The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1906-04-05
MAKE FINE EXHIBIT,
Denison Schools Show Great
Advancement.
EXHIBIT ATTRACTS MANY.
Manual Training Department Finds
Favor and is Pronounced Sue
cess bv ALL

The school exhibit given on FRIDAY
atternon and evening at the High
School building was greatly enjoyed by
all the xpatrons. There were no re-
freshments and no program, so that
the attention was not diverted from
the examination of the work of the
pupils. 1t is not to be- denied that
the refreshments and the program were
pleasant features of former exhibits
but they entailed vast amount of
work and no little expense on the
part of the teachers and served to
take the attention of at least a por-
tion of the schools away from their
regular work.
The assembly room of the high
school was filled with the work of the
pupils, not the "show" work but the
ordinary. every day work of the pupils,
and the papers showed the teachers
markings and corrections so that each
parent might see just how their be-
loved little ones were doing.
The exhibit had personal interest
for us this year which it has never
had before. We speak of it not be-
cause we believe our feelings were
unique, but because they were typical
of the thoughts and interest of every
parent present. There were thousands
of papers in the room, hundreds of
drawings, exercises uncountable but
we must confess that they had no in
terest for us until we had seen the
work ofsone little pair of hands.
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
The der little hands. So short a
time ago fresh from their dollies
and their mud pies; and now, even now
beginning the work of life. We
saw the little hat that he had folded,
the clock that he had made, the per-
fectly beautiful poster that hung up
on the wall. He confessed with per-
feet candor that teacher" that
wonderful person who stands third in
childhoods Trinity OF Mama, God and
Teacher, had helped him. But that
took none of the edge from our enjoy
ment, nor the keeness from the sor-
row that he is growing older, that he
is no longer ours exclusively, that his
horizon now extends beyond home.
Now when you know, as know you do,
that every father and every mother
had just the same feel about the heart
strings, you must know that the
school exhibit can never be anything
but a success.
The school exhibit means thou
sand thrills of gladness and .'of pride,
for if our children have not done the
hest there are many special excuses
for it that present themselves at once
to every mothers heart. The exhibit
means thousand little pangs, the
"growing palms, of parentagc, and
to some, it brought the saddest. sweetest
memory, of little hands whose work
was not there, of prattling voices that
were still, Of little sunshiney faces
that were gone to return no more.
What mingling of joys and griefs,
of sorrows and of gladnesses, is lite
butthrice blessed is the man who can
look his sorrows in the face and Say the
fault was not his own. We fear
we are giving the exhibit but a poor
second place in our account of it. But
really it was fine. 1t made us proud
not only of our own little Ia NIB, but
of all the lambs of the flock. 1t made
us glad that the children of today have
so much more opportunity than had
we. 1t surprised us to find how much
had already been instilled in the
minds and brains of the boys and
girls of Denison.
The manual training department
was the show place of the exhibit.
Here was collection showing splen-
did workmanship and skill. The pride
of creation was made manifest and
again we thought how good it is that
the children are learning the great
lesson, that the work of the hands
directed by the we'll trained brain,
holds high place among the deeds of
man. We congratulate Supt. Fellows
and the entire corps of teachers upon
the splendid showing made, in every
grade and in every department and
especially would be commend the work
of the manual training department as
it is now conducted by Mr.. Johnson.
The board should be most liberal with
this department of the schools. It