Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1896-03-05
SCORES THE NORMAL SCHOOL
SuP'T FOX N PLATTEVILLE WITNESS
ON RAISING NORMAL STANDARD.

The Cheapening of Normal school Di-
pIomas disastrous to Public school In
terests.
Alma Mater; In recent issue of
the Milwaukee Sentinel, in circulars,
and in other ways. YOU have proclaim
ed to the State of Wisconsin that you
have raised the standard of admission
one year
Now, have always desired to work
in harmony with the Normal School,
and am in sympathy with every hon
est and well-directed effort to increase
its efficiency; but cannot let such a
statement go longer uuchallenged.
when the welfare of our public schools
is involved. The standard of admis-
sion to the Normal department has
| always been low; but the requirements
were uniform and were rigidly adher-
ed to. There was no lodging the ex-
aminations without proper credentials;
and frequently not more than one or
two out of sixty or sixtv-iive appli-
cants would pass
/ have been well acquainted With
the school for twenty-five years. and
have taught beside it for ten wears.
For ten years. | prepared pupils for
the Normal examinations, and for six
years have compared our own stan
dard of admission with its require
ments, and / am fully convinced that
there has never been a time before
when so low grade of scholarship
could satisfy these requirements as
during the last three months. | GER
tainly should not make such state
ment if had not evidence to support
it. | do not rely on the report of
similar cases from the rural schools,
but on our public school records, on
the personal testimony of our teach
ers, and on my own thorough person
al knowledge of the attachments of
some who have recently entered the
Normal, and that without examina-
ton in at least two cases.
| When pupils have passed through
all the grades of the public schools
from the primary to the grammar de-
partment, it is not necessary for us to
ask the Normal examiners what they
are prepared to do. There are four
cases that are particularly noticeable;
these | will designate as one, two,
three and four. Now, | do not wish
to do injustice to any pupil For all
who have aspirations after knowledge,
| have only sympathy and encourage
ment; therefore it is not personal
question. 1t is not just. however, to
give a pupil false ideas OF his attain
ment, by giving him credit for what
he has never done. | would not toler-
ate it twenty-four hours if it were
one Of my own boys.
The first three have been in the
public schools since childhood, but
have never been able TO comply with
all the requirements for admission to
the High School, and l do not believe
they can enter by examination any
High School worthy of the name.
Number three entered the Normal, as
/ understand, without examination
and without credentials, simply on his
own statement as to his attainments,
and that statementa false one. Num-
Der four entered the public schools in
the sixth grade, has been out of school
every spring term. has never com
pleted the work of any grade, and the
average of standings from 1892 to
1896 is so per cent. He cannot hon
estly be classified above the seventh
| grade, the lowest grammar grade
My assistant and Iagree that it would
take about two years work with the
best tuition to fit him for the Normal
School. How this was done in two
weeks in the Grammar Department of
the Normal School is conundrum
we have not yet solved.
Now. some one is doing such a pu-
phi an injustice, for there is an error
of two years to be accounted for. 1t
looks as though we had wronged that
pupil by holding him back We resent
the insinuation.
Again, if our seventh and eighth
grade pupils can enter the first year
of the Normal, why should our grad
yates who were three or four years
ahead of them in the public schools,
be placed in the second year? Why
this loss of several years? What
reflection on us Furthermore. this
pupil was transferred to the Normal
department without examinations, af-
ter spending two weeks in the Gram
mar; thus leaving behind in the Ninth
grade those who were a year-yes, /
might truthfully say two years
ahead of him in the public schools last
year; and who are in my estimation,
as based on our records. from one TO
two years in advance of any Of these
four
With such a standard Of admission.
it IS sheer nonsense to say it has been
raised year If this we're done, it
would cut down the enrolment about