Central High School - Cog N Pen Yearbook (Newark, NJ)

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life to the commercial students. Nevertheless, thor- oughness, accuracy, and neatness must be required in all the work done for the school. A proper apprecia- tion of the above trinity, thoroughness, accuracy, neat- ness, will prove helpful to commercial students in their business experiences. [he glamour of business attracts many people io- wards a business career. To the casual observer of large affairs bysiness seems a simple, attractive propo- sition. Yet many of us forget that the rules of busi- ness advancement are governed by common sense and are based strictly on individual merit. It is ihe duty of schools to teach this fact. No one should enter upon a business career who has not either personally or through a psychologist or employment manager as a judge, had himself carefully considered and appraised as to his qualifications for business. All schools should advise misfits in commercial work to enter courses of study only for which they find themselves naturally fitted. Should this procedure of selective advisement be generally followed in all schools, the labor turnover in business would be greatly reduced as much of this turnover is due to the unsuitability of labor to the duties often assumed by workers. Sincere psychologists in the schools could remedy much of this trouble by proper vocational guidance. These psycho- logists. or otherwise properly instructed and qualified should teach pupils of the schools such rudimentary principles of personal psychology as would enable them to better understand the men and women with whom they come in contact in salesmanship, be it of self or of materials. ‘The school must develop a power of initiative, to be aroused, stimulated, guided and employed for the mutual advantage of both employer and employee. It can do this by encouraging boys and girls to think constantly for the interests of the school and for them- selves. 7 In many schools throughout the country there have been appointed by the school authorities, deans for girls. I have always felt that our boys should also systematically have the benefit of the experience of broad-minded men of affairs or others qualified to guide and inspire them to the fullest appreciation of business ethics and conduct and its many ramifications. Such men could and women could help in fixing in the young mind of our day the homely and old-fashioned principles of business honor which underly business success. At the present time there is a decided shortage of the higher types of clerical and industrial help. A similar condition also prevails in the ranks of manual labor. Therefore, it is the duty of the schools to step into the breach to train and supply for all of these fields workers who have been as systematically, thor- oughly and carefully prepared for business as have been prepared the teachers who were trained for work in the field of general education. The school must furnish through an iron-clad dis- cipline, tampered with sympathy and understanding of adolescent pupils, a training in the ability of taking orders and executing them without knowing the reason for the orders and without being permitted to question them. Strict, prompt, and unquestioned obedience must become the second nature of the novitiate in business to insure success. The discipline іп the schools must, therefore, be strict and thoughtful in every department of instruction. Strong charactered types of manliness and womanliness, and of genuine sympathy should preside over each subject taught in the school. Furthermore, the personel of the teaching staff must be composed of individuals who by ex- ample and precept stand for the best effort of stu- dents and who have a working knowledge of how the deed is best done, namely to force pupils through an appreciation of the ideals of strict discipline, to do well for their future employers and for themselves. THERE ARE MANY REASONS WHY YOUNG MEN SHOULD STUDY SHORTHAND The value of any subject as a study is measured by the power it develops in the pupil to think, to plan, and to execute; the degree of vigor, poise and alert- ness in mental activity which it produces. Judged by this standard alone, the posibilities of mental discipline involved in the training received by the shorthand stu- dent are without a doubt very great. Exact thinking is developed by insisting upon accurate outlines, artistic shorthand penmanship, and good useable transcripts. Exact thinking can only be developed by intense con- centration. Taking dictation requires a concentration scarcely equalled by any other high school subject. During this process the mind cannot wander and n either can the hand cease its action. Furthermore, the memory is strengthened for the mind must retain many words of the dictator while writing others. In the process of transcribing his notes the student be- comes his own critic, his own proof reader as it were, and for discipline in practical English there is perhaps nothing better than proof reading. And so his daily work acts as a corrective in spelling, punctuation, cap- italization, syllabication and paragraphing. The pos-

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sibilities for increasing his vocabulary also are marvel- ous. It would seem then that the study of shorthand from the standpoint of its educative value is a highly desirable one to pursue, but in addition to this its commercial value has never been questioned. Big business men today require efficient helpers. The stenogapher who can make himself eyes and cars for an able man is in a pretty good position to be pro- moted to that man's post. Dozens of instances could be told of big business men who began their business careers as stenographers. You have all heard the story of Frank A. Vanderlip, president of the biggest bank in America; he was stenographer and secretary to Lyman Gage, a business man who became U. 5. Secretary of the Treasury. George B. Cortelyou too, was a stenographer and got most of his education tak- ing a business course. If these instances seem far re- moved from the realm of the high school student he has only to look nearer him for an inspiration and he will find Mayor Martens of East Orange who started as a stenographer. Probably there are many men in Newark who began on the very lowest rung of the ladder as stenographers. There is no promotion for the stenographer who is satisfied to write out letters and lay them on the em- ployer's desk; there is much more to be done before the transaction is completed and it is the work of the stenographer to see that it is accomplished. He should be not only a stenographer, but also an executive and the more he knows of history, science, and current events the better, for he will find an opportunity to use everything he knows. “Тһе price of success, says Elbert Hubbard, “is work, and he who renders a great service will receive a great return.” When you read this issue of ihe Pivot, ihe time for another Commencement will be drawing near, and in the class that will be graduated there will be a number of stenographers. In passing, it is well to note that their training has only just begun. Their real education will come when they are face to face with the responsibilities of their first job, for education is not merely knowledge, it is the development of power which comes from meeting the demands of a situation and considering facts and incidents in relation to the business as a whole. If you will take the time to look over our list of graduates, you wil! discover one very noticeable fact; it is that only one young man who will go out as a graduate has completed a shorthand course. And this should rightfully lead to the question: Why do not more young men take up this course which offers such great possibilities in the business world? When a young man goes to work in a business or- ganization, he will learn the business in a more in- timate way, through writing and reading the letters of his superior, than many another employee could, and when he has achieved advancement to the job higher up his training will not stop there, even if he no longer makes use of the tool by which he gained his promotion. He will not measure his success by the value of the technical details which he has learned, for these will be of advantage to him only in the line of business in which he is engaged, but the mental training which he has gained will beneht him no matter where he works. His stenographic skill has only been the means of bringing him to the attention of the man who can place him in the way of higher and better things. Executives who were formerly stenographers agree that the greatest benefit to be derived from do- ing stenographic work well lies in the ability to meet emergencies. If young men understood properly the possibilities of this field of endeavor, would they not be more in- clined to elect shorthand training as a part of their high school course ? CONSOLATION TO SENIORS A boy once by a Chem lab passed, And heard a teacher's voice Speak to a boy the things he said To him seemed rather choice. So you've been cutting, he said to him. The poor boy answered “уез”; “It’s just you kind of chaps,” said he, “That make this school a mess.” Now what's your idea of cutting? he said, “Do you thınk you can do as you will? I'm afraid you will find it quite different, When you come to pay the bill.” “I think ГЇЇ be rather lenient though, Since I see it's your first offence ; So I'll give you a week in 108 “Them Days are Gone Forever.” To think of the consequence. —Bill Miller.