Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-03-04

~ At all grocers
a-lb. pigs. only
nAssAaAlyssUsslAe
roads like q spiders web and bring phys
ical comforts to every mans door, and
leave an overlooking treasury to divide
its surplus among all the citizens"
Since that time Massachusetts has gone
on, establishing, equipping and operat-
ing normal schools. having added three OF
large capacity in 1897. until now, with
less than one quarter as much territory
as Maine, she has In successful operation
nine state normal schools. while we have
only three. ! say successful operation,
because Hon. Frank A. Hin, a native of
Biddeford. Maine who Is Horace Mann's
successor. as the secretary Of the Massa-
chusetts board of education. has borne
witness to their great success and ines
Unable value in his report for 1898. in
which he says, 1.-The commonwealth Is
more Indebted to its normal schools than
to any other agency for such life. vigor
tone and hope as characterize her public
schools
The Empire state, after trying for
years with doubtful success to provide
sufficient professional instruction for her
teachers through normal departments in
her academies, turned finally to the regu-
lar fullfedged state normal school as the
solution of the problem. and now has IA
schools with an average yearly atten-
dance of nearly 1000 teachers. And even
the old state of Pennsylvania. with it's
predominating conservative Dutch ele-
ments. a state which did not until SO late
period as to be within my recollection.
adopt a system of school legislation,
based on the New England idea that the
property of the state should pay for the
education of all the children of the state,
even slow going Pennsylvania has, today,
Is prosperous normal schools with year.
ly average attendance Of nearly 1000
teachers.
The multiplication OF these professional
schools for teachers in the great.
rich and progressive states of
the Union has been to raise
teaching to the dignity of one OF the
learned professions, and 1t is plain that
the time cannot be far distant when all
who wish to teach in the public schools
will be required to have pursued a pro-
fessional course Of study in the science
and art of teaching before they can be
certfficated for the difficult, delicate and
important work they have to perform.
Lawyers. upon whose skill may depend
our personal liberty and the security of
our property interests. are required TO
pursue a course of preparatory study be-
fore they are admitted to practice: doc
tors, upon whose skill may depend our
restoration to health, are required to pur-
sue course of preparatory study before
they can be admitted to practice; and
even horse doctors are required to study
of professional skill before they can
legally practice.
Should not as much be required of the
teachers in our free public schools who
are to deal with the pure hearts, plastic
minds and immortal souls of precious
children? Should they not be required to
prepare themselves in a scientific. philo-
sophical and skillful manner by pursuing
a course of study and experimental prac-
tice in our normal schools? Unquestion-
ably they should. every one of them, but
this is not feasible in practice nor can it
be exacted by law until by law normal
schools of sufficient number. capacity
and accessibility have been established
and kept In operation sufficient time to
make it possible for an adequate teach
ing force for our State to be thus pre-
pared.
How little we have done in this direc-
ton is shown by the fact that only Is per
cent. of the teachers in our schools have
received normal school instruction. 1t is
| true that the influence of our schools es-
tablished at Pennington in 1904. at Cas-
tine in 1867 and at Gorham in 1879, so far
as it has extended and could from their
been most beneficial. but they could hard
| ly do more than to turn out teachers
enough to leaven the great mass of the
teachers of the State.
The teacher makes the school. and the
normal school makes the best sort of
| teacher, but in order that teachers
enough may be thus made, there must not
only be schools of sufficient capacity, but
| they must be accessible to those. who need
/! to avail themselves of their advantages,
so that their capacity may be fully uti-
| lized. and so long as there are populous
sections of our, State from 60 to 300 miles
| distant from the nearest normal school,
there will be a crying need for more.
| To make normal school privileges more
uniform and equal throughout the State
and to bring their capacity and accommo-
dations more nearly up to the vital require
ments of the situation. and to meet the
/ demands of accessibility to those who
| ought to patronize them, two or three
new normal schools should be established
| without delay, one in that great populOus
! central section of the State between the
| Kennebec and Penobscot rivers, and the
| others farther east. 1t is argued in some
i quarters that we should not have new
l normal schools until the old schools are
filled to overlooking. In answer to this
would say that the normal schools natiir-
ally draw their students from tributary
and contiguous territory. from which they
can be reached at minimum expendi-
ture of time and money.
Our public scnool teachers and those
who intend to become such are as rule
poor, and obliged to economize in every
possible way, and they will go to a neigh
boring academy or high school rather
| nj sob cn1