Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-06-19
woEK IN PuRLno SCHOOLS.

| friend wishes to see sewing taugh
in the public schools of this city
In this proposal we see many re
concentrations, but we also forese
many obstacles; for example:
F'irst-We don't know whethe
our present teachers are good needle
women or not, but they were cer
tainly not selected for any accom-
plishment of the kind, and w
should have to institute prelimi
nary examination directed to tha
point before engaging teachers.
Second-The same objection oc
ours to us as to Miss Beecher. VIVA
are the boys to be doing while The
girls learn sewing? Miss b. solve.
it by saying "teach the boys too.'
Being rather intimately acquainted
with the CIarksviIle boy of the peri
cd, we are somewhat disposed tt
smile at the picture conjured up be.
fore our fancy, of seeing Miss Love
and Miss johnson teaching some o.
our big boys to sew. Still the pro-
position deserves consideration, and
we gladly give publicity to it
SEWING, CUTTING AND FITTING.
The customs of the American
people are more cOnfOrmed to those
principles of the Christian family
state which demand protecting care
for the weaker members, than those
of any other nation. Nowhere is
this fact more apparent than in the
division of labor to the boys and
girls of one family. The outdoor
work, all that is most disagreeable,
and the heaviest labor is taken by
the boys, while the indoor family
work is reserved for the girls. OF
this indoor labor part is seden-
tary, such as sewing, and part is
light labor, such as dish washing,
cooking, sweeping, dusting and
general care of the house. The
laundry gives the hardest woman s
work; but this is not daily, nor SO
severe as the outdoor employments
of men, while it can be so divided
among several women, or be soreg-
ulated in various ways, as never to
involve excessive labor. Young
women wash and iron, as daily
business, six and eight hours day,
and vet continue healthful and
cheerful. Such is the distinctive
construction of wOman's form, that
labor with the muscles of the arms
and trunk, such as is demanded in
washing and ironing, is peculiarly
favorable to the perfect develop
ment and support of the most deli
cate and most important portion OF
her body.
But While the general arrange
ments of family labor have been
cOnformed to the true Christian
principle, there have been certain
extremes in our customs which it is
important to remedy. This is often
exhibited in houses when the men,
bers of a family assemble in an
evening, and the girls all have some
useful employment of the hands,
while the boys look on and do moth
ing. ~ s.4 s
Again, at other times, we see bro
ken locks, windows unglaZed, and
needing repair, all making
necessary a kind of work women
could easily perform, and yet left
neglected because the men do not
find time or are unskilled for the
performance. In a country like
ours, the emergencies of the family
state often demand the exchange of
the ordinary labor Of men and
women. Frequently, in newer set
Elements, no servants can be found,
while the wife and mother is con-
fined by sickness. In such emer-
gencies, skill in performing wOman'S
work is great blessing to a man
and his family. So the soldiers,
sailors and engineers and all rowing
men need the skill of the needle that
preserves clothing from waste. In
our late war, millions would have
been saved had all the soldiers been
taught to sew in their bOyh0Od.
In this view of the case, industrial
schools, to teach both boys and girls
all the economic skill of the family
state, are of great Importance, and
a department for this purpose should
be connected with every school,
the public schools, where
most of the children will earn their
own livelihood and be exposed to
many chances of a rowing life.
Attempts have been made to in-
troduce sewing into public schools,
and usually with little or no success,
from many combining difficulties.
One of them arises from the in
creased number of classes for this
purpose; which would be relieved
by having boys taught to sew in the
same class with girls. Another diff
ficulty has been the providing of
materials for sewing and the previ-
Gus cutting and fitting needed,
which the parents refuse to supply.
A method which meets these and
other difficulties, and. which has
been successfully tried in industrial
schools in England, will now be de-
scribed.
Let a fund be provided by school
officers, or by contribution, to pro-
vide needles, thread, scissors and
OF various sizes, and place
them in the care of the teacher. Let
two half-days of the week be de-
voted to this and other industrial
emplOyments, giving as a reward
for success in careful, neat and quick
accomplishment of the duties, the
time left beyond that used in the
task as holiday hours.
Let the first lesson be the use of
scissors, in cutting straight slips of
newspaper, thus training the eye
and fingers to expert measurement
and motion. Whoever excels in
the performance of the allotted task
i'm less than the allotted time is to be
rewarded with the time, thus gained,
for play.
Next, let the class cut broad strips
of paper, and practice doubling
them in hem, first narrow and
then broad. This also cultivates
the eyes and trains the fingers.
Then give a lesson to teach the
use of the thjmRle, using q needle
without thread, and paper slips to
set the needle through,
Let the class now have pieces of
cheap and thin unbleached cotton,
and cut off from it strips two inches
wide, being directed to cut by a
thread. At first thread may be
drawn to guide the eye. Then these
strips are to be cut into pieces five
or six inches long, turned down and
pinched to prepare for aVeFsewipg,
and then put together and basted
with a needle and thread, the teach