Mechanic Arts High School - Artisan Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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22 THE ARTISAN WOODWORKING DEPARTMENT The IVoodworking Department may be said to have three branches: iirst-year bench work, second-year pattern making, and fourth-year cabinet making. The increase in the enrollment of the entering class last September makes it seem likely that the first-year work will continue to be the largest branch for some time to come. The first-year course has been somewhat modified in recent years to include fewer exercises and more problems of special interest to the boys. Staining, shellacking and rubbing down of some of the objects has served to increase this interest. This year tl1e test tube racks for the ne.w chemical laboratory and the ring toss stands for the department of physical education were good educational problems as well as contributions to the school system. In the second-year course we have a larger number of boys than formerly from the ninth grade of intermediate schools throughout the city. These. boys are given a special course of bench work and tool sharpening before they are put on lathe work. The pattern making course serves most admirably in developing high standards of workmanship and in giving an understanding of fundamental processes of manufacture where castings are used. Many boys have in the past entered the pat- tern making trade as the result of the interest aroused by this course. The fourth-year work is becoming increasingly popular as an elective. The accommodations are insufficient to care for more than half of the boys who apply. In future years it is hoped that conditions will offer an opportunity to extend this advanced work. At present there are two regular fourth-year divisions under Mr. Emery, and one special division under Mr. Hackett. Each of these instructors has developed work of in- terest and educational value. The aim of the fourth-year course is threefold: first, to review some of the iirst-year principles in advanced bench work problemsg second, to apply quantity pro- duction methods to the making of many articles of the same kind, such as science. tables, drawing trays, or electrical ap- paratus mountsg third, to have each boy design and make an individual piece of furniture. In the furniture construction,

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THE AQRTISAN 21 and be qualified for work with alternating currents. Our new electrical laboratory makes possible much advanced experimental work which we have not been able to do in the past. In the fourth year lflngineering, we try to give you in Elec- tricity, Strength of lilaterials, and Steam, a slight acquaintance with the subject matter of these branches of knowledge. For those of you who continue your education in technical schools, this serves as a helpful introduction to advanced work. Uur new Chemical Laboratory otfers ideal working condi- tions for our present courses in college preparatory chemistry and general chemistry. In the future we hope to have a second laboratory for industrial chemistry. The more of the funda- mentals of physics and chemistry we can teach in the second and third years, the more time we shall have for special work in the fourth year. All the foregoing assumes that you will stay with us for four years. VVhat are we doing for tl1e boy who leaves school during the course? Even in this case we think we have done our best for him in giving him scienttie habits of thinking and living. To quote a recent publication: The industries and arts are not particularly anxious to employ great numbers of ready- made experts. They prefer to take people who have learned to think clearly along basic principles and to give them the limited technical training needed while they are on the pro- bationary period of their employment. Jnins W. DYSON. -.., . 1. , MODERN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT The foreign languages that are taught in this school are French and German. The courses are organized largely with the objective in view of preparing young men to pass the exam- inations of the College Entrance Examination Board. Some time is also given to oral work in foreign languages. French may be taken three times a weekh during the second, third. and fourth years, by the pupils of Course B. The members of Course H may take German four times a week in the third year, and five times a week during the fourth year. ARTHVR R. Rfxclxn.

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THE ARTISAN 23 machines are used to speed up the process. The taste for furni- ture design a11d construction developed by this part of the course, has led a number of boys into furniture manufacturing as workmen in the shops or as designers. VVhether or not such employment materializes, the course has value as an aid in the appreciation of and proper selection of furniture for the home. The outstanding aim of the woodworking courses in general is habit-formation. Thoughtful, painstaking, and methodical procedure on tl1e problems presented develop in the earnest student certain powe.rs not to be gained through book study alone. lVhi1e the values i11 the main are of a general educational character, special interests are often discovered which lead boys into vocations for which the work serves as a partial training. GEORGE M. MORRIS. DRAFTING DEPARTMENT Drafting is a broad term that includes all of the graphic arts-architecture, sculpture, painting, landscape gardening, en- gineering, advertising, etc. It is a graphic language whose pur- pose is to record and communicate accurately, ideas that cannot otherwise be adequately expressed. Careful study of this lan- guage develops ideals of utility and beauty. Thus the practical things of life may he made beautiful as well as useful. Drafting lies at the foundation of most of the arts and trades. lt includes accuracy of thought and execution, and establishes habits of neatness and order. lt is pre-eminent in developing the constructive imagination, the ability to think in three dimensions, and to visualize clearly and accurately. The main purpose of our course in Drafting is to train the student in the greatest of all languages-the Graphic language, planning the work so that principles and 'problems are taken up in a logically determined order. The department otfers courses in General Drawing, Architec- tural Drawing, Industrial Design, and Machine Design. The four- year course in General Drawing is required of all boys in Course A 1Shop Coursel, except those who may elect any one of the other courses for the fourth year. In Course B tf College Goursej, a boy is required to take only three years of drawing. There is a wide range of subject matter in all these courses, so that a student who has acquired an understanding of the prin-