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

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W... 'IQ 'Jig - ,f.. ,s - 'A-2.. sf Jw .. 4 , . . sf . .. 'NK V '- rf , i Xxihiho 1 ...Hg J ,W Ssyvwn 1IW.,g,.f,,wM ' .ir ,Q . A V , fn A Q -s r, .. . .. Mlm, I www 'f-- I ft. ' - ' g 'V 1.f-i..M,, . ....-' r ' - ' ' ,AP wt .- 'x 'V .' .. .. -WP' if.. 7 ' - - nsra....af-... if-'z at Q- .. .Mm ' T A f In April, 1865, when the writer entered the normal school, the faculty consisted of the following: Richard Edwards, President and Professor of Mental Science and Di- dactics. Edwin C. Hewett, Professor of History and Geography. Dr. joseph A. Sewall, Professor of Natural Sciences. Thomas Metcalf, Professor of Mathematics. Albert Stetson, Professor of Language and Reading. Emaline Dryer, Preceptress and Teacher of Grammar and Drawing. NYilliam L. Pillsbury, Principal of the Model School, and Professor of Latin and Greek. Thoroness was the chief characteristic of each of these teachers. XYoe betide the student who tried to 'csoldier through a recitation. He was soon made to feel that honesty was the basis of all true scholarship, and that the real student is honest with himself as well as with others. Tn Dr. Edwardis admin- istration, the students were expected to be in their own rooms at 7 o'cloclq in the winter evenings, and at 7:30 at other seasons. The exceptions to this requirement wereeSaturday and Sunday evenings. Cn Saturday evenings IO oiclock was the hour for curfew and on Sunday, 9 o'clock. A student who yiolatezl this rule was asked to explain the matter to the president. More explanations had to be made on Monday morning than on any other. For many years all students at the building were expected to be in the Assembly room or in the library when they were not reciting. They were not permitted to go to their rooms between recitations, or to yisit on the stairs or in the halls, and it was Page Twenty-seven

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Elin' fdnhrx Page Twenty-Six construction of the building, which was to be completed Septem- ber 1, 1858. The corner stone was laid with imposing cere- monies September 29, 1857, and the work was pushed vigorously during that fall. Charles E. Hovey was elected principal of the normal uni- versity and Ira Moore, assistant. These gentlemen opened the school in Majors Hall in Bloomington on the hfth day of Uc- tober, 1857. There were QQ Q27 according to Principal Hoveyl pupils present the first day, and the number increased to 127 dur- ing the academic year. The prospects of the school were -very favorable, and all looked forward with pleasant anticipations to the time, presumably near at hand, when the school should be housed in the palatial building which was being erected on the prairie, near the junction But alas for human hopes! Owing to financial embarrassment, due largely to the panic of 1857, no work was done on the building in 1858, and conditions became very discouraging. Through the indomitable will and financier- ing skill of the Principal of the school, however, aided by the loyal support of the Board and other friends, means were pro- cured for resuming work in 1859, and in June, 1860, the build- ing was far enough advanced to enable the first graduating class to hold its exercises in the Assembly room, and in the fall of that year the school moved into its permanent quarters, although the building was no-t completed until the early part of 1861. XVhen the school moved into the new building it was in a prosperous condition. The attendance had been growing steadily from the beginning, requiring the addition of several members to the faculty. Moreover, there was a well-organized Model School in which the art of teaching was exemplihecl. The friends of the school were delighted at the prospects of its use- fulness and success. But the Civil'NVar breaking out in 1861, those prospects were clouded for a time, as nearly all of the faculty and male students enlisted in the service of their country. The school, however, was continued, and Perkins Bass, a mem- ber of the State Board of Education, was chosen acting presi- dent for the academic year 1861-2.5 At the close of this year Richard Edwards was elected president, and continued to ad- minister' the affairs of the school until 1876. Under his ad- ministration the normal university prospered in a remarkable degree. The attendance increased rapidly, and professional en- thusiasm reached its high-water mark. Dr. Edwards was so enthusiastic himself that every one of his pupils felt XYoe is me if I do not teach schoolf' In his masterful way he so pointed out the great possibilities for bettering humanity that were open to the teacher that the matter of salary appeared a secondary affair, or at least it did not overshadow everything else.

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I il I Il H I I I -I - I- ---1 --I--'I-I I.-Yiiii - .- . .- ,. - Elin Elnhrx Page Twenty-Eight especially against the law of tl1e school to be seen on the streets during school l1ours. 1 F rom the beginning there has been a well conducted Model School connected with tl1e institution. It can hardly be said that it was always a successful Training School. In tl1e early years there were no critiques, All the help the pupil-teacher re- ceived in his work was what he obtained from tl1e principal of the department of tl1e Model School in which he taught, except that he had to bring his class into the assembly room occasion- ally and teach it before tl1e school. NVhen the children were through reciting they passed out of the room, and tl1e exercise was criticised freely by- both students and teachers. It was not considered proper for the pupil-teacher, to bring his class before tl1e school with a lesson which it had already recited. It must be the regular lesso11 for tl1e day, a11d the teacher was expected to show his skill in overcoming the dilhculties arising in the presentation of an average lesson. Thisgof course fell far be- low tl1e highly organized Training School of today with its corps of accomplished critic teachers to make the pathway to pedagogical perfection easy for the beginner. And yet many good teachers were sent out in those days, and the Model School was held in such high esteem that parents were glad to send their children to it, and pay a good stiff tuition fee for tl1e privilege. In 1865, and for a few years thereafter, there was but one session of the school daily, this being broken by a recess of twenty minutes for luncheon. As spelling came immediately af- ter recess, rows of young men could be seen seated in the dress- ing room during this intermission with a spelling book in one hand and a slice of bread and butter i11 the other. Tl1ey were very attentive to both, as this was regarded a very elfective method of getting the spelling lesso11 i11to their heads. The young men had to wear slippers in school. This was to avoid making noise in walking to a11d from the recitation rooms, and to keep from depositing tl1e ricl1 prairie soil i11 the rooms and corridors. Some time later, the gentlemen were per- mitted, i11 the interest of good health, to wear their shoes in tl1e building, but members of the faculty stood guard at the east and west doors to see that no mud was brought i11. The position of shoe inspector was not coveted by the gentlemen of the faculty, Zlllfi in a few years tl1e mud guards were discontinued. In those primitive times, tl1e number, of students being com- paratively small, the sexes were not segregated. The young men and women roomed in the same house, sat on the same porch. and together studied the harvest moon. No evil resulted from this companionship, and none was expected. They were ladies