VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 33, 14 December 1943, Page 8

VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE

FREE ADVICE TO PARENTS

ELIMINATING SQUARE PEGS

A number of parents and teachers gathered on Wednesday evening at the school where Mr A. A. Kirk and Miss McNaugliton addressed a meeting on the vocational guidance of children.

In opening, Mr Kirk explained that Whakatane. as a rural community presented some: difficulty to 0 vocational guidance officer trained in the city. "However," he said, "vocational guidance: was as equally necessary in a district such as Whakatane as in a larger centre."

"Since: the opening of Vocational Guidance Centres in the four main cities/' continued Mr Kirk, "hundreds of-young people have; come to us for assistance, and there have been few turned away disappointed. Vocational guidance." he said, "does not merely mean placing a boy or girl in a position after his schooling is completed, but rather educating him, .so that he. will be properly lilted for his intended occupation." Begins at Primary llnu drawing attention to the amount of "patchwork" necessary in vocational guidance, he stressed the fact that educational guidance, must precede vocational guidance. "Educational guidance/' he said, ''begins in the primary school in Standards five and six, when a linds out which occupation he is best fitted for and proceeds to train accordingly. Usually a professionally minded boy goes to an Academic College whilst one with a leaning more towards the trades attends a Technical School."

Continuing. Mr Kirk stated that one of. the main difficulties of vocational guidance officers was dispelling the number of popular fallacies centred round, their department.. He explained that when a boy attends a Technical School, it does not necessarily mean that he is* training for-any specific trade,, but preparing himself to enter the one: o( his choice at a later date, which may be any one of a number .such as architecture or engineering. Backward Children In speaking on the 'subject of backward children,, he said that a boy who reaches the age of fourteen and has not passed the fourth standard usually makes a success of a course: of a very practical nature. "Hobbies," continued Mr Kirk, "are of great value in helping to form the personal character of a boy and in some cases lead to advancement and promotion in hi.s job. On the subject of phyehologieal testing, he. added that even though these bring out any latent quali-. ties in the person, very often common sense methods of interviewing and facts obtained from teachers prove more useful. Help to Ex-Soldiers "Since the Vocational Guidance Centre lias taken over the educational side of the rehabilitation scheme." he continued, ''the department has had to be extended, and help can now be given to men who went straight from school into the services, as well as those forced to change their occupation through dis-

abloment, or other causes." Position of Girls In closing, he stressed the. importance of tradesmen, particularly absorbing all the apprentices they could into their business thus helping to hold the .youth ol'. the country in good jobs in the'ir home towns and. checking the, in most cases, undesirable trend to the city. Speaking of the vocational guidance ol' girls, Mis.s McNaugliton remarked on the .number that were not happy in their jjob. "This/' she said, "can be traced to three, definite causes: (1) Lack of adequate training due mainly tc> girls leaving school before they are 1 adequately prepared for their job; (2) lack of leisure, time activities; (3) inability to "get on with their fellow workers." ''There are/' said. Miss McNaugliton, "many influences which lead to the choice of an occupation. Par-, cuts can spread or withhold vocational information from children consequently giving them a one-sid-ed view. "Also," she said, "if a person ap3 pears happy and content in his job, lie is a good advertisement for that job." On the subject of Native, schools. Miss McNaugliton said. that the question of testing Maori' intelligence by psychology tests was now coming to the fore. Owing, she said, to the. stress placed on English, certain tests in use at present were, not suitable and new ones would have to be t&volved..

"Finally," Miss McNaugliton concluded, "parents and teachers must understand that everything is based on common sense, and a sympathy etie understanding of the child at all times is absolutely essential."