Northwestern State University - Potpourri Yearbook (Natchitoches, LA)

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Historical Sketch of State Normal OUISIANA STATE NORMAL COLLEGE established in 1885 as the State Normal School of Louisiana and changed in 1 91 8 to the State Normal College of Louisiana, is situated among the woods of a virgin pine forest in the Natchitoches Pine Hills, at the southern extremity of the historic old town of Natchitoches, the oldest town in the Louisiana Purchase. The beautiful country that borders the site of the college on either side, its permanent dining hall and dormitories, its perfect drainage, an abundance of the best deep well water, its sanitary provisions which insure good health, its well kept campus— all these, together with the refined atmosphere made possible by the splendid citizens of the community, make it the most coveted spot for an institution of learning in the state. During the forty-four years history of the Normal, it has enjoyed one of the most rapid growths in the development of any college in the South. The State Normal College is now the twelfth largest of its kind in the United States. The college was attended by but twenty- seven students during the first year of its history and had but three graduates. Last year, 2058 students enrolled in the college department. During the last five years the college has more than doubled in attendance. The State Normal may be said to be the mother of the public school system of Louisiana, for it wa s established at a time when there was no school system in the state and when trained teachers were unknown to the schools of the state. In rapidly growing numbers, the graduates of Normal entered the teaching profession and began to labor in the field of education and to arouse a professional zeal and enthusiasm that had never been felt in the schools of Louisiana before. This missionary work on the part of Normal School graduates did its part, for in 1898 the State in its Constitution first permitted the voting of special taxes for the maintenance and upbuilding of the state ' s public school system. T. H. Harris, state superintendent of schools, states in his Story of Public Education in Louisiana the following concerning the importance of the State Normal in the development of the public school system of the state. Before the end of the century, the State Normal School was sending its graduates to all parts of the state. They were usually employed in the larger schools located in the towns and cities. They were fcaturated with the notion of their mission. They felt that they had been called to go forth and preach the Gospel of universal education. The establishment of the State Normal School was by far the most important thing ever done in interest of public education. The State Normal College stands to-day as Louisiana ' s best Investment. While ventures other than educational have undoubtedly yielded excellent results for the state, these have been material rather than intellectual, moral and spiritual ; therefore, the work done by the State Normal has been superior to that done in such fields as levees, highways, agriculture, and con- servation of natural resources, for it has meant an enlightenment in the training of citizens of the state. During the forty-four years ' history of the Normal, over 6,000 students have completed the teacher training course at the college and engaged in teaching the youth of the state. In a careful survey made recently of the graduates of the college, it was found that they teach an average of eight years after graduation. Therefore the alumni of the Normal College have rendered, all told, more than 40,000 years of work as teachers and school officials. Estimating the average number of students taught by each teacher to be twenty-five per annum, then the total number of pupils-years has been 1,000,000. If school authorities are correct in their statement that a year in school is worth $100, then the graduates of the State Normal have given the youth of the state education valued at $100,000,000 or $2,500,000 per annum.

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