Aida Austin attended State Normal School (a teacher’s college) from about 1884 to 1887. In one of her several photo albums (courtesy of my mom) were photos of Welland Dormitory where Aida stayed, the school, Dr. Edward Austin Sheldon, and several photos of Oswego. There was also a letter that Aida wrote to Dr. Sheldon.
Dr. Sheldon founded Oswego Primary Teachers’ Training School in 1861 to prepare future educators to teach based on the “object teaching” methods of Johann Pestalozzi (1746 to 1827). Some of Pestalozzi’s Principles were still taught when I took education classes in college some 100 years later. You can read about those principles on p. 99 in Echo Hill and Mountain Grove.
