Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1914-12-14
AGAIN URGE THE
Education PLAN
DR.. Wagner Confident In
duStrial Training is
Possible Here
SAYS CONDITIONS
DEMAND CHANGE

Following closely upon the steps
of other public men, DR.. Charles A.
Wagner. state commissioner of edu-
cation. has given his views as to
the possibilities of adopting a system
Of industrial education in Whining
ton
Without waiting for unanimous
consent" said DR.. Wagner this morn
ing, every city and town community
must take some action in this mat
ter Of teaching studies that prepare
for vocations. The facts positively
dem nd it,"
What are the facts?" Or. Wagner
added. '1n New York alone. I know
positively that approximately 10000
boys between the ages of IA and Is
are in occupations in which they can
never earn more than 50 or SO a
week: that is. without education that
has vocational compartments. Boys
and girls leave school and take the
first job that offeu. to find them
selves in a blind alley. a pathway TO
despair, before they ever reach ma
turity.
Another fact: SIS out of every 100
children receive little or no education
after the fifth or sixth school grade.
Statistics prove that this percentage
is about right They drop out of
school 10 60 to work and thereafter
stop almost all mental development.
They may be able to read and write;
but taste, appreciation, enjoyment of
the distinctly human. the mental and
intellectual pleasures is never reach
ed. We have so many children in
Delaware who must in such a short
time be confronted with the necessity
of earning their daily bread, that it
seems a great pity that something
cannot be done better to prepare them
for life's struggle. than merely teach
ing reading, writing and arithmetic.
/ am quite sure that if the subject is
approached from the proper angle.
| those in charge of the education of
our children and those charged with
the making of laws governing edu-
cation, cannot help seeing the ire
mendous necessity for the introduc-
/ ton Of industrial education into our
school system.
MANY other facts that demand vo-
cational education might be cited,
but I need cite only one in addition
to the two general cases / have al
ready stated: the age in which we
live, coupled so closely as it is with
science and invention, is one in which
the workman is constantly being dis
placed by mechanical projections.
The report Of the Commission on
National Aid to vocational education
states the case remarkably well as
follows: TO conserve and develop
our resources; to promote a more
prosperous and productive agricul-
/ ture: to prevent the waste of human
labor: 70 supplement apprenticeship,
to increase the wage-earning power
/ of our productive workers; to meet
the demand for trained workmen and
to offset the increased cost of living.
1.-TWO ways of supplying this need.
offer themselves TO the city Of VIII
mington The first is a school or
set of schools equipped to give the
necessary instruction and practice
work. This is costly and is hard to
keep up to the times in the various
! lines Of industry. nor does II train
the student under life conditions, nor
into the conditions under which he
must work.
THE second alternative is coop
erative vocational education. The
school more particularly the High
School. gives all the theoretical in
struction. Shop work and practice
are secured in actual industrial
plants whose owners enter the pro-
| iect. Students 60 to the shop in
| turn. one group a week in the shop
] and then a week in school and so
! on. the groups alternating with each
other in both places. The school
work prepares for and supplements
the shop work The shop work ap-
plies the theory and instruction of
the school When working in the
shop the students are regular en-
nlovces. do regular work. keep the
| shop hours. and are paid for the
time. This alone makes it possible
for many to study in school to conf
nlete a course. The student thus
gets a High School education and a
vocational education at the same
time. He learns to respect work. he
values money. he fits into the indus
trv and has the intelligence to make
/ later adjustments If invention and
progress require il of him. besides
Oclng dCuQdlultu WIN NohoiN'i o"i@
more of human experience than just
/ of his job.
Wilmington. with her many in
/ dustries in great variety. offers an
excellent opportunity to work out a
scheme of the latter kind.
This is known as the Fitchburg
plan because the town Of Fitchburg.
Mass. first made il 2 success. Other
cities have since used It with modi-
fcations. AS far as | can see, all
the conditions in Wilmington point
10 its feasibility. II requires no
large outlay Of money, II binds
schools and citizens together in a
Gloss community consciousness which
is utterly democratic. it supplies
skilled workers, capable earners and
thus more profitable industry for the
workman and the capitalist
IAN investigation to find the num-
] Der of boys taken into the respective
industries. and a canvass Of the diff
ferent industries to explain the plan
to the owners, would supply the in
! formation and the opportunity TO
/ start the system at a very small cost,
and with a practicable assurance Of
success from the outside. II, then,
a committee appointed by the Cham
Der Of Commerce or other body then