New York at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis 1904 Part 14

The director was invited to present the plans for the exhibit at the following educational meetings during the year 1903: University Convocation, at Albany, in June; State Teachers' a.s.sociation, at Cliff Haven, in July; School Commissioners and Superintendents, at Watkins, in September; a.s.sociation of Superintendents, which met in conjunction with the Ma.s.sachusetts a.s.sociation of Superintendents, at Boston, in October, and a.s.sociated Academic Princ.i.p.als, at Syracuse in December. The subject was cordially received, and a general effort was made throughout the field of education in the Empire State to prepare an exhibit which would surpa.s.s any that had ever been gathered before. By means of circulars, several of which were sent broadcast throughout the State, full instructions were given to local authorities as to the preparation of the work, amount of material desired and the proposed plan of arrangement. Throughout the fall and winter the director visited many cities of the State, consulted with exhibitors as to the most attractive way of preparing material, and held himself in readiness to a.s.sist all who experienced any difficulty in the preparation of their exhibits. The exhibit material was collected, systematically arranged and mounted at the offices in Rochester, the entire expense of its preparation and transportation being borne by the State, with the exception of the binding of written work and small incidental expenses, which were borne by the local school authorities.

LOCATION OF THE EXHIBIT

The s.p.a.ce a.s.signed to the State of New York contained approximately 2,300 square feet and was most advantageously located. It was directly within and facing the main north entrance of the Palace of Education, and at the intersection of the main north and south aisle and transverse aisle "B." For its neighbors were the city of St. Louis and the State of Missouri, both of which prepared most meritorious exhibits; and the State of Ma.s.sachusetts, which is always looked upon as standing in the front rank in educational progress.

The Exposition authorities announced that no unit smaller than the State in public school exhibits would be recognized, except in the case of four or five cities which had powerful, strongly centralized school systems, making them worthy of independent s.p.a.ce and proper subjects for individual study.

EXHIBIT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

The city of New York was numbered among these exceptions, and approximately 1,500 square feet of s.p.a.ce was a.s.signed it adjoining the s.p.a.ce a.s.signed to the State of New York. The city government appropriated $10,000 for its exhibit and bore the entire expense of the same. a.s.sociate Superintendent Andrew W. Edson was named as committee in charge of the exhibit by Superintendent William H. Maxwell. The city authorities early expressed a willingness and desire to co-operate with the State authorities in the preparation of an exhibit and agreed to follow the same general style of installation and arrangement. Due acknowledgment is hereby made to Superintendent Maxwell, a.s.sociate Superintendent Edson and to committees in charge of minor details for the adoption of plans already inaugurated in the preparation of the State exhibit, and to C. B. J. Snyder, superintendent of school buildings in the city of New York, who prepared the plans for the booth for both the State and city exhibits at no expense to the State.

THE INSTALLATION

The booth was so planned that from the outside it was apparently a single inclosure, the State and city exhibits being separated on the interior by an appropriate screen nine feet high, through which an entranceway was cut. Mr. Snyder's plans provided for a scheme of installation which, while inexpensive, was both artistic and dignified and admirably adapted for the display of the material to be exhibited.

In fact it was generally conceded that much more effective results had been obtained than by surrounding states which had expended considerably more money. The inclosure was ma.s.sive, the woodwork being an effective imitation of Flemish oak, and the hanging surface a burlap of a neutral green tint; the facade, sixteen feet in height, being broken every few feet at fixed intervals by fluted pilasters with ornamental caps. On the outside a wainscoting extended three feet from the floor, above which were panels for hanging exhibit material, the whole being capped by an attractive dentulated cornice. The entranceway, which was thrown across the corner at the intersection of the aisles, was a ma.s.sive arch, surmounted by the coat of arms of the State, tinted in old ivory, underneath which in gold letters was, "State of New York." The interior was cut by transverse walls, nine feet high and extending seven feet from the main wall, thus forming a series of alcoves convenient for study on the part of visitors and leaving in the center an open s.p.a.ce for the display of models, apparatus and cabinet material. Directly facing the entranceway were general and private offices. Completely surrounding the interior of the booth, on the eye line, were 100 wall cabinets which have come to be so generally used for the display of exhibit material. The wall s.p.a.ce above the cabinets was used for the display of especially meritorious and attractive material, while below was a countershelf upon which, here and there, rested a showcase for the display of sewing, clay modeling, botanical specimens, etc. Underneath the counters were shelves for bound books and cupboards for the storage of printed matter and supplies. All work was mounted uniformly upon a Scotch gray cardboard and neatly lettered in white ink.

SCOPE OF THE EXHIBIT

Instead of confining the exhibit to the work of the public schools, as was quite generally done by other States exhibiting, it was decided to show, so far as possible, work now being done in all forms and phases of education in the Empire State. s.p.a.ce was freely given to private inst.i.tutions to demonstrate the place which they are filling in the educational work of the State. Every subdivision of the official cla.s.sification found an exemplification within the New York State exhibit. The partic.i.p.ation of twenty-four cities and numerous incorporated villages, both in elementary and high school work, made the exhibits of those departments thoroughly representative of the work of the State as a whole. It is unfair to pick the work of a few progressive school systems, and endeavor to make it stand for the work of the State at large.

PLAN OF ARRANGEMENT

The plan of arrangement was arrived at only after the most careful thought and discussion, the desire being to so arrange the material as to be most serviceable to the educator and to those seeking suggestions and helpful ideas. In arranging an educational exhibit, emphasis must be placed either upon political divisions, subjects or grades. It was early determined that no separate s.p.a.ce should be a.s.signed to any single locality, but that all of the work of the State in the grades should be exhibited grade by grade and that of the high schools by subjects, and arranged under various departments, such as science, cla.s.sics, mathematics, etc., thus making it possible for a grade teacher to readily compare her work with that of New York's, and to profit by the comparison, no matter in whose favor it might be, and a high school instructor in charge of a department to readily find the work of that department. This method rendered it unnecessary to look over the exhibits from several cities to find the particular work desired.

Moreover, a further subdivision was made, in that the work was arranged according to the population of the contributing cities and villages.

That is, the work from the city of the largest population contributing was installed first, and so on in order. While it was not the purpose to invite comparison of work between rival cities of the State, but rather to present a united front to the world at large, still if it was the desire of some to make such comparison, the above indicated arrangement was the most equitable, as all cities of approximately the same resources and theoretically working under like conditions were placed side by side, and the work of the small village was not placed in juxtaposition with that of the large, strongly centralized city system with many times its resources. A complete catalogue of the exhibit was freely distributed, and cross-references made to work of the various localities, so there was no difficulty for those interested in a single place to locate the work it contributed.

It was generally conceded that, while the above arrangement made no concession to local pride, it was by all odds the wisest arrangement to follow in an exposition of international scope. The compliments which were bestowed upon the arrangement of the exhibit, and the readiness with which all visitors found the work in which they were particularly interested, demonstrated beyond a doubt the wisdom of the committee in pursuing the course above outlined. The entire exhibit was also carefully cla.s.sified in harmony with the official cla.s.sification of the Exposition under the several groups and subdivisions thereof, thereby rendering additional aid in promptly locating exhibits in any particular department.

EXHIBIT DIVISIONS

Entering the booth one found to the left of the entrance the exhibit of the former State Department of Public Instruction. (It should be stated here that the exhibits of the University of the State of New York and of the State Department of Public Instruction were prepared before unification was an accomplished fact. The two exhibits can be said to have formed the exhibit of the new Department of Education.)

Next was the exhibit of the kindergartens, filling three units. (The term "unit" is used to designate one of the wall cabinets containing thirty-three cards 22 x 28 inches.)

Adjoining the kindergarten section was the exhibit of the elementary grades, filling twenty-five units. All the subjects of the curriculum were shown, the work in the wall cabinets being "types" or "samples" of work, the great bulk of which was shown in bound volumes.

Cross-reference was made on the margin of each card to the volume containing similar work, thus facilitating the search of the visitor for a number of cla.s.s exercises of work of the same general nature, and relieving the visitor interested in a general way of looking over a vast repet.i.tion of material. Separating the elementary grades from the high schools was the exhibit of the rural schools of the State, those schools under the jurisdiction of the several school commissioners. It was most complete and interesting, and afforded a clear picture of the work done in the ungraded country schools. The exhibit of the high schools, filling fourteen units, was next in order, and, as stated above, was subdivided into subjects. Twenty-four cities of the State, to say nothing of the incorporated villages, private inst.i.tutions, etc., contributed material in one or more of the foregoing departments.

Next was installed the exhibit covering the professional training of teachers, equally divided between the State Normal School system and the work of the training schools and cla.s.ses in cities and villages, each occupying five units. Every Normal School of the State was represented, each making a special exhibit in the particular subject or subjects a.s.signed it by a committee of Normal School princ.i.p.als, to whom was delegated the duty of preparing an exhibit. All of the city training schools in the State, save four, were represented, as well as the great majority of training cla.s.ses, the whole exhibit having been arranged by the State Supervisor of Training Schools and Cla.s.ses.

In the next section was installed the exhibit in higher education, exhibits being in place from Colgate University, Hobart College, Manhattan College, the College of Pharmacy--allied with Columbia University--and Syracuse University, the latter inst.i.tution making an exhibit both in applied sciences and in fine arts. Next were installed the exhibits of technical and trade schools, which contained interesting displays from the leading inst.i.tutions in the State engaged in this line of work. Just beyond was the exhibit of the industrial schools, and then the display of special work in education which is being done by inst.i.tutions not wholly educational in character. A unique unit was that devoted to the work of the Indian schools of the State, each of the several reservations being represented, and the whole exhibit being arranged by the State Inspector of Indian Schools.

The next alcove was devoted to the education of defectives. It contained concise exhibits from the inst.i.tutions of the State devoted to the instruction of the deaf, dumb and blind, and was carefully studied by those engaged in this work.

The exhibit of summer schools and extension courses adjoined this and was designed to show the work which is best exemplified by the Chautauqua inst.i.tution. In a manner allied with this work is that of the Education Department in visual instruction, which is carried on by lantern slides to aid in the teaching of geography, history and kindred subjects. It was, therefore, installed under this head. The exhibit received hearty commendation from educators generally, but particularly from foreign visitors. The scheme is thoroughly practicable, and nowhere else is it carried on with the same careful attention to detail, nor is the same perfection of slide making reached as in the State of New York.

The last exhibit before leaving the booth was that of the University of the State of New York.

SPECIAL FEATURES

There were many features of special interest. A series of thirty-two charts were prepared as the special exhibit of the New York State Teachers' a.s.sociation, and will be reproduced in the forthcoming report of that body. To one interested in following the tremendous progress made in every branch of educational activity within our State during the past decade, these charts are invaluable. The two charts here reproduced and which formed a part of the exhibit of the Department of Public Instruction were the subject of much comment.

The model of the new State Normal and Training School at Fredonia, which was prepared by the manual training and art cla.s.ses of the inst.i.tution, came in for its share of attention. It was an accurate model of one of the State's finest educational structures.

The State Normal School at New Paltz sent a doll house made by the seventh grade boys for the first grade children in the practice department, the entire structure being completely furnished and appointed by the children.

A special feature was the exhibit of clay modeling from the State School of Clay Working and Ceramics at Alfred, the only school of its kind in the United States receiving State aid. Near by stood a cabinet full of home-made apparatus sent from various inst.i.tutions, but a large part of which came from the physical laboratories of Pratt Inst.i.tute, Brooklyn.

The exhibit contained much of interest to a science teacher.

On the exterior of the facade was a huge educational map of the State, upon which was shown the location, grade, construction and normal capacity of every inst.i.tution of learning within its borders. The superiority of New York's schoolhouses was shown by the large number constructed of brick and stone. The year 1904 marked the pa.s.sing of the log schoolhouse, only four of which were shown upon the map as against approximately fifty ten years ago. The facade also contained an admirable exhibit of art work prepared by the students of the New York School of Applied Design for Women.

SIGNIFICANCE OF SOME CITY EXHIBITS

Various methods of instruction peculiar to certain cities or localities were fully set forth. Albany exhibited the work of one of the most complete systems of free kindergartens in the country, as well as the correlation of subjects in the elementary grades; also manual training and art courses in the high school. Batavia demonstrated the system of individual instruction as carried on in its schools, which involves the employment of two teachers in each cla.s.sroom. Syracuse exemplified its courses in art, manual training and physical training in the elementary grades. Jamestown clearly set forth its course in manual training throughout the entire school course, while Ithaca, in addition to a well-rounded exhibit, by means of photographs, brought out the subject of high school athletics. The exhibit from Yonkers, which was general in character, portrayed the efficiency and superiority of the school equipment in that city.

EDITORIAL COMMENT

The exhibit from first to last demonstrated beyond peradventure the beneficial results accruing from a strongly centralized, and, at the same time, most liberal administration of educational interests.

A prominent morning daily paper, commenting editorially upon the exhibit, says: "It is worth your attention; it means more to every citizen of the Empire State than any other exhibit shown. The chief product of the Empire State is men; neither fields of grain or manufactures, invention or art are as important a product as men. In New York State are produced some of the greatest men of the country. A large part of the raw material comes into New York harbor past 'Liberty Enlightening the World,' and is gradually converted into citizenship.

... Some of the raw material imported is next to worthless; some of the domestic stuff is equally unpromising, but in the great bulk, year in and year out, there is the making of fine men. ... New York State men are scattered throughout the country. They found the cities of the west; they run the railroads; they manipulate the finances; they capitalize the new enterprises; they invest in the futures; they get into the public offices; they plan the political campaigns; they produce the new ideas; they center current history. Men are made in New York State in the schools. ... The better the schools the finer the quality of the men produced. Therefore, the school exhibit of New York State should interest every citizen, as the schools have been bettering year by year and the product increasing in value. ... The Commission in charge of this exhibit has spared no expense to make this educational showing a storehouse of novel ideas and suggestions dealing with the advance in pedagogy, and of the State's resources in the teaching of the young idea."

DISPOSITION OF MATERIAL

Many requests were received from the representatives of foreign governments, agents of pedagogical museums and individuals for portions of the exhibit, but the determination of the Lewis and Clark Exposition Commission of the State of New York to send the entire exhibit to the Exposition at Portland, Oregon, precluded the possibility of acceding to these requests and insures the holding intact of the entire exhibit throughout the Portland Exposition period, at the conclusion of which it is to be hoped that provision will be made for the establishment of a Pedagogical Museum at the Capitol in Albany, of which this exhibit may be made the nucleus.

ITEMS OF EXPENDITURE

The appropriation of $20,000 was expended approximately, as follows

Installation: Booth, wall cabinets, furniture, etc. $6,000 Salary of Director and a.s.sistants and maintenance at St. Louis ----------------------------------- 8,500 Freight, express, cartage, telegrams, etc. ------- 1,000 Material used in preparation and general supplies 2,700 Traveling expenses ------------------------------- 1,250 Printing and stationery -------------------------- 350 Expenses of Advisory Committee ------------------- 200 ------- Total -------------------------------------------- $20,000 =======

THE STAFF

The Director acknowledges the loyalty and efficiency of those a.s.sociated with him in the work of the department. To them belongs a large share of any credit which may be forthcoming for the value of the exhibit.

In an educational exhibit, probably more than any other, the necessity of a personal explanation to supplement the work exhibited is necessary.