Being useful

Title

Being useful

Language

English

Year

1916

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

EDITORIAL 65 TECHNICAL ENGLISH. Attention has often been directed in the columns of this magazine to the urgent necessity for pupils in industrial work acquiring a vocabulary in English that shall be sufficiently comprehensive to allow them to describe adequately the operations they perform and the materials used. Less has been said and written relative to the qualifications of industrial teachers in the matter of technical English. In many instances it has perhaps been taken for granted that the industrial teacher was as proficient in this respect as in his specialty, though such an assumption has often proved to be erroneous. A large majority of the teachers in charge of industrial branches are subscribers to such publications as “The Modern Priscilla,” “The Manual Training and Vocational Education Magazine,” "Popular Mechanics,” and “The School Arts Magazine.” It should become a habit and practice with teachers taking such magazines not only to read them discriminatingly, but to read with the idea of building up their vocabularies. If the context does not make clear the meaning of a word, it should be looked up in the dictionary. Too much cannot be said in favor of the “dictionary habit.” Herbert Spencer, the famous English scientist, recommended the dictionary as the “university” open to all comers; the extensive vocabulary of the poet Browning was due in a great measure to his familiarity with the dictionary and his fine appreciation of the exact meaning of much of its contents. Recent editions of standard dictionaries are so replete with illustrations and quotations giving the proper use of all words, that the teacher who bungles in his speech, or fails to use aptly the word or phrase required to express his ideas clearly, runs the risk of suffering a loss in his personal prestige as a teacher. BEING USEFUL. Two of the main objects in school industrial work are to train pupils to become proficient with their hands, and to prepare them so that they may be better able to cooperate in the economic and industrial development of their country. This underlying purpose can be considerably strengthened if teachers and pupils 66 THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN will keep in mind that opportunities presented to them for applying the practical instruction received in the school, are to be grasped and utilized. For instance, a schoolboy observes that the garden fence is falling to pieces, or that a bench in his home has a broken leg. His school training should at once lead him to make the necessary repairs. Similarly, the schoolgirl should be quick to restore articles to a serviceable condition. This helpful and earnest attitude of pupils with regard to matters of general as well as of individual interest is one of the most important traits which our public schools can develop. Such an attitude will also insure citizens who will take an interest in, and who will concern themselves actively about, matters of public welfare. As conditions exist in the Philippines, that teacher who leads his pupils to be ready to put their practical knowledge to useful purposes, will be of the greatest value to the school system and to his country. ARTICLES HF.LI) OVEK. Lack of space prevents the publication in this issue of a number of contributions. These are being held over for August. Among them are the reports on the division superintendents’ convention, and on the industrial conferences. The Dunwoody Industrial Institute, established in Minneapolis with a 1*6,500,000 endowment, the bequest of William Hood Dunwoody, proposes to adapt itself to the needs of the workers. A plan has been evolved which will enable students to divide their time between academic and technical instruction, and actual shop work. The classroom and shop work is to be standardized by the institute authorities and representatives from the trades, and no diploma will be granted before the student has passed a satisfactory test in the trade he has chosen. There will be evening classes for bricklayers, machinists, carpenters, printers, electricians, plasterers, painters, firemen, engineers, and bakers. In January and February the so-called dull season, day classes will be held in bricklaying, plastering, plumbing, and printing. “We expect,” declares Dr. Charles A. Prosser, director of the institute, “to turn out each year groups of young fellows well prepared for their work—boys of high ideals of life and workmanship, whose influence in the trades cannot be otherwise than wholesome.” (The Christian Science Monitor.)

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