Like ladies’ skirts across the grass.
Stevenson.
INTRODUCTION.
Perhaps the one word that best expresses the trend of education at the present time is the word life-likeness. The trend is toward more and more life-likeness in organization and methods. The effort toward diversification which has resulted in putting manual training into courses of study, in multiplying courses in high schools, in providing ungraded and other special rooms in elementary schools, in breaking grades up into groups for teaching and promotions, in keeping playgrounds and shops open afternoons and Saturdays, in opening the school buildings evenings for social centers or socialized evening schools,—which has resulted in all these changes and others that might be mentioned,—is simply an effort to make the schools like life. The theory behind this is that if a school is like life, children will like school for the same reason that they like life, and the theory is sound. Before these changes were introduced, our public schools were a composite structure, made up nearly altogether of two elements, neither of which was in any degree life-like. These two elements were the medieval monastery, for order, and the 19th century factory, for process.
Kite-making in connection with schools is in line with this trend toward life-likeness. As the ideas and plans contained in this book have been worked out and carried into execution in the schools of Los Angeles by the author, they have demonstrated a wonderful socializing power. By recognizing kite-season in the schools and carrying the discussion of it into the shop and classrooms, ending with a great kite-tournament each year, not only have very many boys been reached who would not have responded to other influences, but the whole community has been stirred to sympathetic interest in the schools. This is the kind of influence which causes children to feel that school is life, and therefore makes tremendously for wholesome education. If the ideas and plans of the author can be carried out elsewhere as they have been in Los Angeles for several years, they must prove a help to the cause of education.
M. C. Bettinger,
Assistant Superintendent of Schools.
PREFACE.
When we started kite work in the Los Angeles City Schools, we little thought that so great an opportunity for awakening latent power in a certain class of boys was being initiated, nor did we dream of any such kite tournaments as have been developed during the past six years. Starting with half a dozen plans, sent out on mimeographed sheets to the various schools from time to time during the spring of 1907, the number of kinds and designs have increased to a hundred or more. Other cities desiring information regarding the work, a reprint was published and has been in such demand that it was thought advisable to write a more comprehensive text on the subject. Many of the former designs have been included, but none but what should be put in more permanent form, and most of these have been redrawn for the new work. The plans are not complete in every detail, something being left for the boy to work out, but there is enough in the suggestions so that by reasonable planning, most of the forms can be made by the average boy and still something will be left for the expert.
The greatest number of kites will be made by fifth and sixth year boys, but the spirit holds over into seventh and eighth for the larger and more complex forms, and even into the high school with model aeroplanes, etc.
It is the hope of the writer that this little book may be instrumental in giving our boys and girls suggestions for many happy hours in the construction and flying of kites, and that it may also serve a good purpose to teacher and pupil in reaching a common ground, and that it will help some mother in furnishing a good healthy pastime sport for boys who sometimes try the limit of one’s patience for the lack of something to do. It is a home construction work largely, and it has succeeded oftimes much better than was anticipated, for whole families have become interested in the development of OUR boy’s kite. Mother generally is interested first, while father looks with disfavor on so much time being spent on a kite; but before it flies, father gets very enthusiastic, suggests here and there, and furnishes material for string, etc., with pleasure, and they all go to the tournament to see Jack win a first prize. This is one case, there are others.