Vocational Guidance: opportunities open to forest rangers

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Part of Philippine Craftsman

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Vocational Guidance: opportunities open to forest rangers
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Ahern, George P.
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English
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In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
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VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE. O I 'I'U it'ITllo'I'I'I E~ O I'EN '1'0 FOU I·:~fl' H \~(; I~Hl' . By Maj. GI:ORG~ P. AHERN, I)Jreetor of Fol'<'81ry. THE ranger force of the Bureau of Forestry is recruited in two ways: First, by the appointment of applicants who have become eligible as a result of a civil-service examination for the position of ranger; second, by the appointment, without examination, of students who have completed the ranger's course in the Forest School maintained by the Bureau of Forestry at Los Bafios in connection with the College of Agriculture. The civil-service-ranger examination consists of the second grade examination in spelling, arithmetic through fractions and decimals, Jetter writing, copy from plain copy, and penmanship. In additon to this, a special set of questions in practical forestry is given covering the rudimentary knowledge which each ranger must possess in order to carry on his future work. Actual experience in forest practice is also included. These special questions are rated at 45 per cent of the total examination, and an applicant without actual experience as an employee of the Bureau of Forestry stands but little chance of success in passing the examination. Fm· this reason, such appointments are almost exclusively limited to applicants who have occupied a subordinate position in the Bureau, such as that of temporary ranger. Now that the Forest School is beginning to turn out a class which will average about thirty graduates per year, it is probable that all future vacancies will be filled by these graduates, with the exception of a very few resulting from the promotion of temporary rangers already in the service, and therefore all who aspire to the position of ranger in the Bureau of Forestry should by all means arrange to take the course in the Forest School. Entrance to the Forest School is restricted to applicants appointed by the Director of Forestry, but each such applicant must have been certified by the Director of Education as eligible for such appointment; that is, he must have successfully completed at least two years' work in high school or its equivalent. Two such appointments are open to each province under the jurisdiction of the Assembly, and also to the special Provinces 6!0 VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 611 of Batanes, Mindoro, and Palawan. A student receiving such an appointment is reimbursed for his travel from his home to Los Bai'ios, and is given lodging and a monthly cash allowance of IP'25 during his course at the school. He is also furnished most of the school supplies he needs in his studies. On the completion of his course his expenses are paid on his return trip to his home, but he is under contract with the Government to enter the employ of the Bureau of Forestry not later than July 1 following the date of his graduation and to serve for a period at least equal to that during which he shall have enjoyed the the privileges of the scholarship. A limited number of private students can also be furnished with free quarters at the Forest School, although, of course, they receive no monthly allowance. Private students who have not had the equivalent of the first two years' work in high school may take a four years' course in forestry, the work of the first two years being identical with the course in agriculture. Three courses of study at the Forest School have been authorized: a two years' course (the ranger's course in forestry), and four and five years' courses leading to the degree of bachelor of science in Forestry. The ranger's course, when successfully completed, entitles the student to a certificate. Candidates for the degree of bachelor of forestry must have completed the high school course or its equivalent. The time necessary to complete the course is four years of continuous work at the Forest School, or else two years in the ranger's course, followed by two years of special work in the Bureau of Forestry and a final year in residence at the School. It is thus apparent that the pensionados at the Forest School not only receive a thorough education without cost to themselves or their families but, after graduation, they are assured of a position in the Government service without the necessity of any civil-service examination. Applicants for pensionadoships should write to the diu;~· superintendent who has jurisdiction over the high___...- .. which they received their training, requesting him tt .amend them to the Director of Education as eligible for the desired position. Notification of such action should be sent at the same time to the Director of Forestry, Manila. If they are eligible, they will be so certified by the Director of Education to the Director of Forestry, and the applicants with the highest training or the best grade from each province will be appointed. 612 THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN It is essential that a forest ranger should be in excellent physical condition if he is successfully to carry on the field work which will occupy the greater portion of his time. In addition to a strong healthy body, he must keenly develop his powers of observation, have a retentive memory and an inclination for travel and outdoor life. Jt is especially important that he should be a man of strong moral caliber, as he will often have to represent the Bureau of Forestry at a distance from the supervision of his superiors and will be subject to temptations which a weaker man would find difficult to resist. To such a man as this the position of forest ranger offers exceptional opportunities for interesting and healthful work, for travel, for education and for taking a telling part in the advancement of his country's welfare. Upon entering the Bureau of Forestry a graduate of the Forest School is usually assigned to one of the forest districts under the supervision of a district forester or a head ranger. His duties consist principally in inspecting the operation of licenses, the examination of lands applied for as homesteads, measuring and estimating timber, patrol work, map making, collection of botanical specimens, etc. His work naturally brings him into a position of considerable authority over the forest users and it is sufficiently varied to prevent any possibility of monotony to a man who is interested in his profession. If a graduate of the school shows himself of special ability and fondness for research work, an opportunity is ordinarily given him to assist in scientific studies carried on by the foresters of the Bureau. On his entrance into the Bureau of Forestry a graduate ranger receives a salary of '1''50, '1 ..,55, or '1~60 per month, depending upon whether he had completed two, three, or four years in high school before entering the Forest School. He also receives a per diem allowance sufficient to cover his living expenses when away from his station on official business. His traveling expenses in the field are, of course, also reimbursed by the Bureau. At the end of six months, if he has performed satisfactory service, he is granted a promotion equivalent to P'lO per month. Thereafter, the opportunities for advancement and responsibility and salary depend entirely upon the man himself,-upon his ability, his integrity, and the amount and character of the work which he performs. It is the policy of the Bureau to advance its men in authority and salary just as rapidly as conditions permit. VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE.' 613 Some head rangers in the Bureau are now receiving fJ-1,428 per year, with a per diem allowance of ·1)'2. There is no reason why a graduate of the Forest School, if possessed of the necessary qualifications, should not consideJ"ably exceed this salary. For further information concerning the work at the Forest School see the annual report of the Director of Forestry for 1912 (copies of which may be had upon application to the Director of Forestry, Manila) or the latest catalogue of the University of the Philippines. (NOTE.-Former articles on Vocational Guidance appeared in the October and November issues of TnE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN. Since educators throughout the world have now recognized the value of assisting the school boy in selecting his life-career, it is important to keep in touch with the work done in vocational guidance. For this purpose, THE PHILIPPINt; CRM'TSMAN has arranged for other articles to follow from month to month on this subject. Some of the topics Lobe discussed are: Nursing, teaching, the opportunities open to clerks, chauffeurs, etc.) EDUCATION IN ARKANSAS. That industrial training, often supposed to be a recent innovation in American education, was introduced into Indian schools in Arkansas eighty or ninety years ago, is shown by Stephen B. Weeks in a bulletin, "History of Public School Education in Arkansas," just issued by the United States Bureau of Education. The boys in these early schools were taught the elements of agriculture, the girls needlework and domestic science, and all were instructed in habits of industry, neatness, and order. At least one school was almost self-supporting. As early as 1840, Governor Yell sent a message to the Assembly containing recommendations for agl'icultural and mechanical training that mark him as a pioneer in this significant phase of modern education. My conclusion is that industrial education is essential to the social and political well-being of a democracy. A knowledge of how men get a living, the nature of their work, and the value of it, is a prerequisite to intelligent appreciation of the dignity of labor.-Selected. Nothing made by man's hand can be indifferent; it must be either beautiful and elevating or ugly and degrading.- WILLIAM MORRIS. 614 THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN"' Separate schools are necessary for the proper solution of the vocational school problem in the United States, according to Edwin G. Cooley, of Chicago, special investigator of vocational education. These schools, says Mr. Cooley, must not be regarded as substitutes for the present schools, which are doing satisfactorily a necessary work, but as supplementary to them. At the Ghent World's Exposition in 1913 there will be anumber of international congresses, including one of teachers of domestic science and one of women engaged in farming, the latter in connection with a general congress of agriculturalists. Berlin is to have compulsory industrial and commercial continuation schools for girls. The University of Tennessee has just instituted extension cou1·ses in geology especially designed for men engaged in the mining and quarry industries. The courses consist of a short session (six weeks) and correspondence work. The subjects of instruction will be: Physics, chemistry, mathematics, geology, mining and metallurgy, and mechanical engineering. The courses are described as especially adapted to meet the need of the man "on the firing line." A two years' course in forestry has been instituted at the University of Wisconsin to meet the demand for trained forest rangers. At a conference of Swedish teachers recently it was emphasized that instruction in domestic science in the schools must deal principally with the substantial things, instead of the "caramel and tart" kind. In urging the need of vocational training, the Indiana commission on industrial and agricultural education estimates that there are fully 25,000 boys and girls in that state between the ages of 14 and 16 who have not secured adequate preparation for life work in the schools and who are now working at j~?s which hold no promise of future competence or advancement. Man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work and done his best.-EMERSON.