Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 278, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 November 1912 — PLAN FOR BETTER HIGH SCHOOL COURSE [ARTICLE]

PLAN FOR BETTER HIGH SCHOOL COURSE

Meeting of Superintendents Discussed Vocational Education —Report by Superintendent Clarke. * There was an interesting meeting of the Indiana City and Town School Superintendents’ Associ&tion at Indianapolis the first week of this month. The subject of chief interest at this meeting was that of vocational education. The first evening was given over to an address by C. E. Cooley, formerly superintendent of the public schools of Chicago. Mr. Cooley has recently returned from Europe, where he was sent by an organization of| Chicago business men for the purpose of making a study of the vocational schools across the water, particularly those in Germany, Mr. Cooley believes that we should provide a great deal more vocational ‘education than we do. He would not do away with our present system of schools, but modify and add to them. Not only should we provide secondary schools and colleges for those who can attend them but we should also provide technical vocational instruction for those young people who for any reason can not continue in the present schools longer than their fourteenth year. For those children who must at this age drop out and go to work the state, he thinks, should provide schools which will afford instruction in the Special lines of work i£hese children are interested in. These schools, he thinks, should he supported by special taxes, should lNfc independent of the present system of schools and be compulsory for all pupils under eighteen. He would not require pupils over fourteen to be in school all the time, but would so arrange the work of the school that pupils'"could attend the school at certain hours of the day when not occupied with the duties of their vocation. Pupils who could not afford to do otherwise could thus work at some vocation and get instruction at odd hours. Mr. Cooley’s address awakened much interest and prepared the way for the sessions of the next day, all of which were given over to a discussion of the proposals of the commission under the Yarling Act to inquire into and make suggestions In regard to industrial work in the public schools of Indiana. Farmers, manufacturers,"Tfade-unionists, educators and others were represented on this commission. All urged the introduction of industrial education into the public schools just as fast as equipment and teachers could be supplied. The commission has embodied its suggestions in the form of a hill which will be presented to the next legislature. This hill was read to the association and discussed. It provides ways and means whereby school corporations of the state desiring to do so may introduce industrial training into their school systems. The idea of Mr. Cooley, that industrial education should be provided in special schools separate from the regular public schools, was not adopted by this commission. The bill proposes generous state aid to communities providing such instruction and carefully considers the matter of equitable distribution of this aid. The discussions were all interesting. There was no one of the speakers who opposed the introduction of industrial education into the public schools. Prof. Levitt, of the University of Chicago, an indefatigible, intelligent and enthusiastic advocate of industrial education in the public schools, braised the work of the commission highly, saying that if this hill became a laW Indiana would have made better provision for industrial education than any other state in the union. It therefore behooves all friends of industrial education to get behind this bill and help push it. The night session consisted chiefly of an address by. Prof. C. A. Prosser, of New York. Prof. Prosser is an eiy' thusiast in behalf of industrial education. He came out very definitely and positively in favor of training children for wage-earning and took the farther step of insisting that this training must he such as to fit the child to go immediately from the school to the shop, or the bench, or to whatever vocation the school has fitted him for. Time and money should not be wasted in fitting children for a vocation they do not expect to enter. Like the other-speakers, Prof. Prosser was not urging industrial education for all pupils. It is for children who can not, or will not, take advantage of the schools as now organized. Some other matters came up for discussion at this meeting, but most of the time was given to the consideration of the above matters. It was very manifest that industrial education, is the next step forward in the school work -of Indiana. It will take time, thought and experimentation to solve all the problems connected with its introduction, but they will be solved. One of jhe pressing problems is that of teachers prepared to do the new work. And this will be a problem for a good many years. Men who have sufficient practical knowledge of the subject and requisite skill in imparting knowledge are rare in this new field and are already in demand outside of the school room and at good wages. They are therefore hard to obtain. Doubtless in the rush to keep up with the times many teachers will be put in charge of industrial training who have very little qualification for the work and the time of the pupils and the money of the public will thus he very largely wasted. Another serious problem is that of determining iwhat industrial activities shall be made the subject of school room instruction at public expense. There are many vocations. The school cannot give specific and valuable instruction in all of them. Which ones shall it single out 1 and adopt? Shall it educate plumbers at the expense of the public and not sign painters or plasterers This is not an easy problem. Just now carpenters, iron workers and farmers are being favore£ by the educationalists. Boys ex-

peeling to take up these vocations can now get considerable instruction along these lines at public expense, hut not so the hoys expecting to lay brick Or set typeqr run a store.. These matters must be taken up by the public and discussed. Some instruction or a technical sort going to be put into the schools. The person who is interested in seeing a certain vocation taught at public expense must urge his claim, for the vocation 'which is most Insistent is most apt to win the day.

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