New Britain herald., 1916-02-10

School as an Aid to Vocational Guid- ance was taken up for discussion at
 the High school this morning. Prin- cipal l.. P. Slade was chairman and
 addresses were delivered by Superin-
 tendent Stanley H. Holmes of this
 city and Lewis H. Carris assistant
 commissioner of education at Trenton,
 N. J. The Vocational High School,
 Its Relation to the Trade School was discussed by F. H. Beebe, superintend- ent of the New Haven schools and Egbert F. McNary, director of indus trial training at Springfield Mass.
 Mir. Holmes Address.
 In his discussion of the PrevocatiOn-
 al school, Superintendent Holmes had
 frequent recourse to the work that is
 being done in this city. He cited
 both the advantages and the obiec- tiOns raised to industrial education and quoted from the statement of the
 president of the American Federation
 of Labor at Richmond, Va, to prove that organized bor is not against
 industrial training provided it is not used to exploit labor and it's aims are not perverted to wrongful ends. MT. Holmes address in part follows: 'I have an idea that we would all agree aS lO the neeO TOT VOCdC1Onal guidance and as to the purposes to be accomplished by it. #
 'Ir1 very excellent article in the
 January, 1915, number of Manual
 Training and Vocational Education
 magazine, MT. H. D. Kitson defines the aims of vocational guidance as fCl- lows: 1. 10 give every individual a chance to attain his highest efficiency | under the best conditions it is humanly possible to provide. ?. To secure a better ultimate adjustment to life
 work. 3. To arouse vocational ambi-
 tion serious thinking as to the life
 career and a dissemination of voca-
 tional knowledge.
 "A study of the history of this mod . ern movement for vocational guidance
 reveals several types of vocat tional guidance WOrk-each based upon e different theory.
 "One of these types confines itself to the giving of advice to boys and girls
 in the selection of a life work It as- sunes a native capacity present in
 each individual for a particular kind of work in preference to anything else.
 As a general thing a series of tests
 psychological, and psychological is given and taken together with srth sociological and economic data may be available. Positive advice is given as to the correct choice of vocation. The case is diagnosed and ihe pre- scription is compounded
 Needless to say that this has failed to fulfill it's promises in most cases. "It is open to serious objection be- cause it is not possible to determine in this way the capacity of the indi- Vidual to improve by practice, since individuals vary greatly in capacity for training. It ignores the fact that ! many individuals may have capacity for training to do well a number of
 difficult things. In fact the great ma jority of persons arc undoubtedly of that type which has a fair endowment of capacity but no marked capacity in any particular line.
 Another type of vocational guidance proceeds upon the theory that i1.di- vidual interest should control in the choice of a life career If this were true no vocational advisor would be needed. AS matter of fact it is the
 variety of interests that many per sons have that makes them the most difficult subjects for vocational guid- ance. In such a case personal ctOire
 must finally prevail after such knowl edge as to the nature and desirability of different occupations has been sup piled through information or expcri- ence. still another type of 5ocat;orGl Continued On Tenth Page.)