Another retarding factor in the evolution of the problem has been the subordination of special training in subject matter to other really less important qualifications, in the selection of teachers. The table given below, compiled from statistics gathered in one of the States during 1916, shows sufficient justification for the above statement. And not only has the preparation in subject matter been too little considered in choosing teachers, but also in the administration of schools specially intended for teacher-training. An educator of high standing in California is credited with making the criticism of the Normal Schools of the State; that they attempt to teach a person how to teach intelligently something about which he knows nothing. When teachers have adequate preparation in subject matter as well as in methods, and when they are employed to teach only those subjects for which they are fitted, then the problem of maintaining a high standard of teaching will be well nigh solved. Subject | Prepared & | Not prepared | Prepared and | Total | teaching | & teaching | not teaching | -----------+------------+--------------+--------------+------- Physiology | 19 | 8 | 57 | 84 -----------+------------+--------------+--------------+------- Botany | 71 | 39 | 74 | 184 -----------+------------+--------------+--------------+------- Zoology | 9 | 20 | 5 | 34 -----------+------------+--------------+--------------+------- Agriculture| 63 | 14 | 84 | 161 -----------+------------+--------------+--------------+------- Preparation in Subject Matter Before facing the problem of preparation for the teaching of biological sciences in the secondary schools, there must be a clear conception of the aims and legitimate purposes of these sciences in the high school. We are fortunate in having the aims of biology clearly and concisely stated by the Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education of the N.E.A. ("Reorganization of Science in Secondary Schools", U.S. Dep't. Interior, Bureau of Education, Bulletin 26, 1920). These aims will not be considered in their entirety but only in so far as they bear directly on the problems that follow. Before proceeding further, for simplification we will assume that the teacher is assigned to teach biological sciences only. Even then the field is quite comprehensive, for besides instruction in general biology, there will be courses of a more advanced type, in Zoology, Botany, Physiology, and often Bacteriology, Sanitation, or Agriculture. However, with preparation in the fundamentals necessary for biology a teacher should be able to conduct such courses without difficulty. Thus the problem is sufficiently inclusive if it concerns preparation for biology alone.