The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-06-12

the long vacation an imperative ne
| cessity. On several occasions has it
| become necessary to dismiss school,
even in September, for few days on
| account Of the extreme heat. Many
| children are taken to the country to
! spend the summer, and, as early as
May, some schools begin to be serious
| ly broken up by the removal of children
| for the summer outing. Happy, in
| deed, are the children who can con-
tinue their education through the sum-
mer, on the farm, or on the banks Of a
! beautiful lake. Their growth, in every
way, is always remarked by their
teachers when they assemble for school
in the fall. Their increased vigor of
! body makes up many times over for
| the facts which their memories may
not have retained during the two
| months and half vacation, and their
| contact with the actualities Of the farm
and the country gives them, not only
| healthy nerves, but increased power of
| observation and praise of judgment,
| and a store Of ideas of real things
which cannot fail to give new mean
| ing to their school studies.
The great majority Of children must,
! however, remain in the city, and their
needs should be looked after. That
| these needs would be best served by
shutting them up in school rooms is an
! idea which could not be entertained
for one moment by any one who has
| witnessed the torture incident to sin
| gle session of school on hot day.
The children Of st. Paul are pecu-
| liarly fortunate-even the poorest of
! them, who have Phalen creek, the riv-
er. the bluffs and ravines for their
delectation and their education. But
even in st. Paul, conditions might be
improved for the children by the es-
| Establishment of more small parks, easily
accessible, by the fitting up Of vacant
territory into play grounds, and. pos
sibly, by the establishment of few
vacation schools. in regions like the
| flats of West st. Paul, and middle and
| Western Seventh street.
In great cities the need for these
schools is coming to be considered i'm
perat1ve In one district of Chicago
1 Juvenile arrests increased 60 per cent
during the summer, and in such dis
tricts the long vacation was considered
a menace to the city. 1t is estimated
that it costs Is cents a day to keep
young citizen in the Bridewell-not es-
timating its moral effect-while less
| than 10 cents day cares for him in
vacation school,
| There is NO public provision for such
| schools, though the municipal educa-
| tiOnal commission, at a late meeting,
recommended that they be maintained
| by the city. New York has conducted
vacation schools since 1894, and so great
became the interest in the schools that
| they grew from three in 1894, to ten in
| 1897, with a daily attendance of 5000,
and this year the school board adopted
| them as a part Of the school system
OF the city, and appropriated $4,000 for
| their maintenance.
| The women's clubs Of Chicago have
| undertaken the work in that city and
! by putting the claims of such schools
| very strongly before the public, have
Id sxz4~ &s,or~
to the extent of contributing to their
support.
| According to g. circular recently sent
cut by the vacation school committee
| Of the women'S clubs, such school
| was first maintained in 1896. with an
attendance Of $50. while 4,G00, who fair
| ly begged for admission, were turned
away for lack Of funds to pay teachers.
The board Of education give the use Of
| public school buildings, and it is esti-
| mated that the cost of maintenance is
$3.50 per pupil.
| The vacation school is, in no sense.
a. continuation of the work of the school
year. No text books are used, and the
attendance is voluntary. The schco
| is open during the forenoons Of six
weeks in July and August, and the play
room and ground connected with it in
the afternoons.
1t offers to those who come to it, not
| Only q ICiuSc lIOIIl Tic SII ttt, Jul SA-
| pertaining Woodwork that is a pleas
ure, work for the hands, the eyes and
the spirit. Lloyd and manual training,
the drawing of beautiful objects, music
and the cultivation Of bodily energy in
gymna SUM exercises hold the joyful
attention Of the children. One day in
| the week an excursion is made into the
country-not a picnic, but an excursion,
where, under the care Of the teacher,
| the children are taught to use their
eyes to such good purposes that nature
and life: assume new meanin gS to them,
and when they come back to the city
| they find that what they never dreamed
of was right before tham all the time
Those who have these schools in
| charge feel strongly that the work
should be in the hands OF educational
experts, and they have invited a num-
! Der of such experts to undertake the
management Of these schools. These
| men and women have generously given
! their services and are devoting much
time and thought to perfecting the de-
| tails This body is known as the vaca-
| ton school board, and has among it's
members Profs. Coulter and Zeublin,
of the University of Chicago; Col
| Parker and Prof Jackman of the nor
NAL school; DR.. H. H. Belfeld, of the
manual training school; Miss Addams
of Hull house; Mr.. Gavitt, of the Chi
cago Commons, and Mr.. Carman, of
| Lewis institute. formerly principal Of
| the ST. Paul high school,
The schools will be conducted on the
! best educational principles, carefully
organized under the charge of a super
intendent who is to be a school prin-
cipal, and all teachers will be care
| fully chosen and well paid thus relev-
| ing the schools from the charity ele-
ment which is the weakness of much
| kindred work. Children from the kin
dergarten age up will be admitted.
In Boston, in Cleveland in Philadel-
| phia and in Cambridge such schools
/ have been conducted, but on less broad
educational principles than the plan in
! Chicago proposes. Their purpose has
! been; first, to keep the children off the
| streets; second, to develop industry
They have had such courses as cob
! bling, basket weaving, etc.-things de-
signed merely to occupy the child
pleasantly-but in Chicago the purely
educational, character building idea has
| been uppermost, and such studies are
pursued as have a legitimate place in
the public school system.
1t is barely possible that the primary
purpose of these schools may not be
the only one served, but that far
greater good may be. accomplished
that Of convincing the doubters of the
efficacy Of manual training and of
broader nature work in the building
Of character, which is after all, the
great work Of the elementary school.
PERSONAL.