CHAPTER XXXVIII. STATISTICS OF NORMAL SCHOOLS. This chapter presents the statistics of the 282 public and private normal schools of the United States reporting to this Bureau in 1902. For the year ending June, 1902, there were in the regular training courses for teachers in these schools 65,068 students, as compared with 63,402 the preceding year. There were 10,005 graduates, as compared with 10,383 in 1901. The following comparison with the statistics of 1890 will indicate the progress made by public and private normal schools in the twelve years: Since 1890 the growth of public normal schools has been constant, while the progress of private normal schools in the dozen years has shown many fluctuations. The latter increased from 43 schools, with 7,897 students, in 1890, to 198, with 24,181 students, in 1897. For the last five years there has been a gradual decline in the number of private normal schools until 1902, when there were 109, reporting 15,665 normal students. In addition to the 65,068 students in training courses for teachers in the public and private normal schools, there were 29,065 normal students in universities and colleges and high schools in 1901-2. The following table shows the number and classes of institutions offering professional instruction to teachers and the number of normal students in each class for the last four years: If to the number of graduates from public and private normal schools there be added the probable number of teachers graduating from other institutions where normal training is offered, the total number will not be less than 15,000 for the last year. This number of trained teachers annually recruits the ranks of the half a million men and women engaged in teaching in the United States. Thousands of others, half trained and untrained, take the places of those who drop out of the work. Tables 19 and 20 show the distribution of normal students by States according to the classification in the above table for the scholastic year 1901-2. Table 21 gives a list of universities and colleges offering normal instruction to teachers. PUBLIC NORMAL SCHOOLS. Excepting Delaware and Nevada all the States and Territories have public normal schools. In these two States provision is made for the education of teachers in the State colleges. There has been a steady increase in the aggregate of State appropriations for normal schools since 1890. The aggregate of such appropriations for the support of the public normal schools for the year ending June, 1902, was $3,228,090, an increase of $159,605 over the preceding year, and $1,915,671 more than the amount appropriated by the States for the 135 public normal schools for 1890. The following table well illustrates the growth of the public normal schools in the last dozen years: Public appropriations to public normal schools for thirteen years. Tables 1 to 11 summarize the statistics of the 173 public normal schools, while tables 22 and 23 give in detail the information concerning these schools. The number of teachers engaged in the instruction of normal students in the 173 schools was 2,487, the number of men being 1,024 and women 1,463. There were 739 teachers wholly in other departments, making the total number of teachers in these public institutions 3,226. Table 2 shows that there were 49,403 students in the normal departments-12,209 males and 37,194 females. There were 806 students in business courses and 6,295 in other courses of secondary grade. There were 27,324 pupils in elementary grades, making an aggregate enrollment of 83,828, as shown in Table 3. The number of colored students in normal courses was 2,164, the number of males being 826 and females 1,338, most of them being in normal schools for the colored race in the South. Table 3 also shows that there were 40,761 children in the model schools connected with the public normal schools. The number of graduates from public normal schools for the year ending June, 1902, was 8,584, as shown in Table 4, the number of males being 1,632 and females 6,952. There were 118 graduates from business courses and 625 graduates in other courses. Courses other than those for the professional training of teachers are being eliminated from public normal schools. Table 5 shows that 146 of the 173 public normal schools received for the year $3,228,090 from public appropriations for support; 105 received $228,451 from tuition and other fees; 11 received $99,899 from productive funds, while 43 received $375,364 from other sources. The aggregate income of 146 schools was $3,985,804. Table 6 gives the aggregate value of property possessed by 139 public normal schools as $20,628,432. The number of volumes in the libraries of 154 schools was 746,138. The amount of public funds appropriated for buildings and improvements for 60 public normal schools was $906,301. From many institutions it is difficult to obtain financial statistics. Table 7 reviews for six years the aggregate annual appropriations for the support of public normal schools. Table 8 shows for the same period appropriations for buildings and improvements. BRANCHES OF INSTRUCTION, Tables 9, 10, and 11 show the number of students in each of the nine leading subjects embraced in the courses offered by public normal schools. The following condensed summary will show at a glance the number and per cent of the 49,403 students in each branch: Number and per cent of public normal students pursuing certain studies. The statistics of the 109 private normal schools will be found summarized in Tables 12 to 17, inclusive. These tables may be compared with Tables 1 to 6, which sunmarize the same items for public normal schools. Certain items of statistics for public and private normal schools are compared in Table 18. In public normal schools less than 25 per cent of the students are males, while they comprise nearly 48 per cent in private normal schools. The proportion of graduates is nearly twice as large in the public as in private normal schools. In the total enrollment of 83,825 in public normal schools, which includes all in the elementary, high-school, and normal grades, there were 49,403 pursuing professional courses for teachers. This was nearly 59 per cent of the total. In the private normal schools, where the total enrollment was 37,031, the number in normal courses was 15,665, or about 42 per cent of the total. The detailed statistics of the 109 private normal schools will be found in Table 24. TABLE 2.-Summary of statistics of public normal schools in 1901–2. STUDENTS AND COURSES OF STUDY. Male. United States ....... North Atlantic Division... 12, 209 37, 194 49, 403 331 475 806 2,118 4,177 6, 295 12, 339 14, 985 27, 324 148 123 343 466 1,035 960 1,995 606 916 1,522 17 18 35 302 530 832 1,526 1,529 3,055 40 23 63 134 170 304 3,524 4,002 7,526 732 3, 178 3,910 |