The Washington herald., 1920-01-17
SCHOOL
INBRIGHTWOOD
Ancient Building One of
Worst in Which Washing
ton Children Study.
AMID DIN OF TRAFFIC
Clouds of Dust Add to Han
dicaps Under Which i.
Teaching Staff Labors.
DIN OF TRAFFIC

Unlike any other buildings SO far
Inspected by The Herald represen-
1t has not one feature to
recommend IL as a building in
which to teach the young people OF
the city.
Generally speaking. the building
Is not even crowded with pupils.
This is not to be wondered at, as
one can easily see why a child
would select the West Schoolt or
even that at Takoma Park in ef-
erence to spending 1--WE dayst a
week in this building. However. IL
has been found necessary to send
children from one or two classes
which were overcrowded to other
buildings in that general territory.
Territory La Extensive.
This school is supposed to take
IN the territory from Longfeilow
street north ITO Rittenhouse street,
ana from Georgia avenue east to
the District line. Though building
operations are not being carried on
to any large extent in this terri
tory at the present time. there is a
lot OF territory to be developed to
.he east of the building.
AT any rate. with the DEVELOPMENT
Of the territory, it is doubted IL It
would be wise to add to this very
old building. and the school grounds
az present are hardly large enough
70 expand into one Of the sixteen
room buildings with modern appIi-
ances now considered essential to
efficent primary and secondary edu-
cation The school grounds will come
In for a further slicing in the not
very distant future when Quackenbos
street is cut through on the west side
OF Georgia avenue at this point The
street line runs very close to the
school building line. and what will be
the street proper is now fenced in and
used as playground for the boys.
When the street is cut. the boys lose.
And when they lose this space they
will have nothing. as a walk through
the basement of this very old build
ing will soon convince anyone. What
was originally the boys playroom. a
very small room, is a dark. foul
smelling room. piled high with fire.
wood. II is a most uninviting base
ment. and a serious detriment to the
health Of any young people who have
to use it. The sanitary facilities are
no better.
Teaching Under Difficulties.
Were it not for the generally crowd
ed conditions of all the schools. fore
ing the children 10 be put in porta bles
and almost any building that can he
found. II Is doubted IL anyone would
put up with the. conditions at this
school
Even the teaching has to be done
under great difficulties. especially
in the four rooms fronting on Geor-
gia avenue. There is a street rail-
way line almost under the school
windows and the avenue is a
thorouchfare for much heavy traffic
passing to and from Maryland and
the suburbs north Of Brightwood.
At times. the teachers say. il f.
practically impossible TO carry on
the class work owing to the din
from the moving cars. trucks and
automobiles. In the spring. when
there must be plenty of ventilation
for the rooms, the students have
clouds Of dust constantly filling their
lungs.
The school has two of its class
rooms given over TO cooking and
manual training. In the manual
training room the, youngsters are
pounding out their models on
benches which might have been
used by their fathers, for il is said
they were manufactured about the
same time that the school was
erected. The manual training room.
originally intended for a class
room. is wholly unsuited for this
purpose.
Good Light Lacking.
On cloudy days il is dark and the
instructor finds it necessary 10 have
the boys push their benches as
close to the windows as possible in
order that they may properly carry
on their work, for there is no ar
tificial lighting system in the room.
In the manual training work it is
imperative that the boys have good
light in order that they may prop
erly read their blue prints and do
accurate work. Otherwise their in
struction in this line would be a
waste of time.
However. it is the intention to
move this manual training school 10
the Takoma School if provision is
ever made for the eight-room ad-
dition to the building in the northern
suburb.
There is no place in the school
where the children Of all the classes
may be assembled in one group for
instruction in such studies as re-
quire group instruction, nor any place
where they may have celebrations
of any kind. School for the chill
dren who must go here is just an
endless grind of going from home TO
a class room and return-no side
features which modern educators now
consider necessary to a public school
system.
The school has six classes in the
six class rooms, with a total of 24o
children. All OF the classes except
the eighth grade are now full, but
there might be a. different tale after
the February promotions, when
crowded conditions will become even
worse. There is now no kindergar-
ten at this school although all the
other grades are in the building.
made possible by doubling up-that
is, one teacher takes two grades.
Pupils Turned Away.
It has been found necessary since
the beginning OF the present school
term for the principal TO turn away
pupils for the sixth and seventh
grades because there was no room
in the building for them. These
have had to 20 either to the Bright
wood Park School. some distance to
the south. or to the Takoma School.
quite a long walk to the north.
The building was originally a
four-room one, constructed in 1855.
and four years later it was found
necessary to add four more rooms
to the front of 1T. Although this
territory has shown much growth
even in the last ten years, nothing