St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1876-05-05
thanksgiving in the Public Schools.
BY AMANDA Il. HARRIS.

there was Il time Il few Years ago
when some of our more conservative
women. our good. old-ta>hioucd moth
crs. who were brought up to sew 10y
hand. began to fear that the sewing
machine would dIivr the needle almost
out of use. These dc;Ir souls were heard
Ia lament that girls were not being
taught the worth of this shining little
servant and companion of their sex. and
to predict that there would soon he no
more handmade garments. no more
''overcdge. and .'hcmmiug and whip-
ping. and over-ca>ting and telling" nor
even "gathcring" and workim. button
holes. since the machines could do it all
quicker.
How would all such have rcioiccd if
they could have seen that exhibition of
one of the public schools in Boston the
other day. when ninety garments. neat
ly and thoroughly made by little hands.
aud carefully "donc up" were placed
on counters for general Inspection! Hun
dredS of partial mothers. bright. domcs-
tie looking women. went Ia see them
and teachers and others who had long
been interested in bringing the thing
about. In the throng were many men.
who seemed to take as much pleasure
III looking at the garments as if they
were works of art, and who talked
cheertully about the shirt-buttons of
the future, and seemed to rejoice lis
much aS any that sewing was not to be
come extinct.
There have been some feeble attempts
tor wears to introduce sewing into the
public schools of that city, and one
teacher has persisted from her first con
nection with them, in instructing her
pupils how to make thciI oW garments;
and i'll some of the lower classes. where
there were no studies. il has been allow
ed. The subject has been before the
authorities repeatedly. and has ALWAYS
met with more or less opposition but
recently sewing has been introduced
into three classes in all the schools TO
one, the Winthrop school. having about
one Thousand girls connected with it,
was given permission to try the expert
ment all the way up through its several
grades. The plan has now been tried Il
wear, and has worked well. One teach
CT devoted herself to it. rendering as
many hours of service as the other teach
erS.
The work is cut out, if desired bN
the Older pupils, who also do the bast-
ing, although children may bring the
garments already cut if the parents pre-
fer; but liz no case is one ever allowed
to go ont of the building until it is fin
i>hed. Every stitch is done there bv
the child herself, under the oversight
of the teacher OF older scholar. Every
kind of plain sewing is done, the object
being to teach the girls how to cut, put
together and finish their own clothes.
In the ten or twelve large school
rooms of the building, each girl sat at
her desk engaged with her needle, ready
to have her handiwork examined: while
in the hall those of twelve or fourteen
were marking out, measuring and cut
ting by IL system. The garments (made
10y those from nine years of age and up-
wards) were III general underwear.
sacques, aprons, dustiug caps, night
gowns and skirts, some of them pretti-
tily tucked and trimmed; now and
then there was boys shirt among
them; they were in short, the kind of
useful garments Il mother would set her
little girl to making. Every stitch had