Norwich bulletin., 1917-03-20

 bar of Commerce by the committee on vocational education appointed by the chsmber in their report. which was mailed out in booklet form to the | by the secretary. Tho report is to be acted upon at the meeting of the chamber on Friday evening of this week. For reasons set forth in their would seem to be unwise 70 raise at th.s time the question Of instituting in Norwich a strictly vocational school In part the report follows:
 Acting under the instructions given us by the special meeting of the Chamber of Commerce held Jan. 2eth, the members of the committee on vo- cational training have studied with emphasize the importance of a closer adaptation Of the work of the schools of all grades to the needs and capaci- ties of the boys and girls enrolled as pupils.
 The general status of the educa- tional system of America a dozen years ago was not unfairly described in the
 report of a commission of German ed- ucational experts who visited this country in 1904. 4 careful study was made of the public schools in many sections of the United States and in paI ticular of the school exhibits at the St. Louis exposition. On their return to their own country lhe commission
 reported that they had found America
 abounding in resources. filled with en-
 ergetic, quick witted people who would have to be reckoned with sooner or
 later in their commerc' al and trade re-
 lations with foreign countries But
 their report .:mphasized this conclu-
 sion, that the educational institutions
 of America were so deficient in oppor-
 Entities for vocational training that
 Gel many need have no fear of the
 competition of America for years to
 come
 Opposition from Two Sources.
 -4t first the movement for the intro
 duction of vocational training in the
 public schools encountered opposition
 from tw osources; from the more con
 servative members of the community,
 who chung tenaciously to the tradi-
 tiCnaf conception of a general eduCa-
 tion,' and from the labor organiza-
 tions. This opposition has greatly lessened and will altogether disappear as the facts in the case become gener- ally known.
 The statistics gathered by the Ge- pa-tment of education at Washington have shown that of the children Of school age 92 per cent. attend ele1nen
 tary schools, per cent. attend high schools and academies, about per cent.-attend colleges and schools for professional and technical training. The importance to the community of the class last named, though forming l. 0 u, is not in question. F~om this class must come those to whom we look for leadership in science and the profes- sions. It is obvious, however. that if we are true to the principles of our democracy the interests of those who cannot avail themselves of this higher training must never be overlooked. Turning our attention: to those en- rolled In the elementary schools, iC ap- pears that nearly two thirds of the entire number end th%:r school work berore or by the close of the sixth grade; that is, as soon as they have completed the years within which ed- ucatIon is compulsory in this country. A careful study of the cause of this exodus at the close of the sixth grade 1 reveals the fact that very large pro- portion of those who end their school | experience at this time do so not un- der the pressure of necessity. Many ass for their working papers, not be- | cause their families are unable or un- willing to continue them in school, but | because the work of the schools has promise of practical assistance to them | in earning a Livelihood If we follow | the large number of boy and girls who l leave school without completing the | grammar grades to seek employment, we discover that the character of the l work they do is seldom the result of | choice. They avail themselves of such l openings as they may discover and |
 
 weekly wage. Entirely untrained, with | no definite objective, they shift from | place to place, and investigation has shown that they make little progress In skill or in money earned.
 Adjustment of Public School Courses.
 Confronted by these facts, that but a cry small proportion of those in att tendance upon the public schools will 1 go beyond the grammar grades, and ath4f those 6of close of the grammar grades are as a rule unprepal ed to make their way in the world, school authorities in all the more progressive centers throughout the country have been seeking for such an adjustment of the courses of tered in the public schools as shall 1 better serve the needs of the pupils in the grammar grades.
 This committee was instructed by the vote of the Chamber of Commerce to study the problems of vocational | Very early in our investi- sat1ons it became apparent that the we must concern ourselves m Norwich nave to do with. boys and girls who oy reason of their immaturity. both physical and mental, are not prepared 70 undertake specific vocational train ng. The changes i1nperatfvely de- handed by the conditions we face have -o do with the ideals and the meth 'ds Of instruction in the sixth, seventh ln4 CAGutH SIdQGG. 1nG SCnOOlS visit | . d by your committee furnish a strik- ng exemplihcation of the value of what is often described as pre-voca- ional work. As the name indicates. he pre-vocationa1 courses do not seek O teach trades Their aim is to make 'oys and girls familiar with the use of oo1s and with processes which are , oliowed in the trades. As a rule only i land tools are used. These courses ! re not looked upon as mere additions ] o the general system Of education of- : cred in the schools. They constitute ; very definite and vital part of that ystem- The work done in the classes , n household arts and manual training 3 very definitely related to the work 1, one in the regular classes of the r ixth. seventh and eighth grades. Not f nly Is there training for both mind 2 nd hand; these forms of education : 7hich we have been accustomed to |. ,ok upon as distinct one from another re closely interwoven , When fully developed as in schools isited by your committee the new ystem offers to the pupils of the sventh and eighth grades the opportu- ttV of a varied frafuiur. Fnr fhai