Morning journal and courier., 1885-12-19
BOARD OF EDUCATION.

MT. Button States That a Teacher 1n The High School Gains Flesh by
 Short Sessions and MT. Graves
 Inquires How the Children are
 Benefited by Short Sessions.
 At a meeting of the Board of Education
 held last evening all of the members were
 present, Chairman Welch presiding. The
 Committee on Schools brought up plan
 which originated among the members of that
 committee, the plan being to inform pupils,
 after they had been in the training school
 for one year, whether they would be likely
 to make teachers not.
 Major Strong asked if the committee had
 any of the pupils now in view whom they in
 tended to inform that they would never make teachers.
 Senator Plunkett explained that they had no one in view, but that a vote might be passed so that it could be of future service, as there was no use in pupil wasting her time studying when she could never make a teacher.
 On the motion of Mir. O'Brien the matter ! was tabled.
 The matter of adopting Martins civil government text book in the public schools was tabled on the motion of Mr. O'Brien to ! give the members of the Board an opportun- | ity to see the book before taking action on it. Major Strong, of the Committee on School Buildings, reported that the cost of fitting 1 up the two basement rooms in the new school ! building on Gregory street would be about l $1, ,785.
 On the motion of MT. O'Brien the matter 1 was referred to the Committee on Schools to l inquire into the matter and report at the next meeting.
 Superintendent Dutton said that Professor | no1o ho6 fo1r al n :..l>k ! and Skinner schools and after school hours | in the afternoon instructed the class in carv- \ ing and modelling, and had a class of thirty I in each school, and that they took great in | terest in the work. Concerning the indus | try of manual labor in the two schools he ] said: We have eight classes who are mak- | ing rapid progress in this kind of work and ! would suggest that at some future time the ! Board have one room set apart for this kind 1 of work. Sewing has also been talked about, and think the Board ought to look out for I it as there are many people who would like | to see classes in sewing in the public schools. | If the boys are to have these exercises I l don't see why the girls should not als6 have some in sewing. The boys now have ! two terms in bookkeeping instead of one term, and the intention is at the end of two years or so, when some of the boys must leave, to give them certificates stating what work they had done. The character of the boys in the evening schools has much i'm proved and is improving year by year. The average per cent. of the attendance at each of the seven evening schools has been 6S. Concerning the shorter sessions in the High school. the four hour sessions, think they are much better, one of the teachers saying she had gained ten pounds since the four hour sessions began.
 MT. Graves-In speaking of the four hour
 sessions, Mr. Dutton, you spoke of the good
 it was doing the teachers, but not of what it
 was doing for the scholars
 MT. Dutton-I think the scholars are doing
 much better work than when they had the
 five hour sessions; this is what most of the
 teachers tell me.
 On the motion of MT. Zunder the matter
 of having class in sewing in the schools was
 referred to the Committee on Schools to in
 vestigate and report