Chester High School - Annual Yearbook (Chester, PA)

Page 31 text:

MEN AND MACHINES In a modern buff-colored brick and hollow tile building, equipped with the latest and best in machinery, future artisans of America are preparing to become skilled patternmakers, elec- tricians, and machinists. These are the three trades in which the vocational curriculum offers training for a period of three years. Students are selected from those who chose shop in the general course. The boys are subjected to an aptitude test before being accepted, and only those with both manual and mental ability are considered. Because the standards of the department are high, seniors may well be congratulated. The thorough training is recognized by the industries, who quickly employ most, if not vocational graduates.

Page 33 text:

THE MANUAL SKILLS Or general with shop. Here a boy who intends to enter the industrial course spends h s freshman year, for it is from this group that boys for the vocational department are chosen. As a freshie, the student spends a period of nine weeks in each of four shops: printing, woodwork, sheet metal, and mechanical drawing. It is in these shops that the vocation to which the individual's abilities may best be adapted is discovered. Subjects dealing with science, English, and mathematics are also taught, thus giving the student a broad education while he acquires an appreciative understanding of tools, materials, and processes as they are used in the industrial field. Those who continue the general with shop curriculum must complete sixteen major units in order to graduate. These boys also are qualified to fill important positions in industry, and many graduates are now working in local plants and factories.