Daily Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1882-1893, 1884-07-23
MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOLS.
. ne Objections 20 Bringing the
~0ooks-and. Toels Combination ints
Our Puhlic schools.

ne OAjeetions 70 IBriaginx the
= Socks and. Tesls Csnbinatien into
Oar Public schoela.
[Chicago Times.
Facts are stubborn things, and il is
their disposition to crop out in school
reports where they are not wanted.
The statistics of Massachusetts,, the
home of Horace Mann, who inaugu.
rated the graded course and invented the
peoples college," show that 80 per
cent. of all the school children are in
the three lowest grades, and that the
average child receives instruction q
little less than four years. In Cleve-
land, where more attention is given to
drawing, music, and German than in
almost any city in the country, 90 per
cent. of the pupils never advance be.
yond the primary grades. In Chicago
the showing is not quite as good, while
the proportion of pupils in halliday
divisions is larger than in any city in
the world where public schools have
been established. The proposition to
reduce the time devoted to the study of
books or receiving oral instruction in
the common branches of learning by
one-half seems preposterous. So does
the proposition to teach trades to boys
and girls ranging from O to 10 years of
age.
What father, who is o mechanic,
would trust his s or 9-year-old boy to
use the tools he employs in his daily
work? In many instances the boy has
not the strength 10 handle them. He
would not be able to lift the tools en-
ployed by the blacksmith or stone
cutter. He could moi use the imple-
ments of the joiner, cooper, turner, or
carpenter, without great danger. Ju-
venile tools would he as necessary as
juvenile books for persons of this tender
age. Children who can not read and
do not know the names of figures could
not use measures. A workshop to
them would be nothing but play.
room, and q very dangerous one. The
manual-labor advocate would deprive
most children of half the opportunity
they now have to acquire o smattering
of few useful branches of learning.
The advocates of manual training in
public schools are careful not to specify
what trades they would have taught.
They probably see the absurdity Of at.
tempting to teach the trade OF the brick.
maker, the bricklayer, the stone-cutter,
the stone-mason, the machinist, the
blacksmith, the cooper, the plumber,
the brass and iron founder. the carriage
maker, the ship-carpenter, or the hat.
ter. Still these are the most important
trades and the ones in which the largest
number of persons are engaged. 1t is
hardly likely that the educational cranks
would advocate giving instruction in
the making of clocks and watches, vari-
Gus articles Of jewelry, cutlery, and
books. Some of them say that they
would give general instruction in the
use of tools and the working Of wood
and iron.
IN the present condition Of the me.
chanical arts . general knowledge Of
the use Of the tools employed to work
wood and iron is not what 10 wanted.
Particular knowledge and skin ID what
il required. II is hardly TO be expected
that boys ranging from 6 to II years Of
age have sufficient maturity of mind TO
determine which department of the me-
chanic arts they ere fitted for or desire
to engage in. Il 10 quite % difficult for
their parents o. for themselves to form
an opinion on these matters. Admit.
ting. however, that the children or their
parents have made up their minds, it is
quite likely that the trade desired will
not be taught at school. The boy who
desires TO learn TO lay brick or stone, to
cast iron or brass, to fit gas and water
pipes, to repair watches. or to make
thrashing machines would derive very
little benefit from working at o carpen.
ter's bench or blacksmith's wise. He
would be simply learning something he
never expected to practice.