USA > Rhode Island > Annual report of the Board of Education : together with the Annual report of the Commissioner of Public Schools of Rhode Island, 1875 > Part 4
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Object and Model Drawing-Free-hand Perspective .- A third department consists of drawing from models and ob- jects with the free hand. It is sometimes called free-hand, or popularly, perspective, as it involves the three dimensions, and aims at pictorial effects. The learner endeavors to rep- resent just what he sees, relying upon his eye alone for his measurements. The aim should be, at the outset, to render only the outline of the object. The young learner should have nothing to do with light and shade, until he has fairly mastered pure form. If the solids are supplemented by flat copies, the difficulties are much more readily mastered by the learner. Something should be done in this department at quite an early stage in the course. It is of use to every one, artist or workman, who has occasion to make a draw- ing, quickly and with approximate accuracy, of any object whatever.
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Exact Perspective .- A fourth department is called exact, or mathematical, perspective. Like free-hand perspective, it deals with the three dimensions, and represents objects, ac- cording to the same general principles ; but all the measure- ments are given, while the drawings are executed with in- struments, and so with the utmost precision. The presence- of the object to be drawn is not necessarily required ; hence this department is of special use to the architect, and to every draughtsman who makes working-drawings, as it en- ables them to show, before the house, machine, or other objects is made, how it will look after it is made.
Mechanical Drawing .- A fifth department embraces the principles of orthographic and isometric projection which underlie working drawings for the various departments of mechanical industry. It is often called mechanical drawing. The three dimensions are represented, but in a manner wholly different from perspective. There is no pictorial effect, as the object is represented in sections, and everything is drawn to a scale, that the workman may work from it, (hence its name), making whatever is required. Of course the drawings are all done with instruments.
In these five general departments, which deal with all the dimensions, and all the modes of representing form, is really embraced every species of drawing. If the pupil has been suitably trained in a suitable selection from these different departments, excepting the last, he should be able, at the end of his grammar school course, to draw, not merely some particular things, but anything whatever, with intelligence, rapidity, and a fair degree of precision.
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Opportunity for Selection ; Variety Best .- Let it be borne in mind, however, that any one of the five departments can be taken by itself. It is an easy matter to select just what is best adapted to the circumstances of any school, provided you have suitable books and models from which to select. The department first named is the department which should be first taken ; while the fifth will, of course, be taken only by those who expect to become draughtsmen or mechanics, and the more advanced work in model and object drawing, in designing, and exact perspective will never be attempted below the high school.
The best results can never be secured, even in primary or grammar schools, from one kind of drawing alone. The method of instruction must also vary. While some draw- ings should be made of the same size as the copy, others should be made larger, others smaller. Then there should be drawing from dictation, that is from simple verbal de- scription ; also drawing from memory, especially of historic forms ; then the making of original designs after the man- ner of the practical draughtsman. By this variety both the interests of the pupils will be better maintained, and a bet- ter discipline will be secured.
Character of the Instruction .- The instruction should never be dogmatic, but always rational-no mere copying on the part of the pupil. Precedence should always be given to knowledge, never to fine finish. The two should be com- bined, whenever the latter can be had without a sacrifice of the former, and without the pupil's acquiring the habit of drawing slowly. From the outset, and always, the
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pupil should draw rapidly and boldly, but always with un- derstanding, with a thought to be expressed by every line. In his official report on the drawings at the Paris Universal Exposition, 1867, Mr. Frank J. Jackson, designer and art master, from Birmingham, England, says, speaking of the French work :
" Most of the specimens I saw were very spiritedly exe- cuted, but scarcely up to the English notion of neatness. The method of teaching carried on in our government schools affords a marked contrast to that of the French. Ex- amine the drawings that are occasionally exhibited, and it will be found that an immense amount of labor is spent upon fineness of line and mechanical finish. In this respect, I . think, we are decidedly in error; in fact, we begin at the wrong end. Fineness and neatness of line are the results of much practice, and in early training are of much less import- ance than the acquisition of correct notions of size, propor- tions, and forms : to insist too strongly on the former is to jeopardize the realization of the latter."
For various reasons the French mode of rapid drawing is much the best. Such is the opinion of Mr. Walter Smith, State Director of Art Education in Massachusetts.
Geometry the True Basis of all Drawing .- The true basis of all drawing, artistic or industrial, is geometry-both its forms and its principles. It is not enough for the pupil to · draw a few plane and solid geometrical forms ; he must make constant use of these as helps in subsequently analyzing the forms of whatever forms he may draw even as an artist. In Europe that method of drawing which is most generally ap-
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proved by the best authorities, is known as the Hendricks method. The one which has been recently adopted in Mas- sachusetts is much the same. At a distinguished art con- gress held at Brussels, Belgium, in 1868, Mr. Hendricks gave a detailed account of his method. By way of introduc- tion he said :
" According to my idea, all elementary drawing should take as its foundation geometry, and make the elements of this science subservient to the analysis of artistic forms, in such a manner that they are not an inanimate instrument only, but, on the contrary, a means by which the pupil can him- self control and appreciate his work. Every method should be rational, positive, and not leave room for doubt in the pupil's mind."
Drawing the Human Figure .- Since there is a tendency, in some quarters, to lay undue stress upon drawing the human figure in technical schools, where the end sought is wholly industrial, it will be well to consider what Mr. Hendricks says of this, as reported at the same congress :
" I must state here that I had investigated everything care- fully before I became aware of the evil (the deplorable state of instruction in drawing in its application to industry and the different trades), and found that it consisted alone in con- fused ideas on the part of teachers. In my opinion, this evil is not the consequence of want of talent in those who teach ; on the contrary, many of our teachers are very com- petent ; and by far the greater number possess undoubted talent. No! the fault lies in another direction,-in that too frequent and wide-spread mistake, that the study of the hu-
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man figure suffices, and ought to precede everything else, how inferior soever the trade may be to which the pupil in- tends to devote himself. There lies the mistake." * * " To the decorator, or ornamental sculptor, the natural king- doms furnish a large number of other elements which are just as indispensable for him. The foundation of his whole art lies, more than anywhere else, in the study of the various phenomena presented by the vegetable kingdom, from whose inexhaustible sources, he, from time immemorial, has drawn the ideas for his most beautiful creations, and his happiest applications to useful objects, as well as for the architectural designs which antiquity has bequeathed us."
Owen Jones, the best English authority, is of the same mind. He said, in his account of the London Exhibition, 1851:
" Here in Europe we have been studying drawing from the human figure, but it has not led us forward in the art of ornamental design. Although the study of the human fig- ure is useful in refining the taste, and teaching accurate ob- servation, it is a roundabout way of learning to draw for the designer for manufactures." .
The Logical Steps in Drawing .- Art education in England harmonizes with these views. The art school in Germany, which is " justly regarded as having rendered the most ser- vice to industry," is that of Nuremberg. The instruction " advances from the simplest models to the finest left by ancient art, and then to nature." The three general divi- sions are : " 1. Drawing of ornament. 2. Drawing from the antique (caste). 3. Drawing from nature." The true
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course for our public schools is undoubtedly the following : 1. Geometrical forms. 2. Conventional natural forms, used . for ornament. 3. Natural forms. This is the order of nature and the order of difficulty ; it is taking the simple before the complex; that which can be verified by measure- ment before that which cannot be verified. Drawing from natural objects may be interspersed ; but it should never form a leading feature, at an early period, because it may be thought it will please the children.
Shading .- Young children especially must have nothing to do with light and shade. Pure form must be mastered first. Of shading in general the French committee that re- ported on drawing at the Paris Exposition, say :
" You cannot sufficiently combat the tendency of pupils to shade too much in order to arrive at effect." *
" The important point is, not to load a drawing with exag- gerated lights and shades, which give an unnatural aspect to the object represented, but rather to render its true charac- ter by a faithful and intelligent outline, and by lights, shades and half tints, in their proper place, and in relative and har- monious proportion."
Necessity for Drawing Books .- Finally, as to the question of drawing books for the use of teacher and pupil. With- out them good results cannot be secured. For the develop- ment of the taste the books must contain the most beautiful copies possible. There must be a full explanatory text, covering principles and modes of working, for the guidance of the teacher when instructing the youngest pupils, and for the guidance of both teacher and the older pupils. The im-
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portance of the text is not second to that of the drawing copies, while the teachers themselves are yet without a good knowledge of drawing. Mr. Bardin, professor of Industrial Drawing to the Communal schools of Paris, says :
" A text accompanying a drawing (models too) is always more precise than the oral description that the master can give to each pupil, and helps to keep alive the remembrance of it."
With suitable books the present regular teachers can un- doubtedly do creditable work. Lacking books there can be no systematic progress in the different schools of a town ; to secure such progress definite work must be assigned, as in other studies, and pupils must be examined and promoted in drawing as in arithmetic. For the purpose of rapidly illus- trating methods and principles, the blackboard must be con- stantly used ; but it should seldom or never be used simply for pictorial purposes, that is, to supply the pupils with drawing-copies. In order to do this each teacher would need to be an expert draughtsman, and should have an abundance of time, or the blackboard drawings could not be made suit- able for copies. But even a beautiful copy on the black- board is not the thing for a large class to draw; as only the few sitting directly in front would see it as it really is. For all the pupils sitting to the right or left the figure would appear distorted. Hence it is that wall charts are forbidden in all the best schools of art, when classes are to be instructed. There is but one way to make the work easy for teachers, to save the time of the pupils, and give them good instruc- tion; the best of copies must be placed in their hands, when they' draw from the flat; and the best of models must be
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placed where they can see them properly, when they draw from the round or solid.
EVENING SCHOOLS.
The returns which are presented in Table V, show a healthy growth in the evening school work. As the atten- tion of school .officers has been directed to the evils in their management, they have been prompt to rectify them. Chief among these was the attendance of children, under twelve years of age, who worked in the mills during the day, and who attended the evening school as a substitute for attend- ance at the day school. The vigilance of school officers should be directed to a remedy of the evils which result from the negligence of parents and manufacturers to the true in- terests of the children under their care. There is no limit to the work of evening schools in the improvement of the mental, moral and social condition of the youth of Rhode Island, above twelve years of age, who cannot attend upon other means of instruction. Added to the ordinary studies of our schools may be the special studies which are of value to the trades and professions. While the State is under no obligation to aid the young in securing the practical knowl- edge and details of business occupations, it may most fitly encourage the young in those studies which will lead directly to the successful pursuit of them. The appropriation of the State has been wisely expended in the support of these in- terests, and in such a manner as to secure in addition thereto most liberal local appropriations by towns and gifts by indi- viduals.
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THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
The success which has attended the work of this school, and the high estimation in which it is held by the people of the State, are matters for true congratulation on the part of the friends of education. It only remains for the Board of Education and for the General Assembly to provide more suitable and ample accommodations for its greater useful- ness, and for its increasing growth. The wisdom which has characterized the legislation of Rhode Island with reference to the creation and support of such a school, will certainly provide new buildings, as speedily as they can be furnished. Mr. Greenough and his assistants have shown themselves worthy of the great confidence imposed in them, and their work at the Normal School will find its best fruitage in the primary schools all over our State. One feature of our school is worthy of special note, namely, the number of actual teachers of experience who have come from their school-rooms to secure a more complete training for more successful work. May the school and its adjuncts continue to advance the teacher's calling until not one unworthy per- son shall be found in the position of a teacher in Rhode Island.
AN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL
For the reception and education of truant children is greatly needed and should be at once established. As the Joint Special Committee of the General Assembly has reported a bill to that body, which was promptly and unanimously adopted by the House of Representatives, and only waits
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the concurrence of the Senate, to become a law, we may hope that under its provisions this long-talked of institution will soon become an established fact.
THE RHODE ISLAND INSTITUTE OF INSTRUCTION
Has become a powerful instrumentality in educational work in Rhode Island, and its annual meetings testify to the loy- alty of our teachers to their profession. The history of the Institute recently prepared and published by the friend of common schools, Rev. E. M. Stone, of Providence, gives an outline of the service done by this earnest body of school workers, and those most intimately connected with the Insti- tute will read with surprise, almost, the variety and scope of the labor which it has done in the twenty-nine years of its existence. It is often alleged that teachers care but little for their profession ; that they are only anxious to draw their pay after the performance of the duties in a most perfunc- tory manner ; that they have but little desire or ambition for improvement for themselves or their fellows. The crit- icism is too true concerning many who now burden the ranks of teachers, but what more convincing evidence can we have that the day of small things is rapidly passing, than that teachers and others so earnestly unite in measures to advance their calling, and to give greater efficiency to their work. The annual meeting of the Institute at Music Hall, Providence, January, 1874, was the largest and most profita- ble of any ever held in the State, and we doubt if its size and interest can be equalled by the meeting of any other association of a similar character in the country. I com- mend the Institute to your most earnest consideration and generous support.
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THE RHODE ISLAND SCHOOLMASTER.
This pioneer among school journals in America has nearly reached the close of its twentieth year, having been estab- lished in the early part of the year 1855, by the active teach- ers of Rhode Island. During this period the educators of nearly every other State in the Union have followed our example in the establishment of one or more monthly papers for the advancement of education generally, and of the teacher's profession especially. No more valuable trib- ute can be paid to the intelligence and devotion of the teach- ers of Rhode Island, than the hearty support they have given to their State journal for these years, and the more from the fact that all its departments have been sustained by the free contributions and labors of our teachers ; and when the history of education in Rhode Island shall be written, it will appear that no one agency has been instrumental of more good influences to the advancement of our common schools than the " Rhode Island Schoolmaster." In its. pages may be found the discussion of almost every question: upon education which has occupied the minds of our thought- ful men and women, and to its files the future school histo- rian must go to find the evidences of our progress in school affairs.
For several years it has been in the minds of the leading friends of education in New England to establish a journal which should represent the ideas and systems which have originated and prevail in this section, where free schools had their birth. The plan was first proposed by Hon. Henry
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Barnard, at a meeting of the American Institute, held at Northampton, about the year 1850, but the practical difficul- ties in the way hindered the establishment of such a journal at that time. Its necessity became more and more evident as the educational work has advanced, and the attention of the most earnest friends has been turned to the feasibility of the plan for a union of the State school periodicals of New England in one strong paper or magazine, which should re- ceive the united support of educators in and out of the New England States. The plan first took shape at the meeting of the American Institute of Instruction, held at North Ad- ams, in July, 1874, and as a result of the deliberations of that meeting, which were marked by great unanimity and enthusiasm, an arrangement has been entered into by which the several New England journals are to be united in one paper to be published weekly at Boston, to which one or more editors and a publisher are to devote their whole time and energies. The manner in which this consolidation has been accomplished, and the readiness with which expected difficulties have been removed, leads to the belief that the act is one which the times and the cause of education truly demands, and one which will be of increasing benefit to the work in the several States most directly interested in its suc- cess. As the American Institute and the Teachers' Associa- tions of the New England States are interested in the man- agement of the journal, and as its ability and strength will readily secure for it position and patronage, it is not deemed desirable that the State appropriation for a school journal should be continued, and I therefore recommend the with-
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drawal of the appropriation which has been annually made by the State to aid in the support of such a periodical.
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
The advice and support which I have received in my work from the members of the board demands special recognition, and the conferences upon the condition of the schools and. their constant improvement, have been of great profit, at the several meetings held during the year. It is to be regretted that the law does not recognize the board as a public agent and organizer of school work, and hence its value in connec- tion with the administration of school affairs is liable to be undervalued. The question is often asked " Why does not the Board of Education do this or that?" but it is only asked by those who are not aware that the board holds only an ad- visory relation to the school system, with the exception of its office to elect the Commissioner of Public Schools. Had the board the work of official school examiners, with the re- quirement to make an annual report concerning all matters of expenditure, discipline, management and reform, the re- sponsibility would be felt, and the authority would be wisely exercised. It is insight more than oversight that our schools need, and the more thorough and practical the inspection of school management is made the more satisfactory will be the results.
Anticipating a separation of my present relations with the board as its secretary, and appointee to the office of Commis- sioner of Public Schools of the State, I must express my grateful thanks to all its members, present and past, for their
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confidence and courtesies so often and so kindly expressed,. and can only return to them my heartfelt wishes for years of usefulness and success in behalf of the education of the youth of our beloved State.
REPORTS OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES.
The reports of school committees and superintendents are becoming annually of greater value. More topics are dis- cussed and in a more practical way. General statements as to the condition of the schools are giving place to facts and particulars with reference to the details of the work. The reports of a committee to examine the condition and the workings of a cotton factory would be of little value, if the inspection only related to a survey of the outer structure, and a statement as to its fair proportions, size and appear- ance. Nor would the interest of the travelling public be specially protected or improved by a railroad commissioner who should make an annual tour of inspection, by a night express in a Pullman palace car, over the lines of a road. In the former case the condition of the outer structure should be carefully noted, and then the important elements of the machinery, its quantity, quality, adaptedness, conditions of working, &c., the skill of the operatives, as well as the thoroughness of the supervision ; the raw material, its qual- ity and amount required, and the great desideratum would be the quantity and quality of the material results of all this combination of capital and force. The questions, "Is it managed well?" " Does it work well ?" " Does it pay well ?" are asked daily concerning every manufacturing interest in the State. Why should not every school officer propound
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the same practical questions at the door of every school in the State, and then give to the people the answer which comes from an intelligent solution of the question.
In the latter case we should prefer that our railroad offi- cial should inspect every rod of the road bed, the ties, the rails, the bridges and culverts, the rolling stock, the engines, and last but not least, the ability, honesty and fidelity of every employee and official of the corporation. Well satisfied on these points, by his vigilance and wakefulness, the public may sleep in palace cars without danger of peril to life and limb.
If matter must be watched in its transformations, in all its particulars, and all the facts noted, and made public to pro- tect and advance the life of business, how much more should those who guard our schools as examiners inspect, item by item, the parts of the work, and as skillful experts be able to hold up the faults to be corrected, and the excellences to be cherished and sustained.
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