New Britain herald., 1915-06-16

SAY s+iS OIners studies;
some are electricians who should
have been carpenters, SO on
down the line. The men who don't
belong. 4
IN many cases the fault is not with
the man who made q mistake in
choosing his career. II can be fast
ened on the parents Under the old
system q boy usually followed the
foot-steps Of his father. If the head
Of the family was politician the
eldest boy generally went into poll
tics. # the father was a business
men the boy eventually took over
the business. That was the old or
der Of things.
| We are nation Of progressives,
| fortunately, and q new system has ar.
rived, -vocationa training. And New
Britain is among the first cities of.
/ the land to realize its worth
superintendent of public schools,
Stanley III. Holmes, is the man who
must be given credit for being among
the first to grasp a big opportunity.
He was ar-sighted enough to look
into the future and see the great BEN
eft to be derived from Shaping the
child's life work in the proper man
ner. The time to correct mistakes
is at the beginning, he believes. So,
instead of waiting until the boy has
finished the grammar school. he takes
him at the seventh and eighth grades.
and shows him an insight into the.
why and wherefore Of various things,
The child is then enabled to know
what he likes and does not like.
This is called pre-vocational train.
ing. At present the high school cur
riculum is made up of six trades
which the boys have an opportunity
Of seeing at first hand. These are
electricity, mechanics, carpentry,
painting, mechanical drawing. and,
jobbing. Under the latter term
various subjects are treated. Each
pupil Is given enough Of any one
study to enable him to decide what he
wants. If he is not inclined to fol-
low the manual labors, he selects the
straight academic course when he en-
ters the high school and there takes
up work to fit him. for professional
life
New Britain should evince great
pride in the pre-vocational work
being done by Mr.. Holmes The chill
dren Of this city are given advantages
unknown to previous generations.
They are taken at the proper age by
men and women competent of guild
ing their useful minds along the
proper paths. It is a great thing. At
present the boys are getting a little
more guidance than the girls, but this
will be remedied in time. The do
nestle sciences are about the main
studies available for the future
mothers, and they are shown some
things which will greatly benefit them
in the future.
Some genius discovered this latest
branch Of pedagogy While it is
new to us, some parts of it must have
been in vogue when men grew great.
otherwise, now, would the world have
gone along? It is the nature of the
individual to seek that which he de-
sires,-and he attains his ends much
quicker if the proper means are at
his disposal
Michael Angelo knew he wanted to
be painter. Thomas Edison inner
emily was an inventor. Had these
men, and others, not been encouraged
what a crime would have been per-
petrated. Poets are born, not made, =,
says the axiom. They can, however
be developed. And the New Britain
pre- vocational school which has been
in existence only six months will have
done a great work II it starts its
| pupils on the right road. There is
every reason to believe this will be
done,-for a child, once it realizes
the intrinsic workings of any voca-
ton will eventually grow to know in
what particular calling it belongs. I'm
der the guidance Of Stanley H.
Holmes, the youth of New Britain
should cut deep marks in the world Of
achievement.