Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1907-05-09
A REMARKABLE ORDER RELATING TC
THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS.

was adopted. which. if carried into
effect, would practically destroy four
Of the six normal schools in the State.
+. The order is, that beginning with
the school year of 1907 0S, the course
of study shall be reduced from four
years to three years, cutting out en-
tirely the senior year, for the schools
at Shepherdstown. West Liberty,
Athens and Glenville. and providing
that all the senior work for these four
schools shall be done at Fairmont and
Huntington. The explanation given
for this sweeping change is that the
schools at Fairmont and Huntington
will be made much stronger and
more effective than heretofore. while
| the other schools will not be seriously
damaged.
If the Board Of Regents, sitting in
solemn conclave. had gravely an.
nounced that in order to strengthen
the physical condition Of Messrs.
| Noithcott and Lough, the members
from Huntington and Fairmont, that
it would be wise to amputate leg
each from Messrs. Dunn and Bow
man and an arm each from Messrs.
Robinson and Carr, and attach them
to the 6rst-named gentlemen, the or.
der would not have been more sur.
prising or preposterous.
The plan of looping off the senior
years work from one school and re-:
curing student 10 travel several
hundred miles to get it at another
is in our opinion utterly impossible,
and an enforcement of the order
would simply ruiz the four schools
thus deprived of the elimination Of
their work
The plan, we are informed by the
Fairmont West VirginiaD, is that of
NJ. @. Tough, secretary Of the Board
Of Regents, recently appointed on the
board by Governor Dawson. Mr..
Tough ia editor of the paper referred
to, and in an editorial in its columns
we note this comment:
The resolutions providing for this
change were prepared some time ago
by NJ. @ Tough, secretary of the Board
| of Regents, and were submitted to the
various normal schools of the State as
we'll as to Governor Dawson, who ap-
proved the plan as being the most feas,
| ible solution of the normal school prob
lem. While Mr.. Tough is only a new
member Of the board, his experience
in school work has enabled him to take
| his place in educational matters
with those who have seen longer SER
vice in che direction of school matters.
The statement that the plan was
submitted to the other normal schools
is inaccurate. 1t was not submitted
to them, and as for meeting with their
approval, the other schools are right
eously indignant at the preposterous
degradation proposed. We have no
objection to Mr.. Tough seeking to
distinguish himself by originating new
plans concerning the management Of
our schools provided he does no in.
justice to any of them, but We must
protest against his present effort to
acquire fame by degrading or de-
stroying four OF these State institu.
tions. We hope he may turn his &C.
tivity in less mischievous directions.
A further editorial comment in Mr..
Lough's paper is as follows:
This plan will give both the northern
and southern ends Of the State bigger
and broader institutions of learning than
they have ever had before, and the ad-
vantages and equipment Of these two
institutions will be greatly enlarged, as
concentration of effort with increased
appropriations will be applied to these
institutions in the future. There has
been for some time criticism through
out the State that the normal schools
were TOO much on the order of local
high schools, and this step taken by the
board will forever silence these insinua
tions, at least as far as Fairmont and
Huntington are concerned.
Is the desire for increased appro.
priations" at the bottom of this
scheme? That there is "nigger in
the woodpile" somewhere is undoubt-
eddy true, but we do not like to be-
lieve that the members from FsirmoDt
and Huntington would do such rank
injustice to the schools simply to get
increased appropriations for the insti.
tutions in their own towns. The con-
Guiding sentence in the foregoing ex-
tract would be laughable if it were
not SO dangerous. The suggestion that
fallacious criticism may be removed
by making it a logical one is so absurd
that it scarcely needs discussion, and
to silence false insinuations against
ak schools by making them really
true of four Of the six is wicked and
anjusti6able.
j Mr.. Lough's paper states that this
setion of the board was unanimous.