The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-03-01
Dr. James E. Loush professor Of psychology Of New York Unve

"HAT letter sent to THE SrN not
long ago by q lad who had
4 studied many things in the
public schools but had not
learned how to earn living described
situation which many boys discover
after being graduated. 1t Is to eliminate
this situation that advocates Of voca-
tional training are trying to have II
adopted as part of the system OF tho
public schools. DIR. Leonard p. Ayres,
director of the division Of education Of
the Russell Sage Foundation, puts the
case like this
"Could you pass a seventh grade
arithmetic examination? Would your
doctor your minister, your lawyer,
get as high marks as their own 18-
year old boys?" DIR. Ayres very plainly
says that these fathers would not, and
he reaches this conclusion after making
many experiments. I'm too many
schools the lessons taught have little
bearing upon the problems Of every
dag life. We spend hours In teaching
children rules they will never apply.
terms they will never use and words
they will never spell.
Ine SCHOOLS or TINS country are
part Of great business--a business car
ried on in every city and every town
the business of turning children into
useful citizens. In every branch OF
industry within the the past few years
there has come a wave OF inquiry, an
analysis of processes. a measurement
Of results. We call 1t scientific man
agement.' and in common with other
business men educators are applying
these principles to their work. The chill
dren who enter our public schools are
the raw material; those who complete
The course and graduate are the finished
product Educators are beginning to
demand how much Of this raw material
y wasted in the process
"What proportion Of the children
complete the common school course
Blk years ago no one in the country
could answer that question. Now studies
are being made. tests applied, and to-
day we know that In the country as
q whole not one-half Of the children
who enter the public schools remain to
graduate. Conditions In the higher
schools are even more shocking
What should we say of q four act
play In the theatre, where 1000 people
were present at the beginning OF the
f1rst act; 500 got up and eft at the be-
ginning Of the second act: $50 Of thes.
refused to sit through the third. and
only 1876 remained to see the final de-
scent OF the curtain? Yet these figures
express conditions In many OF our
larger cities with respect to the fall
ing out Of pupils In the four years OF
eur high school courses.
"Every one has heard the story Of
how Taylor. with his perpetual, 'why?
turned the trade OF brlcklaying upside
down. Brickaying, practlsed by mill
ions OF Intelligent artisans, had re-
manned slmose unaltered since the DAYS
Of primitive man. Finally, Taylor, with
MS scientific management stepped in
and asked why lower hundred
pounds of human h"sh To pick up each
two pound brick? why toss the brck
-FOUR times to find its best face? Why
tap II three times to get its prore-
level? why stand in position that
requires hplf dozen movements when
one will suffice?'
"Then science answered: Build n plat
form for the bricks adjusted to tn.
height ~ the work; lay the bricks on
the platform with the best face out: mix
the mortar so that ono tap will suffice,
and take such position that Ave move
ments accomplish the H'fne results ina
formerly required eighteen To-day.
under the teachineg Of scientific rnnN-
agament, each workman laws each hour
o. many bricks as he formerly laid In
three hours
"It took weeks Of study 10 work that
change. Yet br!cklavng Is a simple
occup1tlon Infinitely harder, Infinitely
more complex. than any industr'sl prob
lem il the problem OF scientific man
oGement in education.
"Instead OF bricks and mortar We
Dave human beings as our raw ma
4 terial; books. words and actions ms our
81 to0ls. II is a task Of staggering din
lalnl4y. Yet educators realize that only
nn0olying the scientific method to
seH edncatton become a
~ oN.y through