Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-06-19
EDUCATION FADS.
The Common Branches Not Sighted
in Our Public Schools.
AN N G LIS H EXHIBIT

Graphic Representation at the Franklin
building Of the Mental Training OF the
Children In the Public schools Of the
City-From Big and Little.
Perhaps now more than any time during the
year the attention of the public is called to the
public schools Of our city. The last day is near
at hand aud on Wednesday the schools will be
closed for the summer holidays. In the house.
holds where there are children attending the
public schools. and that comprises practically
children Of a school age, the topic Of interest
is the schools and the closing exer-
cisee. The head Of the house, who is
apt to hand over the responsibility for the
education of his children to the school authori-
ties at least for the greater portion Of the year,
and gives his entire attention to other matters,
is at this season conscious that there 10 such an
institution as the public schools. He gets this
idea from the talk he hears at home from the
youngsters, and also his attention is attracted
by articles in TEE STAB which, as has been its
custom for years past, gives what is going on in
the schools
PROMINENT BECAUSE RATHER NOVEL.
|. There are certain picturesque features of
modern education which are apt to be written up
at length in detail. and it would not be surpris-
ing il the hurried man OF affairs should get an
idea that the schools were mainly devoted to
giving instruction in these specialties. Such u
man is inclined TO the idea that q good deal Of
attention 10 pald to what il known as manual
| training. The products Of the carpenter shop
the machine shop, the sewing and cooking
school are given good deal Of prominence
and no doubt some Of the children in their
Talk at home convey the impression to parental
ears that the training OF their hands
is the main occupation of the public schools
made on the casual observer OF the methods Of
instruction adopted in the public schoola Any
one who has taken an intelligent interest in our
public schools realizes the relative importance
Of these useful features.
Az has been stated in TIE STAR, an exhibition
has been opened in the large hall Of the Frank
lin school building, where may be seen some Of
the results Of the manual instruction given to
the children. Manual training is by no means
a fad that dominates the public schools. This
fact is demonstrated by an exhibition which lie
being arranged in the large room In the same
building, which has been set apart for the
teachers library. Here may be seen the
progress which Is made by each pupil in the
schools in the acquisition OF the three branches
which used to be known as the three Rs.
III IOfIucT years, Uuu ~ uhb uOS Octn
long ago, either. that was the extent Of the
education that was given. Now that other
branches have been added il Is shown that the
instruction in reading. writing and arithmetic
is not being neglected In fact, IL IL claimed
that better and more thorough instruction In
the English branches is given now than ever
before.
AN INTERESTING EXHIBIT.
What is meant by this claim will readily be
seen by visit to the English exhibit, as IL may
be termed. which will be ready for inspection
in day or two. Arranged on tables which are
scattered around the room are specimens Of the
work of every child In the public schools. Be-
ginning with the first grade and ending with
the High School a graphic representation is
given By this exhibit OF the mental develop
ment Of the children Of the public schools.
The little tots in the first grade, who learn to
read and to write before their parents realize
that they know their letters. begin at once to
express In language their thoughts. or course
they don't know much about hope or ambition
do 80 much to perplex and complicato lie In
after years, and 30 they are not asked to ex-
press their ideas on these interesting themes.
But they do know what peach daisy is. and
so they are set to work to say something about
these familiar objects. 1t may not seem much
smooth and that IL he has four and gives Susie two
he will have but two left. But when it is
considered that the child sits down and ex-
presses in good English its ideas about the
fruit or the flower. and thus cultivates the
faculty Of writing about what he or she knows.
then these little papers with the characters very
much up and down and very round. and per-
haps little strasgly. and perhaps o letter
dropped out here and there, assume more sig
nifcance. The child knows what he wants to
say and says it. and then stops. His spelling
and writing the ability to express ideas, are
all involved in this composition.
MAY ALSO DRAW.
It il amusing to note that they are not salts
fed with the statement that two from four will
formula, which il simple enough and further
illustrate their theme by drawing o picture OF
four plums and then OF two plums in groups to
show the division which would occur in the
event that Susie received her share. They
thus begin In the first year Of their course
before them. The same practical idea runs
through the paper exhibited as the work
Of the pupils in the other grades
The theme. of course, becomes more complex as
the child progresses, but there is the same
power to express clearly in good English the
ideas that occur on a given subject There is
no attempt made to have the pupils write on
something that does not come within the range
of their daily studies. After while with this
training, when they get out in the world and
nave some experience with ambition or hatred
or the art of war or Of ar bitration, and il they
feel called upon to say something ON
such themes then the training which
they are now receiving to express their
thoughts intelligently and clearly will be OF
great use. But just now all the children know
principally is what they SEQ in the concrete,
They know about flowers and fruits and animals,
and they are cultvating the habit of express
ing what they know. When little girl or boy
five or six years Of age uses the word caiyx or
stamen In writing about flowers il il because
they are just as familiar with those words as
they are with the words cat and dog.
PRACTICAL THEMES.
1t Is interesting to follow along these tables
just as you would watch tho course OF u dsvel-
Oping human life and see the vario1s stages Of
progress. They are all as clearly defned in
these papers as II the children were before YOU.
But the system Of training remains the same,
and the same practical principle underlies the
whole In every grade the pupils write about
that with which they are familiar, and when the
work OF the last years scholar in the High
School is reached the prose in its vigoP aud
strength and the clearncss OF the thought will
rank these efforts in a grade with the writings
which grace the pages Of our best periodical
literature. That 10 ono thing that this
exhibition Of the work OF our public schools is
designed to show. Not that it is considered
hal al, ,,,Fo