This Week in Colorado History: Education for students and teachers

The Colorado School of Mines announced this week in 1912 that it would be offering summer courses to benefit both current and prospective students. According to “The Colorado Transcript” of March 21, 1912, the courses offered would be, “Preparatory mathematics, algebra, trigonometry, analytic geometry, calculus, mechanics of engineering, general chemistry, qualitative analysis, assaying, descriptive geometry, [and] machine design.” The Transcript supported the plan and predicted others would as well. Academics were not CSM’s only concern in the spring of 1912, as the athletic programs received attention as well. “The Colorado Transcript” was especially optimistic about the baseball and track teams as one man, William E. Johnston, was “looking forward to the most successful season in spring athletics that the school has ever known.”

In baseball, the bulk of the previous year’s team was returning, but many newcomers offered exciting prospects as well. The Transcript counted about thirty students who had experience with the sport, making successful freshmen and varsity teams a possibility. According to the Transcript, the baseball team would “give all its opponents a hard run and be a credit to the school.”

1912 also marked the organization of one of the schools earliest track teams, featuring twenty-five runners. The team planned to compete in seven meets against such competition as University of Colorado at Boulder, Agricultural College (Colorado State University), Colorado College, and Denver University. The Transcript argued that the track team would “put a squad in the field that will make them all hustle.”
For those interested in education, March 21-23 offered a chance for teachers to begin their careers, so long as they passed the teacher’s examination. Elizabeth Hemberger, Superintendent of Jefferson County Schools, issued an official announcement stating that regular teacher’s examinations were to occur at the Court House on Thursday and Friday and that the high school exams would follow on Saturday, March 23, 1912.