Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1907-07-12
PEDAGOGICAL LABORATORY
is ADVOCATED TO BENEFIT
THOSE SEEKING KNOWLEDGE

The department of normal schools. 1 1!sle
its session at the normal scnoql Bul 4SinIs
Yesterday morning. PresldenI D. ~. MI M N,
president of the hlrKNllle' Ino'' 1i0 W
President Kirk read an exhaustive pa
per on THE Issues Now ConfrontihS the
Normal Schools OF the O naner read bv
w. A. Clark, professor OF psychoILosy anu
pedagogy, state normal school, Kearney'
Neb His paper was in part as 1ollows;;
"The pedagogical laboratory is as lndls-
sable in the scientific study or pedd-
gogy as the chemical laboratory Is IN the
Study of chemistry. Pedagogy is the sci
ence of education. Educatlon IS tnS coz ~,
controlling it's experiences. so dehned'
education may be made the subject mat mat
ter of a true science; and pedagogy, IKE
any other modern science, deHlduus It's
laboratory work shop go
1.-The pedagogical laboratory, IKE lapora-
tories in general, has two dlstlnct rune
tons, discovery and eXemphncatlon' Hr
there are two forms of the laboratory, the
research laboratory for the discovery OF
new truth, and the teaching laboratory
for the corroborative eXemplihcatlon OF
laws already known.
research or instruction, is an experimental
school, equipped with children ana the
common material resources and appliances
of the school room. A pedagogical expert
ment is a teaching act, conducted ana
valued as such. In his laboratory the
pedagogist studies critically his own edl-
cational processes, with view to dls-
covering pedagogical laws. Each expert
ment has a single, well defined purpose:
the educative materials are carefully Sc
lected and allowances made for possible
errors; and the developing results are
watched with a view to modifying the
governmental process at any stage. The
great value of the child life upon which
the experiment is performed demands that
the experimenter shall always be a teach
err, and that his experiment shall be a
teaching act valued for its helpful effect
upon the child's life.
''While the research laboratory is prac-
tically unknown in the study of pedagogy,
a scientific study of educational principles
and laws demands the establishment of
such laboratories IN our Eli UNIVERSITIES str and
gogy what they have done for every other
modern science in which they have been
employed
Mrs. Ella Flag Young, principal of the
Chicago normal school, made an address
dwelling on the laboratory work and adj
vocating more concentrated action on the
part of the teachers and students.
Charles c. Van Lew, president of the
state normal school, Chico, Cal, read a
report of the committee on the statement
of the policy regarding the preparation
and qualification of teachers of element
airy and high schools. The report is as
follows
Il. That the candidates for admission to
normal schools should have high school
20. That the normal school should pre-
pare secondary teachers by giving three
and four year courses to persons who
already have high school educations. They
should have academic departments as
strong as colleges and have the high
school as a part of the training schools.
49, That the universities and colleges
should give full credit to normal school
graduates, year for year, provided they
| had a high school education when they
| entered the normal. .
! "a. That the public schools should be
| freed from the domination of the higher
| institutions. The public schools are
| schools of the people, and each grade OF
school above should be a receiving schoo
| for the one below"
E. e. Balcomb, professor of agriculture
state normal school, Weatherford, Okla
read an interesting paper on agriculture
in normal schools, after which he Offered
the following resolution, which was
| adopted
Resolved, That the department of the
normal schools of the N e. A. hereby
| indorses all legitimate efforts to secure
| national aid for normal schools in pre
pairing teachers for teaching agriculture
manual training and household science
| in our public schools,
r. ]. Crosby of the department of agri
| culture spoke on the best methods of get
! ting congressional attention regarding tn,
resolution.
Oficers of the department were elected
as follows: A. o. Thomas, president; Nor
| ris e. Daley, vice president, and Henry
| G.. Williams. secretary.