himself, then he must be supplied with adequate equipment.
So far as the home life was concerned, the child of several generations ago was
at a decided advantage over the child of today on the expression side of his
education. The homes of that day were beehives of industry, in which a dozen
handicrafts were taught and practiced. The buildings, the farm implements, and
most of the furniture of the home were made from the native timber. The
material for the clothing of the family was produced on the farm, made into
cloth, and finally into garments in the home. Nearly all the supplies for the table
came likewise from the farm. These industries demanded the combined efforts of
the family, and each child did his or her part.
But that day is past. One-half of our people live in cities and towns, and even in
the village and on the farm the handicrafts of the home have been relegated to
the factory, and everything comes into the home ready for use. The telephone,
the mail carrier, and the deliveryman do all the errands even, and the child in the
home is deprived of responsibility and of nearly all opportunity for manual
expression. This is no one's fault, for it is just one phase of a great industrial
readjustment in society. Yet the fact remains that the home has lost an important
element in education, which the school must supply if we are not to be the losers
educationally by the change.
The School to Take Up the Handicrafts.—And modern educational method is
insisting precisely on this point. A few years ago the boy caught whittling in
school was a fit subject for a flogging; the boy is today given bench and tools,
and is instructed in their use. Then the child was punished for drawing pictures;
now we are using drawing as one of the best modes of expression. Then
instruction in singing was intrusted to an occasional evening class, which only
the older children could attend, and which was taught by some itinerant singing
master; today we make music one of our most valuable school exercises. Then
all play time was so much time wasted; now we recognize play as a necessary
and valuable mode of expression and development. Then dramatic representation
was confined to the occasional exhibition or evening entertainment; now it has
become a recognized part of our school work. Then it was a crime for pupils to
communicate with each other in school; now a part of the school work is planned
so that pupils work in groups, and thus receive social training. Then our
schoolrooms were destitute of every vestige of beauty; today many of them are
artistic and beautiful.
This statement of the case is rather over-optimistic if applied to our whole school