Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-17
HAMPTON INSTITUTE
Three Hundred and Thirteen Teach
ers at Summer Normal
CONFRONTING THE SOUTH
Interests of the CoIored Youth
Under Consideration.
CAUGHT IN QUARANT II N E

Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
| HAMPTON, Va, August 49, 1899.
| The very effective quarantine which was
| maintained here for a week or two
detained about 100 of the 313 teach
ers who attended the Summer Normal
School. The real work of the school began
| July 5. and continued until July -, on
| which day the majority of those who at
| tended departed for their homes, leaving
behind large number to go Monday and
Tuesday of the following week. Sunday
| afternoon, July 30, came the startling in
| formation that yellow fever had appeared
| at Soldiers Home, and that quarantine
| had been established by Old Point Comfort
| against the home and adjacent locality.
Naturally much excitement prevailed, but
| in day or all were able to talk of the
| situa ton calmly. Besides these 100 quar-
| antined teachers there were on the school
| grounds about 200 regular students, in
| Guiding eleven Indians, pursuing their rou-
| tine work during the day and attending
school at night.
| Hampton Institute. The only fear known
| was that the quarantine officials in lifting
| the quarantine restrictions between the
| city of Hampton and Newport News might
not include the institute, which
strictly guarded by GORDON of students
and was kept in excellent sanitary condi-
| ton.
In order to relieve the monotony of the
| enforced Imprisonment of both teacher and
pupil the school band played every evening
on the spacious lawn overlooking historic
impromptu concerts were given in the
chapel of Virginia Hail.
Vir9inia's Quota.
This years Summer Normal School
| brought together 237 colored teachers from
ba pf nj al ba nth
! enty-six coming from the states of North
and South Carolina, Georgia. Alabama.
Arkansas. Tennessee. Maryland. West Vir-
ginia, New Jersey, New York, Massa-
| chusetts, Indiana and the District of Co
| lumbia. Among this last number there
were fifteen white teachers who are en-
gagged in the colored schools of the extreme
south. There were college graduates one
| from Harvard and undergraduate OF
| Yale; holders of medical, legal and theo-
logical degrees, industrial instructors, KIN
dergarteners. and primary, grammar ana
high school teachers OF city ana country
schools All had met upon common ground
for the purpose of increasing their peda-
gogicaI knowledge along the best and most
approved lines and to understand 1uily tne
proper needs and conditions of the southern
colored schools.
Hampton Institute is regarded pre-emi-
nently a fit place for such meeting
ground because. aside from it's situation.
! standing apparently with one foot in the
north and the other in the south, there can
be seen in successful operation here one OF
| the most important normal and Industrial
schools in the country, with an unequaled
equipment. and where the three great races
of American life work in harmony FOR the
proper adjustment of it's important prob
| lens. TO the teacher who struggles only TO
impart the dry facts of existence as laid
| down in text books this institute is store
house of knowledge. 1t is really an indus
| trial village, in which the students get I'M
| usual chances to combine commercial with
| technical training. Every effort IS made
| here to show that education deals not only
| with books. but with the practical affairs of
| life, and especially with those affairs of life
that will come in the future directly in the
personal experience of the great majority
| of its students and graduates.
Specific Problems Studied.
| The problems which confront southern
| life are the ones here carefully studied OF
| those numerous questions, social, economic
and Industrial, the one with which the sum
| mer normal has to deal specifically is the
southern school problem. To improve these
schools, both of city and county, the Hamp-
ton authorities say their teachers must be
given the rpest thought of the country in
| the matter CT educational methods.
To that end all energies We're bent by Dr.
Frissell and Prof. Browne toward bringing
| here instructors of high grade from some
| of the best schools in the land. The schol-
astic work of these instructors was supple
! mented by Hampton Institute opening her
| agricultural, manual training. trade and
domestic science departments to the visit
| ing teachers. in order that they might learn
| how to introduce industrial training into
| the colored schools of the south.
| AS a result of this experiment 100 tech
| ers. a tritie over so per cent, chose, be-
sides the regular subjects, Industrial
| courses. These courses were agricultural
tdairying) manual training, sewing, cook
ing, upholstering and business forms and
methods
The Dairy Interest.
Special attention was given to butter
making and the care of cattle by the lass
in agriculture, scientific knowledge Of
| which will be of incalculable benefit to GER
tain sections
The course in manual training embraced
knife and bench work. The Gaming of
chairs and the making of coucheS, mat
tresses and dvans was done by the class
in upholstering, while checks, promissory
notes and receipts were studied eagerly by
the class in business forms and methods
Seven of the sixty-seven in the sewing class
took drafting lessons. These seven women
are already industrial instructors. The in
structors in the industrial courses were
lected from Hampton's corps of teachers.
Another optional subject which brought
together large and enthusiastic class was
that of child study. Mrs. C. B. Dyke. the
instructor. has made and published many
original researches relative to the fears
ideals, superstitions and reasonings of near
| ly 1000 children. She brought to the work
fund of information and personality
| at once interesting and attractive.
| For the regular subjects Washington
schools supplied four teachers; Miss Louise
! Bartlett, one of Miss Denneys assistants
| in the primary department., in charge
| of the model school, and Miss Florence
Montrop of the Tyler building was the in
| structor in primary methods; Miss A. M.
| Cooling of the Normal School of the first
eight divisions taught English and primary
physics and DIR. w. Bruce Evans. principal
| of the Mott building. the instructor in
| arithmetic. Thoroughness and practicable
| ~ characterized the work of these Wash
| ington teachers, and it conceded that
| Hampton paid a deserved compliment to the
! excellence of Washington's public schools
| when she selected four of the eight regular
| instructors from that city.
| Glass Room Work.
| In the class room work the recitation
| system was followed. Three hundred and
| thirteen teachers were enrolled as pupils
marked for attendance and scholarship
| receiving at the end of the term certif-
| cate Indicating the quantity and quality Of
| the work done. One of the main reasons
| for the marking system is that the state of
| Virginia is expected to excuse from her