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David Stow (17 May 1793 – 6 November 1864) was a
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
educationalist Education sciences, also known as education studies or education theory, and traditionally called ''pedagogy'', seek to describe, understand, and prescribe education including education policy. Subfields include comparative education, educationa ...
.


Life

Born at
Paisley, Renfrewshire Paisley ( ; ; ) is a large town situated in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Located north of the Gleniffer Braes, the town borders the city of Glasgow to the east, and straddles the banks of the White Cart Water, a tributary of the River ...
, the son of a successful
merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...
, he was educated at
Paisley Grammar School Paisley Grammar School is a secondary school in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, the largest town in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The school was founded in 1576 by royal charter of James VI of Scotland, King James VI and is situated on Glasgow Road. T ...
before entering the Port-Eglinton Spinning Co. in 1811, an affiliation he was to maintain to the end of his life. His early involvement in
Sunday School ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...
teaching led him to believe in the importance of effective training for
teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...
s at all levels. His motto was "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." A leader of considerable ability and energy, in 1828, Stow set up his first day school in New City Road, Cowcaddens,
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. Its success led to the establishment of the influential
Glasgow Educational Society Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. In 1836, Stow established a ''Normal School'' for teacher training. The name was derived from the French word 'norma' meaning a rule or system. The Normal School existed to train teachers not to provide them with an education. Stow believed that his students should already possess the necessary education and knowledge of the curriculum they intended to teach. The school attracted students and observers from across the UK, including James Phillips Kay-Shuttleworth,
education in England Education in England is overseen by the Department for Education. Local government in England, Local government authorities are responsible for implementing policy for public education and State-funded schools (England), state-funded schools ...
still being comparatively undeveloped at that stage. Teachers trained in Stow's 'system' were sent out to schools throughout the United Kingdom and the Colonies taking his approach across the world. Stow's school became part of the establishment and, following the
Disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of Sc ...
, a legal ruling of 1845 held that the school was part of the
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
. Stow and most of his colleagues and students were adherents of the
Free Church of Scotland In contemporary usage, the Free Church of Scotland usually refers to: * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), that portion of the original Free Church which remained outside the 1900 merger; extant It may also refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1 ...
; for this reason, they were compelled to resign from what had become state-funded teaching posts. Stow established a new college in Glasgow as the
Free Church Normal Seminary The Free Church Training College was an educational institution in Glasgow, Scotland. It was established by the Free Church of Scotland in 1845 as a college for teacher training. In 1836, David Stow had established a normal school in Glasgow b ...
.


The Glasgow System

The Glasgow System had been named "The Training System" by Stow. The system originated during the controversy over Bell-Lancaster method. Gladman, citing the British and Foreign School Society handbook, wrote "Failure occurred, as it always will, when masters were slaves to "the system," when they were satisfied with mechanical arrangements and routine work, or when they did not study their pupils, and get down to Principles of Education." Gladman goes on to write that Stow, a young merchant, who, in his anxiety to "stem the torrent of vice and ungodliness, turned his attention to the young," and established a school on Sabbath evenings in the Saltmarket, "the very St. Giles of Glasgow," in 1816. Gladman writes that Stow realised that the training of the street was more important than any individual. Adding to the institution Stow had started, he also formalised his method. "The Training System cultivates the whole nature of the child, instead of the mere head – the affections and habits, as well as the intellect." "The peculiarities of the Training System may be stated in one sentence, as – Picturing out in words, direct moral training, with suitable premises, and various practical methods by which these objects are accomplished, under well instructed and well trained masters or mistresses."


Legacy

* The David Stow Building of the
University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...
is named for him. *
Stow College Stow College was a college in Glasgow in Scotland. History The college was named after David Stow, whose primary teaching seminary was founded close to the college at Dundasvale. The first purpose-built Further Education college in Glasgow, i ...
(now
Glasgow Kelvin College Glasgow Kelvin College is a further education college in Glasgow, Scotland, which was formed on 1 November 2013 from the merger of John Wheatley College, Stow College and North Glasgow College. The college is named after the scientist Lor ...
) in Glasgow was named for him.


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stow, David 1793 births 1864 deaths People associated with the University of Strathclyde People educated at Paisley Grammar School People from Paisley, Renfrewshire Scottish scholars and academics