subjects only. In the third year two hours a week, in the first half of
the fourth year six hours a week, and in the last half of the fourth
year three hours a week, are given to the study of pedagogy. At the
beginning of the fourth year, the Normal students enter the training
or practice department connected with the school, and every third week
hear and give lessons, and take part in criticisms and discussions on
teaching. At the same time, they attend lectures and recitations in
English, Latin, modern languages, natural science, drawing and music,
chiefly with a view to gaining an insight into the methods of those
subjects. The college had in December, 1892, 1,868 students, of whom
460 had belonged to the training department during the year--_i.e._,
had observed and actually taught in the training or practising
school. As large numbers are engaged in observing and teaching in one
practising school, much individual practice in the actual work of
teaching is impossible; for although the students are divided into
groups for the school work, the groups are necessarily large. It has
been found necessary for ninety-two students to be in the practising
school at one time, a number too large to allow of much actual teaching
being done by any individual student. Only a small part of the twelve
hours spent weekly by each student in the practising school is given to
teaching. The remaining time is given to hearing lessons and observing
children.
I noticed a similar need for more practical work in the Philadelphia
Normal School. Here, as in the New York Normal College, much purely
academic work is done, and very little importance is given to actual
school-room practice. Students are divided into six sections, each
group containing about fifty. A whole division goes into the practising
school at one time, and stays there for two weeks only. The remaining
thirty-eight weeks of the last school year are entirely devoted to
the study of pedagogical subjects, psychological methods and drawing.
Kindergarten work is compulsory to all during the last year. The two
weeks which each student spends in the schools are chiefly employed
in hearing lessons, and observing children and teachers. Only two days
in the whole course are spent in actual teaching. This arrangement of
work and distribution of time in the Philadelphia Normal School is
seen by the city school authorities to be far from satisfactory, and
a scheme has been made out for a thorough revision of the course. The
present school, which is inadequate for purposes of training, is to be
made into a public High School for girls, and a new Normal School is to
be built, in which three years are to be devoted to academic, and two
years to professional work; but the two parts are to be kept entirely
distinct. The training course is to consist of elementary and advanced
sections, and much more time is to be given to actual teaching.
The examinations of the City Normal Schools are usually conducted by
the faculties of the schools, under the supervision of sub-committees
of the Board of Public Education of the city. In the Philadelphia
School, a certificate is awarded by a “Committee on the Qualification
of Teachers” for a general average of 85 per cent. on two examinations.
i. In academical subjects, at end of three years.
ii. In professional subjects, at the end of four years.
An average of 85 per cent. on the teaching in the school of practice is
also required. Two certificates are awarded for lower averages of marks
on work of the course, viz.:
An “Assistant’s Certificate” for average of 70 per cent., and a
“Trial Certificate” for less than an average of 70 per cent. on work
in the school of practice. Such a “Trial Certificate” is for one year
only. If, at the end of that time, the teaching shall be reported
as satisfactory by the Superintendent of the Schools, the “Trial
Certificate” may be exchanged for an “Assistant’s Certificate.”
CITY TRAINING SCHOOLS.
The City Training Schools are purely professional institutions. They
admit only graduates of High Schools of the city, and give them a
course of one or two years in theory and practice of teaching. The
amount of time given to theory varies a good deal in the different
cities. Practice in teaching is usually gained in a practising school
well equipped with good teachers, who help and guide the students in
their work. In some instances, however, students gain their experience
by teaching under supervision, in the schools of the city.
Emphasis of the practical side of the teacher’s work seems to be
a good feature of the training schools generally. In all the City
Training Schools which I visited much opportunity was given for actual
teaching, and for practically dealing with the problems of discipline
and organization in the school-room. Such opportunities are multiplied
by the system of substitute service, which seems to be organized in
most of the cities of the United States. Students of the training
schools, during the latter part of their course, are registered on a
substitute list, and may be called to supply the place of teachers
temporarily absent from the Common Schools. Responsibility taken for a
week, or even a day, is excellent training for future teachers, and in
cases where permanent vacancies occur the student who has shown herself
capable in such an emergency is often appointed to the post.
Among the largest and most successful of the City Training Schools
is the Boston Normal and Rice Training School. This, although a
City Normal School by name, differs in many respects from the City
Normal Schools of New York and Philadelphia. Its work is strictly
professional, and seems to correspond rather with the Training
Schools of other cities than with those known as Normal Schools. The
Rice Training School offers an ordinary course of two years, and an
advanced course for further professional work. The practising school
in the same building gives the opportunity to the students of teaching
and observing children, and beyond this the “Supervisors of Public
Instruction” in the city have made arrangements for allowing the
students to watch and teach in some of the best Primary and Grammar
Schools of Boston. Completion of the Boston High School course, or
college graduation, exempts from the entrance examination of the school.
Theoretical instruction in pedagogical subjects is given in the
morning, teaching in the practising school occupies the afternoon
hours. Psychology is taken almost every day throughout the course.
Theory of the kindergarten is studied in the second term, and logic in
the third. The history of education is also taken in outline.
“Methods” of subjects are taught in great detail, and on the same
lines as in the State Normal Schools--viz., by means of lessons in
the various subjects given to the students themselves. I heard a very
interesting lesson in methods of arithmetic. A class of twenty girls
were, by very skilful questioning, made to thoroughly discuss the
process of simple addition, and also the methods of teaching children
to realize numbers greater than ten. I heard, too, very skilful
teaching in methods of English--viz., a literature lesson, and a first
lesson in English composition. In the literature lesson, the teacher
first reminded her pupils of the various poems and prose selections
studied during the term. After having given short explanations, she
read selections from other authors. Then the students were asked if
these new selections reminded them of any parts in the poems already
studied, and when the suggested parts had been quoted, the class was
set to discover whether the similarity was in the subject matter, the
underlying thought or the mode of expression. Many suggestions were
given by the class, and much interest was aroused. The lesson was a
most helpful illustration of how a teacher should stimulate her class,
and how she should use her materials for the purpose of training.
The study of methods of training occupies a prominent place in the
curriculum of the school, and includes special work in illustrative
drawing on the blackboard in connection with the teaching of geography,
and the drawing of plants and animals. As part of the course on
gymnastics, each student, besides studying the theory and doing daily
drill, must act for one term as leader and teacher of drill, and must
criticise drill lessons.
Practical work in the schools is arranged for each term. In the
first half-year, the students’ work in the training school consists
chiefly in observing methods of teaching, and hearing lessons, under
the guidance of the critic teacher. She does not begin to teach in
the school until the second term, two weeks of which she spends in a
primary grade, and two weeks in a higher or grammar grade. In the third
term she spends eight weeks in the schools, and in the fourth term four
weeks. It is usual for each student, while in the schools, to give two
or three lessons every day, under the supervision of the class teacher
with whom she is placed. The teacher criticises and suggests in all
cases. In the advanced course, students take up a further study of the
principles of education. They also study the history of education, give
more time to actual teaching in the schools, and act as substitutes in
the city schools.
In addition to the Boston Training School, there are fourteen city
training schools in the State of Massachusetts. In all these the time
of training is fixed from one to two years; admission is by the High
School graduation certificate, or an equivalent entrance examination,
and is only at fixed annual times; a school is attached for practice,
and the teacher at its head conducts the training class.
At the Springfield Training School the course may be extended to two
years. A little academic work is done in science during the first
term. Methods are treated of by means of lectures and discussions,
and these, with organized observation of children and a few criticism
lessons, constitute the practical work from September until Christmas.
At Christmas, systematic psychology begins, and also teaching in
the schools for one hour a day. The subjects of the lessons are
chosen by the critic teacher, and the teaching is in all cases under
supervision. At Easter the student begins to teach three hours a day,
and occasionally has to give lessons in public. These, however, are not
considered as test-lessons. Certificates to teach in the schools of the
city are granted on the results of an examination, held by the City
Board of Education each year.
At Newhaven, Connecticut, the City Training School has more than
thirty students. The course is a year in length, the first half of
which is devoted entirely to theoretical subjects, and the last half
to teaching. Here, as at the Worcester Normal School, I found students
being introduced to methods of psychological experimentation, more
especially in the senses of sight and hearing. It is interesting to
notice that these are special lines of research in the psychological
laboratory of Yale University. I saw the records of several students
who had been finding the average voice pitch of thirty children.
The tendency in all the psychological teaching here was to make
the subject really experimental, and the results those of actual
observation. The history of education is not taught by means of set
lectures, but topics are announced from time to time, with references
for the students’ reading. After the class has collected facts on a
certain subject, the teacher supplements the facts already given by
selections from other books, and references to other parts of the
subject. In treating the history of education in each country, general
chronological order is followed, and the facts of each period are
studied under four heads:
Religion, social and political movements; extent of education;
character of education; methods of education.
The school has a good library for the students’ use, and also one for
the children of the practising school. Students give one criticism
lesson during the first half-year, and for this they write elaborate
notes under fixed headings prepared by the head of the department, and
the other students hand in, after the lesson, elaborate criticisms done
in a similar way. Blank schedules with printed headings, such as the
following, are given to students to fill up before giving the lesson:
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| I. SUBJECT. |
| II. PURPOSE. |
|III. MATTER. |
| IV. PLAN. | Review Work | _What._ | _How._ | _Illustrations._ |
| | | _a_ | | |
| | | _b_ | | |
| | | _c_ | | |
| | Advance Work | | | |
| | | _a_ | | |
| | | _b_ | | |
| | | _c_ | | |
| | Drill | | | |
| | | _a_ | | |
| | | _b_ | | |
| | | _c_ | | |
| V. METHOD. |
| VI. MECHANICAL DETAILS. |
| Arrangement of Class. |
| Distribution of Materials, etc. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
I noticed in schedules which had been thus filled up by students that
the notes supplied under the heading of “Method” consisted entirely of
proposed questions of the teacher, and assumed answers by the children.
Such an item in the prepared plan of a lesson seemed to me unadvisable,
and in many cases useless. Even if the prepared questions were asked
by the teacher, the answers would not always be the ones assumed, and
the lesson would be stiff, unnatural, and wanting in spontaneity.
Broad lines of questioning might be indicated in the schedule, rather
than the actual questions to be given. This would result in much more
natural methods of questioning. The outline for criticism given to
other students is according to the following plan:
_Purpose_ What. Whether accomplished.
Why. Cause of failure or
success.
_Matter_ Amount--accuracy. Adaptation,
to purpose and to class.
Order of presentation.
_Plan_ Completeness. Order of parts.
Manner of presentation.
_Method_ Questions--number--order--kind.
_Language_ Relative amounts used by teachers
and pupils. Correctness. Accuracy.
Clearness. Completeness.
Adaptation.
_Illustrations_ What amount. Adaptation. Use.
_Manner_
_Voice_ Of teacher and pupils.
_Mechanical details_ Directions for work. Distribution
of material.
_Control_
_Results_ Training in mental power; accuracy;
neatness; promptitude;
expression. Moral Training.
Knowledge gained.
The suggestion of these points for criticism indicates a very complete
and thorough analysis of a lesson. Such an elaborate form of criticism,
if employed occasionally, seems to me good in encouraging a habit of
mental analysis in those who hear the lesson. It may be useful, too,
as a guide to those unaccustomed to criticising exercises, and may be
helpful in impressing the fact that a lesson is a very complex thing,
difficult to give, and far reaching in its results. The constant use
of rigid forms, however, either for preparation of lessons, or for
their criticism, is to be deprecated as stultifying, and as not adapted
to all lessons and all occasions. It is probable that in many cases
valuable criticisms might be given which would not come under any of
the formal headings, even though the schedule were as complete as
possible. For the last five months the students work entirely under
the direction of teachers of the practising school. Plans of work and
lesson-subjects are discussed with the teacher, and when the lessons
are over, private criticisms only are given. Each student learns to
make her own maps, charts and pictures, which she takes with her when
she leaves the school.
At the end of the course of training, an elaborate report of the
student’s work and standing is issued as regards her standards;
enthusiasm; force; manner; language; writing; questioning; power of
illustration; originality; interest; thoroughness; control.
A certificate qualifying to teach in the schools of the city is given
to those who complete the training course satisfactorily, and who gain
an average of 70 per cent. on examinations at the end of the year.
At Pawtucket, I saw a training school of from seven to nine students,
with an excellent model and practising school attached. The course
lasts for one and a half years. For a whole year, the class has
instruction in theoretical subjects in the mornings, with observation
of children and some lesson-giving in the afternoon. The last six
months are spent by the students in the actual charge of children. Each
student works under a Model School teacher, and for one week during
the half-year has sole charge and responsibility of the class.
CITY TRAINING CLASSES.
Closely allied to the work of the Training Schools is that done by
City Training Classes. These are usually found in the smaller towns
or cities of the various States. The general features of the Training
Classes are the same as those of the City Training Schools. The
differences are mainly:
(1) No special model or practising school is attached, but the
students gain their experience by teaching classes in city or town
schools.
(2) The work of training is carried out, not by a specially appointed
person, as in the Training Schools, but by the Superintendent of
Schools of the district, who holds classes in professional subjects,
and arranges and criticises the work of the students.
The members of the Training Classes, while under the general guidance
of the heads of the schools, where they act as assistants, are helped
and instructed in methods of teaching various subjects by the Town
Supervisors of Instruction, appointed for those special subjects. The
appointment of supervisors in drawing, singing, reading, etc., whose
sole work is to visit the schools and conduct and examine classes,
gives unity to the methods in the various schools of a town, and
affords much practical help to the student-teachers in the various
schools.
At Quincy, Massachusetts, there is a training class of thirty
students. The pupil teachers act as assistants in the schools,
receiving no compensation, except the guidance of experienced teachers,
and theoretical instruction from the superintendent. They usually teach
in several grades during the year, but those who show special aptitude
or wish to teach in any particular grade are allowed an alternative of
remaining in that grade. At the Coddington school, one of the training
schools for the Quincy Training Classes, I heard very good lessons
given in reading, phonics, number, English and geography. A reading
lesson, given to ten or twelve children about seven years old, was to
teach one new word, “Flag.” The class stood around the teacher at one
part of the wall slate. After carefully revising many of the words
learnt in previous lessons, the teacher drew a flag on the board. Then
she wrote the word as a whole, underneath the drawing. Then she told a
short story about a flag, wrote the word in different coloured chalks,
wrote sentences involving only known words and the new word “flag.”
When the children could read these sentences easily, they were made to
pick out the word “flag.” Some were allowed to erase the word, some
to write it again. Every possible device was used in the lesson to
associate the complete written expression with the spoken word and the
idea. At the end of twenty minutes, when the association was complete,
the new word “flag” was written among the list of known words, kept
constantly on the board, and the children were sent to their seats.
I noticed in all the reading lessons in which words and sentences
were taught as wholes, that clever teachers constantly used the device
of erasing the word or sentence to be taught. This, when skilfully
done, secures concentration of attention on each word, by allowing the
children only a limited time to note its general shape, before being
required to represent it on the board or slate. The constant erasure
and repeated re-writing of a word ensure repeated short acts of intense
attention on the part of the children, and so help greatly in the
learning of the new word. A lesson in “number” or arithmetic, given
to the same class, was devoted to problems in addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division of numbers below ten. Many devices were
used for interesting the class. The children were sent to work at
different parts of the wall slate, and were encouraged to contribute
problems for the class. The general use of the wall slate is seen to be
of great advantage, especially in such lessons as these. By means of
it, supervision of individual work is very easy, and corrections can be
made valuable to the whole class.
The Training Classes of the State of New York show more uniformity
of courses and methods than those of many of the other States. This
is due to their organization by the State Superintendent, who issues
regulations and a definite course of study. The course is a short one,
from ten to thirteen weeks. Two hours each day is given to instruction.
Methods in reading, spelling, number, language and primary geography
are studied, and observation and criticism of lessons is a definite
part of the work. Actual teaching is done wherever possible; but this
is not a requisite. The time given to each subject is apportioned
somewhat on the same principles as in the Normal Schools--viz., one
subject is followed up for a very short time, another is taken up in
the same way, and then another. On this plan, only a few days can be
given to some subjects. The syllabus of work for 1889 gives four days
to laws of mental development, seventeen days to school economy, ten
days to the history of education, and four days to school law. Other
set times are given to Methods. Such a course, lasting for a very short
time, and including so many subjects, cannot but be inadequate and
superficial when used as the only means of training. The experience
gained in such a way is not sufficient in itself to qualify for
responsible work in a town school. This is shown by the fact that those
who have taken a course in the training class of a city are often
expected to gain experience elsewhere, before taking responsible work
in that city. In many instances, students are urged to take Normal
School courses as well.
It may indeed be stated generally, that the work of Training Classes
is to supplement a longer and more thorough course in training, rather
than to train. Training Classes, for the most part, provide practice
under supervision for those who have already gained some insight into
the science of education and methods of teaching, but the small amount
of time given to other sides of training prevents their work being at
all adequate as the sole preparation for teachers. Training Classes
exist, and will exist, to meet the needs of those would-be teachers
who, in small towns, where there is neither Normal nor Training
School, cannot afford to leave their homes to prepare for their work.
The urgent demand for trained teachers for all the Common Schools
has resulted in the establishment of many institutions, which, while
fulfilling a present need, are existing under conditions which must
prohibit work of the best kind. Among such institutions we must enrol
the City Training Classes.