The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-21
TEACHING HEAD AND HAND.
Comparative Results of Thirteen Years
of Industrial Education in Schools. !.
The Carpenters Shop at Gloucester-Hand-
work in the Boston Schools-The Indus
trial High-School at Chicago.
Written for the indianapolis Journal.

Written for the indianapolis Journal.
No school question is at present more agitated
among us than that Of making manual training
branch of instruction in the common school.
Some extremists maintain that trades should be
taught in the schools in connection with the
common branches now required, so that when
the scholar graduates he win be prepared to earn
his living as an artisan. Others. more moderate
in their views, would not undertake to teach
trades in school, aiming only to give that same
general elementary training in the use of tools
which the school books give in the rudments Of
letters. So far the different theories on the
subject have been put into practical application
to limited extent only. The agitation in behalf
of industrial education began fifteen years ago.
but it's outcome has as yet been pinched and
scanty.
One of the first experiments in this direction
in the United States was made in the old fishing
town of Gloucester, Mass Miss Marion Hovey.
of Boston, who is we'll known in that city as the
promoter of many good works, placed a sum Of
money at the disposal of the school committee of
Gloucester, in 1873 to be used for the instruction
of classes in carpentry. Under the direction of
practical carpenter a room Of moderate size
was fitted up with twelve benches, each fur
nished, in addition to the wise and bench, with
the following tools: A rule, try square, ham
mer, jack plane, jointer, smoothing plane, bit
stock, bits, mortise guage, mallet, half-inch
mortising chisel, one and quarter inch pairing
chisel, chalk reel, rip saw, panel saw, screw
driver, bradawl oil can. oil stone and bench
book At first four classes were held on Satur
days, the members being taken, from the two
upper classes Of the grammar schools The
course was arranged for forty lessons, the length
of each lesson being one hour. The Saturday
plan was found to have its disadvantages At
tendance being entirely optional, the lads after
the novelty Of the thing had worn off. preferred
their holiday to the hammer. Curously enough
six girls who had been invited to take the course
with the boys, were the only members of the
carpentry class whose attendance continued
punctuai.
In 1880 a new arrangement went into effect
under which the pupils in carpentry were al
lowed to take lessons on Monday, Tuesday
Thursday and Friday afternoons of each
week, two classes being instructed each
afternoon. Membership in the carpentry classes
at once rose from thirty to ninety six, each pupil
receiving instruction one hour, and the full com
plement of twelve members to class was from
that time maintained without difficulty. Two
classes and part of third were maintained
without difficulty. Two classes and part of a
third were made up of girls, an average Of thirty
damseis, thus extending the principal of coedu-
cation. In regard to their work, the supern-
tendent of schools, in his annual report for 1880
remarks: ''The work of the girls is equally as
good as that of the boys, and they seem to en-
joy it heartily" The stock provided for the
boards. both milled and rough. This manual
training school was not long lived; its results
were satisfactory but the city government re-
fused to support it after the funds supplied by
Miss Hovey were exhausted.
In 1882 somewhat similar experiment. was
tried in Boston. 1t was confined to one school.
the Dwight grammar school for boys, and two
classes of eighteen lads each received instruc-
ton in carpentry. Each class received one
lesson Of two hours each week. The conditions
of admission to the workshop were that the
candidates must be tall enough to work at the
benches, strong enough to handle the tools. and
studious enough to make up their lessons. for the
work done in the carpenters shop was an addi-
ton to, not substitute for, the regular school
work. This experiment was continued a few
months only, it being the general opinion that
it did not come at the object proposed in prac-
teal way, the costof annexing manual training
school to every grammar school in the city being
too great to carry out the ideas consistently For
three years the matter rested, but quite recently
the city council has appropriated s. 500 20 fit up
single large work room in central location.
to which pupils shall be admitted from any
grammar school in the city, being excused for
this purpose from attendance at their regular
classes half day each week. .
The next place after Boston the ordar AZ
time to repeat the Gloucester experiment was
Peru Ill, little place of less than 5000 inhabi-
tants. Here the work is still under way Two
classes of twenty pupils each are taught for forty
minutes each day, and for four hours on Satur
days. The ages of the boys range from eleven
to fifteen years, and carpentry is the only trade
introduced. A sewing school busies the fingers
of the girls, while the boys are at the work-
bench. Only two other experiments in manual
training of the Gloucester type have been tried
in connection with the elementary public public
schools. In Montclair, N, j., instruction in
carpentry has been given in the public school, In
New Haven, Conn, large basement rooms have
been fifteen up in two of the school buildings
and classes OF boys from any part of the city
work two hours per week, taking thorough
course In plain carpentry and manufacturing
many useful and ornamental articles. To add TO
the interest OF the course al exhibition was held
in April of last year for the display of boxes,
bookcases, wheeibarrows, towel racks, securing
boards and various other articles produced by
the boys. The four experiments described have
been essentially the same in object, plan and
result. Shop work of clean and pleasant
variety has been added to the ordinary routine
of school duties not by way of apprenticeship to
trade, but in the line of healthy, general train
ing something after the fashion of a gymnast
The idea of annexing workshop TO the public
school is a French one. That theorizing people,
who always settle question in the abstract ages
before they or anybody else applying solution
in the concrete, were discussing its pros and cons
century ago. Quite recently they have made
An attempt to put their theory into practice, and
the example which is continually referred to as
evidence of the disturbances and practicabiity
Of this plan of industrial education is that of the
Tournefort street school, Paris. This is a boys
public school of grade rather below our gram
mar schools, graduating its pupils at
about thirteen years The handwork ele-
ment was introduced into it in 1873,
on much more ambitious plan than has
ever been attempted in America Instead of a
single carpenters shop, the school was provided