The Washington herald., 1906-11-11
GERMAN EDUCATION.
another plea for the Practical In
Training Our Youths.
Eiso7 Washington Herald:

Training Our Youths.
E.Sor Washington Herald;
II this land IS wise. it viii take note of
the testimony. available on all sides, in
support cf that system Of education
which has helped moro Than all else to
make the German empire successful. Any
one who has watched the work Of the in
dustrial and Industrial art schools Of
Germany cannot fail 10 have noted their
helpfulness IN the life work OF the men
and women for whom they are intended.
One feature. one that never failed 10 i'm
press me, one that ] found everywhere.
was enthusiasm. Boys and girls went
willingly into the laboratories of the
schools. No leaden or tagging feet were
theirs. Wherein was the secret? Love
for the work, q work filed with facts,
easily correlated 70 and co-ordlnated with
life work.
There the teachers have a happy facul-
" Of interesting everybody in the room.
There is no dry-as-dust recitation Of
dTeary formula, bat active energetic. real
contact with facts and life. An excellent
feature of the work. IN many places is 20
toe found IN tho method o. dividing the
day into what one might call the theo-
reucal and the practical The morning
lo;irs are devoted 20 books and the so
called cultural side OF education. For
my part. / must confess % my ability TO
find as much of cultural value under the
biologists microscope, in froat Of the
astronomers telescope. in the soft EGe5
Of q bridge builder or railroad contrac-
tor or "a the marvellous manipulaioEs Of
r. well-trained cook as / find or>(evcr
found IN Homer OF Virgil. All DEPENDS on
the viewpoint.
How real the work Of the German
schools IS may be seen IN the fact that
many OF thu wares made by the boys and
girls are sold, or II not sold, are sent
home TO the parents of the pupils. II g
customary Ia this C1uuTy TO refer to any
new educational ideas rs fads Drawing
Is supposed TO be, and often Is referred
q a5 o fad. l wish Il We're "a my power
To make Americans see what drawing is
made to mean in European education, par
t.cuiariy In the heindCstTial, industrial art, and
technical schools. Girls who arc To be the
wives OF worElpen learn 10 design, meas
ur-, cut. and make ali manner Of gar
ments They are taught how 10 select
clothes, how 10 tra9t them both in making
On, washing. ironing. &c
No words would CveI measure the
amount OF good done in the drawing
classes. particularly ia those that deal
with the actualities OK the girls lives.
From the llssmblest % the highest grace
OK work ;hat Is tho work that will prob
ably or POSSIBLY fall 90 the lot OF the
girls Drawing Is regarded as an essen
tial element ia education. Il IS used 10
train the eye. the hand. and the mind.
Il girls mathematical sense Is surely
aided by the application Of drawing 60
her mathematics Her history is helped
by the outlining OF maps indicating COun-
tries.
An article Of this kind would b. incOn-
pletc We're I 20 omit q word about the
worth OF these SCHOOLS IL giving girls
fairly good idea o. the chemical properties
of foods, DC. This educational system's
application 30 the Kitchen cOmHends Il It
once. The value OF foods IS one Of the
subjects that comes In for careful treat
ment The girls get Il good idea Of the
nutritive values OF the various cereals.
meats. &c, and their relative contents.
Both the science and the art OF good
housekeeping are gone into with cous!1-
erable care. Timc Is taken not only "a
teach girls how to select foods, what TO
select. but now 80 prepare and serve
them.
The value OF cleanliness Is never neg
lected. Tho household economy possible
20 the people exercising care. 10 persons
educated IN the way indicated is enforced
both by prcccpt and by example. What
Il III means. in the homes of the people.
on The farm, in the factory workers home
is iucaiculablc Much that IS attributed
10 law. legislation. 6c.. Is due 20 the
home life OF the people. These schools
are turning ont girls who go into life
fairly well prepared 70 work, fairly well
prepared 20 he good hoUsekeepers, in
teiiizent m1trers, and actual nelpmeets
TO their husbands. The dignity OF labor
is inculcated. No false maxims are on
the walls or in the books. At all times
the girls so into an atmosphere as whole
scne as il Is cXhilaTating. In il the for
nation Of strong character IS not hard.
As far as an education can contribute
70 the making Of useful men and women,
this system is q success. Where it has
once been tried it remains. No power OF
earth could persuade the Germans 70 part
with Il. It Is as much \ part OF the ed
ucational system as are the sO-called aca-
densic classes. It is the most helpful pSre
of the empires educational system. i
succeeds better than all other parts or
correlating and co-o-diDating education
with life. Time and again I was told h.
manufacturers, merchants. &C, that the
schools would be supported By themselves
were the governments, stsJe and munici-
r pal. tc take away their aid. IN conclusion,
let me say that there are schools for the
daughters Of farmers. daughters of ne
chaniCs. and others higher graded FOR taa
middle classes. The girls OF the upper
classes learn in the kitchens of the leading
hotels Now, 1 must not be told to look
az the cieverness Of our women ard COM
pare First OF all, we do not live well, SO
far IS food is in question. Second. we
are a nation OF dyspeptics, patent medi-
cine flends, and Inconsistencies. We are
most abOminably ignorant of the value of
: the teeth, bath. and exercise. We have
I baths, il is true. in our houses. Who uses
them and how often? It is like our pianos
and music. Here every house has plano
/ or organ. How much real music have We?
I IN Germany every hundredth house, per-
I haps, and only perhaps, has piano or or
gan; but the entire people is musical
sings, plays lives, gets. and enjoys music.
4 But, after all, IL Is not what they are or
are not with the schools, but what they
would be without them: not what we are
without them, but what we would be with
them.
J. c. MONAGHAN.
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BUILDING PERMITS ISSUED.