Maple Avenue Evening High School - Progress Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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trades and vocations. What higher or more genuine culture can there be than that acquired by a study of the origin and composition of materials and their uses, of the evolution of mechanical processes and methods of con- struction and the invention and manufacture of the tools and instruments used? Going hand in hand with these is the study of mathematics and applied sciences. Indeed, this cultural aspect of vocational education is the one that is most emphacised at the present time. It is the attitude of disdain toward labor and of looking upon the trades as merely a means of earning a liveli- hood and forgetting the great quality of service rendered, that has produc- ed that hopeless spirit, that lack of pride in their respective trades on the part of so many artisans, that demoralization of industry, which has caused employers all over this country to turn to the public institutions of educa- tion and plead for a comprehensive system of vocational education and trade extension training that will combine skill and culture by showing that any knowledge worth while is knowledge of the things that give and have given the maximum of service to mankindg that will engender a pride in his chosen trade on the part of the artisan so that he will strive to excel and, taking pride and pleasure in his work, prosecute it with skill and vigor to the greater glory of God and service of mankind. Yes, there certainly is a cultural side to vocational education. 1 I Orchestra Class Page Fifty-nine

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termined by the ends in View but with the adult we have a different set of circumstances. Must Be Democratic Adult education is essentially co-operative in character and must be based upon democratic principles. It should afford opportunity for devel- opment of that power which will enable the students to understand and help in the solution of the common problems of society and better fit them for the responsibilities of membership in political, industrial and social agencies and activities. It should satisfy the desire for fuller personal development and compel recognition of the value of human personality. To be truly democratic adult classes should be as self-governing com- munitiesiwith freedom of teaching and discussion, the responsibility of the students for the conduct and success of the class not smothered by over- regulation. The workers themselves, through whatever organizations they may have, should be 'adequately represented on bodies administering adult education. The problem is not how to get the articulate workers to absorb the cul- ture of a higher social class but how to enable them to evolve a culture of their own. There will be elements common to both. What is needed, however, is that the artisan and worker should enrich the world with a cul- ture woven out of their own deep experiences of life. While it is true that learning has much to bestow upon labor it is equally true that it has much to gain from labor's peculiar knowledge and experience and its interpretations of history and society. It has been ob- jected that vocational training is narrow, common and more or less exigent and provides no beginnings for cultural development. This attitude has retarded progress in vocational effort. It presupposes castes and favorites in society and paints culture as a degree only to be attained by fortunate onespof high birth and financial means that exempts them from the neces- sity to labor and makes it possible for them to gain a higher education. This Earth and Labor Furnishes All V The truth of the matter is that every fundamental, every vehicle and tool and physical aid of art and science and invention is supplied by this old earth and the intelligent application of labor and every inspiration is derivedfronr a contemplation of the earth and planets and the love of ser- vice to mankind. . This being so the proper kind of vocational education must contem- plate cultural development as well as skill and advanced training in the Page Fifty-eight

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Training for Service By C. J. McCORMICK Former member of School Board HE right to receive an education is guaranteed to every child in the State of California. For the benefit of those adults who did not exercise that right, often thru conditions over which they had no control, and who later realized the need of education, ia new form of in- struction has been provided known as the Evening School which is especial- ly arranged for the benefit and convenience of those engaged during the day at their regular duties and who desire to improve themselves through study of the subjects pertaining to the work in which they are particularly interested. The idea proved a success, but there was still a need for a different form of class workg an extension of the methods of teachingg an addition of subjects - something that would bring to the student a thorough idea of practical service and afford opportunity to work with the hands as well as the head and thus attain a practical and technical knowledge of doing things that would assist him in his life work. Educators were quick to grasp the possibilities of such a system with the result that Vocational Training was added to the curriculum and has been extended until it is now possible for one to receive a course of in- struction in any trade or occupation that one may choose. The leading educators of the country fand the school system of Los Angeles was one of the first to realize the importance of such trainingj are fast coming to the belief of President Eliot of Harvard that all schools should teach pupils how to do things instead of how to talk about them . We have in this day advanced to the place where we look back in amuse- ment at the folks of the olden days who used to cover' their hands as a sign that they did no manual work. The man who does not work to-day - who does not render service to his fellow man - is looked upon as a para- sitei . .Page Sixty A i ' '