The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-11-11
SCHOOLS NEEDED.
State Teachers Will Meet in
Newark to Discuss Edu-
catlonal Problems.
PROF. sEELEY's ADDRESS
Training of Teachers Urged and
More Schools Wanted
Work in Europe.
PROF. SEELEY'S ADDRESS
Special to the Jersey Nears city.

Newark on Friday and Saturday Of this
week.
Professor James NJ. Green, PHI. D.. of
the State Normal School, 10 president Of
the Council. and It's membership includes
the leading educators Of the State.
Professor Levi seeley, Phi. D., Of the
Normal School, has prepared an elaborate
and instructive paper 10 be presented at
cipals, from which the following extracts
are taken.-
when William Won Humboldt was at
the head of educational affairs in Prussia,
1903 to 1871, the office, like our National
Educational Bureau. being GEbordinate 10
the Department of the Interior, ne laid
down three principles as the
Of an educational system
Il. Education shall be compulsory.
SO. Education shall be literally aided by
the State.
.S. Every teacher must be trained.
The second of these propositions has
been more literally and successfully met
in this country than in any other country
in the world. The last report of the
| United States Commissioner of Education
shows that this country contributes An
nually upwards Of one hundred and sew
enty millions of dollars for public educa-
ton. a larger sum than any other nation
in the world, being $3.50 fer each child
in average attendance.
Compulsory attendance is only indiffer-
entity carried out, showing that this prob
! lem is by no means solved with US as yet.
stBut with the third proposition, that
concerning trained teachers, we are far
behind several other nations, and far be-
hind What we should do and what we are
/ capable of doing.
From the time of the founding of the
4 first normal school in Massachusetts, in
1888, through the influence of Horace
Mann, until the present time, the impor-
mr. ~ " NO i1-a EtnnaharS md Gncaia1
schools for their training is being more
! and more recognized. AS early as 1887,
this great apostle OF education, in his first
report TO the Massachusetts Board of
Education, urged that teachers should be
trained.
Among many other good things. he
says:-"The normal school is not only an
essential instrument Of educational prog
ress, but is Itself a product of that resist
less on-going which we term civilization
lllumtnating-gas, coal. the electric light,
the printing press, the telegraph, are not
SO much inventions and discoveries as
growths; each of them echoes, as it were,
the voice of fate, their not coming is IN
conceivable. And so the normal school
was one of the products of the times; its
coming could not have been considerably
hastened nor could 1t have been prevented.
1t came in response to certain needs, and
it has come to stay. It's mission is as
definite as that of the common school,
the college or the university. . The
fac. is, the era of normal instruction has
only lust beSun. 1t remains for our sue
cessors, near and remote, to possess and
cultivate q land in which we are pioneers
and pilgrims.
From the time Of Horace Mann until
the present time educators have devised
schemes. legislatures have enacted laws,
and the people have freely spent Their
money to secure better trained teachers
for our schools. In spite of all that has
been done and is being done, we have
still more to do. AS yet, only a deplorably
small fraction Of the 100000 teachers OF
Jn!s country are professionally trained.
The great majority Of our children are
still taught by novices, and parents, VINO
demand professional skill in the treatment
of the bodies of their children are indiffer-
eflt as to the professional training of those
who instruct them in the school room.
In France, whose school system is not
vet a quarter of a century old, and in re-
spect to the training of teachers not even
a decade. We find that only IL per cent.
Of the male teachers and 12Ea per cen OF
the female teachers, do not possess the
diploma of a normal school or the univer-
sity. Only graduates can now be appoint
ed, and in a few years all who are not
graduates from a normal school or uni
versity will have disappeared from the
schools. This applies to public and priv
ate schools alike. In 1892 all of her men
having charge of a school possessed a
| diploma or a degree.
"Of the T.7S1 common school teachers in
Prussia in 1893, only 21 or about three
tenths of one per cent, were not graduates
of a normal school or its equivalent. There
are lZZ normal SCHOOLS, III DeluR Tor
men exclusively, 8 for women, i in which
both men and women are taught Out not
togetherl and i for governesses. Like
France there must be at least one normal
| school for each governmental district, and
there may be as many more as the dis
trict may need. Graduates owe allegiance
to their W district if their services are
needed; if not, they may seek situations
elsewhere.
1--WE have at hand no adequate statis-
tics of the training of teachers in England.
| IT is we'll EpGpVn hDvTPVer that a fo9f1ra
of the old monitoraal system of Bell and
Lancaster, namely pupil teachers, is still
to eighteen years of age, while preparing
for the teachers training college, are
utilized as teachers. At fourteen years
of age, the seven standards reouired by
law having been passed, the student is
tapprenticed for four years to assist in
teaching in a school. and at the same
direction of the teacher in charge. He
receives a small compensation for this
service, which increases from year to
England, the latest of all the great
civilized nations to appreciate and adopt
popular education, is making remarkable
progress in the training of her teachers
g great deal still to do before she stands
abreast of her neighbors across the chan
mel in this matter.
81 will now call your attention to this
subject with reference to our own country.
It is ffty-fve years REPORT of 1924 since
Inc nrSt normal school was established
in this country. There are now 1850 public
normal schools with 81, 1893 students and
1852 graduates; 238 private normal schools
with 1885 students and 2,3l9 graduates.
This makes a total of 8.271 normal gradu-
ates.
The last ten years show a remarkable
growth. as follows:-Increase in the num-
Der of public normal schools, % per cent.
In students in the same, As per cent; in
| graduates. So per cent. Increase in the
number of private normal schools. so per
| cent; students in the same, Ga per cent.
graduates, 10 per cent.
But the. above does not by any means
tell the whole story of the professional
training of teachers. Besides the normal
schools, 173 universities n colleges
taught $500 pedagogical students, 1853 pub
lie high schools taught SOL pedagogical
students. and 1877 private high schools
or academies taught 1882 pedagogical stu
dents, making a total of S0.767 young per-
sons who received professional training
in peda gogics.
Perhaps it is unnecessary to present
the statistics of our own State upon. this
subject to this body. as all of its mem
bers are familiar with the question. In
order, however, to place the facts before
us for intelligent comparison, and as a
starting point for the discussion of the
present and future needs of our State. /
venture to give an outline of the work
being done In New Jersey for the train
ing of teachers. I shall leave the presen-
tation of the City Training School cues
tons to my colleague on this committee.
to whom this topic has been assigned.
'Our means for training teachers are
| the State Normal School. at Trenton the