JOBS FOR BOYS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 214, 10 September 1934, Page 8

JOBS FOR BOYS.

SOME BLIND ALLEYS. MANY ADJUSTMENTS NEEDED. AMBITION AND OPPORTUNITY Some arresting facts were, placed before Auckland Rotarians to-day, when Mr. H. Binsted, F.R.G.S., president of the Auckland Headmasters' Association, addressed the club on the subject of vocational ambition and opportunity. After saying that the critical stage in a boy's career might be stated as that from eight to 18 years of age, Mr. Binsted referred to the psychological factors which affected boys through various stages of their development. It was during the period of adolescence that the moral habits of the boy were formed. In these times, with a tendency to decrease working hours, it was more important than formerly that education should be effective in preparing the boy for the best method of utilising leisure. The speaker proceeded to show by a series of graphs a most unbalanced set of figures illustrating the vocational objects of boys at the grammar, technical and other secondary schools in relation to the opportunities available to them after they left school. These comparisons are shown in the following table: — Occupations desired by pupils of All I'osi-. Second- tions. Grammar Tech. nry AvailSchools. Schools. Schools, able. Professional 731 13 43.4 7.42 Industrial . !j 03 39.0 2!) Commercial. 1(> 18 13.5 18.4 Farming ... 5} 10 10,1 56.4 This matter of lack of balance, said the speaker, was of national and regional importance, as it meant discontent and a gi T eat deal of misguided ability. The next aspect dealt with was the educational status of those seeking to qualify for particular occupations. According to the Terman group test taken in 1924, an examination of over 4000 students of secondary schools showed the standard of proficiency to bo 119 points for the professions, 107 for commercial, 108 for industrial, 100 for farming, and an average over all groups of 112. In other words, the educational standard of those who intended to tako up farming was the lowest of all, and this at a time when the demand for scientific, technical and economic knowledge in relation to agriculture was increasing every day. Another graph showing the relationship of boys to crime was given, and this indicated that for a period of five years before the war the~percentage of lads under 20 to the criminal group had been 3.4, whereas in a recent computation it had increased to 6.4. Drawing conclusions from his figures, Mr. Binsted emphasised the need for the dissemination of full information of the vocational position to parents, and of drawing attention to the inequalities of educational preparation.