Northwestern State University - Potpourri Yearbook (Natchitoches, LA)

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State Normal School The Normal School was established by Act of the General Assembly of Louis- iana July 7, 1884. The State Board of Education located the school at Natchitoches, and the buildings and grounds of the Convent of the Sacred Heart were bought by the Parish of Natchitoches and given to the rchool. The Act of Establishment declares that the school shall be maintained for the benefit of such white persons of either sex as may desire and intend to teach in the public schools of Louisiana. The Normal School is maintained by the State to train teachers for the public schools. The necessary equipment of the successful teacher includes wholesome person- ality, sound scholarship and technical skill. The first of these cannot be furnished by any school, it comes by inheritance and early environment; but it is the function of the Normal School to enlarge and strengthen it, and to add to it the qualifications of liberal learning and teaching power. The course of training is planned with these ends in view. The first two and a half years of the course aim at thoroughness in mastery of the subjects of the public-school course, while the last year and a half are given chiefly to the study of teaching and to practice work in the Model School. The conditions maintained at the Normal School give an environment that tends steadily to develop character and capacity for work. The course of study, the professional training, the companionship of hundreds of young men and women engaged in a common life-work, the intimate contact with many strong teachers, and the lectures and addresses given by scholarly men from all parts of the country, help to establish high ideals of service. The stimulating influence of the literary societies, the opportunity ?o hear really good music and to see some good pictures and statuary, and the use of the library, with its thousands of books and fresh periodical literature, help to refine the taste, quicken the appreciation and strengthen the love of learning. The well-organized practice school, the new manual training rooms, the labora- tories and library, the ventilating system in the academic building, the baths and screens in the dormitories, the beautiful grounds, with forest, lake, and swimming pool, all for $3 a week, guarantee a delightful experience to those who come to take advantage of the excellent courses offered. THE BOARDING CLUB. Six buildings are used as dormitories for young women. Young men board in private families in town. The board club accommodates five hundred young women. The bedrooms are furnished with single beds, mattresses, chairs, tables, dressers, wardrobes, wash- stands, steam heat, and electric lights. 15

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In Memory of Our Beloved School-mate BLANCHE HOLLAND. In Memory of Our Beloved School-mate DORIS LEDBETTER. 14

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