ism, by skeleton lines, by balance, rythm, and how through the process of repeating, varying, and contrasting motive-units are arranged for decorative effects. Special features are discussed when special work is taken up as for instance stenciling, book-cover designing, poster work, etc. Through the instructive talks the student gains a fair knowledge of how to attack a problem and how to start the design in a definite, logical way. Then, as knowledge and skill increases through actual experience, freedom of choosing, planning and execution are more or less rapidly gained. After the painting of the color scales applied design is begun with simple problems in space-designs, as sofa cushions, hand-bags, runners, etc., to be worked in embroidery. Later some of these designs are remodelled for stencil work. This reconstructing of a design into a good workable stencil pattern is found to be energy well spent as it taxes the ingenuity of the pupil in many ways and shows him new openings for practical applications. In the following lines the successive steps for working simple patterns are given to serve as an illustration of the operation usually pursued in space-designs. First the pupil makes a suggestive sketch in pencil of the whole. lay-out; then when the sketch is found suitable, the repeat is developed freehand in natural size on practice paper, using the eraser and angle mirror freely for perfecting it in every particular. After this the pattern is transferred with the help of tracing paper on Whatman's "Not" (19"x24") or Sand-paper, and completed in color. In Furthermore, and this is perhaps the choosing the colors for needle work or The production of pleasing coloreffects is one of the main objects in decorative design, therefore, color theory is taken up, but from the artists standpoint only. The student becomes. familiar with the color spectrum, and the color combination and color mixing circle, with what is meant by the analogous and complimentary contrasts, he learns the meaning of monochrome, polychrome, self-tone, of color in full and broken intensity. most valuable asset in all color work the pupil must be trained in the development of color sense, in the recognition of standards, their tints and shades, in detecting injurious and pleasing combinations. To this end the pupil makes color scales (in a rather large size); first a scale of neutral values from white to black; then two or three scales of tints and shades, and of a standard color in full and broken intensity. In this way, he strengthens, in an experimental fashion, his perception of color, finds how to safeguard himself against discordant and harsh results; at the same time he gets a good practice in laying-in flat washes, for his work a matter of indispensible value. stencils the use of a collection of embroidery floss is found quite helpful. But not all patterns are transferred to good paper; some of them are drawn in outline only on manilla and transferred with carbon paper on material suitable for needle work (embroidered in the domestic science department or at home); some of them are made into stencils and then used on linen, crash, or scrim; some of them are developed for tooled leather work, etc. For the first of the exercises the motive-units are given but these have to be changed to suit the special cases; for the next exercises the unit-elements are developed from plant studies. or entirely from imagination. Thereby the student is led to rely more and more on his own inventive resources. Book-cover designing is commenced at the beginning of the third quarter. Each pupil draws a card from the teacher's collection, and the four problems stated on the card are worked out on detail paper. The next four covers are chosen by the student who also selects from the eight designs drawn so far only on manilla the four which he will transfer to good paper and paint. The titles given on the cards relate to various subjects; as for example one card will have: The Story of the Knights. Winter Sports. Garden Book. Insects. Another card has the titles: The Pilgrim. Castles on the Rhine. Bird Houses. Metalry. and so on. In the demonstration of book-cover designing special stress is laid on the fact that the cover must be in harmony with the content to the book, that the title is the most important feature, that its lettering must be consisten as well as he design, and that the whole must be a topographical unit. Book-cover work helps the student greatly in his problems of program cards, magazine covers, and posters, the designing of which is called for by the various school festivals and days of special importance as "Cleaning Day," "Arbor Day." It is evident that the work in designing furnishes sufficient motive to the student to apply his activities in a useful, practical manner, that it famil iarizes him with various features involved in different lines of applied work, and, as the whole is carried on as much as feasible in the studioand workshop-fashion, that it gives him the means to do his work in a professional way. It is not the sphere of this paper, intended to present in a rather condensed way the course of study, to include the various steps and processes for carrying on the details of the designs spoken of. Yet one more feature must be mentioned as it helps the young designer, namely that the art department has besides a good many reference books a fair collection of various printed designs mounted on card board and quite a number of printed advertisements and posters. The materials used in designing are: Water colors in tubes-standard red, yellow, blue, orange, green, violet and charcoal grey. Four enameled water cups. Two small brushes (Nos. 5 and 7) and one large double-end brush. Pencils-S for sketching on manilla paper. paper. M for working on good paper. One tracing pencil. tracing paper. A few sheets of sand-paper and Whatman's "Not" (19x24). White blotting paper. Thumb tacks. Small soft sponge. Bottle of Higgins' black waterproof ink. Linen cloth for cleaning brushes, etc. Angle mirror (or two pieces of bright tin (6′′x14′′) answering the same purpose.) E INDIANA TEACHERS' Reading Circle Department Educational Resources of Village and Rural Communities-Hart By Z. M. Smith, Deputy State Superintendent in Charge of Agricultural Education. The fact that a teacher cannot render a full measure of service to the people of a given community without a fairly intimate knowledge of their home life and environment is a fact that educators recognized long ago. I have thought at times that in general the teachers of Indiana believe they should know the parents of their pupils, and should know a great deal about the home influences and community life that of necessity affect the conduct of their pupils. It must be admitted, however, that the majority of our teachers devote all their time to schoolroom exercises, and fail to get in touch with the homes represented in their schools. For such teachers text books are the only sources of information. For them the teeming life of the communities they are supposed to serve bears no practical relation to their school work. A true teacher will take pains to become acquainted with the natural resources of his school community, and with the parents whose children are entrusted to his care. I doubt not that many teachers are agreed with what has been said, but are now saying they have not time to do this "outside work." Why call it "outside work"? Have not these physical resources and fathers and mothers as close a relation to the inner lives of the children as have the text books? Are your pupils supposed to devote all their time to memorizing the statements of writers of books? Why should they not give some time to the study of the things that are hourly shaping their lives to a far greater degree than are the perfunctory school exercises based on text books. We are not making a declaration of war against the use of books. We are making a plea that the children be given an opportunity to think about the forces with which they must deal in performing their life's work, forces that are moulding their lives for weal or woe. In order that the children may study the topography of a township, it is not necessary to neglect the work prescribed in the state course. Why confine the geography work to the limits of a book? Children should become impressed with the fact that streams, the hills, the valleys, the plains in their township have as much to do with determining their future as do the rivers and mountains throughout the ends of the earth. The pupils might profitably study the physical conditions affecting the occupations of their parents. In one section of a given county might be found a wide stretch of prairie, and in another section the land might be broken and hilly. The agricultural activities in the two sections must necessarily be different from each other. The social, recreation, and home life of the people in the prairie region will not be the same as found in the other section. A study of these conditions, due to differences in topography, has a legitimate place in the geography work. What influence has topography had upon the history of Indiana? Why were the sites of early settlements chosen in preference to other places? Why has one industry sprung up and developed here, while there an entirely different industry has thrived? History is being made in Indiana today. To what extent is history in the making being affected by the topography of the state? Ask the same questions concerning our local and our national history. If children are led to understand the important relation of topography to the life history of the community in which they live, they can comprehend the fact that topography has had a great deal to do with shaping the history of our country. There is no reason why the study of history should be limited to textbook work. There are many excellent reasons why history should be connected directly with the forces that are shaping it. The topography of a given community should undoubtedly be taken into consideration in the study of agriculture. The pupils and the teacher should become informed relative to the streams, the hilly and the level sections of land in the township in which the school is located. In what ways has this important factor affected agricultural interests in the community? What is its effect upon agricultural practice today? Soil is a physical resource that should be studied in connection with geography, history and agriculture. Even a superficial study of Indiana reveals the fact that though the topography of two communities may be alike, yet if the soil in one is richer than in the other, there will be a wide difference in the life histories of the two communities. The teacher and pupils should study soil types as found in the fields. Samples of soils should be brought by the pupils from their homes, and these soils should be used in working out elementary laboratory exercises in school. Plans should be made for growing vegetables or some farm crop on the home plots from which the samples were taken. In determining the kind of crop to be grown by the pupils during the summer, all the physical resources of the community should be taken into consideration. A study of these problems involves history, geography and agriculture. It might well form the basis for a great deal of language and mathematics work. If the county in which the school is located has been surveyed by the U. S. Bureau of Soils, Washington, D. C., a copy of the soil survey map should be secured from the Bureau. As a part of the work in geography and agriculture a record of the annual rainfall for a given community should be kept by the pupils. These records should be kept each year and should be filed in the school library for reference from year to year. Ten years from now pupils in any given school should be able to tell from these records what the average annual rainfall in the community has been during the decade. The amount of rainfall may be measured by means of a gauge made of zinc. The tube of the gauge should be twenty-four inches long with a di ameter of two inches. The top piece should be in the shape of a funnel with a diameter of 6 5-16 inches. All meas urements should be divided by ten, because of the ratio between the diameter of the top piece and the tube of the gauge. One of the pupils of the school should be selected to write to the Weather Bureau of the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., for information relative to the annual precipitation in the state and, as nearly as can be given, in the community in which the pupil lives. Precipitation is an important factor in determining the agricultural and so cial activities of a community. If the land must be irrigated, a great deal more labor is required to product a crop than if the annual precipitation is adequate. The greater the amount of time and labor required to provide a living the less can be given to social life. The kind of crop, the acreage. methods of marketing, social intercourse, educational advantages are all greatly influenced by the amount and the distribution of the annual rainfall Temperature is a physical resource that plays an important part in the life activities of a community. Money. time, and energy are required to provide clothing, food and shelter for those who live in a rigorous climate People who must thus use their re sources have less opportunity for mak ing progress than those who are more fortunately located. On the other hand an extremely warm climate makes people sluggish and non-progressive. Irregularities in climatic conditions are of great significance in a community. There are seasons when corn can be planted in the central part of Indiana during the latter part of April or the first week in May and be safe from frost. On the other hand there are seasons when the planting must be done later. Sometimes frost comes in the fall before the corn has matured. The fruit crop and some vegetables are sometimes cut short or wholly destroyed by untimely frosts. Daily temperature records should be kept from year to year and filed, like the annual rainfall records, for use in the school. Information on the climatic conditions of the community should be secured from the U. S. Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C. Other physical resources that should be studied in connection with the work in geography, history, agriculture, botany, etc., are the minerals, the grasses, grains, flowers, fruits, domestic animals, wild animals, birds, insects. A study of these resources cannot be completed in one year. The domestic animals of the community will require for their study all of the time of the class in agriculture throughout the year. In this study should be included information on the kinds and the numbers of each kind of animals on the home farms, what and how much feed is fed during the year, the cost of keeping the horses, the cows, the brood sows, types and breeds, the value of pure-bred stock, etc. The problem of making practical use of suggestions given in the chapter for this month's study is not one of time to do the work so much as it is a question of distinguishing between teaching and keeping school. |