Author . Title Imprint. "'bulletin of the WISCONSIN STAT !' BOARD OF INDUSTRi/xi rnnrATin NO, 6 Manual Artj PUBLIC SCHOOL MANUAL ARTS AN AGENGV FOR VOCATIONAL i-DUCATiON F. D. CRAWSHAW Professor of Mantial /Xrts. Tlie UniVP.rsitv of Wisr.onsi> MADISON ■•.fcssio)i or vocation. If there is any jyarticular place in the school process where pupils should be able to discover themselves, it is in the high school. As a rule, an individual is old enough upon leaving the high school to know what his real desire is concerning a future occupation. The high school work, therefore, should be so general — 14 — in its scope and yet so definite in its character as regards any par- ticular course, that the average boy finds himself before he finishes his junior high school year, if possible. His senior high school year should be used particularly to fit him either for active life work or college work. Now it is ray purpose to give an opinion upon the work of high school manual arts to make it more completely serve as a prepara- tion for tlie industries. Specialization in the High School Possibly we may be led to believe three things: First: The manual arts work of the first two years of high school should be both cultural and industrial in character and rep- resent as many fundamental mechanical activities as possible. It should be taken by all students. For those who must leave early to go to Avork there must be the opportunity for specialization. Second: The manual arts of the last two years, or at least the last year, of high school should be specifically industrial in char- acter and should be designed to serve particularly the needs of those who will enter vocational service on leaving the high school. Third: For those students who will enter college the manual arts work of the last two years of high school is not important. Other subjects in the high school curriculum are more valuable as a preparation for college work. We will consider specifically, now, the things which the high school may do to provide for the industries and discover, if possi- ble, if our three findings just enumerated ai'e sound. Let us organize our high schools on much the same basis as they are at present organized except that instead of considering the four years as a preparation for some further Avork we make the ]>reparatoi"y period run through the first two or three years only. During these years in the manual training and drawing work we will give the several subjects as broad an educational value as possible but at the same time have them so thoroughly industrialized that they will represent prectxe/i/ the existing indus- trial conditions. By so doing, pupils Avill become acquainted with actual conditions and appreciate in a measure what their future work will be, should they select as their chosen field any one rep- resented by the school courses. Now, in the fourth year, we will in a sense segregate those who will continue school work in colleges from those who will im- — 15 — mediately enter the industries upon their completion of the high school course. To this section in the senior year we will give a special course in the vocation to be followed in life. If it is pattern making-, al- low the boy to major, as we say in the university, in this subject. If the textile industry is his selection, let us be sure that the high school offers facilities in this field comparable with those of the industry. But in addition to the special line of work chosen we will give the pupil the advantage of the English, mathematics, his- tory, and science which will help him most in his future competition with others who are also textile industry workers but who have not had the advantage of the liberalizing influences of the school. It is possible that we shall be agreed upon the general contents of this thesis, but those of you who are scliool administrative officers will possibly criticise it on the ground of its being impos- sible from the standpoint of administration. For such 1 suggest this as a solution: The Co-operative Plan Permit the high school to cooperate with the manufactories and industrial establishments of the community, the school to continue to be the adjudicator of the academic work and the factory to supply the industrial conditions and adjust itself somewhat to the condi- tions of those of school age. Both at Fitchburg and Beverly, Mass., the cooperative plan is followed but there is this difference in its operation. In Fitchburg, the industrial work is done on alternate weeks in factories where a shop man acts as the teacher of the class from the high school. In Beverly the week about scheme is followed but here an in- structor in the high school is the instructor in the shop. He works upon shop projects and under shop conditions but he knows school conditions as well, and because of his knowledge of the limitations of boys he is able, doubtless, to serve them better than can the shop man. Then, too, he is a teacher and the shop man may not be. Again as he is in the shop one week and in the school the next he can effect a cooperation which otherwise is im- possible. It may be said, too, that his influence over boys of school age is likely to be better than that of the man whose speech and actions suggest the social limitations of average shop conditions. 16 — The Circuit Plan A second solution is this: — Organize within the small liig'h school manual trainin<4' and in- dustrial work Avhich shall be g-uided by some large centre; a nor- mal school, a large liig-h school, or the university. Let the direc- tor in this centre co(')i)erate both with the local school board and with the industries of the community in determining the kind of work to be introduced. Select some individual who will be com- petent to teach the course outlined and give him a circuit in which lie will have a sufficient number of schools to occupy his time. It seems to me that this idan should be much more feasible than tlie one which necessitates the manual arts work of the pupil to be done in a factory, because it provides for a more general super- vision and a control by several interests instead of one; also, be- cause the instructor would, in all probability, be selected partially because of his knowledge of school conditions, whereas the fac- tory instruction is likely to be given by a factory operative or an individual who will be unable to see the large problem and coih-- dinate the work of the shop with that of the school. A Necessity in Either Plan However this may be, one feature of either of the tAvo plans sug- gested should be emphasized as imperative, viz: Put the special work followed by the pupil in his senior year under the supervision of the leaders in the industry represented. I do not believe we shall ever get industrial conditions to obtain in the school if school men are permitted to organize the work of industrial courses, un- less they have had the special industrial training needed. On the other hand, I maintain that the executive heads in the school sys- tem must remain in general control. Germany and England give- us our best illustration of what can be done in this direction — by demonstrating the sanest kind of co«)peration between the school and the industrial leaders. General Summary Allow me just a closing word in summarizing the four most im- portant points which I have endeavored to make in this paper: First: Lower grade hand work should be given a prominent place in the curriculum but it should represent community activi- ties and therefore must have an industrial significance. — 17 — Second: An intermediate school to provide for those in the sev-- enth and eighth grades who now take advantage of their first op- portunity^ to leave school — the time when the state ceases to com- pel them to attend school, — should be established. Third: Organize one or more general high schools in a commu-- nity, instead of two or three special high schools. In this school during the first three years, compel all pupils to take at least a minimum amount of manual work which is both good manual training and good industrial work. Also provide for specializa- tion along industrial lines in the fourth year. Fourth: In case the r/eneral high school organization is not feas- ible or possible, pi-ovide for specialization in industrial work by a school-factory cooperation or by the circuit instructional method wherein supervision wall be obtained from recognized authorities representing both the school and industrial interests, and make provision for maintenance through an educational extension de- partment. In no sense have I intentionally made an arraignment against in- dustrial education or the Wisconsin Industrial Education Law. The schools which will be established under this law will serve a great need. They may be necessary also to arouse public school teachei-s and show them the opportunities afforded by present school machinery to serve similar or even the same ends that these- new schools will have. This paper was designed to make an ap- peal in this direction. ■)< ,isS|4,i -3^r ^<\