Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1893-01-14
FADS IN The SCHOOL BOARD.

sensible men of the Chicago Board of
Education are in revolt against the
outrageous waste and misuse of public
money on foolish fads.
The mud-pie makers are making a
hard fight, but public sentiment is
against them. The Daily News the
other evening published the following
on the subject:
"a gentleman who has an intimate
knowledge of the inner workings Of
the Board was disposed to be quite
bitter against the special branches,
or fads, as they are called He said;
The school fund is kept for the edu-
cation of the masses: the law cOntem-
plates that such studies shall be
taught as will enable boys and girls
to start out in life able to intelli-
gently engage in those vacations TO
which their intelligence may assign
them. 1t is contemplated that the
ordinary Misunderstanding. writing,
arithmetic, history, and geography
shall be taught. Now. it is
fact that certain members of
the Beard of Education spend
500, 600 per year in fads, luxuries
which are of no practical use to chill
dren in after life. The result of this
expenditure is to deny large num-
Der of children in the thickly popu
lated wards of the city the right to
attend school but half day and
thousands are denied the right of go
ing at ALL This is true particularly
in the Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eley-
enth, Nineteenth, Fifth and Sixth
Wards. Thousands of children are
kept day after day in atrocious,
poorly ventilated stores, rented by
the Board. for whose accommodation
no schools can be built on account of
the expenses of the fadS exceeding
the appropriation.
For instance, there is the fad
known as sloyd, which is simply the
making Of mud pies, and is taught to
thousands Of children in the Chicago
schools every day. The object of it,
it, supporters aver, is to train the
eye in form and symmetry. 1t is the
most idiotic and indefensibe fad that
ever disgraced an educational body
1t was used in Nassar College for two
years, and finally dropped because of
the ridicule it brought upon the col
lege. The champion of this nonsense
is Miss Burt, and it seems almost in
CT edible that at the last meeting of
the board an order was passed, upon
her request, for 100 barrels of mud
at 10 cents per 100 pounds, 700
pounds in barrel. There is $3.50
absolutely thrown away.
"'Then there is the physical culture
fad-Mr. Beebe's pet project@and
Mrs. Flowers sewing fad One would
scarcely believe it, but it is a fact
that the children are taught to thread
their needles and sew by count-One,
two. three-like an awkward squad
learning the goose-step.
Nov the secret Of the whole
thing is this, that those women on
the board have no conception Of
finances and do not know what ii is
to Oyerdraw the appropriation. They
keep on ordering his and that and
voting for everything that comes up.
Then the way these fads are kept up
is this: The committee on grounds
and building, has formed Il combine
with the 'faddists. Each votes for
the Others projects, and they thus
control the board, against the protest
OF such men rs Tom Brennan, Prcsl-
dent McLalen. Cu,ick. Beycll. and
Badenoch
There was q lively time over the
tad- at the Board meeting Nednos.
day night according 10 the Trmues
report
we have bad enough oI hlm loo.
corrupted Miss uurt at Che mcaIng
.ul the uari ut Edulf.Uu just aurr
ass Tnde bad ufp launched "a
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ttmmt .Nra. uul tmt sIuI
afu.s fuatHE .. I.r
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NHH Ia tH Uf N.
mI $3.50 InN M
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