Waterbury Democrat., 1901-07-02
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Misses Ward and Hayden of
 Friendly League Make Request.

Misses Ward and Hayden of . }
 Friendly League Make Request.
 The board of education held it's regu- lar monthly meeting last evening and excepting little routine business and giving an audience to Miss Ward, su- perintendent of the Friendly league, nothing was done. There were present Messrs Hayes, Mcdonald and Kilmar- tin and Mayor Kilduff, chairman. Miss Ward and Miss Hayden appeared be- fore the board on behalf of introduce ing cooking lessons as part of the curriculum Of the public schools. Miss Ward said that in the public schools of New York and Boston such branch is already in vogue. The only danger of opposition, she laughingly remark ed was that perfect cooking could not fail to harm the income of the profes- sional members of the board and the profession in general for excellent cooking makes excellent digestion. She thought that mutual help would be given the Friendly league and the pub lie schools by such an innovation. By eleyating domestic science and educat- ing the young girl the women is un- questionably better trained to take good care of her husband.
 k Girls in domestic service, nowadays, think they are inferior to their sisters who are employed in the factory.
 Commissioner Mcdonald asked how long the course of training would be and he was told that it would depend The course in some schools, in most of them in fact consists of five lessons week for twenty weeks, or two uch terms of forty weeks.
 Commissioner Mcdonald thought girls of the eighth grade would make the better pupils. A girl in the high school he thought would be too far advanced, whereas girls in the eighth grade, most of them at least, leave school after graduating from the grade, and begin the work of the world. In New York, said Miss Ward, there are 10000 pupils taking cooking lessons and the system extends to Canada ana Europe. Miss Ward considered cook ing lessons far better than lessons in astronomy. The average girls she said marries and being q graduate of the public cooking school she is better able to take care of her husband and the husband, in return is the better able to take care of her. In Miss Wards opin- ion cooking appeals very much to the average man and good cooking is an antidote for home discomforts.
 Commissioner Kilmartin thought the removal of the pupils from the public schools would give q tendency to dis rupt discipline; it would undoubtedly lessen their hours of study.
 Miss Ward replied that a lesson would last two or three hours of the entire afternoon or forenoon. The ex- pense she thought for term would be about $600 and she hoped the board would recommend such an appropria- tion to the board of aldermen. For the first year she would not charge for the time of the teacher, but merely for the actual expense of the school such as the supplies, the man thing and the fuel.
 The mayor informed Miss Ward that the board could hardly do anything in the matter this. year as all the appro- priations have been made, but he thought the board could make special recommendation to the board of alder men for special appropriation that would cover the actual costs of carry ing out the idea. Miss Ward then thanked the board for it's attention and departed. Routine business was talk en up then after which the meeting ad- journed.