The Press. (Stafford Springs, Conn.) 1883-1935, 1903-01-29
HOME NEWS.
STAFFORD SPRINGS.
(Contributed.l

(Contrbuted.)
"The Oracle" published by scholars IL
the Stafford high school, Is very credit
able periodical and deserving of a Wild
circulation. An editorial In the last issu,
touches upon subject very interesting tC
the writer and along lines advocated
sometime since by some of our schoo
board, namely, that the typewriter shoulc
be In the schools-grammar and higf
school departments--which needs no ad
vocacy to practical men. No other means
will so develop correct spelling, proper
use Of capital letters and punctuation as
will the use of the typewriter. OF the
commercial course of study much can be
said and may be at some future time. In
cidentally and in connection with the OBJ.
iect aimed at In the editorial comes an.
other phase of educational work, and one
worthy of more than passing thought by
the people of this town. The follow
ing Is from a recently published letter
from the pen of the head master of Cam.
bridge, Mass, Manual Training school
He says: From personal inspection oi
nearly every manual training school in
this country, l am convinced that these
schools are more popular with the wage.
earners than any other municipal enter.
prise supported by taxation. These
schools appeal 10 the people, not only for
their educational value from theoretical
standpoint, but fIom the demonstrated
practical value, as proved by the salaries
received by our graduates compared with
the graduates of purely academic high
school. Our graduates find employment
at once in growing positions which re.
quire education, at from 81. so to $12 per
week. Very few take up strictly me
chanical work. Our school has the
hearty support of the trades unions, in.
deed, a majority of our pupils are SONS Of
union men. This year we regis.
tered over SO per cent of the boys who
entered the three Cambridge high schools
we have 90 pupils from outside the city
who pay $3.50 each year for the privilege
of coming here. We are taking boys
from the private schools, which may &C.
count for the worry we are giving the
principals of such schools. Ninety
five per cent of the pupils are sons OF
wage earners.''
The letter we'll applies to our own
schools in many points. 1t has repeat
edly been shown that the PERCENTAGE of
scholars completing the high school
course Is ridiculously small In comparison
with the number of scholars enrolled
or starting In the grammar schools.
There is no use denying the fact that our
schools are centered too much toward the
academic thought or purpose and not
enough toward the practical. Far better
that that boy or girl should have we'll de-
veloped ideas of practical thought, which
he or she may apply in the practical ef-
fort imperative before them, than that
they graduate with bit of smattering Of
French, vague conception of Greek and
f1oWery dash of classical language. A
slight move was made last year to begin
practical instruction as part of the work
in the high school, simply beginning, to
be developed by degrees. The principal
of the school was in hearty sympathy
with the move, but for some unaccount-
able reason the majority of the town COM
mittee sat down upon the project.
When one views the field carefully and
the work of the schools critically; when
the demands of the hour are looked into
and the marvellous, Unsuitable call Is for
boys-yes and girls too-with constructive
ability and technical knowledge; when
the telephone, telegraph-both wire and
wireless-electric light, power and heat,
automobile, autonomobile and thousands
of other mechanical applications of power,
the stupendous traffic and transportation
engineering works, tunnels, bridges and
structural work of every kind, chemical
handling of all the metals and minerals,
the myrlads Of persons this wonderful in
dustrial age Is calling for with increasing
demands, when with all these goes the
need of clerical work manifold, is 1t to be
wondered that the cry goes up ''give US
practical boys and girls" Shall we meet
the demand? Shall we do Justly by the
wards we have and fit them as far as we
can while we control them in the public
schools, for the times and occasions we'll
ing up? Or shall we cling to course of
study which favors a few, leaving 81 per
cent. of all who enter our schools to go
out into life with little or no preparation
for meeting the demands upon them
This Is practical age. America has Get
the pace. Germany and England have
caught the spirit and are pushing hard in
the race. Japan is closing In with the
rest and beginning to make her presence
felt In the industrial world. China has
yet to be reckoned with, and long befo1e 9
some of the boys and girls now In the
primary department of our schools shall
have reached middle life the manual and
commercial trained boy or girl will have
outstripped the purely academic pupil
far and away In life's race. ~