New Britain herald., 1915-12-16
NEW BRITAIN SCHOOL HELD AS THE IDEAL
Praise for PreVocational Work Here by Illinois University Man

New Britain's Prevocational school Is held up as shining mark to which other cities embarking in similar lines of education should aspire by H. A. Hollister of the University of Illinois, who inspected the local school last summer. Professor Hollister made a tour of inspection of prevocational schools all over the country and ar rived at the conclusion that New Britain's institution was second to none.
 In the December number of "Schoo and Home Education" Professor Hol- lister pays gratifying compliment to the system adopted in the Prevoca- tional school and to its management. He was not so favorably impressed with similar schools in other cities. Concerning the New Britain school Professor Hollister writes as follows:
 Admirable Equipment.
 II have investigated personally the work at Norwalk and New Britain, Connecticut; the beginning made last year at Cincinnati; the junior High school work in two of the centers in Grand Rapids, Michigan and the work recently organized in Spring field and Quincy of our own state.
 '''It will be our purpose which each of these typical developments has seemed to present, to analyze and crit icise them briefly and to present cer- tain conclusions for consideration at this time. f1
 "The New Britain, Connecticut school is a segregation of the two grammar grades organized on a de- partmental basis with a prevocational attachment. The assumption is that there are certain motor minded children who need different treat ment from the rest who are given mostly academic work. Two build ings are provided, one of which is equipped admirably for the prevoca- tionai classes. This gives a distinc q atm osphere to the school, and the boys and girls seem happy and con- tented in their work. In the voca- tional department the work is varied, changing to about four different types during the year. The same changes are repeated on a different level for { the second year. Only where it is found that necessity will require the pupil to end his schooling with these , Ls%O years duu DecOule d DISduWiIlhSi is he permitted to specialize for q vocation. The chief end in view is to enable each one to discover where Nc Is strongest in expressing himself through vocational activities. To this end the teachers all study care Bfully and compare results from time to fime.
 Beyond the few cases of necessity referred to teachers and pupils are made to understand that the prevocs.- $tional work is not to be understood as leading inevitably to the vocational khigh school. In other words a state &of perfect fluidity up to the his l school period is the aim. With q e #po5sible change of transferring t!.e Bninth grade to this group and contin- kuing similar flexible plan as to *the program of exercises this seems to present almost an ideal con- Reption of the problem we are dis cussing and it's solution. The esser- tial features are CD the differential brogram with departmental instrLc-
 ion and CD the f1uidity of the group
 with reference to future choices"
 New Britain's school is compared Further on in the article to those in
 yorwalk, Los Angeles Cincinnati,
 brand Rapids, Quincy and Springfield Ind in no case does the local institu-
 lon suffer by this comparison, in the