Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1868-02-28
Normal Schools.
Memorial or Iowa State Teachers Asso
citation to the Legislature.

] MC"Vfidf VI tOHb Otdte EtacHfFS ASSO-
citation to the Legislature.
To The Honorable, and General as
sen,6ly Of IoWd:
| The teachers of the State of Iowa,
through the undersigned Committee,
appointed for the purpose at our last
Annual Meeting, held at Des Moines,
| August 18th, 9th end 18th, 1857. beg
leave to present their memorial, pray
ing for the establishment of one Nor
NAL School for each Congressional Dis
trict of the State, as soon as the people
of the same sbalf donate buildings aud
site, worth not less than fifty Thousand
dollars. They beg leave to state in
brief the reasons which have induced
this action.
l. That in order to carry out a Sys-
tefnatiC Plan for the Education OF all
the children of Il State WELL QUAIL
FLED TEACHERS must he had.
H.. That there Is manifest lack of
good teachers to- supply tile present aud
largely increasing demand in tile state,
| the ratio of certificates not varying
much from 10 first class, 10 second
class aud 0 10 third class, third class
certificates beiGg gfanted by County
superintendent only for lack Of good
teachers,) shows that we have nit far
!! from 5000 teachers who should at once
be trained.
III. There is great lack of Tnstitu
tions to prepare the talented young
men and women of iowa for the special
work of teaching. By the past ratio
of change each Congressional District
should send out annually 300 well pre-
pared teachers, TO supply the present
demand, without looking to our iu-
crease. While our colleges aud higher
seminaries are doing Il good work In
supplying the literary qualifications,
they do not give the special training
requisite for TEACHERS, aud without
this training they are and must be
largely experimenters. About so per
cent. of our teachers are changed in
three years ami their placessupplied by
others, so that Il large share of their
teaching time is spent in trying to
learn HOW to teach, or with many of
them NOT learning HOW. H..
". Iowa alone, %! all the n. w.
States, has no school devoted exciu-
sireiy to training teachers ut public ex-
pense. .. .....-
Other States have recognized that it
il best Ia provide the efficient agents tn
serve in school itoiSes as well as Oh tie
battle field; that in laying the founda-
tions of the republic in the hearts of
the young, skilled and trained work
men must lie employed.
The Trustees for the care and distri-
button of the magnificent Fund, dona-
ted by George Peabody, recognize the
vast Importance of such Schools by
AIDING IN a SPECIAL MANNER NOR
NAL AND TRAINING SCHOOLS.
Shall Iowa stand aluupc If she
must stand alone it ~ tue UNANIMOUS
wish of tire teachers of the State that
she stand aions only in having out
stripped all Others ia those things
which exnlt people,
Ii Is believed that the teachers Of the
State are entirely unanimous on this
point. Very many counties have mott
fed the chairman of this committee of
the UNANIMOUS passage of the follow
ing: 49,.
ResOkred, That we see and feel the
need of institutions for the more thor
ough training of Teachers for DER Cualr-
mon schools, and we earnestly recon-
mend to the General Assembly of Iowa
the Importance of immediate action Oh
their part To the eud that we may have
at the earliest possible moment, one or
more Normal Schools established upon
u good working basis.
V. Sound principles Of economy
would teach that more money is vast
eel annually in tie employment of poor
teachers than would he the cost of es-
tablishing and maintaining Normal
Schools. SlN-TENrHS OF OUR TEACH
FRS THIRD RATE! BY what mathe-
matics can We estimate the difference
between first rate and third rate
Teacher?
Bat surprising that only twenty per
cent, of the money is now no worse
than lost, it would amount to the sum
Of S4D,0OW i'm round numbers, or more
than S5o,OO0 10 each Congressional Dis
trict.
Moved by these considerations. and
with the earnest desire to make the
Schools of iowa second to those of no
other state s6 that her fame education
ally shall not he inferior Ia her fame as
a defender OF constitutional liberty on
well fought battle fields, or her etiual
fame as proVitler for the children of
her fallen heroes-your MemorialistS
respectfully pray you to consider the
eXpediency of establishing ore Nor
NAL School in each Con grpssi0uaI Dis
trict IA soon as the people thereof shall
contribute the sum IF S5a, 900 in build
Tags and sites.
In heiialf of the Iowa State Teachers
Association.
J. PIPER,
Chairman Com. on Normal Schools.