The University daily. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 18??-????, 1895-06-13
Preparing for work

the rewards Of labor are to q great ex-
tent proportional to the intelligence
j OF the workman, tits the effort Of par
i ents to eauip their children as well as
possibIe1for what they know will be q
severe struggle. Unfortunately the.
children seldom appreciate the value
LOT education until their school days
are overland unfortunat ely, also, some.
1ikinds Of education are Of little adyan-
tage to the pupils in what must be.
their life work. The consequence Of
these conditions and Of the inability
1 Of some parents to allow their children
to remain at school for sufficient per-
/ iod is that a great many children be-.
gin work so badly equipped that they:
are obliged to remain heWers Of wood
/ and drawers of water to the end OF
/ their days. When, however, a boy is
/ gifted with intelligence and has par
tents willing to give him a thorough
4 education, consideration should be Civ.
en- to the probable character of his fu-
ture employment that his training may
be kept in line Herewith. A, classical
/ education is needed by the professional
man; it may be a positive drawback to
the merchant or mechanic who is set
! to dreaming when he should be at.
work. The ordinary high school edu-
cation, which is pretentfous yet not
thorough, is "a special handicap to
young men whose condition in life will
/ not permit them to pursue their stu
| dies in coilegesfand yet who have been
! educated to such a degree that they
are not content to begin work in an
humble way, Education of all kinds
/ may become useful in time, but at the
outset it should be in accord with the
/ pupils capacities and opportunities,
for it is at best only "a preparation for
more important, studies to be carried
on in. the field Of actual work. Even
the college graduate who has passed
also through a special school and re-
ceived his degree of doctor, is, in fact,
only upon the threshold of his calling
and he will learn more in a few months
of practice than he could have gained
in years Of book study. But his ca
! pacity to learn has been developed by
his book studies and therein lies their
Importance, Going down. the scale
even to the pupils of the primary
schools who are obliged togo to work
when they have scarcely mastered the
.rudim ents of a common school educa-
tion, the same thing is observed. The
book studies have simply prepared
!, them to learn some trade or. calling
and qualified them to a greater or less
degree to excel their fellows by reason
of, their school training.
I The Manual Training and Trade
Schools, desirable as they may be for
certain pupils who expect to make use
Of the particular knowledge there i'm
partea or of the skill of hand -devel-
oped by the use of TOOLS do ot-make
work men by the school instruction,
but only prepare their pupils to be-
come quick learners in the workshops
of practice. Schools have to be or
ganiz led for large classes and the indi-
! Vidual wants of pupils cannot be fully
satisfied, but it is desirable that the
T schools themselves should be some
what varied in character or organized
into three or four classes, each with.
its >defnite aim. Then some attention
could be>giRen to the special needs of
Individual pupils, and their prepara-
tory training could be adapted to the
purposes in view. The organization
of Manual Training Schools parallel
to the Commercial Schools was one
step in this direction, while such
schools as the Marylan d >Institute in
this city have proven of inestimable
value. -. .'', - ,"-G1..
IT would be possible and desirable
in large cities to have not only COM
mercial high schools and manual train
ing high schools, but high schools of
science, each with its own special field
of training, and then parents could
exercise some discretion in the kind
of preparatory school. training to be
/ given to their boys. There is no sub
| ject that concerns themi more deeply
| for they have, to a great extent, the.
future of their children in their own
keeping. They can, as far as educa-
tion has to do with such matters
send them forth to the world ef- work
equipped for their several Masks, so
that they may by diligence and hon,
estE earn good living and establish
| themselves at the. head of households
! of their own, or they may by neglect
of training, render their children unfit
/ ar I,,puiIIinu tn eonfnntn with their