The Washington times., 1914-03-13
FIT STUDENTS FOR
JOB, JONES' ADVICE
0upiIs of Capital Have No
Specific Training, Says Edu-
cationaI Expert.

;)rtment, and a fen more, it for
erl; mas easy for young man to
Tick his life work.
Did You knoW that the last cen
s1s enumerated more than 10000
occupations open to men in the
United States?
The Washington schools, in the
opinion of Myron Jermain Jones,
should provide for pupils headed
toward most of these callings, and
ii should help the pupil to pick the
one for which he or she is best
lifted.
M. Jones is chairman OF the
Chamber of Commerce special
committee on vocational training.
He speaks from experience here
as director of education at the Y.
d. c. A. and from many years in
7 0ledo, where he started the first
! )cdtional night school.
By J. R. HILDEBRAND.
Public schools everywhere are fac
irg a new problem Its solution
may mean an upheaval of school ira
ditions. il certainly means a more
difficult task for teachers. This is
he problem of fitting pupils to their
obs, instead of shooting them forth
through q time-wOrn groove to md
tEeir level in the world as best they
nay"
That is Myron Jernain Jones'
definition Of the need for vocational
training in Washington public
schools Mr.. Jones has just assumed
the Craftsmanship OF a special COM
rnittee of the Chamber of Commerce
70 look into the situation here. From
long experience he has acquired some
definite ideas about education, as
veil as about conditions in Washing
ion.
our first committee work." said
Mr.. Jones, 'is to do one thing that
has been entirely overlooked in
Washington, and in most other
p;aces
The child has been studied. dis
sected, bisected, and put under the
educators mental miscroscope. The
courses have been revised. and
changed and altered. Teachers have
been trained to high efficiency
Where We have failed is in any ade-
Cuate study OF social conditions
Turned Them Loose.
Work is a matter of supply and
7emand, as well as Of aptitude.
Hitherto we have fitted pupils for
obs they preferred selected from a
arrow range, and turned them loose
3" fit in as best they could. But has
there ever been survey of the op-
'Urtunities for work Washington af-
fords?
Such an inquiry practically means i
a surrey of social conditions. That
IS what this committee will under
lake first. We want to find 1ut what
kinds OF work are open 10 Washing
ION boys here, and then what oppor-
tunities await him outside
This sort Of relation TO social
Conditions is what the public schools
Of the future must establish, ac-
COrdlng to Mr.. Jones.
'Henceforth, in progressive
school system, q teacher must relate
rer work to the world outside, or
hhe Will be a failure She may be
good Instructor, she may observe
all the traditions, and she NAV meet
al the eNactions of twenty, even ten
ears ago. But by just as .1uch as =
she fails 10 take into account this
other factor. hy just that much she
viii be missing the mark
Does Not Hit Mark.
Too much of our public school
education is not hitting the mark.
Much of it is blind firing. We are
not taking proper aim. We are
shooting wild"
Many parents have awakened to
his lack of relation between the
school and life, Mr.. Jones said. He
tied cases where fathers who well
uuld afford to send their sons away
FOR summer outings had kept them
hard at work at joos during the
summer in order to give them an
rnkling of practical business life.
Jones said. but they have no
the parent can act as a competent
adviser TO his son about his occupa-
ton The parent knows the boy, but
ne does not know the opportunities.
Take those 10.0G0 possible vocatiCns.
The parent does not know about
them
That leads to another problem
our coTImittte will try TO work
"ut. That problem is the business
f finding the hoy his job not
lob. but his particular job. Tho
lest employment bureaus no
longer are mere clearing houses
for positions. They size up the
man and the job. and fit a round
peg in a round hole.
Favors Advisory Board.
NV idea for " ashinSton vague
" defined as yet, is an advisory
board such as now exists in Buff
faIo. There q bureau acts in con-
junction with the schools prim-
ar.ly, and also is affiliated with
The Chamber of Commerce and
the !. NJ. g. a. in this work of
keeping track of the emf Ioymenr
reld Gnd the recruits for that
field"
Washington business men feel
f"rcefully the futility of present
academic education when school
IrSduates start working for them.
Ih'se men tell Inc that boys
END girls just out or school not
knowledge Of business, which
could not be expected from them
under present conditions" Mr..
Iones said. "t3ut they have no
practical training in any line.
The" rave not been uF against
the necessity for doing practical
things and dealing with men.
rnsz Ia.