Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-01-16

wants to teach, the teacher wants to
Dc Il lawyer, the lawyer wants to be a
capitalist, and the capitalist wants to
set back on the farm. How can the
school help? 1t can enable the youth
to feel his way, to experiment without
great sacrifice. AS a young child
knows his mother by her Voice before
ne can recognize her by sight, so the
young man hears his call" vaguely
before he can see what he ought TO
10 lie feels drawn to Il certain kind
ii work before he can determine intel
c"lually just why he should do it, just
~ later on lie will fail in love with his
future wife before he can reason out
why ne ought to do so. Woe to him if
his parents have kept before him the
ideal Of wealth or social prestige: this
IS The Introductory chapter in the life
If a msfit. But at any rate. there
ordinarily comes, at this point, good
bit Of trial and error Selfhood, con-
scious will, is found partly by reflec-
ton, but largely, at first, by expert
mont
Now, what vocational experiments
are possible in a high school? a good
many; and the better the high schoo.,
The moro possibilities OF experiment
there are-more choices to be made
in the first place, with an old
fashioned. narrow curriculum, where
all follow the same course. mainly
mathematics and the classics, the
whole thing is often tried and soon re-
.iacted by those pupils who are going
to work" We thus by the pupils cx-
rerincnts, have two groups, roughly
distinguished, those who will work
with their hands and those who may
WOrl; mainly with their heads. 1t IS
customary to mourn over those who
leave the high school. As q matter of
fact, it is not they VINO leave the
chool so much as it is the school that
leaves them. It's range OF possibilities
is too soon exhausted. They cannot ex-
pertinent sufficiently to find out what
they are good for
1t is also customary to mourn over
those who elect subject after subject
in the curriculum, and graduate finally
with Il smattering Of many things,
knowing nothing we'll This is some
times Il mark of shiftlessness and lazi-
ness. it is true; but investigation
hoWs that comparatively few college
tudents are actuated by laZiness IN
making their elections, and | am per
.'uaHcd that the same is true of high
chool pupils. AS a matter of fact,
some Of our very best men wake up
I'd come to themselves somewhat late
ii life. The classic example is
,necher who never allowed his
tudes to interfere with his college
oaurse" A learned man has just
written a book to show that the most
fertile, original and valuable ideas
come from the brains of men more
Chan forty years old and they were
not all prccocious. Prccocious chill
t,ren are frequently gcniuses or fools
md geniuses are scarce. Don't worry,
Ien little mother. if your boy dreams.
shifts about, falls in love, or even
GEMS for a time, too indolent for any
thing The only time to worry is
when YOU begin to lose his confidence
and affection.
All this points to the fact that more
electives are needed in our high
schools. We are all familiar with the
old classification . of studies into
Science, Mathematics, History, Lam
guage and Art. Here is represented,
in more or less complete form. The
knowledge side of every vocation-and
the expressive, practical side is recelV-
ing an ever increasing emphasis Every
one of these great departments of
human thought and effort is repre-
scented in the high school curriculum,
and every student should be required
to pursue for a year or So some one
branch of each department, that he
NAV discover whittier his proctiVltles
will lead him. No ordinary mind,
however, can continue to follow these
five paths in all their ramblings and
diyergences. Consequently, we must
either choose for the pupil, or let him
choose for himself, the branches on
which he shall concentrate.
The exasperating feature, when
school authorities attempt to choose
and see the pupils way. to prescribe
CONTINUED on Page Twelve.)