quipment.

So far as the home life was concerned, the child of several generations
ago was at a decided advantage over the child of today on the expression
side of his education. The homes of that day were beehives of industry,
in which a dozen handicrafts were taught and practiced. The buildings,
the farm implements, and most of the furniture of the home were made
from the native timber. The material for the clothing of the family was
produced on the farm, made into cloth, and finally into garments in the
home. Nearly all the supplies for the table came likewise from the farm.
These industries demanded the combined efforts of the family, and each
child did his or her part.

But that day is past. One-half of our people live in cities and towns,
and even in the village and on the farm the handicrafts of the home have
been relegated to the factory, and everything comes into the home ready
for use. The telephone, the mail carrier, and the deliveryman do all the
errands even, and the child in the home is deprived of responsibility
and of nearly all opportunity for manual expression. This is no one's
fault, for it is just one phase of a great industrial readjustment in
society. Yet the fact remains that the home has lost an important
element in education, which the school must supply if we are not to be
the losers educationally by the change.

THE SCHOOL TO TAKE UP THE HANDICRAFTS.--And modern educational method is
insisting precisely on this point. A few years ago the boy caught
whittling in school was a fit subject for a flogging; the boy is today
given bench and tools, and is instructed in their use. Then the child
was punished for drawing pictures; now we are using drawing as one of
the best modes of expression. Then instruction in singing was intrusted
to an occasional evening class, which only the older children could
attend, and which was taught by some itinerant singing master; today we
make music one of our most valuable school exercises. Then all play time
was so much time wasted; now we recognize play as a necessary and
valuable mode of expression and development. Then dramatic
representation was confined to the occasional exhibition or evening
entertainment; now it has become a recognized part of our school work.
Then it was a crime for pupils to communicate with each other in school;
now a part of the school work is planned so that pupils work in groups,
and thus receive social training. Then our schoolrooms w