The Paramountcy of Women at the Oswego State Normal School: 1861–1897

• In Event: 53.035 - Problematizing Early Childhood Education Since the 19th Century

Abstract

Haunted by memories of textbook-driven teaching and rote memorization, Edward Austin Sheldon sought to challenge these prevailing pedagogies in schools. When he developed a curriculum based on Pestalozzian principles, he found Oswego teachers unable to enact his curriculum. His recruitment of Margaret E.M. Jones, a London-based teacher educator, was novel, in that no normal school had relied so heavily on the efforts of a woman from its inception. Yet it is clear, from a review of archival data and other primary and secondary texts documenting Oswego State Normal School’s history from 1861-1897, that women’s expertise and experience were highly valued and were essential in cultivating an ethos of individuality, experimentation, and unrivaled opportunity when compared with the era’s normal schools.

Authors

• William Jeffrey Davis, Southern Utah University

• Eleni E. Siderias, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Alyssa Getzel, Teachers College, Columbia University