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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 5 (September 1, 1928)

[section]

“That man, I think, has had a liberal education who has been so trained in youth that his body is the ready servant of his will, and does with ease and pleasure all the work that, as a mechanism, it is capable of; whose intellect is a clear, cold, logic engine, with all its parts of equal strength, and in smoothe working order; ready, like a steam engine, to be turned to any kind of work, and spin the gossamers as well as forge the anchors of the mind…”— T H. Huxley.

By G. Carter, Instructor, Petone.

Those officers of the Railway Department to whose energies we owe the introduction of a system of apprentice instruction in our railway workshops must have felt rewarded in their efforts in this matter by the remarks of Dr. van der Leeuw, of Holland, the distinguished educationist who has recently been lecturing in this country.

Dr. van der Leeuw stated that there was too much work for examinations and too little for real life. A short time ago I stated in another journal that all education should be education for choice of future activity and this is fully borne out by what Dr. van der Leeuw said on the subject. The scheme launched by the Railway Department two years ago—a scheme whereby boys who have made their choice of work can receive the training best suited to their future requirements—is therefore justified by this high authority. The Doctor thinks that in New Zealand early education is not developing on the lines of the new education, which, he explained, possessed great possibilities for shaping the future of the child. This new education would provide for youth a better and more certain guidance to their natural vocations, and lessen the percentage of those referred to as square pegs in round holes.

On The South Australian Railways. Adelaide-Melbourne Express leaving Adelaide.

On The South Australian Railways.
Adelaide-Melbourne Express leaving Adelaide.

There will be much economic waste where there is occupational misplacement, also a lack of interest and esprit de corps, the absence of all, or any of which must seriously hamper an organisation such as ours. It is a splendid thing, therefore, that our apprentice schools are providing the knowledge required by the boy in the trade he has selected. The railway workshops thus benefit by increased efficiency.

There is a growing recognition of the fact that production does not depend entirely upon manipulative skill, but largely upon the general information and the frame of mind of the employee. And these in turn depend very much upon the individual having found his proper niche. Another aspect of correct placement will be a pride in the chosen work, which will bring with it a dignity that will be all for the good of the crafts and the young apprentices attached to them.

It is said that a school must secure the goodwill of its pupils before they are ready to profit and benefit by its instruction. It is comparatively easy to get the goodwill of boys who have not missed their occupational objective. Successful guidance to vocations would, therefore, appear to be the sine qua non of goodwill. Where compulsory technical training is being applied it is doubly important for the principals and instructors to have page 23 the goodwill of their pupils. Fortunately, among the Railway Department's apprentices, there is little evidence of misplacement. This is probably due to the fact that the great majority of the trades available to boys seeking apprenticeships in the railway workshops are popular ones, and that the working conditions, including wages and educational facilities, are so good.

Anyone who gives this important question of vocational guidance any serious thought, must feel that, at an early date in his school career, every boy should have his attention directed to that day when he must make his choice of work, and that his attention should be further directed to how each subject taken in school will later closely affect his occupational and other activities. At the present time there is no generally accepted programme of vocational guidance. However, it would seem that the Education Department is conscious of the great need in this direction, as evidenced by the issue of a pamphlet giving helpful hints to parents on the choice of a career for their children. Junior High Schools also are aiming to discover the aptitudes of pupils. The introduction of a definite school programme giving special class hours to this question would no doubt present many difficulties—though difficulties perhaps not incapable of solution. The recognition, however, by the educational authorities of the need for some system of guidance, and their effort in assisting in a solution is full of merit, and is surely a sign of the coming of the new education.

(Photo. A. P. Godber.) Apprentice Instruction Class at Petone Railway Workshops. (Instructor, Mr. G. Carter.)

(Photo. A. P. Godber.)
Apprentice Instruction Class at Petone Railway Workshops. (Instructor, Mr. G. Carter.)