Illinois State Normal University - Index Yearbook (Normal, IL)

Page 25 text:

changes his opinions; a fool does not. ' ' Peasant costumes were appropriate attire for the Maypole dance in 1897. The pageant « ' as part of the vearK- Physical Training exliibit. inaugurated for observation purposes. Lecture series and discussion periods were highlights of the agenda. A direct outgrowth of the institute service was the estab- lishment of formal university extension courses in Amer- ica, evolving around state centers of education. Through contact with other colleges. President Cook formed a well-rounded extra-curricular program. Dancing, gym- nastics, and inter-collegiate athletics dominated the social scene. Such organizations as the Oratorical Association, the Athletic Association, and the Student Lecture Associ- ation flourished. It was die task of Normal ' s educators to effect the acceptance of the new Herbartian doctrine in America. With encouragement from President Cook, twenty-one Normal students studied Herbartianism at the University of Jena, Germany. The infant philosophy emphasized the assumption that all subjects are related and that knowledge of one strengthens knowledge of all the others. Acceptance of the newly established DeKalb Normal School presidency terminated the work of John Cook on the State Normal campus. A fitting memoriam ' as ac- corded the revered educator by the placement of a portrait plaque in the lobby of Cook Hall, as the old gymnasium was later renamed. The academic year ' s acti ities were bound together for the first time in the 1892 Index. Senior class mem- bers, equipped witli meager photographic equipment, produced the first small-sized annual. The format of each early edition changed with the whim of its editor. The book contained club articles, posed pic- tures, and advertisements. The Index 21

Page 24 text:

§c AjLCOr€tKr The nine-year president, John W. Cook, cham- pioned the cause to estabhsh Normals at Charleston and DeKalb. That the Cook ad- ministration favored extra-curricular activities was evident in the increased number of athletic contests, dramatic protluctions, and oratorical tournaments. John W. Cook — A wise man The Herbartian theory of education dominated modern thinking during John Williston Cooks nine-year admin- istration. Rising to the university ' s highest office in 1890, Presi- dent Cook had been affiliated with the State Normal since 1862. As an outstanding orator and organizer, the mustached humorist was widely recognized in education circles. With a definite look towaril tlie future. President Cook championed the cause to establish three new build- ings on the campus. His interest in additional state- supported normal schools resulted in the creation of the Charleston and DeKalb colleges. Illinois ' backward attitude toward the normal school situation in the ' 90 ' s was evident in the fact that New York State had tsvelve teacher preparatory institutions as compared with Illi- nois ' one. Improvement in the university ' s physical plant was manifested b ' tiie addition of a training school, gym- nasiiun, and heating plant. Old Castle, as the gymnas- ium was affectionately nicknamed, owed its unusual Tudor-Gothic style to the influence of German construc- tions. The turreted, gray stone structure was completed in the final years of the 19th century. Because President Cook advocated furtlier training for in-service teachers, a three-week summer institute was North Hall was erected as the uni ' ersity ' s second classroom building in 1892. The transfer of the training school and the library to new buildings in later years transformed the rooms into headquarters for the geography and English depart- ments. .-Vn inside view of first-floor library accommodations in North Hall catches the catalog system set up I y Ange Milner. Early libraries were sponsored liy the Philadelpliian and Wrightonian literary societies. 20

Page 26 text:

G Miinasiuiii Illinois Go enior J. P. Altgeld ' s influence was the prime factor for erecting a castle-like UNiiinasium instead of the conventional rectangular building. Similar constructions were iVuilt on the other state college campuses. The name ■ ' G nmasimu aho e the main entrance has since been altered to John W. Cook Hall.