Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-08-24
the star but 1t must help to furnish
the wagon and harness.
do not, however, tonight, wish to

TIE StAr Dut IL must Help 10 FURNISH
the wagon and harness.
1 do not, however, tonight, wish to
discuss the schools duty towards fur.
nishing specific vocational training,
| wish to call your attention to the
fact that the boys and girls Of our
public schools are persuaded to spend
the best years of their life in blind
preparation for an uncertain future
regarding which they are not to ask
a question, entertain 4 thought or
formulate 4 plan. Many times quer.
les, thoughts or specnlations regard.
ing the students future vacations are
discouraged with the remainder that
the things the schools offer are exact
ly the best things for any line of &C.
tivity and that his first duty and soul
ambition should be to become a man
and let his living take care of itself.
So strong has this attitude been that
the students who persisted in ques.
tioning the ACCESSIBILITY OF such a per.
fectly blind and indefinite procedure
was considered as q sort Of all lsh-
mael among the more obedient con-
forming students. 1t was considered
sort of sacreligious TO-. for a nom
ent, doubt that the Wisest thing was
for every student to persistently post
pone all thoughts Of vocation until
he should have reached the age of
maturity, acquired the beneficial foun.
dation which the institution offered
and then was confronted with the
necessity of choosing a profession for
life. As one writer puts 1t, our Young
people are pitch.forked from school in.
to the world Of position with the
hopes that some . way, some where,
some how, they will rattle around un-
til they find the proper places. Natur-
ally such blind faith In chance has
resulted in many insists. Many young
men and women have given their best
years of life for something which to
them was represented as being some
thing else. They have exchanged
their time, energy and opportunities
for that which pretended to fit them
but turned out to misfit them.
My plea, tonight, is mot that the
public schools teach all the vocations
for which the pupils OF our public
schools are best fitted but that in
stead Of postponing all things con-
corning the choice Of profession, in.
stead of d~iscouraging all thought,
speculation, investigation and study;
to locate the pupils proper place, that
We encourage the pupils to give a
thought to this problem. There is
not a choice in a persons life next
to his personal voluntary relation to
Diety or his choice of matrimonial
mate that is so 'frought with possible:
lities of happiness or unhappiness,
development or atrophy, success or
failure as the choice OF a vocation
That all discussion of such subjects
should be tabood by our public schools
is another evidence of our slowness
in actually adjusting this great in,
stitution to the needs OF it's patrons.
Such study should be encouraged and
guided by Il public schools. The
teachers by training and investiga.
ton should fit themselves as vocation
al advisors and assistants.
The problem is feasible, though
complex 1t is simpler than many prob
lens. 1t has its individual limita'
tons as do all the activities of a sys'
tenn which aims ut whole instruction,
The 1926 vocations listed in the Unit.
ed States census must be grouped
into various lines of work for study
As such this Is entirely possible and
much material already exists for such
study. The department Of commerce
and labor of the United States and
state censuses, private and municipal
Investigations offer material for this
study. To the child brought up in a
fishing village, the world consists OF
boats, nets, tides and fish,. To the
young ma brought up upon some
farms, life consists OF hogs and corn
and corn and hogs, O corn to feed
more hogs to buyImore land to raise
more corn to feed more hogs to buy
more land. TO the city younth the
world may consist of brick walls,
pavements hurrying throngs, decreas.
ing vitality without a thought as to
clean fields, trees running brooks and
the fragrance of fresh turned soil.
There are today undoubtedly, as many
born farmers fretting out an existence
in the life killing city as there are
country bred men and women longing
for the city. ''
NndOuhtodlv any effort m direct
the young peoples EDUCATION to an
intelligent choice Of vocation will be
subject to many errors. Mistakes
will be made, but will mistakes after
careful choice and consideration any
more likely than mistakes in the
present system Of universal chance.
Directly 1t surely car yield fewer
mistakes than pure i%ndirection. 1t is
better to choose consciously and make