1nceIebrationofthe12~th JournaloftheHunterCollegeArchives Anniversary of Hunter College

LAURASTRUMINGHER SCHOR 2 Introduction Prouost and Kcc Pnsidmtfor Acadnnic Affairs The Early Years KATHERINAKROO GRUNFELD 5 Behold The People's College: 1870-1895 LINDAM. PERKINS 17 African-American Women and Hunter College: 1873-1945 BARBARAL. MILLER 26 High School Remembered

The 1930s BEL KAUFMAN33 A Different World PAULI MURRAY38 A Working Student MILDRED KUNER 41 Joy Davidman Gresham Lewis

JOY DAVID~~AN45 Apostate

Special Collections oi the Hunter College Archives - THOMASPNIEU'SKI 50 The Hunter College Concert Bureau in 1945: A Photo Essay ELIZABETHISRAELS PERRY 61 The Women's City Club of New York

Tbc monbtrr of tbc Alpha Gamma and Pbilomnthcan soctfics. wbo jointly publiskd Tb( poscd in front of fbc Collr9c in (896. Thefirst Connnmcmmt Exmists of the Noml College took place on Tuesday, July 12. 1870 at the Academy of Music. Ajtm t 873, Commmcemmts wen bdd in the Cbaptl planned by Prnidcnt Thomas Hunt" as part of bis daignfor tbr Colltgt building. The Cbaptl UMS usedjor assmblia and student plays until $936 wbm afi~ datroyrd tln old building. With the founding of Hunter College 725 years ago, New York offered the women of the city an unparalleled opportunity for intellectual advancement. Free, inclusive, rigorous, The Normal College, as it was originally called, t. ? graduated a steady stream of well-educated women: some entered professions just beginning to open up to women, but most became teachers. All, how- ever, affirmed the college's underlying doctrine that a literate population is the truest safeguard of democracy. The following article examines the early ; years of Hunter when it was New York's unique college for women. I Behold the People's College:

Katberina Kroo Grunfeld

URlNC THE DECADES AFTER THE need of new instructors. Although a large Civil War, industrialization, urban- number of the graduates of the city's all-male Free ization and immigration consti- Academy (the precursor of City College) became tuted basic challenges through teachers, most men considered teaching, at best, a which American society was trans- way-stop toward another career, and the absolute formed. In the resulting "search for order," new numbers of male teachers remained small. In 1874, social forms and processes appeared while existing for example, of the 2,300 teachers employed by the ones were altered.' Education, both elementary and Board of Education, all but 200 were women.

higher,- public and private, came to assume a role Once appointed.. . teachers attended one of three equally unprecedented in the daily life of young- normal (teacher-training) classes maintained by the sters and in the vocational opportunities of adults. Board of Education: one on Saturday mornings for Not only did institutions of education extend women, another on Wednesday afternoons for men, On opming day, Lydia Wadleigb their influence vertically, into more and more age, or a third for all 'colored' teachers. At this time, the lead 300 young ladirsJrom groups, they also grew horizontally by drawing city schools were beginning their precipitous Girls School No.i7 to tbc ever-increasing segments of the population into growth - expanding from 100,000 students in the temporary quartrn oJ the Normal the system. They thereby simultaneously opened common schools in 1869, with more than 2.500 Collrgr on Broadway in a Ion9 new opportunities for some while restricting teachers, to double that number of students in 1897. column. exhorting them to walk access to others. Women formed one group for As'this arrangement "was totally inadequate to meet briskly and to ignorr tbr stam of whom secondary, vocational, and higher education the wants of a great system of common schools on yoxttg mm along thr u,ay. 1 became available. which was expended in 1869 about $3,000,000... it In the years after the Civil War, New York City became an act of necessity as well as economy to maintained a decentralized system of schooling. . procure, at any reasonabjqsost, the-se.rvices of Each ward or polltical district was placed in the trained and accomplished teachers."2 hands of an unpaid superintendent and of a board of On November 17, 1869, a newly appointed trustees responsible for the hiring, supervision and Board of Education of the City of New York training of teachen. The trustees resisted.any move (Manhattan and the Bronx) voted to establish a to centralize teacher training in a school under the Normal and High School for females. In doing so, aegis of the Board of Education. the Board based its actions upon seventy-five vcars For most children, education ended after e~ght of state support for public and higher education. In Years of primary and grammar school. There were 1834. New York State had authorized suhsidics for no public high schools, although 'supplcmentary eight acadcm~cr,one in each senatorial ciistrict. "for classes' in several of the ..nirls' ..mammar schools the hettcr cducat~onof tcachcr~."~Scvcral vcars helped prcparc young women to teach. Rarely more later, in 1847. thc State appropriated puhlic funds than th~sgrammar school cducat~onwas reqwred, and authorized the Citv of New York to cstahlish an unt~lIatc In the ccntuw, to tcach In the publ~c institution of highcr education for rnalc graduatcs of schools Tcarhen could move Into and out of school the puhlic gramrnar schools. The lcgislaturc con- positions with caw and. since most women taught firmed the contlnuancc of the Frcc Acadcmv in only until marrlaNe, thc schools wcrc in constant 1854, and prov~tlctitor the fountling of a slm~lar institution for females. It took until 1870 before the ass female equivalent was brought into existence. tht The girls' school was, in fact, neither mirror nor be twin to the boys' school which became the College tht of the City of New York in 1866. Although the als female school found itself renamed the Normal to College of the City of New York within a year of its founding, this was, as its president remarked, "a mis- of nomer, since the school granted no degrees."4 The tht Normal College was a high school, and from its inception maintained a clearly utilitarian purpose. Unlike the graduates of City College, who received tic a Bachelor of Arts degree and a diploma, the gradu- tht ates of the Normal College earned a certificate and tin a license to teach. Like other normal schools in the tht United States, the Normal College taught the Or 'norms' of pedagogy and was, in essence, a profes- sional teacher-training institution. Normal schools were common in many areas of the countty and functioned much like today's community colleges; they brought educational opportunities and practi- na cal instruction to local communities and were often Te called "the people's college^."^ leg By its twmty-fifth annivmry, In New York, the establishment of the Normal thc th Collrgr was becoming a College and its complement, the City College, cre- riage shop, and the Female Normal and High be librral arts institution, ojfering ated an educational ladder that eventually offered School was opened for the admission of the 'sup- titi a BA drgm in addition to the free, excellent education from kindergarten through plementary classes' of the grammar schools "on an itaching licma. Although graduate studies to the children and citizens of the February 14 (of all the days in the year, St. on Pmidmt Hunter initially dis- city. Organized at a time of increasing immigration Valentine's Day), 1870....[ Nlotices must have been so1 approved ofrxfra-cunicular and industrialization, the city's system of public sent out in some way, for there was quite a large lor aciivitiafor his studmtr, k education sewed both as a means of acculturation assembly of notables."7Miss Wadleigh brought 300 tht allomd them toJom tux, liter- for millions of new Americans and as an incubator young ladies from the supplementary classes of No. thi ary rocietin. As tb scbool of intellectual and professional talent which repaid 47; they formed the real core of the school. Another hil movcd lo coflrgiab status afirr the largesse of the taxpayers many times over. 400 students came from other city schools. Hunter pl; fsss, Thr Alpha Beta Gamma Constructed to "enable the laboring class of our fel- formed six grades or half-year classes. re# and Philomathcan sociciics low citizens [to] have the opportunity of giving to From the beginning, the president and the Board alc jointly publislxd &&&, tbr their children an education that will more effective- intended to offer both high school and normal hain- be studmt magazinr, and in 1898 ly fit them for the various departments of labor and ing. Convinced of the necessity of grounding all di\ Iaudrd a decade ofcditon. toil by which they will earn their bread,"6 the two theoretical and practical pedagogical instruction in be public colleges have supplied the city and state with a thorough academic foundation Hunter argued va. an abundance of skills and resources beyond the that eight years of grammar school education were on dreams of their founders. insufficient for the intellectual preparation of well- im Thomas Hunter was appointed President of the trained teachers. Thus, despite opposition from of newly formed normal school. The popular principal those families who wished for a short, utilitarian ti\ of Grammar School No. 35, the largest and one of course to allow their daughters to begin earning as ex the most prestigious grammar schools for boys, quickly as possible, a three-year program was creat- m; Hunter was a former president of the Principals' ed. The first two years were purely academic, albeit sti Association and the successful organizer and princi- not classtcal: a compromise allowed Latin. hut not sir pal of the New York Evening High School. Miss Greek, into the curriculum. Pedagogy and practice an Lydia Wadleigh, the principal of the equally illustri- teaching were introduced only in the third year. C; ous Girls School No. 47, was selected as lndy This was in line with the most advancctl theoric\ on Superintendent. Hunter and hic new Vice Principal. normal instn~ctionand equaled the most cxtcnrivc Arthur Ilundon, spent a month visiting existing programs availahlc anywhere * normal schools in the Northeast. In their suhsc- Oppo5ition to the Nc,rnial (:~)llcgccamc not quent report to the Board, they recommended only from families objecting to the length of the that the best teacher preparation include both nor- program. hut alsn from politicians ohlerting to pull- mal (pedagogical) instruction and the use of a tratn- lic cupcnditure\ [or hirher cclutatlon and Iron1 ing school for practice teaching. many others oppn\c.d ti) contintled or lihcral cduca- Temporary quarters were rented, above a car- tlnn for alrls tluntrr r~,~tntrrcclthat once the \talc / assumes the responsibility for any public education, there was no library until the alumnae moved to 4 1 there is no logical distinction that differentiates establish one in the early 1890s. i between lower and higher education. Moreover, if Thomas Hunter determined the means of 1 the state is responsible for educating children, it is instruction and standards of behavior. He believed j also responsible for supplying well-trained teachers in the efficacy of single text instruction and of to fulfill this mandate. recitation as the approved method. Lectures could : Against the argument that decried the education not be avoided in some subjects, although he of women, Hunter and the Board responded with thought them 'pernicious,' but they were offset by the concept of virtuous womanhood. This intellec- frequent examinations and laboratory demonstra- : tual underpinning of the Normal College postulat- tions. Hunter also believed in physical culture and : ed that women were uniquely qualified for domes- scheduled fifteen minutes of daily exercise for each tic and educational responsibilities: it emphasized student; athletics and extracurricular activities, the desirability of preparing women for their dis- however, had no role as yet in this urban college. tinctive roles as mothers and teachen by giving Each morning began with Chapel: students were them appropriate scientific and practical training.9 encouraged to speak in public by offering short On a practical level, it was assumed, correctly, that inspirational sentences. Students were also closely women teachers would work at far lower wages and monitored for punctuality and decomm. with greater job stability than men. Construction of a permanent home soon began Resentment during the first year also centered on on Park Avenue between 68th and 69th streets. The Thomas Hunter's insistence on competitive exami- building, designed by Hunter, had no lunchroom, nations for admission, promotion, and graduation. no library, and no lounges. It had a small calistheni- Teacher-training was centralized in the Normal Col- um but no gymnasium, an observatory but no tele- lege, which had hired as tuton the best teaches of scope. On the other hand, it had thirty classrooms, the supplementary classes after these classes had an art-studio, fifteen-foot-wide corridors for prome- ligh been eliminated in the grammar schools. Compe- nading and lunchtime dancing, and a chapel seating :up- titive examina:ion curtailed the power of principals 2,000. The dedication ceremonies, with speeches "on and ward trustees to appoint teachers and to rec- by the Governor, Mayor, and U.S. Commissioner of St. ommend students to advanced classes. In addition, Education, took place on October 29, 1873. The een some parents were displeased that they could no following June, commencement was held for the lrge longer use their influence in obtaining positions for first time in the school's new chapel, and newspa- 300 their daughters. Hunter prevailed, however: "All pers reported that "the growing popularity of the yo. things considered, it was best that rich and poor, city's two free colleges ... is becoming more manifest her high and low, should be placed upon a common- in the increasing interest shown with regard to the lter platform, and subjected to the same conditions and commencements."" regulations. In a competitive, written examination To everyone's surprise, and despite some open- vard alone can uniform justice ing day confusion, the 3. be secured for every in- Normal College Training all dividual."'O This fervent Department, as the mod- ,in belief in the 'democratic' el primary school was ucd value of admission solely soon named, also became .em on merit had a decisive popular. Although the ell- impact upon the history pupils were 'experiment- .om of the school. Competi- ed' upon by student- +an tive written entrance teachers, the demand for as examinations have re- admission seemed to rival rat- mained in force and are that. for admission to the it still the basis of admis- college. To fulfill its pur- not sion to the elementary pose, the Training De- tice and high school divisions of the Hunter College partment classes closely resembled those of the ear Campus Schools. public schools in grading, curriculum and instmc- on The orig~nalfaculty was all male; tutors and tion; this was not a laboratory school for the devel- ;ive a~sictantswere all female. Ac Hunter had insisted, a opment of educational theory, but a school for train~ngschool was opened with a staff nf 5ix, which practice teaching. soon included one of the carlicct Nornmal College It was unique, however, in providing the first free the ~aduatec,Emily Ida Conant. An carly advocate of ~uhlickindergarten in the United States. Hunter uh. the k~ndcr~artcnmovement and a tcachcr of pry- had called for kindergarten instruction in his first ch~lo~v.Conant later hecamc thc first wnrnan in Annual Repon. "Rigidity is not order." he wrote. . New York to hold a doctorate in pcda~n~ySarah E "Children ~houldsing, march, laugh, joke, and play ,t, I I~vheckwa\ the 5ccrctarv and I~hrar~an,althouuh under supervision '"? In latcr yeas. Hunter estah- 7 lished six scholarships for a one-year post-graduate schools were closed. In his study of Black education, course in kindergarten methods as prizes for the Carlton Mabee states that 56 Black teachers gdu- highest ranked graduates -of the Normal College. ated from the Normal College by 1890, although Along the same lines, he also established twelve no Black teachers were hired by the New York scholarships for a come in manual training (dornes- school system until 1896.14 Jewish girls were more tic am). visible: Hatpcri Ncw Montbly suggested 200 out of an Young women came to the College in earnest enrollment of 1,542 in 1878.'~There is no direct pursuit of a teaching license and some education. evidence in the College records for the number of Generally fifteen to eighteen years old, carefully Catholic girls, but demographics would suggest nurtured and guarded by the protective mechanisms their presence as well.I6 of the Victorian era, they came from families that In keeping with its public mandate, the College could spare their daughters for twelve years of edu- tolerated no discrimination or bigotry. Hunter cation. The majority of students were white, claimed that, with all classes and every religious Protestant and middle-class: wealthy students did denomination present, the "faculty and tutors have not attend the public schools, and poor girls could exercised the nicest care and taken the most consci- not afford to do so. entious pains, to preserve the rights of each and to The various issues of Jbc Echo, which injure the feelings of none."" There are numerous

THL S~WNFED wlrTT began as a yearbook and evolved into a indications that officially this was indeed the case: literary magazine, are the best soume of the constitution of the College's literary society information on student life after 1889. stated that as topics for debate, "no religious subject The atmosphere in these pieces of stu- of a denominational character shall be discussed." dent writing is decidedly comfortable The delegation of Normal College students wel- and middle-class: the columns refer coming President Benjamin Hamson to New York casually to trips abroad, summer vaca- City in connection with the Centennial Celebration I m. tions in the country, festive gatherings of the Constitution included one, and possibly two, P and reunions. The young students of the Black students who strewed flower petals in his 1 P Arr pepring tor their rue- early Normal College seemed aware of path. The student body unanimously selected well dinner. ~llrelmme. Please bring their comparatively privileged position, Annie Alida Abrahams, a Jew, to deliver the Address your ma spoon, u the society is rbort. although there are clear indications that of Welcome to the City. 18 Tbt Ammcan Htbmo noted many students lived more difficult lives. that "it is creditable to the school system of the city In order to refute charges that the College in which it is possible that such distinction can be Studmthvmor'~ti~mmnrL wasted taxpayer money on the children of the gained irrespective of religious affiliation."'9 In in oncrxampk wealthy, Hunter eventually began to list the occu- 1892, the faculty reminded teachers of the Training 'la swi@tkcditon pations of the parents and guardians of his students Department that "it is an established rule in the bad Wnr lbr in the Annual Reports. It was a remarkably diverse College that no student should ever be marked ruggating loo much rigor in population. For 1886, the first year that occupations down [have a class mark reduced] for being absent thrcoum or too link? were listed, Hunter's assessment concluded that on account of illness or religious holy days."20 bankers. day-laborers, presidents, coachmen, cler- It is also evident that Hunter himself, while gymen, masons, physicians, bookkeepers, black- scrupulously fair and just to all students and a self- smiths, clothiers, carpenters, lawyers, brokers, declared staunch democrat, held prejudices. clerks, teachers, office-holders (City, State and Prejudice, however, was not allowed to undermine Federal), widows, traders, editors, journalists, principle or law, even if a heavy hand was applied to reporters, janitors, grocers, horse dealers, etc., all enforce the principle of democracy. Neither racial had their representatives within the College. "Now nor social discord appears to have been an issue in if this be not a common school - common to all, the College, and students absorbed the lessons of rich and poor, high and low - and supported by a democracy as expounded by the faculty. The common tax, where is a common school to be College members interpreted the mandate of their found7"' 3 public college, like that of the public schools to From the earliest years minorities were always which it was bound, to serve the needs of all its con- present. Thomas Hunter had insisted on (and state stituents impartially. It was, as it was intended to be, legislation in 1874 compelled) the equal admission a college for all women. and integration of qualified Black students. As Linda The strict adherence to a policy of admission Perkins notes in her accompanying article, eight based purely upon merit was intended to reinforce enrolled in 1873, before the state mandate, and this concept. Commissioner O'Brien was, therefore, another eight in 1874. For a number of years, the pertly reprimanded by Normal College student Annual Reports listed admissions by grammar Clara Aub for suggesting that the Normal College school, and the Colored Schools were clearly indi- be limited only to women who planned to teach cated. African-American girls continued to attend and who could not afford schooling elsewhere. The the Normal College, even after there segregated Nonnal College, she wrote, is not a charity school. i tion, it IS a public school where all the classes meet, the minimum age of new teachers to eighteen. adu- 1 where the wealthy student can stand in awe of the Only gradually was the intrinsic value of higher t ugh ! gtfted but poorer student, and the poor student can and liberal education for women as an end in itself York 1 acqurre some polish and refinement from those publicly acknowledged. The sole aim and function nore t more fortunate. of the Normal College had been to prepare public 2f an school teachers, but the College had never required lirect i Thrgrrat thing for which wr Americans havc to br a commitment from its graduates to teach. As early er of ! thankful is not tbt education ofthc poot; but the as 1882, Hunter had advised the Board of Education :gest i mingling in thought andfccling of all classa, it is to consider establishing several additional programs : this that is tbc safeguard of the Rep~blic.~' of study. A classical course, a business course, and an art course could easily and economically be Inter As the only public high school for females in the introduced, they "would furnish in the end a superi- city, the Normal College proved both successful or class of teachers, and would certainly enable have and popular. So popular, in fact, that it soon became those students who had no taste for teaching to earn nsci - overcrowded, and so successful that the city, in the a living in other walks of life."** ld to aftermath of the depression of 1873, had an over- J. Edward Simmons, President of the Board of supply of teachers. The time, therefore, seemed Education, agreed. In his Commencement Address case: opportune to strengthen the program by lengthen- to the graduates of 1887, he extolled the Normal ciety ing it and to protect it from external intervention by College: Tbe Normal College trained bject political forces. The age for admission had been trachmjor all rhe coancs sed." raised to fourteen in 1872, and the mid-winter &hold tbr Proplei Collgc - thc grand triumph of ofid by thr P~rblicSchools wel- entrance to the College abolished. Hunter and the popular tducation.. .. Thtrc can br no grntral accu- oJthc City Spccializtd courses. York other College authorities, however, were deter- mulation ofwcaltb without labor -- in which I com- such asfor teachrn of domatic ation mined to increase the academic component of the prrhend all tbr diotrsifrd pursuits of civilized men, aris, mcn oflercd as prizes to two. program, which they regarded as fundamental to all wbethn manual, mrntal, or social. Thc importance of highly @nl$edgradunta 1 his professional studies. The original three year course training mrn and women to usqfulnas and sty- Thc studmt-tcachns in this cted had been shaped by the need to diffuse opposition nliancc cannot bc over-cstimatcd.. . . It is timc to place cooking class clearly rrlished dress to free higher education for girls. It was increased to the Nonnal Collcgr on tbc same footing as Thr fhdr spmial stattrs and learned oted four years in 1878, when the temporaty oversupply Collcgr of tbc City of Nm York." 23 their lasons withgood humor , city of teachers allowed the Board of Education to raise n be 9 In ning the rked )sent vhile self- ices. nine rd to acial

1s of The their IS to con-

orcc tore, dent Ilcac each Thc ir,c)I Accordingly, President Hunter requested that For those who could not or would not teach, mec the state legislature put the Normal College on the new avenues were to become available through the aler same organizational basis as the City College. In classical option. The graduates of 1894 were in- see1 1888, after some political maneuvering, the New formed that the College was to prepare each Col York State Legislature passed and the Governor woman "for the many opportunities that are now and signed the Cantor Bill, establishing the Normal open to her in the field of medicine, law, journalism, fror College as a distinct corporate body with its own commerce and others, that are now receiving her on first Board of Trustees - composed of the members of equal terms with men."26 Many continued working 7 Col the Board of Education and the President of the Col- for advanced degrees. The faculty had recommend- I eve lege -and the power to grant "the usual degrees." ed that the B.A. be offered to graduates of the nor- hav- The Normal College, which had faced budgetary ma1 course (and all other women residing in New -. cutbacks in 1887, including a 9% reduction in York) upon the successful completion of examina- - was

salaries, was explicitly granted the same appropria- tions in classical studies. Soon the Faculty recom- ' whi tion as City College ($125,000.00).~~Students mended that the B.S., M.A., and Doctor of Ne\ could now choose from two programs: a four-year Pedagogy degrees also be offered. The Board of secc normal course leading to a certificate and teaching Trustees accepted these recommendations and an i license, and a five-year classical course leading to 2 appointed committees to devise appropriate courses tim degree and a diploma. It was hoped that those stu- of study. ' the dents who had no intention of teaching would pur- The commencement of 1892, the twenty-third, tint. sue other studies, while the normal course students marked a jubilant day in the history of the Normal ' coh hov bey giat whc wit1

higl On extc ing

on t fess be^ ing. higl

The Nonnal College main- would concentrate more eftectlvelv on the~rprufe\- College In h15 atidre,, I'revdcnt Punter thanked tained both a kindergarim and sional training. Cod that he had llved to see the day The proceed- an elcmmrary rcbool when The classical course was designed with the ambi- lngs were w~delyreported, and the Nnc, York Rrcordn rftddmf-feachmcouldgain tion of bringing the Normal College into eventual called ~ta slgn~f~cantevent teaching mpcrimc~.Tbe conformity with the standards of liberal learning in r fudrntr oJ thrjlnfJm, public other womeni colleges. Having achieved nominal in thcd~tcationol adtiancmrnt of tht country. For - collegiate rank. Hunter could see "no reason why thrn,for thcJirst time was thc dcgnc 0fB.A. conftrrcd kindngartm in fhr US.pow ! hrn oifhtheir feachr. the Normal College of the City of New York should upon womrn by a collcgc supporttd by thc Statc and not be ranked with Vassar, Smith and the other col- tbm for thcfirrt timc ccrtrt tbc dotcghtcrs of this city leges for the education of women."25 The creation granted all the privileges thnt their hrothtrr claim." of the classical course moved the College to a con- cept of women's education far hcyond the schoc~lt This was a pleasant ccntimcnt hut not quitca fac- original mandatc. The Collcgc no longer looked to tual onc. Tlic Normal Collcgc was not an accrcdit- institutions of normal training - thc pcoplc's col- cd ~nstitution.Not only wcrc it\ graduates not qual- 1 leges - to set the standard hy which to measure il~edto teach in tlic recently crratrd secondary i ' I itcclf, hut to the prestigious and sclcctivc private lih- schools, hut most graduate \chool\ did not rccog- i era1 arts collcgcs for women. In doing so, the nizc the Nr~rnml<:ollcgc as a collcgc-rank ln\tirlt- ' College's dcmocratic credo and acadcmic admir- tlon For thc maiorltv 01 Nonnal Collcgc gratluatcs sions policy wcrc to he incrcaringly at odds with 11s this wa\ a minor ~\stlc Tlic frw graduatr\ who amhitions as a lihcral arts ~nstltutt~n tntcntfcd to pr~rcrlrprr>fcBarnard College or Teachers th~oughadherence to a single, impartial, standard each j College. Indeed, graduates did go to medical school of merit. These are themes which ran as a constant e now ; and to law school - the first women to graduate thread through the history of the College and lalism, a from the New York University Law School and the influenced teacher orofessionalization and her on : first admitted to the New York Bar were Normal training as well as women's education orking + College alumnae. The predominant number, how- far into the future. mend- - ever, were happy in the conviction that they would Questions about the purposes of le nor- ' have no difficulty in finding teaching positions. public education and its social / 1 New The effort to incorporate the College, therefore, context reflected contradictory mina- was replete with paradoxes. The Normal College, views within the Board of mom- which was created primarily to serve the needs of Education itself. Initially, hostility :or of New York's schools and only incidentally to provide to the Normal College had come ard of secondary education to women, had developed from members of the lower or s and an internal impetus. Officially, teacher training con- laboring class who objected to ourses tinued to be the prime function of the College and providing free education and liberal the majority of its students and their parents con- arts to the daughters of the wealthy. -third, tinued to demand this type of training. A small and Making the course longer imposed lormal cohesive group of faculty, students, and alumnae, hardship on poor girls, who had to delay however, advocated the expansion of the College the start of their employment as teachers. beyond normal training and its elevation to colle- Middle class opposition to the College began with Dr. Jmnb Mrrrill, an mrly giate status. These women and (some) men - the granting of degrees, which, the argument went, groduak oJ tk Normal Collcgr whose demands and needs were somewhat at odds was best left to private institutions. and member oJthrJnculry. with popular expectations - pushed the College Major objection to the empowerment of the hcadrd fhr dclcgation that to reconsider the meaning of public education for College came from the two women on the Board, pditiond Goi,crnor Hill to sign women. Grace Hoadley Dodge and Mary Nash Agnew, who the Iqirlnlion incorporating Several distinct but overlapping tensions were had been appointed in 1886 in recognition of the fhh'onnnl Collrgc in I 88s highlighted by the opposition to incorporation. growing female presence in the public schools. Prrridmt Hunter latn board One set of tensions centered on questions of the William Wood, ex-president of the Board of fhnt hr had rmt "fhr extent, dimensions, and purposes of public school- Education, charged that Dodge had an "unreason- pvtiirst and mort rloqumt ing and its intended outcomes. The other focused able feminine jealousy" of the Normal College since graduab andgrndl~nc- on questions of gender and class in vocational, pro- she had recently established the New York College trnchrrr" to Alhnny A1rRill fessional, and higher education. The tension for the Training of Teachers, and that Mrs. Agnew's brcnmr o rprcioltst i,! kindrr- between academic education and vocational train- husband, Cornelius, was a trustee of Columbia gnrtnt rind dmotrnry rnrthodr ing, inherent in Normal's original mandate, was also College and disliked the two free institutions. highlighted, as was the College's continuing com- Agnew was, in fact, instrumental in establishing Barnard College which, like Dodge's renamed Rrfcrrinq lo co~!fi~rio~~aho~f Teachers College, was affiliated with private, more thr Hunter Collr4r Cnmpus mkcd exclusive Columbia Universitv. "Doubtless both Sclroolr thnf h'is prnirtrd in thr ceed- [Dodge and Agnew] were conscientious in oppos- pshll~mind t1nt11 rhr prnolt. rcordtr ing the higher education of girls," as Thomas ~hr~.~qiforr hook 01th~cb- . d. Hunter later vengefully noted, "perhaps on the mrttntry rchool. fhr i\lodrl ground that it would tend to reduce the supply of Pnmarry School. nod on ,- ... :. -...... - 2 ..d > ,*,.n -'. .. X . . ., ,... ., J:<./ 2' ,. servants and thereby increase their wage~."2~ Opminq Doy "mi nftrnd'ritcr L... C.'.*.<.C,..k . '-7-. ' r-;. It is difficult to refute Hunter's charge that a class of only 3o childrm, fhcn "';.d,.: ,.,:;. LL::.. ... bias and a tendency to see working women (in the bring romp mtrundrrrfnrlding cr ,.#.,. 4LL,"...< ,.,4'A IS. z".. .. ., <..,.. /?' /L .,&-./ . I.. rtt tla nr~t~hhorhood11,ith rr- ," .. .- guise of Normal College students) as glorified domestics actuated the ladies' opposition to the (tatrzf to tl~rIILIII~~~ offhr ~cl~ool, expansion of the College. Teachers, who werc pre~ r or (rcr 5'1~0'~l. ,i,,,l !,~lt~fltcr comc under tncrcasing supervi\ov and hurcaucrat~c t#?!!lr!II~P ~~l'l~l,,,~~",~,:f <>ftlv quai- contrcil a\ thc movcmcnt lor tchool rcf~~rril~OIII. l!,~,l~,l<.f r.1,,,,,1:<>>, $1, ,!<,I " ldary \hape under thc lcader5hip -rot N~chola\ Ilurrav cog- , Hutlcr - prc\~dcnt hrst of I)(>dfic; Xew Kirk stilt~. - .. Cr~llcacfor the Tralnlng of Teache~san$l t!lc!l 01 uatcr : '. Columhla Clnivcrsitv The proyrc\vvc rcforrncr\' I ,...... - who j perccptlf~tirof clar\ and Kcndcr prccludccl a I?cll<-t111 w or ~ - ~ . cc , '. .,. L ,.--a .- . - tllc\c w~rnicn'\capacltv 111 acculturate ch~lrirc~ito 'American' values. Most teachers, because they were ed as their peers in other colleges, Dr. Jennie Menil' women and because they came from the working and Dr. Ida Conant in kindergarten and elementa~ class, were considered unreliable and incapable of education, Julia Richmond and Katherine Dwerem independent professional action; a 'liberal' educa- Blake in educational administration, Emma Requz tion for this sector of society was an unnecessary and Helen Gray Cone as department heads, Dr frivolity. Admitting students purely on the basis of Augusta Requa and Dr. Margaret Barclay Wilson ir academic achievement, the Normal College- was to medicine and hygiene, Mary A. Wells in social Find itself increasingly suspect as more and more work, Hamet Keith in vocational placement and women from lower and otherwise 'socially undesir- Annie Hickenbottom in counseling, together with able' classes were perceived as gaining ever greater other tutors and teachers, formed a small, mostly admission to the institution. unmamed, group whose professional and personal Not surprisingly, supporters of the school felt existence was largely shaped by ties to and through that the College itself had to be protected from the Normal College. It is this generation, the grad. political vicissitude and the temptations of the bud- uates of the 1870s and 1880s, which began to edge get-cutters. The self-esteem and the professional the Normal College into line with the most presti. prospects of the alumnae and faculty were inter- gious of the women's institutions. Very much in twined with the prestige and stability of the institu- tune with developments elsewhere, they responded tion, and it was they who forced a reorientation of not only to an ideal of culture but also to the con- the College's mission. The Alumnae Association of cept of senrice to the school, to the community, and the Normal College of the City of New York had to other women. been organized in 1872 and within a decade had Flushed with the victory of having established begun to seek greater influence on the activities and the College as a corporate body, the Associate functioning of the Normal College. The sixteen- Alumnae incorporated themselves in 1889 and, with and seventeen-year-old graduates of the early 1870s a bunt of pent-up energy, threw themselves into an were now matrons of nearly thirty; whether married ongoing series of activities to benefit their Alma or single, they had attained a level of personal sta- Mater. They successfully petitioned the mayor to bility, maturity, and experience. Self-sufficient and appoint one of their own, Clara M. Robinson independent, some had gone on, or were going on, Williams, to the Board of Education in 1889. The to advanced degrees and growing professional Wadleigh memorial Library Alcove, inspired by the standing. They viewed their futures as linked to that death of the Lady Superintendent in 1888, became of the Normal College. Among their concerns was the foundation of the Alumnae Library, which in the obvious fact that in this college for women there turn became the College Library. The Alumnae was "not a singlr woman profcsro{!] What a humiliating eventually raised over $10,000.00, hired a graduate, A lady ojlirstr. Frmccs spectacle for us to ~ontemplate!"~9Through the Edith Rice, as librarian, and paid her salary until the Ogdm Edgc was a mmbn oj 1870s and 1880s, the 'Faculty' was comprised of the library was taken over by the College (as an tb collcgci earliest graduating Lady Superintendent and seven male department Alumnae gift) in 1896. class in (870 and winnn oj th heads holding the rank of professor; weryone else Addressing the needs of their members, the Jrrt mcdal. which was tbonly was a tutor. In 1889, there were forty-two tutors, all Alumnae instituted a series of advanced courses in priu awardcd by thc insti- female, including two holding the Ph.D. (or Latin, Creek, psychology, and mathematics, to tution at his gradualion. Hn Ped.D.), one an M.D., five a B.A. a"d four a B.S. bring the advantages of education to the College spmh on this occasion was Most of the professors had been with the Normal community. A Shakespeare class was organized, as mtitld 'New York in the Year College since its opening and, although all the were courses in botany and zoology. In addition, 2000."Appoincd to thc origi- women (students, alumnae and faculty) protested the Alumnae reached out to the general communi- nal staff oj tk Model Primary their devotion to their mentors.. whv, should not one ty, inviting women to join in the choral society and School. Edgc was present on of their number step into a position when the arranging public lectures on themes of importance Opming Day Tkc inscription inevitable vacancv occurred7 or interest to all educated women. on this protrait notcs annotkn In her study of women in higher education, Always attuned to the activities of sister colleges distinction: Edge was thtjirrt Barbara Solomon describes this first generation of and their organizations and eager to appear in the alumna to many college women in America as serious, single-mind- vanguard of collegiate activity, the Alumnae ed. conscientious. with a "oassionate desire" for edu- responded enthusiastically to the settlement house cation, and very conscious of being pioneen.30 movement and, in 1894, opened the Normal Although the teen-age students of the Normal College Alumnae Settlement House, now the College were too young to fit Solomon's picture, Lenox Hill Neighborhood Association, in her description accurately portrays the first genera- Germantown (Yorkville) on the Upper East Side. tion of alumnae. It is this group that, one decade The alumnae's Free Kindergarten, established in after their graduation, led the effort for degrees, 1891, was integrated into the Settlement House. expanded programs, representation on governing Mary A. Wells, '90, was the resident head worker, boards, and opportunities for professional advance- and it was assumed that both thestudents and alum- ment. Ar serious, as determined. and as sinule-mind- nae would donate time (and the benefits of their considued valuable, it would have to undertate rwisions in its programs and organization. At the same time, increasing immigra- tion and urbanization in the 1880s spurred the growth of the city school system and created an unprecedented demand for ever more teachers. The College, a public insti- tution dependent on public appropriations and constrained by its ties to the school sys- tem, could not be unresponsive. It moved quickly to reassert the importance of its unique position and its vital service to the city. Confounding the expectations of Collegeauthorities, the students in the clas- sical program indicated their strong desire to obtain teachers' licenses in addition to degrees. Consequently, courses in peda- gogy were offered to the seniors in the clas- sical -now called the academic - depart- ment. All graduates were allowed to enroll in kindergarten and manual training classes. Them was nothing surprising in the stu- dents'desire to teach. Although the College had entertained high hopes with the intro- duction of the dual course, it was still pri- marily a normal school, and teacher training By f 895, tk Collcgc had remained its prime mission. For decades to Jnnlopcd a rich tradition of come, the overwhelming number of gradu- 'Rcd-l&cr'days andfonnal ates became teachers in the schools of New rituals. Smior studmts,for York. On the twenty-fifth anniversary of nampk prcsmtcd a Christmas the Normal College, the Nm York Press Play as thcir gilt to tbr Col- reported that 3,000 of the 4,000 New York lege. Hclm Crry Cone, loma City teachers were graduates of the Normal right, an early gmduae, was College and in 1896, the twenty-sixth thrfirst woman appointed Annual Report of the Normal College Dcpahmt Hrad (EnglirhJ proudly proclaimed: "Since its organization and Profssor oJ thc Collcgr. in 1870 the College has graduated six thou- sand seven-hundred and eighty-two (6.782) young i.onahlc that tlierr ~li~t~l~ll~ Iwt OI~C coninion cur- women. It is safe to assert that more than five thou- riculum, and that the hiRhert."33 -~ sand (5,000) have taught in the public schools."3* The College, in the meantime, was credibly ful- Ironically, however, it would appear that Dodge filling its mandate from the city. That nearly half of and Agnew had been correct: the attainment of col- Normal College's graduates were currently teaching legiate status eventually devalued teacher training. in the city's schools was, in Hunter's estimate, "a The introduction of the academic course lead inex- very large proportion. New York has certainly orably to the elimination of the normal program. In received more than an equivalent for the money response to student demand, a pedagogical compo- expended in their education and training." What nent was added to the academic program: graduates the college contributed to the city, however, was of both courses were now eligible for teaching not merely normal training for some women. licenses, hut only for the elementay schools. For Higher education - free, acccssihle, meritorious - students to qualify for the higher lcvels of teaching, hcnefircd the puhlic schools and the children they or for any other profession, thc Normal College hat1 \ervetl, crcatctl a pool nt educated worker\ and to join the ranks of accredited lihcral arts college\ trained prr)tc\\ional\. ant! hrnught thou\ands of In 1895, twenty-fivc years after its forlnding ar a immigrant\ into the .\mcrlcan pol~tv"l!ut tar ahove

school for teachers. I'residcnt Hunter propt)scd that and hcyontl tlic\c 13 thc Ereat tact that huntlrcds of the normal coume he eliminated ant1 a r~niior~nflvc- the graduate\ -- \onie 01 ~licnitlic tlal~ahtrr\01 the year curriculilm he introduced "Roth tlcpartrnent\, poor havc carr~ctlinti) hrlliihle honic\ ;I h~gller normal and academic, having the tame purpose in ltlcal of human lily and a cr~lturcwlilcti will ~iian~test I .I view, to he tra~ncdas teacherr, it \ccni\ onlv rca- rt\<-1t Ill tllf: IlcYt ~<~llcl~ltloll01 rlll::~ll\ 14 I>av~dH Tyack Ti~rO~rr Hr