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  AMERICAN 
  HOMES 
  AND 
  GARDENS 
  

  

  February, 
  1907 
  

  

  Manual 
  Training 
  in 
  Public 
  Schools 
  

  

  By 
  Charles 
  C. 
  Johnson 
  

  

  HE 
  task 
  of 
  learning 
  how 
  best 
  to 
  use 
  one's 
  

   hands 
  has 
  become 
  a 
  science. 
  It 
  is 
  called 
  

   manual 
  training. 
  Through 
  it 
  thousands 
  oi 
  

   young 
  people 
  are 
  finding 
  out 
  that 
  there 
  are 
  

   within 
  themselves 
  possibilities 
  of 
  achieve- 
  

   ment 
  of 
  which 
  they 
  never 
  dreamed. 
  With- 
  

   in 
  the 
  last 
  five 
  years 
  manual 
  training 
  has 
  

   forged 
  to 
  the 
  front 
  with 
  giant 
  strides. 
  Instead 
  of 
  being 
  con- 
  

   fined 
  to 
  technical 
  institutions, 
  it 
  has 
  become 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  

   everyday 
  life 
  in 
  the 
  schools 
  of 
  large 
  cities. 
  One 
  result 
  of 
  this 
  

   is 
  that 
  in 
  thousands 
  of 
  homes 
  there 
  is 
  evidence 
  of 
  surprising 
  

   manual 
  accomplishment, 
  both 
  decorative 
  and 
  useful. 
  The 
  

   ranks 
  of 
  shop 
  and 
  professional 
  workers 
  are 
  annually 
  receiv- 
  

   ing 
  recruits 
  from 
  this 
  source, 
  of 
  a 
  far 
  higher 
  

   order 
  of 
  practical 
  knowledge 
  and 
  ability 
  to 
  "do 
  

   things" 
  than 
  has 
  hitherto 
  come 
  to 
  them 
  in 
  the 
  

   form 
  of 
  beginners. 
  

  

  Manual 
  training, 
  as 
  the 
  school 
  pupil 
  enjoys 
  it, 
  

   does 
  not 
  develop 
  the 
  finished 
  worker, 
  nor 
  is 
  any 
  

   such 
  pretense 
  made. 
  What 
  it 
  does 
  is 
  to 
  enable 
  a 
  

   pupil 
  to 
  find 
  himself, 
  and 
  its 
  chief 
  purpose 
  is 
  really 
  

   the 
  formation 
  of 
  a 
  partnership 
  of 
  head, 
  hand, 
  and 
  

   heart. 
  The 
  aim 
  of 
  instruction 
  in 
  what 
  is 
  called 
  

   constructive 
  work 
  is 
  to 
  give 
  the 
  individual 
  power 
  

   to 
  work 
  independently. 
  Special 
  effort 
  is 
  made 
  to 
  

  

  times 
  the 
  making 
  of 
  original 
  forms 
  is 
  permitted, 
  although 
  in- 
  

   dividual 
  models 
  must 
  be 
  directly 
  related 
  to 
  the 
  object 
  model. 
  

   Every 
  effort 
  is 
  made 
  to 
  induce 
  pupils 
  to 
  work 
  out 
  new 
  forms 
  

   at 
  home, 
  because 
  their 
  interest 
  in 
  the 
  tasks 
  in 
  hand 
  is 
  meas- 
  

   ured 
  largely 
  by 
  the 
  home 
  work 
  they 
  are 
  willing 
  to 
  do. 
  Later 
  

   on, 
  the 
  attention 
  of 
  the 
  pupils 
  is 
  taken 
  up 
  with 
  basketry 
  and 
  

   weaving, 
  tasks 
  to 
  which 
  they 
  seem 
  to 
  bring 
  the 
  best 
  thought 
  

   there 
  is 
  in 
  them. 
  

  

  The 
  general 
  manual 
  training 
  course 
  in 
  the 
  New 
  York 
  

   public 
  schools 
  extends 
  over 
  eight 
  years, 
  and 
  includes 
  drawing, 
  

   construction, 
  and 
  shop 
  work. 
  The 
  first 
  two 
  years 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  

   time 
  is 
  devoted 
  to 
  freehand 
  representation 
  of 
  objects, 
  simple 
  

   illustrative 
  drawings, 
  constructive 
  work 
  with 
  applications 
  of 
  

  

  A 
  Carpentry 
  Class 
  Learning 
  the 
  Use 
  of 
  Tools 
  

  

  promote 
  original 
  creation 
  and 
  execution. 
  Every 
  new 
  process 
  

   is 
  taught 
  with 
  a 
  view 
  of 
  giving 
  the 
  ability 
  to 
  use 
  the 
  knowl- 
  

   edge 
  gained 
  in 
  the 
  making 
  of 
  other 
  forms. 
  

  

  Contrary 
  to 
  general 
  opinion, 
  first 
  steps 
  in 
  manual 
  training 
  

   are 
  not 
  associated 
  with 
  shop 
  work 
  — 
  carpentry 
  or 
  mechanics 
  

   of 
  any 
  sort. 
  In 
  fact, 
  the 
  first 
  three 
  years 
  the 
  subjects 
  of 
  this 
  

   course 
  are 
  construction, 
  design, 
  illustration, 
  object 
  drawing 
  — 
  

   all 
  with 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  paper, 
  splints, 
  and 
  pencil. 
  Whenever 
  pos- 
  

   sible, 
  lessons 
  in 
  illustrative 
  drawing 
  supplement 
  other 
  lessons. 
  

  

  decorative 
  design, 
  color, 
  study 
  

   of 
  pictures. 
  In 
  the 
  third 
  year 
  

   constructive 
  work 
  from 
  draw- 
  

   ings 
  is 
  added. 
  The 
  fourth 
  and 
  

   fifth 
  year 
  courses 
  cover 
  practi- 
  

   cally 
  the 
  same 
  ground. 
  The 
  

   sixth 
  year 
  includes 
  freehand 
  

   drawing, 
  memory 
  or 
  imagina- 
  

   tive 
  drawings, 
  simple 
  compo- 
  

   sition, 
  principles 
  of 
  construc- 
  

   t 
  i 
  o 
  n 
  drawing, 
  constructive 
  

   work 
  from 
  patterns 
  or 
  working 
  drawings, 
  decorative 
  design 
  

   and 
  its 
  application, 
  color, 
  study 
  of 
  pictures 
  and 
  other 
  works 
  

   of 
  art. 
  

  

  The 
  seventh 
  year 
  course 
  takes 
  up 
  freehand 
  drawing, 
  prin- 
  

   ciples 
  of 
  perspective, 
  memory 
  or 
  imaginative 
  drawings, 
  com- 
  

   position, 
  construction 
  drawing, 
  principles 
  of 
  constructive 
  de- 
  

   sign, 
  ornament, 
  decorative 
  design 
  and 
  its 
  application, 
  color, 
  

   study 
  of 
  pictures 
  and 
  other 
  works 
  of 
  art. 
  At 
  this 
  point, 
  too, 
  

   comes 
  shop 
  work, 
  including 
  the 
  use 
  and 
  care 
  of 
  hack 
  saw, 
  

  

  In 
  grade 
  2B 
  in 
  the 
  manual 
  training 
  course 
  of 
  the 
  New 
  York 
  plane, 
  chisel, 
  brace 
  and 
  bit; 
  use 
  of 
  nails 
  and 
  screws; 
  applica- 
  

  

  public 
  schools, 
  for 
  instance, 
  the 
  first 
  step 
  is 
  to 
  make 
  objects 
  tion 
  of 
  stains; 
  making 
  of 
  simple, 
  useful 
  articles 
  from 
  indi- 
  

  

  from 
  paper 
  by 
  cutting, 
  folding, 
  and 
  pasting 
  some 
  form 
  for 
  vidual 
  plans; 
  application 
  of 
  decoration; 
  or, 
  in 
  schools 
  with- 
  

  

  furnishing 
  a 
  playhouse, 
  such 
  as 
  an 
  armchair 
  or 
  table. 
  Some- 
  out 
  shops, 
  constructive 
  work 
  from 
  patterns 
  or 
  designs. 
  

  

  