Beacons of Light: The Education of the Afro-Texan
Excerpts: Teachers' Certificates
| "An 1858 school law required that
prospective teachers be issued certificates by a three-member Board of
Examiners appointed by each county court. Certificates issued by these
boards were to state the "branches" the holder was qualified to
teach. Examinations remained based solely on the subject matter to be
taught. Hallmarks of Reconstruction education included strong
centralization of all educational efforts and control by a state board
composed of the superintendent of public instruction, governor, and
attorney general. The superintendent of public instruction appointed
thirty-five district supervisors, one for each of the state's judicial
districts. These supervisors examined prospective teachers. State board
control of teacher examination and appointment resulted in teachers
becoming direct employees of the state government. Local school boards had
the power neither to hire nor discharge teachers appointed to their
schools. Democrats began to dismantle the hated "Radical school
system" as soon as control of the state government returned to them.
In 1873 the certification of teachers, based on a demonstrated knowledge
of the content to be taught, was returned to the county level. As the
state grew and schools became more differentiated from each other, a
minimal degree of specialization began to enter the examination and
certification process. The 1879 certification law established three
classes of teaching certificate. The type of certificate issued was
dictated by the breadth of the examination taken and determined the type
of school in which the teacher could instruct. First-class certificates,
the highest level issued under this law, required examination in
"school discipline and methods of teaching" for the first time.
State leaders thus acknowledged that learning in subject matter, though
obviously necessary, was not sufficient for teaching. The best teachers
had to have pedagogical expertise, as well.
As Texas entered the twentieth century, the system of county examination and certification became cumbersome. Citizens, including teachers, became more mobile. A 1911 change in certification laws ended the county examination-certification process. All certificates were to be issued by the state superintendent and be valid throughout the state. By 1921 the examination process had ended and all teaching certificates were based on college work." - Handbook of Texas Online - TEACHER EDUCATION
"TEACHERS' CERTIFICATES. Chief among these objectionable provisions is the one making a teacher's certificate issued by a county board valid anywhere in the State. Several county boards have endeavored to raise the standard of examination—a commendable course—but they have, in nearly every instance, been thwarted by the indiscriminate granting of certificates by neighboring boards" - Tenth Report from the Department of Education of
"TEACHERS' CERTIFICATES. There should be but two grades of teachers' certificates issued by county judges. The third grade certificate should be abolished. No one who cannot pass a reasonable examination on the subjects required for a second grade certificate is competent to teach any kind of a school. Summer normal certificates should be made to hold good during good behavior, and there should be provision whereby men and women of distinguished ability might procure State certificates from the Superintendent of Public Instruction. A certificate issued by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or by a normal school should be valid in any county, but experience has shown that a county certificate should operate only in the county in which it is issued. I am sorry to say that these certificates are issued recklessly in some counties without examinations. Other counties have cautious boards which are endeavoring to elevate the standard of the teachers to be employed in their schools. In many instances this laudable object has been paralyzed by the careless and reckless issuance of certificates by neighboring boards."
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