The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-01-13
Criticism of the Nor
NAL School.
NEVER UP TO STANDARD
ITS CERTIFICATES WERE NOT
e. GENERALLY RECOGNIZED.
Turned Out Teachers in One Year,
When Better Schools Had
Course of Three
Years.

When the San Francisco Board Of Edu-
- cation, careering onward in its work OF
demolition, leveled the city Normal
School at a breath, it ran against a bank
of sentiment. Now, a bank of sentiment
is often only a bank of vapor that may
be blown away If strongly breathed upon,
but sometimes it resolves itself into
something akin to a stubborn fact. The
friends of that institution, which will be
only has been" after February l, are
moving to avert its fate and injunction
suits are 'clouding the atmosphere. Vir-
tual contracts are being charged over by
these twelve rough riders of Directors,
say the lawyers who scent the battle afar.
When the city Normal School receives the
High School sweet-girl graduate and
starts her up on the sleeps of knowledge
the city enters into a sort of contract to
keep her moving until she has completed
q year and stands at the end of the road
with a teachers certificate or diploma
bound with blue ribbon in her hand. Now
there are 125 lady students in the Normal
School and how can the city keep its
contract If tn; institution is no more?
Moreover the Normal School, established
twenty years ago by John SWEET, has
turned out probaly 1900 cultured and able
teachers for the schools of the State, and
such a record should stand between It
and instant humiliation.
Added 10 these arguments the girl
pupils of the school are petitioning their
parents and friends for the rescue of
their fostering mother. So, much is NOV
ing for the salvation of the San Francisco
Normal School.
The abolition of the institution by the
board last Wednesday evening was the re-
suit of a caucus discussion held few
hours before the session When the Ques-
Iion of retrenchment against the great
deficit OF S1SO,3Sl first struck the young
board Squarely in the face the Normal
School was marked first on the list in the
order of going, and the following was the
summing up of delinquencies against 1t:
The San Francisco Normal School is not
up to the standard and its graduates are
outClaSSed by the graduates OF the three
State normal schools. It's deterioration
has been going on for years, consequently
its usefulness is passed.
Only about half of the counties of the
State will accept a San Francisco Normal
School diploma for a teachers certificate.
Alameda, the county OF schools, colleges
and university, absolutely refuses to con-
slider a San Francisco Normal School
graduates credentials. This alone, ar
gued the board last Wednesday, stamps
that institution as below standard. Then,
too, its course is but one-third that re-
.Quired by the State institutions, whose
graduates are accepted everywhere, and
with which the local school board can
never hope to compete.
The Normal School for some time has
received the closest and tenderest atten-
ton Of the old board, and by that I'M
6avory body has been used as stepping
stone to teachers positions in this city.
Every student entered there was booked
for graduation, and no girl ever failed of
the blue-ribboned diploma. Consequently,
the members of the late Board OF Educa-
ton and their political friends passed
their candidates along through the two
classes of the school, and at the end of
the course of but a single year were as
signed to a city school as teacher, often
without class Wherewith to teach. From
this ineXhaustible supply came the cloud
of teachers whose names now swell the
salary list. and helped materially in roll
ing up the great $lS0,3sl deficit, plus the
total of "a large number of extra bills
Opposed to the foregoing scathing re-
view of the San Francisco Normal school
and its connection with the late Board of
" Education by the present board are state
mentS and arguments from friends OF
the school. They dispute the alleged as
sertion of the PRESENT. board that the in
stitutiOn is an illegal establishment by re-
ferring to the fact that it's certificates
of qualification are accepted by the State
and that the constitution authorizes the
establishing of normal as well as high
and technical schools. This Normal
School costs the city several thousand
dollars every year, Eight hundred
dollars comes back TO the Nor
NAL School fund in fees from students
from without the city at the rate of $50
per year from each pupil There are two
teachers-the principal, Miss Fowler, sal
airy $500, and Mrs NJ. NJ. Fitzgerald at
Sl4O per TnO0tn-WnO instruct the 10 STU
dents. Miss Fowler graduated in the
same building where she now teaches
thirty-four years ago and has been en-
ployed there about twelve years. Mrs
Fitzgerald is a State Normal School grad
uate and a teacher of many years eX-
perience. In addition to her official duties
as principal Miss Fowler is the regular
teacher of one of the classes. The school
is so arranged that one section or half
of the number of pupils enrolled are al
ways acting as UNDERSTANDS" or sub
stitute teachers in the city schools in
order to gain experience. This enables
the two teachers to handle the sixty pu-
pills left.
The girl students themselves are speak
ing for the school, holding that by virtue
. of their High School diplomas they have
p: been received in the Normal, and such
reception is a contract, by the terms OF
which the city agrees TO school them fol
"a year ending June 80, 1899. Attorneys
.Highton and Cooney have a petition bear.
gems protesting against the abolition OF
the school. This protest they attempted
TO present to the board at the last meet
ling, but that body refused to go into the
~merits or dement's of the matter
To the query why the Normal School
; answered in no uncertain voice that the
City Normal School is only the begin.
ming Of the end; that before the work OF
'retrenchment and reform is ended a mum.
Der of other schools of the city will fol.
low it down the road to the deposit of the
"has beens'
1--WE are legally advised and are other.
wise well prepared said a Director yes
terday for all the protests and iniunc.
lions, and we will go right ahead stick.
ing TO the spirit of the act of January 4
1899 "