Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1921-04-28

In the Detroit (Michigan) Journal
of Education, Miss Maude Maxwell
Munroe, daughter of Mrs Ward Mum
roe, Baraboo discusses Commercial
Education in Secondary Schools" Miss
Munroe is a member of The faculty
Of the Wilkins High School OF Com
merce in Detroit and is esteemed as
one of the most efficient workers in
the institution. After giving the
scope of such an education she tells
of the work being done in the Wilkins
school, one of the foremost in the
country. The article is too Ions to be
reproduced here but, quoting frola the
article. Miss Munroe's idea of such
an education is given as follows:
Since the beginning of the World
War there has been a great awakening
of interest in commercial education
This has been especially evident in
the secondary schools, where more
drastic changes have been made in
the last seven years in courses of
study than in all the preceding years
of it's history. Before this time, com
mercial education was really an ex-
pertinent, regarded by many as an
academic preparation instead of an
active equipment for entrance into
bus ness life. So great has been the
progress in broadening the courses of
study to fit. the needs of increasing
numbers of boys and girls, that today
we may look forward with great con-
fidence to a field of usefulness almost
undreamed of at the beginning Of the
war.
The United States is at the pres
ent time an industrial and commercial
nation engaging ON large scale in
foreign commerce. The boys and girls
Of today will be the men and women
of tomorrow, who will carry on this
world trade, and develop and rebuild
those countries whose industrial pro-
gress will date from the re-establish-
ment of peace. Careful training is
without question necessary if these
young people are to be prepared to
take up this great task.
According to a report of the Com
mission on the Reorganization of Sec
ondary Education, appointed by the
National Education Association, there
were in 1919, half a million young peo-
pie pursuing secondary commercial
studies in the United States; and
more than one-fourth of all the pu-
pills attending secondary schools are
taking commercial studies. The num-
Der of pupils taking commercial edu-
cation courses has grown out OF all
proportion to the increase in popula-
ton or total increase in attendance
on secondary schools.
It was not until about 1880 that the
public high schools offered courses ii
commercial education. Up to this
time private schools, conducted main
ly for profit. and with but limited
scope for instruction, afforded the on
ly means of commercial education.
These private schools grew out OF
schools of penmanship, followed by
bookkeeping, commercial arithmetic,
spelling, 1etter-writing and business
English. Then came the improve
ment of the typewriter, and typewrit-
ing and stenography were added to the
branches of commercial ledueAtionlj
These two branches have perhaps re-
ceived undue emphasis because of the
material results from which the young
student could profit.
At first the tendency of the high
schools was to duplicate the instruc-
ton of the private schools; but as the
colleges and universities gradually es-
tablished commercial schools, and the
European countries exerted an inf1u-
ence more liberal and scholastic, the
secondary school curricula were reor-