Finally, too little pressure is put on the students; as a
result, they do not take their work seriously. A degree
of inattention in the elementary grades is excusable, but
in the high school grades, there should be evidence of
concentration aiming at a definite object. This was
by no means commonly in evidence. A class supposed
to start at 2 :i5 did not get down to work until zi^S- Of
a group nmnbering 14, only nine were occupied. These
were busy — three on underwear, one on an apron, an-
other on a duck skirt, a sixth in making bloomers, a
seventh embroidering a sofa cushion, an eighth, a center-
piece, and the ninth was cutting out a dress. A monthly
school paper had just been published and the remaining
five members of the class were absorbed in looking through
the issue and in discussing the same. The thread at a
sewing machine broke. The pupil did not re-thread
that machine but moved to another. At another time
a group of girls came into the sewing room and part of
them went to work. The rest were absorbed in reading
"The Tempest," which was to be performed that after-
noon by the senior class.
In sewing as in cooking, the experience of Gary shows



48 THE GARY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

that mere practical ends — the cooking of the daily school
luncheon or the making of needed garments — are not
alone broadly or sufficiently educative. Training should
aim to give the pupil an intelligent grasp of both subjects.
