There can be no doubt as to the value of such an institution as the Pratt in a great city. The need of it is shown by the numbers who annually enter its doors for instruction. Last year the number reached 2,274, all of them over fourteen years of age, and of these 947 enrolled themselves in the department of Domestic Science. But all of this does not show that what the Pratt undertakes to do belongs in whole or in part to a general school. The more surely an individual is destined, either by his own choice or by the will of another, to a particular occupation for life or for a time, the more necessary is it, educationally, that what the school does for him shall have as universal a value as it is possible to give. A practical exhibition of skill in teaching the art of cooking was given by Miss Emma C. Sickles, who, on three days, in the basement of the Manual Training School, from 9 to 12 A. M., directed a class of girls from the Madison Street School, St. Paul, in the preparation of various dishes. The tins were bright and so were the faces; the fire in the range was steady and so was the teacher; while the strawberry shortcake and other dainties served at noon on each day were proof positive of work well done. Among the various appliances presented as aids in the study of geography, nothing gave greater promise than the camera and the slides in the Stillwater exhibit. Since the immediate end of the study of geography is to enable the mind to form a correct image of the world, the value of excellent pictures, made life-like, as they can be by the use of the solar camera or the lantern, can hardly be over-estimated. The chief expense of this way of teaching geography would be the first cost of lantern and slides; but with our present ease of communication and security of transportation, one set might be made to serve a whole region. This is shown by the great success attending the attempt of Prof. Farrar, of Milwaukee, to promote art studies. Each season he sends out, on loan, thousands of slides to clubs engaged in the study of art. A most interesting exhibit of school architecture was made by the city of Denver, Colorado. It consisted of large photographs of school buildings, showing external proportions and general appearance; floor plans showing the arrangement of sitting- and recitation-rooms, halls, offices, etc.; plans for ventilation and heating; photographs of interiors, showing the arrangement of furniture and appliances in rooms, laboratories, etc.; together with full and itemized tables of the cost of construction. The kindergarten has a perennial interest, and, as usual, the hall where its exhibit was located was thronged with visitors. In both the High School and the Armory Hall, the publishers of educational works and the dealers in school supplies were represented. The crowds of visitors constantly around their tables showed how valuable their presence was in promoting educational intelligence. The American Humane Educational Society gave away thousands of copies of "Black Beauty." Perhaps we, who have the power, will some day set ourselves resolutely at work to make the existence of such a society less of a necessity. The amount of time and of effort consumed in preparation for an exhibit like this, is immense. Allow me to suggest, in conclusion, that it is not too soon for those interested in education to begin to consider what can be done, under the leadership of the Commissioner of Education, to make the educational department of the Columbian Fair in 1893 worthy of the land we love. Respectfully submitted. MARY E. NICHOLSON, Chairman of Committee on Exhibits. SCHOOL EXHIBITS. The general interest in school exhibits is evidently waning. The number of schools that made any display of work at the recent meeting of the National Educational Association in St. Paul, was small. Brooklyn, Indianapolis, Omaha, St. Louis, Memphis, Cincinnati, Hannibal, St. Paul, and Minneapolis, were, practically, all the cities that showed any work done by pupils above the kindergarten; and the kindergarten exhibits were from La Porte, Louisville, Chicago, Indianapolis, Duluth, Winona, and Des Moines. There was very little in the entire exhibit, other than the work in drawing, that would not be classed as industrial. Scarcely any attempt was made to display any results of the instruction in subjects of study common to all schools. The manual-training schools were well represented, and a sufficient exhibit of the work of the different grades in drawing was made to show the two extremes in the theory and practice in this subject in the schools of the dif ferent cities. The manual-training exhibits were admirably arranged, and showed every step of the student's progress, from the simplest to the most complex and difficult constructions. Those of St. Louis and Minneapolis deserve special mention. These exhibits are interesting to persons who are not already familiar with the different stages in this system of instruction and training; but the number of persons who found their way to the different buildings used for this exhibition was not large, and their study of the exhibit was not such as to indicate vital interest in what they saw, with a few exceptions. Manuscript evidence of the children's proficiency in their different studies was almost entirely wanting. It is probable that no more of that kind of school work will be shown hereafter. In fact, the nature of the work done in general school instruction is such as to forbid any display of such products to the senses. The children themselves are the products of these educational processes, and but little estimate can be made of the degree and nature of their education by school exhibits of any sort. But as regards the exhibits made of the various forms of handicraft, it is probable that as they become an old story to the merely curious, they will become objects of increasing interest to the more studious and reflecting. There is, as yet, but little differentiation in the work of the different manualtraining schools, and, therefore, but little of value can result from comparative study of what they construct. If this differentiation shall increase, these exhibits will be studied with greater diligence. It does not seem probable, however, that there will ever be any marked difference in the processes followed in manual-training schools. The range of ideas that constitute the educative element in this series of exercises is not large, and there can be no great variety of movements tending to the same end. In drawing, the possible ends are more numerous, and a much greater difference in methods of procedure is manifested. The drawing exhibit from Cincinnati was in marked contrast to that from Omaha, for example. To the student of drawing and of the education it gives, drawing exhibits from different cities, where different immediate ends are sought, would be studied with great interest and profit. It may be that out of the great Columbian exhibit yet to be held, something of the nature of a permanent educational exhibit will grow, to which shall be contributed, systematically arranged products of the different educational processes in the various manual arts, which shall show the degree of education resulting from each. In so far as it shall be found practicable to show results of this kind, with the steps in the process, these exhibits will have a permanent educational value. At present, it is for the most part the unreflecting and emotional sight-seer that visits them. The student of education knows what is to be seen about as well before he goes through a school exhibit as afterwards. It will be some years before what is of permanent value in these displays will be discovered and the exhibits will be valued at their real worth. GEORGE P. BROWN. BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS. REPORT ON MANUAL TRAINING. Miss Mary E. Nicholson-DEAR MADAM: I offer the following report upon the manual-training exhibit at the meeting of the National Educational Association at St. Paul, 1890. Exhibits were made by the schools of Stillwater, Duluth, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Minn.; Springfield, Mass.; Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Manual Training School, St. Louis, Mo.; Omaha, Neb.; Hillside Home School, Wis.; one room was also devoted to slöjd, in which models, tools, and benches, were on exhibition. It is not the purpose of this report to enter into any particulars, or to contrast the work of one school with that of another. We wish to determine what progress, if any, manual training has made, and what the effect of this experiment upon the tone of school work seems to be, in those places in which it has been attempted. 1. The exhibit showed very conclusively that the trend of manual training at this time, is toward its successful introduction into the grades below the high school. This has been done in several places with comparatively little expense, and with an increasing interest on the part of the pupils. The 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades exhibited work which was very creditable, and to accomplish which must have required some degree of thought and careful study on the part of the pupil. The jackknife cannot be carefully guided, as it must have been in some of the work on exhibition, without a corresponding exercise of the brain. We cannot separate the hand from the brain without producing paralysis or death. The educative influence of this hand-work is not any longer a question, but it may be gained at the expense of lessening the purely intellectual growth of the child. This can only be determined, it seems to us, by comparing the usual school-work done in these schools which are introducing hand-work as a part of the regular curriculum, with the work done in those schools in which the entire time is given to the regular work. If Stillwater, or Springfield, can show that their pupils are equally proficient in their studies, then they can claim the skill produced by the use of the hand as so much clear gain; if, however, they should fail to show this, then it may well be doubted whether what they gain in one direction, is not lost in another. Such an examination, and careful comparison, embracing the first eight years of school life, would either establish the claims of manual training, or destroy them. The slöjd work, as exhibited at St. Paul, opens a new field for those who are investigating the claims of manual training. The results claimed for it in Finland entitle it to a very candid study and consideration in this country. Educators will watch the experiment being made in Boston with much interest. It is too early, however, to express an opinion as to its real value. A more extended exhibit than that made at St. Paul, not only of its results but of its methods, will prove, we hope, a most interesting part of some future school exhibit. It is calculated to interest the child from his first day in school, and is in the direct line of educational theories as put forth by the advocates of manual training. 2. The exhibit of hand-work as made by high schools was in no way different from that made at former exhibitions. The most perceptible gain was in the power to work to the drawing, which the pupil first made. There appears to be more attempt to work upon some system than there was formerly; in other words, manual training is assuming its place as a part of the highschool curriculum. In Minneapolis, and in other places, the manual-training course takes its place alongside the English, Latin, and other courses. This seems to dispose of the claim of the advocates of manual training, that pupils can devote a necessary amount of time to it, and keep their places in the regIt is a much more reasonable view, and enables those who wish, ular courses. to make a choice of a new course, suited to their especial wants. 3. The exhibit of the work done at those schools which make a specialty of manual training was just what was to be expected from them, and it is not necessary to make any lengthy comment. When work is carried to such an extent as to require no conscious effort of the mind, it loses its educative form; the laborer is only an automaton. It does not appear that this is the case in these schools, as the work was explained by those having exhibits in charge. There is enough variety as the work progresses from term to term and from year to year, to keep the mind on the alert, and to prevent intellectual stagnation, which comes from continually doing the same thing. This intellectual stagnation, which is something to be dreaded, is just as prevalent in schools which have not incorporated manual training in their curriculum, as in those which have. As far as these schools, which are outside of the regular public-school system, are concerned, the St. Paul exhibit proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the manual-training school is to serve a very important and useful purpose in the future in opening up new avenues of occupation to young men and young women who are thrown upon their own resources for support. The conclusions to which an examination of this exhibit leads us, are these: 1. There is more in manual training even in grades below the high school, than many educators are willing to allow; and there is less in it as a purely educating power, even in the best schools, than its zealous advocates claim for it. 2. In the lower schools manual training to a limited extent may become of general application; but in the higher schools it will only in time open up a new field to which minds of a certain class will naturally turn, and will thus serve a very useful purpose in preserving to society much intellectual power and force which has hitherto gone to waste, or been dwarfed at the best, through lack of opportunity. 3. Its economic as well as its educative value will, in the process of events, gain for it its right position in our school system. HENRY SABIN. DES MOINES, IOWA. REPORT ON FORM AND COLOR, This report concerns all the exhibits of Form and Color, shown at St. Paul, July, 1890, commencing with the primary, through the grade and technical schools. Indianapolis, Indiana-Training School for Teachers.-The form study in clay was very elaborate, and much of it colored. A restraint in the promis |