English teacher preparation through the years

Abstract

The preparation of today's public high school English teacher is a relatively new thing. A study of educational history shows that the increased study of the English language has been one of the most important developments in the secondary school curriculum, and that the preparation and work of the English teacher have received considerable attention within the past decade. As early as the eighteenth century, reference is made to teacherpreparation in general, and in 1748, Benjamin Franklin2 gave attention to the teaching of English as he appealed for the establishment of a school that would teach what he called useful subjects. Later in the eighteenth century, mention was made of the possibilities of academies' including in their curriculum courses for the preparation of teachers of English. Butts and Cremin8 report that the middle of the eighteenth century onward the idea grew that one purpose of the academies might be to provide teachers of English subjects for the elementary The question of preparation of English teachers apparently received little attention in the early part of the nineteenth century. The effect of the War for Independence had its influence upon education, and particular disaster was brought upon the schools. The Latin grammar schools and academies often closed from lack of pupils, while colleges were almost deserted. In the period following the War for Independence the States were given the power to form their own schools. In spite of the changes which were made in education as a result of the War for Independence, the problem of teacher preparation still did not seem to receive much consideration.