..^... IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) ^^IV"**. 1.0 I.I 1.25 2.5 lit 123 i lis llliio 8 6" I U i 1.6 signifie 'A SUIVRE ". le symbole V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre fiimis A des taux de rMuction diff6rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul cliche, 11 est film6 A partir de I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. errata I to t 9 pelure, on d n 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 i \ \ F^f«fW"'»™*«"*' ■""•'■' ■ -': '"'"'.■'fiipiWWIvj^nijIil^liUiliJiiiipVli^^ .5^,j|,iP ■^■'A: ¥ ^ i) V V ^ i^ The Macdonald Sloyd School Fund ::1 'i MANUAL TRAINING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS ( •'.( JAS. W. ROBERTSON, Commissioner of Agriculture and Dairying for the Dominion of Gmada. OTTAWA, I8W. Printed At the office of E- J. Rcyaokk Spwfa Stnct. \ ^ 1^—1 T m I This is a revised report of an address giren by PROFESSOR ROBERTSON before the PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD OF OTTAWA, on the evening of Thursday, November 2, 1899. It has been enlarged by quotations from "The Theory of Educational Sloyd'\- George Philip & Son, London. ■■■■^■■■■■■■■^■■■■■■■■■^■■■■■■■■■P mmmmmmm MANUAL TRAINING. May I be permitted to say at once that if Manual Train- ing were in any sense one of the "fads," which every now and then are pushed to the front as a sovereign remedy for the ills of humanity, in its childhood or mature age, I would not for one moment advocate or promote it. Instead of that, it is the practical application of an educational movement which, during the last ten years par- ticularly, has won an ever-widening place in the school sys- tems of the foremost countries in Europe and also in the United States. It is already correcting some of the school influences which have been complained of alike by parents and teachers. It has been said that the schools, where book studies are the only or chief ones, turn the children from contentment with occupations in which bodily labour plays an important part, and also incline them to leave rural homes for cities, and clerical and professional pursuits. While much has been said and written about the dan- ger of over-educating the rural population and thereby lead- ing them to leave the farms, I do not think it is possible to over- educate anybody. On the other hand it is easily possible and has been quite common to over-school boys and girls, as well as grown people. Perhaps one of the many causes which have helped tobringabout:. preference for clerical, professional and scholastic occupations, in those who have no natural fitness for them, and a corresponding distaste for manual and bodily labour, has been the too exclusively book and language studies of the common schools. MACDONALD SLOYD SCHOOL FUND When a spirit of bare scholasticism pervades the primary schools, the high schools, the colleges and the universities, it is likely to leave the young men and women facing back- wards, perhaps modestly proud of their knowledge of the his- tory and theories of the past, but without ability to fill a man's or woman's place in the present. But when scholarship and practical and manual instruction, join hands in the schools to train the whole child, and not merely the memory and language faculties, the children will leave school facing aright, capable and happy in making the right things come to pass, at the right time and in the right way. General Education. As Commissioner of Agriculture I find that the efforts of the Department to help the farmers arc chiefly intended to increase intelligence, to develop skill and to promote co- operation. These are all educational objects. However, I do not speak to-night in an official capacity ; but as a private citizen. Wc- are all interested in education. We have not come to a state of mind when the wrongs of child-life cease from troubling. Education begins with the child's life, and should contimie of the right sort thoughout. It seems un- necessary and wholly undesirable that the school period should be different from the years which go before and follow it, in its influence on the development of .some of the most important faculties. Before the child goes to school, il is receiving mo.st of its education, by its .senses bringing it into conscious relationship with the material world around it, and by doing things with its hands. After the boy and girl leave school, they are required to do things with their hands, and to recognize and control their relationships to the things about them. Is it too much to expect that education in the .school period, while imparting information and deveh^ping the gen- eral intelligence, should have cultivated their senses to be MANUAL TRAINING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS 7 keen and alert, and to report accurately and fully on wliatl'es all round them ? That prepares the mind for frequent ex- periences of *' the joy of clear apprehension." None the less should their hands and eyes be trained to obey readilv and skilfully the desires of the mind. Manual training is a means of developing- mental power. These, — systematic training of the senses, of the hands and eyes, and of the mind — ,are some of the objects of practical and manual in- struction. As nearly all educational movements beg^n in cities and spread into the country districts, this also will doubtless fol- low the same course. That is one reason why the schools of the Capital are chosen for its introduction rather than tliose in rural districts. In the cities, as well as later on in the country parts, it will surely give many boys such a love for manual, industrial and productive labor for its own sak^*, tliat they will choose such occupations and delight in following them. Not Trade Schools. Manual and Practical Instruction (under the name of Schools of Industry) was advocated a century ago mainly as a means to fit the children of artizans to earn their own living successfully. These schools were more generally promoted in Germany than elsewhere and were not educationally a success. Manual and practical instruction is now recommend- ed as an educational means for developing intellectual and moral qualities of high value, in all children, without ]^artic- ular regard to the occupations they are to follow afterwards. It is not technical education; although it gives, during the period of general education, the necessary preparation whereby auN'one may derive the full measure of benefit from technical instruction at a later age. 8 MACDONALD SLOYD SCHOOL FUND Some Good Results. The following extract from the Annual Report of the School Committee of Boston for 1892 shows some of the ex- cellent results from manual instruction in the schools there. It is from the Head Master of the Agassiz School : — > ".Manual trainir;!; in tlio form of wood-work combined with draw- ing has now been a put of cvciy pupil's education in the upper grades of the Agassiz School for three years, The time is too short to speak In a dogmatic manner of the effect of such training, but I think I can discern the followiui; good results : First, a distinct gain in accuracy, not only the habit of doing work more acciu'ately, but also a better ap- preciation and knowledge of what.accuracy reallymeans. * * * Second, this makes the pupil more tboughtful. Third, it mnkes him more at" tentive. Fourth, it laakes him uu)re observant. Fifth, the good effect of this training is quite noticeable in drawing and in arithmetic, especi- ally in the subjects of nu-nsuvntiou and square root. Sixth, it has given certain boys an incre.used inti'iest in school." Royal Commission on the Subject. In 1896 the Comniissioner.s of National Education in Ire- land requested the Lord Lieutenant to appoint a Commission to inquire and rep->rt with a view to determinincy how far, and in what form, mamial and practical instruction should be in- cluded in the Educational System of the Primary Schools under the Board of National Kdncation in Ireland. The fol- lowing are extracts from the fourth and final report submitted on 25th June, 1898 : — " In cariying ou' the task imposed upon us by Your Excellency's Ooramission of January 25, 181)7, we hnve had ninetv-three meetings, of which fifty-seven wovo sit t ings for the receiving of evidence. We have taken the evidenc<>of ISrt persons whom we considered (pialitied to give information on the matters submitted to \is, and we have visited 119 schools, in most of \^■llieh we liiye bad an opportunity of seeing Manna and Practical instruction actually given." 4v ^ * * Note. — The Commissioners visited schools in Ireland, England, Scotland, vSwcdcn and Denmark. MANUAL TRAINING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS " With a view to ascertain the existinR facts with regard to Manual and Practical Instruction in Germany, Prance, Switzerland and Holland, we employed as our assistants to visit these countries, Messrs. Purser, Bolleston, Bonaparte Wyse, and Hughes-Dowling. The reports of these gentlemen will be found in Appendix B. We have had the ad- vantage, too, of the assistance of Mr. M. E. Sadler, Director of Special Inquiries and Reports to the Committee of Council on Education, who was kind enough to furnish us with a memorandum on Manual Train- ing for boys in Primary Schools in foreign countries. For our inform- ation regarding schools in the United States, we are indebted to the very complete and exhaustive Reports issued by the United States Bureau of Education. We have also had the benefit of the experience of one of our colleagues. Professor Fitzgerald, who took the occasion of a visit to America, in the autumn of last year, to see some of the primary schools in that country." Result of Inquiry. "After careful consideration of the evidence laid before us, and of the facts w'.ich we have seen for ourselves, we now proceed to report, in accordance with your Excellency's Commission, how far, and in what form, Manual and Practical Instruction should be included in the system of primary education carried out by the National Education Board in Ireland. We may at once express our strong conviction that Manual and Practical Instruction ought to be introduced, as far as possible, into all schools where it does not at present exist, and that, in those schools whore it does exist, it ought to be largely developed and extended. We are satisfied that such a change n ill not involve any de- triment to the literary education of the pupils, while it will contril)ute largely to develop their faculties, to ciuicken their intelligence, and to fit them better for their work in life." Reasons. "The considerations by which we have been led to the general con- clusions above set out, will be fully discussed in the second part of this Report, under the several heads of Manvial and Practical Instruction. But Ave think it will be for your Excellency's convenience, that the gen- eral summary of our conclusions should be here followed by a general summary of the grounds on which they are based." 10 MACDONALD SLOYD SCHOOL FUND Reasons Mainly Educational. 1. " First, then, there are reasons founded on educational principlea. The present system, whicli consists largely in the study of books, is one- sided in its character ; and it leaves some of the most useful faculties of the mind absolutely untrained. We think it important that children should be taught not merely to take in knowledge from books, but to observe with intelligence the material world around them ; that they should bo trained in habits of correct reasoning on the facts observed ; and that they should even at school, acquire some skill in the use of hand and eye to execute the conceptions of the brain. Such a training we regard as valuaV)le to all, but especially valuable to those whose lives are to be mainly devoted to industrial arts and occupations. The great bulk of the pupils attending primary schools under the National Board will have to earn their bread by the work of their hands ; it is therefore important that they should be trained, from the beginning, to use thei^ hands with dexterity and intelligence." Reasons from Experience. 2. "Next, we have the practical experience of those schools in England, Scotland, and on the Continent of Eiu'ope, in which such a system as we recommend has been already introduced and tested. The evidence we have received on this point, is absolutely unanimous and, as we think, entirely conclusive. We have been told, over and over again, that the introduction of manual and practical training has con- tributed greatly to stimulate the intelligotice of the pupils, to increase their interest in school work, and to make school life generally brighter and more pleasant. As a consequence the school attendance is improv- ed ; the children remain at school to a more advanced age ; and much time is gained for the purpose of education. "We inquired particidarly whether the literary side of school stud- ies—reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, and googrnphy had suffered any loss by the change ; and tlie answer was uniform, that no such loss had been observed. In some cases, we were assured that the literary studies had been positively imju'oved by the introduction of manual training. This result was accounted for, jiartlv by the increased in- telligence of the chndrcn, partly by the constant t-liaiige and variety of their occupations,— innny of the most useful exercises being onlyakind of organized play, and partly by tlieir iiicrc'nscd inti'rcst in their work* " We regai'd it also as a very significant testimony to the value of manual training, that wherever it has been once introduced, it has, MANUAL TRAINING IN PUBUC SCHOOLS ii with hardly an exception, been continued and extended. There has been practically no 'disposition to go back to the old system, which made primary education almost exclusively literary in its character ; and after an experience extending over some years, there is a general consensus of managers of schools, inspectors, and parents, that the value of primary education has been greatly enhanced by the change," A Basis Needed for Technical Education. • 3. "Lastly, there is a consideration of a practical character, which seems to us deserving of no little weight. A strong desire exists through- out this country, and it is growing stronger every dayi for the Intro- duction of a general system of Technical Education. It is thought that a good system of Technical Education would contribute largely towards the development of arts and Industries in Ireland ; and in this opinion we entirely concur. But the present system of primary education is so one-sided in its char.acter that it leaves the pupils quite unprepared for Technical Education, The clever boys trained in the National Schools, if they are disposed to seek for a higher education, may pass with ad- vantage into Intermediate Schools of the kind now general in Ireland ; but they are not fit to enter a Technical School, even if they had such a school at their doors. Now it seems to us the changes we recommend would go far to remedy this defect. Tlie system of National Educ- ntion, modified as we propose, would give an all-round training to the faculties of the children, and would thus lay a solid foundation for any system of hijrher education— literary, scientific, or technical — which might afterwards he found suitable to their talents and their circum- stances." * • « • Conclusion. "In jn-esontiug this report to your P'xcellency, we venture to ex- press Diu' eonvietion that, if our reconuuend.ation.s he adopted, the system of edueat ion earried out in the primary schools of Ireland ean be made, within a tew years, very thorough and complete. At present, no doubt, it is exe(>Uent in some respects ; hut in other respects it seems to us seriously deficient. Insisting too nuich, as it does, on the study of hooks, it leaves the faculty of observation and other important facul- ties eomparatively uncultivated; atid it neglects almost entirely that training of the hand and eye which would he so useful to the children in then" after life, and which is now regai'ded both in P^nRland and on the Continent of Europe, as an element of great importance in primary education. la MACDONALD SLOYD SCHOOL FUND " The development of Manual and Practical Jnstrrction, on the lines we have pointed out, will remedy these defects, >vnd will not, we are satisfied, infliot any injury on the literary education which is now given. It will not disturb what is good in the present system, but only supply what is wanting. It will quicken the intelligence of the child< ren, brighten the tone of school life, and make school-work generally more interesting and attractive. With the system of National Educ- ation modified as we propose, the children will be taught not by means of books only, but also by the more simple and effective agency of things ; and they will be better prepared for their work in life, which, for the great bulk of them, must consist mainly of manual occupa- tions. •' It is hardly necessary to say that the changes we have recom- mended cannot be carried out without a considerable expenditure of money. But we feel confident that the State, which so largely main- tains and controls the system of National Education in Ireland will not hesitate to provide the necessary funds for improving that system, within reasonable limits. The progress of the people in wealth and material prosperity must largely depend on the education given in the primary schools ; and to make that education thoroughly efficient and fit for its purpose is a task, we submit, which may well be iindertaken, in the highest interests of the State, whatever the necessary cost may be." I have quoted freely from that Report. I am greatly indebted to it. I consider it peerless even among Parliamen- tary Blue Books for the thoroughnes-^ ^^ its information. Its statements are clear as sunshine, s* . is the words of wis- dom, and convincing as truth itself. The Governor-Ge-eral of Canada. His Excellency the Governor-General has expressed a keen interest in the welfare of the children of Canada ; and the Countess of Minto, desirous of doing all she can to promote a good movement, is visiting schools in England, at present, to see and learn for herself the results of manual and practical instruction there, MANUAL TRAINING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS 13 What I Saw in London. During the summer I had an opportunity to visit some of the primary schools in London in company with the School Board's organizer of manual instruction. Manual training in the primary schools was begun in London about 1886. As woodwork was not then recognized by the English Education Department as a subject to be taught in Elementary Schools the School Board was unable to use public monies to main- tain it. Next year a grant of one thousand pounds was ob- tained from the Drapers' Company through the City and Guilds' Institute. A Joint Committee was formed whereby the funds were administered. The manual training was found so thoroughly useful and acceptable that it was speedi- ly exten' In 1890 woodwork was recognized by the Educa ,.1 Department as a school subject. The School Board was thus enabled to expend its own funds upon this branch of school work, and in the same year money was pro. vided by Parliament for grants for it from the Imperial Ex- chequer, Now there are about 150 manual training centres ; and as nearly as I could learn, about 50,000 boys between the ages of nine and fourteen are receiving courses of instruction in wood-work, iron-work, brass-work or leather-work in the Public Board Schools of London. At a typical school which I visited, a room was fitted with some forty benches, each provided with wood-working tools. There was also a supply of general tools for the room, in addition to the particular tools at each bench- One in- structor and an assistant were sufficient for {he forty boys. The course of instruction is a three years' one ; and each boy gives half a day per week to it. Consequently the manual training room, in that instance, provided facilities for 400 boys, there being ten half days in each school week. H MACDONALD SLOYD SCHOOL FUND A series of articles called models are made by the boys. The tilings are articles of use, and are known to be such by the pupils. Each one is wholly made by the pupil. When the teacher needs to give practical demonstration, he gives it on another piece of wood, and not on the piece on which the boy is working. It is not much learning, but much interfer- ing which makes anybody mad. The pupils make the ob- jects by copying directly from the actual models. Later on they make drawings of the models from measurements, and make the objects from the drawings. I observed that the children were deeply interested in their work. A casual glance of observation was all they gave to the visitors. A spirit of earnestness, self-reliance and care- ful perserverance seemed to pervade the whole school. The teacher told me that in accuracy of observation and accuracy of expression there was a noticeable improvement in the children after they had gone through the manual training course. I found similar equipment and equal satisfaction reported in regard to the Board Schools in Liverpool. Different from Apprentice Work. The system of education is called English Sloyd. Sloyd is a Swedish word for " dexterity." Education^^ Sloyd is an entirely different thing from carpentry. The manual training room is not a workshop where operations are carried on with a view to the commercial value of the articles turned out. A workshop is a money-making institution, whereas a room for manual training — for Sloyd work — in connection with a school, is for the training and developing of the children, without regard to the intrinsic value of the work turned out, or to the length of time re- quired to make any particular object. Sloyd work is really a series of exercises so arranged as to have educational results. I, MANUAL TRAINING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS 15 A floor area of about six hundred square feet is enough to acconimodate about thirty pupils and one bench for each. A room 24 x 30 feet would be amply large ; and would pro- vide also for the instructor's bench and for a group of pupils to watch what he was doing. Ten classes of thirty pupils each, or three hundred in all, could be passed through such a room in the week. The benches are of convenient height and size, and each one is fitted with a rack for the holding of tools, and also with tools. Some of them are also fitted with a simple device for the holding of the drawings, so that the work with the tools may proceed with the drawing in full view all the time. General class instruction with the aid of a blackboard, is given by some teachers in a fifteen minutes' talk, before the particular work of the half-day begins ; and instruction is given also to each of the pupils individually as the work at the benches proceeds. Nature of the Models. . In some schools the first object to be made is a plant label. This involves (i) cutting to an exact length, (2) cutting the ends square by the use of a fine saw, (3) reducing to the pro- per thickness and width, and (4) making a taper with the same angles as those of the model. In other schools a small point- er is the first model ; and in others some object equally easily made. The first article is easily made ; the second introduces some slightly different use of a tool or the use of some differ- ent tool ; and so they proceed, arousing, training and gratify- ing the child as he makes all of each one himself. It is to be remembered that the pupil makes each article wholly himself. At first he makes directly from the models. Later on he makes drawings from drawings of the models. Further on he makes his own drawings directly from the models. Then finally he is trained to make the articles from his own drawings of the models. The course may be arranged mmmmm 16 MACDONALD SI.OYD SCHOOL FUND on a plan of from thirty to sixty or more articles to be made by the pupil during the three years. The following extract is from a statement by Most Rev Dr. Walsh of Ireland, on the subject of Manual Training : — " These objects are of no commercial value, at least the'- are not valued for their own sakes. So far as intrinsic value goes they might be destroyed as soon as they are made. As has been well said in one of the best expositions of the system, they are, in this respect, like the pages of the copy-book that the child fills in when learning to write. It is not the objects themselves, but the making of them that is looked to. It is the work of making them that constitutes the means to the end that is aimed at — that end being the cultivation, not only of man- ual dexterity but of accuracy, of carefulness in little things, of neatness, of self-reliance, of patience, of perseverance, of concentration of thought upon the work to be done, of love for honest, well-finished work— in a word, the training and cultivation of all those faculties and habits which it is of the highest importance to cultivate as a preparation for the busi- ness of life." The following are a few of the models which have been used. Round Flower Stick; Rectangular Flower Stick; Key Label ; Pen Rest ; Flower Pot Cross ; Metre Measure ; Flat Ruler ; Lamp Wall Stand ; Set Square ; Bracket ; Picture Frame ; Book Shelves. Some of the last mentioned ones are from the High School Series. The lectures of Mr. Otto Salomon, the renowned Director of the Seminarinm for teachers at Naas, Sweden, furnished valuable suggestions on the choice of models and on the ar- rangement of the series of models. An authorized edition of those lectures is published under the name of "The Theory of Educational Sloyd."* To it I am indebted for the following : GENERAL PRINCIPLES RELATING TO THE SERIES OF MODELS. A. — Ten points on the choice of models. (1.) All objects of liumii'y— knick-knacks — should be excluded. From an educational point of view, we must first teach what is necess- ary ; secondly, what is useful ; thirdly, if time permits, what is agree- able. These terms are, however, relative. *George Philip & Son, London. f MANUAL TRAINING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 17 What is necessary to one person may be useful to another, and what may be useful to one, agreeable to another. What is a luxury in one age or country, is not necessarily so at another time or place. What is a luxury to a poor man may be a necessity to a rich. In regard to nature the terms are more absolute. What is necess- ary to one is necessary to all. It is necessary to eat food; it is useful to eat food sufficient, and of good quality ; it is agreeable to have it well cooked and prepared. (2,) All Models should be sen^icenftle in the house. If this is to be the case, the models will vary to some extent in different schools. Not only will the models be diflferent in different countries, but in different districts of the same country ; e.g., in country schools it would not be wise to teach the manufacture of objects only useful in towns. It would be preferable to substitute models which may be used in agriculture ; but in substituting other models, carei tust be taken not to disarrange a carefully graduated series of exercises. So, too, if the school bo near a lake, objects concerning boats and fish- ing should receive attention. The general principle by which we should be guided is : that the series of models made in the school should give the best expression to objects needed at home or in the district. (3.) They should he cajHihle of being finished by the children with' out help. Hence models shonld not ha a part merely of something, but the whole. For this reason it has been found necessary to exclude many things which would otherwise have made useful models. (4.) The models should be of wood, and only wood should be worked in, as a rule. To this rule there are one or two exceptions, as the cloak suspender, the clothes rack, and bucket ; and these have been inserted because teachers in the country districts of Sweden cannot buy them^ but there is no reason why they should be retained in an Ekiglish series. When it is said that the models must be made of wood, it is not im- plied that there is any objection to the purchase of iron fittings. (5.) The objects should not be polished or stained. In the first place, because children cannot polish well. Models are frequently spoiled by it. Many juniors cannot polish well, i.e., French polish. In the second place, it is important that children should not be taught to think too much of the surface. It is not so important that a thing look well, as that it be dome well. i8 MACDONALD SLOYD SCHOOL FUND Polishing and'wood-carving exert a morally bad influence, if done to cover up bad or indiiferent work. It is a degradation of the polisher's and carver's arts to use them for such a purpose. (0.) The objecia nuule should be aueh aa to require ns little ivood tia possible. Some models require much wood, but if the same exercises can be furnished by smaller objects equally useful, then these should be pre* ferred. The value of the object must be in the child's work, and not in the amount of material used. This recommendation has a further value, inasmuch as it teaches the child to use small means in effecting ends. Children should be trained to be economical by taking care of those pieces of wood for smaller objects which they have spoiled in making larger ones, (7.) I%« children should be taught to work in harder and softer kinda of wood— hut not in the hardest or the softest. (8.) Turnery and carving should be uaed very little. (0.) Objects chosen should be such aa vnll develop the sense of form, (10.) All the exercises (embraced by the particular kind of Sloyd in question) whiah the child is capable of making, ahould be properly graduated and included in the aeries in due proportions. i I ■ B.— Eight Principles on the Arrangement of the Series OF Models. (1.) The series should proceed from the easier to the more difficult, and from the simpler to tlie more com,plea: ; which expressions, as we have seen, are not identical in meaning. (2.) A refreshing variety must be afforded, (3.) In the early part of the series, the models should be capable of being quickly and easily made, and should be so progressively arranged that, later on, the objects arrived at should require more time and skill, and yet be capable of being done without help. Children expect to have results as quickly as possible. They have not sufficient patience and foresight to derive any benefit or satisfaction from results which are expected to crown their labours in a few days or months. For this reason the objects further on in the series should take more time, in order to cultivate patience and foresight. (4.) Jn the production of the early m,odels, few tools should be re- quired, but as the series progress, new tools and manipulations should be introduced. ! MANUAL TRAINING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS 19 t 1. (6) That every model should be 80 placed in the Mtnet, that the neces- sary qualifications for doing it exactly are found in the child, who therefore does not need the help of the t«acher. It should not relative- ly be more difficult for a child to do one model than another. A model may be more complex, but this doas not imply an increase of difficulty ; for the child— when it reaches it— has acquired greater skill. A person who has used one tool will use a second better, although it be of an- other kind ; he will use a centre bit (setter for having previously worked with a knife. (6.) The models must be so arranged that the pupils can always make not only a serviceable, but an exact copy. The degree of exactness is a very important feature. It is easy to make a table if exactneM be not required. (7.) That the knife— a^ the fundamental tool— be used frequently especially at th£ beginning. By the fundamental tool, we understand that tool with which the child is most acquainted and can most easily use, hence we begin with it ; secondly, that tool which cultivates the greatest amount of manual dexterity; and thirdly, the tool which in after life will be mont useful to the child, and most ready to hand. These advantages the Sloyd knife possesses. We must not be understood to imply that this tool is the one most used throughout the series of models. (8.) ThMt generally in the early models the softest toood should not be iised. It is more difficult to use a knife on a very soft wood than on a wood not so soft ; so that it is advisable to avoid using the softest kinds of pine and fir." P f) Schools in Canada. We all know schools have a two-fold use ; the imparting of knowledge, and the drawing out of the natural powers and capacity of the pupils ; but it is the teacher — the human ele- ment in the school and in the system — that counts for most. The personal qualities of the teachtr are the prime power oul- side the pupil which make for educational culture — that is for growth by a leading out of the powers of the child. The main endeavour should be to lead out the mind by nourish- ing ideas, rather than to cram in a knowledge of unprofitable facts. 20 MACDONALD SLOYD SCHOOL FUND The object of education, the real controlling influence which shapes its direction, depends on the ideals of the people. When the mothers want to see their sons ministers, and doctors, and lawyers and such, unconsciously perhaps but certainly, the schools will be turned that way. What is it desired that the children shall be when they grow up? On that question hinges the educational system. If the ideal be riches and easy life, or luxury or ostentation, it will be per- nicious. If the supreme desire be that the children, and the grown people, shall be happy and capable, in the sphere of life in which they are to live, then the education and educa- tional processes should be directed to attain these ends. Power to Overcome Obstacles. Manual training develops in children habits of industry and leads them to thoughtfully adjust their acts to desired ends. That of itself is of great educational value. It helps to keep out of later life whimsical and capricious conduct. It brings about the mental habit of appreciating good work for its own sake ; and is quite different from that sort of educa- tion which consists in informing the pupils about the facts within a definite area of knowledge in order that they may be able to pass examinations on the subjects included with- in it. The so-called dull boys, who are not quick at book- studies, have in many cases been found to show great aptness in the manual training part of education. It prevents them from being distouraged with school life, and from feeling any sense of inferiority to the quick children. It gives them self- reliance, hopefulness and courage, all of which react on their mental and physical faculties. It also is a soothing and strengthening corrective to the quick and excitable children who become over-anxious about examinations on book studies. The glow of satisfaction — akin to the joy of triumph — from having done something well, has a stimulating effect. MANUAI, TRAINING IN PU*BUC SCHOOLS 21 Is it different from what is revealed by the sacred historian when he wrote : " And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good"? Indeed one can hear the echo, if you will, of that Divine satisfaction in the murmur of the waves, in the rustle of the leaves, in the soft, the almost silent cadencies of the ripening grain, in the singing of the birds, in the trees of the forest clapping their hands, and in the lullaby of the sunshine and breezes to the cattle on a thousand hills. It is a good thing to let every boy and girl become partaker of this Divine joy in their own work. The reaction gives men- tal power, power to overcome obstacles ; and the power to overcome obstacles is perhaps the most desirable mental quali- ty, inherited or acquired. The Kindergarten. Kindergarten takes its name from two German words signifying a children's garden. It has come to indicate the method of teaching and training, and also the place where these are carried on. A gardener does not furnish plants with leaves and fruit to be attached to them. He does everything necessary that they may grow. Since the order of mental growth is Desire, Action, Sensation, Thought, the desire of the child must be quickened towards an action or series of actions, having an educational value. Thus mental growth begins and thus mental power is gained. The spirit and the principles of true kindergarten teaching should continue throughout the whole educational course,— even if that lasts during the allotted three score years and ten. Book Studies Alone. As now supplemented, the literary side of school studies has been greatly improved. But everybody says too much of the present system is based on the study of books ;'^and too 94 MACDONALD SLOYD SCHOOL FUND much time is given to memorizing symbols and names. That is one-sided ; and renders children more capable of answering questions and explaining methods than of enjoying them- selves in doing delightful beneficial work. They are able to answer all sorts of questions ; but it is not so conducive to happiness to be able to explain the universe, as to be able to do well one's work in it with unselfishness. The school studies have been devoted too exclusively to the falsely so-called intellectual life. A child is one and in- divisible, a being with physical, mental and moral qualities and powers ; and surely a school course is deficient which does not provide as fully as is practicable for the development and training of faculties of the body, mind and soul. Manual Training as a Corrective. Over-feeding of subjects is a common cause of mental dyspepsia, — a most uncomfortable and unfortunate state of mind. There is a difference between informational subjects, and an educational process to train the useful faculties of the mind and body ; and in the process of education the develop- ment and training of the bodily as well as the mental facul- ties are to be aimed at. The training of the child is the main object and not the mere memorizing of information. Wherever it is necessary to lighten the school course, to leave room and time for real training exercises, might not some of the informational sub- jects be let go ? They won't be missed, except as the letting go of an unnecessary brake would be missed going up hill. The introduction of manual training, which is really hand and eye training (and there is already a little of that in writing and drawing) should not be in the nature of adding a new subject or study to the already over-burdened school course. The aini should not be a formal literary education MANUAL TRAINING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS 23 plus manual education ; but education of which manual training is an integral and highly valuable part. The object and order should be to train the child with system and care to observe, to interpret, to construct and to describe. That is the purpose of manual training. It is educational hand-work, not trade hand-work. Outline of Its History. Only Jhe barest reference can be made here to the history of Educational Sloyd. In fact I am not sufficiently acquaint- ed with it to make more than mention of a few matters. Perhaps the movement has had its widest extension and best application in the elementary schools of Sweden. The fol- lowing are quotations from *'The Theory of Educational Sloyd," already referred to : — "The Sloyd movement in Sweden had hegun in the late sixties and early seventies. It was first of economical rather than educational significance, i.e., it was a movement for home industries, which, it was soon seen, must hegin in the school if it was to have any lasting effect. Sloyd schools were started in different neighborhoods by private in- dividuals, some of them close at hand in the Ian or county of Alfsborg, whei'e Count Sparre, the chief of the county, had formed a Sloyd Union. Struck by the new movement, Herr Abrahamson, in February, 1872, ojiened a work-school for boys at Niias, and two years later a similar one for girls, with his nephew Mr, Salomon for director." " In 1874 Herr Salomon became Inspector of Sloyd Schools for the middle district of AU'sborg Ian, a. post which he h(>ld foi- several years." "To meet the d(^mand for Sloyd teachers, Messrs. Abrahamson and Salomon, in 1874, opened a trainiVig department in connection with their school, this being the first attempt of the kind." "The question now began to be looked upon from an educational rather than an economical point of view." "One thing was already quite clear. Tho teacher only could make Sloyd educationally useful, and so he strove henceforth to make the Sloyd School and tho Folk School one. From 1878. therefore, he began to take ordinary teachers from his own Ian in .^-or-B-week holiday .. courses in Sloyd, whilst still continuing the work of the Seminaryon 24 MACDONALD SLOYD SCHOOI. FUND the same plan which he had begun four years before. But in 1882 came a thorough change. The twelve month courses ceased, and the short courses were extended, first to all Sweden, and then to teachers from abroad." " At the same time, too, all other forms of Sloyd were dropped in favour of the one that was found the most useful educationally, viz, Wood Sloyd. The concentration of attention upon this one allowed of a development of it for educational purposes which it can scarcely be said to have received elsewhere. And there can bo no doubt, too, that it is this concentration which has been a powerful help in securing the introduction of Sloyd into the 1,900 elementary schools in which it is now taught in Sweden." '* Na^ is a good Sloyd school, and much besides. It is the meeting place of leading teachers of all degrees and all nationalities, for common work, and for the interchange of ideas. Professors, inspectors, secondary and elementary teachers, women as well as men, there meet on common ground as comrades. It fulfils, moi'c than any other institution that could easily be named, the ideal wo are aiming at in England in tho Teachers' Guild, And this is due to tho earnest co-operation, for the last 20 years, of three men, each of whom in his own sphere has done his very best, llerr Abrahamson, has made a no})le use of his wealth in founding the Semlnaiy, and providing for its continued existence; as a kindly host, too, ho makes iiis interest and presence felt in all that concerns the common work and the common pleasure. His nephew provides the ideas and tlie direction; whilst Alfred Johansson is mainly responsible for the teaching in bench work, which occupies such a large part of the day. But the chief burdi'n falls on diroctor Salomon." Thus Sweden and in a measure all Europe are indebted to these two benefactors, Messrs. Abrahamson and Salomon, for the wise and unselfish use of wealth and personal ability. •"The last thirty or forty years may be taken as the period within which the movement now in progress for the introduction into primary schools of a system of manual exercises arranged with a «^iew to their general educational advantages, had its beginning." •'Within the present century, Finland was tho first country to give a recognised place in the curriculum of the primary school to woodwork and other manul exercises. Thot it did so was in gre.Tt measui-e due to the influence of Uno Cygnanis (1801-1888.) His project for the re organ - *See f oot-not« on 'page 25. MANUAL TRAINING IN PUBUC SCHOOLS 25 ization of the primary schools of that country was carried into effect during the years 1858-1866. Cygnoeus laid great stress on the general educational discipline given by manual exercises, as distinct from the economic advantage to be derived from the early acquisition of manual skill. In 1866, instruction in some branch of manual work, such aa woodwork, basket work, tin work, or iron work, was made compulsory in the Training Colleges for male t«achers, and in all primary schools for boys in countiy districts." " In Norway this branch of school-work was first recognised in the oificial programme in 1860. It is only within recent years that much attention has been given to the usefulness of a system of manual exer- cises as a branch of general primary education. Since 1891 it has been compulsory in all Norwegian Training Colleges and town schools." "In Germany, the false start originall made by the establishment of the Schools of Industry naturally put a serious obstacle in the way of the introduction of woodwork and other manual exercises as a part of primary education. But now, throughout Germany, there is in pro- gress a movement for this purpose, thoroughly inspired by the educa. tional idea, and this movement is steadily gaining ground." "Until very recently, the movement in Germany had to depend ex- clusively on privata effort. Its chief support came from an energetic Association, the German Association for Manual Work for Boys. A gi eat number of the best teachers of this branch of school-work in Ger- many have been trained in a Training College established by this Association at Leipzig, under the directorship of Dr. Goetze, who is one of the leaders of the movement throughout Germany. This College is open to foi-oign students, and has been largely attended by them. "The movement in Germany has at length won its way so far as t" have its claim recognized for State-aid to the work it has undertaken to promote. The governments of Prussia, Saxony, and Baden, now make state contril)utioiis in aid of tills hianoh of school-work."* In Etio;land and Scotland, giits of money by private in- dividnals and guilds enabled educational reformers to give the system a fair trial at many centres. During the decade now .closing it has been taken up and extended by School Boards * From memorandum on Manunl Training for boys in Primary Schools in foreign countries, by M. P'. .Sadler, Ks(i., Director of Special Eiuiuiries and Reports to the Committee of Council on Education England. 26 MACDONALD SLOYD SCHOOL FUND with the co-operation and financial support of the Department of Education. In the United States it is making rapid headway. In most places where it has been introduced, the generosity of private individuals gave it a start ; and it was Uien taken up and made part of the public school system. I visited a school in Boston lately where I was informed this movement had its beginning in 1890. It is an endowed school and the trustees (I am not sure of the correct designation), used part of the revenue to establish and maintain manual training. The re- port of the Committee on Manual Training intimates that the expenses of teachers at other schools in Boston for several years were paid by " Mrs. Hemenway and Mrs. Shaw, whose names have become 'household words' in Boston." It is now part of the educational system tinder the school authorities ; and this year Llearned that there were 27 manual training cen- tres in the public schools of the city. The Macdonald Sloyd School Fund. In this movement the desire is to aim only at what is feasible and sure to be practicable. By the generosity of a friend of education in Canada, the plan proposed for the in- roduction and extension of manual and practical instruction in primary schools in Canada is as follows : Everybody has heard of SiR Wiijjam C. Macdonald, OF MoNTRKAi,, and his splendid benefactions to the cause of higher education in Canada. It is reported that his gifts to McGill University exceed two and a half millions of dollars. He is keenly interested in primary education as well as in Uni- versity training and extension. He now offers to pay for the equipment required for educational manual training iu one place in every province in the Dominion ; and also to meet the expenses of qualified teachers, and of maintenance for three years in all those places. MANUAI. TRAINING IN PUBUC SCHOOLS 27 In Ottawa, he offers to equip and maintain for three )ears as many centres as are required to give all the boys (about 1,000) between the ages of 9 and 14 in the public schools an opportunity to receive this training. It is hoped that after a year or two, an equally valuable course of practical instruction suited for girls of the same ages may some how be provided; and doubtless, ' nature studies' will be given a proper place in rural schools. Sir William has authorized me to make a similar offer to the school authorities of Brockville, Ont, of Charlottetown and Suramerside, P.E.I.; of some place in the Province of Quebec ; of Truro, N.S.; of Fredericton, N.B.; of Winnipeg, Man.; of Calgary, N.W.T.; and of some place in British Columbia. In every one of the provinces there are many places where the children would derive immediate and undoubted benefit from its introduction. Public opinion is ripe for it. In naming the places to receive the first offer, consideration has been given to the desirability of selecting centres from which the movement could spread most readily throvighout each province, and most quickly and effectively benefit its school system and its children. To begin it on right educational lines, thoroughly trained and experienced teachers of high attainment will be brought at first from Scotland, England or the United States. Next summer it is proposed to pay the expenses of sever- al teachers from Canada to Great Britain and Sweden to take the course of training there, to see for themselves the educa- tional systems and methods of those countries and to meet teachers and other educational reformers in them. When those Canadian teachers return they will be as lights set on hill tops. The fire of their inspiration, information and enthusiasm will spread. ■■■■ m a8 M^QDPNALD SLOYD SCHOOL FUND Such in brief outline is the proposal I have the supreme satisfaction and happiness of announcing. It must result in immediate, lasting, far-reaching benefit to the boys of Canada ; and I am sure all will join in the earnest hope that the wisely patriotic and generous benefactor, may long live, gladdened by knowing that the children and the grown people of Canada rise up and call him Blessed.