John C. Almack

“ Washington, a much younger state, supports three normals, has an enrollment nearly six times as great, employs six times as many teachers, and devotes ten times as much to the maintenance of the teacher training schools. Yet the population of the northern state is only one and three-fourths times that of Oregon. So far as California is concerned it excels Oregon in normal school education to such an extent that there is really but little value in the comparison. The population of the former state is about two and one-half times that of Oregon ”

“ The committee faithfully performed its duty. On the basis of the information -furnished and their own knowledge of the normals, the board of regents made two recommenda-
appropriation bill after a prolonged siege of trading votes on other measures, and after other performances which have been thoroughly discreditable to those who have taken part therein. There is no question in the minds of any that there is a public demand for reducing the number of normal schools to two. It was the duty of the legislature to select two and abolish two, but it failed by slight majorities to do its duty. ”

“ It is certainly very practical experience in teaching and school government. But evident that no persons should have a diploma who has had no it is a notorious fact that persons are sent forth from some institutions who have no practical knowledge of the science of teaching, and are equipped with nothing but knowledge of a certain limited course of study. ”

“ Leading educators pointed out that the way to better schools was through better teachers. These called for normal schools for their training.
The first expression of the need came from the county super- intendent of Yamhill, J. D. Robb, in his recommendations to the state superintendent, Sylvester C. Simpson, in 1874. Mr. Robb said :
"There is a want of thoroughly qualified and competent teachers. I deem it of vital importance that the state should establish a normal school and sustain it liberally ; that it should not be connected with any college but purely distinctive as a normal school." ”

“ On the final passage of the Ashland appropriation measure, an amendment was added giving Drain $5,000 and Ashland $7,500. In rather a whimsical manner, President Anderson, of Drain, put the needs of his school before the legislature :
"If the state expects the child of its own creation to be strong and healthy, it should supply it with the same kind and quantity of nourishment it has given to other offspring of like nature. We cannot keep pace with the others with- out state aid." ”

“ The (normals) at Weston and Monmouth are organized under special legislation, the governor being authorized to appoint the boards of regents, and to these school appropriations have been made. The other two (Drain and Ashland) are simply permitted to prosecute their work under tuitional and private support, and to their graduates the state board of education is to issue diplomas of the same degree as those granted to graduates of normals controlled and owned by the state.
. It is therefore a fact that the normal schools without state aid must necessarily be crippled in their work. ”

“ County certificates were granted by county superintendents, and even after the issuance of more than one county certificate to a teacher was prohibited "migratory" pedagogues evaded the law by going to another county where a certificate of the same grade would be given them. The public school system offered no facilities for the education of teachers above the common school. As in New York in 1826, the people of Oregon seemed to believe "our great reliance for nurseries of teachers must be placed in our colleges and academies." ”

“ The validation of certificates and diplomas issued by the normal was arranged for as well. Graduates are first given a certificate entitling them to teach in any grammar school or one, two, and three year high school in the state. After six months' successful experience a five-year certificate is issued, which at the end of thirty months' successful teaching may be exchanged for a life diploma. The holder of a normal school diploma may act as city superintendent in any city in the state. ”

“ THE NORMALS AND THE LEGISLATURE 1893-1909
There seemed to be no doubt in the minds of the politicians that the policy of granting assistance to the schools engaged in training teachers should not be discontinued. In 1895, Governor Lord in his inaugural address said:
"To obtain expert teachers it is necessary to have schools for their education. Upon this basis of need and strictest economy in management, I recommend whatever appropriation may be necessary for their support." ”

“ A canvas of the enrollment of last year shows that eighty- five per cent of the students would not have attended any other institution of secondary learning had the normal at Ashland not existed, and that but fifty per cent of them would attend school elsewhere should this school cease to exist. The state normal at Ashland is not a local high school in any sense. ”

“ The normals plunge the state into extravagance, lower the standards of our state schools, cause them to fight for the meager appropriations they do get, and it will continue as long as our educational institutions stay in politics up to their eyes. ... A certain per cent of state tax ought to be set aside for each school. ”

“ EARLY SCHOOL CONDITIONS IN OREGON AND THE DEMAND FOR NORMALS 1870-1882
There is no more interesting chapter in the history of edu- cation in Oregon than that which centers around the normal schools. For nearly forty years they have furnished subjects for discussion and controversy; they have occupied the atten- tion of legislators, governors, and educators. They have risen and fallen at the whim of politicians, or at the word of the sovereign people ; they have had brief periods of opportunity and longer periods of despair. ”

“ The Portland Oregonian was the most powerful enemy of the schools. Its action can in part be explained by the fact that Harvey W. Scott, 35 its brilliant editor, had consistently opposed public education above the elementary grades, believ- ing that "progress in education lies in the capacity of the learner, not in the teacher. Those desirous of learning can always secure an education, private opportunities being abundant." ”

“ Many of the criticisms arose out of conditions over which the normals had no control. Buildings, equipment, qualifica- tions of faculty members, are dependent upon the amount of money furnished by the legislature. In view of the rules of the game then and now persisting in legislative bodies, the resources the assembly had available from which to draw appropriations, the growing demands from other quarters, the competition for funds among state institutions, and the objec- tion of the people to increased taxation, the projection of normal school affairs into politics was inevitable. ”

“ The same year the enrollment in the teacher training classes in high school was 478. Of the 150,000 4 pupils enrolled in the public schools, about 20% had teachers who had three years' high school training or less, 30% had teachers who were high school graduates, 30% had teach- ers with one to two years of normal training, and 20% had teachers with from one to four years' of college or university education. On account of a shortage of teachers, 133 schools are closed, and a greater number of temporary certificates has been issued than usual. ”

“ As there are no training schools for the cause of education within reach of a majority of our teachers, it would be better if the legislature instead of appropriating $20,000 or $30,000 for a state normal or the university would appropriate said amounts to the various counties for the purpose of having in- stitutes for from two to four weeks duration each year. ”

“ The poor buildings, inferior equipment, and poor teachers were in his opinion a positive reflection on the intelligence of the people of the state. Dr. H. D. Sheldon's study of normal schools of the United States was quoted as saying that the small school gives better train- ing, 300 to 1,000 students being the proper limits. Professor E. D. Ressler president of the Monmouth Normal was also quoted as saying in his report to the board of regents that 300 students can be taught as easily as 100, yet the total attendance of the three normals was in 1909 only 285. ”

“ A student has the choice of performing his rhetoricals before the school or before the society. We prefer that it be done in the society."
The Zamzamian society was active during the history of the Drain normal. Monmouth had five literaries: two for men and three for women. The Hesperians and the Vespertines date back to Christian College days. Other societies were named the Websterians, Orios, Normals, Invincibles, and the Delphians. ”

“ At a meeting with Ashland business men the matter of reviving the normal was brought up, and it was the unanimous pledge of the trade excursionists that the support of the Portland dele- gation would be given when next the school asks for support. The normal school issue is therefore still alive.
The educational outlook in Oregon is exceedingly promising. We stand on the threshold of a new era of economic develop- ment. The state has within its borders the fourth greatest city on the Pacific slope. Manufacturing and shipbuilding are rap- idly becoming great industries. ”

“ They were back of the clause which makes a normal school diploma an honorary certificate only. . . . The same influence was responsible for the referendum movement against the appro- priation bill of 1906. It is also back of the Calkins bill of this session, which makes two years of high school work es- sential to entrance at any state school. . . . Superinten- dent Ackerman is doing some effective lobbying for the three schools."
In spite of the effective work of the state superintendent, the appropriations were making no progress. ”

“ Ashland announced :
"It is the aim of the teachers and of the government to lead the students to a willing co-operation in the right and the good. Students are urged to resist those impulses which oppose what reason teaches best. If students do not do well, a request will be made for their withdrawal." ”

“ In Lane, Benton and Polk Counties are found the state uni- versity, agricultural college, and Monmouth normal respective- ly ; in Marion, Linn, Yamhill and Washington are located Wil- lamette university, Albany college, McMinnville college, and Pacific university respectively. The average percentages against the normals ran higher in those counties in which there are private higher institutions, and (notably in the cases of Polk and Benton) in those in which there are the higher state institutions. ”

“ It was a referendum measure giving permanent support to the Ash- land school by a tax of 1/25 of a mill, and further appropriated $125,000 for buildings for a new school to be located in Eastern Oregon, the site to be selected by the board of regents, grounds being donated by the fortunate city. A 1/25 mill tax was included for the proposed new institution. Weston considered making a third attempt, but felt it was hopeless. Hermiston had ambitions to become a normal school town, and offered a site of twelve acres, which Hermiston citizens said was worth $1,000 an acre. ”

“ The legislative committee of three representatives and two senators appointed to investigate the training school condi- tions at Monmouth reported:
"Practice work facilities are decidedly limited. Only one city in Oregon is of sufficient size to warrant the state in en- deavoring to build up an ideal institution of this character. It is unwise for the state to spend further sums in the con- struction of buildings at the Monmouth Normal." ”

“ The training departments are described as offering excel- lent opportunities for practice teaching. Weston made much of its kindergarten and manual training departments ; Ashland emphasized location, climate, and courses in agriculture and school gardening. Other things set forth to attract students are the high qualification of the faculties, social advantages, courses, accessibility, low living expenses, laboratories, gym- nasiums, modern buildings and equipment. ”

“ More than money, they esteemed the educational opportunities, and the normals afforded what would otherwise have been available. The great need of secondary educational institutions is shown by the fact that the legislature subsidized the Lakeview high school by an appropriation of $5,000, and by the rapid rise of the high school after district and county high schools were authorized in 1901. With the growth of high schools, the demand for normals to perform so varied and complex a function disappeared, and they began to spe- cialize in the training of teachers the original design. ”

“ The schools were cut off in the middle of the year without means of support. Students who had been in attendance for three and one-half years lost their hopes of graduation. Many of the faculty had come from the East at the beginning of the school year to take positions and several teachers were left practically penniless with two months' salary unpaid. The feeling against the senators in the schools was bitter. ”

“ The committee on ways and means acted favorably on each measure excepting Drain 27 "to show the people what a big graft the normals were working." Finally one bill was drafted covering both Drain and Monmouth, hoping that the strong support belonging to the older school would carry both safely through. Ashland was accused of being a party to this bargain, but she stoutly denied the charge. The legislative struggle was bitter. In the end the bills carried, but Governor Chamberlain vetoed the joint bill making appropriations for Monmouth and Drain. ”