Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-12-20
KINDERGARTEN WORK.
VAST AMOUNT OF GOOD ACCOMPLISHED
IN SAN FRANCISCO.
Children Brought From the Shadows OF
Poverty and Crime to Bright
ness and Joy.

ness and Joy.
Sarah B. Cooper, President of the Golden
Gate kindergarten Association, furnishes
the following article to San Francisco
paper:
For more than half of life now looking
toward the setting sun Providence has d.
rected my labors into charitable lines, and
the interest in the work has strengthened
as experience deepened. The success of
what was styled kindergarten work in
Germany attracted my attention some
wears ago, and as studied the methods of
Froebe, the chief light of the system, be-
came convinced that judlcious appiica.
ton of kindergarten effort to the children
in the poorer quarters OF San Francisco
would paw in lives purified and directed
from criminal channels into those which
lead to responsibility and business success.
In 1879 was teaching Bible class of
several hundred, and one day l said to my
class, ~ believe in religion that does
something in this world" / told them
that "a religion that had everything for
some future world and nothing for this
world had nothing for either"
then outlined my project of founding a
kindergarten somewhere in the Barbary
Coast, and invited suggestions. The class
at once felt great interest in the cause Of
neglected children, and We Immediately be-
gan looking for suitable building. When
our search began we had but s. 80 per
month pledged for the support of our
school, but when we opened it, two months
later, on October g. 1879. at lie Jackson
street, in the very heart of the crime,
pauperisp,an drunkenness of the Barbary
Coast, we bad 81 900 year in good pledges.
The monthly sum sufficed to cover all ex.
psnses at that time, but not for long. We
could accommodate fifty children. but by
operation of that freemasonry which is
always noticeable among the little ones,
the news that bright, pleasant room with
attractive pictures and kind teacher could
be enjoyed for the asking soon spread to
surrounding households, and mothers
brought their babies in such numbers that
we were overcrowded. Professor John
SWEET saw something in the new work and
said to us, You go ahead and get another
room, and I will furnish you q teacher from
the Normal School, which he did.
We worked on the Barbary Coast eight
years aud there found that our labors had
exerted surprising influence. The families
from which We had recruited our school
had changed materially for the better. As
they saw their families so improved in
taste and intelligence by our teachers a
feeling Of mingled shame and pride oper-
ated to make the mothers desire purel
home surroundings, and they moved one
by one up along Pacific and parallel streets
above the concentrations of the Barbary
Coast slums. One mother said: There
isn't much hope for me, but there is some
hope for the children, and l am going
where we can have better surroundings
We followed the people and established
ourselves at 1881 and 1888 Pacific street
where we are now. The Produce Exchange
seven years ago instructed Us to establish 8
kindergarten class, which we did. Tina
class is still sustained by the Exchange
and is the only one in America supported
by commercial body.
The three original classes were m oved to
our present location and we have added /
fourth, the Lester Norris Memorial. Dur
ing all the years since 1879 we have beer
fecking the city with kindergartens, ant
we now have twenty four in the Colder
Gate Kindergarten Association, and ther,
are thirty. one others maintained in con
nection with various CHARITIES and publit
institutions. Petitions are constantly com
ing in from overworked mothers Begging
for the establishment of our schools, boil
because the mothers desire the education
of their children and because We care 70
them during the hours in which man,
mothers are compelled to go out to wors
In 1888 Mrs. Senator Hearst heard OF tn
great demands for these schools and volur
teered 10 help and the Hearst Kinder
garteu was organized on October 6, 1888, s
SD Union street. She was so pleased wit
the work that she founded two others a
the same place, and is now planning to eI
large her work and add branches OF manu
training for boys and instruction in hous
hold duties for girls as soon as proper locs
tons can be secured.
Another great benefactor has been Nj
Leland Stanford. On the death of her sc
Mrs. Stanford sent me $1,000 to put in
the work.
| at once started the Stanford Memoir
kindergarten at 1906 Mason street, on Jul
A. 1884.
Upon Mrs. Stanford's return from Eurol
she requested me to organize seven II
kindergartens. including one at MEMO al
one at Mayfield. At the end of our I'll
wear we had two kindergartens, with L
pupils and q revenue of 81, sos 70; now '
have twenty four, with 2, l33 pupils and I
ceipts of S31 ,667 "a.
Our work could be much broadeDed
the public schools were allowed to adm
children five years old instead of six yea
the present age Limitation. We take CD
dren of eighteen months of age and car
them up to six years, when they pass
once into the public schools. and in thu
instances prize pupils in the schools ia
entered them from our institutions.
As practical results of our work we C
note higher average OF cleanliness
sobriety in the neighborhoods about {
schools. The children are less given
petty misdeeds, and, in fact, of the 81
children who have passed through
hands during our eleven years IN the wo
but one has been arrested for petty otens
The grocers and fruit men near
schools often tell US that our children
good and do not steal. Our firmest s
porters are the solid business men of
city. Whenever we can induce tt
ough business man to examine our sys;
and its results we are sure OF another
tive friend.
We simply make the ever-present
ergy of the child constructive instead
destructive.
The vast amount of good which tt
beneticent schools have accomplished is
You'd human computation, for the in
ence exerted on these young lives Will ne
be known in this world.
One thing we do know, and that is,
these little children are brought from
shadows of poverty and crime into an
mosphere of brightness and JOY. :,
Bring more of brightness into the Ill
childhood, and you will bring NOR
virtue into it, for virtue kindles at
touch of joy"
new PUBLICATIONS.