“GILDED PROMISES”

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 196, 16 May 1930, Page 9

“GILDED PROMISES”

VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE “Tliat this conference deplores the undoubted technical bias given to the department's pamphlet, ‘Career,’ a bias resulting in the frequent adoption of purely technical courses by pupils who require a sound general education.” was a remit carried at the annual meeting of the Secondary Schools’ Association of New. Zealand yesterday. In submitting the remit, Mr. W. T. Foster (Napier Boys’ High School) said that the department in its pamphlet, which was issued to parents of children leaving the primary schools, gave out that special training was given at technical schools fitting boys to take positions as dispensers, opticians, pharmaceutical chemists, accountants, auctioneers, brokers, commercial travellers, company secretaries, tally clerks, importers, journalists, office boys, salesmen, valuers, warehousemen and many other occupations. While he had no quarrel with the technical schools, which were doing excellent work, Mr. Foster contended that boys could be much better fitted for the occupations mentioned in the pamphlet by a sound education at. a secondary school. Such gilded promises as were contained in the pamphlet would have the effect of sending boys to technical rather than to secondary schools. Mr. Martin Smith (Wellington) thought the department was wise in weaning boys away from cuff-and-col-lar occupations. The secondary schools could not be said to turn out cultured scholars, and they did not have a monopoly of learning. The remit was carried by a good majority.