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Show Prof, D. G. mm Gives Praise to Snow Academy By request we publish the following follow-ing letter from Prof. D. C. Jensen, formerly of this city, will be of interest inter-est to patrons and friends of the school: Brigham City, Utah, July 7, 1914. Principal. Newton E. Noyes, Ephraim, Utah. Dear Brother Noyes: I am in receipt of your letter dated July 5, and note with much pleasure what '-you say concerning advanced normal work in the. Snow Academy. For the good of the educational interests in-terests of the state, and of oflr people throughout the West, it is "devoutly to be wished" that the sixth year may be added at once, so that our graduates will be standard normal graduates and will be privileged under un-der the interstate cer::fication regula-l regula-l tion, to teach in any of the western states upon presentation of their certificates cer-tificates without further examination. This would give the Academy such prestige as to make it as desirable to hold its certificate as that of any normal nor-mal school in the West. It is not necessary for me to mention men-tion here the great work which the Snow Academy has already accomplished. accom-plished. Its work speaks for itself. Its teachers are most favorably known throughout the Great Basin region. Compared with other schools of its class all by itself so far as the preparation prepar-ation of teachers is concerned. While Mr. Meurman, the government investigator, inves-tigator, was visiting with me here in Box Elder, he made the observation, wholly unsolicited, that the little Snow Academy at Ephraim is one of the most efficient normal schools he had been privileged to know. He said he had seen its teachers from one end of the state to the other and had never nev-er yet found a weak one among them. It is to be hoped that the Church Board of Education will recognize this splendid record of the past by making the Snow Academy one of the great normal colleges of our In-termountain In-termountain West. It is advantageously advan-tageously located; its patrons are already al-ready converted to normal work and to the necessity of preparing our own teachers; and its normal graduates are sought after wherever they are known. As to the need of more emphasis being placed on normal work, I feel that you will pardon a reference tc our condition in Box Elder. I have had the engaging of our teachers the past two years now. Each year fully 50 per cent of our teachers have with-. with-. drawn from our service at the end of the school year. This has necessitated our engaging over 80 new teachers annually. There are 3,000 public school teachers in Utah. If other districts lose fifty per cent of their teachers each year, 1500 new teachers teach-ers would be required annually. But place the estimate at 25 per cent, I which I think is conservative, and ' Utah alone would require 750 new - teachers annually without any increase in-crease of population. To supply this demand we should have at least five large normal schools distributed throughout the stale, each graduat-ij graduat-ij ing an average class of l."0 students 1 each year. Besides, Utah is a natur- al educational center for this whole intermountain country. ' We reaily 5 ought to be supplying teachers for I surrounding states instead of import- ing them in increasingly largo num-.5 num-.5 bers each year. 4; I can conceive of no greater mis- sion for our church schools than to I be the moans of filling this most com-' com-' polling demand of our growing towns and cities for more of our home trained train-ed hoys and girls to fill the positions of teachers of our future citizens. I wish you Cod speed in your en- deavers to build up a bigger and better bet-ter normal school. Jf Sincerely your brother, D. C .1 onsen, Supt. of Schools. |