The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1912-08-09


of our FARM" 1--WE wish young
woman to teach domestic science in
our cvity school," 1--WE need skill
ed mechanics to teach carpentry,
wheelwrighting and blacksmithing"
Negro nurses, men and women, are
in great demand here in our town"
! These are some of the many calls
that assail the principal of Tuskegee
Institute at all seasons of the year,
1t is reasonably so. The change Of
the trend of education among both
black and white; the increase oil
wealth and courage to venture into
business among Negroes; the higher
and higher esteem into which skill
ed Negro workmen are rising all
make this call louder and more gen.
eral.
At Tuskegee Institute some thirty
odd of these industries are taught.
There are millinery, dressmaking,
ladies' tailoring, upholstering and
understanding, domestic science,
laundering and gymnastics for girls;
there are shoe making, tailoring,
wheelwrighting, carpentry, cabinet
making, tinsmithing, printing, har-
ness making, mechanical and archi-
tectural drawing, mechanical, electri-
cal and steam engineering for boys;
and there are dairying, swine rails
ing, truck farming, poultry raising,
stock raising, Horticulture, landscape
gardening, veterinary science, fruit
growing and many other branches of
industry, both mechanical and agri-
cultural, for both boys and girls.
Let no one halt at the idea of young
women entering the agricultural
trades. This again Is the modern
trend of things. More than this ex-
perience and experiments at Tuske-
gee Institute are demonstrating that
the young woman is just as apt and
able a pupil with the machinery in
the creamery, with the science Of
feeds in the poultry yard with pack
ing and handling fruits in the or
chard as she is with grammatical
syntax in the classroom, and just as
quick and aggressive as is her young
man classmate, to whom time and
prejudice have hitherto restricted
these trades.
But more of the specific trades la
ter. The call for the skilled Negro
workman today bears with it compre-
hensive assumption. It asks for men
and women skilled in one or more
branches Of handwork but 1t also
has a flavor of something else. Has
he religion? Has he character? Has
he good habits? Is he punctual? Has
he culture? Can he make a speech?
Can he command respect? Will he
stand for anything in the communi-
ty? Does he know how to get along
with people? These are some of the
requirements that the trades teachers
of today must face in addition to
special training in a given industry
AS a mere workman he might pass
muster without these; but as teach
er and leader, he must have these,
together with excellence in scholar
ship.
And strange enough 1t is that these
very essential requirements are not
offered in the curriculum of any
school. 1t is hardly advisable that
they should be. The student should
get them as he goes. They should
be a part of his daily life, just like
eating his meals and drinking water
No institution offers water drinking
as one of its courses in a school
curriculum, no more should Ii offer
course in prayer or in character;
but both the prayer and the charac-
| ter should be just as common and just
as refreshing as is the water Now
this the Tuskegee Institute, without
listing it in its catalogue undertakes
to give-this thing one calls training
Let us begin with Sunday morning
to see what general training stu
dent gets during the week in addi-
tion to his special studies in his
books and trade. At a certain hour
in the morning the bell rings for
him to rise, ten minutes later, the
same bell calls him to breakfast
Five minutes later he must be in the
dlning-hall. He asks his blessing in
a short song with from 1900 to 1900
OF his followers, starts his meal on
time and finishes on time. He must
have come to the dining-room prop
erly dressed, having given attention
to his clothes in general, his hair
Snd his teeth-tooth brushes are re-
CURED He must have furnished him
self with a napkin which he must
use, and use correctly at the table.
He must know how or soon learn
how to handle his food at the table,
how to take food on his plate, how
to cut it up and how to convey it to
his mouth. From the dlning-hall he
returns to his room. This room he
must clean, spotlessly, for at another