Sacramento daily record-union., 1883-09-08
SAN FRANCISCO LETTER.
GLANCE AT THE METHODS OF
PUBLIC INSTRUCTIONS.
Warm Weather and Bath-houses-Meettn
Of the Social science sisternood-
Dress Reform-Etc.
sAN FnAnc.seo. september 5. ISss.

san Francesca, September 5, 1888.
To any one who has reason to regret the
want of system or progress in his own
early education, or in that of youngsters in
whom he is interested. nothing could be
more satisfactory than the visit made the
other day to one of our primary public
schools. There were light and air, healthy
faces and straight backs, alert, interested
teachers, and system prevailing every
where. Il was two-story building with
ten class.rooms, each class occupying one
room, and the foundation Of all were the
four receiving classes" as they are
called, where children not yet sufficiently
instructed to take a place as regular
scholars of the eighth grade. are instructed
in the rudiments. No child under six
wears old is admitted to the primary
schools by rule, but some of the youngsters
are such tiny mites that one is sometimes
tempted to think that their parents are
open to the same accusation as the little
boy who made such remarkable statements
about his sisters relationships.
THE KINDERGARTEN SCHOOLS
Are designed to reach the little ones under
six years old but there is a feeling among
many people in favor,of the strict discipline
which prevails in the public schools. There
ale $50 children in this school, divided into
ten classes, the eighth grade being subdi-
vided into high and low eighth, an arrange
ment which mas met with objection, but
which is indispensable in this one school,
and in this particular the excellence of the
system makes itself apparent, as all lag
CARDS and lazy ones and minds below the
average are drafted out, and the studious
allowed to pursue the settled course unde-
tered by stupidity not their own. So in
the receiving classes, those who show a
disposition TO apply themselves are
to progress as they will.
IN THE RECEIVING CLASSES
The reading Is taught by charts. The
child finds cap upon the picture chart,
for instance, and is taught to associate the
look of the word with the picture, and
then to find the word upon chart without
pictures. The hill science of reading is
acquired much more easily IN this way, il
has been proved, than by the old, laborious
method of teaching the letters and their
combinations. IL was prettily illustrated
In Miss French's room by little fellow
much shorter than the pointer he used.
Miss French, most intelligent young
lady, Just graduated from the Normal
School, is the queen Of her class room, and
her good opinion is heartily striven for by
her young subjects. One, in whom she had
incuicated tAe desirabihty of wearing a
collar as the completion of his attire, ap
peared on the following day with two col
lars on, one above the other. Boys and
girls study desk by desk here, with the ex.
ception of the second high eighth class,
presided over by Miss Smith, where all are
boys, and with the difference that the lads
take more kindly to arithmetic, and the
lasses are more docile, the
LITTLE MINDS STRUGGLE on TOGETHER
AT pretty much the came average. The
graceful Principal of the school, Miss Lucy
Randolph, so favorably known as the &C.
complished representative of an old name,
and as an excellent instructor, in making
the daily tour of inspection Principal is
required to make, asked the yong men,
bers of one of the classes if they felt rest
less and unfit for study in the intensely
warm weather we were enduring. Then
the showing Of hands was all on Jhe boys
side of the room. There is goodly
sprnkling not only of Spanish and French,
but also Of the children of Ham there was
one Japanese boy, too, whose writing on
the slate was extremely good. The sys-
tenn of writing in use in the school was
new to me and seemed excellent Its foun-
dation was the placing Of guiding dots,
which where afterwards to be Joined by
straight lines meeting at angles, which
gave pointed and legible character to
page of the writing, much more elegant
than the rotuud corpuleuce OF the fine
writing of fifteen years ago. The teacher
showed in which way TO join the dots,
that is, an "a" should be begun from
right to left with the higher dots. Some
of the writing on the slstes was much
MORE PRECISE AND GEoMETRIcAL
Than children If that age could produce,
even between lines, without the dots to
guide their hands. When recess came,
trusty little boys were sent to gather up
and distribute the hats of their compan-
ions then all folded their arms and
formed in line, TO vigorous but skillful
drum-taps. heard without, and marched
to their play ground, little girls on one
side of the building, little boys on the
other, and, when play time was over, as
sembled in classes at the first stroke of the
bell. took of their caps and put them on
at the second, and at the third filed in or
derly fashion in at their respective doors
to the drumming Of young Ginsca, s
bright-eyed, rerious-faced italian boy |
about nine years old, who seemed fully to
the dignity of his responsibility. |
Some Of the unison singing was very
pretty, but, most astonishing OF all, the
sell. possession of little girl in one of the
rooms, who sang Scanlan's "Peek- a-bOo
song with appropriate gestures, a self-pos-
session only equaled by Draw Scotsman
of eight in the seventh grade, who sang
&" Comm THO the Rye" In the dialect OF
his native land, with verve to do Burns
heart good.
A NEW BATH HOUSE,
The iercely hot weather which beats |
upon the city this week makes the numer-
ous bath. houses popular, and one recently |
opened suggests what might be done for
the city in the way of a club bath.house.
were capital Forthcoming for the purpose.
This bath-house is clean and new, has a |
tank about 65 feet by "a, with a depth |
graduated from four feet TO twelve. The |
water is pumped up by friendly wire
factory across the way, and is said to be
constantly changing and brought from
goodly distance out in the bay. The
esthetic owner has suspendeded hanging
baskets of ferns and orchids from the rafG-
ers below the large skylight, and tropical
plants adorn a shelf at the end. The
dressing. rooms are numerous and cleanly,
some OF them only large enough for one
person; others arranged for three or four,
but just right for one person of a
LUXURIOUS TURN OF MIND
Or ample turn of body. Electric lights
also illuminate the tank, and there is no
bar, SO that certain grade of patrons is
not found. Stimulated by such excellent
suggestions the mind scars TO great achieve.