Evening star., 1922-06-11
FULL VALUE OF VOCATIONAL
TRAINING SCHOOL IS SHOWN
Luncheon at Smallwood Building Directs
Attention to Useful, Wholesome and
Practical Education There.

on the wall. were the handiwork of
the children
The dinner was designed primarily
to show the school officials and the
prominent business men precisely
what the pupils of this strangely in
teresting and unique school can ac-
complish along vocational lines. in
addition to making high averages in
their academic studies.
l.niqueness OF School.
The smallwood-Bowen School. To-
Gated In the heart Of Southwest
Washington. Is unusual for two rea-
sons. First. because there is not an
other school of Its type in Washing
ton. and probably not In the United
States; and. secondly. because the
pupils. girls as well as boys, learn
flt them to enter either the Industrial
or matrimonial world. The latter,
OF course. is referred more directly
to the girls.
or secondary Importance is the fact
that the school not only is benefitinE
the pupils. but is exerting it's in
f1uence on the home through them.
Things these pupils have learned In
school their parents have profited by
immensely.
To a visitor at the smallwood School
and there have been many in the
past year from all sections Of the
United States. as we'll as Caneda-
1t appears as a beehive of industry
Boys at benches assiduously and
painstakingly making beautiful par
lor table or tapping their own shoes;
girls making hats and dresses which
they will later wear. or learning the
fundamental duties Of a housewife
to cook, the proper way to make
bed and clean the house. the proper
method Of setting the dinner table
and hundreds of other things SO
necessary for a modern housewife to
know
But domestic art and domestic
science and it's kindred subjects are
not all that the girls learn at the
Smallwood School. Neither Is car
pentry, shoemakinG, printing and
other vocational work all that the
boys learn.
These children have their grammar,
geography. English and other aca-
demic studies to learn as thoroughly
as the boys and girls of the other
are equally as high as the average
children in other schools. who do not
have the advantages of the manual
training taught the pupils Of the
Smallwood-Bowen School.
Ten Academic Glasses.
There are ten academic classrooms
in the Smallwood and Bowen build
ings, four of which are in the former
school. All the manual training and
domestic science classesl however,
are located in the remaining roms Of
the Smallwood building. which, be-
cause of its numerous activities, is
pressed for the lack of sufficient
space. Every available inch In the
Smallwood School is used for some
purpose. The hall on the main floor
has been converted into storage
room for the chairs. tables. beds.
cedar chests and other things made
by the boys. The principal has been
from the first to the second floor for
his Office, while in the same space on
the opposite side of the building Is
cramped the boys shoe repairing
shop.
On the main floor of the Smallwood
School are located the domestic art.
domestic science and housekeeping
classes. and woodworking shops.
while the mechanical drawing and
academic classrooms are on the floors
are in the basement. while the,p:int
shop is in one q the f1imsy portables
hard by the school.
To specify all the useful and valu-
able things turned out by the boys
and girls of the SmallwoodBow
be difficult. Principal Smiths answer
to this question is:
Everything from cradles to cof-
fms"
Several Cradles Made.
A number of cradles already have
been made. Thus far, however, the
boys have not been called upon TO
make a coffin, although they could
doubtless do 1t. Nevertheless, Principal
Smiths answer is completely borne
out by the exhibits in the improvised
storage room in the central corridor
of the school.
During the current school year, the
boys have made in the wood shops
several grafonolas, number of