The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1921-01-28

drawals. Fourteen new students en-
tered. The whole number enrolled so
far for the year is $50.
Because Of the lack or funds the
work of the school is held down to
bare necessities. Necessarily we are
not able to do as much for the stud
ents as we should if we could have
the books, equipment and teachers we
need to keep the school up to the
mark. But we are doing our best, and
work is progressing quietly and with
an excellent spirit on the part or the
students and teachers" y
The Winona School
In his report President Maxwell Of
the Winona Normal said that since
my last report in October there have
been newly listed in the normal de-
partment nineteen students, increas-
to date to 420; and similarly in the
training department an increase of
thirty nine pupils brings the total to
319. Eleven students have been grad
uated during the quarter and have
promptly accepted positions as teach
ers at an average salary OF $14O per
month.
The health conditions, the regular
ity and efficiency of the work, and
the general morale of the institution
have been excellent.
has been developed in connection
with the athletic activities Of the
young men of the school, The foot
ball team, when pitted against teams
of its own class, made a good re-
cord. The game that aroused most
enthusiasm was the victory over the
Shattuck military academy, while the
defeat which was hardest to accept
was administered by the st. Cloud
Normal school team. In this connec-
ton wish to urge the Importance of
tenn of the state, including the nor
NAL schools themselves, as will bring
into public education through the
normal schools an increasing number
of virile, forward looking young men.
This is a problem that in proper time
should be given thorough considera-
ton.
Il wish again to apprise the board
Of the difficulties that have been en-
countered during recent months in
the effort to maintain in our teaching
corps our former standard Of teach
ing ability. It should be recalled that
the increase in our support funds
during the past four years has been
but twenty five per cent, and that in
some cases the per cent Of individ-
ual increases in salaries has been
even less than twenty five per cent.
Since August first there have been
six unsolicited offers to as many
members of the Winona faculty from
other normal schools or from city
school systems at salary increase
averaging over fifty per cent above
their present salaries. We were abe
to hold five Of these teachers by act
ual or promised increases.
Should the legislature be unwill-
ing promptly to appropriate the
emergency funds requested by this
board for the purpose OF increasing
the salaries of our teachers, the
school will unquestionably lose some
Of its strongest teachers before the
year closes.
"The army, mental tests were this
as an aid in classification and in
struction. The results are nearly
identical with those secured last
year, and again reveal the fact that
the average intelligence of prospec-
tive teachers in the normal school Is
very far superior to the average men
tai ability Of the population at large
and that 1t ranks equal with, if not
somewhat better than, the ability of
the students of the four year 'curri-
culums of colleges and university.
There are three details of new
legislation which / could wish might
receive the favor of the board and
the approval of the legislature. They
have been discussed by the presi-
dents of the schools at various times
and, | believe, in general approved
by them. These items are: first, the
change of the legal name of each of
the schools from State Normal School
to State Normal College, and the des-
ignation of the board as the State
Normal College Board; second, auth
ority in law for the award by the
State Normal College Board Of the
third, the substitution Of free tuition
for the present requirement Of a
pledge to teach for two years, or in
lieu thereof a cash payment of thirty
dollars per year of attendance.
"The matter Of the change of name
Of our institutions is Of greater i'm
portance, it seems to me, than ap-
pears upon the surface. 1t is con-
mon in this country to associate the
term school with the forms and grades
hg6 sehoo G %hfh and SSaR the Gm
AAoh oShOoA SAS SSA IL
college with institutions whose work
lies just above the high school. For
this reason nearly all people, and
especially high school students,
think of the normal school as being
distinctly less significant institu-
ton than the college. More important
still is the fact that the body of 49,
900 high school students throughout
the state is taught almost exclusive
ly by college graduates. These col
lege graduates, as. loyal sons and
daughters are continually boosting
the college, and the college course,
and college life in general To these
college graduate teachers in high
schools, naturally enough, the normal
school is a very different sort of in :
stitution from the college and not at
all worthy to command the support
Of young people with brains and
ambition. If the normal school were
known as the normal college, the
whole argument and influence of
these high school teachers, so far as
the college is concerned, would lose
the driving force they now possess;
the institutions for preparing teachers
would then come to rank in the
thought Of young. people with other
colleges, and would gain immeasure-
ably in the estimation in which they
are held by them and by the public
generally.
Again, as a result Of the change
nrOnOsed the attitude of the lepis =