Lexington weekly intelligencer., 1878-02-02
THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS.

In he 'icles which have appeared
III tais department upon our public
ecGoul system. we have said some
thing OF the District School, the Higi
sctcu.. aud me State University.
;" propose now t. discuss the State
Normal Schools. There are four of
these: one at Kirk ksYiile in the north;
cuc III Cape Girardesu for the south
cast; Che 1T Warrensburg for the
west: and one al Columbia for the
cuItar. There is also Normal de-
partment in connection with ihr
pubic schools Of ST. Louis.
lie first remark upon our Norma!
Schools Is. that they are notused foI
the purpose for which they were IS
tuUiished. The word Normal was
probably first used in this connection
ty lorace Mann, the great educa-
t.Uni.t, W ho dt fines Normal SChoo,
as one ''iu which the pupil. L
trained t. become ttachers.' Thr
S,ste Teachers Association, held al
the lime these schoos were tlrst or
-amized III Missouri, resolved, THAI
the Normal School should be al
the head Of our educatioual system;
that Tie course Of study should bt
purely professional, and that all pre-
paratuIy work should BE- done in tht
public schools and universities.
Hon. j ohm Montcith, while Sup't Of
Public Schools, in one Of bis otfcia
reports. remarks: 1.-The people aud
the educators unite i'll demandin.
closely to the line of this special"
(prciessionaD "traiming as the naiCr.
OF tie case will admit" There Is
however. no dispute upon this poiut ::
for all will agree that the one okjecI
for which these schools were ims,i
tuted is to teacn teachers how to
teach. Just as law school is for TIT
education of lawyers in the peculiar
itics of their profession, a theological
school for diviues, and q medical
school for doctors, SO normal school
Is tor the specific beuetit of teachers,
that they may be PROFESSIONAL,
trained.
We assert. without any fear OF sue
ces>tul contradiction, that the Nor
NAL S.horls of Missouri are neither
exclusively nor mainly devoted I.
this purpose. Take any one of them,
al You will see, by looking at tie
faculty as announced by them, wha,
thy propose to do. The corps is
probably composed of six or eigh'
teachers, of whom one, and only one
Is amnouu, ell as undertaking to give
in-tru ton in the theory and art Of
teaching. Way then six or eighl
teachers Tie rest are teaching
mathematics, the scieuces, the aucien,
and moicrn languages, music, i"
parstory y, nrk which should be done
i,i the public sch pols and universi
ties" What are our Normal School
TO-DAY but Ii Il Schools One-sixil
OF the time and talent, and the money
i. spent upon the object for whlci
they we're e-t ibiished aud the othe
f,r-s!Xths devoted to other purposes
good enough indeed. but not the pur
poses for which the schools were or
gauized.
Perhaps it may be said that this
true OF all professional schools. Ia
theological seminary, only one pro
irs'or in the faculty gives special il
structlon ill sernonizlug and past or,
work. In law school. the practic
occupies only part of The attentio
of one teacher. In medical colleg.
only a portion of the labor is devote
to practical instruction in surger
or medicine. This is all true. In a
Of these professional schools, Il lare
proportion of the time is consumed i
teaching other things than the dire
practical work OF the particu ar pr,
fcssion. Why then, it may be aske
may not this he done III a school 8,
the training of teachers! The ret
is easy. The Instruction given in
of these professional schools 10 IL
only upon those branches which n
directly useful to the preach,
;.wyer, or doctor, rs the case may