The Professionl Training of Secondary Teachers in the United States

cal schools, while the former, somewhat changed, became the ideal of the elementary and normal schools. The thing that was most desired at first was PRACTICAL AND . . . , , . , Industrial not cu'ture but knowledge and the power of imparting that knowledge to others. This gave the normals a practical and industrial, though somewhat narrow turn, which they still retain. Agriculture, mechanic arts, manual training, silk industry, weaving, cooking, etc., were subjects quite frequently introduced into the curriculum. Among the principal forces that have been at work in shaping the development of these institutions may be mentioned the pietists under Francke, the philanthropists under Basedow, educational reformers like Pestalozzi, Felbiger and Diesterweg, the clergy, long the guardian of all education, jealous of its power and unwilling to give up its authority, and the central government, always aggressive in extending its power and influence.1 The normal schools have taken on a distinctly German character. They represent the interests of the common people. They promulgate class distinction by offering a course unsuited to advancement in the higher institutions. Thorough academic instruction over a limited field by methods which are intended as a guide for the pupil teacher, observation and criticism of school work and practice teaching according to model, are the principal features for which they stand. 1 Compare Barnard's National Education in the German...