The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-10-13

children whose parents were unable to give
them any advantages out of school, and little
care, these additional weeks would be a posi-
tive injury. The school room is cooler and
more airy and comfortable than many of their
homes, and its wholesome restraints are infin-
itely better for them than the vacant hours in
the yard or on the street. Something has been
done In sister city to occupy this unemp loyed
time.
PHILADELPHIA has been the leader in the
Summer care for children which is one of the
beautiful signs of the times. Philadelphia
started the Childrens Hospital, the Seaside
Home, the Sanitariuln on the Delaware, and
the Country Week, but the Vacation Schools
originated in Boston. They are intended for
the very poor. During the hottest months of
the year, when the children OF well-to-do par
ents are taken into the country or in their cool
and comfortable town homes are sheltered from
undue heat and exposure, and tenderly cared
for in every way, these little ones must roam
the streets if they would escape from the close
air of the tenement rooms and narrow yards
Many of their mothers are away from home all
day, at work, and the children are left TO
themselves We know well what awaits them
in those idle hours when the tender heart and
awakening mind SO susceptible to every inn
preston for good or evil are exposed to SO much
that is evil, and only evil.
The vacation schools do not continue the
work OF the city schools or train their pupils in
the same way. Their aim is to promote the
| physical and moral well-being chiefly, and to
| very happy time to these poor children for
whom life has SO few joys This is their i'm
| mediate aim, but it opens up far-reaching
| vista of good whose end no one can see.
| Surely you will wish to know who first con-
| ceived this philanthropic thought, and how it
| grew. Some years ago the Rev. Mr. Franks,
| Rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd,
advertised for young ladies to help him in
| Summer school for the poor children in his
| parish. Miss M. K. Very, young and earnest
| taao bar; IN, ba Hi1lcido T.
maica Plain, volunteered, and would have en-
| tered on the work at once but Mr.. Franks was
| called away before the time for opening the
school and the project was given up. But his
| thought had fallen like the seed of old, into
| good ground. Miss Very could not be content
| to resign this hope of usefulness and dweit up
| on it until she was constrained to attempt the
4 good work herself, and five years ago, in her
| vacation as public school teacher, opened
| such school in small chapel on North
Charles street. This she did entirely without
| aid She says, Every few knew of it, and / re-
corded only 48 names" AS the school was
| held in Protestant chapel, Roman Catholic
| parents would not allow their children TO at
| tend, although she assured them that their
| religion should be respected" In spite of this
| drawback the result was most encouraging to
Miss. Very.
| 1.-THE next year, as she felt unable to repeat
| her experiment without some assistance and
| could not secure the needed help, there was no
school. During the year she made the acquain-
/ tgnce of Mrs. James Brown who, becoming in
terested in this charitable work, entered heart
| lily into all Miss Very's plans and made it pos
| sible for her to open her school during the Sum-
mer of 1880 in the Anderson Street school house,
| whose use was given by the city. 285 names of
| boys and girls between the ages of and 10
| were registered, with an average attendance
of 60. An assistant and sewing teacher were
hired, and Janitor paid from the money
| raised by Mrs. Brown among her friends.
In the Summer of 1884, the school was con-
| tinued in the same place and 410 names were
| recorded with an average attendance of 90 the
largest number present at any one time being
100. The kitchen garden, in charge of COM
petent teacher, was added this year, through
the kindness of Mrs Hemenway. Daring the
same Summer another vacation school was
| opened at the North End. The first money
raised for this purpose came from some chill
dren in Brookiine. More was soon collected.
The School Committee offered the use of a
| school house. and the 'splay school" began its
session July 9th. The average attendance
was between 60 and 70, the largest, Sc. For
want of room many applicants were turned
| away.
There was another of these schools In Jamai-
ca Plain during the same Summer. This year
there were five in Boston, and it is said that in
| each the results have been most gratifying.
The Boston Transcript of Aug. 29h gives a
| very interesting account of the closing exer-
| cises OF one OF them, at the Starr King school
house, under the charge of Miss M. Smith,
i who teaches throughout the year. and yet as
| given all but one week of her vacation to this
work. In this school 200 names have been en-
| rolled, and the average attendance has been
| rs.
Last Summer, owing to the difficulty in OBJ
tanning teachers enough, Miss Very was obliged
| to restrict the attendance in the West End
| School to children between and IL, and as a
| consequence the attendance was smaller 253
names were enrolled. The largest attendance
| was so, the average 30.
AS to the manner of conducting the school
| Miss Very writes: 81 do not ask the children
| between and II years old to commit anything
| to memory during July and August. / allow
/ them TO whisper and move about gently. / try
| to N AXE them realize what privilege it is to
be allowed to come to our school, and find it
| very difficultto make a child go home before
the session closes. That is my only punish
ment. My only rules are that they must come
clean, and not use profane language or quar-
| rel. We sing the first and last half-hour of
| every day. We have kitchen garden work for
| boys and girls, Monday, Wednesday and Fri
day an hour, sewing Tuesday, Thursday and
Saturday for all, an hour. TIE other hour la
dies volunteer to come in and entertain the
children by reading, lessons in drawing, or
| kindergarten work. teach moulding with
| clay, and have in squares of colored paper, all
| the shades of all the colors; and the children
are delighted to be allowed to sort them. 1 al
4 so have sliced objects for them, and plenty OF
"St. Nicholas and wide Awakes" We
keep three hours, every day but Sunday, for
seven weeks. The first year the school cost me
| $50, the second and the third year $100. This
1 year we have nearly 800 for it,
| Last year, in the North END school, "only
| three boys were expelled for misconduct, and
i one OF them afterwards came daily at his own
| desire to do errands for the head teacher, to
| whom he was much attached" A very great
| improvement was noticed during the summer
| in the manners of the children toward each
| other and their teacher, and in their personal
4 nj, t.s1l,r -
| the Anderson Street school the contrast was
| very marked between the appearance of the
| pupils at the beginning and at the end of the
| session. They looked SO tidy and comfortable
that to one who had not watched them through
| the seven weeks it seemed impossible that they
| could be the class whom it was desired to
reach That means great deal when we re-
member the wretched homes from which mary
| of these children come. Who can estimate the
| influence upon these homes from the habits of
| order and cleanliness and the new ideas of
| comfort which the children get at school?
The Kitchen Garden isa rehearsal, in minia-
ture, OF domestic work. The boys and grls
| are taught how to air and make bed, how to
| sweep and dust room, how to wash clothes
and dishes, and the secrets of thrifty house.
keeping, and ali this is learned in such de-
| lightful way, with the accompaniment OF song
| and the piano, that it seems merry game.
| They have also little lessons in history arith-
| metic and geography.
1t has been estimated that Between 700 and
| 800 children arehn attendance on these schools
Physicians in the neghborhoods res ched by
| these schools say that there is less illness
| among the children since their establishment.
Is not that alone enough to recommend them
to favor.
The great difficulty in keeping up these
schools is the lack of teachers. The supply of
volunteers is insufficient and ought not to be
relied on. Miss Smith has had two schools
under her care this summer, Miss Very will
be unable to do anything more in this drec-
| tion,s as she is now in charge of the school in
an Orphan Asylum in Boston. Better to her
than any words of praise or appreciation will
be the knowledge that others are taking up
this noble work in earnest and are doing some-
| thing towards placing it on permanent basis
and extending its usefulness to other cities.
Public interest is not yat sufficiently reused to
| furnish the money to pay good teachers. A
member of the Boston School Board has held
| out the hope that if these schools should be
| continued few more Summers by private aid
the city will after that keep one open in each
| ward through the vacation; and this would
| seem to betthe right course, for as Aristotle
says, "No one can doubt that the legislator
ought greatly TO interest himself in the care of
youth; for where it is neglected it is hurttul to
| the CITY,"
| Eerlv in fha naet SuYnnar tho portIaud Era