El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-09-25
Spanish TAUGHT WITHOUT BOOKS
IN FL PAsO'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS
New Conversational Method of Language Teaching Is
Adopted Here and Proves Success Improvements
Are Made in Manual Training Departments.
Trained Nurses Are Being Educated in
the Newest System of Detetics.

] oPANISH is being taught in FL
Paso's schools without books. The
- conversation method is being used.
! This innovation will enable the pupils
4 to speak and understand it with greater
! ease than by the older method of learn
/ ing Spanish by text books, which too
( often resulted in the pupils being able
I to read and write the language correct
! ", but being helpless when it came to
} conversation. The Spanish teaching in
4 th2 grades has very good start Much
I interest has been manifested by the
! children in the work and they are
I learning rapidly
7 The Spanish work is confined to the
/ strictly American schools, and is
started in the fifth grade. Miss Alicia
I O'Nein is the teacher for the Villas and
/ San JacintO schools; Miss Lucille
) DWyer for the Lamar and Alta Vista
| schools, and George Griggs, who was
I recently elected in Miss Ethel Tay-
lors place, teaches Spanish at the Bal
ley and Sunset schools. Each grade
/ is given a lesson by the Spanish teacher
every day.
shown by 10th the pupils and the
/ teachers n the physical training work,
which is a new department in Ell PaSO's
public schools. Miss Margaret Kin
non, the supervisor, visits every school
once in every two weeks, leaving an
outline with the teachers, of the work
10 be done during that space of time.
Every grade in every school has two
periods a dav devoted to exercises US
ually lasting from six to 10 minutes.
In addition to the gymnaStic work,
Miss RinnO1 is emphasizing the games
for the children at their receSSeS. Be
sides the old f2s hiC ned games, voIley
ball, basketball, ara folk dancing are
being taught. Folk dancing just at
present IS being Corfined to the schools
where there is q laree open space au-
citOrium or hall ard where there is
music. These arc the San Jacinto, Sun
set, Was ana Lamar. All the schools
VIII be included in the folk dance
teaching eventually.
Photographs Furnish Music.
For the folk dances there are phono-
graph records with the music for
dances Of the different nations, that
take the place Of the piano Both the
Bailey and the Alta Vista schools have
monographs, ard these records and the
folk dances will lie started in these
schools in the rear future. This de-
partment, which has just been intro
duced into FL Paso. is very strongly
established in the schools of the east
and in the larger cities OF the west
Denver was among the first to adopt
II after 1t had passed the experimental
stage IN the east 1t has been found
to have a most beneficial effect upon
the children regardless of Ages, and
encourages simple healthy play
The manual training department of
all the schools is progressing satisfac-
tOrily. This year a department. in
manual training is to be installed in
the Alta Vista school The unfinished
upper floor of the building will be utiI-
lied for the work. The cement floor
Of this story was never SmOOthed and
It was found to be too uneven for the
work benches Consequently, it was
necessary to have q wooden floor laid
over the cement. The work benches
will be fastened 10 this. All the equip
ment, the benches and tools are at the
a nj hrrr
the floor is completed, probably the I
end of this week
With the establishing of the manual |
training department in Alta Vista, ev-
cry school in the city will have this (
branch of work except the Highland I
Park and Franklin schools. In both I
of these the grades only run to the /
fourth, and the manual training work |
does not start until the fifth grades.
Girls study Domestic Art.
While the boys have the manual /
training work the girls have work in 4
domestic art In the fifth grade the I
work is confined to sewing instruction !
and other useful arts, with cooking /
introduced in the higher grades. Up I
TO the fifth p-ade the manual work 4
consists Of cardboard cutting and con- |
structlon work for the boys and girls /
jointly.
only four schools have kitchens, the 1
Bailey, San Jacinto, Beall and Alamo; 4
but the older girls of all the schools /
have instruction in cooking, meeting at 4
the schools with kitchens Both the /
domestic science and manual training 4
are taught in the Douglass school for /
negroes. :
Nurses to Learn Cooking.
Since the new state law recurring I
trained nurses to have taken a course /
in dietetics, a class of nurses will take /
the course at the Bailey school The /
class while being started for the IN /
dergraduate nurses of a local hospital. |
will be open to any nurses desiring to |
take up the work. The Bailey kitchen 1
has accommodations for 20 at a time. /