Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-12-30

will give them something that they will
remember. be of use to them and will
be thankful for all the days.of their life
In closing wish. to ark; Has the school
kept pace with civilization? And NOW
permit me 10 quote from a prominent ed
ucator. AT certain stages of national de-
velopmcht. there is a natural training Of
the expressive or active powers which.
though desultpry.sis by no means fneffect-
i've i refer to the .trainiik which in the
result OF. active out-oE-do6i' life. especially
In the rural districts. The country boy
receives his training IN the hundred and
one small occupations about Che farm.
and the old-time mecipanic's son obtained
it in his fathers shop.
The conditions which once made this
natural training available for Il large pro-
portion of the rising generation are now
altered and the alteration goea on year
by year, with increasing rapidity. We
must hear in mind the growth of large
cities and our unprecedented commercial
and industrial development. The special
iZation of labor has destroyed one of the
above mentioned possibilities. ana the
growth of great cities is rapidly removing
the other. When the first national CEN
.sI:s was taken. in 1890. only onc-thrtieth
of our population lived in cities having
more than 1900 inhabitants and there
Were only six cities i'm the country. AT
the present time we have nearly 400 such
cities and their inhabitants number more
than - per cent. of our total population
and it is estimated that in 1915. more than
50 per cent will live in the cities. This
fact has. to my mind Il most important
bearing on our practical life and thus on
the public school
We must remember also that between
1850 and 1850 our manufactured products
increased in value $40 per cent. and the
number of those employed in factories In
creased t2o per cent. This. when inter-
preted. means that infinitely more people
than ever before. have to employ their
observation. their judgment and their ex-
ecutive faculty. and employ them accu-
rateiy. in the performance of their daily
duties For them. and through them for
all of us. the conditions of practical life
have changed and are changing. Has the
school responded to the new burdens thus
laid upon it? If it has not. the object of
manual training then is to help supply
these demands and to demand a more
comprehensive. broader and more prac-
teal training.
18th century demands practically. it de-
demands reality. ii demands that the OBJ
Scrvation the Judgment and the eXecu-
tive faculty be trained at school as well
as the memory and the reason. so that
the great. busy life of which the boy or
girl is to form part may not be wholly
strange to him her when he or she
enters il.
May the time not be far distant when
every municipality that has acquired the
requisite number of citizens to be call Il
city. provide for manual training in
some form for its pupils. both boys and
girls. Girls. did | say? Yes. girls. Why
should not they receive as good instruc-
ton as the boys? The future mothers of
country may not enter into its lesis-
iative halls. but their thought and char
acter will. 1t is our duty. therefore. to
give to the boys and girls of this grand
old State of Maine an education that rep
reSents training and character, so that
Maine may forever hold the honor of the
nation. yea. of the world that it now
possesses.
The consideration of the general sub
ject of manual training was concluded
by w Franklin Smith of Lewiston.
Mr.. Smith is the principal of the excel
lent school for manual training recent
iy established in his city. and his paper
was a most interesting review of the
methods of instruction employed. the
difficulties encountered. and the results
attained. thus far. in his practical
work He said:
Mr.. President: When Mr.. White wrot
to me asking for an account of the work
done in the Lewiston Manual Training
school | felt that he had made Il mistake
in many ways and by the time | am
through you will probably be aware of
them yourselves. There is an old say
ing. 1.-THE last but not the least. There
is also always an exception to that kind
of rule. Hence the exception in this
case on account of the short duration off
the school and therefore the meager re-
suits as compared with schools of longer
standing must be apparent.
First. | will state the problem confront
ing us in Lewiston. Two hundred and
eiahty-tive boys of the vi. VII. VII and
TX grades are given instruction once "A
week in manual training. Each class in |
its turn leaves the grammar school
building while the girls have sewing 1e.;-
sons and march TO the manual training |
building which is only a block away |
There they go into a building. fitted for
the work and whose equipment consis; $ |
of "a benches with about - tools on eac h |
and with a stock and lumber room whie h
contains the general tools: that is those
which are seldom used and consequently
for each kind only few. Each boy h; ) !
pocket or pigeon hole in which his |
work is kept when he is away. There be-
ing IA classes. eight of she vi and VII |
and six of the TX and X. the programme
is arranged to give thos7. of the two
lower grades ~. hour periods while the /
higher two receive two hours instruction.
each week. The work for the present
year will be entirely the use Of carpen-
ter tools and mechanical drawing and i
will be so until after larger quarters can
be obtained In which wood turning and
pattern making and other branches could
be taught. The courseseare mapped 50
that the more difficult models are given
to the older grades but each grade us, $
the same tools in the same order but
upon less difhcult problems than the I
grade above II The models are simple r
for vi grade than for "a IN The twot
older grades having longer periods cam
do more work accordingly than the
smaller boy. Not only is instruction given
in the use of tools. bur also instruction is
given in mechanical drawing The time
that each class has In the school year is
80 to s. hours. and in that time we must
do the most to improve the boy mentally.
physically and morally.
As | will explain later, part OF the tim