The training of teachers in the United States of America

by Amy Blanche Bramwell; H. Millicent Hughes

The difference between State and City Normal Schools is mainly one of control. The State Normal School forms part of the State Common School system, and is under the direct supervision of the State Superintendent and Board of Education, while the City Normal School belongs to the City School system, and is under the jurisdiction of the City Superintendent. The State Normal School is intended to provide teachers for the schools in any part of the State, while the City Normal School has for its object the preparation of teachers for the City schools alone.

At present one of the most hotly debated questions in connection with Normal Schools relates to the subjects to be included in the curriculum. Shall the Normal School give professional training alone, or shall it also provide instruction in Academic subjects? There is at present much divergence of opinion on the subject, and some schools are organized on the one principle, and some on the other.

At present some of the Normal Schools have a double function to perform, that of serving as High Schools, and at the same time as professional Training Colleges. There is, however, a growing feeling against this plan, and a tendency, wherever possible, to separate those who intend to become teachers from those who do not. But many Normal Schools, while claiming to be only professional, yet include Academic subjects in their curricula. Two reasons for this are commonly urged. In the first place, it is said that it is impossible to get a large enough supply of candidates for training who are sufficiently well equipped for their profession from the point of view of mere information; and secondly, that even those who have the necessary information have acquired it in such a way that it is almost useless for teaching purposes. For such, a complete revision of the various subjects, taken in conjunction with a consideration of the best methods of teaching the same, is regarded as necessary; it being maintained by those in favour of this plan that it is almost impossible to get instruction in the various subjects that will be of any value to them as teachers, outside a Normal School.

On the other hand, there are some who maintain that the Normal School should be strictly professional, admitting none to its courses but those who can give evidence of having had ample academic preparation. Many, however, who believe that the courses in academic studies are at present necessary yet look forward to the time when they will be no longer required.

There appears to be a growing feeling in the States in favour of the complete separation of the professional from the academic course, and it is interesting to note that the question is agitating the minds of those who have to do with the training of teachers in America, at the same time that it has become a burning question in England in connection with the training of our Elementary Teachers. The Normal Schools correspond more or less closely with our English Elementary Training Colleges, and an examination of their points of likeness and difference may not prove unprofitable.

In the first place, it should be noted, that the absence of any uniform standard of attainment, such as is more or less secured in England by the fact that there is one government examination for all Colleges, makes it possible for there to be a great difference in the rank held by different Normal Schools. As each school fixes its own standard of graduation, and the conditions for admission, length of course and final tests vary with each institution, it comes about that much depends upon the Normal School, of which a given teacher is a graduate.

Some Normal Schools, for instance, have a course extending over four years, in others it only lasts from one to two years, while some offer a choice of courses of varying length. In England, on the contrary, the Elementary Training course is uniformly two years in all Colleges, the length being only occasionally varied in the cases of individuals, as when, on special recommendation, a third year is allowed, or a candidate who has already obtained a certificate is admitted to a Training College for one year’s training.

This lack of uniformity in the length of course in American Normal Schools is largely the result of the absence of any one standard of admission. While in England there is one examination, the Queen’s Scholarship, which must be passed by all, except University graduates who desire to enter an Elementary College, in America the conditions vary with each individual Normal School. Some require at least a certificate of graduation from a High School, some have an entrance examination of their own, which none may be excused, while others offer one to those who have no certificates to show.

Some Normal Schools are regarded as affording suitable preparation for the Universities, and are attended by those who hope to take up a University course later on, while others grant degrees of their own, or arrange special courses for those who have taken degrees elsewhere.

The fact that there are so many differences in respect of length of course and choice of subjects, between the Normal Schools of various States and Cities, makes it exceedingly difficult to form any accurate generalizations. It will probably, therefore, be wiser at this point to give a more detailed account of the Normal Schools which I had an opportunity of studying in the above-mentioned States.