Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-06-16

book teaching. reading, writing, arithmetic,
geography, philosophy, and few other
studies, is comprised the curriculum. In the
workshops there are no limits. A child
may undertake almost anything. The
book and work lessons alternate, so that
fatigue at neither results. The work
lessons are by divisions. Thus, one d.
vision relates to
SHELTER.
This includes every kind of wood, stone,
brick, iron and glass building Food ="
includes work in all kinds of grain, ETC.,
the stuoy of their growth, and the trans.
formation into food clear down to the
baking of the loaf CT bread, the refining
of sugar, and the extracting of nutri-
tious qualities from plants, meats, etc.
"Clothing" relates to every kind of APP
parel and its production, from the cotton
in the boil to the making OF the shirt and
the wearing of it from the Matching OF
the siikworm egg to the Keeling from the
cocoou-all is taught, explained and
exemplitied. the modelling" section
teaches work from modelling in clay, for or.
namentation of freizes and cornices to the
chiseling of statue or a newel-post cap /;
and herein, too, comes designing for paper,
carpets, etc. | saw here class of boys
and girls patting and shaping and cutting
moist clay, and working it up into beau.
tiful designs, sometimes, and more
times into very evident failures. In the
shelter department were boys framing,
brick laying, joining, surfacing, matching,
mailing, carving, turning at the lathe,
testing the strength of materials, stone
cutting, etc., in groups about their teacher.
You must bear in mind that these labors
are not great, the machinery not elaborate,
nor are all processes actually gone through
with, but in greater or less degrees all are
explained, and Just as far as the ability
of the society permits real work is
done. In most of the departments
cabinets with models are used, but every
pupil is encouraged TO take tool and ex
pertinent. In the machine department the
boys are taught how TO work metals, stand
at the lathe, shape, draw, join and work
out metals, clear down to the making OF
miniature steam engines There is de-
partment of mechanical drawing, where
boys draw designs, and then go to the
scroll saws and cut them cut, and measure
and adjust them. So in geometry, the boy
or girl is taught to draw the figures, and
then given card board from which to con
struct them. The girls are taught design
ing, embroidery, modelling, etc; but no re-
straint is put upon girl in learning any
thing to which her tastes incline her.
YOU MUST BEAR IN MIND
That the first grade cannot be reached I'M
til the beginning of the eighth year, to wit,
in 1883; so that now the pupils are only in
the third year from the kindergarten
grade. 1t is therefore as yet in part an ex-
pertinent. AS each year comes on, the
harder work comes, and the society will be
required to prepare for it. So at the end
of the eighth year We should expect, if the
system fails not, that the lads will be very
competent mechanics, and will be making
furniture, building cabinets, constructing
machinery, running mills, grinding flour,
building bridges, etc. At least, this is
what is looked forward to. The one thing
threatening the society is this-the liabil-
ity of parents to call away their children
before the system has been gone through
by the pupil. This, by necessity, must in
many cases occur, and it will retard the
work to a degree. There are things about
this school full of uggestion-some things
capable of improvement, some errors, some
false theories but there is so much more of
good in it, so much worth hearing about,
that have thought best to devote this en-
tire letter to a general view Of the scheme.