, 1884-06-26
BLACKSMITH soHooLBoYs
Educational Project Under-
taken by n Factory EbrepaD.

Novel Educational Project Unaer-
taken by n Factory Foreman.
New York SUM-
Mosier's monday class, as it il called, has
been in operation for several years in the
blacksmith shop of Brewster 81 Co. s carriage
factory, at Broadway and Furty-seventh
street. The shop employs about 20 men and
twenty to twenty-five boys. Mr.. Mosier,
who is foreman Of the smithing shop, devotcs
the most of his noon hour to the education OF
these boys, or such of them as are willing to
learn.
Mr.. Mosier's idea comprised the preserva-
ticn, by exercise, Of what education the boys
had, as well as tine development of it and its
application to the prac .ical work of the boys
hfetimes - the art OF carriage building.
Merely by the use of tine few minutes
snatched from the noon hour the practical
benefit to the boys is now plainly visible. On
Mondays and Tuesdays the boys study arith-
metic. Examples are given on the black
board, and oral instruction, together with
book study. On Wednesdays they are given
technical Journals ON carriage building to
read. On Thursdays they read history and
ordinary school readers. On Fridays they
again read che technical Journals, of which
there are half a dozen now printed, relating
to carriage building. On Saturdays the boys
study and practice free-hand drawing, copy-
ing examples from the blackboard Each boy
takes home one Of tue technical Journals and
copies from it One page each week into a
book. These books are compared, criticised,
and corrected by The teacher.
As fast rs the boys progress they arc ad-
vancel to higher grades Of drawing, all lead
ing to fit them to enter the carriage draught-
ing school. In this way the boys become
familiar with the accurate forms of every
part OF a carriage. They also learn the pro
cesses of manufacturing the different parts,
including the painting and finishing, even to
the drawing Of crcsts and arnorial decora-
lions. There is q chance to develop what.
ever peculiar talent any boy may have. Tie
boys are taught simpl. bookkeeping by being
required to keep thetr own accouuts.
AS u stinulus Brewster & Co. give rewards
to the most proficient. Attracted by the
novelty md practical common sense Of the
thing, some of the contractors in the shops
hive given suitable rewards, ana a nuuiber
of pupils have been sent To the Tnirty-fOurth
street school. In connection with tue noon
day school Mr.. Mosier has established u
savings bank, where the boys are encouraged
to save u little, and are taught the benefit of
putting by something Tor a rainy day. As
soon Us a boy gets 81 saved MIR. Britton adds
a dollar, and that starts the young capitalist
with his bank account. Besides these ad-
vantages are schooling i'll parliamentary
usage and meetings at which the principles
Of parliamentary procedure are taught. Gen.
orally the boys take to the MONDAY school with
alacrity. The oldest is only II years OF age
and the youngest l3. They have no regu-
larly appointed school-roon, but congregata
at bell tap in tue iion-rooII where they sit on
che work benches, on the iron, or stools or
boxes, or wherever they can sit, and pore
studiously over their books or lessons until
the bell taps for them to return to forge and
anvil. The school has attracted much atten-
ton from those interested in educational ex.
perinents here aud abroad.