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College of Education

  • Eight women who attended the State Normal School are pictured with Principal Mortimer Warren.

The South Carolina State Normal School, 1874-1877

The new S.C. Constitution of 1868 stipulated that education in the state should be "free and equal" and available "without regard to race or color." As a result, the Normal School of South Carolina opened in Rutledge College on the University of South Carolina's campus in September 1874. The first students – 25 women and 7 men – came to prepare for careers as teachers.

Sesquicentennial of the SC State Normal School

The Normal School of South Carolina opened in Rutledge College on the University of South Carolina's campus in September 1874. On September 5, 2024 the Museum hosted an event to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the opening of the school. 

Alexandria Russell, Ph.D., W.E.B. Du Bois Research Center Hutchins Family Fellow at Harvard University, delivered the Witten Lecture and Jennifer Bartell Boykin, Columbia's Poet Laureate, performed an original poem. Samuel McWhite provided two musical numbers.

 You can watch the entire program on YouTube.

 

Reconstruction and Education

The new South Carolina Constitution, adopted in March 1868, stipulated that the “General Assembly shall…provide for a liberal and uniform system of free public schools throughout the State” in newly formed school districts under the direction of a State Superintendent of Education. The Constitution further stipulated that the state should “provide for the maintenance of the State University” and provide for “the establishment of an Agricultural College” as well as “educational institutions for the benefit of all the blind, deaf and dumb, and other benevolent institutions as the public good may require.”

 

An Old Normal

The term "normal school" is used in many parts of the world to describe institutions dedicated to the training of teachers; it is not unique to the United States.

Section 6 of the SC State Constitution required that, “Within five years after the first regular session of the General Assembly, following the adoption of this Constitution, it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to provide for the establishment and support of a State Normal School, which shall be open to all persons who may wish to become teachers,” so the need for normal schools in the US arose.

 

Learn More

Visit the exhibit in the Museum of Education (first floor of Wardlaw College) or online via Bloomberg Connect.

 

Support the Continuing the Normal School’s History

The Museum will sponsor the placement of a permanent marker to commemorate the Normal School. Hopefully, it can be unveiled in 2027, the 150th anniversary of the closing of the school. 


Your donation will be most appreciated!

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