Smyrna times., 1935-05-30
TALK "HUMAN
ENGINEERING"
DIR. Charles M. Wharton Sees
a Potential Field in the
c c c Camps
POINTS GUT BENEFITS

al Director at the University of
Delaware, a resident of Dover and
former Smyrnian, has this con-
tribution in 1.-The Review" a paper
published by the Student Council:
Newark, home of the University
of Delaware Engineering School,
with many famous engineers on its
staff, is apt to forget that it also
has an outstanding exponent of an
other just as important, if not
more necessary, type of engineer
ing: Human Engineering. DIR.
Charles M. Wharton, head of the
department of Physical Education
and Health, despite the fact that
he holds degrees as Md. and DID.
S. should be most accurately term
ed a Human Engineer" Thomas
Edison once said: Problems in HUI
man Engineering will, in the fu-
ture, receive the same genius that
the last century gave to engineer
ing in more material FORMS" And
is is in this all important field that
DR.. Wharton has been one of the
pioneers Just what it includes is
practical, healthful guidance in
matters of health, success, and
happiness. Never before has the
need been so great; never before
has there been quite so definite
need for usable advice and counsel.
AS one of the directors of the Per-
sonnel Department at the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania until just a
few years ago, he helped thousands
of youths to settle all sorts of
problems that were perplexing
them, and guided them on to bet
ter enjoyment of life. This bust
ness of human engineering is not
all a matter of mind over matter.
The first question is physical one.
An unhealthy person cannot be a
really happy one. The first ap-
proach is a compete physical exam
ination of the subject. In many
cases, the person is found to be un-
dernourished, from scientific
point of view, or even suffering
from some definite physical all
ment This is given immediate at
tention. However, in many cases,
there is no physical ailment or
! drawback. 1t is then necessary to
go a bit further and check the cap
abilities and talents of the sub
pect A boy with a limited men
tality may have gotten into college
by really driving himself all the
way through high school. How
ever, when he runs into really COM
plex work, he can't quite make the
grade, and might be a lot better off
using some mechanical ability
which might be his, and which
might make him potentially high
ly skilled craftsman of type
which is growing increasingly rare
and necessary because of the cur
rent popular distaste for all but
white-collar jobs It is the place Of
the Human Engineer to get to the
root of all this and explain to the
subject just what are his limita-
tions and his abilities. He must be
made to see that mechanical intel
ligence is Of just as high type as
ability to grasp more abstract sub
jects, and that certainly no stigma
can be attached to his making a
4 success Of himself in one field when
he would have been a deplorable
mediocrity at best in the other. All
the problems are not as serious as
these. Sometimes there are small
difficulties perplexing the late adol-
escent that disappear almost as
quickly as they are talked over
with sympathetic and intelligent
listener. There are questions such
as whether or not it is advisable to
take a lower grade and go out for
sports or wait year and build up
a better scholastic background OF
whether to wait year and put on
mutt anu dsc4b IAAN
danger Of injury in the more siren
uous sports, and the thousands OF
other little problems that loom SC
large when they seem 50 new and
: individual but lose much of their
sting when it becomes apparent
: that they have to be faced by
every one in the process of growing
up. Some of these human engin-
. eering methods of Dr. Wharton
could be used to good advantage in
the training of the thousands OF
: youths now being taken into the
; Civilian Conservation Corps. Tc
take these boys into the corps fol
/ six months or a year, to subject
r them to haphazard instruction, an6
} then to turn them loose again is tc
| defeat the entire aim of the pro.
gram, if it intends to develop these
individuals into useful citizens
/ With a small, capable staff it
, would be possible to determine just
what kind of work each boy is best
, fitted for and to develop him along
, those lines. Certain groups will be
, willing and anxiOuS for real edlI.