isa-normaladvance-1915-00126

Description:	126THE NORMAL ADVANCE^catremit RequirementsBy J. O. ENGLEMANA study of the scholastic requirements foradmission into the normal schools exhibits thegreatest diversity of standards, though in themidst of all the diversity there is abundantevidence of an approach toward a commonstandard, the college standard, i. e., graduationfrom a standard high school with a four-yearcourse, as a minimum entrance requirement.In his Report, 1911, vol. I, p. 10, the U. S.Commissioner of Education says: There is arapidly growing conviction that the entrancerequirements for the normal schools should notbe lower than that for college. * * * Theconditions in some parts of the country, however, do not yet warrant this change, but thetime is rapidly approaching when this requirement ought to prevail in every state. In thesame report, p. 100, the Commissioner says:There is always a possibility that state normalschools may be made so effective as to defeatthe very purpose of their creation, which isto train teachers for schools outside the cities.These two statements from Mr. Claxton seemto represent, first, the ideal which the normalschools must keep before them and towardswhich they are rapidly approaching and second, the caution necessary to keep them fromsetting up higher entrance requirements in anygiven community than the community idealsand the legal scholastic standards for teacherswill permit. In other words, while the normalschools ought to be leaders in the creation ofpublic educational sentiment, and educationalstandards, they dare not set up standards forentrance too far in advance of the legal andpopular standards of a community, or they willfind themselves without pupils, while teachersbegin their work without any normal trainingwhatever. Higher legal requirements forteachers, and higher entrance requirements forthe normal schools must come simultaneouslyto be most productive of good.Now this study very soon made it apparentthat scholastic requirements for admission cannot be considered, in the case of the normalschools, apart from courses of study, for in agiven school there may be a course open onlyto college graduates, and still another to whicheven eighth grade graduates are admitted. Or,more extreme still, many catalogues, afterenumerating the entrance requirements for thevarious courses, expressly state that correspondence with the president will probablysecure the admission of a candidate, even if hebelongs to none of the eligible classes. Indeed,there are six schools at present, if one mayjudge from the courses of study for elementaryschool graduates and college graduates at thesame time. However, they can scarcely beblamed more for this than can a college oruniversity which maintains preparatory classesand graduate courses at the same time. Infact, the very glory of one of our greatest stateuniversities is that it reaches out and clown andsuits its courses to the needs of all the people.It confers its academic honors upon those onlywho have entered by the regulation doors, butit holds itself in readiness, and in duty bound,to help any one who wishes anything it has togive. This, by the way, seems to be the statusof the great rank and file of normal schoolstoday, though in some circles the very policywhich when pursued by a college or universityarouses admiration, brings denunciation whenpursued by a normal school.But it is clear that the normal school coursesare not yet wholly standardized. The academic
Source:	http://indstate.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/isuarchive/id/34948
Collection:	Indiana State University Archives

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