The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-12-17
TALK OF SCHOOLS
Prof. Ferguson, Expert From
San Francisco.
He Has Been Abroad and Stud
led Systems.
TECHNICAL TRAINING.
Needed Badly in Schools of This
Country.
Visited Schools of Topeka For
mer Resident Here.
TECHNICAL TRAINING.

1.-THE schools of the United States pay
too much attention to the classics and
the culture of their pupils. They do not
have enough of the technical training
to fit a man for life and to pnake him
capable as a bread winner"
These are the words of Professor
James Ferguson, deputy superintendent
of the schools of San Francisco, Cal,
who has been visiting the superintend-
ent and the schools of the city of To-
peka.
Professor Ferguson has just returned
to America from a four months trip
through the United Kingdom and
France and Germany. He was sent by
the people of San Francisco to investi-
gate the school systems of these coun-
tries and report to the commission of
San Francisco. San Francisco has vo-
ted bonds for a $750.000 building to be
used in connection with their regular
school system and for the use of tech
nical studies. Their further action has
been postponed until Mr.. Ferguson can
return and give the final report of his
trip abroad.
Professor Ferguson had much to say
of the schooling of the boys in Europe
to. a State Journal report today. He
said in many WAYS the foreign school
were far ahead of the schools Of the
United States and in other ways they
were far inferior. The San Francisco
professor was much impressed with the
technical side of the foreign school SyS-
were far ahead of the Americans in
their work of life. Much of this is due
to their disregard for the social side
of life and their seriousness in the de-
velOping of manhood.
Another thing that the Europeans are
developing to a large extent is the night
school work. There are almost as many
night schools as day schools in these
foreign countries and they have as
many students. Professor Ferguson said
that he had many pointers on night
school work to give the San Francisco
authorities and he believed that the
system could be improved with them.
In Germany the boys spend their days
learning a trade in the shops and offices
and in the evening they go to the night
schools to learn more thoroughly the
technical part of the work For in
stance a linotype operator will learn to
and at the night school he will be
shown the theory and the operation of
each part and its relation to the ma
chine as whole.
In Europe the trade unions are
hand in hand with the technical
schools. In the United States the
trade unions laugh at the school grad
uate and make fun of his work. The
foreigners will always take advantage
of trade school graduate and use
him to head their pay rolls In some
cases they open their shops to the
students and offer their tools for their
use. This is the reason that the for
eign mechanics demand such high
wages in this country today. The San
Francisco professor said that the
American boy should be given the
first chance and it was the duty of
American schools to give him the
chance.
The advantage of studying the for
eign languages was emphasized by
lr-nf PG 10 "a %nn
much Greek and Latin is pumped in
TO the average American student. He
continued that the Americans paid all
of their attention to culture along |
with the real work of life and as a re-
suit very few men became masters of |
their chosen profession. All of the |
foreign schools teach the English Ian
guage and also other languages of |
modern nature. They have practically |
thrown aside the classics in their |
schools and taken up something more |
substantial. The foreigners hunt for |
a trade and the Americans for culture |
and value. He said that the English |
were the last to awake to the fact that |
Germany was furnishing all of their |
clerks and trusted mechanics and late |
1y they have been working up the |
trade schools to a perfection. They |
have made it impossible for a for |
eigner to take up a good position in |
their own country by producing bet |
ter material from within their own |
Professor Ferguson condemned the |
policy of the secondary schools of this |
country saying that they simply pre- |
pared a man for the university and |
made it impossible for the poor |
student to gain any advantage from |
his studies. He said that the high |
schools should be more complete in |
their manly work and not leave a man |
high and dry when he graduated |
without an advantage of any kind, ex-
cept a little smattering of Greek and |
Considering the fact that only five /
per cent of high school graduates ever
enter college the professor said this |
was a great injustice to the younger I
students.
Mr.. Ferguson will visit the schools |
of the city tomorrow morning and |
gather information from the local |
system. He leaves here for Manhat- |
tan where he will inspect the State |
Agricultural school and thence to the |
University of Nebraska. He will then /
go on to San Francisco and make his |
report to the school authorities at that |
city. He has been visiting the schools |
in New York city, Philadelphia Wash |
ington, St Louis and several other |
cities on his way west. He said this |
morning that he understood Topeka |
had one of the best school systems in /
the country and he wanted to make d |
thorough investigation.
James Ferguson worked in Topeka |
II years ago in the state printing Of |
flee. He said this afternoon that he |
attributed all of his success to A. G. |
Carruth who was formerly proof /
reader at the state printing house |
Professor Ferguson left this place al /
ter thorough training under Carruth /