The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1903-01-09
WITH DAKOTA EDUCATORS.
Annual Meeting Of the Teachers 10 a
s|, Great Success.

Great Success.
The sixth annual meeting of the
North. Dakota Educational association
was recordb breaker in the history of
that institution. The attendance was
larger than ever before. and interest
was correspOndingly increased. Inter-
esting and instructive papers by lead
Ing educators took up the greater part
of the time during the three days ses-
sion.
The address of the president, w. E.
Hicks, of the manual training school at
Glendale, attracted considerable at
tention. His subject was 1.-THE Com
mon School Teachers Industrial Train
ing" The address follows:
I'm reflection upon the theme as
signed by the executive committee for
this address, I have thought of the
common school teacher as the county
superintendent finds her. You are ia
miliar with her environment, her meth
DDS and her results. She directs the
finishing school for 80 per cent of the
child population. You have studied her
mission with Jealous and honest pur-
pose, You have experimental in the
light of such educational doctrine as
the age has produced. It becomes us,
in these times, when the school admin
istration of the country Is succeeding
in the consolidation of rural schools,
that our wisest efforts be directed to
the unifcation of school courses and
school programs.
eve who are nearing two score
years have witnessed the enrichment
of the common school course, and the
correlation of the course, and the COM
mon school teacher has been affected
by these changes. Her preparation
and examination have been adapted
to the changed standard. She
teaches no better than she knows.
Many know as we'll as the examin-
alton requires. The state laws and
the course of study of the common
schools make little requirement upon
the teacher for an industrial education
Neither manual training nor domestic
science, as such, are mentioned, while,
happily, nature study and music and
drawing are given just recognition.
Yet the inference of the program be-
fore us is that the industrial training
of the common school teacher may be
worth as much to her as any other
training. 1t is something for school
masters to make such an inference.
They have long allowed the motor
nerves of childhood to remain dor
mant. Only book, intellect has been
recognized as function of brain sur
face.
each movement of a motor nerve is
manual training, whether it be the
fashioning of wood, or iron, or clay, or
cardboard, or weaving, or cooking, or
sewing, or drawing, or painting. Each
act involves corresponding brain
movement. These movements stimu-
late growth, and growth is what we
are after. With this view of training,
industrial or manual, our experience
teaches us that in some OF the common
schools of the state there are teachers
| attempting in a meager way to teach
some simple forms of it, as the direct
result of the institute work of the nor
NAL and grade teachers. These teach
ers' training schools are organized un'
der the authority of the state depart
ment, and, therefore, it may be said
that some industrial training is fos
tered in the common schools.
"Perhaps North Dakota is not
abreast with the other states in this
practice. From the department of pub
lie instruction, Wisconsin, we quote a
| fair view of what the state superin-
| tendents are saying to help the indus
trial education of the common school
teacher. Supt. Harvey recently wrote:
The normal schools of Wisconsin
should at once undertake the training
of teachers so that they may be able
to carry on the different lines of manu-
al training which may be undertaken
without special equipment and special
rooms If this training were under.
taken in the normal schools, they could
send out every year five hundred
young women who could give instruc-
| ton in these subjects in Wisconsin,
Granting that our common school
teacher has some Industrial training
and that the movement is greatly ad-
vanced in other states where industri-
abnormal schools are fostered, you ask
about educational doctrine. This is
what DR.. Harri ssaid in 1908: How
much does the school exercise the
brain? We should put the whole brain
to school. AS industrial training does
much in that line, let us have industri-
al training This brief statement en-
bodies the view of this great leader
and his eminent associates. The prac-
tice of providing hand training for the
common school teacher is founded
upon the highest educational authority
of the times.
"The work of the school may be
closely knit together, or it may be a
disjointed affair. The different studies
may sustain one another, or they may
continually pound against each other.
No one who favors the onrushing pow
er of the schools will underestimate
any form of training, either literary,
scientific, industrial or classic. In urg-
ing more of the industrial for the COM
mon school teacher, no notion is held
that the other attainments of the
teacher should be less or that they are
less important. Not less of grammar,
or arithmetic, or reading, or general
culture, but more industrial training
with each and every school exercise.
mot only let us be modest in the
claim of worth. Let us approach the
great body of teachers in practical
way, attempting only at first that
which is feasible. Let there be no
awe about equipment and materials