USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Lincoln > Lincoln, the capital city and Lancaster County, Nebraska, Volume I > Part 29
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"In a recent article on the subject of vocational training in the schools Pro- fessor Leavitt, of Chicago University, makes the following statements: 'Edu- cators are being warned not to train boys away from the farm and the shop. This the schools have undoubtedly done to some extent. Our revised ideal will require that we educate the boy for work on the farm and in the shop, but that we so educate him that he will make a better farmer and will develop a richer farm life, or will demand a better shop and conditions more favorable to progress and to a reasonable enjoyment of his work and his leisure. The problem is to provide such an education as will make clear to the great majority the meaning and the joy of work and of study. The time devoted to education in the elementary schools is too short to impart all necessary knowledge, but it may not be too short to develop the desire for knowledge and skill, and the habits of study and of industry.'
"This may properly be taken as the principle which underlies the present move- ment in vocational education. And may it be stated in the beginning that this movement is not one which happens to be riding on the crest of a wave of popu- larity, but one which is the outcome of a logical development in educational ideals, and which, as such, is destined to play an active part in the management of the public schools of the future.
"Vocational work has received its greatest impetus from two sources: (1) the desire of educators to retain children in school, and (2) the demand of the community for a more practical system of instruction. These two forces are
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working in unison toward the accomplishment of a common end-that of so educating the boy that he may become a more useful member of society, which means that his lot will be a happier one while he contributes in a broader way to the common good.
DEPARTMENT'S FIRST YEAR
"The department of boys' vocational work was established in Lincoln by action of the board of education during the latter part of the last school year. It embraces all of the industrial and vocational activities in all the schools, from the fifth grade through the high school. There are three general groups of schools in the Lincoln system: the junior high, prevocational, and senior high, each with a particular course of study in the manual arts. The course in the junior high schools, namely, Clinton, Elliott, Whittier, Bryant, Capitol, Prescott, Saratoga, Everett, and Park, consists, at present, of bench work in wood, with a preliminary course in mechanical drawing in the seventh and eighth grades. Each boy is in the shop one ninety-minute period per week. While this is not sufficient time for the production of a great quantity of work per pupil nevertheless it is maximum amount of time which is feasible with the present equipment and teaching force.
"In these shops the boys are taught the use of various tools common to the carpenter and cabinet maker's trades, also the making and interpreting of the boy along practical lines. Each project is planned with the idea of its utility con- stantly in mind. No problem is begun until the boy has a clear understanding of its construction and of the use for which it is intended. As far as possible, the boys are permitted to work out their own ideas, and, in the upper grades, may select their projects. Accuracy of technique and close attention to detail are insisted upon. During the present year many projects have been, or are being made, for use in the school rooms, in addition to a considerable amount of fur- niture repair work. The success in this field is attained when the boy has a genuine interest in his work. The result is at once reflected in his other school work and in his general deportment. In the words of President Elliott, 'To do a mechanical or artistic piece of work thoroughly is much more than the material operation. It is a moral achievement.'
TIIREE BRANCHES OF WORK
"In the high school proper three lines of work are open to students : ( 1) Bench work in wood, ten periods per week; (2) mechanical drawing, ten periods per week; (3) printing. The wood working course was offered this year for the first time in the Lincoln High School. The equipment consists of twenty benches, with hand tools, and two turning lathes. This equipment will be increased to meet the demands of additional registration. It has been proposed to ereet a manual arts building to house the activities of this department. In order to keep pace with present educational standards. Lincoln will need such a building in the very near future, a manual arts school which can be operated in conjunction with the regular high school. The mechanical drawing course follows the con- ventional lines of geometric projection, machine and architectural drawing. The print shop is fully equipped to turn out all kinds of job work. In September the
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students in the printing ciasses undertook the publication of the Advocate, a weekly high school paper. The shop has three presses, motor, paper cutter, type and cases for ten students. The instruction is given by a high class, practical printer who has been especially trained for this line of work.
"The main activity in the department this year is the working out of policies and courses for the newly-created prevocational schools, Hayward, Bancroft and Mckinley. In the report of the committee on course of study for these schools we find the following paragraph: 'The purpose of the schools is to instruct the boys in all the fundamental principles of the trades represented. It is not the intention to make skilled workmen, but "to enable the boy to learn the use of his hands and his head in practical construction in several different lines of work and thus enable him to choose that particular kind of work for which he feels himself best adapted. It is the further purpose of the school to offer to the hand-minded and practical minded boy opportunity to exercise his powers in mat- ters that appeal to his mental constitution and seems to him worth while.'
"The chief function of the prevocational schools, as suggested above, is to retain the interest of the boys who would otherwise leave school to enter indus- trial work, giving them a practical insight into the various trades, with especial training in lines of work for which they seem best adapted.
TIME SPENT IN SHOPS
"The amount of time allotted to industrial work in these schools is as follows : Ninth grade. twelve forty-minute periods per week ; eighth grade, twelve periods, with an additional six periods optional; seventh grade, eight periods with six optional in addition; fourth, fifth and sixth grades, from four to six hours per week. In the upper grade this means that a boy may so arrange his work that he may spend virtually one-half of his time in the shop. The course is very elastic, hence the work may be made to fit the boy, rather than the boy to fit the work. For example, boys of the third grade, if overgrown or retarded, may be placed in the grade in which he is mentally and physically capable of doing the line with this idea seventy-five backward boys were transferred from the ward schools to these special schools, at the beginning of the year. As a result, in many instances, they are finding themselves and are getting a mental grasp on themselves through the medium of the hand work. Incidentally, the boy is placed in the grade in which he is mentally and physically caapble of doing the best work, regardless of his previous training. Special promotions are frequent and it is seldom that a pupil falls down on the responsibility which he assumes when he 'skips a grade.'
"It was anticipated by some that the increase of time spent in the shop with a corresponding decrease in time allotted to the academic branches would work to the disadvantage of the latter. It has been found, however, that the opposite is true. The boys who spend the most time in vocational work, and particularly the boys who do the best hand work, are the leaders in mathematics, English and the other subjects. The industrial work seems to create an atmosphere-an esprit de corps-which permeates the entire school.
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THEORY DISPENSED WITH
"The work, as far as possible, is of a practical nature. Preliminary theory is dispensed with and the boy begins with the actual construction of a real, useful object. In no other phase of education is the timeworn tenet of pedagogy so applicable, 'We learn to do by doing.' To be proficient in any industry certain habits must be established. These must be correct in formation and accurate and efficient in their functioning. The boys are taught the most efficient processes of the various trades with a thorough understanding of the principles which demand their use. No particular attempt is made to turn out a finished artisan in any one line of work. Rather, the plan is to give the boy a comprehensive insight into the most important trades. A foreman of a large shop in this city said recently : 'Our trade is suffering through the lack of apprentices. Can't you fellows do something to help the situation?'
"Wherever possible practical problems are undertaken for the school or the home. For example, during the present semester, the boys of the Hayward shop built a cement walk in front of the school property, 4 by 135 feet, and are com- pleting furniture for the library and school bank. At the Mckinley School a complete call bell system has been installed connecting certain rooms in each of the three buildings with the principal's office. The Bancroft shop is turning out kindergarten tables, book cases, hall racks, etc., for use in the school. In each of the shops benches have been made for sheet metal work in addition to drawing boards and other articles.
"The course as outlined and which will be followed during the remainder of the year is as follows: Sixth grade, wood work, three eighty-minute periods, and electric wiring one period per week; seventh grade, wood work four, trade drawing one, and concrete one eighty-minute period per week ; eighth grade, trade drawing one, sheet metal one, and wood work four eighty-minute periods per week; ninth grade, same as the eighth. In addition, printing is offered as an optional subject in two of the schools, and shoe repairing in one school.
THE BOARD'S POLICY
"The policy of the board is to equip the shops in these schools in every detail necessary for the successful teaching of each subjeet. This year three highest grade circular saws, a lathe and a joined have been installed. Also all necessary tools for instruction in elementary sheet metal work, including snips, forms, stakes, soldering furnace, etc. Each boy is furnished with a complete set of draw- ing instruments, triangle, drawing paper and ink.
"The course in wood working consists of the processes in joinery, cabinet making, wood finishing and house construction. In sheet metal work it is planned to have each boy make several useful articles of tinware and galvanized iron in addition to repairing articles brought from the home. The course in concrete during the second semester will include mixing and pouring concrete, and making forms for sidewalks, steps, pedestals, etc. Trade drawing covers a wide scope during the two years in which it is taught and will equip the boy to fill satis- factorily a position in the draughting room of any manufacturing establishment. The course in electric wiring is practical in every detail. Large forms or booths
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have been erected in which the problems of wiring are actually worked out by practical installation of bell circuits, telephones and electric lights.
"With a teaching force of nine men the department is run with an annual expenditure of approximately twelve thousand dollars. While at times the hoped for results seem slow of realization nevertheless it is felt that the work is well worth the effort and expense and will sooner or later be recognized as an impor- tant factor in the production of a more efficient citizenship."
OTHER SCHOOLS
The Lincoln Normal University was started in 1891 on a site four miles south- east of Lincoln and a three-story brick building erected to accommodate an expected one thousand students. The building cost $100,000. However, the success of the institution never reached the pinnacle anticipated and the years of financial depression brought many hardships to the school. On December I, 1898, the building was destroyed by fire and the school never resumed. At the time of the conflagration the finances were in very poor shape.
The Nebraska Military Academy was started in the fall of 1909 and now occupies a large, fireproof building in Hawthorne, two miles from Lincoln. Very shortly after the school had started in the old Western Normal School Building a fire completely destroyed the plant, but the school continued until a new building was erected despite the inconveniences suffered. Col. B. D. Hay- ward is the superintendent of the institution and maintains strict military disci- pline over the boys enrolled. The school has the same standing with the university as all accredited schools, the graduates being admitted without examination to the freshman class of the university.
The Lincoln Business College was founded in 1884 by Prof. F. F. Roose. In 1884. the first year of its existence, the school occupied rooms in the office building at the corner of Eleventh and O streets. After a few years these quar- ters were outgrown and a place was secured in the Oliver Building at Thirteenth and P streets. Here the entire fourth floor and a half of the third floor were 11tilized by the school. For sixteen years this remained the home of the school. On January 1, 1914, the school moved into its present home on the corner of Fourteenth and P streets. This is a modern building, designed and erected for the purposes of this school.
THE FIGHT FOR EXTENSION OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY
In the Lincoln Sunday Star, issue of August 1, 1915, Dr. Samuel Avery, chancellor of the University of Nebraska, contributed a very comprehensive article upon the subject noted above and the plans which are to be followed in the future by the university. As this article contains much which will be of interest to the readers of this volume, it is quoted verbatim following :
"I have been asked by the management of The Star to write a short historical account of the plans under way for campus extension and the development of the university plant in Lincoln. Inasmuch as the period of my administration will doubtless figure in the future history of the university as the period of campus agitation, extension and development, I am glad to have the opportunity to write a brief synopsis of what has been accomplished up to date.
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"When I took up the work of this office on January 1, 1909, the university was confronted with the task of securing funds from the Legislature, the majority of whose members had been elected on a strict economy pledge. The time did not seem ripe for proposing any elaborate program of extension or development. Nevertheless funds were secured with which to purchase the athletic field north of the old campus. Our entire campus up to this time had been four city blocks with the vacated cross streets, or approximately thirteen acres.
"With the actual purchase of ground outside of the original plat the time seemed ripe for a definite building program. Until the building of Leland Stan- ford University in the early 'gos symmetry of architecture had hardly been thought of in America. The Stanford buildings, attractive but not very practical for uni- versity purposes, caused the sharpening of the pencils of many university plan- ners. The stately Gothic buildings of the University of Chicago stimulated planning still further. Having occasion to be in Boston in the fall of 'og, I called on Mr. Rutan of a well known architects' firm of that city and asked him to visit us with a thought of making a layout sufficiently comprehensive to cover our pos- sible growth for many years.
PEOPLE OF MANY MINDS
"When we were agitating for a harmonious extension the friends of the insti- tution were of many minds. This difference of opinion stood out clearly at a rather brilliant dinner held at the Lincoln Hotel at which Mr. Rutan spoke. Members of the board of regents, distinguished citizens, among whom was Hon. W. J. Bryan, representatives of the daily papers of the state, and others, were present. The ferment for campus extension and the harmonious development of the university was working, but there was no evidence of any tendency towards unanimity of opinion as to procedure.
"Mr. Rutan was inclined to think that under the condition then existing we would most likely succeed in endeavoring to persuade the Legislature to give us sufficient money to extend the old campus north of the railroad tracks. It was argued that it would be the best policy to secure land where the houses were of the least value, and accordingly he drew a sketch of the plan which he presented to the university for development along this line. This sketch did not meet the approval of the regents. It called for the finest and best buildings on ground lower than the present campus and nearer the railroad tracks. It was pointed out that the athletic field would be pushed so far towards the tracks that the viaduct would offer free standing room, where the game could be easily viewed, and finally it was shown that while the houses were very poor they were very numerous and consequently the price could not be as reasonable as anticipated. Nevertheless Mr. Rutan's sketch gave something definite for discussion and eventually clarified the situation to this extent: If going north further than U Street was excluded, about the only possibility that remained was to go east on R Street.
AGITATION WAS UNEXPECTED
"The agitation for removal to the farm came about unexpectedly. While there had been some discussion of the proposition for thirty years, the immediate
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occasion for the agitation arose in this way: A prominent citizen of Lincoln ( whose name I will suppress as he is now deceased), felt that the university campus should be turned over to the City of Lincoln for high school purposes, park space, an art gallery and the Historical Society. He felt very strongly that the high school could be developed on a departmental plan, not as a single unit ; that it would bring tuition pupils from all over the state and be a great asset to the city ; and that the university proper should be removed to the farm and con- solidated with the agricultural plant. Though not taking the matter very seri- ously, I invited this gentleman to meet with the board of regents and explain his ideas. At this meeting of the regents he professed-himself thoroughly converted to the plan, so thoroughly that he never gave it up even after the Lincoln gentle- man, who made the suggestion to him had long abandoned any thought of the possibility of utilizing the old campus for other Lincoln activities. The history of the removal agitation and its final settlement by a gratifying majority is doubt- less in the minds of all your readers and need not be reviewed in this connection.
"I pass then to the plans that have been maturing since the troublesome ques- tion has been eventually settled. In order to avoid loss of time, the well known architects, Shepley, Rutan & Collidge of Boston and Chicago, had been working on three layouts for the institution-the city campus extension, the farm campus plan and the consolidated plant at the farm. During his time I felt justified in telling the architects that the probabilities of the state's ever using the third plan were so remote that they need do no work on it other than what was necessary in the interest of fair play before the question was settled. When the question was settled we had a fairly good looking plan for extension. The citizens' bond guar- anteeing that the tract from Tenth to Fourteenth and from R to U could be rounded out for $300,000 fixed the space limits of extension. The problem, then, became one of harmonious grouping and of architecture.
GREAT PROGRESS MADE
"Great progress had been made since our first struggles in 'og. As soon as the verdict of the people had been announced I secured permission of the board to make a trip with the regents-elect and Mr. Hodgdon, of the firm of Coolidge & Hodgdon, successors to the firm that we had previously employed, to inspect the plants of half a dozen universities of the Middle West. The university senate was invited to name a representative and the choice fell on Professor Barbour. After this study had been made the matter was thoroughly discussed by a uni- versity committee consisting of Professors Stout, Caldwell and Barbour and finally by the university senate itself. The regents desired that at the cost of a little time all interests should be heard. The result of the discussion is shown in a plan for campus extension that hangs in my office and which has been published in the daily press.
NO BUILDING DESTROYED
"This plan represents all the building that will probably be done in the life- time of anyone now actively interested in the university. It provides for no destruction of buildings except old Nebraska Hall, which has already been con- demned as dangerous. Twelfth Street will be left open for an automobile drive
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and for foot passengers, but the other streets will, on the carrying out of the tentative promise of the city commissioners, be closed.
"The first building to be erected will be Bessey Hall. Doctor Bessey himself began drawing the plans for this building and it is in accordance with his wish that it will be placed on the north side of the new campus. He used to say to me, 'A botanist wants a north broadside. He does not care for an attractive street view. The north light for the use of our microscopes is what we need.' While he was working on the plans for this building I noticed with profound regret a falling off in the vitality of Doctor Bessey, and I asked him if there was not someone of the younger force who could relieve him of the drudgery of working out the technical requirements of classroom and laboratory. He at once thanked me for the suggestion and named Professor Pool. Professor Pool was given permission to visit various laboratories and after consultations with Doctor Bessey, Doctor Wolcot and others, he handed to the architect his first sketches. It was still hoped, however, that we could have a celebration on his birthday which would represent the breaking of the ground even though the plans were not complete. No one hoped for the completion of the plans, let alone laying the cornerstone, but the citizens' committee that was securing the ground for us found it imprac- ticable to have the space vacated at that time. In the meantime Doctor Bessey's death followed and it 'seemed best to postpone the exercises planned until the actual laying of the cornerstone. The first pencil sketch of the building showed a more expensive building than it seemed wise to build, especially since the Legislature expects that most of the departments of the university will be fairly well housed with this appropriation. Personally the regents would have been glad to spend any sum given them as a memorial to Doctor Bessey, but they could not go beyond a certain limit in justice to other departments and to the taxpayers.
"However, the cutting down of tentative sketches has not resulted in a delay of more than four weeks. The main delay is in giving the professors an oppor- tunity to work out their thoughts and to plan to provide for their various needs. An arbitrary and unsympathetic administration could hustle matters along and satisfy certain misdirected popular clamor, but the results in the end would not be as happy. However, it is expected that the complete plans and specifications will be ready for the bidders in about two weeks.
NEW CHEMISTRY BUILDING
"The plans for the chemistry building are nearly as far along. While this building will house more students than the biological building, it is adapted for a single department only. Hence it has been planned with less discussion and adjustments. The head of the chemical department has shown himself espe- cially reasonable in his requirements and appreciative of the needs of other departments. The plans of this building will be complete and bids called for presumably before September Ist.
"While the regents have not formally authorized any further construction at the present time, yet studies are being made for a building to house political and social science, history and possibly psychology. Just now conferences are under way looking towards extending this building into a home for those departments of the arts college commonly known as the humanities. Whether the larger
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