The Washington herald., 1908-04-01

The growth OF Industrial education
among the negroes OF this country has
been so rapid that those who are not IN
close touch with the work VIII be sur
prised by the statement that there are To-
day no less than Us schools which offer
Industrial and normal courses 70 the
negro. In IS1 there were only twenty
seven such Institutions. and in ISS0 only
forty-four.
Georgia leads in this movement. and
to-day has fifteen negro Industrial
schools. North Carolina has fourteen.
and South Carolina twelve Virginia and
Mississippi each have nine. Alabama and
Tennessee seven each. and Arkansas.
Florida, and Louisiana six each.
Statistics show that there are but very
few Juvenile delinquents in the United
States among the negroes who have been
in the industrial schools. and they further
show that there are very many more
negro juvenile deIinQuents in the North.
where industrial education IS not usual,
than there are in the South. where it is
getting 70 be the rule. In Massachusetts,
there are f63 negro children in reform
schools for every hundred thousand OF
negro population. as compared with nine
teen in Virginia There are DO II New
York, as compared with 80 IN Georgia.
and 165 IN Pennsylvania, as compared
with Il IN Tennessee.
The nature OF the work IN each OF the
schools IS primarily the same. the greater
time being devoted 10 industrial. domestic.
and normal training. with enough OF the
academic side 10 make one efficient IN
the application OF these arts. The de-
partment OF training for prospective
teachers IS an important work OF these
schools. Ii IS from among these that the
leaders Of this people must come.
There is strong tendency to-day
among the leaders Of education, both
black and white TO provide for the great
mass of the colored children a training
that Will give them skill in the industrial
and domestic arts. All educators agree
that the education Of the negro Of the
future is 10 be along the lines Of the
manual arts. that they must make or him
an intelligent iaborer He must know az
least something Of the applied sciences,
and he must have a moral training that
VIII argue for a life on higher levels. In
many OF the Southern States where in
dustrial schools for the negro race have
proved a success. the courses in the clas-
sizes and literature are being taken out of
the schools already established and indus
trial and trade courses put in instead.
At Tuskegee courses are given IN thirty
six different industries. such as agricul-
ture, besketry, blacksmith. keeping.
bricklaying. plastering, brick-making. car
pentry. carriage trimming. cooking, dairy
/ ing, architecture. freehand and mechani-
cal drawing. dressmaking. electrical and
steam engineering. foundring. harness
Faking, housekeeping, horticulture. can
ming, sowing, laundering, machinery, mat
treSS making millinery, nursing. painting,
saw-milling. shoemaking. printing, stock
raising. tailoring, and turning and wheel
wrighting. All students, however, get
training in the elementary academic sub
jects in either the day or night schools.
This course includes approximately what
we have in our high schools, up TO and IN
Guiding the second year. barring the mod
ern and ancient languages. Thus there is
very thorough and practical work done
I in such subjects as arithmetic, concrete
Sc'licNESs dlStoLeis 6etbAdNASs EtSltStl,
physiology and hygiene, and the more
common applications of physics and chem
istry. Courses In pedagogy and the art Of
public speaking are also given. This aca-
demic side is 10 give the student the nee
essary training for the vocational life he
is to live.
For the boys the burden of the work at
Tuskegee is in one or more OF the indus
trial lines, where he learns to do the
actual work on the farm or in the shop.
The girls take up the study Of house
keeping. poultry raising. tailoring, dress
making. laundering, and cooking. A large
majority of them start in with dress
making. but before long find other indus
tries that they like better. All girls are
required to take cooking lessons twice a
week. Girl life at Tuskegee is quite
strenuous with work and study Yet it
Is all arranged so that some Of il comes
in the form OF recreation The boys are
largely engaged during the day in some
industry, an industry that is left to their
choice, and at night they attend school
For the work the student does during
the day he is credited with certain wages