The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1903-06-12
MANUAL TRAINING.
A Meeting Was Held in South Side
School House nonday Evening
to Discuss this Subject.

There was meeting at the South
Side school. house M onday evening
to consider the question of making a
start towards putting manual train
ing in the schools of this city. Owing
to the bad weather the attendance
was not so large as was expected but
those who came seemed very much in
terested. Professor Baugher pre-
sided and the principal talk was
made by Senator Smith, who explain
ed the law and gave some very in
teresting Information as to what had
been accomplished in other cities.
He said he would send to the Pitts
burg school for some samples of the
work of the pupils of that school and
would expect them to be here by the
22nd of this month. when another
public meeting would be held in the
same school building and the subject
again discussed with the specimens
!. on exhibition at the same time, and
in this manner our people would be
better able to comprehend just what
manual training aims at and accom-
plishes. The idea in adopting man.
ual training is not to turn out artiZ-
the hand, eye and brain together, and
so get better results than by the pre-
sent system, which is devoted exclu-
sively to educating the brain. Under
the recent law The state pays part
of the expense of introducing this
necessary branch of education in our
schools and the law permits US to
make one mill levy for the purpose.
This would add so little to our bur-
dens that no public spirited citizen
could afford to oppose action in this
direction, and we believe if all would
take the trouble to inform themselves
as to the results obtained where this
branch of learning is taught not one
opposing vote would be heard in the
school meeting unless it was from
some person with some property and
no children.
Wherever this system has been
tried the people are enthusiastic ad-
vocates and would not let it drop
under any consideration. In Massa-
chusetts it is stated that the decrease
in the cost of criminal prosecutions
of Juvenile offenders is more than the
cost of mai intainiug this department
of the schools. This results from the
fact that boys are kept interested in
their studies for a longer period than
under the old system of cramming the
brain while allowing the muscles to
rust. Statistics prove that the per-
centage of boys who continue their
studies through the high school is
about fifteen per cent. greater where
manual training is in the schools. In
the tests made between the students
who are in the manual training de-
partment and those following the pre-
sent system it has always been found
that the former excelled, proving
conclusively that where the work is
combined the best results are obtain
ed. To our mind the greatest advant-
age in the system is that when boys
drop their school work and go into
the various walks of life to get u
livelihood, they take hold with a con-
fidence that is unknown to the boys
whose only education has been of the
brain. The manual training student
may not know how to do everything
but be has learned that he can do
things by trying-and he will try
and that means success.
Let there be a good turn-ou at the
next meeting SO that those who are
not familiar with this subject may
inform themselves, as this matter
will come up in the annual school