Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-01-24
AS ONE WOMAN SEES iT
Girls In Local School for Vocational
Training Know How to Use Power
Machines and Also Turn Out
Worthwhile Hats
BY SARAH ID. LONyRIE

lVNu NJ ltUSI, NnPIIpr 10 Keep n nnlInn
thropc organization in private hands and
thereby, label it permanently as .'phian.
thropic' or to put it under public control
and thereby jeopardize 1t by making it
political, even IL IL escapes the odium Of
looking like charity to those who benefit
by it.
II YOU keep it in private hands you can
control the "private hands and to that
extent control the ideal toward which it is
working and the general tone Of its output.
III you put it into the keeping of the state
or court or municipality you tie your hands
Tor actually steering it. and while lesscning
your responsibility measurably, you also
ccrtail your authority completely.
HAVE been very curious as to the fate
of the experiment in vocational training
for girls down at the public school at Elev-
enth and Pine streets
Ii could have been made a very up. to-
dat", compact privately run school of prac-
tlce for girls i'll dressmaking and millinery,
turning out certain number of graduates
a year who would find a market for their
training in shops and factories. The fees
OF the scholars would not have paid the run
ning expenses by one third, but the large
deficit would have been made up by a sub
srription list. an occasional drive" or by
a rummage sale spring and fall. It would
nave had certain clientele of somewhat
dependant applicants. and its pupils and its
teachers would be on, of those isolated
wbicb ,b;s oit, ~ mt,.Js ~
this handicon nf ISOLATION bowevnr IL ,vonlj
have such model quarters and exhibits and
reports that il would bc known outside the
thropicallv minded visitors from otber cities
Nv PLACING II undcr tho amthoritv ~ tho
Board of Education and making it part OF
eyer The, ,commit+cc of ,voncn ,rbo ;nit;otsd
its nrganizot;nr ,rero ahiigoJ to nnStnnnn tHo
fuldllmcnt of manv of tHoir ideals for the
sake of the very real ADVANTAGE If making
the nubIic tbnt wos to honnft hT il rho nnhe
Iic that also s,.nnnr.oJ !, ~ ~ ' r"'
In other words instead Of =, fcv onivbt.
ened nersons font;nc its biIls rho whoio citv
foots its hills tbrom9b tho Hoard ~ Ednca.
tion but II has to nrovo to Tho Roord or
Education first thnt those hills arc iustifed
and in ordnr "a do tLis Il hoe 70 shnn rc
smlts-ond raonIor oS ,,cIi n. nuick roSmIts
both os to tia nnr,bcr oF nTniis avaiIin
Turned out nv Tho clo.sa. and ~" nns;tionS
gained and kept by the pupils after leaving
the school
NIoN, partly from habit. partly from the
~ general trend Of its school system, Phil.
adelpha has not been very enthusiastic
about vocational training Children who
pass successfully through the primary grades
are encouraged to take the Junior High
School course rather than specialize on
learning a trade or fitting themselves for
particular occupation. and the children who
go to work at fourteen without having
passed the higher primary grades and who
are pupils part time at the continuation
schools are not narticularlv encouraged to
take vocational training The idea seems to
be that part time in an ordinary school
course will fit them better for life than a
part time special course that would fit them
for particular trade
This being the general trend of opinion.
You can sec that a school attached to the
public school system that takes girls from
fourteen mn whether they have nassed
through all the grades of the primary school
or only got to the sixth grade. and special
ZCS on two narticular trades dresSmaknG
and millincry giving only part time to
ordinary school studies. English. mathc-
matirS history. ctc.-Such IL school has to
t Us way :;., ''''o .L '"oUo and ;tI tho
cmplovCrs Of children and of grown girls.
NL-IAT | wanted to find out was whether
w ,Lo Trodo. ScbooI for CirIs -. Pin,
ord E,invontE .troct. w.as rn,l.in, ,ooJ 'N'
T,hi. /, u.Lo. 7 fourJ. e
1hc rrirri,,n, Mis-. Rntb Sill knows bcr
h,imo.rs = n,,j !, an hor i"h ''' Nv
Shn L,a,r. Lor bmyi,1y hooors, sh am.
born onJ cLncatnd onj .tartcd ~ Rochostnr
Y vh;"L i a GOOD hcgirnirg FOR onv
IN to dot,' ',.orcor bocnu.o nftor .cron voors
"f snc"inl ,rnchine in Rochester shc won't
~ tho T"ocSrr.' t'oIInro IN Zow yorl; ~ in,
,r,,o,,r s .or.i,,, nnI nr,op;,oJ ,Lnt Io
,nrtu,nr, ho.ar.e Gmriro Sacnt;on. H. Eov.
n nhomL Inormirc thc bmsinnS. ",u Frorn ,%o %
nroducnrs' .tnnduHipt. because She wns
called to Toronto to the Technical School
established thcrc tho first wear Of the war
TO be NJ the hcad of .thc domestic art dc.
nartmcnr because She mndo good there ror
i've wears with alI the odds Of the wnr
against the >urcr,S of the school because
in the six months She had been head of the
Trade School for Girls in PHILADELPHIA She
Ind L,ilt nm n system among her tcIrhcrs
md nmnny thr ,uuils and among Tn" en-.
nInyers which. makes for good team play
which hns a nrprtirol goal visible to any IN
tcIIirent ohsrryrr and which has daiiy rc.
suIts Which even a casual visitor can see
and ernrui,c
TT Is to be hoped that she will not be
l trr,rtnd ny rho prrnter onuortuuirios or
some other school TO leave half accomnIishcr
thr bir uud ,bviously sensible MAN Tor this