Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1909-11-12
TRADE SCHOOLS
URGED BY LABOR
FEDERATION COMMITTEE OUT
LINES ATTITUDE ON INDUS
TRIAL EDUCATION.
| MEANS BETTER CLASS OF MEN.
Development Gives Pupils Chance to
Select Their Own Vocation in
Earning Living.
NOT A PROBLEM FOR THEORISTS.

TORONTO. Ontario, Nov. 1I.-Organ-
lied labor's attitude on the vital question
of Industrial education was set forth in a
report to the convention of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor today by the
special committee appointed by authority
OF the Denver convention to investigate
the subject The committee, of which
John Mitchell is chairman, held three
meetings during the year in New York,
Washington and Toronto.
1t is believed that the future welfare Of
America largely depends on the industrial
them. The inquiries OF the committee seelA
to indicate that il the American workman
is 10 maintain the hign standard of ell
cheney, the boys and girls the country
must nave an opportunity - acquire edC-
Gated hands ana brains, such may en-
able them TO earn living in Il Self-SeIected
vocation and acquire an intelligent under
standing OF the duties of good citizenship.
We favor the establishment of schools III
connection with the public school system,
AZ which pupils between the ages Of II and
16 may lie taught the principles of the
trades, not necessarily IL separate bqlld,
this particular education and 10y competent
aau trained teachers.
Course Of Instruction
The course of instruction in such a school
should be English, mathematics. physics.
chemistry elementary mechanics and draw
ing. The shop instruction for particular
should include drawing, mathematics. me
chanics, physical and biological science APP
plicable to the trade. the history of the
trade and sound system of economies.
including and emphasizing the philosophy
of collective bargaining. This will serve
to prepare the pupil for more advanced sub
jectS and in addition. to disclose his ca
pacity for specific vocation. In order to
keep such schools in close touch with the
trades, there should be local advisory
boards, including representatives of the in
dustries, employers and organized labor
The committee recommends that any
technical education of the workers in trade
should not be a private but public func-
ton conducted by the public and the eX-
pense involved at public cost
The one trouble of America today is that
too many of our youths who have gradual
ed from the grammar or high school, are
misfits industrally. If we to secure in
dustrial supremacy, or even maintain our
present standards in the industrial world
we must il some way in our educational
system acquire an equivalent &c our old
apprenticeship system.
Organized iaDor's position regarding the
injuSticcs of narrow and prescribed train
ing in selected trades, by both private and
public instruction and the flooding of the
labor market with half-trained mechanics
tenabe and the well-founded belief in the
viciousness Of such practices and conse-
quent condemnation is well-nigh unassail-
able
Organized labor's record for years in re-
s,aid to better sanitary conditions in fac
tories and workshops and it's continued eff
forts toward safeguarding women and
minors have been the subject of wide dis
cussion and much helpful legiSla ton.
It's advocacy of free schools. free text
books and the raising of compulsory school
age have been reigiously adhered to and
closely allied to these subjects is that of
industrial education and any serious discus
sion of the proper kind of vocational train
ing promotes discussion OF the former.
Strong Reaction Coming
There is a strong reaction coming i'll gen
eral methods of education and that grow
strength, that the human element must be
recognized and cannot be 50 disregarded as
TO make the future workers mere automatic
machines.
Experience has shown that manual train
ing school teachers with actual trade eX
perience do not and cannot successfully
solve this great problem and that progress
will necessarily be slow, as new teachers
must be provided set of text books
will have to be written and the subjects
taught III a sympathetic and systematic
manner
In the last analysis it is of greater mo-
ment to those engaged in industry, Wheth
this question should be discussed freely
and fairly than 1t is to mere theorists who
advocate industrial education without hav-
ing any definite plan or purpose Other
same, and it is believed that a unitication
rather than a multiplication of effort Is
needed i'll order to EeIp solve this immense
problem.