The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-08-18
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
IS PRESENTED AS A NEED
4 Plea Is Made For This as Called For In The Advance
ment of The Education Interests, of North Carolina
n. w. WALKER.
State Inspector of Public High SCHOOL,

ely / ih /
translat1ng. The study Of it will he
drudgery pure and simple. nor will |
he be able to read Latin with any
appreciation of the beauties of stvle.
or OF its literature that after all can
not be compared with Greek or Emo
lish literature. The onlv claim then
that can be made for Latin in the
h1gn schoOl courses, SO far as the large
majority of students are concerned
is that it furnishes mental discipline:
but IT is a question whether other
students OF a vocational nature can
not be used that will furnish lust as
good mental discipline. This NAV all
seem heresy to those who still cling
to the old: a few years ago it would
nave seemed SO to the writer.
Place of Science Studies.
regarding the place of science
studies, the general statement should
be made that those preparing for col
lege will find these taught in the col
lege courses, and that because of the
imperfect manner in which science is
necessarily taught in our high schools.
for the lack of sufficient apparatus.
the study Of it in the high schools is
now of very little use to those who
are not going to college. All will
agree that this should not be the case.
There should be and there will be in
the not distant future, good science
courses in our high schools.
There must be in order to supply the
needs of these students who are not
gong beyond h high school course.
Physiology, and hygiene, sanitation
and home economics should have en-
phaSlS laid upon them; and a good
knowledge of chemistry will be of
service to those who are to be farmers,
and to those who are to be house
keepers. h facilities for teaching
these Will be provided when the funds
at the disposal Of our high school
authorities are adequate. and until
these facilities are provided, it has
seemed to me to be almost a waste
of time for the high schools generally
to have in their course Of study physic
and chemistry; but nature study
SHOULD be made prominent, SHOULD be
begun in the lower grades and con-
tinued through the higher. Plant life
and animal life are all at hand, only
the eyes for observing them have not
been trained. For the present this
nature study in most schools is in
rather a hazy condition.. Teachers
with trained eyes and powers Of OBJ
serving are needed.
To most of us are applicable the
lines:
"A primrose by the rivers brim,
A yellow Primrose twas to him and
nothing more"
So really it seems that the high
school courses should be changed to a
considerable extent, not so much for
the sake Of the few preparing for col
lege as to meet the needs Of the class
for which these schools were estab-
lished. l have no Cub that in the
e future, as stated elsewhere, there
will be a sufficiently large number OF
students preparing for college to make
f it worth while for the high schools
{ to make special provision for them
OF course, this can be very easily
| done, if sufficient funds can be Sc.
cured. There can be ar extra COS
put in the machinery. AS it is now
/ / find that a considerable number O.
| students of the high schools after fin
fishing, go to some fitting school; il
which more complete preparation may
be made for college entrance, and i
= is most fortunate for us that we have
< a number Of these left-those tina
v were mot born to die" But the NOR
tally among these for the last ter
= years has been great.
Radical Changes Made
+ Now while the high school is ad
justing it's course to the needs Of tn
various classes Of pupils, it is NOR
e fortunate for us that the colleges ar
f making, some of them, quite radica
t changes in their courses, n are re
r lating these to the practical needs o
r their pupils. If you will take up tn
catalogue of any Of the colleges il
s the State and compare their cours
v Of study with the course prescrlbe'
O before the war, and Immediately after
a YOU will see that these colleges hav
e made radical changes already, an
are still adjusting their courses t
# then deeds Of the time. The fou
years course that led to the time
honored A. B. degree-Latin, Greeh
J. and French or German, mathematlt
science Chemistry and physicsl an
5. Belles-Letters, so called, is far differ
ent from the courses you will see nov
Harvard College prescribes more tha
h a hundred courses leading to dc
II gree of A. B., while the courses OF on
o own University, and our denomlna
l. tional colleges are many and various
a The catalogue of many Of these pre-
= vides some courses that omit the ar
N cient altogether. n requlr
IL hrO1I Ir1OOn(