Year: 1875




had, or has now, its proper rank as
well appointed college. This is mat
ttr appropriate to be considered by the
enlightened gentlemen of the Board OF
Regents. There is, however. another
, matter which may properly be cousld-
cred in this connection, All proper
normal schools must, from their relation
20 the Free Schools, be mired schools.
They must represent the Free School
work entire, and in this work large
proportion of the teachers are, aid al
ways must be, females AS the public
! demand the services of large number OF
female teachers, the admission OF female
pupils to equal advantages and honors
in our normal schools is one OF their
Indispensable features. And further,
this popularity contributes largely TO
| their popularity and success. The
schools must be of mixed character to
meet the wants of the Free Schools,
and to furnish the means ofpreparatIon
on the part of young persons tor their
work as teachers. Now, how about
the contemplated chair of normal In
struc,ion in the University? 1t seems
to us that the Regents must do one OF
two things-either throw open the doors
of the college alike to male and female
as normal school, or restrict this char
to small class of young men, and thus
make it department Of impoverished
patronage, and hence an element OF
weakness to the Institution.


Is the Legislature prepared to endow
this proposed normal chair in the I MI
versity, and to authorize its curriculum
of branches of learning equal to what
is demanded in the several grades OF
our Free Schools, and exclude from Its
advantages more than one-halt of all the
Free School teachers of the State? This
State employs annually about 5000
teachers. Now what proportion of these
can single chair in this College hope
to be able to construct! The present
normal schools taught last year nearly
600 normal pupils, and sent out about
eighty graduates. Now how will the
work of a single normal chair in one
College. located at one point in the
State, compare in its results with what
the existing normal schools are doing
for popular education among the peo-
pie? But suppose the normal depart
ment in the College established, and its
doors open to all the teachers OF the
State; suppose 500 young ladies and gen
tlemen throng 10 those halls; how are
they to he taken care OF, and how IN
structeda How many normal instruct
ors must he employed, and how much
machinery created to do the work, and
how much money expended by the State
to paw for it! And with this numerical
ascendancy of students of the normal
academic rank, what will become of the
college proper? 1t would require the
educational miracle of some Elijah TO
keep it from sinking hopelessly. The
State would thus have an academy and
normal school, but not college. Fur
ther. the cost of such school would
nearly equal that of the present normal
schools, and yet be utterly destitute of
the great advantages of the present
schools in local influence as educational
centres over the State.


In whatever light we look at this mat
ter, the same conclusion forces itself up
on the mind, making the conviction
clear that the best educational interests
of the State are adverse to the proposed
policy of the Regents of our University.
| VI. IS normal schools
to illustrate the relative value of a sim
ole, Chair in college by comparison.
This normal school gather large pat
ronage from its own and adjacent coun-
ties that could never be induced to go
to college. 1t sends out its teachers
to the schools of several couuties. who
in turn send back an influence TO iii
crease the patronage Of the normal
school. This normal influence runs
through all the counties and schools and
families within radius of 100 miles.
The school creates a school spirit and
power which never could have existed
but for the location of the institution in
that part of the State. Now add to
this five other schools at distant points
in the country, and calculate the COM
bined educational power OF all among
the masses of our population. Compar-
ed with this school influence, normal
Chair in the University will be less than
taper to the midday sun, and must be
so regarded by all who understand our
educational work. 1t is natural, there
fore, that the proposed policy of the Uni
versity Regents should be regarded as
hostile to our normal schools, and thus
destructive OF the best interests of our
Free School work. ....r .


1t is not to be presumed that just at
this time the Legislature OF West Vir-
ginia can easily be persuaded to con-
! tribute their official influence to. plan
which must inevitably involve the char
acter of the University; which presumes
the future adjustment of our normal
schools, and which is thus in direct hos
tility to the Free School interests of the
State. The friends of our schools will
regard this step as one in opposition 10
our State System of Public Instruction,
and the University will in this way be
made to share the public prejudice thus
called out by their mistaken policy. The
Regents of the State University should
know, and they are gentlemen OF too
much intelligence and observation moi
to know, that it is one thing to adopt
wise policy for bank, or commercial
r,,t,.,,,,;no, oornorotion hnt ouita