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Show 336 REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT OF INDIAN SCBOOLS. < Mr. W. J. Oliver, of Fort Defiance, Ariz., presented a paper on this subeject from which the following quotations are made, and it was requested that the entire paper be printed and distributed through-out the service: The backbone of an education must always he the ability to do something. Another condition that confronts us to-day with the Indiansis that a large ma~or-. ity of them must lahor with their hands, and that the greatest need of the present is that methods of instruction shall he adopted to help the Indian boy to overcome the prejudice against work and his indisposition to do things carefully, and to ] enable him to understand things and adapt himself to them. The condition of the Indian children an the reservation and when they come 1 from our schools makes a demand for manual training. They have been accus-tomed toa great deal of exercise, yet their energies have not been directed in use- 1 ful channels. Would not the introduction of a more extensive system of manual training for a part of the time in a freer and purer atmosphere have better results ! than the time spent over books or over oralor written recitations? Theeducation { of the Indian should consist largely in doing. I have no desire to depreciate other studies, as literature, etc.: hut should some ' ask, "How can anything be added, as the schedule even now is overcrowded?" inating what is utterly valueless in the education of the children. Manna1 train-i theanswer would be: Todoit by correlatingaudcoordinatingstudies,and by elim-ing has been in use in the schools of Philadelphia fourteen years, and it is claimed i that it has improved the pupils in deportment, character, and intelligence. The 1 most remarkable testimony is that of the English Child Labor Commission in 1883. This commission was appointed by Parliament to inquire into the condi- 1 tion of child lahor in factories. It discovered that children had been employed I for twelve hours per day, and were thus kept from school advantages. A lawwas passed requiring that half of the pupils attend school in the forenoon and half in 1 the afternoon. In a few years medical authorities testified to auperior physical : growth, police andphilanthropists to improved moral tone, and employers to a j higher grade of work. But the most surprising fact was that after twelve years of study of 12,000 children, the head of the commission reported that those who were in school half a day and had to work the other half in the factory were doing better work in the school than those who were in school the whole time. Professor Woodward, of the St. Louis Training School, gives the strongest testi-mony as to its educational value. He says that '' one of the strongest arguments is its economic value.'' There are some people who think that it is sflcient to condemn a study because it has a bread-winning or bread and butter value. Other things being equal, I surely the fact that manual training hears excellent ewnomic results is greatly in 1 its favor. Very few of our Indian boys and girls can hope to compete in the lit- . erary world with their white brothers and sisters. But in the economic world, why can not they, if they have a fair literaryeducation and are strong physically? While manual training does not mean to teach the boy a trade, it gives him a training which enables him to learn to get a living and thus become self-depend-ent and independent. I believe this one of the best means of civilizing the Indian. ' This feeling of self-dependence will apt?@ de!ply to,his manhood, and he will soon begin to realize that he has the a ihty wlthln hlmself to compete with his white brother, and he will then begin to imbibe the ideas of civilization. Young women need industrial education as much as young men. Sewing and i cooking and a course of economio housekeeping should be part of every young girl's education. It has been said that the relation of woman tonew economic and social conditions calls strenuously for this industrial education. Industrial education is the demand of the time and is fraught with destiny for our country in all its future. Under the topics of "The most feasible lines for stock raising and farm and dairy worE in connection with the schools" and 'LWhat should be done with the profits made from the sale of these products?" there was an interesting discussion. It was thought that some pian should be devised by which the children would be enabled to see the benefit to be derived from sales, as it would be an incentive to a greater interest in productions on the farms. The difficulties in the way of systematic instruction on industrial lines were talked over and suggestions made as to overcoming these difficulties. |