Duplication of teachers' courses in special methods would be eliminated for a single course for all of the departments of biological science would be sufficient. Biology is the hub, and not the separate biological sciences, in the courses in this field in the secondary schools. The methods concerned are biological methods, and therefore a single course for all prospective teachers of biological science regardless of the nature of their major work, is a logical procedure. Whether such a course is a success or a failure is largely dependent on the professor in charge. In the past there have been many failures, mainly because the person conducting it has never had secondary school experience, knows little or nothing of the problems, and has no sincere enthusiasm for the teaching of science to boys and girls below the university age.
The course suggested would cover an entire year. At least that much time is required to give any direction or instruction that is worth while. The first half of the year might well be devoted to a digestion and correlation of all previous work, organizing it into a form easily useable in the work to follow. Questions of method, recitation, laboratory and field work, textbooks and reference books purchase and use of equipment, must be given consideration in some part of the course. An outline course, with the separate lessons that make it up should be worked out in detail, for some particular locality, preferably the one where practice teaching is to be done. This should then be carefully tested by the criteria of a good biology course, as pointed out by the best authorities, and by common sense. But why make this skeleton outline beforehand? Why be prepared in anything? It will be too late to prepare at the moment the problem has to be met. Few new teachers will find a well planned course awaiting their arrival in a new field, and without previous experience a new teacher is likely to build up a course without due respect to relative values which comes only with a perspective of a course in its entirety. To illustrate, in the course given by an inexperienced teacher there is too much chance of six weeks time being spent on the study of the grasshopper, with only four weeks left at the end of the school year to be devoted to the biology of the human. The mapping of a course, by way of practice, gives the prospective teacher practice in the exercise of judgment, with helpful constructive criticism.
Practice teaching now becomes only the trying out of the course and accompanying methods. As, one practice teacher remarked when this plan was suggested "But, I might have to make my course all over." Such would often be the case. Any wide-awake teacher will change his course more or less from year to year. Even if the first plan were entirely discarded the energy and thought prompted by its making would not be lost. And now let us change the name given to those in charge of practice teachers. Advisor would be more fitting than supervisor, for they should remain in the background except for rendering helpful service, and making constructive criticism in excess of destructive.
In order for practice teaching to be effective there must be nothing of an artificial sort enter in. Conditions must be of the regular sort met every day in the teaching game. This statement seems superfluous, but a visit to some of the classes where practice teaching is being done will justify its insertion here. The practice teacher should not be handed over a laboratory properly equipped. Of course, the equipment should be available. The course should not be "ready-cut". The practice teacher must meet all of the problems and this is cheating him out of a part of his fun. Through his solution of these problems there will be a two-fold benefit, for the advisor too may profit by the ingenuity of the newcomer. Resignation should be requested of any advisor who has outgrown the ability to learn. It is most likely to be the "green" person, who will develop really new methods, or evolve a more fitting experiment, or turn a bit of apparatus to a new use. Above all, the practice teacher should be required to scout for living material—there will usually be an abundance all about him, and much that is of interest should find its way into the laboratory. Training in the use of living material can not be over emphasized.
The course which I have outlined in the previous pages, is not satisfactory, but I firmly believe that it would be an improvement over the present situation. When tried out it would show many shortcomings, but by trial and improvement has our entire educational system evolved. Even an ideal professional course in use today would be obsolete tomorrow. It would be unfortunate were it not so, for growth involves ecdysis, and growth is the law of nature.