The Washington times., 1914-03-26
VOCATION EXPERT
DEGREES TRADITION
Says Schools Turn Out All From
Same Grist Without Usefu,
Preparation.

positions of vocational education
its need, and its opportunities, ye
presented in Washington, is giper
by Prof. Meyer Bloomfield.
Prof. Bloomfield is a pioneer in
this field, and his work with the 10
cational guidance bureau of Bos
ton, has attracted nationwide at
teHtion. He is the author of sep
eral books on the subject, and d
monograph by him, "The Righ1
Start In LJe," is about to be issued
by the United States Bureau OF
Education.
The teachers section of the Ma.
tional Civic Federation brought
Prof. Bloomfield to Washington
for a lecture last night at the Pub.
iic Library. His piews are particu.
Iariy timely, because of the pend.
ing Chamber of Commerce inpesti.
CATION of vocational training.
By ]. R. HILDEBRAND.
Before education can be efficient
We must learn to interpret school
subjects in terms of 9areer values"
That sums up Prof. Meyer Bloom
fields creed of vocational educa-
ton. And by that term he does
Lot mean merely a dabbling in shop
work, or a brief cooking course.
Vocational work includes the activ-
tiles of the boy who would study
law or medicine But it would not
give the boys headed toward those
professions a practical monopoly on
education.
'.Au we need is to get a right
sense Of proportion We must break
the tradition which drives too many
boys toward these oyer-esteerned
professions, and show them the
golden opportunities in other fields.
who Is bent on any of the old line
professions. But We would en-
courage the boy whose bent is not in
that direction. We would teach
girls that it takes more brains TO
be a good cook than a poor stenog
fapher."
DR.. Bloomfield cleared up many
hazy notions concerning vocational
education, and denied thta the aim
Of such training was to decide what
. boy should do.
Unfoids Opportunities.
mo one would rob a boy Of his
birthright to choose his life work.
All vocational training aims to do
d to unfold to him rne wider op-
portunities. and give him an un-
fettered. choice"
That commercial education. as now
conducted In many cities, fits pupils
only for clerical work. and leaves
untouched the best chances in busi-
ness fields. was one of his striking
assertions.
Our business schools now are the
one line in which we think we are
meeting the vocational education
need" he said. But commercial
education is being overdone. And
instead OF preparing young men to
Ill remunerat!ye and worthwhile
posit ons, like those of statesmen,
tising work, II merely is equipping
them for routine clerical work, in
which there Is the slimmest sort Of
chance for progress"
The case Of girls is just as bad,
according to this educator.
Too Many Stenographers.
7Our schools are turning out ste
nographers by the hundreds" he
said. These must work for a mere
plttance. even If they are. efficient.
Many Of them should not have been
stenographers at all. But they should
have been guided toward those more
renunerative professions. such as
matrons, stewardesses, and diet e1-
perts, in which the supply nowhere
meets the demand and where there
are rich rewards for women.
Nursing, too has only just been
lifted from the group OF vocations
regarded as menial and put upon A
Professional basis. There are scores
Of such positions for which girls are
peculiarly fitted. and in which they
would command good salaries.
whereas We now are sending them
into the routine business hopper
Asking pupils about to graduate
from high school to write compost
tons on what they are going to be
is favorite experiment with Prof.
Bloomfield.
Show His Education.
''Of course We find out little about
what the boy really is going to do"
Re continued. but we learn great
deal from those papers about the
school. the teachers. and the gu.d-
ance he has received.
ITO make this experiment once in
6 school where the vocational idea
has not been exploited then to try IT
after a series of lectures on voca-
tienal opportunities. will awaken one
to how easy, instead of how hard.
it is TO turn the minds of pupils into
the fields where there are better
opportunities.
MANY poor boys now 90 to medi-
cal schools where the complete labor
atory equipment is a set Of dirty
test tubes and dead cat for vivi-
section. Many others attend law
schools where a degree is sold for
the price of tuition. II would be BET
ter for these boys and for the com
munity If they had been directed to
the chances awaiting them in new
fields"
Amusing results follow most eff
forts to find why children attend a
certain high school. NAM go to a
attend Others find their way 20
academic schools because they be
Heve bright boys go there while the
Gull ones go to the business or the
technical schools
THE first problem is TO get the boy