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NEEDLEWORK IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF STOCKHOLM, 913
manual training, as in other subjects, there should be a systematic plan which is simple,
logical, and progressive.
(3) Class instruction. When instruction became obligatory in our schools, and it was
aecessary to have from thirty to forty pupils, and sometimes more, in one class, class
astruction became an absolute necessity, and it was soon found that development of the
individual was better secured through its means than when each pupil received instrue-
tion by herself. Strange enough, one subject—manual training—remained unreformed,
to the great injury of the subject ; for, by appealing to the whole class at once, a teacher
san secure the attention of her pupils and awaken a lively interest in the work. Her
seaching can then be deep and interesting. The teacher finds time to talk about form,
size, and reason for doing this or that. Yes, the pupils even find time to think out why
shings shall be so and not so, and discover the best way to carry out an exercise. In
his way the instruction becomes both developing and educating, and the pupils lay a
irm foundation on which to build further in the future.
But class teaching is only an effect, and should not be an aim. One must not have
the mistaken idea that the teacher is to guide every step. Far from it. It is ouly the
new in every exercise which should be explained to the whole class. After the pupils
have learned through explanation and illustration what they must do, and how they
shall do it, they should work independently of each other. Meanwhile the teacher
should go around the class and notice whether all the pupils are performing correctly
the required exercises. She should at the same time observe the position of hand and
oody, also whether the pupils hold their work at a proper distance from their eyes, so
shat they may not gain skill at the expense of their eyesight.
The teacher of manual work should not only instruct, but also educate the pupils as
well. Therefore the choosing of teachers is not an insignificant matter. Besides man-
nal dexterity, teachers ought to be possessed of pedagogical skill. Therefore, for the
training of teachers in manual training either special normal schools should be estab-
lished, or—what without doubt is better—existing normal schools should place manual
‘raining in their curriculum on an equal footing with other branches of education. That
s now done in Sweden, and in several other countries in Europe.
Not only girls, but the younger boys, should be instructed in girls’ sloyd. The boys
should be taught this because it introduces variety and interest, trains the hand and
3ye, and renders them able, in case of necessity, to darn their stockings and mend their
rarments.
From the foregoing we deduce the following :
(1) Practical demonstration in sewing is accomplished by means of a sewing frame,
and in knitting by means of large wooden needles and colored balls of yarn. At the
same time blackboard drawings are constantly being made.
(2) The exercises are planned and carried out in the most strictly progressive order, so
1s to enable the pupils to execute well the work required of them.
(3) The instruction in sloyd should—like that in other branches—be given to the
vhole class at the same time, otherwise the time which the teacher could devote to each
supil separately would be insufficient to secure the desired resulis.
In order to illustrate the progress from the simple to the more complex in the teaching
of sloyd, we give the following class divisions of the subjects which are in use at the
oresent time in the public schools of Stockholm.
School age : seven to fourteen.
GIRLS AND Bovs.
Class I.
(1) Plain knitting with two needles ; a pair of garters.
2) Plain knitting: a pair of warm wristlets.
