The University daily. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 18??-????, 1880-06-07
NORMAL SCHOOLS IN THE
SOUTH.
BY BARNAS SEARS, b. D..
sssssiary = Is. Peabody Edas.sionsl saad.


There IS evidence Of decided progress
ii public opinion The existence Of the
school system being established As part
Of the policy Of every State. its active
supporters are now considering BY what
means they can best elevate the tone Of
instruction. Il isa pleasing coincidence
that. At the. very time when the Board is
turning its chief attention to the improve
mcnt Of the education given in the public
schools. widespread opinion is stimuli
taneossly springing up that the greatest
want now existing in the several States is.
that Of welltrained teachers And ye&
in some of the States that stand most in
need Of efficient normal schools. it would
be impossible to provide at once the re-
squisite .unds for their establishment So
long as this state Of things remain, it will
Be indispensably necessary not only %
make diligent use Of teachers institutes.
but to give them. by means of more con
centration and permanency. greater pow.
er and efficiency. The experiment Of
holding them for longer time. and for
greater numbers, with an able corps Of in.
structors, has been tried with signal sue
cess In those cases where it shall stil
be necessary. for the present, to retain
teachers who are inperfectly qualified for
their task, no means shoult be neglected
that would tend to enlighten them, and
render them more worthy Of their trust.
Though there are very few normal
schools Of A high character besides our
own in the States with which we are con
cerned. there are several Of different grades
Of excellence, either maintained OF aided
bypublic authority. Some of the former
and all of the latter, are for colorcd teach
ers. Virginia has no such school of its
own, but It patronizcs the eolorcd insti
tute at Hampton North Carolina has a
six weeks normal school for all the white
teachers in the State, and a colorei nor
NAL school at Fayetteville, kept through
the year. South Carolina does not, al
present, maintain one for itself but sends
pupils on Peabody scholarshipsto Hamp
ton Virginia. Georgia feels the ned of
normal school, and will not long be with
out one Ii contributes the largest con
tingent Of pupils to the Nashville Normal
School. and patronixes the Normal de
partment for eoiored teaches in Ne I'M
yersity at Atlanta Florida is IN a SINH
lar condition, and avails itself of scholar
ships at Nashville. Alabama has one
normal school for white teachers and two
for colored. Mississippi formerly con
tributcd funds to the normal school at
Tougaloo, out, on account of some disas
greement with its managers has ceased to
do 50. In louisiana there is flourishing
Peabody normal school for the white pop
ulation, and another for theIeolored, both
being in New Orleans and under our pat
ronagc. Texas has Just passed 4 law es.
tablishing two normal schools, one for
each race Arkansas hastwo such in full
operation. In Tennessee IS the well
known Normal College, supported main.
~ BY the Peabody Fund. West Virginia
has nominally six normal schools. but
they are now s,ffering from neglect, no
appropriation having been made for the,
present year
Much good has been accomplished for
the colored schools BY the universities
and other endowed institutions with nor
NAL departments, maintained by different
Christian determinations. These general
" have fine buildings and grounds. and
an able body Of instructors. One 7asso.
CATION has already sent out from its nu-
merous institutions 8, 267 teachers, BY
whom about 100000 pupils have been in
structed. Al large proportion of the grad
yates Of all these institutions become
teachers There IS no Southern State
that is not greatly benefited by them. as
each has one, two, or three within its
borders.