pened. Admission was open to anyone over fifteen years old with some sort of educational foundation. His educational mission can be summed up in a paragraph excerpt: We wanted to teach the students how to bathe; how to care for their teeth and clothing. We wanted to teach them what to eat, and how to eat it properly, and how to care for their rooms. Aside from this, we wanted to give them such a practical knowledge of some one industry, together with the spirit of industry, thrift, and economy, that they would be sure of knowing how to make a living after they had left us. We wanted to teach them to study actual things instead of mere books alone, (96). This could perhaps be the most important passage in Washingtons entire autobiography. It states not only his standards for education, but also the standards for what he felt every person should live by. Starting the school was rough. Funds were small and teachers were scarce. For this Washington sent a Miss Olivia A. Davidson around the country. Davidson literally went house to house looking for money. She did this while Washington oversaw the daily operations at the school. Once financially able, Washington took on the project of adding another building to the school. This was done solely by students. Even the bricks used to construct the building were made by students. Many objected to this saying that the children were there to receive an education, not work. Washington argued that this was part of their education. Besides architecture, construction, and brick making, students also learned such industries as landscaping, farming, and laundry. Overtime Tuskegee secured itself as one of the top schools for African-Americans. During his time at Tuskegee, Washington had made somewhat of a name for himself, which allowed him to speak publicly about his views from time to time. Public speaking was somewhat of a hobby for Washington until the National Education Association asked him to speak...
