The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-04-25
NEW YORK EDUCATORS /, VIEWS STARTLE COUNTY
 TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
Says Book Learning, Not Practi- cal Manual Training, Is A
 Fad
WOULD PAY MORE TO GRADE
 THAN HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS
Says Only Rich and HOboeS Don't Need Advantage of VOca-
 fiOnaI Training

Interesting, radical, almost revolu- tionary, was the address given by Arthur D. Dean, chief of the Voca- tionaI schools of the state of New York before the 37th annual conven- ton of the Fairfield County Teachers association in it's session at the First M- D. church this morning. MT. Dean spoke on the subject, The Man and the Job," and some of his remarks were of a character which rather up- set accepted ideas of elementary edu- cation.
 MT. Dean was speaking in favor of having vocational training installed in the school system of Fairfield county and his remarks rang true, carrying conviction with them.
 We hear, talk among school teach CTS all over the country" he said, "of manual training, being nothing more nor less than a fad. But say that when we come to talk of fads' it is book learning that should be called a fad rather than cooking, farming, building and other manual training building, and doing manual work thousands of years before books vera even thought of.
 We can't get away from the fact in this present age that we have got to prepare our children to take job when CASy nave cOnCluQeQ Lne1r ScnOOt education Of course there are eSA captions to this rule, notably the man whose fortune is such that he will be able to step into his automobile and spend his time riding around in the machine with no thought of work to bother him, and the other man who will spend his time riding the bump -ers, of a freight train. equally as rn- concerned as to thoughts of work.
 But the general rule is that some day we all will have to work and yet we go calmly on with little or no thought of preparing our children for the battle which they all have to fight in the 1aboring world. We have a race heritage for doing things and making things dating back for thou sands of years and yet when there is talk of introducing into our school de- partments where the children may be trained to do things, make things, we scoff and say it's silly fad
 '1f I could have my way I would have the best teachers and the high est paid ones, not in the high school, but in the lower grades-the elemen- tary school where the child gets it's first and most important training. Then when the boy or the girl who gets through school at IA or 15 years is brought face to face with the prob 1ens of life, he or she. as the case may be. will be thoroughly prepared
 
 them.
 There are two things which we must think of in present day educa- ton, the man and the 'job' In the final analysis we will see that all our education only prepares a man for some job and it is up to us to see that the education is of the kind that will give him the best preparation for this job. no matter what it will be.
 ''The old system of education seem ed to revoive about the man but now it is just the reverse; the system of education revolves about the 'job.' It is vocational education versus cultural education; literary education versus technical education We will have to recognize the fact sooner or later that the job is the thing that counts largely nowadays. If we opened our eyes we would recognize this now.
 Let us adjust the job with the man." he said, 'the vocational learn dng with the book learning and we will get the ideal system of education.
 MT. Deane's address lasted for up- wards of an hour, one of the finest arguments in favor of vocational training ever heard in this city
 The address was listened to by near 1y 800 school teachers and principals representing some forty or more towns and cities in Fairfield county gather ed here to attend the annual spring meeting, at the First M. E. church.