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know; in the Normal school it is to learn, so as to teach.—
The purpose of the High school is to produce good, intelli-
gent, well-informed citizens; the purpose of the Normal
school is to produce good, efficient, and zealous teachers.—
There is therefore no antagonism, no room even for competi-
tion, between the High and the Normal school; for though
dealing with the same subjects, they pursue different ends and
by different means. A sound elementary education is a good
preparation for the Normal school; a thorough High school
course is still better; and it is hoped that before long, a High
school diploma or its equivalent will be necessary to secure
admission to the State Normal school.

The subjects embraced in the more strictly professional
part of the course are the history of public schools and popu-
lar education; the philosophy of mind; so far as it furnishes
the foundation of educational theories; education, as a posi-
tive science; teaching as an art; methods of instruction,
classification, Government, and discipline; the school Law of
Maryland in its relation to citizens, teachers, and school offi-
cers; the duties and qualifications of public school teachers.

The science of education is still in its infancy. The princi-
ples on which it is based, founded as they are on the un-
changeable laws of mind, are easily apprehended, and com-
mand assent as soon as they are announced. But the best
mode of carrying them into effect is still a matter of experi-
ment. The faculty of the Normal school therefore disclaim
all intention of making teachers to order, of pronouncing in
every instance which is the right way of teaching every sub-
ject, or of deciding in every case the proper method of deal-
ing with all the practical difficulties of the school-room. It
is their wish to extend and multiply the facilities of the
teacher, and not cramp his energies by adherence to a rigid
formalism. Their object is rather to eradicate the dogmatism
of the past than to inculcate a newer even though it be a better
dogmatism. They seek, (as the very first step in the march of
improvement) to break up the pernicious routine, by which,
from generation to generation, each following blindly in the
steps of its predecessor, false methods have become so hal-
lowed by custom, that all intelligent investigation has been
checked. They endeavor to subslitute the precepts of nature,
reason and philosophy for the absurd demands of tradition.
Their aim is hot to convert their students into pedants and
martinets, (of whom there are enough already) but to call
into the liveliest exercise the peculiar talents of every indivi-
dual, and to bring these talents, under the direction of a
sound philosophy, to bear upon the work of the teacher. They
think that the soldiers of the army of education should be not
merely well-drilled operators, but active thinkers, intelligent
workers, accustomed to use their own faculties, and to follow
the dictates of enlightened common sense. Above all things,
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