The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-28

New York, June 27.-(Special )-There E summer treat" coming to the great army of longshoremen who toll on the docks of New York's water front. Pret- ty school teachers from all parts of the United States are to visit these docks and study the practical methods by which ln- coming and outgoing commerce is han dled This observation study on the part of the teachers is an outgrowth of the foreign system of preparing teachers Of commercial geography to instruct their pupils just how grain, coal, rubber and other products are exported from or in- ported into their countries. In European countries, notably in Germany and Switz- erland, teachers and students excursions to the river docks and freight depots form a regular part of the school work, expe- rience having proven that the child or in- structor who has actually seen exports or imports handled is better fitted to study the manifold interests and industries of his country and understand how these industries are related to the general corn- merce of the world, than the person who has merely studied a collection of statis- tics from a textbook.
 The pretty school teachers who are to invade New 1Ofk Wdtcl liohl tiio summer will be students of the Con- mercial Geography course at New York B University Summer School. The univer- sity has planned the course to meet the increased demand for practically trained instructors of geography, for since the State Department of Education of New York has advocated the European meth- cd of-teaching this subject in the public schools, the demand for specially trained teachers has been far in excess of the sup ply. This same holds true in many other states. The course itself, which Is to be offered during the afternoons of the six weeks summer session, will be de- voted almost exclusively to trips to the docks, freight depots. factories and mills in New York and the vicinity, where the students will be given an opportunity 10 study, at first hand the methods by which imports and exports are handled. The lectures on the course will be con fined principally to rainy afternoons when outdoor trips would be disagreeable
 Such subjects as transportation by wind, steam, animals, through conduits and by electricity will be practically studied Visits to the docks where sailing vessels may still be seen will be made. The stu dents will also be taken to the great steamship piers, where, under the guid- ance of a person who knows the business thoroughly, they will be permitted 10 study ships holds and freight houses and notice the methods of packing. They will furthermore, be enabled to find out something of the routes followed by these ships, the countries visited, the goods carried out and the goods brought back
 Tn the freight houses they will see these goods, both the products intended for shipment and the products which have just been brought in. On the docks, methods of handling the more perishable freight, such as fruit meat, etc., will be studied
 In connection with steam transportation, the class will also visit the freight yard of a great railroad, noting the sort of freight which Is handled and the differ ent methods of handling it. Even "bag- gage-smashing" win be studied but not with the idea, however, of encouraging the occupation. Instead it is hoped that the presence of the pretty schoomarms will influence the trunk-handlers to treat