Teacher Training School
Original title: Escola Normal
History of Funchal's teacher-training school for primary teachers, founded in 1900 as a district school, converted into a normal school in 1901 and replaced by a Higher Primary School in 1919. In nineteen years it qualified 172 primary teachers.
Foundation and history of the school
The district school for training primary teachers was established by the decree of 10 May 1900. The need for an educational institution of this kind had been recognised in an island district (distrito) such as ours, at a time when there was already a shortage of adequately qualified teachers to take charge of the schools then vacant and of any that might fall vacant in future. In October 1900, 37 students enrolled, and the School began its work on the 10th of that month and year. In July of the following year the examinations for passing from the 1st year of the course were held, and 26 students passed. The first and only director of the institution was Dr Pedro José Lomelino, and its first teachers were Constantino Silvano Pereira, Francisco Augusto da Silva, Manuel José Varela, Dona Maria da Piedade Oliveira and the director already mentioned. The School was housed in a building on Rua dos Aranhas and always remained there; the Higher Primary School (Escola de Ensino Primário Superior) now (1922) also operates in this same building.
By the decree of 24 December 1901 the district schools for training primary teachers were abolished and converted into teacher-training colleges (Escola Normal). The course, which had lasted two years, was extended to three, and the Funchal School kept the same teaching staff and the same number of subjects as before.
The decree of 10 May 1919 abolished all the teacher-training colleges in the country, except those of Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra, and transformed them into Higher Primary Schools, one of which had its seat in Funchal.
In its nineteen years of existence, the teacher-training college of this city qualified 172 primary-school teachers of both sexes.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 04-
A decree established the district school for training primary teachers (Escola Normal) in Funchal, with Pedro José Lomelino as its first director.
-
The Funchal teacher-training school began classes with 37 enrolled students.
-
First-year exams were held at the Escola Normal, with 26 students passing.
-
A decree converted the district teacher-training schools, including Funchal's, into normal schools with a three-year course.
-
A decree abolished most normal schools, transforming Funchal's Escola Normal into the Escola Primária Superior.
-
The Higher Primary School was operating in the former normal school building.
Place
Places mentioned · 05
Abroad
- Coimbra
Portugal. One of three cities whose normal schools survived the 1919 decree.
Portuguese mainland university city where many Madeirans studied law or medicine, and where Padre Luís Gonçalves da Câmara taught and was rector of the Jesuit college. It hosted the 1921 academic table-tennis championship, and its dormancy and rainfall data are compared with Funchal's.
- Funchal
City where the school operated.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Lisbon
Portugal. One of three cities whose normal schools survived the 1919 decree.
The Portuguese capital, seat of the Relação court and of the Misericórdia whose privileges and statutes were extended to Funchal. Henrique Franco de Sousa studied at its Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and Luiz José Baiardo moved there in 1821.
- Porto
Portugal. One of three cities whose normal schools survived the 1919 decree.
A Portuguese city, where the 1820 liberal revolution began and whose district is the only one denser than Funchal's. Several Madeirans studied at its medical school or Academia Politécnica, and some lived or died there. The editor of O Funchalense Liberal was hanged there, and Marítimo beat FC Porto there in 1922.
- Rua dos Aranhas
Funchal. Street where the school building stood throughout its existence.
Rua dos Aranhas is a Funchal street named after the Aranha family who lived there, and was formerly called Rua do Dr. Chaves. It contains the Casa de Dona Mécia and a surviving Gothic house of the Ornelas family. It was the site of the Anglican church opened in 1848, the Escola Normal and the Teatro Esperança, and the São Lázaro gate stood at its top until 1904.
People
People mentioned · 05-
One of the first teachers of the Funchal teacher-training school in 1900.
-
One of the first teachers of the Funchal teacher-training school in 1900.
- Manuel José Varelab. 1874
One of the first teachers of the Funchal teacher-training school in 1900.
-
One of the first teachers of the Funchal teacher-training school in 1900.
- Pedro José Lomelino1864–1930
First and only director of the Funchal teacher-training school, where he also taught.