22 STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, SAN JOSE, 



CHAPTER IV. 



PUBLIC RECREATION. 



Section 1. Parks and Playgrounds. 



Provision made in the citj' charter for their control. 

 Powers and duties of Park and Playground Commissioners. 



Parks. 



a. Economic value to the city. (See Playgrounds.) 



b. Number and location, area. 



c. Care received, care needed. 



d. Service they render the people. 



e. Need of supervision of the young who go to parks for pleasure. 



f. .^Esthetic value to city. 



g. Desirability of the city's buying more land for parks while land is cheap. 

 Playgrounds. 



1. Value of playgrounds to a city. 



a. Economic ; increase land values. 



b. Make for better health. 



c. Prevent juvenile delinquency. 



d. Furnish opportunity for wholesome amusement. 



e. Train in co-operation and initiative. 



f. Raise the moral tone of the boys of the city. 



2. Importance of playgrounds being supervised. 



a. The personality of a good director a moral uplift to the children. 



b. The backward children encouraged. 



c. The weak children are protected. 



d. The games directed. 



3. Size and location of playgrounds. 



a. Number of square feet per child. 



b. Small plots for young children near their homes. 



c. Large playgrounds near congested part of city. 



d. Wisdom of making streets into temporary playgrounds. 



4. Equipment for playground ; kind desired. 



a. Provision for boys 10 to 16. 



b. Provision for girls 12 to 16. 



c. Small boys and girls. 



d. Little children. 



5. Wisdom of buying land for playgrounds while land is cheap. 



Playgrounds. Field Work. 



1. Indicate on a map of your city all of the places where you think playgrounds 



should be located. 



2. State your reasons. 



(Note. — Make provision for small children who can not go far from 

 home.) 



3. Visit one of the places and learn the price of land there. (If it is exorbitantly 



high you may have to modify your plan.) 



4. Make a list of games that you think should be provided for on a playground. 



5. Draw to scale a block of land. 



6. Mark off, according to scale, the ball grounds and the other grounds to be used 



for athletics. 



7. Locate the playground apparatus that you want used. 



8. Tabulate the cost. (See catalogue of playground apparatus.) 



9. Estimate the cost of preparing the ball ground, the tennis court, the athletic field. 



10. How much real work are you willing to do to get the kind of playground 



you have described? 



11. State reasons, in order of their importance, why boys and girls should have a 



place to play. 



