Los Angeles herald., 1905-12-24

NV 7 schools of New York city girls
Nv ! are receiving the same education
VA as boys, there is at least one
wv public institution In which they
are being practically taught the
things that pertain to womens
part in life--housekeeping dressmaking,
millinery. cooking and launderinB-and
this, too while they are preparing them
selves for self-support as teachers, stenos-
raphers. bookkeepers or designers. Whdt-
ever branch they are taking Is OF tneir
own choosing. 1t Is all developed In a
practical way on the line of women
work for girls that shall be of service TO
them all their lives"
This, indeed, is the slogan OF the two
score of teachers of the Girls Technical
High School, which. beginning three years
ago in East Twelfth street with three
hundred students. has grown to two thou
sand two hundred girls. scattered among
four widely separated buildings. This is
because the city so far, has been unable
to provide a new one large enough to hold
tho membership, which, by daily increas-
ing work, demonstrates the interest Of
young women In education for life work.
That the instruction is practical. given
and applied on the spot that the girls
are treated as indIvluuals, and not aA
masses, nave been reasons for deVe.op-
ment In the work so rapid that the prin-
cipal, William NIcAndrew, and the teAcn-
ers lind 1t difficult to keep pace with the
demands. Instead of mere4y telling tno
girls how things are done, the teachers
arc guiding girls who are doing the
things themselves, whether 1t DC mar
keting for dinner, conducting tine Open
ing exercises, or dressing BABY. V1s-
ltor on entering a classroom II OFTEN puz-
zled to ind the teacher seated among ner
girls while young miss at tns ossk ~
asking the questions and calling UP Inc
students to answer.
I'm. is done 10 give the girl confdence
and 10 teach her now to manage wnat-
ever Is set tor her TO do wnen sac ieaves
school" So you Will be tolo by tns senior
girs who act RS usners when vlAleors are
10 be shown through the Scnool- II tS the
same in all the classes, academic or TECH
nicaL. Each girl Ia doing something; sns
has her own material and equipment. Inc
teacher moves about among the workers.
The girls are thoroughly In earnest. Ahsy
are ready to buy tho materials they USE
they wear the dresses they make. even tina
beginners in the cooking classes are en-
thusiastic enough to consume tho results
Of their earliest experiments.
STUDIES OF PRACTICAL VALUE.
Individual development Is never lost
sight of IN this scnool that began TO work
In this way in hv@- Very interesting IL
has been, too, for six months after IL was
Arst begun the whole work was changed,
everything tecnnicsI being eliminated anu
all students opllged to take an aoAoem4c
course, sucn as is furnishsd IN other
schools. As a person closely associated
vrth n aAd:--"Blology was substituted
for dreasmaking for siris VINO were meant
Ia earn their living az drsssmakera, and
Tho natural effect was that the girls
ceased to come.
Commissioners Henry Taft. Charles II.
Burlingham and City Superintendent Max
we'll favored technical school many years
Inn N a
president of the Board OF E'ducatlon. IN
1907, @ girls business and tecnnlcal sehoo'
was organized.
This was when the Wadleigh High
School was transferred from the ,TWeltlh
street building TO It's new one up town AM
three hundred pupils were lett IN the oIo
building las the after lie OF a Klri II
raralv that OF a man, way give ner
mans education IL she does not Wlsh H.
hut preteTs 10 develop herself upon nat
ural linesY' was the pertinent query maaS
bv the pioneers, and efforts were Deguh 70
and out II girls wanted to learn TO Do
houSekeepers or to study branches that
80 they might use az wage earners. That
IN .dris themselves wished to learn 10
cook clean. keep house, take care or chill
, dren: to understand how 10 keep tnelr
bodies well and strong, TO make thSr own
dresses, was shown at once py the lhf uSh
az pupils for the technical course. An
soaAanio course was continued for those
in the neighborhood who wished 1t, but
,ha technical girls overcrowded tho place
IN the first year many puplis h%o 70 DO
ant To a dilapidatsd old building in Grand
str"et totally unfit for use. but which Is
still occupied by them and In 1908 an old
h,iidine In West Bitty-second street had
80 ha taken into service. That being given
m later, the girls were transferred TO pub
lo school No g. In West Eignty-seeond
street. and now they have besides the two
ton doors of another school building In
Ssst Sixty-sixth street, all under one
mead but handicapped BY being scattered
over the city.
With the arrival OF pupils for technical
work an equipment was necessary. The
cooking class had nothing to work with
snd no money 70 buy utensils One Of the
teachers went TO u large department store
ana the managers lent bowls, spoons and
dlshes. Empty wooden boxes were also
sent 10 serve as seats, chairs being lack
ing. The gas company lent stoves, and
for months the girls worked as best they
could under all sorts OF handicaps. and
made progress, TOO, In the meantime