Editorial

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Part of Philippine Craftsman

Title
Editorial
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English
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EDITORIAL. In order to administer the industrial work of our schools in accordance with governmental regulations, it is necessary fo1· those in charge of vocational work to pay particular attention to various kinds of cards. Property cards must ~~:~~.' Reeorn be kept accurately in order to keep a proper accounting of every item of Government property. Library cards are kept in accordance with the system adopted by the National Library Association to keep track of all library books. Job cards are carefully maintained, in order to have an unquestionable record as to the material output of the shop, farm, or domestic-science department. Record cards are also kept to show the standing of the pupil in his studies. A comparison between the cards kept as property or money records and those kept as pupils' records will show the most casual observer that the former, in most cases, are much more complete than the latter. Apparently, this state of affairs indicates that the world-old story of placing property rights above personal rights is being repeated in our school system. This, however, is not the case. The completeness of the property record springs from the fact that the property handled is government property and its slightest misappropriation entails very serious results. The pupils' records showing the vocational work accomplished have naturally been based upon those used in the recording of academic progress. For example, in academic work a grade of 80 per cent in first-year algebra is a sufficient record to give any academic teacher a fait· idea of what the pupil has accomplished. A grade of 80 per cent in first-year woodwork, however, does not signify very much. The system used at the Central Luzon Agricultural School, as illustrated on pages 596 and 597, is a step in the right direction toward the keeping of a real record of the pupil's industrial achievements. Such a system shows at a glance the various branches of the vocation which the boy has mastered. It helps to overcome the invariable tendency of an industrial teacher to keep a pupil upon that line of work in which he is most proficient so as to produce the greatest material results for the school. The study of its use and application is recommended to all who believe that the personal record is of even more importance than the property record. 633 634 THE PH!UPPJNE CRAFTSMAN The history of the development of nations shows that, by the creation of new industrial problems, man is ever modifying his environment, which change influences the habits of man, Ar rleultuul Education. increases his intelligence and causes the forces of nature to act and counteract until the whole trend of man's existence is constantly upward. While new sciences have been evolved and new occupations opened up, the process of material development of all nations in modern times has been largely in agricultural education-in the bringing forth of new foods for man, beast, and plant, and in so changing the habits of old plants that they are worth to the world much more than in their original form. Likewise it has been said that the feeding instinct is the great motive power that drives all life and that makes all living things active. This desire that all possess has for ages sent not only adventu1·ers and settlers across wide unknown seas and settled the fertile districts of the world but also impelled nations to war. It is also an instinctive and entirely human impulse because, with the body poorly nourished, the child is listless in the schoolroom, the statesman dull in managing the government and the worker unable to gain results in the field or factory. With this natural law always in force agricultural education needs to be emphasized in all countries, for with increased trans· portation facilities for both men and products fertile land cannot long remain unused. The progress of the world refuses to recognize such dormant rights and where a nation wishes to retain her fertile fields for her own people she must till them. Thus agricultural education goes on in older countries to preserve the soil fertility and still obtain increased results, and in newer communities to place the soil under man's direct control. It was agriculture that made and is still making the United States. It is the basic wealth of most nations, for a country's real wealth lies in her well.fed and contented population as much as in her financial credit at home and abroad. While agricultural education may be of various types and conducted through many agencies, the main features of modern day instruction deal with training the boys and girls in school, with practical demonstrations and with bettered home condi· tions. It is educational in every sense of the word and the schools are in a position to see that the fullest measure of success is reached. A nation's growth lies in the trainin~ given her children, and the schoolmaster to a large extent molds· this growth by precept and lesson in the classroom and by EDITORIAL 635 practical demonstrations of applied principles under his supervision at the pupils' homes. The demonstration is a real object lesson carried on under the observation of the farmer on his own farm with the work done either by himself or by his children as supervised school work. It is a system of adult education of the highest sort which reaches the home life and takes cognizance of home conditions, whether it be concerned with the introduction of a new plant, better cultivation, new cooking recipes or the proper use of a new tool. The question of establishing a proper basis for distributing the receipts from the sale of articles fabricated by pupils is closely associated with that of arriving at a proper basis for The Puplh' Share fixing prices. The cost of labor is the controlling or the Finished factor in both. One of the aims of industrial Product. instruction is to teach the pupil the value of his labor. It is essential that he receive as his share of the finished product a just return for the labor expended, which should approximate the amount that an experienced worker in the shop, home, or field would receive. The tendency in distributing the receipts from the sale of school-made articles is to give the pupil too large a share of the profits. Cases in point may be cited where an article was made under the supervision of a teacher, was transported to the place of exhibition, displayed and retailed by school authorities, and the entire amount received, over the cost of material, was returned to the pupil. Manifestly this leads the pupil to have an exaggerated idea of the value of his labor and to believe that the industry is more remunerative than is actually the case. The distinction between the actual cost price of production and the selling price- whether it be the retail, wholesale, or local manufacturing agent's priceshould be clearly defined when the distribution of receipts is made, and care should be excercised that the pupil's share is not greater than would be received by an expert worker outside of school. This applies equally to all kinds of industrial schools and to industrial classes in primary and intermediate schools; but the unsatisfactor~r condition brought about by a disregard of the principles involved is most evident in the household industries. Pupils who receive too large an amount for their work in embroidery and lace making are not inclined to take up this ·work at a lower wage when they leave school. 636 THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTS.l!AN The money received from the sale of a school-made article will, in the majority of cases, be distributed under three heads, (a) the cost of the material used, which will be returned to the fund from which the material was purchased, Pupil•' Fund•. (b) the cost of the labor, which will be paid to the pupil or pupils who made the article, and (c) an amount comprising transportation and display charges, if any, and the profit of the local manufacturing agent, the wholesaler, or retailer, according to the method of disposing of the article. Different means have been employed in disposing of the fund under the third heading. Some teachers have included it with the amount paid to the pupil, others have let it accrue to the municipal or provincial fund, as the case may be, and in some instances it has been turned into a pupils' fund. The practice of giving to the pupil more than he has earned is wrong in principle; the other altern2.tive is to allow this money to accrue to the municipal or provincial fund, or to a pupils' fund. The latter plan has been found to be satisfactory in many instances and is provided for by Circular No. 142, series 1912, of the General Office. The pupils' fund thus established is used as a special fund for athletics, libraries, and other school activities or as a reimbursable fund for the purchase of industrial supplies. The nature of this fund and the uses to which it shall be put will have to be determined locally. The next issue of THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN will be the exposition number. It will contain an account of the Bureau of Education exhibit at the Second Philippine Exposition and will be copiously illustrated. As the exposition did not close until the 16th of February and as our copy for THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN usually goes to the printer on the first of the month, the March number will be delayed several weeks. It was felt, however, better to delay the March number so as to include the exposition write-up rather than to hold over the exposition material until next July. Subscribers who expect to change their places of residence during the month of April should notify the business manager of the address to which they desire the March number mailed. The present trend of education seems to be, to make these •. three subjects- the home, agriculture, and industry-the basis of universal, democratic education. (Muller.) EDITORIAL 637 PSYCHOLOGY AND JOBS. Are you looking for a job as motorman? Prove your ability by psychology. Will you make a good chauffeur? Submit to a mental test and find out. Would you be a successful telephone operator? You will save the company's time and your own by undergoing a psychological examination to determine your fitness for the position. Psychology plays a prominent part in the various plans for vocational guidance currently reported to the United States Bureau of Education, by means of which scientists hope to devise ways of measuring people with regard to their qualifications for certain kinds of work. Dr. Leonard P. Ayres, of the Sage Foundation, has just summed up a number of psychological tests for positions actually put into practice in modern industry. Thus the American Telephone and Telegraph Company engaged Professor Munsterberg to introduce a test for determining which applicants were likely to prove good telephone operators. The girls were examined with reference to "memory, attention, general intelligence, space perception, rapidity of movement, accuracy of movement, and association." The results showed that the girls who qualified in the tests were the most efficient in practical service, while those who stood at the foot of the list failed later and left the company's employ. Professor Munsterberg has also tested street-car motormen by elaborate apparatus, with a view to selecting those least likely to be responsible for accidents. As a result of his experiments he came to the significant conclusion that the application of such a test on motormen would result in the rejection of about 25 per cent of those now employed. Doctor Ayres sees great possibilities in psychological tests for choosing the right persons for jobs. He says: "When the best possible adjustment shall have been attained between work and workman, each one will have his full opportunity to achieve at least something for commonwealth and commonweal. The task of the world will be better done and the workers will receive greater rewards, deeper joy, and fuller satisfaction in their doing." The sure basis of a nation's strength is in industry as much as in intellect, and in skill as much as in resources. The assurance of a nation's greatness is in the equipoise of mental and manual activities. (AndrewS. Draper.) 6:38 THt: PHJI,IPPINE CR..!FTS.ll..IN Gru1 mat, German Eut Africa. The desi11:ns nre nll brown and white. The mat io wo,·en in n.o.crow otripo lengthwioe <>f th<> """"he..., around the Hl11e PhoiOfl'riiPh• for the nbove il!u•trations wen> "'''"''0'<1 from the EDJTOR!1lL 1;39 Gran mal, Gorman Eut Africa. mat. Th""t ltriJU an: se"·td tol[~thec. tht un<Jtl"lli<le havinJt" the aame J(lr\ of h"e end• "" 11re Commen:ial Museum. Philadelphin.