Michigan Teachers' Institutes in the Mid-Nineteenth Century: A Representative Document

Extract

The role of the Teachers' Institute in the history of American education has been documented by a succession of competent scholars who indicated the impact of Institutes in furthering the cause of education within the states through the expedient of a grassroots teacher-training program. Institutes were popular in various states at different times; in Michigan they attained popularity during the decades after 1840. While the story of the nineteenth-century struggle to augment teacher capabilities through Institutes is generally well known to the student of educational history, rarely does one have the opportunity to examine the actual proceedings of one of those early Institutes to see exactly what was taking place. It well may be asked: What actually occurred at these meetings? What was the nature of the training which the teachers received, and did it have any real utility? How did the sponsoring authorities attempt to inspire teachers toward a greater professional dedication? These are all legitimate questions worthy of an answer.