Nebraska advertiser., 1877-02-08
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
Report OF s. r. Thompson, Principal,
TO the Governor.
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
PERU. NER.. Dec. % lS76.


SIR:-With your request for a re
port of the present condition, th'
operations, and expenditures of tht
State Normal School for the past twC
years. / gladly comply. 1t is desirable
that the chief executive of the State
and through him the Legislature
should have the most complete infor
nation in regard to the condition o.
this, as of all our State Institutions
During the past year, the school ha:
been reasonably prosperous, and
| quietly doing the work for which il
was established. The attendance is
larger than at any previous time in
its history, and more students are
actually studying the art Of teaching
than in previous years.
Unavoidable changes In the faculty
have perhaps retarded the advance
ment of the school somewhat, but
much less than has generally been
supposed. All the changes made in
the organization and course of study
have had but one purpose. and that
was to render it more useful as train
ing school for teachers. The result OF
this effort is, that cur Normal School
is true teachers school; and do
not know of a single normal school in
the country which to-day is doing
more genuine work in the training OF
teachers than ours. This Is as 1t
should be.
The principal changes made in the
course of study within two years were
two:
(D. The preparatory Course" was
abandoned, and one year taken from
the higher course. In lieu of these,
two courses were established, viz. :
The Elementary Course of two years.
and the Higher Course of five.
(2). Studies in the art of teaching
are now required in all parts of the
course, 80 that If student stays but
few terms, he will receive some in
struction in the science and art of
teaching. Previous to this change,
instruction in How to Teach" was
confined principally to the fifth year
of the Higher Course.
The Elementary Course takes g pu-
pill at such a stage of advancement
that one years study will make him
well qualified to receive a third grade
county certificate. To start lower
than this would be to do work which
may be done in the common schools.
To start higher would exclude from
the school many who wish to prepare
for teaching, but who cannot find at
home such instruction as they need.
That We do not begin too low Is l
think shown by the fact, that every
year a large number leave the lowest
grade and take schools to teach.
Every term students who have
taught one or more terms enter the
lowest grade in the school. Surely
pupil who is old enough to teach is
not too young to receive instruction
In the art.
The studies of the two years course
are as follows:
First YeGr.-Resding, penmanship,
geography, composition, grammar,
elements of natural history. drawing,
and methods OF teaching.
Second Yedr.-Elementary algebra.
commercial arithmetic, physiology,
physical geography. composition. his
tory of United States, botony, and
methods of teaching.
To enter this course. students must
have completed intermediate geogra-
ply, language lessons, and arithme-
tic to percentage.
Those who complete 1t thoroughly
are much better educated than the
average common school teacher.
/ desire here to express my strong
conviction that this elementary course
IS an important, if not the most i'm
portant, part Of the Normal School.
During the year 1876 there were in the
first gear class III pupils, and in the
second II, or 1SS in all, large part of
whom will teach more or less during
the wear.
Students who complete the elemen-
tary course satisfactorily are prepared
TO enter upon the
HIGHER COURSE.
The design of this course is to pre-
pare teachers for the higher class of |
graded schools and for superinten-
dents of county and city schools. To
complete it requires three years of
study. The following is a |
list of the studies of each year, and a
statement of the number OF students
in each.
FIRST TEAR.-Algebra, analysis,
school economy, natural philosophy,
bookkeeping. and English
literature. Number of pupils, IS.
SECOND YEAR.-Geometry, zoology,
English literature or
Latin, chemistry, general history or
Latin, civil government and geology.
Students I'm this vear 90