Educational Department of West Michigan Conference
By J. G. Lamson
It is scarcely necessary for me to add anything to that portion of the report made by our president relative to the church-schools. As he stated, we have had in operation during the last year twenty-three schools, and the average term has been a little over six months. Over six hundred children have been enrolled, and including Cedar Lake Academy and the preparatory school and college at Battle Creek, over seven hundred and fifty young men and women and children have been in our denominational schools in West Michigan this last year. Under God, who has abundantly blessed the work, the credit should be given the former superintendent, as I took that office only last January, and there have been no new schools established since that date. We are on the best of terms with the public schools, and with school officers. I believe that we may continue to be so if we will insist that our teachers shall be just as well prepared for the work as the public school teachers. Our schools should be the best on earth, but we can not expect them to be so unless we raise the standard of qualification for the teachers. Parents have sometimes said to me, “My daughter failed in her examination for a public school certificate, but I think she would be able to teach a church-school.” That statement is a fraud. I would not give a license to a teacher to teach a church-school who could not pass an examination for a public school. That is not to say that I would have the church-school teacher pass an examination before the public examiners before taking a church-school, nor that she should be required to pass all the subjects demanded by the public examiners, but it is to say that our examinations should be just as severe, and the standard just as high as those of the public school; yes, and even more should be required. The complaints against our church-schools will cease in great measure when competent teachers are found for all the schools that desire to start. The difficulty has been to find those willing to take up the work. We complain that we can not get our own teachers from the public school work. That difficulty will cease to exist when we are able to pay our teachers what they should receive, and pay them just as surely as the pay-day comes. The uncertainty heretofore existing as to length of term, amount of pay, and renewal of the school has hindered some of our best teachers from taking up the denominational work. The work is onward in our conference, and we are full of courage in this branch of the Lord's work.