The City Normal Schools are the local training schools, maintained by the larger cities for the preparation of their own teachers.
They require as conditions of admission:—
i. Residence in the city.
ii. Satisfactory completion of the high schools course of the city.
iii. Statement of intention to teach in the schools of the city.
To all those who satisfy these conditions, and are eighteen years of age or more, instruction is free, and completion of the professional course entitles the student to become a teacher in any of the Common Schools of the city.
The City Normal Schools of New York and Philadelphia combine the functions of Normal and High Schools, admitting students who do not intend to become teachers to their academic studies, without requiring of them any professional study or practice in teaching. The necessity of extending the function of a Normal School in this way has arisen from the fact that there are no public High Schools for girls in these cities.
At the Normal College of the city of New York there are two separate courses of work:—
i. An academic or classical course of five years.
ii. A normal or training course of four years, with an optional extra year for specializing in any branch of manual training.