TAKING THE SCHOOL TO THE FACTORY
HOW ALIEN GIRLS ARE BEING CHANGED INTO INTELLIGENT AMERICAN WORKERS BY INSTRUCTION DURING WORKING HOURS
In from twenty to thirty-five weeks I. SUMMARY LEAD an illiterate immigrant girl can be 1. Striking results transformed into an intelligent, efficient Striking statement American citizen, in this city, in two sentence to without interfering with the daily work avoid unwieldy sentence.
by which she earns her living. Only forty-five minutes a day in a factory schoolroom is required to accomplish such striking results.
This has just been demonstrated at 2. Commencement the first commencement of the only Timeliness brought school conducted in a New York factory. out immediately after The cla.s.ses have been held on striking statement one of the upper floors of the white goods factory of D. E. Sicher & Co., 49 West 21st Street, where the graduation Address has local exercises were held last Thursday interest evening.
Forty girls--Italians, Poles, Russians, 3. Graduates Hungarians, Austrians among Note concrete details the number--received the first "certificates of literacy" ever issued by the Board of Education. Twenty weeks Striking results ago many of these young women could emphasized by device not speak English; many of them had of contrast never been to school a day in their lives. Every one present on Thursday Impression on audience night felt that this was indeed a commencement of remarkable for these girls. results
It is due to the instruction of Miss Teacher"s name has Florence Meyers, formerly a public local interest school teacher, that the girls can now speak English, write good letters, make out money-orders, cash checks, and send telegrams. They have also been Additional concrete taught the principles of our government, details of striking the importance of personal hygiene, results and the processes by which cotton goods used in their work are manufactured.
The school was organized this year 4. School at the suggestion of Dudley E. Sicher, head of the firm, in cooperation with the Board of Education, and has been under the supervision of Miss Lizzie E. Princ.i.p.al and school Rector, Public School No. 4, Manhattan. have local interest.
What has been accomplished in this 5. Example to other factory, which is the largest white firms goods muslin underwear plant in the Veiled suggestion to world, will doubtless serve as an example readers to be followed by other firms.
Its purpose the firm expresses in II. PURPOSE OF SCHOOL these words: "To hasten a.s.similation 1. Firm"s statement necessary to national unity, to promote industrial betterment, by reducing Statement in general the friction caused by failure to comprehend terms directions, and to decrease the waste and loss of wage incidental to the illiterate worker."
"When a girl understands English 2. Head of firm"s statement and has been taught American business and factory methods," says Mr.
Sicher, "she doesn"t hesitate and Statement in concrete blunder; she understands what she is terms told and she does it.
"Intelligent employees do much better work than illiterate ones, and since we can afford to pay them better wages, they are much more contented. From a business point of view, the school is a good investment."
The instruction that has accomplished III. METHODS OF INSTRUCTION such remarkable results has been eminently practical. "There 1. Practical education was no time to spend in teaching the girls anything but the most necessary Teacher"s statement things," explains Miss Meyers, "for I of her problem could have each one of them for only forty-five minutes a day, and there was much to be done in that time.
"Here was a girl, for example, who Problem concretely could hardly say "good morning." shown Here was another who had never written a word in her life, either in English or in any other language. The problem was how to give each of them what she most needed in the short time allotted Statement of general every day. This essentially plan practical training I organized under several subjects, each of which was broadly inclusive.
"When I undertook to teach letter 2. Letter writing writing, it meant teaching the English language, as well as writing and spelling.
It meant teaching the geography of the country, the postal regulations, and the forms of business and personal correspondence.
"In teaching arithmetic, I use money 3. Arithmetic and show them how to make change by means of addition, subtraction, and division. I also ask them to keep personal expense accounts and to make out reports of the work that they do.
"Civics included American history, 4. Civics the lives of our statesmen--for these girls are so eager to be true Americans that they want to know about our great men--the origin of legal holidays, the merits of our system of government, the meaning of citizenship, and the essence of patriotism.
"Hygiene is another important 5. Personal hygiene subject. American standards of living, personal cleanliness, and sanitary regulations have to be emphasized. To aid in counteracting the effects of long hours at the sewing machines, we have physical culture exercises. Instruction in first aid measures is also given so that they will know what to do in case of an accident. The nutritive value of different foods in relation to their cost is discussed to enable them to maintain their health by a proper diet.
"As these young women are engaged 6. Cotton goods in making muslin underwear, it seemed desirable for them to know where cotton grows, how it is spun, where the mills are and how it is shipped to New York. After they understand the various processes through which the material goes before it reaches them, they take much more interest in their work, as a part of the manufacture of cotton goods into clothing."
The use of the telephone, the telegraph, 7. Means of communication the subway, surface lines, and railways is another subject of instruction.
A dummy "phone, telegraph Method of presentation blanks, the city directory, maps with in this paragraph routes of rapid transit lines, and the changed for telephone book, are some of the practical variety laboratory apparatus and textbooks that are employed.
"We encourage them to learn for 8. Study outside of themselves outside of school hours cla.s.sroom many of the necessary things that we have not time for in the cla.s.sroom,"
says the teacher.
To reach the schoolroom in which IV. THE SCHOOLROOM this work has been carried on, you take 1. Location the elevator to the last floor but one of Note effect of using the factory building. There you find "you"
only a portion of the floor s.p.a.ce cleared for tables and chairs. It is a clean, airy room with big windows opening on the street, made gay with boxes of flowers.
Flags of many nations about the 2. Decorations room appropriately represent the many nationalities among the pupils. On Note character of one wall hangs a card with the legend: decorations selected
Four things come not back: The spoken word The sped arrow The past life The neglected opportunity.
A photograph of Miss Jessie Wilson, now Mrs. Francis B. Sayre, occupies the s.p.a.ce between the two windows.
The picture was presented to the girls by Miss Wilson herself, just before she This shows enterprising was married, when a party of them with spirit on the Miss Meyers went to Washington to part of teacher, girls, give her a white petticoat they had and firm made themselves, as a wedding present.
After Miss Wilson had shown them through the White House and they had seen her wedding presents, she gave them this signed photograph.
A piano and a phonograph at one 3. Furnishings end of the room make it possible for the girls to enjoy dancing during the noon hours on three days of the week, and to have musicals on other occasions.
Shelves filled with books line the 4. Library walls of a smaller office room opening off the schoolroom. On two days of the week during the noon hour, the teacher read aloud to the girls until they were able to read for themselves.
Then they were permitted to take books home with them. Besides this, they have been encouraged to use the public libraries, after being shown how to make out applications for library cards.
"One girl is reading "The Promised Concrete example Land," by Mary Antin," Miss Meyers has "human interest,"
tells you, "and thinks it is a wonderful as related in book. She was so much interested in the teacher"s own it that I asked her to tell the others words about it. Although a little shy at first, she soon forgot herself in her eagerness to relate Miss Antin"s experiences.
She told the story with such dramatic effect that she quite carried away her cla.s.smates. If we had done no more than to teach this girl to read a book that meant so much to her, I believe our school would have justified its existence."
Mary Antin herself accepted the Is this paragraph girls" invitation to attend the graduation out of logical order?
exercises, and made a short address.
The pupils" written work was exhibited V. RESULTS SHOWN BY on the walls of the room on the occasion PUPILS" WORK of the exercises, and showed conclusively the proficiency that they have attained.
The greatest progress made by any 1. Italian"s theme and of the pupils was probably that of an progress Italian girl. Before coming to this country, she had attended school and Example of greatest besides this she had been teaching her progress is put father at night whatever she had first learned during the day. Her short essay on her adopted country read:
This country is the United States Note use of narrow of America. It is the land of freedom measure without and liberty, because the people quotation marks for govern themselves. All citizens love examples quoted their country, because they know that this freedom was earned by men who gave their lives for it. The United States is in North America.
North America is one of the greatest divisions of the earth. North America was discovered on October 12, 1492, by Christopher Columbus.
The fact that Columbus, one of her Is this comment by countrymen, had discovered the country the writer effective?
in which she and her father had found a new life, doubtless appealed to her keen imagination.
That a Russian girl appreciated the 2. Russian"s essay on lessons she had received in the value of saving opening a dime-savings account, is indicated by this composition:
I must save money out of my earnings to put in the bank. I know that money is safe in the bank.
To deposit means to put money in the bank.
Cashing a cheque means changing a cheque for money.
How practical lessons in personal hygiene 3. Polish girl"s essay may be emphasized in connection with the teaching of composition was ill.u.s.trated in an essay of a Polish girl written under a picture of a woman combing her hair:
She wished to comb her hair.
She takes the comb in her hand.
She combs her hair.
She wishes to brush her hair.
She takes the brush in her hand.
She brushes her hair.
She combs and brushes her hair every morning.
She washes her hair often with soap and water.
The pathetic eagerness of one woman 4. Woman of forty of forty to learn to read and write was and her work told by Miss Meyers in connection with one of the pieces of work exhibited.
"She was an old woman; at least she "Human interest"