The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-17

normal schools. It has been observed
of all human institutions that they get
to lose sight Of the end in what may
be called institutionalism, greater re-
gard for the machine than for the work
1t is designed to accomplish. It is so
In government, in religion, In law and
In education as well. It is an open
question whether, In the veneration for
state normal schools, sight has not been
lost OF their primary purpose, the
preparation Of a supply Of instructed
teachers, not for the cities, but for
the greater number of country and vii
lage district schools
The tables given in the report Of
the state superintendent Of schools for
1896 furnish some interesting data on
this point. We find that there were
employed in the common district
schools in 1896 2,083 male and 5,64S fe-
male teachers, total of 1871. OF these
S4S were graduates Of normal schools,
and 1,1o2 had attended them, a total
Of LAS. A little more than 4 per cent
were graduates and IA per cent had
attended normals. OF the 354, 657 pupils
among whor, the school money was
apportioned in 1896, 1852 or 90 per
cent, were in the district schools in
structed by teachers but IS per cent
of whom had had any previous in
struction Of any kind in either the art
or science Of teaching. On the other
hand, the 1896 pupils in independent
and special districts, which include the
high schools and graded schools, were
instructed by 81 male and 2,810 female
teachers, l 1876 of whom were graduates
and but 166 had only ATTENDED" nor
NAL schools.
That is, 40 per cent of the pupils had
n per cent of the teachers who had
completed the course of preparation in
the normals, while 60 per cent of the
pupils had but SO per cent of them.
The proportion of graduates to "at-
tendants" in these two classes Of
schools is striking. In the district
schools the ratio of graduates to at
tendants was as 1 to 30: in the other
as 1 to Z. Fourteen per cent of the
common school teachers had only cat
tended normals, and but IL per cent
of the teachers in the other class Of
schools
Surely former state superintendent
Of schools was not in error when he
characterized our school system as
''topheavy." A system of normal in
struction that has cost the state in
buildings $685. and in support, by
direct appropriations, 1854, S43; a sys-
tenn fnaugurated for the purpose Of
supplying trained teachers to all the
schools Of the state, and particularly
to the poorer districts-for the cities
can we'll be left to care for themselves
in this matter-cannot be said to have
indicated itself in results Aside from
the facts here presented, there are ad-
missions of this by the state. We find
this in the establishment Of summer
training schools where, during the va
cation months, instructors go to the
county seats and spend several weeks
in giving instruction in teaching to
those who are or would be teachers. In
1896 there were 2,610 pupils in the four
normal schools, and 5.46S was the av-
erage daily attendance Of the 1921 en-
rolled in the summer training schools.
Of the number enrolled 1881 had never
taught, indicating a desire for prepara-
ton among the youth from whom the
future supply of teachers must be
drawn. Another indication is the
growing demand to have normal train
ing made a part of the curriculum of
the high schools. Before the state
yields to the demand for still more nor
NAL schools these facts should be we'll
considered; with view to bringing
normal instruction nearer to the great
er mass that so needs it's benefits, in
stead of, as now, comforting it upon
communities able to provide for them
selves.