Philadelphia High School for Girls - Milestone Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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office with a now-or-never, do-or-die sort of look, step up to the desk and make her request, which was generally granted. Once a very thoughtful propri- etor sent one of the younger members of the firm to explain the process to the girls, and as one of the girls said of this thoughtful proprietor, Nature might stand up and say to all the World, ' This was a man.' We had excellent gymnastic drills. Twice a week we were compelled to walk a mile and a half or two miles in the Gym, at the same time trying to keep ankles extended ! H heads up ! chins in l etc. Some of the girls became very strong, indeed it was nothing to see them carrying full-sized ponies through the corridors. - Ill the laboratories on the fourth floor we spent two hours a week in zoology and two in Botany. We became experts in the use of the scalpel, and by the end of the term any girl could tell the metamorphosis of the bntteriiy in her sleep. In connection with our laboratory work we went on pleasure exertions in the suburbs hunting for specimens. We all enjoyed these personally conducted tours and found that they added greatly to our store of knowledge. - The frenzy for pure and lowly usefulness now seized us. We wished to show the world that literary women need not be unpractical, so we spent an hour a week learning the art of sewing. Our books of samples and directions were conspicuous by the number of mistakes and the low marks received. . Not far from the sewing room we began our struggles with the Rational Method of Reading. In this room also we took up the study of Shakespeare. The girls would enter the room on Monday morning with countenances ' sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, and at the same time quaking with fear lest they be called upon to give a quotation. Let us take a peep into the lecture room during one of those ever memorable illustrated lectures. Here we sat as passive buckets while the wonderful philosophy of Darwin, Spencer, Agassiz, ei al., was pumped into us. Here we also heard about glaciers, moraines, artesian wells, etc., the truth at length 13

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1btstorQ of '99-ID. M. 5. O THIS is the Class of '99, and this our dearly loved Alma fllalrr, within whose walls we stand as students for the last time, shines ff down upon us in her effulgent glory and seems to bid us godspeed. I And so you will excuse me, I hope, for rehearsing a little of the history of this most remarkable Class of '99, Lest we forget, Lest we forget. It was with a mixture of pleasurable curiosity and dismay that we wended our way to the Assembly Room, on that momentous September morning two years ago. Here we were greeted by our Principal, and given a few of the absolutely necessary rules of the school, at the same time we learned that the basis upon which the establishment was governed was- Self-control. 'Twas the first time we had heard that tiny phrase, fraught as it is with so much meaning, but it was not the last time that this melodious sound fell upon our long suffering ears. C Our first and greatest novelty was the Carpenter Shop, known on the Roster as the wood-working department. Here all was misery and woe for awhile, but with the assistance of our instructor, we managed to draw plans and saw wood more or less accurately. Our knowledge in- this noble art was greatly increased by the girls personal inspection of the wood drying process i11 several lumber mills in the vicinity of Philadelphia. The owners of these mills were besieged by whole armies of girls asking permission to inspect their drying kilns. A spoksman, or rather spokeswoman, being appointed, she would walk into the I2

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breaking into our slow understanding that glaciers do move, and that artesian wells are not made by artists. As befitted the childlike simplicity of our minds, we spent much time studying Kindergartens. We folded colored paper into various shapes and we wove mats designed to the tune of the Anvil Chorus, words adapted. Last year we held the First Annual Spring Sports of the Philadelphia Normal School. The events were run off with great success in the Gymnasium 3 no world's records were broken, but Farmer john, The Blacksmith, and similar feats of strength were all ably performed by the future Kindergarden teachers ofthe city. Methods bring to mind the syllabi which accumulated in great numbers, and which we studied so diligently. In this department one of the girls in teach- ing a lesson on Square Measure requested the members of the class to hold up their square feet. So passed our Junior Year. Then came that rare day in June when we received our averages. The suspense of that hour is indelibly impressed in our memory: but the majority of tl1e girls passed through the ordeal and went their way rejoicing. After the summer vacation we came back to assume the role of Seniors with dignity and self-control. On the morning of our return we were greeted by a 11ew face, but the stranger was not long to remain so. Our friendly coun- sellor ancl advisor, our much esteemed Principal has given us many happy hours. talking with us on the Philosophy of Education, and also on the hidden beauties of nature. Earth gets its price for what earth gives us. And so with the honor of being Seniors came the trials of teaching. We wrote plans for Music, plans for Geography, plans for Arithmetic, plans to be followed in the First Year, and plans for Eighth Year work, but with all our planning We never forget tl1e words: Aim, Materials, Plan. Oh, the tribulations of teaching? What must have been the feelings of the embryo teacher, when during a lesson on the snow- bird, one bright young scholar of the first grade rises and gives to the class the K6 1 4 .