The true northerner., 1900-04-11


are instructed in cooking, laundry work
and everything connected with the home
life. After such training, each girl
leaves school a skilled seamstress, laun-
dress. and cook-the mistress of the
domestic arts and fitted TO make hap
py home.
In the meantime the boys are not
without their training, but are learning
business methods and forms in simple
way. Instruction in modelling and
drawing of mechanical forms and OBJ
iects is also given in the grades. When
they reach the high school they are
qualified to take up the more serious
work of learning a trade. They are in
structed in the knowledge of woodwork
ing of all kinds, of the machinist's trade,
of moulding, blacksmithing, and many
other trades. They, too, are skilled
workmen when they have received this
training. Besides all these, the bodies OF
the boys and girls are given an educa-
ton. They are carefully trained to de-
velop themselves physically in the best
possible manner.
The aim is to have men and women
we'll developed in every way, ready to
enter upon life's duties in earnest with
something definite to do. Is not this
worthy aim? | think you will agree
that it is 1t is better, believe, and |
have confidence to feel that YOU will
agree with me, it is better to have our
boys ready, if need be, to assume the
duties of life as skilled workmen rather
than otherwise. Again, | am sure you
will agree that the girl of to-day knows
too little of those things which go to
make up home life. We may 60 without
everything else, but we must eat and
women must understand how to make
food palatable and nutritious. There
will be less uphappiness, and fewer
crimes and divorces when the women of
our land understand these domestic
virtues.
But someone responds that our school
courses are already full to overtiowing
with work to be done True enough,
but this can be remedied. Do you ask
how? Let us consider, for a moment, Of
what our courses consist. In the main,
we find in our school curriculum Latin,
German, chemistry, natural philosophy,
Ohat is arithmetic, algebra
and geometry and many other subjects
Of equal value. | do not intend TO
these in any way. They
have their value in their own proper
spheres. The greater majority of chill
dren never get beyond the grammar
school, and hence their education is fin
ished without the higher branches Still
there are many things taught in the in
termediate grades which are of compar-
atively little, if of any, practical value to
pupils after they have left school. In
the high school we find that by far the
greater majority never attend college. or
what use are their Latin and Greek?
True, these are OF value as disciplinary
agents, but manual training is disci-
plinary in sense found nowhere else.
Might not the boys and girls spend their
time to better advantage than in learn
ing things they will never use? A
career is impossible to many
in this age of higher education. What
can they do? 1t seems to me that these
children might better shape themselves
for future usefulness during their school
courses. We all know that youth is the
period of life. What better
time could there be for fitting ones self
for his future? The only way in which
this practical end can be attained in our
schools is To lop off some of those
branches which are not what the major
ity needs and substitute the practical.
This can be accomplished by requiring
some such work in each course of the
high school and insisting upon its being
done 10y all. Only recently a father ask
ed in regard to his boy: DO you think it
advisable to push him along on rhetoric
and such studies, when his taste lies in
another direction and when he will never
use them i'm his after life?" | should say
no! But what are we TO do? Such work
is prescribed for us and we must require
it. We are not asked to prepare the boy
for life, but for college We can all see
the uselessness of such course for the
But you will say that this all refers to
city and village schools; but it extends
still farther and embraces the district
schools. grant that we cannot expect
to accomplish quite SO much, but there
are a great many possibilities ready to
be cultivated. Some of the strongest men
of our nation have come from the district
schools. it is our business. as teachers,
TO develop the latent faculties around us.
| see no reason why each and every dis
trict school cannot have practical instruc-
tion given. The time has come to use
every opportunity for the bettering of
Too many men sit down and,
folding their hands, wait for success to
seek them out. They find themselves
uncalled-for baggage" This is due, in
a large measure, to the present system of
and manual training is the
The demand to-day is for skilled labor,
and how are We to secure this without
training? The thinking mothers of our
state and nation are agitating this point.
Skilled labor is possible only to men who
have received practical training in boy
hood There has coua to ha N fool;n,,