Teacher Institutes

Most district schoolteachers in 1886 Indiana did not have the benefit of a complete Normal School education. Many had only recently left the district school system themselves. The luckier teachers had the benefit of a high school education or even a summer course at a local normal college. But the State Law made no demands as to the amount of education a teacher had, only that an applicant be able to pass the licensing examination. Teacher institutes were an efficient and quick means to add to the knowledge of large numbers of classroom teachers. Some handbook authors regarded their potential usefulness highly. G. Dallas Lind especially recommended institutes for the intellectual betterment of district school educators.(Lind: 32)

Institutes, as a means of teacher education, had been used in the state as early as the 1840s. These earliest institutes were usually conducted by local academies and colleges with the goal of raising the educational level of the district school teachers in the area. (Mock: 611-612) Everything from basic curriculum to teaching methods to conducting opening exercises was taught at the institutes.

Regional institutes were common by the mid-1850s. The Northern Indiana Teachers’ Institute was first held in 1849. The sessions could last up to ten days and were held alternately in Elkhart, South Bend, and Logansport. (Boone:394) The Institute of 1852 employed eight instructors teaching all subjects in the elementary curriculum as well as some high school subjects. (Mock: 629-632)

The State Teachers Association held institutes yearly between 1860 and 1864. Eleven educators represented from each congressional district conducted the institutes. Each representative held an institute in each county in his district. State sponsored institutes were held in the summer of 1873 at Muncie, Vincennes, and Franklin. Educators of great stature taught these institutes, which were divided into primary and high school departments. Abram Shortridge, editor of The Educationalist and superintendent of the Indianapolis Public Schools, State Librarian John Clark Ridpath, and faculty members of the State University and private normal schools were among the instructors. According to the State Superintendent’s Biennial Report of 1873, "These Institutes were largely attended by teachers from various parts of the state, and the instruction, which was given by experienced educators of the State and from abroad, was invaluable." (Mock: 629)

County Institutes
The first County Institute Law was passed by the General Assembly in 1865. According to this law the county school examiner was entitled to draw between $35 and $50 from the County Treasurer for the purpose of conducting a countywide teachers’ institute. The institute was to be at least five days in length, and the schools had to be closed in order to allow all teachers in the county to attend. The first year’s institutes drew a statewide attendance of some 3,500 teachers. In 1866, State Superintendent G.W. Hoss sent all county examiners instructions on the proper organization of county institutes. In the first decade, the institutes rarely addressed more than the basic common school branches of study and the quality of the instruction and curriculum varied from county to county.

Many educators, especially the superintendents themselves, began to look for ways to improve the institutes. Most realized that the continued focus on building the teachers’ knowledge was meeting with little success due to the short time allotted to the Institutes. The value of learning specific teaching methods and the understanding that methods varied between disciplines was gaining recognition among educators. County Superintendents began to discuss improvements at their state conventions and requested the State School Board to prepare a course outline for county institutes statewide. In 1881 county superintendents received and reviewed the first statewide course of study. It was designed as a two-year course including language, arithmetic, physiology and hygiene, writing, reading, school government, spelling, moral instruction, and music taught the first year. The second year introduced pedagogics, geography, civil government, U.S. history, drawing and grammar along with more reading and arithmetic. The State Board issued this course with the goal "to impart a knowledge of the principles and methods of teaching and school management." (Boone: 395-397)

The Indiana School Law of 1885 gave total responsibility for the County Institute to the county superintendent. The institute requirements were the same as when the law was established in 1873. The Hamilton County Institute for 1886 was held September 6-10 in Noblesville. According to the minutes of that gathering, 182 people enrolled in the Institute; the financial report, however, stated that 155 people paid the 75 cent course fee. Each day began with Biblical readings, prayer and song. The rest of the day-long "programme" included lectures on the teaching of reading, grammar, arithmetic and history. Local teachers and their classes gave model recitations. All of this followed the suggested outline that appeared in the Biennial Report of 1885. There were lighter moments as well. One of the attending teachers "gave a jovial talk" and candidates for State Superintendent from the Republican party made an appearance. On the evening of 9 September, an oratorical contest was held. One district school graduate from each township had been chosen by the township trustee to compete in the contest. There was some also some sort of trouble, because County Superintendent Hutchens delivered a severe reprimand directed at "some" of the teachers for improper conduct which, according to Secretary Ross, met with "hearty applause" from the teachers. At the conclusion of the Institute the attending teachers prepared a resolution commending the Institute instructors for a rewarding week of learning. (Minutes: 1-10)

Township Institutes
In 1884, the County Superintendents’ Association prepared an outline for study at the Township Institutes. The aim of the course was to better equip the district school teacher for the job of gradation of her school. The 1885 Indiana School Law clearly stated that holding the township institute was the trustee’s responsibility. Every district schoolteacher was required to attend the six institutes held during the winter school session. Without an approved excuse the teacher was fined one day’s pay for non-attendance. Institute outlines appeared in the 1885-1886 Biennial Report. Beginning with October, each month had a detailed outline that laid out, minute by minute, the study plan for each monthly Township Institute. Beginning at 9 AM, breaking for a 75 minute lunch and adjourning at 4 PM the day was filled with classes ranging from 45 minutes to 2 hours in length that provided the teacher with extensive knowledge in both facts and methods.

Although no minutes of any Hamilton County township institutes seem to have survived, the minutes book for the North Liberty Township Institutes in St. Joseph County still exists. The book begins with the 1885-1886 institute year and gives a detailed look at the monthly program for the teachers. Held the first Saturday of each month of the winter term (September – April), the institute met at a local township schoolhouse. The first meeting opened with the taking of attendance, a word of welcome from the township trustee and election of the institute president, vice-president and secretary. Immediately the presentations for the day began. Teachers began the presentations, using the suggested topics from the monthly outline provided by the State Department of Public Instruction. The North Liberty Township Institute also took time at the close of the meeting to discuss topics of local importance or of import to the teachers themselves. At the September meeting, the teachers discussed "the propriety" of teachers attending the fair. They did not arrive at any definite conclusion, but the discussion was spirited indeed. Presentation assignments for the next institute were made and the meeting was adjourned. ( DuShane, Minutes) The minutes for the rest of the institutes for the 1885-86 school year do not vary from this basic format. It is safe to assume that the well-run township institutes varied little from this format.

Reading Circles
The Reading Circle was another vehicle for expanding the teachers’ knowledge and teaching skill. By 1883 many of the educators active within the Indiana State Teachers’ Association recognized the need to adopt creative ways of enhancing the learning experience of teachers. At the December 1883 state meeting of the association W.A Bell, Superintendent of the Indianapolis Public Schools and editor of the association’s professional journal, set forth the idea of a reading circle for teachers. He introduced a resolution that the association design a program of reading and issue certificates of progress, with a diploma issued upon completion of the program. The resolution was adopted and a board of directors was chosen to begin developing the program. By March of 1884 a plan had been developed. Each county had a manager who organized any teachers in the county wishing to join by paying the yearly dues of 25 cents and pledging to follow faithfully the established reading course. Local circles were formed and met once a week to read and discuss the works selected by the board. After only one year the Reading Circle was well established. The 1885-1886 Township Institute outlines included two hours at each meeting devoted to reading and discussing the Reading Circle books. By the summer of 1886 the concept had been adopted by several other states and book publishers were selling books to the Board of Directors for resale to the local groups and allowing the Board to retain the usual bookseller’s profit. These monies paid for the publication of all Reading Circle materials. The Circle was so successful that, in 1887, a Student Reading Circle was formed. (Boone: 403-406)

Professional Organizations

National Education Association
The National Education Association was originally organized in 1857 in Philadelphia under the name the National Teacher’s Association. In 1870 the name was changed to the NEA. The organization’s object was "to elevate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching and to promote the cause of popular education in the United States." (Biennial Report 1885: 164) Membership in the association was open to anyone working in the field of education with the yearly payment of $2.00 dues. A life membership was available for the dues of $20.00. The July 1886 meeting of the association was held in Topeka, Kansas. The State Superintendent of Schools, John Holcombe, led the Indiana delegation since he was president of the Primary Section of the association. (

Indiana State Teachers Association
The Indiana State Teachers Association grew out of teachers meetings in Shelbyville and Salem. Each issued a call for the establishment of a statewide teachers organization. The first meeting was held on December 25, 1854, in Indianapolis. Caleb Mills, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, wrote the constitution for the group and Horace Mann was one of the speakers. In the early years, the association lobbied the General Assembly for the establishment of a state normal school; tax supported schools; the inclusion of the Bible, prayer and Christian teaching in the classroom; and for the creation of local or county institutes for the training of teachers. Annual Meetings were always held in Indianapolis, late in the month of December, during the Christmas holiday when schools were closed. Complete minutes of the meetings were always published in the Reports of the Superintendent of Public Instruction as well as the Indiana School Journal. The Journal also published papers presented at the meeting throughout the year. The 1886 meeting was held at Plymouth Church, December 28-30, in downtown Indianapolis.

Regional and Local Teachers Associations
Regional and local teacher associations were established throughout the state. One of the most active was the Northern Indiana Teachers’ Association. It was organized in July of 1883 at Island Park, Rome City. The Association held yearly meetings modeled on the state association meetings. The Southern Teachers’ Association was organized in 1877 in Evansville. Throughout the last quarter of the century county and local teachers’ associations were also formed, meeting for a day of speakers and the exchange of ideas.

Professional Journals and Publications

Indiana School Journal
The Indiana School Journal was the monthly journal of the Indiana State Teachers Association. Begun in January of 1856, it continued uninterrupted into the 20th century. William A. Bell was the editor in 1886. Bell had taken the job of editor and part owner in 1869 and had gained full ownership in 1871. He continued as owner-editor until 1899. The Journal enjoyed a large circulation nationally as well as in the state.

Educationalist
In 1873, Abram C. Shortridge, Superintendent of the Indianapolis Public Schools and George Brown, the principal of Indianapolis High School, started the monthly publication called The Educationalist. It enjoyed a statewide circulation. In 1875, the publication merged with The Indiana School Journal and the editors then became associate editors of the Journal.

Educational Weekly
The Educational Weekly was the only education weekly published in the state. John M Olcott was editor and publisher from the paper’s founding in 1882 until November 1885 when the paper merged with the New England Journal of Education.

Home and School Visitor
The Home and School Visitor was a monthly published for teachers to use as supplemental reading in the classroom. Each month the articles were of varying difficulty so that the district schoolteacher had a new story or play for each reading level in the classroom. First published in 1880, the 30-page monthly magazine was published in Greenfield. The cost to teachers’ was 50 cents a year. The magazine continued publication for 30 years.

Bibliography

Boone, Richard G. A History of Education in Indiana. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1892

DuShane, James C. Minutes of North Liberty Township Teachers’ Institute, 1885-1895. Unpublished.

The Education Weekly. Indianapolis: 1884-1886.

The Educationalist. Indianapolis: 1873-1874.

Fassett, Cotton. Education in Indiana. Indianapolis: Wm. Burford, 1904.

Fuller, Wayne. The Old Country School. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1982.

Hamilton County Records. Teacher Institute Minutes, 1884-1887. Hamilton County Historical Society.

The Indiana School Journal. Volumes 1881-1886. Indianapolis.

Lind, G. Dallas. Methods of Teaching in Country Schools. Danville, Indiana: The Normal School Publishing House, 1880.

Mock, Albert. Notes on Indiana Education. Indiana State Library, Manuscripts Unpublished, n.d.

Report of the Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction. Volumes 1881-82; 1883-84; 1885-86. Indianapolis: Department of Public Instruction.