Jasper County Democrat, Volume 17, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 May 1914 — DOMESTIC SCIENCE DEPART. [ARTICLE]

DOMESTIC SCIENCE DEPART.

<>i Rensselaer Schools Give Practical Illustration of Their Work in Serving a Dinner. The Domestic Science Department of the public schools under the very able assistance of Miss Ethel Dyer, gave a four-course dinner Wednesday evening in their laboratory, to th® members of the school board and their wives, Mr. and Mrs. Elden Hopkins, Principal C. M. Sharp and Mr. and Mrs. Dean. The serving of this dinner marked the end of a study of the planning and serving of meals. The dinner consisted of four courses and was served to eleven people for the approximate cost of three dollars. The preparations was the regular class work of the Bth and 9th grades and the serving was done by the Bth grade. At the close of the dinner short talks were given by the guests, expressing their appreciation of the girls’ .work. All spoke of the affair as an innovation and as a demonstration of the results of the education of the hand as well as the mind. By people a few years ago, the thought of teaching domestic science in the public schools would have been laughed at. But as every one knows the public schools have bedn criticised by many people and even said by some to have been a failure in that they have not accomplished their purpose. As a result of such criticism, the schools are trying to teach practical things and to make themselves valuable. The courses of study are being changed very rapidly and other subjects are being introduced, in fact, the neW| vocational law of Indiana

makes the teaching pf manual train ing, agriculture arid domestic science mandatory this fall in all the public schools of the state. The Rensselaer schools are thus One year ahead of many schools in this respect. The work in this department has been very satisfactory. About lio girls have shared in this work at different times during the year. The idea all along has been to do the practical part pf the work, and it is the general opinion of those connected with the work that it has been accomplished to a certain ex- '