.■■ n •7-7 RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE Certification of Teachers IN COLLEGES AND NORMAL SCHOOLS COMPILED BY THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION LINCOLN, NEBRASKA V h ^":u-o RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE Certification of Teachers IN COLLEGES AND NORMAL SCHOOLS COMPILED BY THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION LINCOLN. NEBRASKA ^1^. ^ \^\<^ D. Of 0- .>o oci 10.10. For the guidance of candidates seeking any of the various certificates issued by Col- leges and Normal Schools, the state super- intendent and the committee for life pro- fessional certificates have compiled the fol- lowing extracts from the law, and the rules and conference reports governing the issu- ance of such certificates: EXTRACTS FROM THE LAW GOYERMNG IlfSTITUTIOXAL CERTIFICATION. Sec. la.— (11689)— Graduates University of Nebraslia or otlier incorporated schools of this state. — All graduates of the Univer- sity of Nebraska holding the degree of bachelor of arts or bachelor of science and in addition thereto certificates authorized by the board of regents showing that such graduates have completed the course of instruction prescribed by the regents and faculty of said university for the special training and instruction of teachers, and such other graduates as hold the same de- grees from any college or university duly incorporated under the laws of the state of Nebraska, who, in the judgment of the state superintendent of public instruction or the state board of examiners for life certificates, have completed in their respective institu- tions an equivalent of the courses in the University of Nebraska for said degrees prescribed by the regents and faculty of said university, shall be accredited as quall- —3— fied teachers within the meaning of the school law of this state; and all such gradu- ates shall have equal privileges, upon equal conditions, with graduates from any and all other educational institutions within this state under the school law thereof. Said colleges shall from year to year maintain entrance requirements, degree requirements and professional study Tequirements equiva- lent to those of the University of Nebraska. Each year the state superintendent of pub- lic instruction shall satisfy himself by per- sonal inspection or by the personal inspec- tion of the state board of examiners for life certificates that said requirements have been maintained before any certificate can be granted by such institution. Said cer- tificates are hereby declared to be valid as first grade state certificates entitling the holders to teach in the public schools of the state of Nebraska for a period of three years from their date. Said certificates shall be signed by the president and secretary of the board of trustees and the president or chancellor of the proper institution. Sec. lb.— (11690)— Same, confirmation of certificates. — After three years of actual teaching, the certificates of the graduates of the University of Nebraska or of any other college or university mentioned or described in section 11141, Cobbey's Anno- tated Statutes of Nebraska for 1903, shall be countersigned by the state superintend- ent of public instruction upon satisfactory evidence that the services of the applicant have been successful, making such cer- tificate good for life. Said counter-signature may be cancelled and its legal effect an- nulled by the state superintendent of public instruction upon satisfactory evidence of disqualification. Such certificates shall be subject to the provisions for lapsing set forth in section 11114c, Cobbey's Supple- ment 1905, to his Annotated Statutes of Ne- braska. Sec. 6. — (11691 — College and normal grad- uates. — When any college, university or normal school in this state shall have a course of study equal in extent and similar in subjects to the elementary course of the state normal schools, and shall have full and ample equipment and a faculty of in- structors fully competent to give and who are actually giving satisfactory instruction in the branches contained in said course and equivalent to that given in the state normal schools, any graduate from such course shall be granted by the board of trustees of the proper institution a second grade certificate of the same tenor and effect as the certificate to teach issued to the gradu- ates from the elementary course of the sitate normal schools. Said certificate shall be signed by the president of the board of trustees and the head of the department of education of the proper institution, and the state superintendent of public instruction. Sec. 7.— (11692)— Same. — When any col- lege, university or normal school in this state shall have a course of study equal in extent and similar in subjects to the higher course in the state normal schools, and shall have full and ample equipment and a faculty of instructors fully competent to —5— give and are actually giving satisfactory- instruction in the branches contained in said course and equivalent to that given in the state normal schools, the graduates from such course shall be granted by the board of trustees of the proper institution a first grade state certificate of the same tenor and effect as the certificate to teach issued to the graduates from the higher course of the state normal schools. Such certificate shall be signed by the president of the board of trustees and the head of the department of education of the proper institution and the state superintendent of public instruction. After three years of actual teaching the first grade state certifi- cates issued by any institution as set forth in this section may be countersigned by the state superintendent of public instruction upon satisfactory evidence that the services of the applicant have been successful, mak- ing such certificate good for life. Said counter-signature may be cancelled and its legal effect annulled by the state superin- tendent of public instruction upon satisfac- tory evidence of disqualification. Such cer- tificates shall be subject to the provisions for lapsing set forth in section 11114c, Cob- bey's Supplement (1905) to his Annotated Statutes of Nebraska. Sec. 8.— (11693)— Same defined.— The de- termination of the question as to what insti- tutions are entitled to the privileges set forth in sections 11141, 11143 and 11144, Cob- bey's Annotated Statutes of Nebraska for 1903, shall be in the hands of the state superintendent of public instruction or the —6— state board of examiners for life certificates. No educational Institutions shall be entitled to the privileges conferred by sections 11143 and 11144 unless the following requirements have been fulfilled: First. — Such institution shall be incorpo- rated under the laws of the state of Ne- braska. Second. — Said incorporation shall have at least fifty thousand dollars invested, or available for use in the school. Third. — Said incorporation shall employ not fewer than five teachers who shall put in full time in giving instruction in the branches of study required to be taught by the provisions of this act. Fourth. — The state superintendent of pub- lic instruction shall satisfy himself by per- sonal inspection or by the personal inspec- tion of the state board of examiners for life certificates that any institution desiring recognition under this act has fully complied with the requirements set forth herein and in sections 11143 and 11144 as hereby amended. Fifth. — The entrance requirements to the elementary and higher courses and the time required for the completion of said courses shall be the same as in the state normal schools. Each year the state superintend- ent of public instruction shall satisfy him- self by personal inspection or by the per- sonal inspection of the state board of ex- aminers for life certificates that said re- quirements have been met before any cer- tificate can be granted by such institution. Sec. 9. — Extent of -act. — The provisions of —7— this bill shall not apply to graduates of any school approved by the state superin- tendent who were graduated prior to the passage of this act. Sec. 15.— (11662)— Kegistration.— Each hold- er of an elementary state certificate, or a professional state certificate good for life shall, before he begins to teach, register the same in the office of the county superin- tendent of the county in which he shall teach, and for such registration he shall pay a fee of one dollar, which fee shall go into the institute fund of such county. CONFERENCE ON CERTIFICATION. On Thursday forenoon, September 3, 1908, an important conference on certification matters was held in the office of the state superintendent, at which representatives of all schools concerned were present. After a careful and exhaustive report by the state board of examiners for life certifi- cates on the work of inspection for the year just past, the conference unanimously adopted the following resolutions: 1. That on and after September 1, 1909, no elementary state certificate or second grade state certificate shall be granted by any institution unless such certificate shall comprise all the subjects required for a first grade county certificate, and that no such certificate shall be granted on less than a three-year high school education, or its equivalent, plus twenty-four weeks resi- dent attendance. 2. That on and after September 1, 1908, the rule for reckoning the time element shall be the same as that used by the North Central Association of Colleges and Second- ary Schools. The basis for fixing the length of the recitation period and the number of recitation periods per week is as follows: About 800 minutes (not to exceed 850) per week in recitation. Divide 800 by the num- ber representing the length of the recitation in minutes, to find the number of recitation periods per week. If the length of the reci- tation period is forty minutes, the number of recitations per week will be 20; if the length of the period is 50 minutes, the num- ber of recitation periods per week will be sixteen. Forty is recommended as the mini- mum and fifty as the maximum length of the recitation period. This does not in- clude the time for changing rooms but time sipent in solid recitation. Music, physical training, military training and such cultural work may be carried in addition to the num- ber of recitation periods per week as found by this division. 3. That on and after September 1, 1908, the basis of earning credits at institutions authorized by law to grant teachers' certifi- cates be the same as used by Nebraska high schools accredited to the University of Ne- graska. 4. That on and after September 1, 1908, the conferring of degrees by all institutions authorized by law to grant teachers' certifi- Qates be in strict accordance with the law and on no less requirements than those re- quired for the degree of bachelor of edu- cation at the state normal schools, and the —9— degrees of bachelor of arts and bachelor of science at the University of Nebraska. 5. (Amended by conference of 1909.) 6. That on and after September 1, 1909, no elementary or second grade state certifi- cate shall be granted to juniors on less than a four-year high school education, or its equivalent, plus twenty-four weeks' resident attendance. 7. That on and after September 1, 1908, the state board of examiners for life certifi- cates shall not consider that a student has finished the required technical work who is short on time. Colleges and universities granting the university state teachers' certificate of the first grade should observe the following re^ quirements made by the University of Ne- braska: That on and after September 1, 1908, the forty hours under title, "Special Knowledge" be divided, if possible, between a major of 16 hours and two minors of 12 hours each; otherwise, hold to the requirement as shown on pages 186-188, Bulletin University of Nebraska, 1908-9. Institutions granting normal first and second grade state certificates should ob- serve the following requirements for obser- vation and practice teaching made by the state normal schools, and maintain equiva- lents: Observation Work in Training Course. Required one recitation period of 45 minutes daily for 36 weeks, and two prepara- tion periods daily for 36 weeks, or one- —10— fourth the student's time. The lowest mini- mum in time, as a result of experience or advanced scholarship, is 24 weeks, requiring one-fourth of the student's time on the ob- servation work. Half of the period is used for observation work daily and the other half for discussion, laying the foundation work for the next day's observation and for directing assigned readings. The student is assigned readings and the note book work so as to require the same time in preparation as arithmetic or grammar. Notice that in this course the observation work is expected to have one- fourth the student's time for recitation and one-fourth of his time for the preparation of the work. Observation Work in Junior Tear. Required one period of 45 minutes daily for 18 weeks and two preparation periods of 45 minutes each for 18 weeks, or one-fourth the student's entire time and work for 18 weeks. The actual observation is for three days a week, and special methods based largely on the results of observation the other two days. The observation work may all be completed and then the special method work continued daily. Professional Teaching for Juniors. In order to get the elementary (second grade) certificate for the completion of the junior year, the work must include the fol- lowing minimums: Psychology 5 hours (that is, five recitations per week), history of education 4 hours, observation work 5 —11— hours. The student must have all work completed below the senior year, or near enough for completion in the senior year and one summer school. Practice Teaching for Seniors. The required practice work is one-fourth a student's time for one year, that is one recitation period daily and two preparation periods. In the recitation period of prac- tice work, one-half the period, or twenty minutes (the length of a recitation in the model grade school) is devoted to actual practice work and the other half to the ob- servation of the practice teaching of another senior. In the model high school the reci- tation period is forty-five minutes. The preparation consists in preparation of lessons, making plans, doing assigned readings and attending conferences. The preparation of work is considered just as essential as practice teaching itself. No amount of successful experience as a teacher excuses a student from observation work and practice teaching. SECOND CONFEREINCE. On September 9, 1909, a conference on certification matters was held in the office of the state superintendent at Lincoln. At this conference were present representatives from all institutions granting state certifi- cates except one. The conference reviewed the recommenda- tions of a similar conference held Septem- ber 3, 1908, made a few recommendations —12— with reference to equivalents, and planned to carry out the recommendations adopted be the 1908 conference. No action was taken toward raising the requirements beyond the recommendations of 1908, which are printed in full in the Twentieth Biennial Report of the state superintendent (McBrien), 1908. The definite action taken by the confer- ence of September 9, 1909, is as follows: Moved and carried unanimously to ap- prove Section 1 of the report of the con- ference of college and normal school presi- dents of September 3, 1908 on the issuance of the elementarj^ (second grade) state cer- tificates, and recommend that the ele- mentary (second grade) state certificates have the same rights and privileges in re- gard to renewal as the first grade county certificate. Moved and carried unanimously that in determining the equivalent of a three-year high school education, we consider the branches required for a first (or second) grade county certificate and the minimum of twenty-four weeks in methods and obser- vation work as constant, and that the other subjects required may be selected from the general curriculum of the high school as laid down in the high school manual. Moved and carried unanimously that in the acceptance of county certificates in the valuation of a three-year high school edu- cation, only those certificates be considered which have been granted under the new law which went into effect October 1, 1905. Moved and carried that the conference approve the amendment made by the state —13— normal board of education to No. 5 making it read as follows: "That on and after September 1, 1909, the standard time requirement for the first grade state certificate shall be seventy-two weeks beyond a twelve grade high school preparation or its equivalent, and that no first grade state certificate shall be issued on less than a four-year high school prepara- tion or its equivalent, plus fifty-two weeks attendance, twenty-four weeks of which must be in the Institution granting the cer- tificate. Provided that any student falling below the standard on presenting the regu- lar endorsement of the faculty and in addi- tion thereto a special recommendation from each member of the faculty concerned in the accreditment of such student, may, on the approval of the board of education, be granted the above named certifi-cate. The application of any person for the above named certificate whose qualifications do not meet the above named requirements shall be made a case for special consider- ation by the normal board of education." "Credits. — ^The following standard of credits is hereby established: "1. Full credit shall be given for all properly accredited and reported work from high schools accredited to the University of Nebraska." "2. Full credit shall be given for all properly accredited and reported work from high schools approved by the state superin- tendent as high schools of the first or second class." —14— "3. Recognized equivalents of the above named credits." "4. Applicants presenting credits from high school or other sources not included in the above may, on approval of the regis- trar, be admitted tentatively and on satisfac- tory evidence of ability to carry the work -be granted credit for entrance requirement on written examination by the department interested on all subjects for which credits have not been accepted under Nos. 1 and 2 above. ACTION OF BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR THE NEBRASKA STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS, JANUARY 8, 1910. A special committee to formulate a rule touching the granting of certificates by the board reported as follows: "That diplomas and certificates shall be granted to applicants upon the recommenda- tion of the faculty and principals of the respective schools and upon the additional recommendation of the state board of ex- aminers for life certificates." "Mr. Ludden moved and Mr. Tooley seconded that the report of the special com- mittee be approved. The motion was adopted." CERTIFICATION OF TEACHERS AT UNI- VERSITY OF NEBRASKA. At a meeting of the regents of the Univer- sity of Nebraska held February 15, 1910, on recommendation of the faculty of the teach- ers' college, the following rule was adopted: —15— (1) Each candidate for a teacher's cer- tificate shall submit to the state superintend- ent of public instruction, for his approval, a detailed report showing the academic and professional preparation of the candidate, including both secondary and collegiate courses, properly authenticated by the Registrar of the University of Nebraska, and the Dean of the college in which the student is matriculated. (2) Teachers certificates issued by the University of Nebraska shall contain a full record showing the amount and the char- acter of the student's secondary and col- legiate work, as shown by the records of the registrar's office. (Signed) E. C. BISHOP, Superintendent Public Instruction. State Board of Examiners: E. J. BODWELL, J. SPARKS, FRANK S. PERDUE. March 1. 1910. LiBRARY OF CONGRESS Ilk 019 763 637 3