Not Teaching by the Test

Sunday, September 14, 2014

In 1873, if you were interested in becoming a rural school teacher, you need only show up on the appointed date and time with a sharp pencil to take a test to qualify. 

The earliest schools were usually arrangements whereby several families hired a teacher to educate their children.  When the kids in other nearby families started attending, the next year it might become a public school. 

Before 1907, there was no provision to train teachers for the rural schools of Door or Kewaunee County.  Citizens recognized that prosperity would come with good public institutions of learning.  And, because half of all Kewaunee County teachers came directly out of Algoma and Kewaunee High Schools with no additional preparation to teach, the community was prompted to act by a serious shortage of teachers.  A teacher training program was sorely needed and the Door County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to establish a school. 

Algoma, being the most centrally located city of Door and Kewaunee counties was chosen as the location for the new County Training School.  The fact that Algoma also had railroad service, which was the only dependable means of transportation at the time, was also a contributing factor in the decision.

 Class of 1908-1909

The teacher training school opened on August 31, 1908 with 52 students admitted; nine were turned away.  It was held in the second floor of the west and south wings of the oldest part of Algoma High School.  Tuition was free to residents of Door and Kewaunee counties.

Once upon a time people believed that educating rural children in “the three Rs”--reading, writing, and arithmetic--should prepare students for a single purpose, namely, to make farming their life’s work.  To fulfill this objective, the county training school was expected to prepare high school graduates to become efficient teachers in rural elementary schools.

Work in the first year of training was “academic” focusing on reading, writing, arithmetic, language, and spelling.  Professional skills were acquired by those who attended the training school for a second year.  Subjects in the second year included instruction on the theory of teaching and school management.  Student teachers received ten weeks of practice teaching at the public schools.  Second year academic subjects included topics such as Geography; Algebra; American History; Grammar and Composition; and Literature.  Additionally, the rural teacher needed to understand rural life so the curriculum included study in Agriculture.        

A couple years after the school opened, Door and Kewaunee Counties purchased a lot on the corner of Fremont and Fourth Street as a new site.  An existing building on the lot was previously a Baptist Church and then a hotel.  It was remodeled for the 1912-1913 school year.

The County Training School became the County Rural Normal School in 1923 and then the County Normal School from 1927 to 1954.  (In 1938, the classroom building was destroyed by fire and a new Door Kewaunee Normal School was built in 1940.)  The term “Normal” referred to a school that was usually state supported that offered a professional course for the training of teachers.

School Dormitory

Before 1925, women students who required room and board were housed in a building next to the training school.  In 1924, plans were drawn for a new $30,000 school dormitory for women students for occupancy beginning in the fall of 1925.  With rooms that could be decorated to suit the students’ tastes, the building also had a dining room and lounge.  It was described as “Not ostentatious, but charming…” with a beautiful, natural setting on Fremont Street.  Mrs. Lillian (Arle) McDonald was named the first house matron of the Door Kewaunee Normal School.  Her role was one of friend and mentor to the women students, administrator, and perhaps disciplinarian, as needed.

As time went on, it was recognized that the art of teaching required more preparation than the Normal School offered in a one or two year program.  The state reduced support for normal schools and, as of 1961, graduates of county colleges were required to obtain four year degrees within seven years after graduating from a two year course. 

Ultimately, the Wisconsin Legislature determined that no certificate or license to teach in any public school could be issued unless the applicant possessed a bachelor’s degree with professional training as required by the state superintendent. 

Beginning in 1955 and through 1972, the training school was called the County Teachers College.  When the 1971-1973 Wisconsin Budget Bill eliminated all state support for county colleges, the school closed.  In May 1972, the school property and textbooks were liquidated and teachers in training were steered to attend four year schools which would qualify them to get city school teaching jobs. 

Today, public school teaching in Wisconsin requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, appropriate certification in the subject matter, and continuing education to recertify to keep a teaching license.  Many educators acquire a master’s or doctorate degree to keep their skills at a level that provides them the knowledge and ability to not only teach the curriculum but to:  effectively manage classrooms in an environment of constantly changing technology, differentiate instruction to meet the various learning style preferences of students, support children with a wide range of cognitive and emotional special needs, prepare students for an endless variety of eventual careers paths, and coach sports or facilitate a myriad of extracurricular school activities. 

We should truly appreciate our children’s teachers.  They do so much more than show up to take a test--or, to teach to one.   

 Photos from "Algoma Record-Herald" and "Monograph of Door Kewaunee County Teachers College" available at Kewaunee County Historical Society Research Center.