The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-24

vancsd English aud higher mathematics
was no less VALUABLE because in conjunction
with these branches she qualified herself
to give some instruction in nanUal work.
whether it would not be for the advantage
of this school to segregate the students OF
the academic and the technical depart
ments, that is to say. have them taught in
separate buildings: but public opinion
down here would not stand for 1t. The
and some others decided that the best inter-
estss OF the school demanded that there
should be no sharp dividing line between
the two departments.
And, so far as | know, the teaching
in the elementary schools does not encour-
age comparisons betewen mental and
manual labor 10 the ~disparagement Of the
latter
When the principal of an elementary
school in which most of the pupils have
well to do parents was asked whether the
dignity of labor was a topic often introduced
into classroom teaching, he answered, Not
specifC ally, perl q ~
But the fact that manual training, includ-
ing domestic science, now forms a part OF
the public school curriculum, is significant
of the attitude of the instructors toward
the value Of manual training. In many
of the girls schools a course in cooking Is
we have such a course here, and when,
as frequently happens among the richer
girls, a protest is made against washing
dishes and polishing up the stove, I al
ways answer;
You may get a transfer If you wish
to a school where there is no cooking class,
but while here you cannot be excused from
that period Of work
America has grown great because so
many of her boys and girls are trained to
work with their hands, and O. high appreoia-
ton Of hand work. Of manual training, is
peculiarly an American trait. The Ameri-
can, above all others, recognizes that the
one pure pleasure in life ia work, and that
hand work is delightful because the worker
may see the product of his libors, whereas
the brain worker often works on to the
end without enjoying the certainty OF leav-
ing even a mark on the mighty universe.
"In a country where every boy is taught
that he may one day be President Of the
United States it is not surprising that the
clamor for book learning should for a time
seem to drown that for technical training,
especially in large cities. The pendulum
one way as the other, but now it is coming
back to a middle POSITION.
Technical pursuits, it is found, are
generally the best paid, and when to teohni-
cal knowledge is Joined a certain degree of
book learning the owner is invincibly
equipped to capture at least a modest
competency
"Instead of getting way from a respect
for manual llbor and technical training,
Americans, and particularly New Workers,
are showing a constantly increasing APP
probation of their value, I think"
Said DR.. Hunter, EXPIRE sident Of Normal
College:
"The majority of girls I have come in
contact with, whether wisely or not, prefer
n classical education. Nevertheless, il the
students Of the Technical High School
entertain the opinion that ignominy at
taches to the name technical, they have
been misinstructed from some source in
regard to tho value and importance OF
technical training.
The Mass2 chusetts Institute Of Tech
nology, for example, is always quoted as
one OF the most remarkable institutions
of learning in the world. Walker, the poll
teal economist, and men Of that stamp,
instead of proolaiming manual labor
a derogatory occupation, plainly state
that they consider it one Of the most
honorable in America.
AS a matter OF fact all great inventions
have come from men who worked alike
with their head and hands and we're not
remarkable for scholarly attainments. The
great modern nations, including the United
States and Japan, long ago discovered that
their prospect ty depends in great measure