The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1920-04-14

tie ha3xy and use of common tools,
detaiIs VI process. natures of mater
ials, and various forms of eonstruc-
tion that are involved in our common
trades
When manual training was first in
PRODUCED in the public schools of our
country thirty five years ago, it was
the general opinion that it was in
tended to supercede the old form of
trade apprenticeship. Because a boy
learned how to use tools, how to keep
them in order and how to treat the
various materials of construction it
claimed that he was learning a trade
or several trades and, as result, the
manual training school was regarded
as a trade-school it's sole purpose be-
ing to turn out skilled mechanics In
spite of the fact that this assumption
and this claim were both wrong, the
practical value of the boys knowledge
of tools and skill in their use was for
many years regarded as the chief
aim of manual training.
Manual training, unlike most all the
other subjects of the school curricu-
lum, develops both the mental and
physical activities of the child and
trains the mind and hand to work in
conjunction hence it is essentially a
cultural subject. There is no subject
in the school curriculum where a
child has better opportunity to find
out for himself just what are his ma
tural talents and capabilities and to
decide successfully who his vocation in
life shall be. Failures in life are
largely due to the fact that many peo-
pie have been unable to find out for
themselves just where they belong and
what they can do best.
Our country is rapidly growing from
an agricultural to a manufacturing
nation. This in turn has resulted in.
an ever increasing demand for skilled
labor and specialized men in every
branch of industry. In order that our
system of education may cope success
fully with this situation it must be so
arranged as to enable every child or
man to find out what his natural tai
ents and capabilities are and then to
tram, develope, and preserve them to
their best advantage. There is no
other department in our public schools
where this can be better carried out
than in the manual training shop be-
cause here chance is given to watch
both the mental and physical activi-
ties of the child that are continually
coming into play.
Manual training has decided value
IN the physical development of the
BODY. inactivity, repression, and per-
lods OF silent mental work are ex-
tremely detrimental to the child's
health. He becomes nervous, discour-
aged, and at times even rebellious,
and eventually he looses all interest
IN his school work. A pupil loves shop
work because of it's physical activities
and freedom from mental strain and
because of this fact it has been the
means OF keeping many of our bows
at school and prolonging their educa-
tlonal career. Out door gymnastics
develops the larger muscles while
training strength the smaller ones.
ms is especially true in drawing and
wood carving.
There are great many habits that
child can develop in the manual
training shop that will be of benefit
to him in the later years of his life.
Every child taking manual training is
! held responsible for the condition of
his own bench. He is told to keep
| it clean, preserve it in the best con-
dition possible to keep all tools in their
proper places and to see that they are
sharp and in proper condition. This
instills into the child habit of clean
liness orderliness and system in all
| his work.
! No matter what a boy makes in the
shop he is required to work to a GER
tain size and to do it in a certain logi-
cal way which teaches him to be exact
and accurate in whatever he does.
We see the results, whether good or
bad of all the work that the child
does in the shop and he cannot escape
them. He is his own Judge and the
result is, he will try to do the best
he possibly can which instills into the
child sense of honesty that is so i'm
| portant to the success of our lives.
| To sum up the present purpose and
aim OF manual training it may be
briefly stated as follows; first, to fur
| nish broader and more appropriate
foundation for a higher technical edu-
cation; second, to serve as a develop
ing school where pupils can discover
their Unborn capacities and aptitudes,
whether In literature, science, engin-
eering or the practical arts; third, to
furnish to those who look forward to
an industrial life opportunities to be-
come familiar with tools, materials,
! and methods of construction as well