Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-11-02

interior it shows the wear of time. The
woodwork outside is in sad need of paint,
and that Immediately, as window stills, win
dow frames and doors are giving away to
decay.
NEEDED IMPROVEMENTS.
In the interior the arrangements of the
building are such as to conduce to the COM
fort and convenience of pupils and teachers,
yet is susceptible of improvements which
can be done at little or no cost. First in
order, of course, is to make the ventilation
of the building more satisfactory. The
school rooms are furnace heated, and not
generally overheated, yet the atmosphere
throughout is oppressive, the rooms being
overcrowded. The only relief to the breath
laden, pestilence- breeding atmosphere OBJ
tainable is by opening windows; then cold
drafts set the children to shivering with
cold, which is fraught with diphtheria and
like dangerous diseases.
Ventilators could readily be placed IN the
windows and walls, in such manner as to
give fresh current of air to dispel the fog,
almost, which hangs about the rooms.
So far as neatness, from turret to base
ment, is concerned, nothing but words of
commentator can be written. However,
the building would be improved and brighten
ed up by thorough painting of the wood
work and cleansing of the walls and ceilings.
MoDE1 DISCIPLINE.
In arrangements for ingress and egress
the building is similar to the Madison school,
which has been described at length. The
means thus afforded for escape, in
80 ,tol
as it were, by the admirable control ex-
adopted in Diminishing the school,
the children into the building.
This may just as we'll be mentioned here
as elsewhere: The classes are dismissed,
one by one, from the first to the third floor,
the principal and teachers of each class SD
perintend their march in order from the
class room down until the yard is reached.
The children are not allowed to support
themselves up or down stairs by the stair rail
or to touch the wall !; no whispering or
showing or crowding permitted; thus the
children are seen into and from the school
daily in an orderly manner.
THE CLOAK ROOMS.
Referring again to the building: shutters,
cloak-rooms, closets, and such necessary
conveniences are provided. An objection to
the cloak rooms is urged in that they have
partition walls at the middle of each one,
designed for the use Of one class room only.
The removal of these partitions would facil-
itate the egress of the children, and some
| what conduce to ventilation. It can be done
at little expense.
With the exceptions noted above, the JEFF
ferson school compares favorably with the
Madison; the latter being improved ia con-
| struction from the former as model.
TIE SCHOOL FURNITURE.
! 4 noticeable feature detracting much
from the appearance of the school rooms, is
the abominabie school furniture, desks, etc.
in use. The desks are Of all sizes, shapes
| and condition: there are single low desks, high
single desks, low double desks and high
double desks. Children are perched
up at odd intervals over their
companions, and then again
| some child is dropped almost out of sight
by lowly seat which he is compelled to
| occupy, with chin resting on his knees al
most. While all this detracts from the
school rooms, it is equally source of in
| convenience to the pupils and annoyance to
the teachers. The Jefferson school has
| never been furnished with new furniture,
but fell heir to an aggregation of desks of
all patterns. The furniture looks old, as it
is, and ought to be replaced by suitable and
uniform desks.
THE EMBODIMENT.
The enrolment of the Jefferson school is
the largest in the city, and for the matter of
that, it is the largest school in the number
of pupils in the State. The enrolment for
the last month was III scholars, of
which number 692 actually belong
to the school, and of whom $50, at least, are
in daily attendance. The care, discipline,
management and instruction of this army of
children, ranging in squads of sixty all the
way in age from to Is years. is committed
to Prof. S. s. Taylor and thirteen assistants,
numbers and imposition of duty,
rollment of 1O5, is annexed to the Jefferson
So far as the discipline is concerned it may
be declared without further comment to be
excellent. The manner of leaving and enter
ing the school as cited above is fair index
of the decorum which prevails throughout
the school. This consideration enters into
and somewhat magnifes the COM
mendation bestowed. The element found
in the Jefferson school is different
in great degree from the material in the
other schools. The children are largely for
eigners, Swedes and Bohemians, and many
came to the school wholly unable to speak a
| word of English. In this lies the difficulty
| of exercising control, or enjoining system or
! order. The children are led to it, and learn
their first lessons in behavior and discipline
by imitation. With such material to
work upon, seven or eight weeks
of the school term shows an untiring
amount of patience by the teachers in ac-
complishing so much for the benefit of their
pupils.
The host of pupils in daily attendance ct
the school are in charge of Prof. Taylor,
who in addition to exercising constant
supervision of the whole school, daily
teaches at least one class, and is
quite handy to have in the house, when some
teacher has the misfortune to be sick. And
just here the observation is appropriate; the
wonder is that more are not oftener sick,
taking into consideration the bad ventilation
and the immense amount of work required
the average number of pupils to each teacher
being so. ....5...s. .., IT..
In this school the pupils are graded from
the First, or Primary department., to the
Eighth grade, both included.
Miss M. 0. Mckinney has charge Of the
Eighth grade, numbering 80.
Miss F. Minor has 80 pupils of the
Seventh grade.
Miss E. E. Witt is in charge of the Sixth
grade, IS pupils.
Miss S. J. Wits 'A'' class of the Fifth
grade numbers 80,