NOTES ON EDUCATION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 1, 26 September 1907, Page 13

NOTES ON EDUCATION.

THE STUDENT APPRENTICE. The nature and quality of tho instruction imported to tho industrial apprentice, mayo safely be said to have a determining iniluence on the commercial vitality of a particualr industry. Tho .apprentice of to-day is, or ought to bo, the skilled workman of to-morrow. That has not been so in the past, and tho present condition of tho apprentice still leaves a very great dcr.l to be desired.

Tho apprcr' ... Ip system, as wo havo hitherto understood it, is an admitted failure. Why? Because industrial competition has becomo so keen that littlo time is availablo for the. proper and systematic instruction of. tho apprentices i ntho workshops. TliGy pick up tho rudiments of their trade in tho hard school of experience. They are absolutely ignorant of the fundamental principles upon which tho mechanical processes they are called upon to-deal with are based. This rule is tho '''Rulo of Thumb," and unless they are prepared.to attend ovening classes in those subjects having a direct bearing upon their particular trade, they become ignorant workmen, unable, by reason of their disabilities, to view their trade from an intellectual standpoint. A Working Mechanic's Views. , Tho following • oxtract from a pamphlet entitled "A Working Mechanic's View of Industrial Education," published by the National Association for tho Promotion..of...Technical Education, England H ,gh'es_ point to the argument. Tho conditions of apprenticeship are,"of- course, somewhat different in New Zealand, but the system is largely tho same. Ho says:— ?

. "In some trados where apprenticeship is still iin. voguo, tho following mothod is frequently adopted in the workshop:—The 'boy, after receiving only a rudimentary education, is usually apprenticed at tho i ago of thirteen, the term lasting seven years. Tho first year ,is generally spent in tho storo of the establishment, which simply means errand boy. That term having expired ;hc is then sent into fcho workshop to-learn his trade, but here again ho : is treated in. a similar manner,' lie becomcs aii errand, boy to tho workmen'; and is vory 'pften' called upo nto do things which have not tho slightest-bearing on,his trade. This treatment very soon "makes-the boy careless ■'alld inattentive to liife"surroundings.- -At-'about this- stage ho is given his first'skilled job, and in all probability he' will 'spoilt - .-it'. And why? ."..Because, ■he does/ not know how to, ; sot.,or.place.the : t'qol in tho machine,r. or.. ;h© is'.,at-a-. Joss to knoo 'hold the chisel, or; use.his know how to hold tho chisel, or use his file. Tho .'adult workman caii seldom loavojiis; job;'to impart" any practical knowledge to the boy, ' ana lie has to wwt. ujilil lending man, can spare-a little of his valuable time. .: Now, .1,-don't know of anything that dejects a boy more than to bo told he has-spoiled this or that, and I believe' ! i nmany cases it brings about stupidity;'At'' abotit, the "age of sixteen he begins, to think a' little more for himself, an dusually keeps closer to his., w.orlc, . and ..whatever practical knowledge ho gets., is from observing tho < workmen-i lithe manipulation of their l various-jobs.- Certainly ho is told'by'them occasionally how_ to proceed with ■ hi swork, 'but considering that the adult workman was in a similar position to'the-boy-when ho commenced.loarning his-trade,' he has often bdeoine,. incapable., of imparting that. knowlcdgo; which. is. so essential to an expert workman. In my opinion this failure is not to be attributed t0,. : carelessness, but ratlio rto forcoi'dfcirfcuiiistances.

"Now, what''■is"*> wanted-is that a boy should be "better prepared to enter the'workshops than heretofore,, and, in my opinion, a boy should receive a sound education;-especially ingeometry arid. mensuration, and should have practical lessons in the use of various 'tools. With this valuable training tho hoy; would;.'.entpr. the workship not-asa-mere novice, but as one. knowing woll tho rudiments of the trade ho was going to follow. He would-already , know tho names of the various tools- and their uses. Thus he will bo better prepared to follow his .trade; .and to ■ receive an amount of responsibility far greater than.-,-lis .predecessor, was capable , of enduring;- -Boys of'this class tend very'much-to elevate the scientific and moral condition of our ordinary artisans'." ' Trade Classes. The solution of tho.problem is in tho institution- of trade classes'; ill technical schools.' Theso classes; should receive -not/only the approval,' but the active.' support' .'of tho industrial community. -~; .The special work, of a trado class should be duo regard to the Uireo constituent dements of industrial proficiency,, namely, - 1. The Mechanical Drawing of the Trade. • 2. The Practical Work of tho Trade. ' ' ''; 3. The Physics of the Trade.. Jlaving provicled ;for,.tho industrial efficiency of tho apprentice, ■ his general culture must, not be overlooked, and'in this respect an ■ important consideration arises. : At the primary school the future apprentice has received a '"'general' ' education,' based upon a scheme of instruciton. which has primarily had in vieivjiis physical, moral}-and intellectual "development. It,.is highly important that when ho lias-finished his course there should b'e"r.6 break in the continuity of his, culture. Ho should not go.'jjirect to his trade, for lie is too young;,; ,ppr should he, as is far too frequently, .tho case, bo allowed to engage in -some* desultory occupation which shall profitably employ his time until lib is pltl enough to be apprenticed. He sjiftuM go straight to tho technical school, where advanced work in the principal subjects of tho primary school .carriculuni, should be co-ordinated wiyj'Tf.he special instruction in the niclimtmts of his future trade. The moral and social adyan-, tage of an education such as this must inevitably result,,in t!io evolution of a higher type of.;scaftsinan,. and, incidentally, raise the-standard- of'citizen-' ship. Lastly, tho ■instruction afforded by these trade'classes' should he ffee, and open to all applicants who, in tho opinion of tho principal of the institution, possess sufficient aptitude. This, in brief, outlines the ideal condition of tho student-apprcutice." " Wellington Technical School. - How far that ideal has been.realised may be guaged by tho following extract from the syllabus-of-the Wellington Technical School, referring- to the course of instruction' provided for embryo carpenters and joiners in tho technical clay classes:— ...| .. A.—Compulsory .. subjects,.".' which must be taken by all students:— 1. English composition and Literature.—This course'will be similar to the corresponding" courses in college's an.d grammar schools, and will include grammar and composition, 'and the study of. standard .'authors;2. Mathematics.-r-Tlie. aim. of the course will bo to provide the student with a sound knowledge of elementary principles, and modern methods only will be used. Analytic and graphic methods will both bo employed, but

the work will be largely experimental. 3; Drawing.—Elementary drawing in "mass I ,' and "outline," arrangement and design, and elementary geometrical ' and mechanical drawing. Part of the drawing course will be arranged to illustrate tho mathematical courses'. , 13.—Technical courses:— (a.) Mechanical drawing, with spaeial reference to woodwork.

(b.) Woodwork.:—Use of tools, measuring and marking out; construction. A graduated course will be arranged. (c.) Materials.—Woods: their growth, characteristics, and properties ; testing of woods as to strength and durability; seasoning. (d) Mechanics. —Elementary principles of statics; stresses aw: strains. The tuition will consist mainly of laboratory demonstrations.'"

Admission to these classy is, how- s ever, free only under certain conditions—tho passing of an arbitrary examination and an age limit—and therein lies the unrealised .fraction of tho ideal. A Minaiure House. A visit to tho carpentry classroom, the other, day, was full ■ interest. Imagine a long room, fuivished with carpenter's benches, a smvj circular saw, tools, blackboards, el*. On the blackboard were shown pla .3 'and specifications of a small At a previous lesson the emfc:vo housebuilders had constructed pii.is of their own, and were now at tl)-.". interesting stage of the "job" ihere thoy were almost " under co-er." On every bench was now to !►> seen the framework of the niiniatv.ro house. Piles, plates, joists, studs and stays were all there, and the embryo housebuilders were almost " unnor cover," imbued, doubtless, with the importance of completing with contract time. A chat with the insructor elicited the important fact that every detail of construction was in acconlaneo with the best principles' of .creftroanship. lhe small sticks used represented timber" of orthodox dimensions; four-by-twos". lay scattered about oho jobs, and the boys thr.i acquired an intimate acquaintance with the aC mi"' nsed in house-building. Th< question was then put: "How much interest, and, what is more important, how much practical support is given, to this class. by., masterbuilders and carpenters?" "Very' little," was tho instructor's reply. A Valuable Moral. Now the existence of this and other trades classes points a valuable moral to tho industrial community,- and the complete solution of tho apprentice problem depends,- to a considerable extent, on the attitudo of employera ot labour. Is the encouragement given by the industrial community to those classes such ,as would indicate tho ' necessity ..for their development and extension on.'a more generous scaleP And dp employers and the community realise-that, trades classes Jo not." in themselves,-constitute the be-all and end-all of technical fcducati.'m-. Trades classes artf merely' the links between the primary school and the technical college, and it is to the ultimate creation of tho latter institution that the aspirations of technical educationists must-bo directed.