The training of teachers in the United States of America
John Stuart Mill · en
In 1892 the charter of the New York College for the Training of
Teachers was made absolute, and the name changed to Teachers’ College.
An agreement was also made, whereby certain pedagogical courses in
the Teachers’ College are considered as courses in the Faculty of
Philosophy at Columbia University, New York, and count towards a
Columbia University degree. By the same agreement, qualified students
of the Teachers’ College are admitted to the courses in philosophy
and pedagogy at Columbia University. In this way we may regard the
Teachers’ College as the newest of University departments, although,
on the other hand, it has developed and become a most important
and successful means of secondary training, quite apart from any
connection with a college or university. The courses in pedagogy given
at Columbia University, and open to students of the Teachers’ College,
are:
The History of Educational Theories and Institutions--a course given
each alternate year.
Systematic Pedagogics; the Psychology of Childhood; Principles of
Teaching; (given also every alternate year).
A Pedagogical Seminar (one hour a week for advanced students).
The lectures in philosophy and experimental psychology are also open
under the same conditions. Among them are the following courses:
(_a_) Logic and Psychology; (_b_) Ethics; (_c_) Introductory course
in Physiological Psychology (lectures and laboratory work); (_d_)
Advanced course in Physiological Psychology (experiment work in the
laboratory); (_e_) Introductory course in Experimental Psychology
(lectures, themes and laboratory work); (_f_) Vision (lectures,
reports and advanced laboratory work); (_g_) Advanced work in
Experimental Psychology and Research (individual instruction daily).
The courses at the Teachers’ College, open to all Columbia University
Students, are:
i. Educational Psychology; Study of Children.
ii. Science and Art of Teaching, with illustrations from the
Kindergarten and Elementary Schools. Observation.
iii. Introductory course on the History of Education.
iv. _Institutes of Education_, by Laurie. Rosenkranz’s _Philosophy of
Education_ and Herbart’s _Science of Education_.
v. Methods of teaching History in secondary schools.
The following can be taken only by advanced students:
i. Methods of teaching Science in elementary and secondary schools.
ii. Methods of teaching Manual Training in elementary and secondary
schools.
iii. Methods of teaching Latin, Greek, French and German.
iv. Reading and discussion of German and French pedagogical works in
the original.
v. Methods of teaching Educational Psychology. Observation and
Practice.
vi. Practice in teaching and supervision. Criticism, School
Management, Discipline.