The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-11-22
TRAINING CLASS AN ASSET TO
 BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL SYSTEM

Leta Kits. instructor in school music
 Mrs. Ienore A. Eldred, manual arts in-
 structor; Miss Mae Hansis instructor in
 household economies; F. J. Courleux
 physical culture instructor; NJ. D. An
 thony. instructor in writing: and G. G.
 Neathersbee, instructor in home and
 school gardening.
 Each of these instructors meets the
 training class at certain periods for in-
 struction in these several subjects. In
 this way the students have course in
 each or the subjects they will teach in
 the elementary schools.
 The class has a delightful room in the
 Powell. It is attractively furnished and
 Is supplied with three long tables, in- stead Of desks. at which the girls work
 With Miss Todd in charge one envies
 the girls. They are taught well the art
 or teaching. and so much besides. They
 learn so much about the art of living. This year there are 37 training girls
 g juniors and 14 seniors Those who en-
 ter must be graduates of school with
 8 curriculum as high as that of the Bir- nlngham high schools, and they must be indorsed by the principal or the president of the school from which they come. They
 must have had satisfactory record in eiAbl sChooi, InuSV nave BoOu uealtn ana unquestionable morals, and they must be
 able to sing and,/ they are to study
 for kindergarten teachers. to play the piano. Many of the girls are from the Birmingham high schools, and others have been from Judson, Louie Compton
 seminary Margaret Allen, St Cecilia In
 Nashville, University of Alabama and
 Randolph-Macon.
 Two Departments
 A two years course is given. In the junior year the work is the same for all the students and at the end of that time they may choose either the elementary school course or the kindergarten and specialize in one or the other during the senior year
 Those who study to become teachers in the elementary schools are given prac- tice in different schools and in every grammar grade. They are sent for six weeks at a time to the grammar schools of the city for practical experience After school hours they return to the Powell for classes, the juniors having had their lessons and observation periods earlier in the day.
 Seniors Assigned to Schools While the seniors are in different schools, they are learning the work they will take up regularly upon grad l uation. Part of their time is spent l in the principals office where they learn much concerning the mechanics Of the school system and the individu- ality of the particular school In which they are assigned. They learn the daily routine, see how the principals meet emergencies and how they deal with individual pupils. The girl who is stationed in one school for six weeks and then sent to another and another | learns the system from many angles l and the school conditions in different l parts of the city. She sees how the schools appear in the eyes of varying classes of patrons and she understands 1 the schools as the whole and sees what they are trying to do. She may | be called upon to teach any grade from the first to the seventh, for an hour or a week and she has experience with l many pupils in many classes. At an- | other time she may sit in the class rooms to observe the teachers work.
 She sees strong points and weak ones
 and she learns much about classroom 1 management.
 When they return to the Powell for 1 lessons, the training girls have many experiences to discuss.
 Miss Strickland. in such and such
 a case, what would you have doneY q like the way the sixth grade 1 teacher teaches geography"
 And over the tables in their recita- l ton they discuss the work they are engaged in. eliminating this or that and making something else a part of their
 own plans for teaching.
 Upon graduation they make good
 {, achers because of their experience and their training, and the principals 1 frequently make request that at least l one graduate of the training school ne | included in the corpse of teachers in
 their schools. Then when they are ac- | ally at work. it is seen what the 1 training school has meant to them. 1 how it has made them even more than skilled workers how it has given them
 a spiritual fitness for teaching and
 all inpsirational appreciation of their ! opportunities as teachers.
 l They have learned in their two years training the secret of finding 1 happiness in their work. They may l lose sight of their ideals sometimes, | but after two years with Miss Strick- 1 land Miss Bradford and Miss Wilson, l they cannot but have deeply rooted | ideals that will remain with them l throughout their lives and that will 1 mako them real teachers. They are l the few who are chosen from the many who complete the elementary and high l school courses. and who then receive | this final teaching before they them selves become teachers
 1 kindergartens
 l There are 10 of the elementary school course seniors this year. The other fouI l who are to receive diplomas in June are | Ia lSinp the kinderga rten course