The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-09-14
THROUGH A CHILD'S EYES
BY Russell of Education

Exclusive Service. The Survey Press
Bureau)
Asst spring, 10-year- old Ralph in one
of the Rochester public schools,
~ wrote letter to his teacher;
.sDo YOU know what the Child's We'll
fare Exhibit is for? Well If you do
not know what it Is for. l will tell you
1t is for the child to know better and
try and keep the house clean, for a
dirty house is a terrible house to live in
And most every disease comes from a
dirty house-especally tuberculosis"
Ralph had been to the Child Welfare
Exhibit and come away with one I'M
portant truth, thoroughly impressed upon
him. The exhibit was held during the
second week in April. Everyone helped.
and as their part the public and parochial
schools offered their children as living
demonstrations of Rochester school work.
There were dances, drills and games every
afternoon and evening Children sang
together, and other children formed small
classes of sewing, carpentry, electric wiz
ing, cooking, rug weaving, drawing, ETC..
and worked steadily under the direction
of teachers The school children of Ro-
chester were constantly in touch with
the exhibit: they were given special holi-
days in which to see it and their interest
was keen. The following week those in
the upper grades were asked to write
letters telling about what they remem-
bered
Some b53 of these letters were examined
for the purpose of ascertaining first, the
most effective form of presentation for
exhibit material. and second, the degree
to which children understand and re-
member the lessons which different ex-
hibits are designed to teach. In making
the tabulation, only those letters were
used which were written by the children
themselves, without outside help Several
had to be discarded because they show
ed evidences of suggestions and correc-
tions from the teacher. Every reference
to an exhibit feature was counteA even
where the child spoke of the same thing
more than once.
The most popular feature among the
children were the entertainments each
afternoon and evening This consisted
of dances, drills. games and chorus sing
ing by the children themselves.
The school children. with the help of
their teachers also formed classes which
worked and recited as living exhibits.
All the children found the classes in
teresting. Says little Michael Ethiopia
II saw manual training. They were
making desks to sell them. Many people
bought them for their children to get
learned to write and read saw some
girls, they were making candy, and
asked if they would sell the candy. They
said mo. little boy, we don't sell candy.
SO the people could see how to make
candy"
Particular attention was paid to the
work of the boys from the Shop School,
There was class in electric wiring where
the children loved to watch the work.
The most impressive single exhibit
seems to have been that of the tidy and
untidy home, which received per cent.
of the 3,123 references. The moving pic
ture show and the library received
per cent. each. and the dairy, playground
and market, 3 per cent.
The moving pictures appealed strongly
to children In the fourth. fifth and sixth
frequently by those in the seventh and
eighth. The other exhibit features re-
ceived practically the same amount of at
tention from children in al different
grades.