Charlevoix county herald., 1914-08-22
BUSINESS AND THE SCHOOLS.

That the present movement for
practical education is stimulated from
the industrial rather than from the
educational side is fact both prom
Using and disquieting, according to
Owen r. Lovejoy, who discusses "Vo-
catiOnal Guidance and Child Labor"
in publication of the United States
bureau of education.
"The employers have a very definite
program" says Mr.. Lovejoy. 'They
know what they want and are going
after it. Let us not delude ourselve&s
by thinking they are actuated by phil
anthropy. 1t is simply good business.
They want a crop of fresh, young
labor furnished them every year that
can make fewer mistakes and more
profits.
"This is extremely gratifying, in
one sense. 1t indicates that economic
self-interest is attempting to shake
off the double burden society has long
bOrne-the burden of using goods
worth much less than they cost be-
cause poorly and inefliciently made,
and of supporting by charity those
paid less than their work is worth
because of their poverty, inefficiency,
and consequent helplessness. But
while employers are awake to the
need of efficiency, industry is not. In
dustry still beckOns to the inefficient,
the immature, the unprepared
Society is far from having reached
a decision that unskilled labor must
be abolished. The occupations which,
outside of agriculture, absorb the out
put OF our schools are barren of any
element to make them of present 4
terest to the child or to offer any
hope for the future A vocational
survey in New York City exhibits in
one group 101 boys between IA and
10 years of age with an analysis of
the work they are doing. For only
five of them is there any opportunity
to advance or improve; 90 are in
dead-end occupations.
Business is now saying that if we
had the right kind of schools all this
would be changed; that child labor
would become blessing instead of an
abuse for children. We are constantly
told that, if the schools had the right
kind OF curriculum and gave the right
kind OF training, every child would
have his natural capacity developed,
and we should speedily put an end to
the army of industrial misfits.
In accepting this challenge of the
business world our educators have as
sumed an unwarranted responsibility
for the condition that exists. A study
of the annual contribution of our CITY
schools to the business interests of
the community will show that a con-
siderable percentage is thrown into
the discard within the first month:
that another large percentage goes
drifting from job to job, sometimes
advancing, quite as frequently reced-
ing, the industries complaining that
the children the schools turn out az
no good; and that the children lose
courage, enthusiasm, and youthful
ldeallsm in the various meaningless
jobs to which they are assigned. That
many drift into casual and thence into
permanent idleness is to be expected.
The only wonder is that anv ulti
mately rise to positions of efficiency
and responsibility.
Our schools are not fair to them-
selves in assuming that they or the
child are wholly at fault. If the
schools need a better curriculum, so
does the instructrial establishment. If
the child needs more definite and pur-
poseful mind, much more does indus
try. One of the most vital services..
vocational guidance can render is ID
analyze our industries and train our
youth to distinguish between a yoca-
ton and job. 1t is futile to give
special training to a child for the
purpose of fastening him to machine
on which he shall do purely n&chani-
cal labor for life. Business saws:
Here are the jobs; what kind of chill
dren have you to offer?' We must
reverse the inquiry and say to bust
ness: Here are our children: what
kind OF industry have you to offer p"