The Hope pioneer., 1922-12-14
VOLUME AZ. No. 80
PUBLIC SCHOOLS SHOULD TEACH
VOCATIONS, SAYS "A. @. PRO-
PESSOR

Vocational education should be
given more attention in grade and
high schools, according to %. H.
Aones, professor of agricultural edu-
cation at the A. c., who points out
taht barely u percent OF all Ameri-
can young people enter college and
less than half graduate, while a
large marjority attended school until
at least their 14th year and big
percentage OF these at least enter
high school. DR.. Jones discusses the
vocational situation in College and
State" an A. G. publication.
Because North Dakota is funda
mentally an agricultural state, there
is great future in practical agri-
culture courses for high schools, he
believes, as provided under the
Smith Hughes act, a law authoriz-
ing federal subsidy to all schools
that accepted provisions for carrying
on vocational education. At abou.
the time the act was passed, Nortl
Dakota authorized agricultural higs
schools and county agricultural
schools.
Lig Opportunities
''In state whose industry is pre-
dominately agriculture" Professor
Jones says, "the needs of agricultural
end home economic training as we'll
rs Industrial vocational education
offers a field of exceptional oppor
tunity in the development of this
sparticular work.
although the high schools are az
rapidly as possible endeavoring tc
meet the requirements and are es
ta0lishing full four-year courses IL
agriculture and home economics, il
will remain for the short courses of
three, four and five months for q
period of one, two Or three winters.
for short unit courses of at least "A
hurs Or for four, five and six weeks
duration, and Tor evening schoo
courses, to accomplish the best work
1or the first few years. A large per-
cent of our young people, we mus;
remember, do not finish more than
the fifth OF sixth grade in the com
mn schools. Likewise, large pro
portion of the ycS,lA. people who are
t,,t~ :r,%D So,
agriculture and home economics are
unable Oh account of a lack of fl
nances or time to be away from the
home during the growing season.
This necessitates the short dull sea
son course as we'll as the short uni,
courses. In many instances this con-
dition is really a blessing in dis
guise, for it facilitates the supervised
home project which every student in
Smith Hughes work must carry on
Tor period of at least six months
each year.
''The supervised home priject, su-
. pervised by the instructor, calls for
12 months term of agricultural in
struction in order that the instructor
may not only teach the principles
and science of agriculture, but may
also mingle with the young men on
their home farms, get acquainted
, with their parents and see that they
carry out a home project illustrating
problems studied in the classroom
The project is done on farm and
in earring it out a throughgoing
educational process is involved.
Under the home project plan, the
instruction is adapted to the kinds
of farming prevalent in the districts
where the work is established. The
projects are thus suoject to the same
obstacles encountered under the
given district, and are also aided by
the influences in state which seeks
to improve it's farming. The force
and value of the work is felt by the
parents. The struggle with realities
especially, wins their admiration and
rspect They feel that the agricul.
tural instructors are competent and
unafraid.