Central High School - Centralian Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

Page 17 text:

Zllihe iburpuse anh Qhhjert nf bpsiral C!Ehucatiun By Alvin C. Pelton. HE reasons generally advanced to justify Physical Education have been AWA that Physical exercise is absolutely necessary to health, and that the motor activity and mental development go hand in hand. These facts have become recognized throughout the country and Physical Education has found it's place in the program of nearly all large schools and colleges. Not only is Physical Education allowed in the schools, but most schools and colleges are giving credit for the work, thus putting the work on a firm educational basis. Physical training must recognize the needs of the class as a whole, and on the other hand the individual needs of each member of the class. There- fore the director must wait till his class has assembled several times, before making out his course of procedure. Physical work should have the same progression that is followed in other courses of study, throughout the four years. Beginning with work which is characterized by it's simplicity, and increasing the number and com- plexity of the exercises, in each successive lesson. Can any one doubt the educational value of the work, if such a course is followed? When Physical Training work is a required subject, the social side of the work cannot be overlooked. The gymnasium becomes the place where different classes meet as a unit, throughout their four years course. This is the aim towards which we are working. In many schools this is the only subject, which all have in common. Although gymnasium work is not to develop a few gymnasts or athletes, the benefit to the athlete can easily be seen, inasmuch as the work develops agility and co-ordination of muscles, which cannot be obtained except through long continued practice. PAG E 1

Page 16 text:

GE 1-l A few of the many articles the students make in a term are: chisel-han- dles, grips, potato mashers, sock and glove darners, rolling pins, dumbbells, Indian clubs, candle sticks, nut bowls, card trays, ink wells, napkin rings, etc., etc. These exercises are preliminary to the course in pattern making. Pattern making is preceded and illustrated both before and during the course by some dernonstrational and practical work in the foundry. Simple parted, segment, loose part, and built up patterns are studied in detail and samples of each are made, together with their core boxes. Castings are made, in soft metal or brass, of each pattern. The entire work is performed in the method gener- ally used in the best industrial shops, and gives the student a splendid idea of the trade aspects of these subjects. Patterns for a complete gas engine have been made and the brass parts cast in our own foundry. In the foundry, at one end of the large room, are to be found a blast cru- cibal furnace, which will melt any metal except irong a gas furnace, which is used for the softer metals and a core oven for baking cores. In the center is a large crane capable of transporting 2,500 pounds of molten metal. Beyond the crane is a large mound of moulding sand and lining the walls of the room are benches for moulding. The students have made shot, discus, hand wheels, anvils, block and tackle, etc. All this takes place in one semester and I am sure it is true that the stu- dent passing out of these shops is benefited in more ways than one. His hands have become extraordinarily useful, for he is now enabled to earn his living with them. He has learned the principles of two useful trades and last but not least he has augmented the power of his braing his perception is quicker and his intellectual powers broader.

Page 18 text:

PAGE 16 If this is true of the athlete, one can readily see how necessary it is to those not active in athletic sports. The physical examinations are of paramount inportance. These enable the director to see the individual needs of each member of the class, and cor- rective work follows. By corrective work we mean exercises, which will de- velop the parts of the body which are found to be weak and undeveloped. This can be accomplished by the director setting aside certain periods, when those needing attention are worked with in small groups or individually. Physical examination should be repeated in order to see what has been accomplished by the corrective work. The director of Physical training should keep in his own mind and in the minds of teachers, pupils, and parents, that Physical Training is for the many and not for the few. As Carl L. Schrader of Harvard University, expresses it: Through greater activity to greater ability, more appreciation for aver- age performances of numbers, instead of phenomenal records of fewg less decoration by buttons and badges, and more recognition in the school and at home, for an advance in Physical stamina, with all that that implies. These are some of the endeavors we should keep before us, in our effort for the phy- sical, moral, and aesthetic uplift. i' V -- 4 H--....,,. - . N, .. e+L.1. nw., ,.., W- W.-,-.., , F75 . Q' M 'EP' L M'