Titles do not correspond strictly to educational equipment nor do they depend wholly upon term of service, though both of these may be and generally are contributory factors. For example: positions in the middle schools and gymnasia are open only to those who have certain educational fitness; the teachers with especially strong qualifications and superior ability are the ones most liable to receive early promotion to the higher class positions; and, when promotions are made, the persons who have taught for a long time enjoy some advantage over those with but slight experience. Titles correspond more definitely to classes of positions occupied than to any other thing that can be named. When an individual is appointed to a position carrying a title, that designation is invariably used in connection with his name. He is no longer John Johnson or Herr Johnson, but _Rektor_ Johnson, _Overlaerer_ Johnson, _Inspektor_ Johnson, etc. IV. TEACHERS' TENURE OF OFFICE The teacher's tenure of office in Norway is very different from what we are accustomed to in America. Positions are of two kinds--permanent and temporary. Nearly all appointments in the past have been to permanent posts. This means that the individual occupies his place without molestation or any hint of insecurity until he chooses to resign or until he reaches the age of retirement.[19] Some appointments now are to temporary positions though generally they lead to permanent ones. Rarely, if ever, does a person who makes reasonable success in a temporary position fail to secure an appointment to a permanent post. Permanency in position has a number of well-recognized advantages. Security of situation gives to the teacher a release from the uncertainty which constantly harasses the minds of so many where frequent change of position is the rule. A lasting appointment enables one to get a firm grasp on the local situation, and to utilize without waste all the momentum accumulated while occupying in a particular place. Furthermore, the teacher who feels settled in a position is able to establish a home, and to become identified with the community and its interest. Since teachers continue for so long a time in a position, they and their pupils become as well acquainted with each other as with members of a common family. It is interesting to note how minutely a teacher knows the daily life and habits of his pupils. While the relations are not always the most congenial, they are known to be practically inevitable and impossible of escape so they each make the best of the situation and get the most out of it.