The type of teachers employed in the schools in many case's was a potent argument in behalf of a system of training teachers. The men employed as teachers in the academies and col leges were generally men of education and character. This was not true of the men em ployed in the elementary schools. Often these teachers possessed little education, had received, of course, no training and had no intention of remaining permanently in the teaching service. Men often sent their sons to Europe to be edu cated and sometimes imported teachers from Europe to instruct their sons. Men who were unable to get other employment because of their lack of education or of proper character often enlisted in the teaching ranks. But even in this demoralized situation, able young men who were either working their way through college or had completed their college courses and intended to enter either the professions of the law, medicine, or ministry, or business careers, taught a few terms or years. Among the many men of this type, the following may be mentioned: John Adams, Eli Whitney, Daniel Webster, William Ellery Channing, Wil liam H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and in later times James• G. Blaine and Elihu Root. As late as 1837 Horace Mann stated that, of the teachers employed in the State of Massachu setts outside of the city of Boston, about 200 expected to devote themselves to teaching and that the others were not generally qualified and that some of them thought mcrre of what they were to get at the end of the term than they did of what they were to give during the term. Leading men in public affairs in all parts of the country recognized this condition in educa tional matters and gave it consideration.
In 1794 the teachers of New York City formed an organization .known as the °Society of Associated Teachers.2 The purpose of this society was to promote the interests of its Mem bers and of education generaJly. Heathers were elected to the society by ballot, and a three fourths vote was necessary to an election. This society did much of the work now per formed by the professional supervisory staff of a school system. It passed upon the qualifi cations of teachers, upon textbooks, upon the proper professional decorum of teachers and discussed the pedagogical questions of that early date. It had been a voluntary organiza tion without legal status. Several of its mem bers petitioned the legislature of the State for a charter incorporating the °Society of Teachers in New York City.'" The petition was honored and the original society of 1794 discontinued. The charter granted the organiza tion stated, in the following language, the ob ject of the society: " For the relief and benefit of decayed teachers and their families. widows and children of deceased teachers. and for the discussion of literary subjects and for the promotion of science among the members of the societY." The society immediately entered upon a program for the intellectual improvexnent of its members, and its official reports show that prior to 1815 and for several years subsequent thereto the society gave special work to train and 'equip young men for the teaching service in New York City. This society was undoubtedly the first agency in America which gave definite work to the training of teachers for public schools.
In 1805 through the initiative and influence of DeWitt Clinton, the legislature of New York incorporated °A Society for establishing a free school in the city of New York for the education of such poor children as do not be long to or are not provided for by any reli gious society?) This society becarne known as the Free SChool Society of New York City. Its annual report for 1814 contains the follow ing statement: " From the ,commencemerit of the society it has been sul object of great interest to train up young men for the office of teachers in similar institutions. The realization of
their vrishes in this respect is in part accomplished." Mr. Fitzpatrick in his work on DeWitt Clinton states that a youth educated in this school was superintending a similar school in New Brunswick, N. J., and that the society had received an application from Newburgh, N. Y.. for a teacher. The Free School Society adopted the Lancasterian system of schools. The re port of the Free School Society for 1819 gives an account of what the society was doing to train teachers and specifically states that those who desire to become teachers are invited to attend its school where they may be properly instructed in six or eig.ht vveeks to become com petent teachers of the Lancasterian s-ystem. Here is a second organization endeavoring to train teachers for public sehools. See article LANCASTERIAN SCHOOLS, Vol. 16, p. 687.
The official records do not indicate the pre cise year in which the academies in New York Stale first began to train teachers for the com mon schools. The academies did this work before legislation had been enacted authorizing the establishment of teachers' training classes. The report of the Regents to the legislature in 1821 contains the atisouncement that the acade mies were training teachers for the common Schools and the Regents expressed the opinion that the schools of the State mast look to the academies for their supply of teachers. In the annual.report of the Regents for 1823 the statement is made that because of the dis tribution of public funds under its direction to the academies subject to its supervision, such action °insures a supply of competent teachers for the common schools.)) New York was un doubtedly the first State which took specific action to solve the problem of providing trained teachers for the common schools. One of the vital questions in the establishing of agencies for the training of teachers was bitterly con tested in New York. This question was, Shall the established educational institutions be utilized for this purpose or shall separate in stitutions devoted solely to such work be organized? The academies in New York were numerous, influential and under the control of the Regents. The friends of these institutions were zealous in their efforts to have the academies designated to train teachers. The State was giving these institutions financial support from the literature fund. The acade mies began to give special training to those who were going out to teach as early at least as 1821 and such instruction has been given con tinuously. since that date. The friends of the aCademies endeavored to increase the amount of State aid to these institutions and based their argument upon the service which the academies were rendering the State in training teachers. They were successful in 1827 and not only succeeded in obtaining larger, financial support but also obtained statutory recognition to train teachers without specifying how such service should be performed. The Regents, however, at once designated certain academies for this purpose and other academies continued to do such work voluntarily. The academies still pressed their interests at the legislature and in 1834 obtained the enactment of a law specifically authorizing the Regents to designate academies in which training classes should be organized. These training classes have been continued since that time and 80 were main tained in the year 1918-19. Through this agency about 25,000 teachers have been supplied the rural schools of the State.