War, leaders of industry and politics were turning to public education to augment existing apprenticeship programs by incorporating Manual Training philosophy into their curricula.
Stout was influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement, the philosophies of which influenced his own philosophy of education, specifically that making things by hand, through skill and creativity, would provide more thoughtful and creative consumer goods because of the personal satisfaction of the craftsperson. The American interpretation of the Arts and Crafts movement was not in opposition to modern industry. Rather, it embraced creativity and intellectual development as necessary components of the educational model, leading the school to teach classes in drawing, jewelry making, embroidery, and photography.
In addition to the Stout Manual Training School, James Huff Stout established kindergarten classes (1894), a Kindergarten Training School (1899), a School of Physical Culture (1901), training schools for manual training teachers …
