These schools are supported by State appro priations. In some States they are wholly under the supervision of the State educational authorities. In others they are only partially' under such supervision and in some the State exercises practically no supervision or control whatever. The age of admission is generally 16 years. The courses of study are generally either two years or four years, depending upon the qualifications of the students when they enter. In some schools, as those of New York, the requirements for admission are graduation from a four-years' approved high school course. In such normal schools the course is two years and is devoted to .professional work In many schools a student is admitted from the elementary schools and for such students •the course is generally four When normal schools were first organized, their courses of study included much academic instruction. The development of -high schools throughout the country has resulted in decreasing the aca demic work in normal schools and in increas ing the professional work. The present tend ency is to lengthen the courses so as to cover three or four years. In New York the Board of Regents have recently authorized three-year courses in all the normal schools of that State. In many of these schools special courses such as kindergarten, drawing, music, manual train ing, home making, rural school and other courses are given. Practice departments or model schools are maintained in all the normal schools and in many cases the normal schools use the public schools for practice departments. These schools generally train teachers for the elementary schools, although some prepare teachers for secondary schools also. Some of the normal schools give extension courses on Saturdays and during vacation periods and some take their students into the rural schools for practice work and for demonstration.
The State College for Teachers at Albany prepares teachers for secondary schools only. The courses cover a period of four years, and the admission requirements are the completion of a four-years' approved high school course. The work in this institution is of collegiate grade and degrees are conferred upon those who complete prescribed courses. There are 800 students in this institution preparing to teach in the high schools of the State.
The Education Law in New York has re quired since 1895 that all teachers employed in the cities and in the villages having a popula tion of 5,000 or more shall have graduated from a four-years' high school course and thereafter from a two-years' professional course. (Chapter 1031, Laws of 1895). In many cities of the other States a similar re quirement is prescribed. Normal schools are unable to meet the demand for teachers and many cities have organized city training or city normal schools. These schools generally main tain entrance requirements and courses of study equivalent to those of the normal schools. These schools prepare teachers for the kinder garten and the elementary schools. New York maintains three of these schools, Philadelphia, two, and a school of this type is maintained in Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Sche nectady, • Yonkers, Boston, Pittsburgh, Cin cinnati and in most of the large cities of the country.
Within the last 25 years there has been a demand in all parts of the country for better trained teachers in the rural schools. About one-third of the teachers employed in these schools have had no training whatever. This demand has resulted in the establishment of agencies of various types in about pne-half of the States for training teachers for rural schools. In New York the training classes
maintained in high schools have supplied these teachers for years. Missouri, Vermont and several other States have organized similar classes in their high schools for training rural school teachers. In Michigan, county normal training classes have been organized, but these do not differ materially from the training classes in these other States. Wisconsin has organ ized not only this type of training class in her high schools, but she has also organized county training schools. These county training schools are in no way connected with other schools, but are generally maintained in separate build ings and have an independent organization. The requirements for admission to these classes vary. In New York it is high school gradua tion. In most States it is the completion of two years' high school work. In other States the last year of the high school course is devoted to teacher training. In other States students are admitted from the elementary schools. The course of study usually covers one year and the age of admission is from 16 to 17 years. Many of the State normal schools maintain special courses for rural teachers.
Several efforts were made to establish chairs of pedagogy or colleges of education in the universities which would take rank with the department of law, medicine or engineering. New York University established a chair of the philosophy of education for educating teachers of common schools in 1832. Thomas H. Gallaudet occupied this chair from 1832 to 1834. It seems to have been abandoned at that time. Brown University established a similar course in 1850, but discontinued it in 1855. Horace Mann included as an elective study in the regular course of Antioch Col lege, Ohio, in 1853 the theory and practice of teaching. From 1853 to 1873 Iowa University offered courses for teachers and in 1878 opened its college of normal instruction.
On the recommendation of President An gell, Michigan University established in 1879 a "chair of the science and art of teaching') for the following purposes: "To fit university stu dents for the higher positions in the public school service; to promote educational science; to teach the history of education and of educa tional doctrine; to secure to teaching the rights, prerogatives and advantages of a profession; to give a more perfect unity to the State educa tional system by bringing the secondary schools into closer relation with the university.') A plan was proposed for giving instruction in the science and art of teaching in Columbia Uni versity in was not carried out at that time. In 1880 the college opened certain courses for training teachers and in Teach ers' College was founded and in 1889 chartered Doctor Nicholas Murray Butler, now president of Columbia University, was the first head of this new institution and as president of Co lumbia is now president of Teachers' College. This college is one of the notable institu tions of the world. It trains teachers, super visors, directors and superintendents for all the higher technical and professional positions in the teaching and supervisory staffs of the city and State school systems of the country. Sev eral thousand students are annually enrolled in this institution. All the leading universities of the country now maintain departments of education or colleges which are rapidly taking rank with the departments or colleges of law, medicine and engineering and are meeting the demand for specialists which the developing public educational systems of the country re quire.