The Greeley tribune., 1905-09-14
WORK AGAIN
STATE NORMAL STARTS OUT
WITH BIG SCHOOL
Improvements in Many Depart
ments-Trend of Education
Toward Constructive
Work and Art

The Normal school opened last
Tuesday morning with the largest
attendance in the history of the
school. While there have been no
radical innovations in the courses of
study there has been steady
strengthening and improvement
throughout the school.
According to President Snyder the
keynote Of the National Educational
association all along the line is
functional education," that is,
education by doing. This end is
reached through the sources of the
industrial and art departments of
institutions. What is known as the
three RS" are used simply as a
means to an end. The end is to
bring out the higher ideals of life OF
the poupil by doing. By doing is
meant making and constructing.
The mediums in construction are
wood. brass, copper, paper and all
kinds Of fibre. The mediums in art
are the same as these with the addi-
tion of painting in oil and water
color and pencil.
1t has become very manifest that
there has been a great deal of time
lost in rote drilling, and no man
who is at all abreast of modern edu-
cational movements pretends to indi-
cate the three RS as ends. But
much good may be gotten out of the
three RS" by having the pupil use
them in connection with his con-
structional subjects. All education
must tend toward having the child
realize in its life now: or, in other
words, instruction in living so that
the child is brought into touch with
such activities as its nature demands.
The Normal school training de-
partment can save child at least
two years of its time. But few chill
dren need spend eight years in get
tins ready for high school: but few
children need spend more than three
ears>in getting ready for college or
the Normal. The aim in all modern
lines of education is to get the pupil
ready for his life work before he is
an old man or woman. This is
what is meant by the functional side
of education.
There are now given tine choice Of
several special courses in the State
Normal for those preparing to teach.
These are art. manual training,
music, physical culture, modern
languages and library work. These
are special courses besides the regu-
lar Normal course that prepares
teachers for regular graded or high
schools. The Normal school has the
best art department of any institu-
tion in the state. Its manual train
ing department is also the most COM
plete. and there is no better physical
culture department in the state.
while its modern language depart
ment cannot be excelled anywhere.
Heretofore history and sociology
have been taught in the institution
by several of the teachers, without
having regular department devoted
to these subjects. This year
sD,,;,1 1ap, ri ,,,opt for fbn toanbipu
of the two subjects has been created.
with DIR. George f. Miller in charge.
Owing to the many social problems
that are developing in our complex
society educators are now laying
great stress upon the investigation
of these subjects.
The arts crafts museum has grown
considerably during the summer. A
number of fine pieces have been
given the school and number of ex-
cellent pieces have also been pur-
chased by the school. In all prob
ably fifty pieces have been added.
Another notable feature is that all
pottery has been classified and labeled
so that any person can tell to what
country particular piece belongs
and in many instances the name of
the maker.
The natural history museum has
also been improved and the life his
tory of several interesting insects
and the trout and frog prepared.
Valuable collections of specimens
from India and South America have
also been received. John V. Crone,