The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1912-05-25
The Industrial Exhibit.

schools were thrown open to the pub
lie with an exhibit of the industrial
work done by the pupils during the
year.
The exhibit was : we'll attended,
the large number of men present be-
ing especially pleasing to the teach
ers. The exhibits ranged from the
work of the kindergarten to that of
the High school.
Industrial work is one of the most
important departments of our school
system for it is this work that teach
es the coordination of the body and
the brain. Most of the things that
the child makes are useful in a way,
mainly because of their simplicity
and small size But the fact to be
noted is that what seems simple now
was once complicated operation to
the primative man and children are
simply primative beings:
The industrial work as planned in
the Bemidji schools starts with the
children in the Kindergarten. Here
they are given the primary colors and
taught mixtures. Some of their
work looks like the color daubs of
savage races. It has the same unre-
lated parts and simplicity of form.
But as the savages developed so the
children develop and the work can
be traced through the grades until
in the higher classes, some real ar
tistic talent is developed.
The same is true in the clay mod
cling, basket and raffia work, rug
wearing, paper weaving, and paper
cutting. The exhibits yesterday
were so arranged that by passing
from one room to another, the visitor
could trace the development of the
child from the primary department
up. About the fifth grade, they are
taught the rudiments of sewing and
manual training, the girls making
simple dust caps and collars and the
boys cutting patterns with knives.
In the higher grades, the sewing and
manual training become diversified.
Following the same work through
the High school, the boys are making
useful articles of furniture, such as
tables, chairs, desks, book racks,
step ladders, etc. The girls are max
ing their own dresses and learning
how to properly cook good meals at
low cost. When the boys and girls
finally graduate from High school,
they have learned something that
they can do with their hands and
are not entirely dependent. on their
brains
One feature of the work stands out
prominently. In their subjects, the
pupils are related to local objects
as much as possible For trees, they
draw and paint pines; for flowers,
acknowledgements; for birds, robins;
in clay modelling, pumpkins and pota-
toes. Every child in each room was
represented in the exhibit and the
work shown was not selected samples.
The criticism has been made that
much of what the children is taught
is useless. In way it is, but the
human race came through the very
same steps of crude ~coloring, clay
pottery, rough whiting, and weav-
ing to it's present stage of eiviliza-
ton. The children have to come the
same way, but some of the work
shown yesterday proves that the chill
dren of today have progressed farther
than the children of several genera
tions ago. Some of the work done
by little tots in the Kindergarten
and first grade is really wonderful.
Industrial work in the local schools
has good start, but it should be
encouraged and the departments
built up The ability of the body to
execute an idea of the mind is fully
as important as training the mind to]
properly develop the idea. q
THIS DATE IN HISTORY.
= ~ = : AHr&,1 n y szIE e.