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44 
Mey zi, i915 
_ The last meeting of the Manches- 
er Parent-Teacher association for 
this season, was held Wednesday 
evening at the Price School. 
_ Emily Gilbert of Worcester was the 
speaker of the evening 
being, “The School- House as a So- 
Social Ceriter.”’ 
me onected with social welfare work 
Miss 
her subject 
Miss Gilbert has been 
for a number of years and is now 
with Mrs. Higgins, the State presi- 
Bent of the Parent-Teacher associa- 
tion, and she speaks easily and pleas- 
antly, with her subject well defined 
"and arranged. She said in part: 
“School-houses are the most ex- 
pensive plants in any town, and, when 
opened for school sessions only, are 
in use only five hours of the day. 
The citizens of the town or city must 
support the building by taxes,—why 
not get their money’s worth? 
Thus, 
the greatest and first argument in 
favor of using the school-house as a 
social center is the economic reason. 
At very little extra expense, it may be 
made to serve an almost. unending 
list of purposes. As a club- house, 
where the men and women of the 
neighborhood may meet for friendly 
‘discussion and recreation it is inval- 
uable. 
“Encouragement of neighborliness. 
This second reason, for opening the 
school buildings after school hours 13 
no small consideration, especially in 
cities where one seldom knows one’s 
neighbors. City conditions are not 
conducive to neighborliness, and this 
the 
lack of interest is undesirable, and 
people more and more are taking up 
subject seriously. The latest 
statistics on the subject are nearly 
two years old, but they prove that 
there were in 1913, 207 cities in the 
United States which had opened their 
- material for pageantry. 
schools for recreational and_ social 
purposes, and of course there are 
now many more than that number. 
In industrial centers, where there ‘ts 
a large foreign population, this en- 
couragement of a neighborly spirit 1s 
particularly necessary. How, other- 
wise, can these people from other 
lands absorb our standards and tradi- 
tions of government and self-govern- 
ment? These foreigners have, also, 
so much to give us in the way of 
folk songs, legends and wonderful 
“Another great reason for the 
growing popularity of this movement 
is the flexibility of the carrying out 
ef the plans. The needs of the 
neighborhood, and then the facilities 
of the school-house must be taken in- 
to consideration. Often the building 
may be utilized for political purposes. 
are sent down for exhibition. 
ning school after their day’s 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE and Reminder 
In other cases it may be adapted to 
concerts, moving picture shows, ex- 
hibits, etc.” 
Miss Gilbert made particular meti- 
tion of the Washington Irving school 
in New York, which was designed 
for social uses. The entrance hali, 
or lobby, has been used for an art 
gallery, the construction and lighting 
being suited to this use, and pictures 
from the Metropolitan Art Museum 
The 
hall has, also, a large fire-place just 
across from the door, and that helps 
to give a homelike atmosphere to the 
place. For the girls who attend eve- 
work, 
the lunch counter is open at night so 
that they may not have to go to their 
homes, but may get their supper and 
liave half an hour’s recreation in the 
gymnasium in the building before go- 
ing to classes. Many of the school- 
houses have a definite program, with 
certain evenings for certain purposes, 
and with some of the rooms open 
every night in the week,—one for a 
quiet game room, one for a reading 
room, etc. In the quiet game 
room checkers, chess and_ other 
games, which may be played upon the 
desks, are furnished and in the read- 
ing room are periodicals and papers. 
“There are three classes of social 
centers,” continued the speaker, ‘the 
first one being for the discussion of 
civic questions. At such a center the 
members of the neighborhood feel 
perfect freedom to talk of the things 
that interest them, and many ideas, 
never otherwise discussed, find ex- 
pression. The second type is edu- 
cational, and is a forum for the en- 
couragement of new plans for the 
advancement of new ideas in school 
life. The third, and largest, is the 
purely recreational class, which furn- 
ishes good, wholesome good times 
for the young people. Emphasis 
must be laid upon the fact that if the 
school does not supply this need, 
commercial recreation will take its 
place. Dance halls, moving picture 
shows, pool-rooms, and amusement 
beaches and parks are in the class of 
commercial recreations and even un- 
der the best of supervision, which 1s 
the exception rather than the rule, they 
ate undesirable for two reasons. 
First, they divide the family; second 
they are no encouragement to neigh - 
borheod spirit.” 
Miss Gilbert spoke at some lengt; 
of a social center, which she helped 
to organize in New Jersey and of the 
Ai tPouWies which were overcome, and 
of another, where circumstances were 
quite different, at Nantasket. |The 
latter was quite interesting to Man- 
chester people because of the simi- 
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larity of conditions in Manchester 
and Nantasket, both towns being 
primarily summer resorts with very 
little provision for the amusement of 
the young people in the winter 
months. ‘the Parent-Teacher associ- 
ation was the promotor of the idea, 
and to this fact Miss Gilbert attribut- 
ed much of the immediate success of 
the plan. At the November meeting 
a committee was appointed to look in- 
to the possibility of utilizing the 
school-house as a social center; at 
the December meeting, the committee 
reported; at the January meeting 
Miss: Gilbert spoke on social centers, 
and work was started at once. The 
city donated the light, heat and jani- 
tor service, and members of the as- 
sociation volunteered to be at the 
school on cértain evenings for super- 
vision. There were social dances, 
plays, minstrel shows, embroidery and 
other classes, and games throughout 
the winter. The reasons for the 
rapid growth of this comparatively 
new idea, Miss. Gilbert said, at the 
close of her address, are that it is 
never stereotyped, programs may be 
adapted to suit the needs of the com- 
munity; there is a feeling of freedom 
and ownership, because the move- 
ment is in no sense charitable or 
philanthropical; and no educational 
program is thrust upon the people. 
Miss. Gilbert’s address reached 
more people directly than any other 
at the Parent-Teacher meetings this 
year, pias a , as the hall was pack- 
ed to the doors many being obliged 
to stand. Miss Green’s class, Grade 
VII, sang “The Morning Ramble,” a 
i The: Gare Are Splashing Lightly,’ 
and as an encore “Byvenings’s Twi- 
light” very well, and were generously 
applauded. The exhibition of man- 
ual art and drawings was of interest 
to nearly everyone present, and 
some particularly good work was 
shown. The social com'rittee served 
punch and crackers at the close of the 
meeting. 
Trust men and they will be true to 
you; treat then greatly, and they will 
show themselves great.—Emerson, 
