Standish High School - Crimson Rambler Yearbook (Standish, ME)

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-X - Y f l ' lr ,L I 'nur' , , ,- Q as 3,9 t j-4 -ef .5 : if , ,Vg 5 S , .i ,Le ' f f' F Q if K5 ff M 'I .Q P 6?j,g QQQQ ' fi VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE The youth of today in choosing an occupation faces a far more difficult task than the youth of yesterday. Formerly, it was possible to obtain a so-called general education and to thereafter find a use for it in whatever occupation one pursued. But since the turn of the century, life has become increasingly complicated. Specialization is essential and competition is keen. It is no longer feasible to first wget an education' and thereafter choose an occupation by the trail and error method. Therefore, it becomes necessary for the student to make one of the most important decisions of his life during his high school days while he is Cwhether he thinks so or not! immature and inexperienced. We have often heard it said that in choosing a life work one should be guided by his desires, that one can do best what he likes best to do. It is not as simple as that. Unfortunately, a person is 'seldom endowed with a temperament, ability, and personality to succeed at the occupation which he admired in his youth. Perhaps the field in that particular occupation is seriously overcrowded, perhaps it is an occupation requiring a large investment of capital which is not avail- able, or it may be an occupation at which only the proverbial none man in a thousandu can succeed. Most boys like to play baseball, yet only a few who are truly outstanding can be successful as professional ball players. It may be that an interest in baseball coupled with an ability to write vigorously and clearly may point to the possible occupation of a sports reporter. It is not enough to find something that the student likes and can do well. There must be a demand for the service which he is to render to society, to wit: a market for what he has to sell. The complicated and vital problem of choosing a vocation has not received the attention it deserves. The course in Occupations given at Standish High School is a step in the right direction but much more is needed. This problem demands the serious study andeooperation of the student, parents, school, and prospective employers. It is per- haps the point at which the next important advance in our education system should be made. W SIMON W. MOULTON

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Why don't we have a fire drill? It certainly is necessary. I suppose one reason is because of the lack of time. 'But, we are able to take time out for such things as magazine campaigns, movies, and prac- ticing cheers. And isn't it just as important to learn what to do in case of fire? Wouldn't it be time well spent if it prevented the loss of lives? Visualize a fire in the school building at present. The students are all excited and are making a rush for the door and the stairs. Some are getting knocked down and trampled on. In this confusion it would take twice as long for everyone to get out. Now, on the other hand, imagine a fire in the school building after there had been numerous fire drills. The students would be more calm, each person knowing exactly what to do. They would take their time and file out of the burning building to safety. We are fortunate, however, in having the school building and the busses equipped with new fire-extinguishers. We are-grateful for these but we are also wondering how many of the students know how to use them. i' 1' Evelyn Mayberry, '40 I ,Ili ll pn- 11 Q-UR qgpasrs or srupg Standish High School offers to its students a choice of four coursesg college preparatory, English, commercial and general. The purpose of the college preparatory course is, as its name states, to adequately prepare those who plan to go on to some higher ' institution of learning, its requirements being four years of English, four years of Latin, three of French, two of mathematics and three of ' general science, physics, chemistry, or biology, while American History, Geography, World History, American Government, Civics, and Occupations are grouped under the heading of social sciences. . The English course, similar to the college quires the same subjects, with the exception of college preparatory course, four years of Latin requirement is only two years, leaving one free sciences. preparatory course, re- Latin. Whereas in the is required, the English to study one of the The commercial course prepares students who wish to make their way in the business world, preparing them to be stenographers, secretaries, clerks, bookkeepers, or to hold similar positions of a clerical nature. In this course one may become proficient in arithmetic, bookkeeping, law, economics, shorthand, and typing, and also have an opportunity to study three sciences. The general course, designed for those nature of their future occupation, allows a order that they may be prepared to meet any equal ease. Next year we hope to be able to add to who have not decided the wide range of subjects in type of occupation with our present program, home economics, which I am sure will prove immensely popular as well as educational. , u A 'M