Mr. W. E. Forster, in distributing, last Saturday, the prizes
and certificates awarded to pupils in schools at the Midsummer examinations held by the College of Preceptors, indicated clearly enough his own opinion that, at present at least, more can be done to serve and mark out good teachers, by inspecting schools, than by testing the teaching-power directly, i.e., by examining teachers in the art of teaching. So far as we have been able to form a judgment on the subject,—and we have taken some pains to look into the direct testing of teachers in relation to their teaching-power,—we are strongly of opinion that he is right. This is a case in which the tree is certainly known much better by its fruits, than by any botanical examination of the free itself. We do not say that the art of teaching will never be so far organised as to admit of more direct testing. But at present at least the indirect tests are far surer than the direct,— which are not a little uncertain.
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