Fairmont State University - Mound Yearbook (Fairmont, WV)

Page 13 text:

Spirit and Aims of the F. S. N. S Normal School into the work of teaching have had marked success, which may he attributed in a larg ' e degree to the spirit with which they were inspired in this school. The institution has not only exerted a large influence in the character of the educational and professional life of the community in which it is located, but it has reached out to distant sections of this State, as well as to many other states. Surely if an institution is call- ed upon to justify its existence in its product, then the Fairmont Normal School may justly claim the highest recognition, for the men and women who have gone out from its tuition are making good in all walks of life. The Fairmont State Normal School, while taking pride in the service which it has rendered in the past fifty vears in pro- viding academic training for young men and women who need- ed it, and preparation for teaching for those who desired to engage in that work, it takes a special pride in the fact that throughout the years it has gradually adjusted its work to the needs of the community and the state in which it is located. In recent years the rapid growth of public high schools in north- ern West Virginia has lessened the need for secondary instruc- tion in the State Normal School, and the great increase in population and in enrollment in the public elementary schools, has made necessary the employment of many more public school teachers. As these conditions have changed the Normal School has sought to adjust itself to changing demands. With fifty years of successful accomplishment, the Normal School in the spirit of the past and with confidence in the fu- ture enters upon a new period of development. The coming years will see the gradual elimination of the secondary work, which in the early history of the institution occupied so import- ant a place, and the expansion of the advanced courses for the development and the training of teachers. The growth of State Normal Schools in the country in recent vears has been re- markable. The people are coming to fell that the State Normal School is a fundamental part of a state school system, and that the work which it does is invaluable. The Fairmont Normal

Page 12 text:

Fairmont State Normal School Spirit and Aims of the Fairmont State Normal School HE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSAY of The Fairmont State Normal School was observ- ed this Spring. Such an occasion is an ap- propriate time for friends of the insti- tution to think ab out the spirit which has animated its work, and the aims which should guide its efforts in the future. At the close of the first fifty years of its public service, the institution moves into a new building located on a new site. The new home is expected to be a permanent one. Ample grounds have been provided for future development, and as the years go on we may expect additional buildings to be constructed as the expanding needs of the institution re- quire them. This Xormal School throughout its history, has been dis- tinctly a training school for teachers. It is true that for the greater part of the first fifty years of its existence, it has been in a large measure a secondary school in the courses of study which it has offered. For many years this was a necessity. There were no high schools and such institutions as the Xormal School and private academies furnished the only opportunities for those who wished to get an education beyond the common schools. The history of the Fairmont Xormal School shows that it has rendered superior service in this direction. Hun- dreds of young men and young women in the past fifty years have been given thorough secondary training in this institution. While the Xormal School in its first half century largely em- phasized the academic work, it was at no time negligent of its service in preparing teachers for the public schools ot the State. Over twelve hundred young men and women have gradu- ated from the institution. In die list of alumni may be found many names of those who have been and are prominent in edu- cational work. The men and women who have gone from the

Page 14 text:

O ' Q o Fairmont State Normal School School plans to introduce all of the modern courses of study for the training of teachers which is demanded by our pro- gressive public school system. Increasing emphasis will be placed upon the standard two-year Normal Course for high school graduates, who wish to teach in the graded schools of our towns and cities. Provisions will be made in the near fu- ture for specialization in such subjects as Vocal Music. Draw- ing, Domestic Science and Supervision. Attention will also be given to the development of Short Courses for those who wish to prepare for teaching in the rural schools of the State. The Fairmont State Normal School as it enters upon its second fiftv vears of existence, is fully conscious of the respon- sibilities that rests upon it, and it will be its aim to serve the State in a most efficient wav. The President.