Training courses for rural teachers
Monahan, A. C. (Arthur Coleman), 1877- | Wright, Robert Herring, 1870-1934
(U >- ^ T3 cc d LU c <I c "o a? cc CO CU Z2 CD r- o O _J o> s= "o z i '- o -o O ! <o CO CO W3 03 o^ <j) o o CD ro GJ < CO 55 >■ ,—3 r~ -a OS "E SCO o g COZ) S ex: ,5 I UiNlTED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN, 1913: NO. 2 WHOLE NUMBER 509 TRAINING COURSES FOR RURAL TEACHERS By A. C. MONAHAN BUREAU OF EDUCATION AND ROBERT H. WRIGHT PRESIDENT, EAST CAROLINA TEACHERS TRAINING SCHOOL GREENVILLE, N. C. WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1913 COJSTTElsrTa Page. Letter of transmittal 5 Introduction 7 Courses in State normal schools 11 Elective subjects for rural teachers offered in regular normal courses 11 The State normal school at Bellingham, Wash 12 The State normal school at Harrisonburg, Va 14 The State normal school at Athens, Ga 15 Departments of rural schools 16 One-year courses for teachers of rural schools 17 The State normal school, Valley City. N. Dak 18 The Lewiston (Idaho) State normal school 18 The East Carolina Teachers' Training School, Greenville, N. C 19 Winter, spring, and summer terms 20 Work in sociological or other clubs for the study of country life problems.. 22 Model rural schools 24 Summary of rural courses in State normal schools 27 Rural courses in the State normal schools at the places named 27 County training schools of Wisconsin 36 Teacher training in high schools 39 New York 39 Michigan 40 Minnesota 42 Virginia 42 In other States 45 Teacher training in high schools as viewed by superintendents and other officials 48 Table 2. — Teacher- training courses in public high schools 51 Table 3. — Arkansas: Teacher-training courses in high schools, 1911-12 52 Table 4. — Iowa: Teacher-training courses in high schools, 1911-12 52 Table 5. — Kansas: Schools maintaining teacher-training courses, 1911-12 54 Table 6. — Maine: Teacher-training classes in high schools, 1910-11 55 Table 7. — Michigan: County normal training classes in connection with high schools, 1911-12 55 Table 8. — Minnesota: High-school training departments, 1911-12 56 Table 9. — Nebraska: Teacher-training courses in high schools, 1911-12 56 Table 10. — New York: Teacher-training courses in high schools. 1911-12 59 Table 11.— Oregon: Teacher-training courses in high schools, 1911-12 60 Table 12.^ — Vermont: Teacher-training courses in high schools, 1911-12 60 Table 13. — Virginia: Teacher-training courses in high schools, 1911-12 61 3 LETTER OF TRAI^SMITTAL. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, WasUngton, D. C, October 10, 1912. Sir: The improvement of the rural schools of the United States is, I believe, our most important school problem. The most impor- tant factor in their improvement must be better educated and better trained teachers. The education and training of teachers should always have some special reference to the work of the schools in which they are to teach. Therefore any intelligent attempt to adjust the courses of study and training in the normal schools to meet the special need of teachers in schools of the open countr}", collages, and small towns is worth}" of careful study and wdde publication. For this reason, I recommend that the accompanjnng manuscript on Training courses for rural teachers, prepared by A. C. Monahan, specialist in rural education in this bureau, and R. H. Wright, presi- dent of the State Teachers Training School, of Greenville, N. C, be published as a bulletin of this bureau for distribution principall}' among State and county superintendents, principals and teachers of normal schools and of high schools having classes for young men and women preparing themselves for teaching in the rural schools, and among members of boards having control of schools in which teachers are trained. Respectfully submitted. P. P. Claxton, Commissioner. The Secretary of the Interior. 5 TRAINING COURSES FOR RURAL TEACHERS. INTRODUCTION. It may be that many teachers are tired of the expression '' Educa- tion is adjustment," but the fact remams that American rural edu- cation has not yet adjusted itself to rural conditions. Just what this readjustment shall be and how it shall be brought about is the great unanswered question in the minds of the leaders in rural educational affairs. Deeper thought and more intensive study than has yet been applied must be concentrated on it. It must be studied with a full understanding of the status of rural civilization in its economical, sociological, religious, and recreational activities and needs. No superficial adjustment by the addition of new studies to the cm*- riculum will answer the question; something more fundamental is necessary. For many years the idea prevailed that education had no concern with the daily routine of life's affairs. "Education for education's sake," "Education for culture," were the old watchwords. Now, however, the belief is becoming prevalent that it is not beneath the dignity of education to take a direct part in the things of daily life. Men realize that study is necessary for success in any occupation, and it is but logical that the study should be of those things which go to make up the occupations. Education when properly adjusted to human needs will help each individual to find what he is best suited for and to make of himself the very best possible human being of his type in the environment in which he may find himself. This calls for two things in the schools: First, that type of work that will help boys and girls to choose intel- ligently their life work; and, second, the type of training which will enable them to get the best preparation for their careers when chosen. In the early years the training, as far as subject matter and general methods are concerned, need vary but little among schools because of their environment. It is in the applications, illustrations, and materials through which the training is imparted that the difi'erentia- tion must come. The child thinks in terms of the things he knows in his daily life; to require the country child to think in terms of the environment of the urban child would probably not only retard the rate of progress, but also turn the child's thoughts away from himself and his surroundings toward a foreign environment and life. 7 8 TRAINING COUESES FOR RURAL TEACHERS. There are developing in the United States two distinct types of schools, an urban school for the city and town and a rural school for the village and open country. A survey of the field of education shows that an educational system has developed about the urban school and that for the urban school it is reasonably efficient. The system developing for the urban school has been thrust upon the rural school and has failed in large measure to meet the needs of rural edu- cation. Again, an efficient urban school organization has brought about for the school a reasonable financial support, a business man- agement, expert supervision, and a well-trained teaching force, while in the country all of these things are in large measure lacking. The attention of educational leaders has in the past been occupied by the rapid growth of the urban systems, and the rural schools have been neglected. In fact, urban progress in education has to a certain measure retarded progress in rural education, for it has taken from the country schools the teachers of best native ability and best prepa- ration, leaving the rural schools in the hands of young men and women hardly qualified in education, traming, or experience for the tasks before them. It has resulted that the rural school has become a recognized stepping-stone to urban-school work, so that the rural school has to contend not only with poorly prepared teachers but also with short terms of service and constant changes of teachers. There is, however, in this country an awakenmg, well-nigh universal, to the needs of these schools. People and teachers are beginning to realize that the rural-school problem is our most important unsolved educational problem. The school can never become more efficient than the teacher. A first requisite for efficient rural education is well-trained teachers and supervisors. Little has been done in the past to fit teachers for rural work, and the supply of those trained in general professional work has been inadequate to satisfy the urban demand. The total number of public-school teachers in the United States last year was over 523,000; the number of graduates of teacher-training courses in universities, colleges. State normal schools, county training schools, and high schools was approximately 23,000. The average length of service of a teacher is less than five years. It is apparent, therefore, that for not more than one in five positions is a tramed graduate available. It was with these facts m mind that an inquiry has been made by ' this bureau concerning the teacher-training courses in the United States designed especially to prepare for permanent work in rural schools. There is a growing belief that the teacher for rural work should have an education and training different in some res])ects from that of the town or city teacher. The rural teacher needs the same courses in education (psychology, pedagogy, etc.) and the same gen- INTRODUCTION. 9 era! courses in methods of teaching. He needs, however, in place of some of the academic subjects of secondary or collegiate grade, additional courses in natural and physical sciences, particularly in their applications, and in nature study, elementary agriculture, domes- tic economy, sanitation, rural economics, and rural sociology. He needs also courses in rural-school management and methods, includ- ing instruction by an expert rural teacher m the best methods of classifying pupils, in the arrangement of a program, and in other problems of the one-room country school. These questions must be met and answered by the teacher who begins his school work in a one-teacher school without the aid and advice from other teachers that is available for the new teacher in other schools. Practice in methods of teacliing the common-school branches may be taken in the regular graded normal-practice school, but every student pre- paring for country work should have practice under an expert teacher in school management and teaching in a one-teacher rural school located in its natural environment and attended by rural children. Urban life has much in common wherever it may be, and the same type of school may be suitable m large measure to all cities. The graded system is as suitable for New Orleans as it is for Boston. The principle does not hold for the country school. ^Vhile in general the problem before the country school in all sections is the same, the details of a system of instruction suitable for North Dakota would not apply in Florida. A thorough knowledge of country life in the section where the school is located is necessary. For this reason the country teacher needs to study his district. For such study he may be best prepared by the study of rural economics and sociology. Somewhere in his preparation he should be taught how to find out the following or similar facts relative to his school constituents: Population. — ^Urban and rural, white and colored, native born, foreign born, whether increasing or decreasing and why, number of inhabitants per square mile, number of illiterates. Economic conditions. — ^The natural resources of the district, mineral and vegetable; chief products, manufactured articles, crops for market, crops for home consumption; number and size of farms, percentage of owners, percentage of tenants, percentage of wage earners, the average annual wage; increase and decrease in land values and in crops, farm stock and machinery; sources of food and clothing in the district. Social conditions. — Social activities, including forms of recreation, such as athletics, dances, moving-picture shows, pool rooms, etc., and lecture courses, literary societies, picnics, secret and fraternal organi- zations; means of transportation; means of communication, such as 66477°— 13 2 10 TKAINING COURSES FOR RURAL TEACHERS. telephones and rural free delivery; moral conditions, tendencies toward criminal practices, sanitary conditions. Educational conditions. — ^The community interest in the school; the use of the school building for community gatherings ; the amount of schooling received by individuals of the district; recent pupils of the school who left before completing the school work and the reasons for leaving; private libraries; the number and character of magazines and newspapers regularly read in the district. Religious conditions and activities. — ^Number of active churchmen, number belongmg to no church, church societies and activities and other work for the uplift of the community. A study of the situation in the United States regarding the rural teacher-training covu'ses shows that there are three main sources from which the rural schools may obtam trained teachers, namely, State normal schools, county training schools, and high schools. The State agricultural colleges are doing something for rural teachers in their ''courses for teachers" and m their agricultural education work. Their courses are mostly, however, for special teachers of agriculture and for consolidated-school principals rather than for ordinary country-school teachers, although many of them are giving summer courses designed primarily for teachers of that class. The activities of the agricultural colleges in preparing teachers have been thoroughly discussed in the chapter on agricultural education ^ in the Report of the Commissioner of Education for 1911, and will not therefore be touched here. There are many other agencies for the improvement of country teachers already in service. They also have been treated m a recent publication of the bureau, and no further discussion of them is necessary here.^ 1 This chapter is available as a separate. 2 Agencies for the improvement of teachers in service, Bulletin, 1911, No. 3. COURSES IN STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS. The special work offered at the State normal schools to prospective rural teachers may be grouped under several headings according to its nature and its arrangement in relation to the regular courses. The work will be discussed in tliis paper under the following headings: (a) Elective subjects for rural teachers oft'ered in regular normal courses. (6) Complete courses in departments of rural education, separate and distinct from other departments. (c) One-year courses for rural teachers. (d) Short courses given as "winter," ''spring," or ''summer" courses designed for teachers already in the service. (e) Work in sociological or other clubs for the study of country life problems. (/) Practice and observation in model rural schools. ELECTIVE SUBJECTS FOR RURAL TEACHERS OFFERED IN REGULAR NORMAL COURSE S.' The contents of the course given by any normal school must depend largely upon two things — the sort of schools into which the graduates expect to go upon the completion of their normal course and the subjects taught in the public schools of the State. If a State has a small rural population, as is the case in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey, it is not necessary for all of the normal schools to offer special work for rural teachers, as but few of their graduates will ever become permanent rural teachers. On the other hand, if the population is chiefly rural, as it is in South Caro- lina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and North Dakota, then it becomes the duty of most of the normal schools to offer such courses as will best prepare teachers to meet the conditions in rural com- munities. Certain States provide by law a course of study which must be followed in all schools; other States provide a course but allow independent districts to decide for themselves whether they shall adopt the State course; still others provide no course and leave with the local authorities full power to determine what subjects shall be taught in theh schools. In each State where a State course of study is provided the normal schools are guided in the arrangement of 1 All the courses described in this bulletin are those given in the scholastic year 1911-12. 11 12 TRAINING COURSES FOR RURAL TEACHERS. their curricula in large measure by the State course, as they neces- sarily must prepare teachers of the subjects included in it. For example, where nature study, elementary agriculture, cooking, sew- ing, and sanitation are required in the State course as subjects to be taught in rural schools, the normal schools have been forced to include the same subjects in their curricula, teaching not only the subject matter but the methods of instruction. In other States the normal schools are more free to vary their courses. To show the character of some of the special rural work and its arrangement in the curriculum, the courses in several schools will be described. The schools selected were chosen not necessarily because the work they are doing is the best of its kind, but because their courses may be regarded as good types to illustrate the various courses offered to meet the problem of preparing teachers for the country as part of the regular normal work. The courses described are the courses offered for the school year 1911-12, as the larger part of this bulletm was prepared for publication before the opening of the schools in September, 1912. Several State normal schools have organized work for the preparation of rural teachers and are offering courses the present year (1912-13) for the first time. In a few instances changes in some of the courses described were made at the beginning of the year. It has not been practicable to note the changes m this bulletin. The State Normal School at Bellingham, Wash., offers three regular two-year courses. The first presupposes the completion of two years of high-school work and entitles its graduates to a certificate good for two years in the elementary schools of the State; the second pre- supposes three years of high-school work and entitles its graduates to a three-year certificate; the third presupposes a complete high- school course and entitles the graduate to a five-year certificate. In actual practice the three courses may be said to constitute but one course — a four-year course which pupils may enter at the beginning of the first, second, and third years, and which they may leave, receiving certificates as stated above, at the end of the second, third, and fourth je&rs. Students planning to leave at the end of the sec- ond year are given during that year professional work which other- wise would come later in the course. The courses are given on the following page. For pupils planning to take four-year work a course is arranged diflering slightly from the elementary and advanced courses here given. COUKSES IN STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS. 13 o o c> ^ so c< -♦^ <K> tn -^ •n rSt <u ^ o k o s ■a .a J «>, Ol s ^ -r; bn •**^ V fe oq '""' ;») -o "1? s. ^ cf 00 V OB fc. s o <o T3 s o C3 .ia •a a o CSt^cO-^COiOlOCOCS o o a> o :g§.s ; 2 a 2 ^..^-S ' m 03 S 2 R '--i .K a K-bi3-S o ^ S S H M-<J*GOOOTj*C^-flfU^C^l a ■a "^ o o ro '.C L — ^~-^ ■=■ J; iH — — ^ WWPHf£lQS<;wO 'r^Zojz-;: 3 O O a i 3 r^COiOiOfM^^I^iOiOCN C9 _ O C3 S >-■ QJ <P t- - c o • ■ >>, 3 o c q « t>> rrcqriH-^jno^'^-^TPC^ (>> : a -g -2 ^ ■- oj iH ,>-P s 03 00 3 o 0.2 ^ S s=5.2 a m " c3 O 3 etc 2 CD +^ > C3 WO CC 00 O ■* CO (N 05 »-H ■r- o M '^ _ xj pij .^ Oi o tu c3 SCO a w^rs p. ca o a I' •^ '5 -3 o ^ " m J "J2 O — i; 03-; bfi KWHccKW wo uoc^soiot^cowooc^ tfi .3 .3 "■ 2 'O ■ais 0 o_ ^ j= ca S met anu ■o x-ctt a aj a_. C3 •a 03 0 « ,0 a; E -< Music Education Teaching.. English an Geography Drawing a Elentives _ a B 0 o o I 9 14 TRAINING COURSES FOR RURAL TEACHERS. Students preparing for rural work take usual!}' the elementary course. The special studies, either required or elective, of value to the prospective rural teacher open to students m that course are the following : 1. Rural school methods, 3 credits, including rural school management, elementary methods, the program, grading, and classification. 2. Rural school observation. 2 credits, in the special rural observation school and in other rural schools in the neighborhood, with discussions of the special problems of the rural teacher. 3. Agriculture, 4 credits, confined principally to the study of the soil and of plant life and growth. 4. Home economics, 4-10 credits, including cooking, sewing, household management and methods of teaching. 5. School hygiene and sanitation, 2 credits. 6. Manual training, 2-10 credits, including basketry, clay modeling, and woodwork. The State Norifnal ScJiool at Harrisonburg, Va., offers a regular nor- mal school course of four years and a professional course of two 3^ears. Pupils may enter the fu'st year of the regular course after completing two years of high-school work, or they may enter the second year after completing three years of high-school work. If they have com- pleted a full four-year high-school course before entering the normal school, they must take the professional course. Students in the regu- lar course may leave at the end of any year, and if the year's work has been completed satisfactorily will receive a certificate indicatmg the amount of work done. The four-year course is as follows, the figures bemg "term-hours," or the number of hours per week for one term of one-third of a j^ear in length (three "term-hours" mean that the subject is pursued three hours a week for one term, or one hour a week for a full ,year) : THE FOUR-YEAR NORMAL COURSE AT HARRISONBURG, VA. FIRST YE.\R. Term-liours. Language study 15 Physical geography 10 Commercial geography 5 Industrial history 5 Rural sociology 5 Term-hours. English history ;-. . 5 Algebra 1.5 Physical education 6 Electives 12 SECOND YEAR. Term-hours. School management and hygiene 5 Rural-school problems . 5 Language study and methods 15 Biology and methods 10 American history and methods 10 Term-hours. Advanced arithmetic and methods. . 10 Physiology 5 Physical education 0 Electives 12 COURSES IN STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS. 15 THIRD YEAR. Term-hours. Observation 3 Educational psychology 10 Principles of teaching 5 The school program and primary education 12 Term-hours. School music 4 Physical education 6 Electives 38 FOURTH YEAR. Term-hours. Practice teaching 14 History of education 10 Philosophy of education 5 Child psychology 5 Literature 10 Term-hours. Sociology 5 Art and music 6 Elementary science methods 4 Physical education 4 Electives 10 The subjects in italics are arranged especially to meet the needs of the rural teacher. The electives include subjects of interest to rural teachers as follows: Term-hours. Home economics 6 Sewing, cooking, each 4-16 Woodwork 12 Furniture construction 12 The place of industrial branches in education 6 Term-hours. Elementary science methods 4 Nature study 4 School gardening 4 Elementary agriculture 8 Poultry raising 4 Household chemistry 5 The professional course differs but little from the last two years of the regular course except that the entire work is prescribed and in- cludes the equivalent of all of the professional work given in the four years. Industrial history in the first year includes a rapid survey of the social, economic, and industrial progress in the United States. Rural sociology deals especially with the conditions of life in the coun- try and the relations of the rural population as regards their work, business welfare, conditions of living, and the social influences of com- munity life in rural sections. The aim of the course is to give pros- pective teachers a right understanding of country life and a proper attitude toward it. The course in school management and hygiene in the second year is especially adapted to the needs of the country teacher, and so is the course in rural-school problems and methods. In the latter course the relation of the rural school to the community and its possibilities as a social center are discussed. The State Normal School at Athens, Ga., has distinctly the problem of preparing teachers for rural work, as nearly 80 per cent of the graduates go into village or country schools. For this reason the regular four-year course is arranged to give special preparation for country work. In the first year of the course elementary agricul- ture is required two hours a week for the entire year. Domestic science and manual training are both given as elective subjects. In 16 TRAINIISTG COURSES FOR RURAL TEACHERS. the second year physiography is given three hours a week for a haK year, followed by agricultural botany three hours a week. Domestic science and manual training are elective. In the third year eight hours a week of professional work and two hours in the study of soils and in school gardening are required. In the fourth year eight hours of professional work are required, one hour of domestic science, two hours for a half year in the study of field crops, two hours for a half year in nature study, and four hours for the entire year in prac- tice teaching. Domestic science and manual training are elective in both of these years. In the fourth year two hours a week for the entire year may be elected in rural economics and sociology, two hours in the conservation of natural resources, and two hours of poultry study. Through half of the fourth year a course in the organization and management of schools is given. This course deals primarily with the rural-school question. Practice teaching is given in the normal elementary school, in w^hich an ungraded room is maintained for the special benefit of rural teachers. DEPARTMENTS OF RURAL SCHOOLS. Several State normals have established departments of rural educa- tion. The normal schools of Michigan, the Illinois State Normal School at Normal, the Erksville Normal School at Earksville, Mo., and five Wisconsin normal schools are among those that maintain such departments. A description of the department of the Western State Normal School at Kalamazoo, Mich., will be given as tyj^ical and suggestive. The department w^as established when the school w^as organized in 1904. It origmally offered a two-year course, requirmg for entrance the completion of the eighth grade. The course now given covers four years, with the same entrance require- ments. Advanced standmg may be given to students who have completed one year or more in a regular high school, but at least one year must be spent at the normal school before graduation. The course of the first three years corresponds with the ordinary high- school course, with English, algebra, geography, biology, and ancient history in the first year; English, geometry, modern history, and an elective m science in the second j^ear; and English, algebra and solid geometry, music, art, and English history or domestic economy in the third year. The fourth year's work is almost wholly professional. The subjects mcluded are as follows, each being taught four hours a week for the number of weeks indicated: Psychology, 12 weeks; edu- cation, 24 weeks; American history, 24 weeks; civics and history of the Nation, 12 weeks; nature study, 18 wrecks; agriculture, 18 weeks; rural sociology, 12 weeks; arithmetic, 12 weeks; and practice teaching, 12 weeks. COURSES IN STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS. 17 The 24 weeks of education are devoted to the principles of educa- tion, methods of teachmg, and school management. The practice teaching is in the regular normal training school, with special work in observation in a public rural school located some distance away. Nature study deals particularly with things of interest in the rural home and on the farm. Agriculture includes a study of farm animals, soils, and farm crops. The arithmetic, while including a review of the entire subject, deals largely with problems bearing on farm life. Rural sociology includes a study of the rural community and its relation to the rural school. Music and art, given in the third year, consist largely of vocal music and drawing for the rural schools. Students in the third and fourth years of the department are organ- ized for supplementary study in a rural sociology seminar. This seminar meets two afternoons each month and discusses the educa- tional, social, and industrial life of rural communities. A department of rural-school education was established at the Earksville (Mo.) Normal School in 1911, and is now m its second year. Students seeking admission to this department must, as a minimum requirement, have completed the equivalent of the eighth grade and be at least 16 years of age. The work covers 24 months, and upon its completion students receive a certificate good for two years m any rural school in the State. The subjects included are as follows, the figures indicating the number of terms in each course : Grammar and literature, 6; farm accounts and business principles, 1 ; advanced practical arithmetic, 1 ; algebra, 3 ; American history, 3; government of State and Nation, 1; physiology and sanitation, 1 ; nature study and agriculture, 3 ; commercial, industrial, and physical geography (combined), 1; rural life problems, 1; rural- school organization and management, 2; rural-school methods and observation m model rural school, 1 ; industrial arts, 1 ; handwork, physical education, music, etc., 5. The work in agri- culture is a general course, including the study of farm crops, soil management, and farm animals. Under physiology and sanitation particular attention is given to diseases of school cliildren and the sanitation of the rural-school building. Rural life and problems consist of a general survey of the status of country life and the factors which foster or hinder rural progress. Observation is principally in the model rural school, maintained on the school grounds, to which children are transported from the surroundmg territory. , ONE-YEAR COURSES FOR TEACHERS OF RURAL SCHOOLS. One-year courses are offered for prospective teachers of rural schools in many State normal schools. Detailed descriptions of a few are given below. . 66477°— 13 3 18 TRAINING COURSES FOR RTJRAL TEACHERS. Tlie State Normal School, Valley City, N. Dale., offers a lOh months' course for rural-school teachers m recognition of the fact that "the rural-school teacher has conditions and problems to confront that the grade teacher in town does not have. * * * -pj^g couise is administered by special instructors whose experience with rural schools entities them to leadership in such work." The work was begun in 1909, under special authorization of the State legislature. Students completing the course receive a second-grade certificate valid in any county in the State. The year is divided into four terms, with the course arranged as follows: COURSE OF STUDY. FALL. Hours per week. Reading 5 Geography 5 Elementary agriculture 5 United States history 5 Singing 5 Penmanship 3 Physical culture 2 WINTER. Language and grammar 5 Geography 5 Elementary agriculture 5 United States history 5 Spelling 3 Physical culture 2 Elementary pedagogy 5 SPRING. Houfs per week. Language and grammar 5 Arithmetic 5 Elementary agriculture 5 Elementary pedagogy, including ob- servation 5 Drawing 5 Word analysis 3 Physical culture 2 SUMMER. Civics 5 Physiology and hygiene 5 Arithmetic 5 Elementary pedagogy, including prac- tice 5 Elementary pedagogy given in this course includes school manage- ment and methods of teaching various subjects of the rural school. The instruction in all subjects contained in the curriculum deals not only with their subject matter, but with the methods of teaching. The domestic science includes a short course which might be given in the rural school. It requires simple, inexpensive, and practical apparatus. Students to enter this one-year course must have completed the equivalent of the eighth grade of the public schools and must be at least 17 years of age. The Lewiston (Idaho) State Nonral School has for the past three years offered a one-year course for rural teachers. The work is largely professional, and it is open to any student who has completed the ninth grade of the public schools. It is open also to teachers who hold a second-grade certificate. The course includes reviews of subjects taught in the public schools, generally known as the com- mon branches, and mstruction in methods of teaching them m rural COURSES IN STATE NOEMAL SCHOOLS. 19 schools; also professional courses, including rural sociology, rural- school management, rural arts and science, and observation. The rural sociology consists of a study of the rural school in its relation to the rural community; the rural arts and science course includes the manual and industrial arts adapted to rural schools, and ele- mentary agriculture, school gardening, and nature study. Observa- tion is taken in a model rural school in which practice teacliing is also required. The year is divided into four quarters, accordmg to the following outline: COURSE OF STUDY. FIRST QUARTER. Hours per week. Elementary agriculture 6 Civics and health 3 Rural arts 6 English 5 Elective subjects 5 SECOND QUARTER. Elementary agriculture 6 Rural hygiene 3 Rural arts 6 English 5 Elective subjects 5 THIRD QUARTER. Hours per week. Elementary agriculture 6 School hygiene 3 Rural arts 6 English 5 Elective subjects 5 FOURTH QUARTER. American rural schools 5 Methods of teaching rural-school sub- jects 5 Observation and criticisms 5 Principles of teaching 5 Practice teaching 5 Under the subject ''American rural schools" are treated such topics as rural-school problems, the organization and administra- tion of the school, its support and supervision, the rural-school buildmg, its architecture and sanitation, and special subjects adapt- able to the rural-school course of study. The electives open to students in this course consist almost entirely of re\4ew courses in public-school arithmetic, geography, history, etc. The East Carolina Teachers Training School, Greenville, N. C, offers two 1-year courses for teachers of rural schools. One is open only to experienced teachers who hold a first or second grade cer- tificate, and is intended to give them a more thorough knowledge of the subjects taught in the public schools of the State, and to give a correct idea of the methods which have proved most successful in teaching those subjects. The other course is offered because of "the fact that a large number of young men and women go into rural schools each year to begin the work of teaching with no preparation other than that obtained in the high school, or in many cases only that obtained in the elementary schools," and because of the belief "that a large number of these would, if an opportunity were offered, 20 TKAIXING COURSES FOR RURAL TEACHERS. take a one-year course that would give them a careful review of the subjects they must teach and some training in the best methods of teaching these subjects." To be admitted to this course the candi- date must be at least 17 years of age and must signify his intention to teach the following year. The one-year course offered to experienced teachers is as follows, the hours indicated being the number per week : FIRST TERM. Hours. Arithmetic 4 Literature and composition 4 United States history 4 Geogi-aphy 4 Pedagogy 4 Music 2 Drawing 2 SECOND TERM. Hours. Arithmetic 4 Literature and reading 4 United States history 4 Personal hygiene and sanitation .... 4 Pedagogy 4 Music 2 Drawing 2 Cooking 1 THIRD TERM. Special methods of teaching — Hours. Arithmetic 4 Language and reading 4 History and civics 4 Elementary cooking 1 Agriculture 3 Hours. Primary methods 4 School management and school law. . 2 Music 2 Drawing 2 The other one-vear course is as follows : FIRST TERM. Hours. Primary methods 6 Reading for grades 2 United States history 4 Sanitation 4 Pedagogy 4 Public-school music 2 Drawing 2 SECOND TERM. Hours. .. 4 Arithmetic for grades 4 and 5 Language and grammar 4 United States history 4 Geography 4 Pedagogy 4 Public-school music 2 Drawing 2 THIRD TERM. Hours. Hours. Pedagogy 4 Public-school music 2 Drawing 2 Arithmetic for grades 6 and 7 4 Reading, composition, and grammar. 4 United States history and civics. ... 4 Agriculture 4 Methods of teaching each subject are taught with the review of the subject itself. WINTER, SPRING, AND SUMMER TERMS, An attempt to meet the needs of teachers in rural schools now in the service is made by a large number of normal schools in whiter, spring, and summer terms, especially in summer terms, or in "summer schools" as they are designated. In the Report of the Commissioner COURSES IN STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS. 21 of Education for 1911 (Chap. XXX, Vol. II) is a detailed statement of the summer schools held in 1911 and of the courses given in such schools as far as they reported to the Bureau of Education. The list gives 477 summer schools held that year, of which number 83 were under the auspices of State normal schools. The courses given by the normal schools need not be repeated here, as complete mfor- mation may be obtained from the commissioner's report. Below is siven a list of the State normal schools in which courses were offered primarily for rural teachers. Following the list of State normal schools is given a list of special summer training schools for teachers, conducted under the auspices of State departments of education. In the essentials of their authorization and organization they are State normal school courses. State normal schools offering courses for rural teachers. State Normal Schools, Jacksonville and Troy, Ala. Arkansas State Normal School, Conway, Ark. State Normal Training School, Danbury, Conn. Illinois State Normal Schools at Carbondale, Charleston, Dekalb, Macomb, and Normal. The Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute. The Iowa State Teachers College at Cedar Falls. The Kansas State Normal Schools at Emporia and Hays. The Kentucky State Normal Schools at Bowling Green and Richmond, and the State Normal Institute for Negroes at Frankfort. The Louisiana Indu'-trial Institutes at Lafayette and Ruston, and the State Normal School at Natchitoches. The Maine State Normal Schools at Farmington, Fort Kent, Gorham, Washington, and Presque Island. Hyannis Normal School, Massachusetts. The Michigan State Normal Schools at Mount Pleasant and YpsHanti. The Duluth, Mankato, Morehead, St. Cloud, and Winona State Normal Schools, Minnesota. The Cape Girardeau, KirksvUle, Maryville, Springfield, and Warrensburg State Normal Schools, Missouri. Montana State Normal College at Dillon. The Chadron, Kearney, Peru, and Wayne State Normal Schools, Nebraska. The New Mexico Normal University at Las Vegas and the State Normal School at SHver City. The State Normal School at Cortland, N. Y. The East Carolina Teachers Training School, Greenville, N. C. The MayvUle, Valley City, and Ellendale State Normal Schools of North Dakota. State Normal College, Athens, Ohio. The Ada, Alva, Edmond, and Tahlequah State Normal Schools of Oklahoma. The West Chester State Normal School, Pennsylvania. Winthrop Normal College, Rock Hill, S. C. The Aberdeen State Normal and Industrial School, South Dakota. The Canton, Commerce, Denton, Huntsville, and San Marcos State Normal Schools, Texas. The Johnson State Normal School, Vermont. Fredericksburg, Harrisonburg, and Winchester State Normal Schools; and Hampton Institute, and the Petersburg Normal School for Negroes, Virginia. 22 TRAINING COURSES FOR RURAL TEACHERS. The Bellingham, Cheney, and EUensburg State Normal Schools, Washington. The Athens State Normal School, West Virginia. The La Crosse, (3shkosh, Platte ville, River Falls, Stevens Point, Superior, White- water, and Milwaukee State Normal Schools, Wisconsin. Summer schools under the management of State departments of education, tvhich include in their courses special work for rural teachers. The Birmingham Summer Training School for Teachers and the Mobile County Teachers' Vacation Training School, Ala. Florida Normal Institute, Madison; Teachers' Summer Training School, Tallahassee; Teachers' Summer Training School for Negroes, Tallahassee, Fla. Boise State Summer School, Pocatello State Summer Normal School, Sand Point State Summer Normal School, Idaho. The Teachers' Contiuuation School of Allegany County, at Frostburg; the Mountain Lake Park Summer School, Mountain Lake; Garrett County Summer School, Oakland, Md. The County Teachers' Training Schools at Aitkin, Alexandria, Argyle, Austin, Ben- son, Cambridge, Fairfax, Fairmont, Grand Rapids, Long Prahie, Marshall, Milaca, Montevideo, Ortonville, Park Rapids, Pipestone, Red Lake Falls, Roseau, St. Peter, Shakopee, Tyler, Walker, Waseca, Willmar, Wiudom, and Worthington, Minn. The State Junior Normal Schools, located at Alliance, Alma, Broken Bow, Geneva, McCook, North Platte, O'Neill, and Valentine, Nebr. North Carolina Summer School for Negro Teachers, Greensboro, N. C. The Cass County Teachers' Training School, Fargo; the Logan County Teachers' Training School, Napoleon, N. Dak. Teachers' Summer Normal School, Greenville, Ohio. Lycoming County Normal School, Muncy, Pa. The Texas summer normal schools at Albany, Alpine, Ballinger, Rrownwood, Clar- endon, Cleburne, Comanche, Corpus Christi, Corsicana, Dallas, Decatur, Green- ville, Groesbeck, Hillsboro, Houston, Kerrville, Killeen, Kirbyville, Lamesa. Lometa, McKinney, Meridian, Mineola, Mount Pleasant, Navasota, New Boston, Nocona, Paris, Pecos, Port Lavaca, Pritchett, San Antonio, Sherman, Timpson, Weatherford, Weimar, and Yoakum, for whites; and at Breham, Bryan, Dallas, Gilmar. Greenville, Livingston, lAding, Marshall, Palestine, Port Arthur, San Augustine, Sequin, Somerville, Teague, Texarkana, and ^^Tiarton. for negroes. State Summer School for Elementary School Teachers, Rutland, Vt. Seaside Normal, Newport News, State Summer Institutes at Emory and Martins- ville, and the Summer Normal School for Negroes, Danville, Va. Centralia, Montensana, Olympia, and Seattle Summer Normal Schools, Wash. The State Summer School for Negroes, at Institute, W. Va. The County Training Schools at Eau Claii'e, Janesville, Monroe, New London, Reeds- burg, Richland, Viroqua, and Oconto, Wis. WORK IN SOCIOLOGICAL CLUBS OR OTHER CLUBS FOR THE STUDY OF COUNTRY LIFE PROBLEMS. There appears to be a steadily increasing belief that a rural teacher, to make her school of the greatest possible service, should know inti- mately the peoi)le of her district and the social, rcHgious, and eco- nomic conditions under which they live. It is believed that this information can come only from a definite systematic study of the district. Most teachers do not know how to make such a study. If, however, the teacher has assisted in some sort of a sociological COURSES IN STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS. 23 study during her normal course, she will have received not only gen- eral information on social and economic conditions, but will also have a guide to assist her in similar work when thrown upon her own resources as a country-school teacher. Many normal schools have introduced courses in rural sociology, for the purpose of interesting teachers in rural conditions, so that when they become country teachers their interest in their children will include not only their work and life inside of the schoolhouse, but their broader life of the outside world. The same end is sought by the sociological seminar, given as a part of the course for rural teachers at the Kalamazoo (Mich.) State Normal School, mentioned above, and in the Georgia Club of the State Normal School at Athens, Ga. The work of the latter is especially noteworthy. President E. C. Branson, who estab- lished the club and has given a great deal of his time and attention to its development, describes it and its work as follows: This club is composed of 141 volunteers from the faculty and student body. Spare time is used by individuals and coimty groups for work upon special chosen topics; and one hour each week is given to club discussions. 