Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 January 1902 — PAPERS BY THE PEOPLE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PAPERS BY THE PEOPLE

THE TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL.

The institution called upon in the near future to supply the kind of educat io n which “unites professional and culture interests into a unity of purpose” will have a character and aims distinctly different from the other established schools. It will be neither a high

school nor n manual training school, nor a trade school. It will not be a high school, since the culture element will be subordinate to practical technical training. Manual training, as this term is now understood, will not be taught, although the excellencies of this branch of study are recognized. Instead of a general instruction in using tools or designing things, the following practical subjects will be taught: pattern making, forging, foundry and machine shop practice. It will not be a trade school, however, as its activity is not limited to the teaching of one particular trade, but embodies in its curriculum such studies as will enable a young man not merely to carry on his business, but will also give him the knowledge necessary for good citizenship and the culture demanded by the standard of life of the large middle class. In the technical high school a boy should be able to fit himself for industrial pursuits and a girl should receive Instruction in the “home making arts.” Instruction should be practical and fruitful of immediate results. All the courses, therefore, should lead toward specific employment. Heretofore the foreman in the factory, the draftsman in the architect’s office, the contractor, the stationary engineer, as ,wcll as many others in the ranks of the skilled workmen, received their training during the years of apprenticeship while doing practical work as the exigencies of the day demanded. As much as time and strength allowed and ambition prompted they endeavored to pick up such information and culture as a course in a night school could give, or as conversation with better educated men or newspaper reading and chance opportunity would afford. At best it was a hard struggle, and due appreciation of economic, social and professional values was often gained by too many sacrifices and the loss of years in unnecessary experimenting. : Many a man or a woman perfectly familiar with the three “R's” of primary education never mastered the two “R’s” of secondary education—range and readiness. While high school courses will give range, which is “the apperception of a large number of facts of different character,” they may fail to impart .readiness and mastership in one pursuit or study. This must be acquired by practice “m apperceiving the same or closely allied facts.” On the other hand, a trade school, whose aim it is to develop the abilities of its students in one direction, fails to give range and perspective of mental vision. Examining the statistics offered by the different reports of school superintendents it is interesting to note that on an average only one-third or one-fourth of all the pupils enrolled in the grammar grades enter the public high schools or private institutions of secondary education. On the opening day of the Chicago public schools the enrollment was divided among the different divisions as follows: High schools, 8,545; grammar schools, 60,000; primary schools, 126,500. Furthermore, the reports of high school superintendents show that about one-third of all the students enrolled leave during or at the end of the first year. Of the remaining students about one-fifth leave during or at the end of the second year, and another fraction at the end of the third year, so that only about one-third of the original number of students who entered the high schools graduate. Why do so few students enter the high schools? And why do more than one-

half of these students leave the high school during the first two years? Certainly often for various reasons not to be attributed to our educational system. But it cannot be denied that many do not enter, or leave soon after entering, because the subject matter is not well suited to their need. To supply just such subject matter should Be the aim of the technical high school. It should attract all children who cannot afford to spend four additional years of general study in a high school, and who are yet desirous of continuing the studies they like and understand, thus preparing themselves better for practical pursuits. It should relieve the high school of students who show no particular aptitude for theoretical schooling, but who may develop excellent qualities under another regime, the ends and aims of which are more clearly perceived and better understood both by pupils and parents. LOUIS C. MONIN, PH. D., Professor of Economics and Philosophy in Armour Institute of Technology, Chicago. ENGLAND’S BRAYE BURGHER FOES.

England has been fighting a brave foe in South Africa. I believe that every Englishman is ready to pay a just meed of praise to the brave men who have against such odds, and with a tenacity and courage that are worthy of their race and of their his-

tory, maintained for so long a time the resistance against the overwhelming odds which England has thrown against them. They have proven a foeman worthy of our best efforts in warfare. Without discussing which side has been right, no matter whether we, as Englishmen, condemn the cause for which they have been fighting, we laud their strategy, their bravery, and admire their tenacity. It behooves England to meet the resistance with a spirit and tenacity that is the equal of the burghers. This alone will make of England a nation worthy to be their conquerors in war, and their friends in peace. JOS. CHAMBERLAIN, British Secretary of State for the Colonies.

ADVICE ON KEEPING POSITIONS.

You can hold your position if you fit yourself to Its mold so as to fill every crevice. Be like a cake. At first it is a soft, spongy dough, and is poured into a mold which it but

half fills. As it bakes it rises and crowds every dent in the mold. Not contented, it bulges over the top; it makes a cake larger than the mold will hold. So, young man and young woman, be larger than your mold. After you have filled every crease and crevice of your position to advantage, work out at the top. It is the largest cake that brings the most money. Always keep your promises. Your employer will n«Ver ask you to do more than is possible. Remember that an unfulfilled promise is ns bad as a downright untruth. Live within your means. Never let a month pass that you do not put something in. the bank. Saving is the

first great basiq principle in the foundation of success. Dress neatly and plainly, for an employer marks a man as a fool who apparels himself with extravagance and glaring colors. Never try to win the favor of your employer by slandering your elbow workers. Slander always sticks. Show kindness to your fellow employes, but do not let it be forced kindness, for that deserves no thanks. Resolve slowly, and act quickly. Remember, it is better to be alone than in bad company; that you cannot give your employer or yourself full value if you try to work after a night of dissipation; that silence, like cleanliness, is akin to godliness, and that a clear conscience gives sound sleep and good digestion and clothes 1 one in an impregnable coat of mail. —James J. Hill in Success. NO EXCUSE FOR FAILURE.

Among the tragic figures of life is the man without peculiar gifts and graces, fitted by nature for an ordinary place, but forced by circumstances and undue persuasion into one of eminence, or at least of publicity.

Just at present the pulpit does not often allure men who have no fitness for it except that of Christian character, but time has been, and that not very long ago, when the piety of mothers induced them to urge the ministry on sons who, in the most exacting of professions, could only fail. Nothing in this world is sadder than wastefulness, and there is absolute waste when a man who could make an excellent shopkeeper, or a notable mechanic, or a thoroughgoing farmer, is instead pushed into a place where, besides consecration, he needs love of study, persuasive eloquence, instinctive tact, and an almost universal sympathy. The same criticism applies to others of the learned professions. The army and the navy are beckoning more of our sons than o t old; forestry is coming to the front as a new profession; Journalism has been added to the vocations made practicable to the liberally educated, and in brief, a young man with brains, pluck and perseverance has no excuse for not getting on if only he can secure the right introduction and beginning. We shall have reason to hail it as a wholesome sign of the times when American youth cease to be indifferent to politics. A country in which any man, however obscure his origin, may, through determination to overcome obstacles and fine strength of character, arrive at the highest distinctions in the gift of the republic, ought to stimulate young men to splendid endeavor and rich achievement. One regrets to observe an aversion on the part of many men to study political economy, and a singular lack of responsibility in wielding that power of the unit which in the aggregate is so tremendous a force in our national life. — Margaret E. Sangster in Ladies’ Home Journal. WOMAN IN PUBLIC LIFE. -

There is no point which ought to be so strongly emphasized, no fact which so needs to be impressed upon those women who are to work for the different political parties, as that of their utter powerfessness to help

or hinder. The party leaders welcome all the grist which comes to their mill; they do not reject any fuel which makes steam; they accept every element which increases the enthusiasm, and they honestly desire the sympathy and co-opera-tion of women. But, in politics neither the labors nor the opinions of women have any appreciable influence unless enforced by the ballot. There are object lessons without number to prove this assertion. Would it not show more wisdom, common sense and self-respect in women to organize and work to make themselves a part of the electorate before they labor in behalf of any political party? No one party or one class of men will ever enfranchise women, but it will have to be done by a combination of the friends in all parties and all classes. SUSAN B. ANTHONY.