secondary school, and by the end of his doctoral study as they relate to college teaching. Let's assume that our prospective English teacher has good opportunities to learn language and literature during his childhood and youth. Much of the basic knowledge of English as his native language-which he understands, reads, speaks, and writes-he should have by the time he enters college. Likewise, by that time he should have read a number of major works that belong to English and American literature and some foreign pieces in the original language or English translation. He should consequently have developed a fair ability to judge and a taste to choose among literary works. During his four or five years of collegiate study, he should extend and sharpen Knowledge his fundamental knowledge of the English language and of literature and should acquire the special knowledge of language and literature English, together with the science and art of teaching it, which he will need for his work in the elementary or secondary school. If he intends to teach in the college or university, he should shape his program of studies to that end.

Those who subscribe to this statement hope that the teacher of English (1) has the personal qualities which make an effective teacher, (2) has received a well-balanced education, including knowledge of a foreign language and a basic grounding in science, mathematics, the social sciences, and the arts, (3) has received the appropriate training in psychology and professional education, and (4) has dedicated himself to humanistic values.

A Standard of Preparation to Teach English

I. The teacher of English should have a certain funda-
mental and specialized knowledge of the English lan-
guage and its literature, together with certain abilities
and skills which enable him to perform expertly in his
discipline.

A. In language, he should have:

1. A fundamental knowledge of the historical devel-
opment and present character of the English
language: phonology (phonetics and pho-

nemics), morphology, syntax, vocabulary (etymology and semantics), the relations of language and society.

2. A specialized knowledge of the English language which is appropriate to the teacher's particular field of interest and responsibility.

3. An informed command of the arts of languagerhetoric and logic; ability to speak and write language which is not only unified, coherent, and correct but also responsible, appropriate to the situation, and stylistically effective.

B. In literature, he should have:

1. A reading background of major literary works which emphasize the essential dignity of the individual man. This background:

a. Implies a knowledge of major works, writers, forms, themes, and movements of the literature of the English-speaking people.

b. Reflects intensive study of many literary pieces.

c. Includes familiarity with some of the outstanding literary works in English translation, or in the original language, of the Greek, Roman, Norse, Italian, French, Spanish, German, Slavic, and Oriental peoples.

2. A specialized knowledge of whatever writers and literary works, forms, themes, media, and movements are appropriate to the teacher's particular field of interest and responsibility.

3. An ability to analyze and evaluate independently the various forms of imaginative literature as well as the utilitarian forms of verbal expression, and the insight to use suitable critical approaches in order to discover their literary and human values.

II. The teacher of English should have certain abilities and knowledge which belong to the science and the art of teaching language and literature.

A. These abilities include:

1. The ability to envision how his students may develop their potentialities through the study of language and literature.

2. The ability to excite their interest and direct their learning.

3. The ability to help them understand and use English practically and creatively.

4. The ability to elevate their taste and critical powers.

5. The ability to lead them to a perception of human problems and an appreciation of human values.

6. The ability to evaluate their progress and the efficacy of his own methods.

B. These abilities presuppose not only the fundamental but also the specialized knowledge and skills of the English language and literature which the teacher needs to fulfill his professional responsibility.

C. These abilities imply knowledge of the philosophies of education and the psychologies of learning as they relate to the study and teaching of the English language and its literature. Such knowledge:

1. Reveals how an individual unfolds and grows through his use and understanding of language and literature.

2. Supplies the teacher with a variety of methods for use in teaching his students the skills and arts which are appropriate to their level of attainment in English.

3. Informs the teacher of the relation which each phase or level has to the total school, college, and university program.

4. Includes an awareness of the basic issues in the teaching of English.

STATE CERTIFICATION REGULATIONS FOR TEACHING ENGLISH IN
ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Highlights

States differ widely on the qualifications for elemen

tary and secondary teaching.

Ten states certify elementary teachers who do not
possess a bachelor's degree.

Nineteen states do not specify any requirement in

English for elementary certification; twenty-one
do not report a definite requirement in reading,
children's literature, or methods of teaching the
language arts.

A median of 16 to 18 semester hours of English is re-
quired nationally as minimum preparation for
teachers assigned classes in English.

In sixteen states not more than 12 semester hours are
required for the part time teaching of English.

In virtually all states the minimum requirements to teach in public school are established by state departments or state boards of education. These state requirements are both quantitative and qualitative but tend to emphasize general qualifications of teachers rather than specific standards in a subject. Generally, state agencies require all teachers to receive a liberal education with one or more concentrations in subjects to be taught and a professional education that includes the psychological and sociological foundations of the teaching-learning process, teaching methods, and student teaching. They attempt to provide for quality by requiring certain necessary portions of the total preparation to be in courses designed to develop special competencies. Some states use proficiency examinations as a substitute for a prescribed course that the teacher candidate has not included in his college preparation. A few states require the candidate to make a designated score on a standardized national teacher examination in order to receive a certificate; other states encourage him to include such a score in his personnel file; still others require, for renewal of a certificate, that he pass a locally prepared | examination or earn a minimum number of additional college credits. An increasing tendency is to require that the teacher-preparing insti

tution be accredited by state, regional, and national agencies and that it recommend its graduates as to character and competency before they I are issued certificates. States are able to enforce their certification requirements through accreditation policies and control of funds granted to public schools, threatening the withdrawal of accreditation or withholding of money from schools that do not comply.3

How much college work is required to teach in elementary and secondary schools? The answer is presented in the following table.

AMOUNT OF COLLEGE WORK REQUIRED FOR REGULAR CERTIFICATION (Expressed in the Number of States and Territories Reporting Requirement)

Of the 52 "states" (defined to include the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico here and throughout the remainder of this section), 42 require a bachelor's degree for the lowest regular elementary school certificate, 2 (Alaska and Maine) require three years of college, 6 (Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) require two years of college, and 2 (Nebraska and North Dakota) require one year of college. For the standard elementary school certificate, 47 states require a bachelor's degree, and 5 (Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, and Washington) require a bachelor's degree plus a fifth year of college work. For the lowest regular secondary school certificate, 49 states re

3W. E. Armstrong and T. M. Stinnett, A Manual on Certification Requirements (National Education Association of the United States, 1959); John H. Fisher, "We Look to the High Schools," College English, XVI (March, 1955), 362-365; "Certification of High School Teachers," College English, XIX (May, 1958), 344-348; and "1960 Certification Requirements," College English, XXII (January, 1961), 267-271; Eugene E. Slaughter, "The Use of Examinations for State Certification of Teachers," The Journal of Teacher Education, XI (June, 1960), 231-238, and an unpublished survey of 1960 certification to teach English in the elementary school. These publications and studies are also the source of data on certification which appear hereafter without citation.