Warhawk Almanac: From Normal to Teacher’s College

Over its 154 years of operation, the University of Wisconsin Whitewater has undergone three name changes. The first of those name changes came in 1924 as Whitewater had undergone a curriculum development that resulted in Whitewater Normal School becoming Whitewater State Teacher’s College. On April 21, 1868, Whitewater Normal School opened and began educating future teachers in writing, reading, math, and the art of teaching. [1] A training school, a school for local children ranging in age from elementary to what we would consider high school students today, was located on campus. The training school allowed for the teachers in training to be observed under experienced critics and learn by doing. [2] This idea of supervised practice teaching was solidified under President Salisbury within the first twenty-five years of the school’s history and has been a key factor in the education department ever since. [3]

From 1924 Whitewater State Normal School Minnieska page 3.

As the decades progressed, Whitewater kept up its high academic standards by competing with the offerings of newer universities. By 1913, the Whitewater Normal School had established a new department in commercial education, offering students “maximum training in commercial subjects and a minimum of theoretical work.” [4] The commercial education program provided teachers with specialized training in areas of business, law, and typewriting in order to better educate students entering business professions. Eight years later, in 1923, Whitewater had expanded its commercial courses to a three-year program in order to better prepare their teachers. In 1925, the curriculum expanded to a four-year course, and so the Whitewater Normal School now had the ability to grant the degree of Bachelor of Education, becoming the first normal school in Wisconsin to do so. This prompted the name change to Whitewater State Teacher’s College in 1927. [5]

From 1927 Whitewater Teacher’s College page 6.

[1] Brian Dahlstom, “Normal School Opened in 1868,” The Royal Purple (Whitewater), December 6, 1989.
[2] M. Janette Bohi, A History of Wisconsin State University Whitewater 1868-1968 (Whitewater: Whitewater State University Foundation, Inc., 1967), 41.
[3] M. Janette Bohi, A History of Wisconsin State University Whitewater 1868-1968 (Whitewater: Whitewater State University Foundation, Inc., 1967), 93.
[4] M. Janette Bohi, A History of Wisconsin State University Whitewater 1868-1968 (Whitewater: Whitewater State University Foundation, Inc., 1967), 134.
[5] M. Janette Bohi, A History of Wisconsin State University Whitewater 1868-1968 (Whitewater: Whitewater State University Foundation, Inc., 1967), 130.

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