Decatur County IAGenWeb Schools

EARLY CURRICULUM

Graceland College, Lamoni, Iowa

In the beginning, Graceland's courses were divided into five programs:

Collegiate – with classical or scientific emphasis.
Preparatory - a two-year high school equivalency offering.
Commercial – business instruction.
Shorthand and Typing.
Music.

The school year was divided into three terms – fall, winter and spring. Following is a list of courses listed in the first Graceland College catalog, published for the the second year the college was open – 1896-97:

Collegiate Courses, Classical Emphasis:

FRESHMAN:	SOPHOMORE:		JUNIOR:	SENIOR:
Greek	Greek		English &	history
Latin	English		Medieval history	geology
higher algebra	Latin		Greek history	botany
trigonometry	analytics		Roman Republic	ancient history
analytics	differential calculus		Roman Empire	chemistry
botony	integral calculus		German	German
drawing.	botany		mathematics	French
	astronomy		chemistry	logic
	Greek history		physics	economics
	Roman Republic &			psychology
	Roman Empire.			Greek

Collegiate Courses, Scientific Emphasis:

FRESHMAN:	SOPHOMORE:		JUNIOR:	SENIOR:
trigonometry	German		chemistry	French
analytics	physics		English and	geology
botany	botany		Medieval history	mathematics
higher algebra	astronomy		biology	history
English	differential calculus		physiology	German
German	integral calculus		astronomy	thesis.
Latin	analytics		mathematics
drawing.	Latin		German
	Roman Republic		Greek history
	Greek history		Roman Empire
	Roman Empire.		Roman Republic.

Preparatory Courses:

	FIRST YEAR:	SECOND YEAR:
	algebra	geometry
	grammar	U.S. history
	English	general history
	physiology	physics
	civil government	astronomy
	physical geography	botany
	Latin	Latin
		chemistry
		drawing
		special study

Commercial Department Courses:

FIRST TERM:	SECOND TERM:		THIRD TERM:
bookkeeping	business practice		business practice
penmanship	penmanship		penmanship
letter writing	spelling/rapid calculation		business law
arithmetic (mental and written)	debating		rapid calculation
spelling (a half-period class)	grammar		debating
rapid calculation (a half-period class).			expert work
			(auditing books,
			correcting student work)

Shorthand and Typing Courses:

	FIRST TERM:	SECOND TERM:
	shorthand and typing	shorthand (dictation)
	penmanship	typewriting
	letter writing	penmanship
	spelling.	grammar
		spelling.

Music Courses

Music courses involved private instruction in voice and instrumental music, taught in the student's homes.

Normal Department

The normal department, later renamed the education department, was organized in 1903 with Ruth L. Smith the first instructor and Professor Charles B. Woodstock the department head.

A “normal course” had been listed in the 1896-97 catalog which involved a study of eighth grade branches in the first year and a review of high school branches in the second and third years.

In the spring of 1912, the normal program was chiefly an arrangement for student teachers to teach the children from Lamoni's Children's Home. In 1913, the Board of Trustees voted to furnish a suitable room for teaching those children and the Children's Home furnished the seats and necessary supplies.

NOTE: Graceland University expressly granted permission to Decatur County IAGenWeb to use photographs and materials for the sole purpose of this website.
Please, extend courtesy toward Graceland University and Decatur County IAGenWeb ~ ask before you "borrow" from this site. Thank you.
SOURCE: Goehner, David. “The Graceland College Book of Knowledge: From A To Z.” Pp. 68, 224. Herald House. Independence MO. 1997.
Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, February 2017. These pages have been updated and reformatted by Conni McDaniel Hall, October 2019

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