Mary Braselton
Director, Associate of Arts in Teaching Program
Midland College
As part of an introduction to education, I often ask students "Why do we (the people) put such an enormous emphasis on public education? Why do we spend so much money and debate time on buildings, books, and salaries?" I wait for what seems like an eternity before students try to figure out why society pays such a high price for educating its own. The answer, in part, can be found in these words, which are from a 1918 National Education Association treatise entitled "The Central Purpose of American Education" ...
"In any democracy education is closely bound to the wishes of the people, but the strength of this bond in America has been unique. The American people have traditionally regarded education as a means for improving themselves and their society. Whenever an objective has been judged desirable for the individual or the society, it has tended to be accepted as a valid concern of the school. The American commitment to the free society -- to individual dignity, to personal liberty, to equality of opportunity -- has set the frame in which the American school grew. The basic American value, respect for the individual, has led to one of the major charges which the American people have placed on their schools: to foster that development of individual capacities which will enable each human being to become the best person he is capable of becoming."
Many years ago one of the standard courses an aspiring teacher would take was the History of Education in America. I don't recall being overly thrilled with that class that had at least 500 students in it and a "blue suit" standing at the lectern, but later when I was working on another degree, I took a class called History of Higher Education. I became fascinated with the earliest schools -- and how their very survival was nothing short of miraculous. I could see those young teachers in white shirtwaists carrying buckets of coal into the one-room schoolhouse and wondered how they would clean those ruffled shirts and long skirts. I wondered how they could teach every level of student and every basic subject to each student in one room at the same time. I even read one story about a 16-year old girl/teacher nothing more than a child herself teaching all morning then adjourning class to go outside to play with her students at recess on the rim of the Ransom Canyon east of Lubbock.
Then, I was amazed to learn that there hadn't always been 12 grades in high school. Graduation could occur almost any time and at any grade depending on the local resources for recruiting a teacher and having the money to pay her. I read about teachers who sometimes would work for months without pay when times were hard. Imagine.
The elegant French term `ecole normale intrigued me, and I was eager to learn why some of the early colleges in our not-so-elegant west began as `ecoles normale (Sul Ross University, West Texas A&M University). Those schools with the fanciful name translated "normal school" devoted themselves to educating teachers primarily for the elementary classroom. Some would argue whether these were colleges at all. Many of those early colleges before and shortly after the turn of the century were called soonovers because they were "soon up and running, and soon over" either because there wasn't any money or the young men were drafted into World War I. But the institutions proved valuable to this huge expanse and westward movement beyond the 100th parallel. Ultimately, these institutions morphed into what would become the community college movement in western Texas.
R.B. Cousins, state superintendent of public instruction, knew soon after the turn of the century that the population of this great land must be educated at least to the extent of reading and writing so they could farm and raise crops and cattle and buy and sell without being cheated. He pushed for and got two small normal colleges started and served as the first president of one of them.
The story of the first Midland College is similar. As John Leffler reports in the Handbook of Texas, "Farmers moved into Midland County in increasing numbers between 1900 and 1930, though ranching continued to dominate the local economy until the oil boom of the 1920s. By 1910 there were 178 ranches and farms in Midland County. ... By 1920 the number of farms and ranches in the county had declined to 133. Midland College, established in the city of Midland by the Christian Church in 1910 as a junior college, failed in 1921. That same year the Midland and Northwestern Railway ceased service."
Fast-forwarding a few years, a plethora of these institutions strengthened and new ones emerged to replace those that had died. Though names often are used interchangeably, two-year colleges may vary by mission. The true junior college operates primarily as transfer institutions for liberal arts students, while the true community college divides its curriculum into liberal arts, career and vocational instruction and adult and continuing education promoting lifelong learning. Two other types of two-year institutions are technical colleges and technical institutes, which are devoted to technical, vocational or career fields.
Your own Midland College is a true community college stressing equally a liberal arts transfer function as well as career and vocational instruction and adult and continuing education. MC serves its community through attention to its mission, extraordinary management and devotion to its host community.
What an incredible mission and service these institutions maintain for our vibrant state. The community college is not pretentious, nor does it presume to be more than it is -- the workhorse of an enormous educational system providing an invaluable service to the people of our cities, state and nation by maintaining America's commitment to a free society.
This column first appeared in the November 7, 2011 edition of the Midland Reporter-Telegram, and appears here, in its entirety, with the MRT's permission.
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