Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-03-29


been manifested in the afterschool ca
reers of boys and girls who either
through graduation or through dropping
out. leave the elementary schools OF the
United States. Quite recently the voca-
tfonal guidance movement. with its voca-
ton bureaus, vocational Information,
placement, scholarship and follow-up 80
cieties. has focused public attention on
the hitherto scantily recognized RESPONSE
bilty of the public school for the careers
of children who have left it for employ
ment- This concern of the schools for the
occupational welfare of their boys and
girls has brought into the foreground GER
tain questions of momentous Importance
In school policy and administration.
What is the duty of the public school
toward the boys and girls who drop out
from the elementary grades as soon as
they get work certificate? What spe-
cial interest has the school in the kind OF
work these children find to do? To what
extent shall the school help to provide
and supervise employment for such chill
dren or to furnish information. counsel.
incentives and opportunities in order that
the start in life for that army Of boys
and girls now wastefully adrift during
the transition from school to work may
be made more promising? These are some
Of the questions before thinking people
not only in this country, but in other adj
vanced countries also. Interest in this
vital matter has of late been quickening.
The different cities of England. Scot
land and Germany, particularly cities like
Birmingham, Liverpool, York, London,
Edinburgh and Glasgow. have developed
a vast school of service to carry on
public and private agencies for the pur-
pose of assisting boys and girls for their
start in life. An idea OF the activities
carried on abroad may be gathered from
the plan Of the Liverpool education COM
mittee, whose work includes the collec-
ton and dissemination of Information re-
lating to industrial conditions prevailing
in the city. the furnishing of advice to
young persons as to the occupations for
which they are best fitted. the encourage
ment of young persons to continue their
education in evening classes and tech
meal schools and the keeping Of the rec
ords showing the occupations taken up
by children on leaving school.
There is maintained central Office,
with the schools acting as suboff1ces, for
the registration of young persons apply
ing for employment and for submitting
suitable applicants for the known vacant
positions There is supervision of young
persons after they have taken up work
for the purpose of assisting them in
cases where advice may be needed re-
garding the facilities which may exist for
extending the child's education and also
where other and better employment may
exist.
German social enterprise has con-
cerned itself thus far largely with the
tinuation or part-time school system.
which has become world model, and the
system of labor bureaus which place boys
and girls who seek work.
THE German schools have not been in
different to the career problems of the
children. Before the school-leavinS period
draws near. and shortly before the four
tenth birthday, teachers and others call
attention to the various wage-earning OPP
portunities open to the children. They
describe the supplementary training pro-
visions of the municipality and the pro-
cedure in getting work through the labor
exchange. In a few cities and towns mu-
nicipal and vocational information offices
have been started-usually in connection
with some well established agency, such
as the statistical bureau-for the purpose
of advising parents. children and teach
erS as to the Industrial conditions. the
state of the labor market and the nature
Of the demands for workers. German
schools. too, are keenly interested in pre-
venting children from becoming careless
jobseekers. and they take a personal in
tereSt in directing children to the nearest
labor exchange and to other employment
agencies. Parents are invited before the
children leave school to attend informal
conferences. at which a brief talk is given
to point out the mischief of drifting into
employment without forethought and plan
and for which work the boy or girl may
be entirely unsuited.
In a survey of foreign experiments in
vocational guidance one cannot fail to
be i'm impressed by the elaborateness of ma
chinery developed; the extent and effec-
tiveness of the national and local support
through legislation and. money grants
and also by the extraordinary develop
ment of volunteer service on the part of
men and women who are drawn from
school. manufacturing, commercial, labor
civic and social service groups"
X
In the promotion of better farming
methods the government has introduced
the nlotto-card idea
Better Farming Of impressing the set
nF.nl. tiers on tho irriga-
ton projects in the
west. In the latest number of the
Reclamation Record. monthly magazine
published by the Department of the In
terror for the water users on the west
ern irrigation projects. the editors have
printed in black type the Farmers
Creed" the version having been slightly
changed from the original by Frank l.
Mann. as follows:
II believe in a permanent agriculture,
A soil that shall grow richer rather than
poorer from year to year.
II believe that the only good weed is a
dead weed, and that a clean farm is as
important as a clean conscience.
II believe in striving for maximum
yields. and I shall not be satisfied with
anything less.
II believe in the farm boy and In the
farm girl, the farmers best crops and
the futures best hope.
'I believe in the farm woman and
will do all in my power to make her life
easier and happier.
Il believe In a country school that pre-
pares for country life. and country
church that teaches its people to love
deeply and live honorably.
Il believe in community spirit, a pride
in home and neighbors. and 1 will do my
part to make my own community the
best in the state.
IT believe in the farmer, I believe in
the open country.
IT am proud to be farmer. and I will
try earnestly to be worthy of the name"
Both Secretary Lane of the Interior
Department and Secretary Newell, di-
rector of the reclamation service, are
planning to make the unique magazine
which Is furnished to water users as in
teresting and as helpful possible, and
it is expected that the motto-card idea
and other innovations will be introduced
to enliven the pages of all future issues.
In the past, dry reports and notes of the
routine work on the projects have made
up most of the contents of the publica-
ton, but hereafter articles and features
of popular interest will be introduced
more and more in the work of encourage
ing the irrigation farmers to make work