El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-12-20
Help Pupils Earn Money
Many Schools Adopt Vocational
Training, Help Students Get
Work, And Aid Them
- BY Frederic J. Haskin

!
/ eventually will have a mighty influence
| in developing the future of the child
I \ vocational advisor is included in the
working stats of large school organi-
| cations in several cities. The advisor
| endeavors to ascertain the vocational
/ aspirations of each child and. in a few
! schools. the course Of study after the
| sixth grade is being modified or
! planned in cOnformance with the de-
mand indicated by this choice of the
children. If a boy desires to enter
\ shop. some Of the rudiments Of the
work he prefers may be given to him
as manual training. Shop arithmetic,
English and algebra will give him the
knowledge of these branches which will
If he aspires to mercantile or bust
ness career, special training for these
callings may begin before he has
reached high school grades.
If the ambition of the yOungster
seems impractical, an effort may be
made to induce him to choose some call
ing to which he seems better adapted.
The vocational advisor discourage all
blind alley" vacations, such as mes
senger service, boot backing and street
I vending, because they offer little or no
opportunity for future advancement.
The advantages Of training for some
calling or trade requiring skill and eff
ficiency are shown to each child. In
addition, the schools are with in
I u
means by which this training may be
/ secured even for those who must be-
come self supporting at an early age.
shop Study in Cities.
In Dayton, Chicago and in a number
of other cities, special vocational
schools are being provided for the boys
who do not expect to go to high
school. Such schools have a short
morning session upon general topics
and the remaining time is spent in the
shops. This gives the rudiments Of
! training for some skilled vocation. II
the boy has to leave school after the
eighth grade, he can continue this
! training either in continuation schools
or in night classes
Because many boys cannot spend the
time to complete the high school course
without having some compensation. a
number Of city schOl systems have ar
ranged for their employment by coop
Grafton with industrial firms. Fitch
burg, Mass, was one of the first cities
to work out this plan. It Is now in its
fifth year of operation. Its success
has led to its being copied extensively,
a number of schools in other cities
having arranged to open this year upon
the same plan
Industries and Schools Cooperate.
The Fitchburg course covers four
years and Il different industries are
cooperating with the school in making
it success. Apprenticeship is now Of
fered in the machiniSTs trade, pattern
making. saw making. drafting holding,
tin smithing, piping, printing, textile
and office work and several others. The
entrance examinations require the same
attainment as the ordinary high school
course A trial OF two months is given
at the close Of the first year. At the
expiration OF that time, a contract is
signed by the parents and employer.
Under this agreement, the boy is to
continue his course for three years and
the employer is to teach him the rudi-
ments Of the trade designated. The
contract tends to keep the boy in school
al
him During the first year. the boy
receives 10 cents an hour. during the
second II cents and during the third
u 1-2 cents This amounts to S165 for
the first year. S1S1 for the second and
SZO6-Z5 for the third. The value OF
the training received is much grea ter
than the money. The students alter
nate, spending one week in the shop
and the next in school
Girls Problem More Difficult.
The question of finding vocational
work for the girls which viii insure
them future remuneration is more diff
cult The school aims to give every
Sirl a certain amount of training in
home work which will aid her in ad
ministerinS her own household in the
future But this, though most impOr-
tant, is not sufficient in view of the
economic necessity of actual wage earn
ing fer many girls In the F. B. Dyer
school, of Cincinnati, girls from IA to
16 are employed two hours a day in
making many articles for which there
IS ready market. These include
lampshades, artificial flowers, fancy
boxes and many other articles, and or
ders for them are placed by stores
hotels and other business establish
ments. The profits materially aid the
girls in providing for themselves. In
other schools orders are taken for suits
hats, aprons and other articles which
are filled by the girls in their sewing
classes. This feature of the work is
only beginning, but its growth seems
assured.
Thousands of girls are entering upon
commercial vacations each year and
their education can be directed through
studies lifting them especially for such
employment. The elements of salesman
ship, as well as bookkeeping and
stenOgraphy, are being taught even in
the elementary grades in a number of
cities A new course of study for the
girls in the Nichols Vocational school
of New Orleans, is being tried out this
year. It's dressmaking work includes
a years work at power machines,
which will fit a girl for working in
nigh grade clothes factory. Novelty
work includes the making OF many
fancy articles for which 4 sale is as
sured Millinery. domestic science. fine
laundry work and art needle work
compose the other branches of manual
work, each of which is taught with
view to Its possible vocational value.
The cooperation between the public
school system and the commercial and
industrial establishments of CITY
work for school children. In Birming
ham, Ala. arrangements are made by
which girls employed as salesWOmen in
the stores are granted from two and
one-half to five hours a week to at
tend special classes in the public
schools designed to increase their ef-
ficiency. In the same city a large
number of boys under 16 years Of age
are employed upon half time upon the
condition that they spend half their
time in school
Establish FoIlOw-up System.
The school docs not relinGuish its
interest in the welfare of the child
even after his wage earning has begun.
A fOIlOw-up system is being established
in nearly every large city which con-
tinues to help the child. Continuation
classes in the subjects most needed may
be attended during the hours between
4 and $50 o'clock. making it possible
for children in commercial or business
offices to increase their efficiency. If
these hours are out of their reach, the I
night schools viii aid them. In Los
Angeles. it has been found that this
continuation work has been especially
appreciated by foreign born people, who
resented the enforcement of the com 4
pulsory education law as long as they
were under its age limits Many OF |