The Dickinson press., 1913-02-22
A NORMAL
At DICKINSON
Quarter Of Area Of State this Side
Of River, Making City
A Logical Place
for Normal.

for Normal.
The demand for teachers of character,
scholarship. culture. teaching ability
and professional spirit is greater today
than ever before in this state. The
supply is exceedingly small. The most
vital factor of the school is the teacher.
That professional training will add
greatly to his proficiency is now uni
versally conceded. The extension of
our system of state normal schools until
they are within the reach of all the
teachers is democratic measure. in
creasing the efficiency of the city, viii
laee and rural schools. Too long have
teachers secured their training at the
expense and best interests of the youth
of our public schools. Having provided
all other school facilities and forced
the children to 20 to school. is the state
in the exercise of its supreme sovern-
eighty to stop short of reasonable
efficiency in the teaching force? The
answer of Germany and France and
England and Canada, and almost every
state of this great union is that it is
the duty of the state to undertake for
its own protection and encourage when
ever possible by every agency in reach
the work of securing the better qualifi-
cation of teachers. Indeed it is COM
mon judgment and the settled policy of
the greatest enlightened nations of the
earth. and as such it is beyond expert
mentation. dispute or cavil. It. is the
common custom to look primarily to Or
aanized and recognized institutions of
learning for the work of fitting and
qualifying the teachers for their posi-
tions in the public school system. All
other agencies. valuable as they may
be. and serviceable as they have been.
are in the common mind of Europe and
America not To- b. compared to the Or
ganized institutions of learning the
normal schools, with their faculties.
their model schools. their Libraries.
their laboratories and specially devised
courses of professional instruction.
They, beyond all else. are the approved
agencies fo1 making ready the teach
ing force of the world.
Concerning the establishment of
normal school for the southwestern part
of the state there is much to be said.
Such an arrangement would give North
Dakota four normal schools. one in each
quarter of the state. The southwestern
part of the state insists on the estab-
lishment of this school. 1t is but a
matter of justice and fair play. A few
reasons follow why a normal school
should be located at Dickinson AS soon
as possible:
1. A primary purpose of normal
school at Dickinson would be the train
ing of teachers for rural schools. The
solution of the rural problem lies in
bettering country school conditions.
The best way of improving country
school conditions is to have teachers
who have been trained in teachers
training school.
2. The area Of the southwes stern part
of the state west of the Missouri river
is 18, 900 square miles. just one forth
the area of the state. The population
is 100. 900 and is growing rapidly.
| 3. This part of the state IS paying
$500. 600 year for teaching service.
Is it not the part of wisdom to have
this teaching service of the best quail
ity possible?
| 4. A normal school is center of ed
ucational influence. This influence ra-
dates in all directions and varies in
versely as the square of the distance
from the center. Since the opening of
the first normal school very little of
this influence has been felt in this part
of the state.
S. The distance from Dickinson to
Valley City is ESQ miles to Fargo 3o9
miles: to Grand Forks 387 miles. The
average distance Of the slope to the
nearest normal school is 27O miles. Is
it fair to ask the teachers of this part
of the state to travel that distance to
attend normal school?
s. Alabama has 6 normal schools
Oklahoma S; Maine S; Massachusetts,
10; New York II: Pennsylvania Is:
West Virginia s.; Ohio 4: Illinois 6 !;
Wisconsin 8; Missouri s; South Dakota
4. The plan in all these states ia to
have their normal schools 90 distributed
that they will be easy of access to all
the teachers.
7. In 1912 the Slope country west of
the river contributed toward supporting
| the State Educational Institutions
$sd. .O00. Id the next live years on this
J Continued on page 81