At the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. IV: Utah’s Educational Exhibit

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AT THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION.

[The schools of a community are the criterions of its progress. The people of Utah have always provided for the education of their children, and it cannot be denied that the schools have more than kept pace with the material development of our commonwealth. In the greatest exposition ever held, Utah is again well represented in the Palace of Education. This is the first great fair in which Education has had a building to itself — all its own. The exhibits show the wonderful strides which learning and pedagogics, in all their branches, have made in the United States. That Utah, a land beyond the western borders of the Purchase, and which was an uninhabited wilderness for nearly fifty years after the Louisiana Purchase was consumnaated, in 1803, stands side by side with her older sisters in educational progress, is clearly shown by the writer of this paper. Horace H. Curamings, who is in charge of the exhibit, was born in Provo, Utah, June 12, 1858, his father being B. F. Cummings, a Utah pioneer of 1847, and his mother, Catherine Hall. He graduated in 1895 from the University of Utah, obtaining a degree of Bachelor of Science. From the time he entered the University, in 1877, until his graduation, he taught schools at intervals in different places in the slate, including Logan and Salt Lake City, and following his graduation, he has taught in the University of Utah, being at present Supervisor of Science in the State Normal School. Editors.]

IV. .

UTAH'S EDUCATIONAL EXHIBIT. BY HORACE H. CUMMINGS, B. S., SUPERVISOR OF SCIENCE, NORMAL TRAINING SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH.

World's fairs must be highly educative, or they would not bo held so often, for they cost enormous sums of money. Surely the

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measure the world's advancement, stimulate progress to a still higher rate of speed, and involve all nations in the onward flight. The great good they do, however, cannot prevent the visitor from expressing, with a sigh, "What a pity that such beautiful and costly palaces must be destroyed as soon as the Fair closes!" And it does seem regretable that money should not have been placed in buildings which would serve the purpose of the exhibit, and be of permanent use for other purposes afterwards, instead of cumbering a public park. The Exposition company are under contract to have the grounds cleared and restored to former conditions by January, 1905. As most of the readers of the Era are interested particularly in the Utah exhibits at the Fair, a short description and history of the educational exhibit, with a few characteristic incidents connected with it, will at once illustrate the value of the great exposition,and show how Utah stands, compared with other states. For causes which need not here be explained, space was not secured for Utah in the Palace of Education until the middle of March, and only sixty days were given to prepare, transport and install the exhibit. With the greatest misgivings for the success of the undertaking, the writer consented to collect and install an exhibit of the work and methods of the schools of our state. A most hearty response from the teachers was received to a circular of instructions issued, and even in the midst of final examinations, a creditable and characteristic display of school work was prepared and placed aboard the cars, within the sixty days allotted. The material was three weeks in transit, however, and it was with the greatest effort that it was installed in time for the teachers, during the last week in June, to attend the National Educational Association. While busy installing the display, one of the attaches of the building came up to me and remarked: "You 'Mormons' are awfully slow in getting your show in shape, aren't you?" "The boot is on the other foot, my friend," I replied, "you people are awfully slow in giving us space. We got our show together in sixty days. Which state has done better?" When all was ready, and I had time to breathe, I learned that

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there existed an organization called the Educational Exhibitors' Association, and that all persons in charge of exhibits were elligible to membership. Accordingly, I applied for membership, the State Superintendent of Colorado proposing my name. Before the president had time to present my name, to be received by vote of the meeting, a Dr. P , from Wisconsin, arose and spoke somewhat as follows: "Mr. President, while it is true 'that up to the present time we have received members at once on the presentation of their names, I beg to call your attention to a by-law which provides that names proposed at a meeting shall be given to a committee who shall make their recommendations at the next meeting as to whether the proposed member shall be accepted. I fear we are

establishing a dangerous precedent whose results in the future may not be so happy as they have been to the present." He spoke at some length on the possible dangers of the precedent, and ended by moving that the name of the Utah represent, ative be given to the investigation committee to be acted upon at the next meeting. The motion was seconded. For certain reasons, which I can only conjecture, the name was not acted upon until three weeks later. In the meantime, a committee had been appointed to visit the various exhibits,and invite all the exhibitors to join the association at once, as the association was preparing a small pamphlet containing the constitution, by-laws, and other information useful to, and including the names of, the members. As a result of their labors,this committee reported thirty-five names of exhibitors This report was made at the meeting subsequent to the receiving of the representative from Utah, but, astonishing to relate, this very Dr. P , who had previously drawn such a fearful picture of the dangers of receiving our member without due investigation, now arose and proposed to accept these thirty-five without referring them to the committee. His motion was opposed by many of more fair minds, and the president ruled his motion out of order. This confirmed me in the suspicion that he was prejudiced against Utah; but instead of getting angry, or holding ill-will toward him, I concluded that, since mental conditions are often the result of causes, as much so as physical conditions, and both need

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intelligent treatment, I v/ould try and get him in my booth some day and disabuse his mind. He is an intelligent and influential man, and is always elected president pro tern in the absence of the president of our association. If I had heard only what he has

heard about Utah, my mind would probably be in about the condition his was. Unfortunately for my desires, he left St. Louis immediately after this incident, and returned only about ten days ago. It is

auflicient to say, however, that he has been in the Utah booth, and has praised heartily our school work and methods; requested me to send half a dozen copies of our circulars to the State Superintendent of Instruction in his state, whose address he gave me, and promised to visit me again when he could have a longer talk, "Utah is doing exactly the kind of work we want introduced into our schools," he said, as he stepped out of the Utah booth. Utah has decidedly a "come back" exhibit, for that is what they call it. Most school supervisors and teachers who come here, to get new thoughts, come back and study this exhibit further. The supervisor of Milwaukee schools came in, four days in succession, making notes and sketches of our work. The most interesting feature to such people is the State Normal School exhibit which illustrates a new course of study that has attracted wide interest, and elicited the most extravagant praise here. Were I to write one half the praise this exhibit gets, the people at home, I am sure, would not believe me. How much interest it has aroused may be inferred by this incident: The president of the association above referred to, heard so many teachers who had visited our booth speak in such high terms of the exhibit that he finally came to see i^, and after spending an hour or so discussing the new course of study, and its pedagogical phases, expressed himself as deeply interested in it^, and ever since that time has sent over to us most of the distinguished visitors at the Fair. He also invited the writer to give an account of Utah's exhibit before the association, which invitation was readily accepted. In introducing the speaker on that occasion, and also in announcing the address the previous week, the president paid Utah the highest

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tribute of praise. He said the Utah exhibit was the best in the building to make teachers think. The members of the association include some of the leading educators of the world, and since the address, many of them have visited our exhibit, and all go away greatly pleased and full of praise. During the week just closed, three of the five commissioners sent here by the German government to study phases of the educational exhibit, have had long visits to the Utah booth, and the one whose department of study is Normal school work has spent a large part of three days with me, and has still another appointment. He pronounces our exhibit unqualifiedly the best in the building in his lines. The German exhibit, however, is no doubt the most extensive and thorough exhibit here, and is in charge of a German count. One more incident will illustrate the lasting nature of the impressions made by our exhibit. The State Superintendent of Schools of Alabama called at the Utah booth early in the season, and was so deeply impressed with the work explained to him and illustrated, that he now instructs all his teachers that visit the Fair to study the Utah exhibit. Two of his teachers reported to me last'week, and three the week before. Last evening a very intellij];ent lady from Alabama called and asked me if I would take

a run down to Montgomery and address all the teachers of that state. I told her I was not sent out here to do institute work,

but as she seemed so anxious, I consented on conditions that I

could leave here on Friday evening, meet them on Saturday afternoon and evening, returning Sunday, and thus be absent from my post only one day. She was greatly pleased at this, and left saying she would have the State Superintendent make the arrangements' according to my desires. Never in the experience of the writer has he been connected with an undertaking which at the beginning presented aspects so discouraging, and whose failure and mortification seemed almost certain, and yet witnessed, at each successive step, opposition melt into assistance, obstacles turn to aids, hate transform to friendship, and failure blossom into success. Much prejudice has been removed, and useful information scattered regarding conditions in Utah; and in the end our beloved state will reap a hundred fold