The morning call., 1893-04-17
SAW BIG BETSY.
How Mare Island Was a
Classroom.
Pupils of the Franklin Grammar
School Treated to Big Object
Lesson on Saturday.

The mastery way in which Vice-PrincI-
pal w. ID. Kingsbury of the franklin Gram
mar School carried out a bright idea on Sat
urday has further increased his great popu-
larity with his class.
He took the bright boys and girls of the
eighth grade of that school all the way to
Mare Island, where they inspected the yard
and the Monterey and had jolly time gen.
! orally, getting more ideas than a weeks
sehO0lroom work could afford. and Mr..
Kingsbury managed to treat his class to
this delightful outing without making it
cost them cent by simply getting enough
big folks to 60 along at 81 apiece to nearly
pay for the tug he chartered. The deficit he
made good himself.
This way of teaching something besides
book lore is becoming popular among pro-
gressive teachers and their pupils. Mr..
Kingsbury has made similar excursions
| elsewhere.
! Professor Ebenezer KnowIton. the scholar,
| athlete and humorist of the Lincoln Gram
mar School, has climbed with his boys to
| the lofty summit Of Mount Tamalpais.
| directing their attention TO the surrounding
geographical and geological conditions and
I lucidiy explaining them.
Il has also been the custom of MANY of
| the more enthusiastic lady teachers oeca-
| sion ally TO take out their classes for the
| purpose of giving them object lessons in
| botany, mlneralogy, geography. etc. The
| flowers in Golden Gate Park the minerals
| in the State Mining Bureau and the arehao-
| logical relics IN the California Academy of
| Sciences have thus been visited and
studied.
Such excursions ars in full harmony with
| the splrlt OF the modern education and
have received the encouragement and ap-
| proyal of Superintendent SWEET and the
Board OF Education. They tighten the
drudgery Of the classroom and inspire
| pupils with new zest for their studies.
AT 8 :45 o'clock on Saturday morning the
forty odd boys and girls, composing Mr..
| klngsbury's eighth grade, met on The tug
| Vlgilant, Captain Mccoy, and leaving Fol
som-street wharf sailed along the water
front past the Union Iron Works to
Hunters Point. Swinging around the tug
then crossed the bay, TO the east side of
| Goat Island, and Skirtng the Alameda and
| Contra Costa shores, went through the
| Straits of CarQuneZ, past Martinez and
| Benlcla, to the mouth of Suisun Bay and
! thence to her destination at Mare Island,
| arriving at 1890 p. NJ
The excursion lists landed. and while eat
| Ing their luncheon in grove near by they
| were entertained with a complimen tary
| concert by the marine band.
| A permit having been given by Rear
| Admiral Irwin, the class then spent some
two hours in the inspection of the yard the
| shops and the ships in the harbor. The
boys went aboard the Monterey, and were
| especially delighted with her armament and
machinery. The middies of the ship
showed the boys big Betsy" and ex-
| plained 10 them how she was loaded and
| fired. The dynamO-rOom also greatly
pleased them, since it was directly in line
with their recent studies in electricity. The
AibatrosS was getting ready for sea. and the
officers were very busy in answering the
numerous questions put to them by the
boys.
Returning from the island the Vigilant
sklrted the Marin coast, passed through
RaccoOn Straits toward the Heads, and,
after inspecting the line of the water front,
arrived at FOsOm-street wharf at Is p. NJ.
In coming through Racoon Straits on the
way home, Principal James G. Kennedy of
the Franklin Grammar School was drenched
to the skin by an unruly wave that dashed
over the deck of the tug, to the great amuse-
ment of the boys Several boxes of soda
water which had been slowed away under
the deck for the use of the guests were
discovered by the boys, who failed not to
celebrate the event. Consequently, when
the ladies and gentlemen became thirsty
they were compelled to content themselves
with rain water and Coffee A stringed
orchestra of sixteen pieces, under the
leadership of Charles Wggin of Oakland,
was aboard the tug. and supplied music
during the time the eXcursionists were on
the water, the class singing songs.
Among the prominent educators present
were MIR. and Mrs. J. G. Kennedy, W. d.
Kingsbury, DIR. Crook. president of the
University of the Pacific; Miss C0nklin,
Miss McClan, Miss Flynn, Miss Morton,
Miss Greer and Miss Susie Kingsbury.