Rensselaer High School - Chaos Yearbook (Rensselaer, IN)

Page 14 text:

Our work this year l cgan with the sixth grade and included second year high school work. Six tables for the Domestic Science Department, twelve lockers for the gymnasium and several small articles for the school were made by the advanced pupils. Tlic grade pupils and first year high school students have made different articles ranging from a sandpaper block to a morris chair. Next year it is planned to give as much time and credit to this work in high school as to any other subject. Mechanical drawing will be made a part of the work and will be closely related to the shop work. Tracing and blue printing will also be done by the mechanical drawing students. It is hoped that next year we may have some woodworking machinery and possibly a few wood-turning lathes. As much of the Industrial Arts work as possible will be given, that will further the development of the boy. ia tin PEARL A. RUIHLEY, A. B. Western College. During the last decade, the survival of Latin in the common school course has been a mooted question with school men. In this day of vocational education, in which Hie spirit of commercialism applies to all subjects the tests of practical and immediate value. Hie study of I.atin lias seemed doomed to a gradual deliquescence, as a study purely ornamental and of hereditary social position in the high school curriculum. 'Hie inevitable reaction from the ultra-practical tendencies has set in. Educators deem Latin worthy of position, not alone because of its disciplinarian value, but because of its historic and cultural associations. Since, approximately, fifty per cent of our English language is derived from this tongue, its study, from the standpoint of self-expression, seems worthy of retention. Text liooks, written in accordance with the newer ideas of language teaching are being published. As these texts arc improved Latin will gradually lie taught in the methods now approved for the teaching of German, French, and other modern tongues. Its study will become less a matter of memory drill and mental discipline in the abstractions of grammar: its presentation will, in time, vary from the traditional, rigid methods, so long followed. In addition to the more attractive texts, charts, 4iich show graphically the relation between Latin ami English, directly and indirectly through the Romance languages may be secured. Other equipment for making the study of first year grammer more efficient and more spontaneous is now being prepared. These aids, both to study and teaching. Hie department hopes at some time to secure. The full course of Latin, required for college entrance, is given by the Rensselaer High School, with those texts defined by state law. Of these books. D’Oogc’s Text for Beginners is the most commendable, reflecting in its illustra-lions and arrangement some part of the newer tendencies. The remaining texts arc still of the old type, but may be amplified by outside material. Listen.”■—Emily Thompson. PAGE TWELVE

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Annual draining »ooni Sntmatrial 3rts CARL CLEAVER. Chicago University. The taxpayer expects the school to educate the boy so that he may become a good citizen. The success of this will depend upon the extern and ability of the school to adjust itself to the individual needs of the boy. If tlhc common subjects do not appeal to him. their study will not fully develop his best qualities. Then the school must if possible try to discover what will do this and give it to him. In teaching woodwork, one step has been taken toward this condition. Woodwork appeals to some because it is concrete. The image is not only formed in the mind but also produced in actual realization. The simple process of a boy’s coming to an understanding of something to be attempted and then going thru with it is highly educational. It develops ambition and purpose. Woodwork should have for its aim tool process, development of individuality, ns well as a sense of doing things right and well. Interest as the principal clement of the boy’s mental comj osition should be the basis of this work and projects closely related to his community life should be attempted. It is not the intention of the school to teach the carpenter or cabinetmaker’s trades, but at the same time if the boy wishes to learn these trades, lie gets a “running start’’ in the woodworking shop. “Wish I had a bid to the dance!’’—Any Soph girl. I-AGE EI.KVES

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Jtomftftit Science Eoom “Who?”—Gaylord Long. PACK THIRTEEN Doinrsttr Science ETHEL O. DYER. B. S. Purdue University. Along with the industrial educational movement we have Home Economics being introduced in our schools. Home Economics deals with l’he science of the household and stands for the ideal home life of today, made ideal by scientific knowledge and ability to do well the common tasks of the household. Domestic Science, as a definite study has for its aim the imparting of that knowledge and skill that will change household drudgery into dignified labor. The vocational trend in education t xtay docs not minimize rhe value of the fundamental general education in any way. Rather, its aim at all times is close correlation with other subjects, to which it brings the additional impetus of linking the school with life. In Rensselaer the Domestic Science work begins in the sixth grade and continues as a part credit subject through the freshman year in high school and is given again in the Senior year as a full credit subject. The work consists of practical cooking and sewing, chemistry of nutrition and a study of textiles, house sanitation and decoration. All the sewng work is along practical lines. The Seniors finish their work by the making of their graduation dresses.