Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-10-22

The children of the original Ameri-
cans are this year starting for the
second time a course of
Vacations for study which will give
-. the Indians the best
AnuaaAS. vocational training Of
fered by any school system In the
United States, under the direction of
Uncle Sans office of Indian affairs Of
the Department Of the Interior.
AS these schools, located in various
sections of the country. must train In
dian youth of both sexes to assume
the duties and responsibilities Of self
support and citizenship. this course
strongly emphasizes vocational train
ing. The whole system. recently de-
vised, has been tried out and not found
wanting.
1t is divided into three divisions.
The first is the beginning stage, the
second the finding stage and the third
the finishing stage During the first
mestic and industrial activities CEN
ter around the conditions essential
to the improvement and proper mainte-
nance of the home and farm. The
course outlined in the prevocational d.
vision is unique in the fact that in
addition to the regular academic sub
jects boys are required to take prac-
teal courses in farming, gardening,
dairying, farm carpentry. farm black
sorry, farm painting and shoe and
harness repairing. and all girls are re-
CURED to take courses in home COOK
ing, sewing, laundering. nursing. poul-
try raising and kitchen gardening.
This course not only prepares the
Indian youth for industrial efficiency,
but at the same time helps them to
find those activities for which they are
best adapted and to which they should
apply themselves definitely during the
amount of academic work being de-
termined by its relative value and
importance as means OF solving the
problems of the farmer. mechanic and
housewife.
Non-essentials are eliminated. One
half of each day is given to Industrial
training and the other half to academic
studies. All effort Is directed toward
training Indian boys and girls for ef-
ficient and useful lives under the con-
ditions which they must meet after
leaving school. Other subjects to which
this course directs special attention
are health. motherhood and child well
fare. civics, community meetings ana
extension work.
Oficials of the Indian office have felt
for years the need Of a standard and
Uniform course of study for the Indian
schools of the country. They saw,
however, that such a course would have
to be definite in character and yet SUI
ficiently flexible to make 1t adaptable
to local conditions in an area as OK
tended as the United States. At the
same time they realized that an out
line too general in character would be
of little or no actual value for its
purpose.
After their long course of search, the
experts of the Indian office who have
been in the closest touch with this
work say that they came to the conclu-
sion that the economic needs of all
people-and of the Indian especially
demand that the schools provide for
instruction along eminently practical
lines. To this end the Industrial schools
were established, in which the culture
value of education is not neglected.
but rather subordinated to the practi-
cal needs of the child's environment.
In the first or primary period, spoken
of before, the Indian child goes into
what is to him a strange land with
strange tongue, strange habits. customs
and standards. He is lacking that five
years or so of fundamental home edu-
cation which most white children re-
ceive in our American ways Of think
ing, doing and living. Officials of the
Indian Office are much pleased with
the way their new method is working
out.