PART II.By Millicent Hughes.
IN America, as in Europe, it is becoming increasingly recognised, that the fact of having received a good education, even if that education have included a University course, is no guarantee of fitness for the teaching profession. That some special professional preparation is also necessary before a teacher can be safely entrusted with teaching responsibility can hardly be said to be any longer a matter of debate among those who have devoted time and thought to educational questions. There may be much difference of opinion as to the best way of giving that preparation, but that it should be given is becoming more and more a foregone conclusion. There seems at last some chance that a well-earned rest may be allowed to the well-worn comparison made between the doctor’s and teacher’s professions, with its obvious moral—that just as no right-thinking parent would allow an unqualified practitioner to prescribe for his child’s body, so it should be impossible for that far less understood and delicate something, which we call the mind, to beentrusted to the care of one whose only qualification for the post is the possession of a certain amount of useful information. There are many battles yet to be fought, many experiments yet to be tried, many failures yet to be faced, ere all shall be agreed on the best kind of professional training that can be given to teachers; yet I have returned from America encouraged in the belief that the decisive battle in favour of training has been fought and won on both sides of the Atlantic, and that the old world and the new may with advantage to both join hands in the endeavour to discover the best ways and means of such training.
And it would seem especially fitting that England and America should thus join hands, for, after all, few things about the Americans impressed me more than the fact that they are really English, and that the inhabitants of Great Britain and the United States really form part of one great English-speaking nation, with the heritage of a noble language and literature, and a common life of thought and feeling. In matters educational, the truth of this oneness impressed me vividly. Allowing for such differences as must exist between an old and a new country, it is nevertheless true that most of the problems in education which they are trying to solve are those which perplex us also, and of these the problem of the Training of Teachers holds a place in the front rank. But it is a curious and interesting fact, that the solution should be attempted in both countries, and yet that so little attention should be paid in each to what is beingdone in the other. The ignorance that prevails among American teachers as to what is being attempted in England is, I fear, only equalled by our own ignorance of American educational life. This ignorance is largely the result of the difficulty that both American and English teachers experience, in obtaining definite information on educational matters in connection with either country. This fact made it very difficult for me even to map out my tour, so as to include as far as possible what was typical of American Training in the short time at my disposal, and had it not been for the unvarying kindness and courtesy shown me by American teachers, in directing my notice to what was best worth seeing, my task would have presented almost insuperable difficulties. As it is, I have, of course, been unable to cover the whole ground, and indeed have been able to personally examine into the opportunities for training in a very few States. These, however, I believe to be representative States, from a study of the means of training in which it is possible to arrive at a very fair conclusion of its condition in the States as a whole. They include the following: Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, Michigan and Illinois. I was, however, fortunate in being able to supplement the information thus obtained by a careful study of the many excellent State exhibits in the Educational Department of the Liberal Arts Building, at the World’s Fair, and to further correct and intensify the impressions I had received by many conversations with educationists from allparts of the United States, whom it was my good fortune to meet at the Educational Congresses, held at Chicago in July.
In considering any American educational question, there are one or two points which must never be lost sight of, and perhaps it will be well to indicate them here. In the first place, it must be remembered that there is not one American educational system, but many. Each State has complete control of its own educational matters, has its own School Law, sets aside common lands, or levies taxes for the support of its own schools, and is responsible to no higher authority. The only part taken by the Central Government of the United States in connection with education has been in the establishment of a Bureau of Education, the chief functions of which have been (1) the collecting of statistics and general information respecting education in all the various States, which are embodied in an annual report made by the Commissioner of Education, (2) the publishing of monographs and circulars of information on topics of educational interest, such as Co-education, Teaching of History, etc., and (3) the maintaining of a valuable Pedagogical Reference Library at Washington.
Secondly, a distinction must be made between the Western States, of which Michigan might be taken as representative, and the Eastern, of which Massachusetts might be considered typical. In the former we find a most complete system of State education, leading from the Primary School right up to the great co-educational University ofMichigan. The State Schools there have few private rivals, and the University none. In the State of Massachusetts, on the contrary, although Primary, Grammar and High Schools are maintained at the public expense, yet the children of a large proportion of the inhabitants attend private schools and academies, which undertake to prepare them for Harvard or the Women’s Colleges, such as Wellesley. In fact, few of those who enter upon a University career do so straight from the common school, as is the case in the Western States. It follows from this that there are two classes of teachers to be considered in the Eastern States—(1) those who teach in the common schools (Primary, Grammar and High), and (2) those who teach in private schools and in the academies. Those of the second class are largely recruited from the ranks of College graduates, who rely upon their University course as preparation for the profession of teaching, and amongst whom the idea of a special training for their work has only here and there been awakened. It is mainly in connection with State education that the idea of the training of teachers has been developed, although the fact that several of the older Universities, including Harvard, are providing courses of lectures on the Science and Art of Teaching may be taken as a hopeful sign of the gradual growth of the idea among all classes of teachers.
It will be perhaps well to enumerate the various means available for the Training of Teachers in the United States, and then to describe more particularlythe special features of the training to be obtained in each kind of institution.
Training may be obtained at:
There are three kinds of Normal Schools to be considered—State, City and Private. It was my privilege to visit a good number belonging to the first two classes, but I was not fortunate enough to be able to inspect any of the Private Normal Schools. These latter are, of course, chiefly to be found in those States which have few or no State or City Normal Schools.
The difference between State and City Normal Schools is mainly one of control. The State Normal School forms part of the State Common School system, and is under the direct supervision of the State Superintendent and Board of Education, while the City Normal School belongs to the City School system, and is under the jurisdiction of the City Superintendent. The State Normal School is intended to provide teachers for the schools in any part of the State, while the City Normal School hasfor its object the preparation of teachers for the City schools alone.
At present one of the most hotly debated questions in connection with Normal Schools relates to the subjects to be included in the curriculum. Shall the Normal School give professional training alone, or shall it also provide instruction in Academic subjects? There is at present much divergence of opinion on the subject, and some schools are organized on the one principle, and some on the other.
At present some of the Normal Schools have a double function to perform, that of serving as High Schools, and at the same time as professional Training Colleges. There is, however, a growing feeling against this plan, and a tendency, wherever possible, to separate those who intend to become teachers from those who do not. But many Normal Schools, while claiming to be only professional, yet include Academic subjects in their curricula. Two reasons for this are commonly urged. In the first place, it is said that it is impossible to get a large enough supply of candidates for training who are sufficiently well equipped for their profession from the point of view of mere information; and secondly, that even those who have the necessary information have acquired it in such a way that it is almost useless for teaching purposes. For such, a complete revision of the various subjects, taken in conjunction with a consideration of the best methods of teaching the same, is regarded as necessary; it being maintained by those in favour of this plan that it isalmost impossible to get instruction in the various subjects that will be of any value to them as teachers, outside a Normal School.
On the other hand, there are some who maintain that the Normal School should be strictly professional, admitting none to its courses but those who can give evidence of having had ample academic preparation. Many, however, who believe that the courses in academic studies are at present necessary yet look forward to the time when they will be no longer required.
There appears to be a growing feeling in the States in favour of the complete separation of the professional from the academic course, and it is interesting to note that the question is agitating the minds of those who have to do with the training of teachers in America, at the same time that it has become a burning question in England in connection with the training of our Elementary Teachers. The Normal Schools correspond more or less closely with our English Elementary Training Colleges, and an examination of their points of likeness and difference may not prove unprofitable.
In the first place, it should be noted, that the absence of any uniform standard of attainment, such as is more or less secured in England by the fact that there is one government examination for all Colleges, makes it possible for there to be a great difference in the rank held by different Normal Schools. As each school fixes its own standard of graduation, and the conditions for admission,length of course and final tests vary with each institution, it comes about that much depends upon the Normal School, of which a given teacher is a graduate.
Some Normal Schools, for instance, have a course extending over four years, in others it only lasts from one to two years, while some offer a choice of courses of varying length. In England, on the contrary, the Elementary Training course is uniformly two years in all Colleges, the length being only occasionally varied in the cases of individuals, as when, on special recommendation, a third year is allowed, or a candidate who has already obtained a certificate is admitted to a Training College for one year’s training.
This lack of uniformity in the length of course in American Normal Schools is largely the result of the absence of anyonestandard of admission. While in England there is one examination, the Queen’s Scholarship, which must be passed by all, except University graduates who desire to enter an Elementary College, in America the conditions vary with each individual Normal School. Some require at least a certificate of graduation from a High School, some have an entrance examination of their own, which none may be excused, while others offer one to those who have no certificates to show.
Some Normal Schools are regarded as affording suitable preparation for the Universities, and are attended by those who hope to take up a University course later on, while others grant degrees of theirown, or arrange special courses for those who have taken degrees elsewhere.
The fact that there are so many differences in respect of length of course and choice of subjects, between the Normal Schools of various States and Cities, makes it exceedingly difficult to form any accurate generalizations. It will probably, therefore, be wiser at this point to give a more detailed account of the Normal Schools which I had an opportunity of studying in the above-mentioned States.
Pennsylvania has eleven State Normal Schools, the two most important of which I was able to visit. The Normal School Law for this State provides for two courses of study; the Elementary Course and the Scientific Course. The first of these leads to the certificate Bachelor of the Element (B.E.), while the diploma of the second constitutes its holder Bachelor of the Sciences (B.S.).
The outlines of these courses are laid down by the State as follows, but each Normal School can adapt them as seems best. Most Normal Schools also arrange for a Preparatory Course.
Elementary Course.—Junior Year.Pedagogics.—Elements of School Management and Methods.Language.—Orthography and Reading; English Grammar, including Composition; Latin, sufficient for the introduction of Cæsar.Mathematics.—Arithmetic; Elementary Algebra.Natural Sciences.—Physiology and Hygiene.Historical Sciences.—Geography—Physical, Mathematical, and Political; History of the United States; Civil Government.The Arts.—Penmanship, sufficient to be able to explain some approved system—writing to be submitted to Board of Examiners; Drawing, a daily exercise for at least twenty-eight weeks—work to be submitted to the Board of Examiners; Book-keeping, single entry, seven weeks; Vocal music, elementary principles, and attendance upon daily exercises for at least one-third of a year.Manual Training.Elementary Course.—Second Year.Pedagogics.—Psychology, embracing the intellect, sensibilities, and will; Methods; History of Education; Model School Work—at least twenty-one weeks of actual teaching daily during one period of not less than forty-five minutes; a Thesis on a professional Subject.Language.—The outlines of Rhetoric, together with at least a fourteen weeks’ course in English literature, including the thorough study of one selection from each of four English classics; Latin—Cæsar.Mathematics.—Arithmetic; Mensuration; Plane Geometry.Natural Sciences.—Elementary Natural Philosophy; Botany.Historical Sciences.—Reading of General History in connection with the History of Education.The Arts.—Elocutionary Exercises in connection with the study of English literature.Manual Training.Scientific Course.—Two Years.Pedagogics.—Moral Philosophy; Logic; Philosophy of Education; Course of Professional Reading, with abstracts, notes, criticisms, to be submitted to Board of Examiners; a Thesis on a professional subject.Language.—Latin, six books of Virgil, four orations of Cicero, the Germania of Tacitus, or a full equivalent; anequivalent of Greek, French, or German will be accepted for Spherical Trigonometry, Analytical Geometry, Calculus, Mathematical Natural Philosophy, and Mathematical Astronomy; Literature.Mathematics.—Higher Algebra; Solid Geometry; Plane and Spherical Trigonometry and Surveying, with use of instruments; Analytical Geometry; Differential and Integral Calculus.Natural Science.—Natural Philosophy, as much as in Snell’s Olmsted; Anatomy, Descriptive and Mathematical; Chemistry; Geology or Mineralogy; Zoology; Astronomy.History.—General History.
Pedagogics.—Elements of School Management and Methods.
Language.—Orthography and Reading; English Grammar, including Composition; Latin, sufficient for the introduction of Cæsar.
Mathematics.—Arithmetic; Elementary Algebra.
Natural Sciences.—Physiology and Hygiene.
Historical Sciences.—Geography—Physical, Mathematical, and Political; History of the United States; Civil Government.
The Arts.—Penmanship, sufficient to be able to explain some approved system—writing to be submitted to Board of Examiners; Drawing, a daily exercise for at least twenty-eight weeks—work to be submitted to the Board of Examiners; Book-keeping, single entry, seven weeks; Vocal music, elementary principles, and attendance upon daily exercises for at least one-third of a year.
Manual Training.
Pedagogics.—Psychology, embracing the intellect, sensibilities, and will; Methods; History of Education; Model School Work—at least twenty-one weeks of actual teaching daily during one period of not less than forty-five minutes; a Thesis on a professional Subject.
Language.—The outlines of Rhetoric, together with at least a fourteen weeks’ course in English literature, including the thorough study of one selection from each of four English classics; Latin—Cæsar.
Mathematics.—Arithmetic; Mensuration; Plane Geometry.
Natural Sciences.—Elementary Natural Philosophy; Botany.
Historical Sciences.—Reading of General History in connection with the History of Education.
The Arts.—Elocutionary Exercises in connection with the study of English literature.
Manual Training.
Pedagogics.—Moral Philosophy; Logic; Philosophy of Education; Course of Professional Reading, with abstracts, notes, criticisms, to be submitted to Board of Examiners; a Thesis on a professional subject.
Language.—Latin, six books of Virgil, four orations of Cicero, the Germania of Tacitus, or a full equivalent; anequivalent of Greek, French, or German will be accepted for Spherical Trigonometry, Analytical Geometry, Calculus, Mathematical Natural Philosophy, and Mathematical Astronomy; Literature.
Mathematics.—Higher Algebra; Solid Geometry; Plane and Spherical Trigonometry and Surveying, with use of instruments; Analytical Geometry; Differential and Integral Calculus.
Natural Science.—Natural Philosophy, as much as in Snell’s Olmsted; Anatomy, Descriptive and Mathematical; Chemistry; Geology or Mineralogy; Zoology; Astronomy.
History.—General History.
To graduate at a Pennsylvanian State Normal School, students must attend at least twenty-one weeks. The Faculty first examines the candidates in all the branches of study; if they find them qualified they recommend them to the State Board of Examiners, and certify that they have completed the course of study as required by law, and have taught the required time in the Model School.
The final examinations are conducted by a State Board of Examiners, who are appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, from the following classes:—the State Superintendent or Deputy Superintendent, who is President of the Board, the Principal of another Normal School, two County or Borough Superintendents from the First District, and the Principal of this Normal School. Each student must receive four votes out of the five in order to pass the examination, and to graduate.
The final examination occurs about two weeks before Commencement,[2]the date being fixed by theState Superintendent. The examination is almost wholly in writing, and lasts two or three days.
Regular graduates who have continued their studies for two years (i.e.have completed either the Elementary or Scientific Course), and have practised their profession for two years in the Common Schools of the State, and who have presented to the Faculty and Board of Examiners a certificate of good moral character and skill in the Art of Teaching from the Board or Boards of Directors by whom they were employed, countersigned by the proper County Superintendent, receive further diplomas, constituting them Masters in the Course in which they graduated, and conferring upon them one of the following degrees: Master of the Elements (M.E.); Master of the Sciences (M.S.).
These diplomas confer upon their holders the right to teach the subjects therein named, in the public schools of Pennsylvania, without further examination.
It is also the duty of the Pennsylvania Normal Schools to grant State certificates to such teachers in the Common Schools of the State who make application for the same, and who fulfil the following conditions:
i. Each applicant must be twenty-one years of age, and must have taught in the CommonSchools of the State during three successive years.ii. Each must present certificates of moral character, and skill in practical teaching.iii. The examination must be either in the subjects of the Elementary or Scientific Course, and must be taken at the time of the Annual Examination of the Normal School at which application is made.iv. Each applicant is required to present an original Thesis on some educational subject.
i. Each applicant must be twenty-one years of age, and must have taught in the CommonSchools of the State during three successive years.
ii. Each must present certificates of moral character, and skill in practical teaching.
iii. The examination must be either in the subjects of the Elementary or Scientific Course, and must be taken at the time of the Annual Examination of the Normal School at which application is made.
iv. Each applicant is required to present an original Thesis on some educational subject.
The School year is usually forty-two weeks, and is divided into two sessions—a winter session of about twenty-eight weeks from August to March, and a summer of fourteen weeks, beginning with the end of March.
The usual charge for the Winter Session is $140 (about £28), and for the Summer Session $70 (about £14).
By a recent Act of the Legislature the following appropriations are made by the State to Normal students and graduates.
i. Each student over seventeen years of age who shall sign a paper declaring his intention to teach in the Common Schools of the State shall receive the sum of fifty cents (about 2s.) per week toward defraying the expenses of tuition and boarding.ii. Each student who upon graduating shall sign an agreement to teach in the CommonSchools of the State two full school years shall receive the sum of fifty dollars (about £10).iii. Any student desiring to secure the benefits must attend the School at least twelve consecutive weeks, and must join a class in Methods of Instruction or School Management. These benefits will be deducted from the regular expenses of board and tuition.
i. Each student over seventeen years of age who shall sign a paper declaring his intention to teach in the Common Schools of the State shall receive the sum of fifty cents (about 2s.) per week toward defraying the expenses of tuition and boarding.
ii. Each student who upon graduating shall sign an agreement to teach in the CommonSchools of the State two full school years shall receive the sum of fifty dollars (about £10).
iii. Any student desiring to secure the benefits must attend the School at least twelve consecutive weeks, and must join a class in Methods of Instruction or School Management. These benefits will be deducted from the regular expenses of board and tuition.
About four miles from Lancaster, and connected with it by an electric railway, is the little village of Millersville, where is located the oldest Normal School of the State. It was established in 1855, and recognised as the First State Normal School in Pennsylvania in 1859. It is a co-educational school with accommodation for about 500 students, although permission is also sometimes given to students to board out. The buildings are typical of this kind of Normal School. There is a central building containing the Chapel, recitation[3]and dining-rooms, etc., while on either side are two dormitories, one for the men students, and one for the women. There is also a gymnasium; and two handsome buildings—a Library, and a Science building with lecture rooms and laboratories—arein process of erection. There are more women students than men, and fewer of the latter intend to become teachers in the State; often they only use the Normal School as a stepping-stone to the University.
An excellent Model School, comprising a Kindergarten and eight grades, is attached to the Institution, in which the students observe the methods used by the critic teachers in various subjects, and also teach under supervision. I heard one of the critic teachers give a model lesson on a brook basin, and afterwards deliver a lecture to the students on the teaching of Geography, in which the special points of teaching method in connection with the brook basin, school district and township were dwelt upon and discussed. I had, moreover, the opportunity of hearing one of the students teach, and was also fortunate enough to be able to listen to a reading lesson given by the head of the Model School on the sentence method.
I next visited the Normal School at West Chester, which was started in 1871. Its buildings are on much the same plan as those at Millersville, with the two wings for men and women students, and the dining and recitation rooms in the centre. The Principal, with pardonable pride, drew my special attention to the gymnasium building, which, with the single exception of the new Yale Gymnasium, is believed to be the most complete connected with any school or college in the States. It contains a full supply of the best apparatus, running tracks, bath-rooms, large swimming-pool, bowling alleys, ball cage, etc. Athoroughly trained physician[4]and his wife are in charge of the gymnasium, and all exercise is taken under their supervision. I was able to attend several of the classes—one on School Method, which took the form of a discussion of such points as the following: “What degree of quiet is necessary in a school?” “On what does ability to govern depend?” “Can ability to govern be acquired?” I was much struck here, as in other American schools and colleges, with the ease in speaking, and the keen interest shown by the students in taking part in the discussion. A lesson in Arithmetic, in which the students made excellent use of that distinctive feature of an American recitation room—the continuous blackboard, one on United States history, and a lesson on physiology given in the Model School, helped to fill up a most interesting morning.
There are two State Normal Schools in the State of Connecticut—one at New Britain, started in 1850, and the other at Willimantic, opened in 1889. These schools have for their object the definite preparation of teachers for work in the State schools, and no encouragement is given to other students to enter. They thus differ from the Pennsylvania Normal Schools, which are often attended by those who do not intend to become teachers. This difference appears to produce one curious and instructive result—namely, that while a large number of menstudents are to be found in the Pennsylvania Normal Schools, they are conspicuous by their absence from those in Connecticut. This is easily understood when one remembers that an overwhelming majority of the teachers in the Common Schools are women, and that as few men intend to take up teaching as a permanent profession, they are not likely to be found in those Normal Schools, the courses of which will not serve as stepping-stones to a future college or other career.
Neither of these two Schools are residential, but the Principals undertake to assist students in finding comfortable accommodation. Board and lodging can usually be obtained from $3 to $4 (14s.to 17s.) per week.
Candidates for admission must either (1) pass an entrance examination held at certain centres in the State, or (2) present a certificate of graduation from a High School or State Teachers’ Certificate, or (3) have taught successfully for three years.
The course is arranged for two years, but no student can graduate from the schools unless considered fit to teach by the Faculty. They may either remain longer as students, or if thought to be hopeless may be requested to withdraw.
At both schools there are at least two parts to the course: (1) that done in the Normal School, including the Theory of Education, and special work in science and other subjects; and (2) that done in the Model or Training Schools. Each School has also a Kindergarten, and at New Britain there is a special course for the training of Kindergarten teachers.
Students who attain the required standard of scholarship in every prescribed subject, and exhibit a fair degree of skill in teaching and governing children,andpass the State Examination for Teachers, receive a Diploma of Graduation.
The fitness of any teacher for her profession is thus determined partly by the authorities of the Normal School, and partly by the State.
All necessary text-books are free, but students are encouraged to purchase a few books of reference.
The aim of this school is entirely professional, but it is found so difficult to obtain a supply of sufficiently prepared students that some academic work, especially in science, is found to be necessary, and each student is expected to learn to make certain sets of apparatus, which will be afterwards helpful in the teaching of science in the schools. The Principal informed me that he considered that the school was stronger on the practical than on the theoretical side. Most certainly the practical training of teachers is most thoroughly arranged for. A Model School of 500 children is attached to the school, the classes in which are in the hands of trained and enthusiastic teachers, who are constantly endeavouring to improve existing and devise new methods of teaching. In reading, for instance, the children make their own reading lesson, the subjects being taken from lessons on elementary science, literature, etc., which they have had. With the help of the blackboard, simple sentences, giving an account of the lesson or its story, are collected, and then printed by the school printing press, which proves an invaluableaddition to the school apparatus. Drawing is also taught almost entirely in connection with other school subjects, the illustrating of Science, History and Geography lessons being thus utilized.
During the training course, the students give a few lessons in the Model School, and spend a good deal of time in observation. But a comparatively new and important feature in connection with the practical training is the six months which students are encouraged to spend after graduation at a Practice School which has been opened at South Manchester. Here the graduates teach under supervision, and obtain that amount of practice under favourable circumstances which is so necessary to the perfecting of the teacher.
At Willimantic, as at New Britain, especial stress is laid on preparing the teacher for the practical part of the profession. The child, however, is the unit of the school, and on the right understanding of the child depends the teacher’s success in teaching. The child has both a body and a mind to be trained, and the two cannot be separated. It is therefore necessary that a teacher should know something about each, and students are therefore expected to devote a good deal of time to the study of Physiology in the Junior year, and to the study of Psychology in the Senior.
The Model Schools[5]are most carefully staffed, and the students spend as much time as possible in observing work done in these schools.
During the last term of the course, each student serves as an assistant in the various grades of the Model Schools, thus having experience in teaching under the guidance and criticism of an expert in each grade.
The course is for two years, but the Principal is anxious to have the time extended.
The first Normal School for the State of New York was opened at Albany in 1844. There are now eleven such schools in the State, two of which—Albany and Oswego—are entirely professional, while the others provide also for academic work.
The following extracts from the circular issued by the Superintendent of Public Instruction give the principal features common to all the Normal Schools of the State of New York.
“Students will be appointed to the Normal Schools by the Superintendent, upon the recommendation of superintendents and school commissioners. These officers will be relied upon to properly represent to possible candidates the needs of the public schools for well-qualified teachers, and the necessity of professional and technical training on the part of all who intend to teach. No students can be admitted who have not already acquired a substantial elementary education. This can be gained in all of the ordinary schools, and the professional training schools cannot be properly taxed with work which the common schools can perform as well. Through the quality of the work performed, through the attainments and the professional spirit and purpose of graduates, rather than through mere multiplicity of numbers, can the Normal Schools best promote the educational interests of the State. There is room and welcome in the Normal Schools for the graduates of the elementary and secondary schools, and even for those who have made substantial advancement in the elementary course without technical graduation, provided that they give promise of becoming successful teachers, and possess the desire to become such; but there is no room for students who have laid no real foundation for professional training, and who have no well-determined purpose about the matter and no fair conception of the responsibilities and obligations of a teacher’s occupation.
“Appointments will ordinarily follow recommendations, but students will be admitted or retained in Normal Schools only when they show scholarship and other qualities in justification of the appointment.
“The following form of recommendation will be used, and will be supplied from the department or from any of the schools upon application. When filled out it should be mailed to the Superintendent, and when approved it will be by him sent direct to the school. No student can be appointed who is not fully sixteen years of age.
To the Superintendent of Public Instruction:—I hereby recommendofinthe County ofagedyears, as possessing the health, scholarship, mental ability and moral character requisite for an appointment to the State Normal and Training School atSchool CommissionerDistrict of the County ofOr,Superintendent City ofDated.
To the Superintendent of Public Instruction:—
I hereby recommendofinthe County ofagedyears, as possessing the health, scholarship, mental ability and moral character requisite for an appointment to the State Normal and Training School at
School CommissionerDistrict of the County ofOr,Superintendent City of
Dated.
“Students duly appointed, and presenting the diplomas of colleges, universities, high schools, academies or academic departments of union schools, State Certificates or Commissioner’s Certificates, granted under the uniform examination system, and still in force, showing a standing of seventy-five per cent. in arithmetic, grammar and geography, may be admitted at any time and without examination.
“Students duly appointed, but unable to present either of the above-named evidences of proficiency, may be admitted at the opening of each term uponduly passing an entrance examination to be held at the school.
“Non-residents of the State are not to be solicited or encouraged to enter our Normal Schools, but such persons as specially desire to do so, and who comply with the requirements as to admission, may be admitted upon paying to the treasurer of the Local Board a tuition fee of twenty dollars per term of twenty weeks in advance. No mileage fees[6]will be paid to non-residents.
“No student will be received into the academic department connected with any State Normal School who is not a bona fide resident of the territory whose people have heretofore given Normal School property to the State, and for whose benefit the State has pledged itself to maintain an academic department.
“Tuition and the use of all text-books are free. Students will be held responsible, however, for any injury or loss of books. They are advised to bring with them, for reference, any suitable books they may have. The amount of fare necessarily paid on public conveyances in coming to the school will be refunded to those who remain a full term.
“A year is divided into two terms of twenty weeks each. The Autumn term commences on the first Wednesday in September, and the Spring term on the second Wednesday in February. There will be an intermission for a week during the holidays.”
There are three courses of study which can be followed: an English course arranged for threeyears, a Classical and a Scientific arranged for four years. (Albany and Oswego have specially arranged courses.)
Students who satisfactorily complete any one of the above courses receive diplomas, which serve as licenses to teach in the public schools of the State.
The first Normal School of the State was located at Albany. Until 1890 it had, like most of the other schools, academic as well as professional work, but it was then reorganized on a new plan, under the title of “New York State Normal College.” This College now devotes itself entirely to the giving of instruction in the Science and Art of Teaching.
The courses of study are as follows:—
1.English Course, which extends over two years, and embraces Psychology, History and Philosophy of Education, Methods of teaching all ordinary school subjects, School Economy and School Law, Kindergarten methods and practice in teaching under criticism. Graduates from this course receive a life diploma or license to teach.
2.Classical Course.This is also a two years’ course on much the same lines as the English, but with the addition of Methods of teaching Latin and Greek, or German, or French. A much severer entrance examination must, however, be passed to gain admission to this course than is required for the English. A life diploma and the degree of Bachelor of Pedagogy are conferred on graduates from this course.
3.Supplementary Course.This takes one year, which is devoted to the reading of leading educationalauthors, the discussion of educational subjects, and the preparation of an original thesis. Those who take this course in addition to the English receive the degree of Bachelor of Pedagogy, and those who take it in addition to the Classical receive that of Master of Pedagogy.
4.One year Course for graduatesfrom Colleges and Universities in which they are allowed to select a course (approved by the Faculty) for one year, and can receive a life diploma and the degree of Bachelor of Pedagogy.
5.Kindergartner’s Course.
I unfortunately reached Albany too late to see the school in working order, but from what its Principal, Dr. Milne, told me, it appears to possess the most purely professional course of any Normal School in the States.
The Oswego School was first organized as a City Training School in 1861, but was adopted as a State School in 1863. The history of this school is the history of its Principal, Dr. Sheldon. When quite young, he became interested in the question of the education of the poor of his native city, Oswego. With the help of friends the first free school was started, but as no teacher could be found, he had to teach himself. He was able, in 1853, to organize a city system of schools, and became superintendent. Dissatisfaction with the teaching results of his schools led him to consider the question of methods. On a visit to Toronto, he saw in the National Museum a collection of educational appliances used abroad, andespecially at the Home and Colonial Training School in London. He brought back all the apparatus that he could, but both he and his teachers realized the need of training, and finally some of them resigned half their salaries for one year, in order that a training teacher might be brought over from the Home and Colonial Training College. Miss M. E. M. Jones, an ardent disciple of Pestalozzi, came in response to their request, and day by day, after school hours, she met this enthusiastic little band of teachers, which was the first Training Class. After she left, those she had taught were able to carry it on, and the training of teachers was an established fact in Oswego. The course was at first only for one year, but was later extended to three and four when the school was taken over by the State.
With the consent of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the classical department has been dropped out of the Oswego School, and more extended lines of English work have been taken up as elective courses. The regular English course is taken for three years, and one of these for the fourth.
This course includes advanced work in science, history, higher English, psychology, pedagogy, drawing, and teaching under criticism, and occupies two terms of twenty weeks each.
Those who show marked talent for primary and kindergarten work may, after graduation, be invited by a vote of the Faculty to take an additional year in special training for kindergarten and primary teachers. At the end of this course diplomas are granted, indicating fitness to take chargeof kindergartens; and in addition, certificates of special qualifications for primary work are given, signed by all the members of the Faculty.
In order to meet the increasing demand for teachers who can undertake training work in Normal Schools, a special course has been started, which lasts for five months, and includes lectures in psychology, pedagogy, kindergarten principles and methods; observation of the work in the kindergarten; attendance upon the criticisms of the critics in all the departments of the training work; making out criticisms on the work in the different departments of the school of practice and actual teaching under criticism; making out time-tables for the different grades of schools; observation of work in the school of practice as done by practice teachers, to gain an idea of arrangement, distribution and grading of subject matter; observation of special lessons, followed by criticisms of same. A course of professional reading is prescribed, as well as the preparation of papers on various topics connected with method and criticism. Occasional opportunities are provided, to put into practice ideal and experimental lines of work, by teaching classes; and instruction is given in making apparatus, charts, etc., to illustrate the subjects taught in the common schools.
Teachers for this course are also selected by the Faculty, on the ground of their superior moral, intellectual, physical and professional qualifications, and of special fitness for the work; and on the satisfactory completion of the same, receive certificates,signed by all the members of the Faculty, indicating their fitness to act as critics and teachers of methods in Normal and Training Schools.
Experience in teaching in the various grades of the public schools is considered important before entering upon this work.
It is not in a strict sense a residential college, but students from a distance are expected to live in a boarding-house attached to the school.
Great stress is laid upon the elaboration of methods of teaching of various subjects, and from the Oswego School have come many improvements in ways of teaching. Perhaps the chief contribution to methodology is that known as the “laboratory” method of teaching history, which is said to have revolutionized the teaching of history in American Schools. It is an adaptation of the seminary method introduced by the German historian Ranke. In order to make this method possible in the schools, specially prepared text-books were needed, and these Dr. Sheldon’s daughter undertook to write. Two text-books have been published:Studies in General History, andStudies in American History, both of which have been extensively adopted in American Schools. In these books there is presented to the pupil a carefully chosen body of original historical material—typical extracts from the laws, constitution, creeds and other records of the past—pictures of monuments, temples, statues and relics, together with questions upon this material that test and train the pupil’s powers of judgment and reason. In connection also with theteaching of history the plan is advocated, and carried out in connection with the Model School, of allowing the children to compile the history of their own town, collecting the information for themselves, and recording it in a manuscript book kept for the purpose, which they can also illustrate by original drawings of their own. I saw a delightful history of Oswego compiled in this way, and in several other towns I found that school children were undertaking similar work.
Most of the method-teaching is carried on by means of discussions on topics given. I was able to attend one of these, and also to see some of the teaching in the Practice School.
Perhaps what impressed me most about the school was the large amount of liberty allowed to the students, and the absence of rules. Dr. Sheldon told me that the experience of his lifetime had only confirmed him in the belief, that the fullest freedom is necessary for the right development of character, and that year by year he had given his students an ever-increasing amount of liberty. The idea of self-government and responsibility is inculcated, and rare are the cases in which this freedom is abused.
To Massachusetts belongs the honour of having led the way in the establishment of Normal Schools. The Massachusetts Board of Education, established in 1838, at once took up the question of the training of teachers for the public schools. A member of theBoard, the Hon. Edmund Dwight, of Boston, offered $10,000 on condition that the Legislature would appropriate an equal amount towards providing for such training. His offer was accepted, and three Normal Schools were opened, each of which was to continue for three years as an experiment. The experiments proved completely successful. There are now six State Normal Schools, which are under the direct control of the Board of Education, and supported entirely by the State. Tuition is free to all who undertake to teach in the State Schools. The arrangements for boarding vary with each school.
The State appropriates $4,000 per annum to be divided among those students of Normal Schools who stand in need of such aid.
Text-books and reference books are free.
[7]“The design of the State Normal Schools is strictly professional; that is, to prepare in the best possible manner the pupils for the work of organizing, governing and teaching the public schools of the Commonwealth.
“To this end there must be the most thorough knowledge; first, of the branches of learning required to be taught in the schools; second, of the best methods of teaching those branches; and third, of right mental training.
“The time of one course extends through a periodof two years; of the other, through a period of four years, and is divided into terms of twenty weeks each, with daily sessions of not less than five hours, five days each week.”