New-York tribune., 1907-11-03
TO GIVE CHILDREN SKILL
Public School Pupils Turn out Fin
iShed Products an 1rt Industries.


novel experiment in public educaton-a chill
dren's arts and crafts community operating twen-
ty-fve municipal workshops. studios and printing
rooms-has been started among the six hundred
thousand children Of the local schools by the public
school authorities. Already nearly five hundred
boys and girls, twelve fifteen years old, the in
dustrial cream Of twenty-five elementary schools.
have been enrolled In the "Chidren's Crafts Society
of New York" and after school hours busily
engaged in designing and fashionng artistic house
hold appointments, jewelry and articles Of apparel
from metal, wood. leather cloth and paper. Under
the direction Of skilled teachers these little folk
are carrying nine different art industries. in
Guiding hookbinding. frettcd etched and repousse
metal work, chip carving. leather toong. joneTy.
stencilling and the making Of book plates. mono
types and block prints The standard OF work
for these little craftsmen has been that the product
must be good enough to sell" and. according
competent critics much of their work is already
& from amateurish. The public school auIhori-
ties. however. not anxious bring these chill
dren into trade competition and their work has
either been taken away to beautify the tenement
homes OF the makers else collected by the teach
ers for great exhibition which viii be held during
the school year at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
probably the first time that chndreH's art work
has been shown this scale in this temple OF
master craftsmen.
This chdren's crafts community which has the
support Of the city superintendent. Dr. William IL
Maxwell, was organized and is carried by DR..
J. r. HAuey PUBIC SchOOi director or manual arts.
and his corps Of supervising art teachers. who
have volunteered 10 give their time without COM
pcnsatIon TO training children after o'clock. The
Board OF Education has granted the use OF the
school workshops and art rooms and provided all
tools needed. and friends OF the arts have sup
piled the materials used by the juvenile aruncers
There IS absolutely no charge to the children.
The chidren's crafts community is really plan
on the part of the New York public school system
TO solve the problem of the chiIds wasted years the
and aiN ,rbaV
children leave the schools to enter employmcnts
which are undesirable both from the point OF view
into tnsilcd trades v,bSra tha, - sii DN r q.i. .
the rest OF their lives How serious problem this
is becoming is shown by the fact that according TO
an eminent educator hve million school chiidren
''dcserted' between the time the nnbIic srTnoll
closed last June and when they opened in : p
Hence the New York experiment is being watcl ed
with interest BY school authorities throughout The
country, X mas also attracted the attention OF
some OF the officers of the National Society for the
Promotion OF Industrial Education which is To hold
ii meeting in Chicago from December to : at when
more than fifteen hundred manufacturers repre-
cusS means for advancing the education OF the
In the craft club the brilliant pupil is not ham
pered by the lock step system which regulates prog
ress in tho regular classroom by the ability OF the
average. The clever boy 20 as fast as he likes
ana can specialize on "A particular line II also
gives hlm chance 10 test in actual shop practice
his leaning toward craftsmanship IL calling and
so let's him decide between the arts and Clerical
employ. Admission the community therefore ia
limited absolutely TO those who show special ability
a ri nh
Nor guild. working at one industry after school two
hours each week. The clubs also form tho Chill
dren's Crafts Society. which will hold annual exhi-
btlohsr AT Whlch prizes and mentions will be
awarded by grown up jury of experts A series
of saturday morning childrcn's lectures on craft
VIII be gwen by leading artists and designers So
greatly has this plan interested Sir Caspcr PirJon
Clarke, tho director Of the MetropOlItpn MuSourr'
that ne has invited the chlldrens society TO meet in
the museum hall. The museum also for the first
time. has recently extended to little artists tbs
privilege OF sSetching in it's collections VIZ
Ihe crart work for the children consists Of four
color application. and finally tool work In the
leather crafts the children make fooled leather
Delts portfolios, bags cardcaseS, purses desk sets
and mats. In the bookbnding guilds they assen,hio
and stitch pages put on covers and then decorate
or tool the bound volumes into Gift boots A.
other club designs and makes book DIates ~
curtains, scarfs and individual designs on bur,ap
denim, silk and other cloths for ,craefs ~,
covers and mural decorations, are made bv tbo
children in tho stenciling craft The metal ora fc
use copper sheets in three different ways The
and then apply nitric acid which bitcs the tinos
into the metal The fretted metal workers bnre
ana anu saw out openw3rk designs, and the repousse
CLUBS hammer metal into all of Ornamental
and useful forms. these clubs children a. H.o,,t
as Twelve years nave made commercially valuable
vessels trays. ASH receivers, desk appointments
hinges. lock scutcheons push plates Jewel boxes
fobs. belt buckles and paper knives.
make an impression or Japanese paper much like
etching The wood block printers carve In low,
relief on wood and then print from the block by
which Swedish craftsmen originated a profitable
recreation for the long winters chip out designs
cial knife. and so decorate bread boards boxas
table tops, etc. In some OF the classes ambitious
artistic In line Investigators OF the Industrial
Education Society, Of which Dr. Haney is also a
director, have expressed surprise the excellence
IN many cases, compares favorably In artistic form
and cleverness of execution with articles offered
for sale In exclusive art shops.