Charles W. Clabaugh Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield

A: And at the end of the provisional certificate, then I had 6 months ~f successful
teaching. If you hold a job, you're successful.
Q: I see. Yes, sir. (laughs) What was the examination like?
A: Oh, they examined you on . . . both elementary and high school questions. History and
geography and . . . grammar, and mathematics, of course. And I don't recall all of
them. But we used to go to Toledo, in Cumberland County, to take the examination because
we could get a train down in the morning and back in the evening. And I took the
examination there, but if it had been taken in Charleston, it would have been the same
examination. And I had just -- because my girl that I was generally running around with
then was going to be a teacher and take examinations - there would be quite a few of the
kids would go take examinations just to try out and see what they could do. So I was
accustomed to the routine. But I'd never taken a first-grade certificate examination before.
Q: And it was mainly an examination of your level of knowledge, was it?
A: Yes. Yes, that was it.
Q: Did you ever have any training or instruction in how to be a teacher?
A: Not until after I had taught 2 years. Then of course, I had it at Charleston. And of
course, what you do, you follow, generally, the pattern that your teachers have
followed. And as I told you I had one exceptionally good high school teacher in
Lerna. That was this man, Mr. Girhart. And I think I followed his methods pretty closely.
Q: What did you think when you reported in for duty that first day?
A: Well I had spent, as I told you yesterday, the greater part of a month boning on Latin.
Q: Yes, sir. (laughter) And did you feel prepared, then?
A: Oh, sure. Lord, I knew everything. I had no questions, no doubts about it, And there
were only three of us teachers, high school teachers, in the school.
Q: What were the size of your classes in those days?
A: Well, I should say fifteen. The senior class - I think there was anly about six kids in
the senior class. And I think I had one or two juniors taking American history. And my
second year of Latin class came very poorly prepared and I had to divide the class into an
"A" and "B" section and taught another class each day - never occurred to me but that
I ought to teach another class if I had time.
Q: Oh? Well.
A: Because I had a period. And I didn't teach them anything about Julius Caesar, that
class, because they just couldn't make it. But that was an easy way to keep from flunking
them, though I didn't have that as an idea. But they were not grounded at all.
Q: Did you have to discuss with anyone that procedure with the class?
A: The principal.
Q: Yes. Who was the principal?
A: Ralph Adams.
Charles W. Clabaugh Memoir, vol. 1 - Archives/Special Collections - Norris L Brookens Library - University of Illinois at Springfield - UIS