Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1912-12-10
THE STATE COORD|-
NATION QUESTION
Cedar Falls Claims Action Of Board
is Neither Legal, Just or
Economical.

Two pamphlets received at this Of
flee recently set forth the view
which the students and business men
Of Cedar Falls take of the recent ac-
tion Of the State Board of Educa-
ton. This board recommends the
discontinuance of all professional
and liberal arts courses beyond the
sophomore year at the Iowa State
Teachers College. The pamphlets
\ are gotten out by the alumni asso-
a siation of the college and the COM
llercial club of Cedar Falls. They
contain practically the same line of
argument.
The students, alumni and business
men think that the action of the
board is Illegal because it is not in
\ keeping with previous acts of the
state legislature. The legislature in
1876 established the school at Cedar
Falls as training school for teach
ers for the common schools of Iowa.
For 81 years this has been inter-
preted by the school at Cedar Falls
to include high school as we'll as ele-
\ mentary teachers and courses have
been provided for the training of
such without any protest from the
state legislature. Furthermore the
81 ~. I'LL re fhn
collegiate rank of this school and
therefore its right to offer a four
year course of study by changing its
name to that of the Iowa State
Teachers College and by admitting
it to the advantages of the Carnegie
foundation for the advancement of
teaching, which recognizes only
Schools Of collegiate rank. In view
OF these facts they claim the legisla-
ture ought not now to take away the
collegiate courses and rank from this
institution.
Secondly, they claim that this ac-
tion is unjust because it deprives the
school of the sprestige which an in
stitution of collegiate rank enjoys.
The degrees of former graduates will
be lessened In value if the school is
made normal school for elementary |
teachers only. Because Of this loss OF
prestige fewer students will seek its
halls of learning and go rather to a
school Of higher standing and thus
its enrolment will be diminished,
they claim, by one halt This loss OF
prestige will, they say, lose for them
the recognition of the higher insti-
tntions of learning and students go
ing from Cedar Falls to the univer-
stiles of the land will not receive the
credit for work done at Cedar Falls
which they now receive at these
places.
They further contend that the
change will not benefit the rural
schools because Cedar Falls is al
ready taking care of all the rural
teachers that come to her but she
cannot compel them to come or make
them go out to teach In the rural
schools after they have been there.
They argue that the change will
not be an economical one for a
teacher training building costing
$150.000 is now being completed at
Cedar Falls and the state will have
to duplicate this building at Iowa
City. which would be no saving in
dollars and cents or else deprive the
high school teachers of this very es-
sential part of their education and
this would not be true economy.
The claim OF no duplication is al
so urged, for the courses at CEDAR
Falls are so conducted that they
have the professional side of educa-
tion and not the SO called cultural
side always in view, while at the
university the subjects are taught
with the cultural side in view.
Furthermore the idea of normal
school OF collegiate rank is growing
In this country and some states have
a-eady established such schools.
Lastly in the ideal system of
teacher training, teachers for all the
grades and the high school should
be trained together that they may
fully appreciate the aims of goals OF
each department and better under
stand their part in the entire course
OF the public school from the prim-
ary room to the high school
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