ours is not; hence the difficulty. Constant drill in written work and good lessons on that phase of the subject must be given. In written work the order of difficulty is generally followed. The pupils may drill on forms, copy from the board, write from memory, or lastly do original work. Original work can not be expected from beginners.

II.-By ISADOR SPRINGER,

Principal, Brooklyn Public Evening School No. 144.

The adult immigrant knows what he wants when he comes into the evening schools, and no matter what we may want to make of him, if he thinks he is not getting what he wants, he will not come. Above all things he wants the evening schools to teach him to converse in English.

The factors in conversation are, (1) a number of ideas, (2) a sufficient vocabulary or stock of words to express the ideas, (3) a manner of expression that will enable others to understand. In the case of adult immigrants, most of whom come here between the ages of 20 and 50, many of them have the ideas in their own language. What we must do is to give them equivalent words for what they do know and teach them to express these words in such a way that they will be understood. Thus we make conversation the basis of instruction. Gouin, in his "Art and Method of Studying Languages," was the first to call attention to the importance of conversation as the basis of acquiring a new language. But his method can not be used for school instruction. It must be modified and adapted to the particular and peculiar needs of the pupils.

Basing our work upon the principles of proceding from the known to the unknown, from the near to the remote, we commence by naming the objects in the classroom. As we show the pupils an object we name it; we call upon the pupils to name it. Translation of the English word into their native language is not permitted. The attempt is made to establish a direct association or connection between the object and the symbol representing it in English. Then the names of objects, actions, qualities of objects, words showing relations of objects, and idiomatic expressions are gradually introduced into the instruction. The vocabulary must come out of the daily life of the people. We also attempt to teach our pupils to express their ideas clearly and distinctly. In the typical program about 10 minutes every evening is devoted to phonic drills. The adult pupils have organs of articulation well formed in the pronunciation of the speech forms peculiar to their native language. Therefore we have the double task of breaking old habits and forming new ones. The recognition of this peculiar and difficult work by evening school

teachers enables them to approach their labors in a spirit sympathetic with the needs of their pupils. Continued drill on phonics wearies the foreigner whose ears are not trained to the niceties of the English language. So we must endeavor to make our drills practical; always in combination with words that are vital to the community life of pupils.

SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES.

I.-By ALBERT LOEWINTHAN,

Principal, Manhattan Public Evening School No. 70.

Supplementary activities in evening schools serve to establish a bond of sympathy between the pupils and the teacher and to engender a feeling of confidence for an American, and through him for Americans and American institutions. Confidence is the keynote to successful work. In the New York schools a great variety of such supplementary activities have been incorporated. There are debating clubs and civic organizations; entertainments at weekly assemblies have covered a broad range-talks by principals, teachers, and visitors on interesting topics, musicales, vocal and instrumental, recitations and dramatizations. Glee clubs, orchestras, legal aid societies, and employment bureaus also exist in connection with public school classes for immigrants.

The latest development in the matter of supplementary activities is in the line of athletics. Recently the public school athletic association held its first evening elementary school meet in this city. A large number of foreigners were entered. The extension of this work may be instrumental in providing recreative activities to those deeply interested in athletics.

Principals have also conducted sight-seeing trips to places of interest in the city. This is certainly a valuable experiment, for it tends to break down the barriers that make for segregation. In addition it gives a wider experience and therefore affords excellent material for themes and lessons in language and civics. One principal has organized theater parties, and it is said that his school had the best average attendance in the entire city.

Cooperation should be more widely extended. The lecture bureau could be helpful to a great extent by offering the use of the stereopticon to principals of evening schools in buildings where lectures are given, and by arranging lectures in consultation with the teaching force of the evening schools of the neighborhood, so that correlation might be effected; the recreation center and the evening school should join hands; the churches which evening school pupils attend

should be interested in the work of Americanizing their people; kinsmen should bring their influence to bear; employers should be invited to offer assistance; settlement houses and libraries in the vicinity afford opportunities for cooperation; the traveling library is a most efficient supplement to regular school work; for by means of books borrowed from the traveling library, a school library and reading room may be established, which would offer attraction to many; every means in our power should be used to let foreigners know of the advantages offered; foreign newspapers should be interested; the steamship companies should arrange to have talks given to immigrants. We must do something to introduce immigrants to the schoolrooms, and when we have them there, we must adopt every available means to keep them there.

II.-BY ARTHUR V. TAYLOR,

Supervisor of Evening Schools, Newark, N. J.

During the term ending April, 1913, the enrollment of the 70 classes in our foreign department was 3,208, about one-fifth the enrollment of all the departments in the evening school system. Our city ranks among the first half dozen in the United States in point of evening schools; proportionately, Newark's evening school attendance is double that of New York and nearly four times that of Buffalo. We strive to make instruction practical, by fitting it as closely as possible to daily needs. The pupils receive much practice in conversational exercises of workaday value, and as they advance in their grasp of English, instruction is given in the history and civics of our city, State, and Nation. But, above all, we try to give them a cordial welcome to their new home through the cheerful atmosphere of the classrooms.

An investigation showed that among the more than 3,000 members of our foreign classes there were not one dozen citizens, and that not more than 250 had their first papers; that there was a general interest in citizenship, but a common impression that the process involved expenses beyond the set fees, and that even the procedure of getting the first paper was a complicated one.

I found the officers in charge of the naturalization department exceedingly ready to cooperate with the board of education in the execution of any plan that would simplify the process of procuring papers. Accordingly, about 400 application blanks were distributed among the men who showed the greatest interest in the matter. These blanks were filled with the assistance of the teachers. To instruct the teacher in the details of the procedure, a pamphlet was

issued from the superintendent's office. This not only furnished needed facts, but resulted in genuine enthusiam in most of the classes. No other factor has been so active in bringing the teachers and pupils into sympathetic relations. The men seemed to appreciate the efforts to help them toward citizenship even more than the instruction given in the set curriculum.

The spirit of the clerk of the naturalization court was shown in his offer to keep his office open in the evening for those principals and teachers who were willing to accompany their pupils there for the purpose of qualifying for the first papers.

The exact results in figures are not yet available, but we know that the proportion of application forms that were exchanged for first papers is large; and, further, probably 500 or 600 men who were ignorant of the method are now familiar with it, and doubtless they have given the information to many more who were not in the schools.

III.-By MICHAEL J. ISAACS,

Principal, Manhattan Public Evening School No. 22.

The demands of commercial and industrial enterprises make a vocational bureau important. The teacher includes in the data of his class not only the present occupations of his pupils, but also their inclinations and ambitions. Letters and cards are sent to many of the leading commercial houses throughout the city apprising them of the evening school's desire to cooperate with them in furnishing competent and reliable men.

Thus we may be the means of placing the immigrant in fields which he could not reach alone, and we afford an opportunity to choose according to the individual bent in what may prove the initiation of a life career. In this connection the mutual-aid organization is of great importance. Every evening before the class begins the regular work pupils who know of a vacancy in the shop, factory, or office, and those seeking employment, inform the teachers, and this information goes to the principal, who classifies it and acts as a clearing house for the supply and demand. Another activity is the legal-aid bureau conducted by a number of teachers who are practicing attorneys and contribute their services. The bureau informs, guides, and advises the immigrant who, because of his ignorance, has often been mulcted of his earnings and savings by unscrupulous employers and dishonest business associates. This is interesting experience for the young lawyer who is enthusiastic and willing to cooperate in such an endeavor. Sometimes letters must be sent soliciting an amicable adjustment; or, if necessary, the case may be submitted to a legal-aid

society which undertakes cases in court. The school's legal-aid bureau is advisory only. Savings banks have been organized in elementary day schools, but up to the present time none has been established in an evening school. The imperative need for such an institution is apparent.

While we are satisfying the mental requirements of the immigrant, we are not neglecting the sociological or community interests. While we are giving him the power to adjust himself properly to his new environment, we are striving to broaden his field of usefulness. Society demands this as a fair and just return for its great educational investment.

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