County, the following three questions:

I. "Have County Boards of Education power to grant permanent certificates on primary certificates?"

2. "Do certificates of the primary grade become permanent upon second renewal?" 3. "Do primary certificates granted and renewed the second time and teaching on same five years prior to July 1st, 1901, and still in force and effect, become permanent by the late enactment of State Legislature, without action of the County Board of Education?"

Attorney Lewis in his written opinion, copy of which has been courteously sent to the State office, shows that he devoted much thought and time to the entire law respecting certification of teachers. He reached conclusions which in my judgment are the correct interpretation of the law: The first question was answered in the affirmative, and the second and third in the negative.

It is contrary to the spirit, if not to the letter, of the law for teachers and boards of education to extend the grammar school work into what is clearly the domain of the high school. By so doing they infringe upon the interest and right of the primary and grammar schools. It is no serious difficulty to determine what in general constitutes the common or elementary school course. The subjects or studies to be pursued in the primary and grammar schools are restricted to those mentioned in section 1665 of the Political Code.

Pupils that have completed the course of the grammar school may return to school and review, but may not lawfully in such schools take up higher branches.

By the provisions of Section 1712 of the Political Code, all orders by boards of school trustees for books or apparatus must first be submitted to and approved by the County Superintendent of Schools before such books or apparatus can lawfully be purchased. In case this is not done the County

Superintendent may withhold his requisition against the funds of the district, notwithstanding the trustees may have given an agent an order for such books or apparatus.

**

There is no law authorizing the use of public school funds for the transportation of pupils to and from school. Such a measure has been frequently discussed in educational gatherings recently, but no law has been passed touching the matter.

A child prepared by private instruction to enter from the 5th to the 6th grade of the public schools should be admitted to such 6th grade as tho it had been regularly prepared in the public school. A child should be assigned to a grade in school to which its attainments entitle it. Fitness and test for promotion, however, are to be determined by the teacher or by the teacher and the county board together, as the rules of the county board may prescribe. It would be an unwarranted and arbitrary rule to say that a pupil should not be promoted from one grade to another because the preparation for advancement was not made in the public school. Public schools are open to the admission of all children between the ages of six and twenty-one years that reside in the district, except foreign born Mongolians.

AN IMPORTANT SUPREME COURT DECISION.

STOCKTON SCHOOL DISTRICT OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY,

VS.

Plaintiff and Respondent,

E. B. WRIGHT, as County Superintendent of Common Schools of
San Joaquin County,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPORTIONMENT OF FUNDS

SCHOOLS CONSTRUCTION OF SECTION 1858, POL. C.The words "average daily attendance," used in subdivision 4 of Section 1858 of the Political Code, in regard to apportionment of funds, means average daily attendance in the common schools of the district, and does not include the high schools and evening schools. All State and county school moneys are intended to be used exclusively for the support of the primary and grammar district schools.

Appeal from the Superior Court of San Joaquin County. - Joseph H. Budd, Judge. For Appellant, A. H. Ashley.

For Respondent, Ed. R. Thompson and J. G. Swinnerton.

This appeal is from a judgment awarding plaintiff a writ of mandate against defendant, in his official capacity, commanding him to apportion to plaintiff $4630.13 of public school moneys.

A demurrer was filed to the petition and upon its being overruled defendant answered, setting forth facts, which are practically conceded to be true. As the facts are substantially agreed upon, it will not be necessary to pass upon the ruling on the demurrer.

Plaintiff is a school district of the county of San Joaquin, and defendant is the County Superintendent of Common Schools in said county.

The amount of money sought to be apportioned - and which was directed to be apportioned by the judgment-is school money raised by state and county school taxes and is not money raised by special or high school taxes. It is claimed that it is the duty of defendant in his official capacity, to apportion the money to plaintiff under sub. 4 of Sec. 1858 of the Political Code, which provides that all school money remaining on hand after certain apportionments "must be apportioned to the several districts in proportion to the average daily attendance in each district during the preceding school year." The question is as to the meaning of the words "average daily attendance." Do they mean the average daily attendance in all the schools including the high school and evening schools? It is necessary to consider other sections and provisions of the Code, and of the Constitution, so that the intent of the legislature may be ascertained.

It is provided in Art. IX, sec. 5 of the Constitution that the "Legislature shall provide for a system of common schools, by which a free school shall be kept up and supported in each district at least six months in each year, after the first year in which a school has been established." Section 6 of the same article provides: "The public school system shall include primary and grammar schools, and such high schools, evening schools, normal schools, and technical schools as may be established by the Legislature or by municipal or District authority; but the entire revenue derived from the State School Fund, and the State school tax, shall be applied exclusively to the support of primary and grammar schools." The provisions of the Political Code follow in this respect the constitutional provisions. It is conceded by plaintiff that the entire revenue derived from the State school tax must be applied exclusively to the support of primary and grammar schools, and that none of the money here sought to be apportioned, can be used for the support of the high school or the evening schools of said district.

Provision is made, in the various sections of the Political Code, for the formation of school districts in the several counties and cities and counties of the State. It is made the duty of the County Superintendent to apportion the school moneys to each school district as provided in section eighteen hundred and fifty-eight at least four times a year. If, in any district, there has been an average daily attendance of only five, or less, during the whole school year, the Superintendent shall suspend the district and report such fact to the Board of Supervisors. Pol. Code, sec. 1543. It is the duty of the Census Marshal of each district to take annually a census of all children under seventeen years of age, who were residents of the district on the 15th day of April, preceding the taking of the census. This census must include all children who are absent attending institutions of learning, and whose parents or guardians are residents of the district; the children of Indian parents, who pay taxes, and who are not living in the tribal relation, orphan children absent from the district whose guardians reside in the district, and native born Chinese children. Pol. Code, secs. 1634-37.

This census is the basis for the apportionment of public school moneys to the various districts. All children who are residents of the district must be counted, even if absent attending some other school. All schools must be open for the admission of all children between six and twenty-one years of age residing in the district, and must, unless otherwise provided by law, be divided into primary and grammar grades. Id., Secs. 1622-23. All State school moneys, apportioned by the Superintendent of public instruction, must be apportioned to the several counties in proportion to the number of school census children between the ages of five and seventeen years, as shown by the returns of the school census marshals of the preceding school year. Pol. Code, sec. 1858. After the money is so apportioned to the several counties by the Superintendent of public instruction it is provided that the school superintendent in each county must apportion all State and county moneys as follows:

"First. He must ascertain the number of teachers each district is entitled to, by calculating one teacher for every seventy school census children, or fraction thereof not less than twenty school census children, as shown by the next preceding school census; provided, that all children in any asylum, and not attending the public schools, of whom the authorities of said asylum are the guardians, shall not be included in making the estimate of the number of teachers to which the district in which the asylum is located is entitled

"Second. He must ascertain the total number of teachers for the county, by adding together the number of teachers assigned to the several districts.

"Third. Five hundred dollars shall be apportioned to each district for every teacher assigned to it; provided, that to districts having ten and less than twenty school census children, shall be apportioned four hundred dollars; provided further, that to districts having over seventy school census children and a fraction of less than twenty, there shall be apportioned twenty dollars for each census child in said district.

"Fourth. All school moneys remaining on hand after apportioning to the districts the moneys provided for in subdivision three of this section must be apportioned to the several school districts in proportion to the average daily attendance in each district during the preceding school year. Census children, wherever mentioned in this chapter, shall be construed to mean those between the ages of five and seventeen years." Pol. Code, sec. 1858.

It will be noted that, under subdivision four of said section, the entire apportionment by the State Superintendent to the counties, and by the County Superintendent to the district, refers to census children as those between the ages of five and seventeen years. Each county gets its share of the State school moneys by counting the census children between the ages of five and seventeen years, whether such children are absent from the county attending other institutions of learning or not. So each district gets its share of the State and county school moneys, under the first, second, and third subdivisions of the section, by reference to the census children, or fraction thereof, whether such children are absent from the district attending other schools or not. It is therefore evident that it is the purpose of the law that all state and county school moneys shall be used exclusively for the support of the primary and grammar district schools. The proper proportionate amount for each census child of the district is thus intended to be given upon a just representation. Then the remaining moneys on hand must go to the several districts "in proportion to the average daily attendance in each district for the preceding school year." "Each district" refers to the district schools to the primary and grammar schools. whole object and intent of the several sections was to provide for the use of the public school moneys in the primary and grammar district schools.

The

The average daily attendance, upon the district school in each district, was thought to be a just basis upon which to apportion the remaining moneys. It was not intended to include the average daily attendance in a high school or evening school which was not entitled to any of such school moneys. This would be representation without taxation. If no part of the moneys can be used for such high school, or other institution of learning in the district outside the primary and grammar schools, why should such average daily attendance be counted? It can readily be seen that two adjoining districts of a county might have precisely the same average daily attendance upon the primary and grammar schools of each district; in one district there might be high schools and evening schools with three times as great an average daily attendance as the district school. Under respondent's condition the district, with such high school and evening schools located therein, would receive four times as much money as the other district. This money would have to be used for the primary and grammar schools of the district, thus giving each school child in the fortunate district four times as much money for his education as the less fortunate child in the other district would receive. The Legislature never contemplated any such absurd result. While it is not the business of the court to make a statute, yet in the interpretation thereof it must look at the context and the result that would follow in order to arrive at the intent. A literal construction will not always obtain, particularly when such construction leads to an absurdity. People vs. Craycroft, 111 Cal.

544.

We advise that the judgment be reversed and the court below directed to dismiss the proceedings.

We concur:

HAYNES, C.

GRAY, C.

COOPER, C.

For the reasons given in the foregoing opinion the judgment is reversed and the court below directed to dismiss the proceedings.

GAROUTTE, J. VAN DYKE, J. HARRISON, J.

THOMAS J. KIRK, Supt. Public Instruction.