Early days at Mico College
importance : how it started : mid-19th century :
The first Normal School in the Western Hemisphere
The Rev John McCammon Trew
Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton
Daily Gleaner, December 14, 1901
[Editorial]
THE FIRST NORMAL SCHOOL IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.
The School Journal
of New York, of the 30th alt. says, as American papers usually do say,
that Horace Mann "founded the first normal school of the western
hemisphere at Lexington, Mass., in 1839." But the statement is not
correct. It is true that Lexington school was founded by Horace Mann in
1839, but it was not the first of its kind in the western hemisphere.
The first of its kind was founded in Hanover Street, in this city
between three and four years before that of Lexington. Its first
students were enrolled at the end of December, 1835, and it has been
continuously at work ever since. We refer, of course, as our readers
will at once observe, to the Mico Training College, now doing important
service for the West Indies in premises worthy of Lexington under its
new name even. It was founded mainly at the instance and through the
labour of Sir Thomas Powell Buxton, who saw that to make the
Emancipation Act, which took effect on the 1st August, 1834, a success,
the training of teachers in this Island, whether white or brown or
black, was a clear necessity. We would not in the least detract from
the honour due to Horace Mann, one of the great benefactors of the
race, but we earnestly desire to record with gratitude our respect for
the prescience and the practical wisdom of the strong man who carried
with devout thankfulness to God the Act of Emancipation in 1833. What
we call the Buxton Tower is not big enough to do honour to the worth
and the services of this Mr. Great Heart, the Impersonation of
Christian manliness and unconquerable will. When our wealth of
gratitude is greater, we will do more to honour his great name.
Meanwhile we must see to it that the honour is his of founding " the
first normal school of the western hemisphere."
Daily Gleaner, January 22,
1902
[Editorial]
THE FIRST NORMAL SCHOOL IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.
The Editor of the School Journal, New York, accepts in his issue of the 11th inst. the correction we made of his statement on the subject of the "first normal school in the Western Hemisphere" in the following terms :--
The DAILY GLEANER of Kingston, Jamaica, in a recent issue politely corrects the statement made in The School Journal that the first normal school in the Western hemisphere was founded by Horace Mann at Lexington, Mass, in 1839. The GLEANER says the first school of this character was established by Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton in Kingston in 1835. Its immediate usefulness was the training of teachers for the much needed work of educating those inhabitants of the island who had been set free by the Emancipation Act of August 1,1834. The school has been in operation ever since that day, and is still doing good work.
We
now add to what we previously stated, that the founding of the Mioo
Normal School took place more than a year and a half before Horace
Mann entered on his lifework as Secretary of the Massachusetts Board
of Education in June, 1837. During the autumn of 1835 the Rev. J, M.
Trew, who had previously laboured in Jamaica as a clergyman of the
Church of England in Jamaica left England for the West Indies, by
direction of Sir Thomas as Chairman of the Trustees of the Mico
Charity, taking out with him agents selected chiefly in the North of
Ireland and in Scotland to act as schoolmasters. The first enrollment
in the School established in Hanover Street, consisted partly of
candidates for training who came from England, and partly of young
men and young women found in the Island. At a later date Sir Thomas
in a letter to Mr. Trew said, " I am more and more
impressed with the importance
of normal schools. It is not only that there will be a great demand
tor schoolmasters in the West Indies, but I have a strong confidence
that Africa will, ere long, be
open to commerce, civilization, and Christianity; and there will be
need, indeed, of educated and religious black schoolmasters. The idea
of compensation to Africa through the means of the West Indies, is a
great favourite with me."
Further, Mr. Trew, referring to the early history of the movement to provide for the needs of the emancipated people, says Sir Thomas "always maintained the principle, and acted on it also, that the training of native agents was essential to a general diffusion of knowledge amongst the islanders (of the West Indies). With a view to this he advocated the establishment of normal schools in the most important of our Colonies."
These facts make it clear that Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton was not only ahead of Horace Mann in the establishment of normal schools in the Western Hemisphere, but abreast of him in regard to their place and power.
Nor is it difficult to account for the strength and maturity of his views on the subject. In 1810 when he was only twenty-four years of age, he became a member of the Board of Management of the British and Foreign School Society, under its original designation, "The Society for promoting the Royal British or Lancasterian System for the education of the poor," Three years later later a new constitution and name were adopted at a meeting held in Kensington Palace under the presidency of the Duke of Kent, Queen Victoria's father. The objects of the re-organised society were: (1) To stimulate and direct local effort towards the establishment and maintenance of schools; (2) To train teachers; (3) To establish kindred societies in foreign countries. This society opened the first Training College still existing in England, this was the Borough Road College opened in 1817, and re-built in 1842. It will thus be seen that Sir Thomas was early in life among the pioneers of Training Colleges in both hemispheres.
