The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-05-02
SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
The Way in Which Architects Can Aid
the SchoOl-MaSter.

SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
The Way in Which Architects Can Aid
the School-Master.
The Builder not long ago contained
paper on the planning of schools, by
ga headmaster," which, together with
many suggestions of value to architects
interested in the planning of schools,
contains the frank acknowledgment
that in the maintenance of discipline in
school, 1.-The architect can greatly aid"
the master, or ''can render good disci-
pline almost impossible" To accom-
plish the latter end, as he says, nothing
is necessary but to build all the class
rooms in line, connected by a narrow
corridor. which should be dark. and have
a few sharp turns in it. Then the
classes, to get from one room to another,
will have long distance to GO, and can
beguile their weary way by running
races, hustling, riots at the angles when
two classes meet, and private bullying
parties in the obscure corners, while, if
the corridor is dark, the ringleaders are
safe from detection. BY paving the cor
ridor with stone, the noise of feet in it
will resound all over the building, and
day after day, and year after year, the
echoes will roar their disorderly hymn
to the architect who did not know how
to plan school, and did not care to
learn.
The four chief foes to school discipline.
as 1.-The headmaSter'' says, are disorder
and noise, bullying, petty larceny and
indecent writing. Inside the school
building, the two former are chiefly pro-
NOTED by long, dark corridors. With
short, wide, straight and well-lighted
passage-ways, which can be supervised
at glance, they can easily be repressed
indoors, but the scene of them may be
transferred to the playground entrances
or outbuildings, and these must be ar
ranged for easy inspection. Every cor
ner of the playground should be visible
from the headmaSter's room and from
some of the class-rooms; the entrances
should be commanded, both from the
headmaster's room and the ianitor's Of
fee, and the latter should be so placed
that the janitor can oversee, also, the
lavatories, and observe every one who
enters or leaves them. The existence of
the third defect in school discipline may
be said to depend entirely on the archi-
tect: if he plans the wardrobes so that
they can be easily observed from the
class-rooms, there will be no stealing
from them; if he does not do so, there will
inevitably be pilfering and consequent
unharpiness. To meet the fourth evil,
Il oh hot no IN
number, light, and easily supervised;
and their walls, as we'll as those of all
lavatories and closets, should be lined
with glazed bricks or tiles.
Among the details Of construction, as
distinguished from those of planning,
which affect school discipline, the most
important are those which have to do
with the suppression of noise, dust and
foul air. The ideal room, in our head
masters opinion, would have an asphalt
floor, walls of glazed brick, and washa-
BILE ceiling, with no mouldings, shelves,
cupboards, or other projections to hold
dust, and the whole should be washed
clean every day. In the new Ecole
MOnge, in Paris, which he considers the
model hool-house, this idea is actually
carried out; and he speaks of seeing the
great school dining hall, just after re-
lay of boys had left their places. They
had been eating at little marble tables,
and, as they disappeared, body of serv-
ants carried off the dishes; then "a
mighty hydrant'' was opened, and ''a
deluge sent flying over tables, floor and
walls;' the windows were thrown open,
and crumbs, crusts, smells and foul air
disappeared in one gush." ''The win
dows were then closed, heat turned on,
and in few moments the hall was
ready for another batch of diners" In
regard to ventilation, he has never seen
thoroughly successful school building,
and there is no doubt that very few
exist, and nearly, if not quite, all these
are in the United States; but his sense
of the Importance of the subject is so
profound that he promises architects
that they can raise the efficiency OF
teachers at least one-fourth, and the
happiness of master and boys at least
one-half, if they can build school-rooms
which shall have pure air, and be at the
same time free from dust and noise
American Architect.