Omaha daily bee., 1908-07-13
IMPORTANCE OF WORK SCHOOLS
Significant Views Of New York's Com
missioner of Education.

Significant Views of New Hork's Conn
missioner of Education.
According to DR.. Andrew S. Draper, com
missioner Of education for the state of
New York. there is something very like 4
revolution impending in our public educa-
ton. when but one-third OF the children
remain to the end Of the elementary
course" he tells us, in a country where
education is such a passion. there Is some
thing the matter with the schools" What
the matter is, he thinks, is a lack Of "suffi-
cient articulation between the educational
and the Industrial systems OF the country"
our elementary schools train for no in
dustrial ~employments. They lead to nothing
but the secondary school, which in turn
leads to the college, the university, and the
professional school, and so very exclusively
to professional occupations. One who goes
out of the school system at the end OF the
elementary school is not only unprepared
for any vocation which will be open to
him, but too commonly he is without that
intellectual training which should make
him eager for opportunity and incite him
to the utmost effort to do just as well as
he can whatever may open to him. He goes
without respect for the manual industries,
where he might find work II he could do
It,"
DR.. Draper thinks that 1t is time to
organize a wholly new form Of schools as
a part Of the public system. involving two
classes, lone to train all-around mechanics
for work I'm factories, where each is a part
of an organization, and where much ma
chinery Is used-these to be known as fac.
tory schools; the other to train mechanics
to work Independently, mainly with their
own tools. and without much machinery
these to be known as trade schools
"These schools are not primarily to
quicker mentality nor to develop culture,
those things will come. as far as is well,
in the regular order. They are not 10
train mechanical or electrical engineers;
the literary and technical schools are doing
that very amply. They are not even to de-
velop foremen; these will develop them
selves, for they will forge ahead of their
fellows by reason of their OWE ability.
assiduity, and force. The schools are to
contain nothing which naturally leads away
from the shop. They are to train work
men to do better work that they may earn
more bread and butter"
This is a significant statement for an
expert in the position of DR.. Draper" com
ments the New York Times. "He is a man
of wide and long experience. He knows
our schools extremely well, not only the
city schools, but those OF rural districts
and Of other states, as well as the colleges
and Universities. 1t will be noted that his
! criticism is not directed to the high schools
chiefly, though it applies to them. but to
the elementary schools in which pupils be-
low 10 usually are trained. He finds in the
elementary schools as great a percentage
Of falling out before finishing the course as
In high schools, 80 It Is the general rule that
hardly more than 10 per cent of the chill
dren entering the elementary schools reach
the close Of the high school course. Con-
sidering how schooling increases in cost in