The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-01-13

The modern built school houses in Port
land ara as a rule very creditable struc-
lures in every respect and very much
can be said in their praise. Yet the
school room itself, with It's long rows Of
desks and seats. and Its walls una5orned,
excent nv an occasional blackboard, is
not thing of beauty. There is little
in it pleasing to the eye or inspiring to
the mind. Within few years there has
come general recognition OF this de-
ficiency, in our progressive cities, and a
movement to supply it by adorning the
walls with works of art. In this city
the Woman's Literary Union have taken
up the matter and are now formulating
plans for carrying it forward. good
picture is distinct and powerful edu-
cational agency, and the adornmeht OF
the walls of our school rooms with such
pictures can but be productive or good.
There is risk of course in q popular
movement like this that good many
mixtures that have no claim TO ne con-
sidered works of art end whose eauca-
tional influence, if any, would be bad,
may be offered, but committee OF well
informed, judicious and firm persons
ought to be able to obviate all danger OF
this kind. Two years ago President
Andrews of Brown University in his ad-
dress to the American Institute OF In
struction treated of school house adorn-
mept. What he said on this SUBJECT we
subioin:
Turning now from mental and fmoraI
Influences that ought to be impressed
upon every chlldsand young person az
school, to the physical influences when
should surround them at the same time,
I would urge that every school should be
veritable palace. Let us have tha best
ventilation and light and sufficient anu
souable warmth; and let us make every
school room in all other particulars as
comfortable as it can possibly be, SO
TINT every moment OF presence IN scnooi
shall be for every pupil one OF perfect
physical delight.
Not Only the merely physical circum-
stances are to be made complete. but the
aesthet ic as well. In the study room,
teaching rooms, halls and stairways,
eyery feature should be made to reflect
beauty. Let every niche anywhere avail
able contain q bust or statue, perfect IN
| its kind, and Inning the 6nougnT OF
! the present with tho n0blest life of the
past. Let choice paintings cover every
wall, The building itself should have
complete architectural style-a feature
which need not involve the costliest ma,
terial, and which can be carried out witt
no greater expenditure of money than Is
needed to put up the unslghtly pile:
which now serve as school houses II
too many localities.
Outsideathe school house all should b'
| in keeping with thefsplendid inside. a
considerable park, perfectly laid out ant
tended, ought to surround the buildings
containing ample Fairgrounds. which
should be insisted on even at the expens
of the park Let flowers fill every bit o
available soil in summer, and let con
servatory provide a goodly supply o
them for the adornnient of the elias
room in the winter.
These pieces of art could be made help
full intellectually as well as aesthetically
they might be so selected that h1stor
could be taught from them, and also T
q goolly extent, geography. There
no better brief text for course in th
history of Greek philosophy thai
Michael Angeles painting, "The Schoo
of Athens Partly the paintings an
partly the flowers, could serve as tn
basis of an excellent parliamentary oours
in botany. On these features, also,
lis not necessary to dwell further, as tn
/ hints dropped suffice to set forth the sut
stance of my meaning.