Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1889-08-04
A MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL.

A MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL.
An Interesting and Instructive Communi-
cation from Mr. ~. 81. Seamon, of the
ST. Louis Manual Training School
MISSOURI SCHOOL OF MINES. !
RoLLA, NJ, July 81, 1889. !
To the Editor Of the Register:
SIR:-It is with great satisfaction I eas
the editorial columns of the REGISTER
fsvoripg the Introduction Of the system Of
'Ia6ustrial Education" in the city Of
Wheeling; for rs I nave had opportunities
(from a connection Of six years with an IN
s.itution iu which the system prevailed)
for observing the practical workings and
some of the grand results Of the system, l
am deeply Interested in seeing it's extern
sion throughout the land. In addition 20
n Is interest in its extension, l am particu-
larly interested in whatever Will CON
tribute TO the growth, advancement ana
prosperity OF my native city, and l there
fore trust that few words from ne VIII
rot be considered ont of place, but will
serve 10 throw some light on The subject,
and aid your prsiseworthy efforts.
The Industrial system, or New E;uca-
,ion," does not propose to displaca the
odd Education" at all. 1t includes the
old. with the addition Of practical instruc-
ton in the use of tools, drawing, and the
sciences. There is no better method Of
developing and strengthening the memory
and the reasoning powers than the old
methods, but there they stop. The NEW
Education" by employing the bsst fea-
lures of the cid, accOmplishes the same
results, and IL addition thereto, teaches the
student to closely observe the operations
Of nature; gives him the reasons for the
changes he daily sees; expl aims the scien-
tifc principles on which the principal
manufacturing operations of the day are
founded; leads him to adapt the forces Of
nature to the demands of advancing civil
cation; and finally, By its methods gives
him the manual power 90 execute and de-
velcp the conceptions of his own brain.
The most salient feature Of the new edu-
cation" is The workshop, or place for In
struction in the common tools used in the
working of wood and metals, but the
drawing hall and the chemical laboratory
re equally as much part Of the syetem
as the former. It remains to
he seen whether the Industrial School will
supply all the wants of our civilization.
So far. however, il has been such an ad-
vance on old methods as to lead us to the
belief that it contains nearly sll the ele-
inents of the education required for making
a we'll educated man. 1t is common
event to find men, well educated according
to the old theories, who have in their
minds the rude conceptions Of ideas which
become worthless because they lack the
power to convert them into tangible forms
by drawings or models. Had they bse1
trained by the New Education" how
different would be their history.
Seemingly blessed above their fellows they
fail where, perhaps, a comparatively ignO-
rant man, educated, however, TO use his
hands and make good uss of Whatever
knowledge he has cortrived to pick up,
would develop the idea and receive the
Donors and rewards which would have
been due the other.
There is something more in the "new
education" than simply bOOk-learnlng, and
vet again it is not 1.-THE teaching of a
trade" Through misrepresentation on THE
point has come the only real opposition 70
its introduction in come places, and that
opposition came from tuoss classes who
would be most benefited by it.
1 have spoken of the system IS the New
Education. From this it might be in
ferred that it is untried. Such
is not the case. While the limits OF
this paper will not permit its his
tory to be gone over, desire to say that it
was discussed and prscticed in the sos TO
a slight extent, aud was introduced in the
city of st. LOnis in the year ~.
The ciay Of Wheeling, unlike every other
city Of any siz4 in the country, possesses
m high school This makes it an easy
matter to engraft the system of industrial
training on It's educational system without
Injury. but with great advantage to its
present established institutions. All that
Is needed is TO prepare a building III the
most accessible portion of the city and
equip it with the workshops, laboratories
aud apparatus needfu. The cost Of the
building may be made any reasonablesum.
and that of the apparatus may vary
really. Sixteen thousand dollars
would represent the cost Of all
tee apparatus and machinery required
for the instruction of 200 or $50 pupils. 1t
should not be less than tnst sum,
and need not exceed it. These schools
cannot be organ zsd without money, and
they cannot be carried on without gener-
Gus outlays for instruction. While the
salaries paid Instructors must necessarily
vary with the character of their
work, it may be assumed for pur-
poses of calculation, that 240 students
would require eight instructors whose
salaries would sggre gate from SIC, OOO to
Sl2 600 per annum. Is the city able t.
found and carry on so expensive system
of education even though lis results be &c
greatly TO its benefit? That question can
only be answered by its people. Pay 1t
certainly will.
In the cities of the country where these
schools have already been established,
there have bean many public spirited
citizen blessed with riches, who have
come forward and furnished not only the
means to erect the building and purchase
the equipment, but have contributed to
the expense Of carrying it on in whole or
part
The building of the Manual Training
School OF st Louis cOst................... $4,000
The Ia I34UU
The equipment. 1900
80 -