The Survey, Volume 30, Number 3, Apr 19, 1913Various
History
The Survey, Volume 30, Number 3, Apr 19, 1913
Various
Charities -- Periodicals; Social problems -- Periodicals; United States -- Social conditions -- Periodicals
Each of the new public schools of New York contains a gymnasium, but
most of these are on the top floor, and they have to equip another in
the basement for the play center. Each of the new public schools of
Cincinnati contains a gymnasium and a swimming pool, and they are
generally on the ground floor or near it. Most of the new high schools
all over the country contain a gymnasium at least and many of them
swimming pools as well. Wherever these facilities are furnished, they
are generally used by the school during the day and by the public at
night. A number of cities are now building municipal gymnasiums and
baths also, but the children want to use the gymnasium and swimming pool
during the day, the adults want to use them at night, it is not evident
that two sets of gymnasiums and two sets of swimming pools are
necessary.
Berlin has an interesting solution of this problem. They house the
gymnasium in a separate building in the yard. In this way the noise and
dust which is incident to exercise is removed from the school, and it is
possible to give more freedom to the work. In most cases there is a
swimming pool in the basement where the pupils are taught to swim. But
the chief advantage of the gymnasium’s being in a separate building is
that it is thus more accessible to the general public as a free
gymnasium and bath at night.
Our public schools and especially our summer schools are greatly
hampered by the lack of library facilities. The school in order to be
successful must create a love of reading. It cannot do this without
books. At present only a small proportion of the children have access to
a library, and this is often so distant that little use is made of it.
The reason is simple, the library is a strange place and its methods are
unknown. If the child, despite this, manifests his desire to draw out
books, he must often first get some one to be his security for their
return, and this is not always easy for a child of laboring or foreign
parentage. But the school may safely trust the child because he is a
member of the school and known and responsible, when it would not be at
all safe for the public library to give out a book to him.
Parents often have little time or inclination to go to libraries for
books, but depend on their children to provide them with reading. If the
library were a separate building in the school yard or a part of the
school, it would be no task for the children to take out and return as
many books as might be desired in the home. The growing use of the
school as a social center makes it increasingly important that the
branch libraries should be connected with it.
The theaters of Greece and Rome were public institutions. Many of the
best theaters of Europe are subsidized. The dramatic form of
representation is the one that is nearest to having the experience
itself. The socialized theater might undoubtedly be one of the greatest
agencies for good that could come into any community.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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