Part 9 (2/2)

This institution, with its various types, is not one that has evolved from a careful theoretical study of our present or prospective educational needs, but one that has grown up, little by little, step by step, toneeds of the larger system of which it forms a part, and for the service of which it was called into existence But is it not true that oftentiic of events--the movements of history--reveal to us our fundamental principles, outline for us our policy of action, and even write out for us our program of procedure as correctly and even more irrevocably than philosophical formulation could do? Is not that especially likely to occur under such a forovernment as ours? I think it has occurred in the present case

It is interesting to note in this connection the fact that the logic of events has led us, in our efforts to solve the difficult problem of the education of our teachers, to practically the same solution as that already reached by France and Ger the pathway of theoretical philosophical formulation

I believe that at least two of these institutions, the state nore, have come to stay, and with practically the functions outlined above Of the county normal school, as said before, I do not feel quite so sure I am led to the belief in the relative permanency of these types of professional school, not only by a knowledge of the history of their development, but also by the conviction, formed by a somewhat careful study of the entire probleical as well as economical, for the differentiation In other words, s ht us all

As to the county normal school: it is so apparent as scarcely to need mention that the teacher of the rural school needs a preparation differing in rades The environment, physical, psychical, and social, is so different that a teacher equipt to do thoroly good work in either one place nally fail in the other And the present economic situation speaks with nearly the sa out teachers ideally equipt for service in the rural communities, the remuneration there offered is, and for an indefinite time will remain, so low as practically to keep them out of the schools Either we must have special institutions for the preparation of the teachers of the rural schools, or else those schools must, in the main, continue to do without professionally prepared teachers

Turning now to the other type, it is equally clear to me that the very character of the work in the elementary and secondary schools should be different one from the other, different as to discipline, ends in view, subjects of study, andthe same In the elementary school the pupil is a child, with the mind, the tastes, the ambitions of a child, and he should be allowed to reht ideals, and knowledge facts In the secondary school the student is an adolescent, with thepeculiar and erratic tastes, changing a e thru the erous and critical period of his entire life The ends in view are no longer e facts, but, added to these, and now ht principles have already been established, breadth and fixity of character, self-acquaintance, scholarshi+p, and culture Tell me that the at, academic and professional, that will produce the ideal teacher of the child will also produce the ideal teacher of the adolescent? Nay, verily! You ht as well tell the florist that the American Beauty rose and the Snoer of the Northern forest will both reach perfection if grown side by side

Then surely we need different kinds of institutions I cannot better conclude this thought than by using the words of Dr Wraph of an article on ”The Future of the Normal School” (Ed Rev, January, 1899, p 1) Dr Harris says: ”I have tried to set down in this paper the grounds for co the nor teachers for the ele the need of training schools with different arten, below, and for the secondary school, the college and the post-graduate school, above the eleical one, is alone sufficient for believing that the differentiation is logical But let me add another, almost equally effective--an academic reason, directly academic and at the sa words, taken from Dr Payne's ”Contributions to the Science of Education” (Am

Book Co, 1886, p 538) ”If there is any well-established principle of school economy it is this: The scholarshi+p of the teacher should be considerably broader than the scholarshi+p of his most advanced pupil”

nobody now questions the statement

Upon the basis of that principle there is little criticism to be offered of the acaderaduates as teachers in the grades No normal school now completes its ith less than one full year beyond the coh school course, and two years beyond is rapidly getting to be the standard So that norrades at least four years of academic, and from one to two years of professional and academic work beyond the point to be reached by ”his er experience and a closer acquaintance with the great character for subjects, such as literature, history, philosophy, etc This would give breadth of view, clearness of perception, and a right perspective--elements of incomparable value in the equipment of the teacher But yet, in view of our econo and therefore of appreciation in the lay mind of the most vital and fundamental work of the teacher, we cannot yet hope for teachers ideally equipt And our present standards, if insisted upon and the work thus far be thoro and clear and faithful, will give us increasingly better results and eventually lead to conditions ment as to criticisraduates as possible teachers in the high school The scholarshi+p of such a teacher there would be but little, if any, ”broader than the scholarshi+p of his islation touching the requireh school teachers in the United States, each state, and even each school, being largely a law unto itself, there is getting to be a very decided uniformity the country over as to practise, and in islation would be For without compulsion, the whole people, each section and each state, independent of all others, seely by the very necessity of the case, have fixt upon the sah school teachers And that iate course of instruction, including--indeed, in many cases, plus--a certain emphasis to be placed upon the subjects to be handled, and a certain amount of time devoted to strictly professional subjects

To be sure, in so coiate work, and practically so in North Dakota, requiring coh school principalshi+ps, and strongly recoh school In California a step farther has been taken in requiring, in addition to that, a full year of graduate study The tendency, in several states, seems to be in the direction of the position taken by California And with that tendency I am in sympathy

This o any farther I deprecate the tendency, seen in so up as the syh school teacher, the doctor's degree I do not want the boys and girls of our high schools taught, or rather directed in their upward development, byabout nothing, and nothing about everything Nor do I want thee twenty while the class is working on page nineteen” But I do want them directed by men and women who are thoroly acquainted with the subjects which they teach, and who kno to handle the same; but especially by men and women of broad, liberal culture, men and women whose lives have been enriched by the best there is in literature, history, art, science, and philosophy, and who know life, and are in war life Teachers thus equipt are able, froe point, to reach out here and there and take as educative material that which will contribute to the beautiful and strong development of each case at hand And such an equipment, on its acaderee, or its equivalent

My authority for the state uniforh school teachers a full collegiate course, and as to the tendency in several states toward requiring, in addition, a full year of graduate study, is found in an extended correspondence with normal school principals and city and state superintendents representing the entire country

These facts as to present-day requirements seem to me to fix somewhat definitely the matters under discussion Our normal schools, with possibly two or three exceptions, are not equipt to give the extended qualification now de the two or three, the best of them do not pretend to carry the student raduation And whether it be one or two years, the work is, as it ought to be, mainly professional--not acadeest normal schools insist that they do not do any strictly acadeh school teachers, how her

To be sure, the work of the norht be sufficiently extended to enable theht be erected, laboratory facilities increased, libraries enlarged, additional and stronger teachers provided, etc But is it necessary? Is it wise? Is it likely to happen with our legislators holding the purse strings so tightly tied? To all such questions the answer ative It is not necessary because not really needed for the preparation of elementary teachers, while for the preparation of secondary teachers other agencies are at hand And if not needed the unwisdom of such an extension can scarcely be questioned

Certainly not, if, as urged above, different kinds of institutions are needed for the preparation of the two grades of teachers Then, if both not needed and unwise, it is not likely to happen in any case where legislators are intelligently infor ht be interesting, in closing, to give a brief summary of the correspondence mentioned above This inquiry, was directed to all our state superintendents, to forty of the leading nor all sections of the country, and to fifty-two leading and representative city superintendents The following questions were asked:--

(1) Are your norive adequate preparation to prospective high school teachers?

(2) If you think they are not, would it be wise to add to their present equipive such preparation, or can that work be better done in some other way?

REPLIES FROM STATE SUPERINTENDENTS

To question (1) Thirty-eight replies were received, of which twenty-nine were negative and nine affirmative Of the nine, however, only one came from a state in which normal school facilities are at all superior to what e, and in that state these facilities are found in only one of the five normal schools, whereas, in five of the nine, these facilities are inferior to what e In two of the nine, tho the state superintendents gave affirmative answers, the consensus of opinion of the norative In a word, the nine affirmative replies indicate individual opinions, and result from a limited perspective

To question (2) Twenty-nine replies were received, of which fifteen were specifically negative, five specifically affir of the question But nearly all of the nine, as well as the fifteen, stated definitely or clearly ies and universities

REPLIES FROM NORMAL SCHOOL PRINcipaLS

To question (1) Twenty-eight replies were received, of which twenty were negative, and eight affir but one nor; two fro each one schoolspecifically to that school Of the re three, one was from a new state in the Northwest, one from a Southern state, and one stated that only in some branches was the equipment sufficient

To question (2) Twenty replies were received, of which sixteen were negative, and four affirmative Of the four, not one said that all should be so equipt Each suggested that perhaps it would be well thus to extend the equipment of one school in a state