December . ' 11 , 1SH ! ) . OMAHA HE13.
braska's Public
School System
/listic / Element
in the School
< V question which for many years has had
a leading place In tiio school world , and in
fact is far from soM'lion today , Is : What
subjects are most deserving of a place in
the couiee of study ?
.Oplnii . us differ widely , from the extremist
° 'i the one hand , who claims that it makes
dllTeienoe what the material is , If It Is
to the one who says that the time
of our schcols should ho devoted to m sub
jects save those which have a direct bearing
upon practical business life. A few timeworn -
worn studies hold their place with undis
puted right , but as the pendulum of public
opinion swings to and fro home of , lhe less
stable oiittj must be il aside.
In Nebraska nuisl , uily has bn'ti
aim UK the last to ed , but It.-I ?
steadily advancing ity. A few
years ago the quc U' ' advisability of
teaching music came school board
of Grand Island. It 'decided either to
drop It altogether to employ a special
teacher and give prominent a place i n
the pn gram a'S any other branch. The latter -
tor plan was adopted and as a result the
W-f music of Grand Island compares favorably
of having the class raise the money cither
tluough voluntary one-rings from Its moiu-
hers or by means of an entertainment. Chll-
dien appreciate a picture which they feel
that they hnvo had n share In purchasing ,
and In one school no money Is accepted save
that which the child has earned or saved
fiom his own allowance.
A few school boards , fearing the avarice
of designing persons , have prohibited the
raising of money In the schools for any
cau.so whatever. Other boards have in. tl
illed this rule by making it allowable for
purposes ? approved by the HUperlnteiident. In
most of our schools , however , this Is not a
point which has to be considered and teach
ers are free to stimulate pupils to Improve
their school rooms In every way.
Si'lioul AH ( 'oll . . | IOHN.
The full beauty of truly artistic decoration
may be seen In several of the large schools
of Omaha. Here the collecting of pictures
has been going on for many years and the
classes of today are reaping the bonellts. At
llrst pictures of almost any quality were
used , but these have been gradually dis
placed by high-grade pictures , till few re
main which are not worthy of admiration
an ! study. Kvcn the available space in halls
ninl stairways is filled , until the entire build
ing is a gallery of the world's masterpieces.
An eastern picture company Is largely
responsible for the great movement toward
NEBRASKA'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS- DECORATIONS IN WEST SCHOOL , BLAIR -
MISS MINNIE C. LUND , TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL.
with the best of the stale and the young
people who have received their training in
the schools are filling the city choirs.
Six-rial MiiHlc TcnchrrN.
What Miss Arnold has done- for the Omaha
schools Miss Mullen is doing for the schools
of South Omaha. In the Hawthorne scliool
the last twenty minutes of each Friday
afternoon are devoted to a llltlo muslcalc.
The doors of the various rooms are thrown
open and as the singers stand In the central
hall the music may bo heard and enjoyed by
all. Teachers have felt amply repaid for
Ihelr time and trouble by the keen enjoy
ment which the children have displayed and
the refining effects of these llltlo rauslcales
are felt throughout the whole school.
Of many branches it Is true that the dis
cipline of acquiring them is more important
than the knowledge acquired , but there ! s
probably not another subject taught today
that brings moro genuine satisfaction and
pleasure to the ono who lias studied It and
those who are associated with him than the
oubject of music.
Scarcely half a dozen towns In the state
have as high as fifteen teachers where a spe
cial teacher of music Is not employed , and In
several places much smaller in size the people
ple realize tnat it is too Important a subject
to bo loft out of their course of study. In
deed many people express Iho hope that the
day Is not far off when all will consider a
knowledge of music as essential as the prac
tical "threo Rs" of former days.
. Tin ! Sillily of IMcliiri-N ,
Closely akin to music In the refining Inllu-
eiicu It Imparts Is the study of pictures. The 1
power which beautiful surroundings exert
In developing the liner sensibilities lint , till
recently , been Ignored go far as It related to 1
the school and too many times
The warping tloor , the battered weals ,
The jackknife carved initial
were not entirely confined to the school '
house by the country road. Bare walls 1
looked down upon the pupil , relieved , per '
haps , hero and there by a cheap chromo 1
which , not being good enough for the homo ,
was generously donated to the school. Yet
this was the place where boys and girls 1
spent nearly one-half of their waking hours.
In the Nebraska schools , with the excep
tion of Omaha , the movement toward mak
ing the school rooms the attractive places
they should be Is still In Its Infancy. A few
schools have done nothing , but a largo per
com have within a year or two adopted some
plan whereby a good picture ( which usually
means a copy of a masterpiece ) may be
. ' . ? added to a room each year. In some fuw >
w schooJs tbo'leachcr has purchased the pic
ture , % ut the plan in most general use Is that t
the better understanding and appreciating of
art which is sweeping our whole land today
Fair copies of genuine works ol art may bt
placed in the hands of the child for the in
credibly small sum of 1 cent each , and , since
it is within the reach of all , a knowledge of
the world's great artists and their produc
tions will soon bo as essential an clement ot
education as a knowledge of good literature.
It is an unusual thing to enter a school
room and not BOO a group of these pictures
an-1 several schools have given picture study
a regular place in the course. In Nebraska
City a lesson is given once in two weeks.
Each child has the privilege of ordering it
copy of the picture studied If ho so desires
( and few do not ) and after It is studied It
is his to take homo. It Is surprising to see
how much these little people , under guid
ance of a skillful teacher , get from one of
these pictures and the collection ot pictures
studied is something which they highly
prize. The following is taken from a second
grade in Nebraska City , but it should be re
membered that the examples of school work
reproduced In this and subsequent articles
are not something especially prepared as ex
hibit work , but lessons as they come from
the hands of the children , In many cases
without even having been examined by the
teacher :
"IV.MJIMU Ill'lIIInlN. . "
"This is the picture of a mother feeding
her Ilttlo children. There are three of them
sitting on the doorstep. The house Is stone.
"Tho grass and vines tell mo It Is summer.
The man working In the field tells mo it Is
summer , tco.
"It la a sunny day , for I see a shadow ,
The chickens tell me it IH daytime.
"Tho Mother Is sitting on a stone In front
of the children. She is feeding the baby
with a wooden spoon. The little girl on the
left has her arm mound the baby. I think
she loves the baby. The- girl with her doll
wants to bo fed next.
"They have wooden shoes like thcso In Mr.
Kodtmhrock's sttre.
"I think Mr. Millet saw the mother bird
feed her Ilttlo ones when he was plowing In
the field. I think he liked little hlrdB and
little girls , too. Ho thought of the mother
robin feeding her little robins , so he culled
( his picture 'Feeding Her HlrdB. ' "
The child who knows what tsee In a
plctuio and how to sea It has a rich treasure
mine opened up to htm. The casual observer
In looking at the picture just described
would see an old country woman feeding a
little child , but the child who has studied
the pictures says : "Tho grass and vines tell
mo it is summer. The man working In the
Held tells mo It Is summer , too , It Is a
sunny day , for I see a shadow. " For the
NEIUIASKA'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS A CLASS IN MUSIC IN A SKCOND GRADE AT GRAND ISLAND.
time he is transported to the laud of the
artist's conception , and the soft summer air ,
tlu > warm sunshine and the various sights
and sounds of country life are real things to
him.
rails or I'rnclical Work.
lint the question naturally arises : "Aro
these things to supplant the practical work
of the schorl ? " The criticism is not in
frequently Hindu that the time of our schools
is devoted to fads , but in Nebraska It Is a
noticeable fact that , with few exceptions ,
those schools whlcJi find tlmo for the newer
lines of work are the very onus that are do
ing the strongest work In the common
branches. These studies which lend culture
and refinement to the scliool . .should sup
plement and strengthen rather than take the
place of the .noro practical lessons. Hut be
cause they are supplementary they should
not be neglected. It should be the duly and
pleasure of the scliool to awaken and de
velop all of the possibilities of the child's
better nature through the various avenue. ?
open to him. It Is hardly possible to esti
mate the silent influence of pictures upon
the inner nature , and Iho child who is taught
to appreciate the truly beautiful , and w.hat .
naturally follows surround hi'insclf with It-
has received something which will bo a
source of enjoyment to him throughout his
whole life , enabling him to beautify his sur-
DRAWING BY A PUPIL IN FIRST GRADE.
CRETE , TAUGHT' HY MISS HANNAH
JOHNSON.
ronndings wherever ho may be placed , and
elevate those with whom he Is brought In
contact. L , S. W.
Bunch of Short Stories
Decidedly the homeliest man In congress
Is Eddy'of Minnesota , according to the
Washington Post. Ho rather glories In the
distinction of ugliness , especially au all hl
olhoi characlerlsllcs are enviable.
During his last campaign the enemies or
Mr. Eddy charged him with being double
foced. Ho met the charge In a manner that
disarmed all criticism.
"Great heaven ! " said Mr. Eddy to hl
audience , "do you think that If I had two
ft'cos I would wear the one I am allowing
you now ? "
Meeting John Allen of Mississippi thm
morning , relates a correspondent of tin
Chicago Record , I asked him how ho wa
coining on In the senatorial race.
"I'm afraid they've got me beat , " ho said
"It lookn mighty Ilko It. "
"I'm sorry to hear that , " I said.
"Yes , " ho replied , "I got a heap of sym
pnlhy moro sympathy than vo'cs ' 'but
nevertheless I have the consciousness or
mv own superiority and rectitude , which U
a great consolation and support In tlmui
of tilal and adversity. "
She sailed Into the telegraph ollico and
rapped on the counter , reports Collier t-
Weekly. The clerk remembered that shr
had been there about ten minutes before
as ho came forward to meet her he won
dered what she wanted tills time.
"Oh , " she said , "let mo have that tole-
graiii I wrolo you just now. I forgot some
thing very Important. 1 wanted to under
score Iho words 'perfectly lovely' In ac
knowledging the receipt of that bracelet.
Will it cost anything extra ? "
"No , ma'am , " said the clerk , as ho handed
her the message.
The young lady drew two heavy lines
beneath the words and said :
"it's awfully good of yon to let mo do
that. It will please Charley so much. "
"Don't mention It , " said Iho clerk. "If
you would like It I will drop a few drops of
violet extract on the telegram at the name
rates. "
"Oh , thank you , sir. You don't know how
much I would appreciate It. I'm going to
send all my telegrams through this olllcc ,
yon are so obliging. "
And the smile she gave him would have
done any ono good with the possible excep
tion of Charley.
At the reception given to ex-President
Harrison by the Commercial club of In-
ilianapolls the other evening William P.
Fishlmck told ihls story of their college
days at Miami university , Oxfc rd , 0. : "llcn-
jamln Harrison once played a mean trick
on mo. Wo boarded with a widow in Ox
ford and there came to bo. a discontent
among the boys about the froil not being
sufficiently genormis In supply. A meeting
was held In Harrison's room to arrange a
formal protest. Lots were cast as to who
should present the case al the breakfast
table. The ballot box was stuffed and I was
elected. I spoke at the breakfawt table anil
stated that the boys objected to paying so
much for so scant a menu. I expected
to be supported by the others. Honjamln
Harrison spoke and to my dismay said : 'We
d' n't know how .Mr. Fishlmck has been
living at homo. Ho may have been a pam
pered son of luxury , but an for the rest of
us , wo have no complaint to make. ' And
that disposition of Tun anil humor has never
left Henjamln Harrison. "
Representative ) Allen of Mississippi must
lot k to his laurels , Hays the Washington
Post. There is a new humorist In con-
grcds. The discovery Is Cu.shman of Wash
ington , whoso wit is keen , whoso HCUSO of
the ridiculous Is aculo and who tells n good
story In delightful fashion. Cu.shman Is
!
tall and lank , of the Abe Lincoln style ot
architecture , with legs HO thin that he him
self oays he has often been arrested for
being without visible meant * of support.
Another quaint expression Is that ho was
once so poverty-slrlcken that ho sowed
buckshot In his summer coat to make It
heavy enough for winter wear , lie huhlilm
over with original sayings and ho utters
them in a Hpontaneuus , unconscious way
that adds to their elfectlveness.
Mr. Cushman is put down in the con
gressional directory aw a congressninn-at-
largo , his slate being without dellnlto con
gressional districts. This reminds him of
a story , lie was once approaching a town
where ho was billed to make a speech and
Htopped at a house on the outskirts of the
town to get a drink of water , lie met the
farmer's wife at the well.
"What Is Iho political sentlmenl around
here ? " nsked Cuslunan.
"I dunne , " said the woman. " 1 don't go
to political meetings. They say there Is a
congressman at largo and 1 think Iho safest
thing for mo to do Is to ttlay al homo ! "
Howard C. Illllegus , whoso recent book
on "Oom Paul and His People" has attracted
wldo attention , him been besieged by people
desiring Information on South Africa and
the Hoers.
A young woman , a writer In ono of the
big newspaper syndicates , called on him Iho
other day , relates the Now York World.
She wished to got material for a Hoer arti
cle , but had been sadly misinformed.
The Ilttlo woman was somewhat timid
when she enlered Iho room , but llnally asked
coyly :
"Aro you the writer ? "
"Yes , " replied Mr. Illllegus.
Taking courage , she then burst out In a
pleading , nympathellc voice :
"You will not mind , will you , tolling me
Just a few facts about your poor , struggling
people ? "
"My people ! " gasped the young writer.
"Why , the last 1 heard they were prosper
ous and living lu Pennsylvania. Have they
mot with misfortune ? "
The timid woman seined the arm of her
chair for support.
-1 thought you were a liner ! " she ex
claimed. "Indeed I did , "
I-lectric Cloth Cutter
Cloth cun bo rapidly c-ul by a newly pat
ented Implement which lias an electric
motor suHpended from tlio cellingby bal
anced i-orils , with a gear wheel at the
lower end of the vertical huft to connect
with it horizontal Hlinft. which carries the
rutting dink In proximity to u shoo , slld-
Inn under the cloth as It In cut.
NEBRASKA'S PUBLIC. SCHOOLS WALL PICTURES IN LAKE STREET KINDER-
GARTEN AT OMAHA.