University of Wisconsin River Falls - Meletean Yearbook (River Falls, WI)

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THE COLLEGE THE River Falls State Teachers College was established in 1875. the fourth institution of its kind to be established in the State of Wisconsin. It consisted of one building located on South Campus. At the time of its origin the school had a faculty of nine members and an enrollment of two hundred fifty-nine students. During the first thirty-five years that it was in operation, the majority of the students were enrolled in elementary departments that did not require high school graduation for admission. The original building was destroyed by fire in 1897. The building now known as South Hall was erected in 1898. and until 1914 this building housed all the different departments. In 1914 North Hall was built. The executive offices, auditorium, gymnasium, and science laboratories were all located in this building. An addition to North Hall was added in 1928 and the training school department was moved from its old location on the third floor of South Hall into this new addition. More adequate science laboratories were equipped on the second and third floors, a modern swimming pool and large locker rooms were constructed on the first floor, and a hand ball court was built in a room adjacent to the gymnasium. The barracks which were erected during the World War have been used since that time for shops for the agriculture and mechanics department. However, the state legislature has made the necessary appropriations, and plans are now under way to erect a modern shop building on South Campus just west of South Hall. It is the plan of the committee in charge to have the building completed and ready for occupancy at the opening of school in September. 1930. Many changes have taken place in the curricula since the school was first organized. The policy of specialized courses was introduced in 1910. This came as a result of the demand for teachers trained in some particular branch. The rural department was organized the same year. This department requires one year of attendance for graduation and has grown until at present there are forty-eight people taking the training which prepares them to teach in the rural schools of the state. TuMMy-TlHO

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T7ROM time to time we attempt to formulate anew our ideals of - education. American schools and colleges have been dedicated to the democratic principle that education is for the betterment of the many and not for the training of a few selected leaders. It is highly important in this country that this fundamental concept of the purpose of education be kept clear. No more serious mistake could be made than that our institutions of higher learning be organized and administered in the interest of the select. Education in our country must have as its objective the improvement of the intellectual and ethical perspective of the great mass of our citizens. We do not need holders of worlds records: we do need the intellectual and ethical elevation of all. It will be recognized that the stability of our political and social systems is dependent upon a trained and disciplined citizenry, not so much in the science of making a living, but in the art of living itself. Education must be concerned with the larger values in life. It must enlarge the circle of interest, enrich the inner life and deepen the feeling of civic responsibility. The most sinister feature in the life of the American people today is their cynical contempt for law and government and the evident purpose on the part of great classes of our citizens to use government not as an instrument of justice to all. but as a means whereby some class benefit may be seized. The American student entertains a high type of loyalty for his institution. This is one of the splendid things connected with student life. The fine and enthusiastic support of loyalty which these young men and women have for their college has its chief significance in the kindling of these sentiments in the lives of the future citizens of the nation. Tn'imy-Ont

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THE COLLEGE SHE agriculture department was organized in 1912. It developed into a four-year course, and the graduates of this department were eligible for a bachelor’s degree. In 1928 they were granted the right to teach agriculture in the Smith-Hughes high schools. At the present time there are sixty men enrolled in the agriculture department. The department of elementary education, which consists of primary, intermediate, and grammar grades, requires two years of attendance for graduation. The primary department, which prepares teachers for grades one to three inclusive, has an enrollment this year of forty-one students. There are thirty-nine girls enrolled in the intermediate department, which prepares teachers for grades from four to six inclusive. The twenty-six people enrolled in the grammar grade department are preparing themselves to teach in the seventh and eighth grades. The junior high school department with an enrollment of ten. and the principal's department with four, have the smallest enrollment of any of the departments. The high school department has been attracting more students each year until this year it leads all of the other departments, with an enrollment of one hundred and eighty students in its different branches. In 1927 the title of the school was changed to the River Falls State Teachers College, and it became a degree granting institution the same year. Bachelor’s degrees are granted in agriculture, science, education, mathematics, history, social science, and English. The graduates of the high school department who have completed four years of college work are eligible for degrees. In its first year as a degree granting institution, the River Falls State Teachers College issued thirteen degrees. This number increased to twenty-six in 1929. Degrees will be granted to thirty people this year. At this rate of increase it is evident that in the near future all people who graduate from the River Falls State Teachers College will have completed a four-year course and be entitled to a degree. Ttrtnty-Thitt