Muncie Central High School - Magician Yearbook (Muncie, IN)

Page 26 text:

One of the features in which our school has been a pioneer among all schools in the country has been the building of a complete modern home by the carpentry class each year. At first, the class constructed a garage each semester but, after several successful efforts, the school officials and instructor decided to attempt a house. Each spring the carpentry class starts a new house; at the close of the first semester this year they exhibited at a public opening the fourth Roy-Built House No. 3 Boy-Built Home.” The pres- ent class is now engaged in the creation of the fifth project of this kind. A good idea of the magnitude of this undertaking can be gained from the fact that the combined value of the houses built in the last four years is estimated at forty-five thousand dollars. The completion of the new Vocational and Physical Education Building marks another step in the progress of vocational training in Muncic. The vocational shops will now be housed in large, well-lighted rooms designed specifically for this type of work. Living Room of House No. 3 — Furnished by Home Economics Class of Central.

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INDUSTRIAL ARTS AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN THE MUNCIE PUBLIC SCHOOLS HE progress and growth of Industrial Arts instruction, given in the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades, has been one of the outstanding features of the Muncie Schools. This work had its beginning in 1901 in the Roosevelt School, under the leadership of the instructor, Miss Belle Thomas. The value of this instruction was soon recognized, and from this one small shop in a basement room the idea of learning by doing” has grown and spread into every junior high school in the city and also into the Central High School. Paralleling the growth in the number of shops has been the growth and enrichment of the courses themselves. For a number of years instruction was given only in woodworking, but instruction is now given in a wide variety of subjects, including metal work, printing, electricity, mechanical drawing, woodworking, pattern making, and foundry. This diversification of work has been adopted in order to give all students a broad experience and familiarity with various trades and manufacturing methods, and also in order that all boys may leave our schools with a genuine appreciation of labor and a general understanding of the conditions under which the various tradesmen work. At the same time that students are becoming familiar with these various trades they may also find through actual experience and participation that which they wish to choose as their life work. In a similar manner the Vocational courses offered in the Central High School are, comparatively, only a recent development. The first course of this type was organized in 1915. At this time a shop was equipped for the teaching of applied electricity. From this there has grown a variety of courses all of which are planned to give trade instruction to boys who plan to enter these trades when they leave school. At the present time courses are offered in applied electricity, drafting, machine shop, printing and carpentry. Carpentry Class in New Vocational and Physical Education Building.

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