Millersville University - Touchstone Yearbook (Millersville, PA)

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T II E I O t C II S T U N E 19 3 1 gram of education would not he com plete without mentioning the growth made along the special lines of education. It is necessary to mention here the fact that in the School Code of 1911 provision was made for the education of mentally handicapped children. The Act provided that if the parents or guardians of deficient children between the ages of eight and sixteen years were not able to defray the expense, such children might he educated in some institutions outside of the school district at the expense of the district. The demands of parents for improved health conditions in the schools led to the founding of the State Department of Health on June 6, 1905. The earliest type of health service consisted mainly of the examination of those children who were referred to us having symptoms of communicable diseases. One of the first steps in the program providing attention for the general health of school children was the provision for a physical examination of each child. This led to the employment of special school nurses. At the present time the State lias about five hundred nurses employed in its public schools. In the school laws of 1911 physical training was included as one of the subjects that might he taught. Today many of the districts in the State have placed exceptional emphasis upon the health programs included in their curricula. Much could he said about the growth of art and music education in our schools. Suffice it for us to realize that these contributions to the enrich- Emily Corrigan Lancaster, I’a. yj Y11 CJ yf Cl X k c’l r n r % Ci rh i Cl X r ment of the child's everyday life have made steady and worthwhile progress along with the general academic routine. Today all of the elementary and many of the secondary teachers of the State are qualified to teach music in their classrooms. Public School Libraries, too, have grown considerably in the past decade and the new methods of teaching and extended curricula give promise of extending the service of school libraries in years to come. Inasmuch as extra-curricular activities play such on important part in education today it might he well for us to notice that this type of student interest was unheard of in our earliest schools. The progress of extra-curricular work was slower in the elementary schools than in the secondary. The demands of students for a program of activity to help broaden the experiences of school life led to the development of our present day program. Perhaps the earliest forms of extra-curricular activity was the literary society. Another early expression was the organization of student government. In 1777 the hoys at William Penn Charter School organized a court. Tin students of this school also showed a great deal of interest in journalistic activity. Perhaps the first printed student paper in America was The Athenian, published by the students at Athens Academy. Athens, Pennsylvania. These various forms of activity have grown into the present-day program of dramatics, debating publications, and athletics. With the growth of education in Esther Collins l.ynuood, «. Sixteen

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 r II K T O I CIISTDN K teachers in 1831 were young men and women who had just completed the upper grades of the common schools. The professional training of the entire group of teachers was poor, to say the least. The inspectors of the school districts had neither the educational qualifications nor the professional foresight essential to the organization of definite and practical standards of teacher certification. With the growth of discontent with this situation, attempts were finally made to provide hotter means of preparing teachers for their work. We at Millcrsville should he vitally interested in a report taken from the Pennsylvania School Journal for June, 1855, which stated that in the Lancaster County Normal School at Millcrsville, under the direction of County Superintendent James P. Wickersham, there were at that time approximately 150 students in the normal department and 170 pupils in the training school. One of the most significant milestones in the history of education in this Commonwealth was reached when the Normal School Act was passed on May 20, 1857. The provisions of this Act divided the state into twelve districts in which normal schools might he established, and set up a nuniher of requisites which a normal school had to possess. However, there was no state support provided, and the control and support of these schools were placed in the hands of private enterprises. Although a number of academies and county normal schools attempted to meet the requirements, f ti Id itj .' rl C.-I A hv A i 'i tv If v, the Lancaster County Normal School at Millcrsville was the only existing institution that met the requirements for recognition as a State Normal School. Definite State approval was granted to Millersville on December 3, 1859. The last of our present State Teachers Colleges to he established was that at East Stroudsburg, on March 23, 1893. The early enrollments were low, because of the fact that the education to he secured at these institutions was mediocre, the school year short, and salaries rather low. From time to time the State made appropriations towards the building programs and running expenses of these schools. Finally, in 1911, the School Code provided for the purchase of the normal schools. With the advantage gained h y State ownership, the schools began to make improvements in their property and in the opportunities they offered for professional preparation. At first only two year courses were given; later, three year courses were added in certain fields. The splendid growth of these institutions continued until finally, in 1926. tin! State Normal Schools were authorized as State Teachers Colleges, with four year courses leading to degree of Hachelor of Science in education. One of the most noteworthy additions to the scope of work in the Teachers’ Colleges is the provision provided for specific training in special fields, such as art. commercial education, health education, music, home economics, industrial arts, library and kindergarten education. The history of Pennsylvania's pro- Jane Carpenter Lancaster, '«. Fifteen

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19 3 1 T II E I o I C II S T O N E general it is only natural that grent changes should take place in the curricula of the school- . In the early colonial schools especially those controlled hy religious influences, tin classics were the main phase of the program offered for study. In contrast to this, the private masters devoted more attention to the practical subjects. The curriculum in the early academies, for the most part, was unorganized, and the students were usually permitted to select tin subjects which appealed to them most. The public high schools which developed later, based their curricula on those of the academics. The vast majority of them were one-curriculum schools. Since 1831, however, the changes in the program of study have been most significant and the present day curricula arc based upon the social and civic needs of life today. Other noteworthy facts regarding Pennsylvania’s general educational progress can he mentioned only in brief here. The Pennsylvania State Education X X X Martha A. Dietz Hallam, Pa. X Association has grown from a mere organization of teachers interested in forming a brotherhood to what is today the largest voluntary state association of educational workers in thc United States. The need for remedying the irregular attendance situation gave rise to the law of 1895 which was the first compulsory school attendance law enacted in the Stule. Provisions were also made for the prosecution of parents in cases of non-attendance. The facts then present the outstanding points of interest in the wonderful stages of advancement that education has gone through since the establishment of the earliest schools in the Commonwealth. We present with pride this review of the educational accomplishments of our State, and hope that the next one hundred years will witness an even greater program of expansion to meet the needs of our ever-changing democracy. I.eon Dissinger Lititx. Pa. Seventeen