The Pahiatua Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1928. VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11024, 21 December 1928, Page 4

The Pahiatua Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1928. VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE.

The Divietor of Education, Mr T. 15. Strong, visited Masterton this week, and at various school “break-up” ceremonies, he delivered admirable speeches on matters of moment to parent, teacher and student alike. His remarks on character-building were very timely and in connection with the evolution that is taking place in our system of education, the points he stressed should in due •time have a very beneficial effect upon those for whom thb.v were specially intended. It is not only as a public speaker in which the Director is doing excellent service, but it is with pleasure wo allude to his recent publication on “Vocational Guidance” containing valuable hints to parents on the choice a? a post-pri-mary school and on the choice of a

carreer for their children. The State will be doing useful services by distributing thousands of these instructive booklets throughout the country. One section of the publication is devoted to agriculture and local settlors will no doubt appreciate the fol-

lowing extract:—“About 26 per cent, of the male breadwinners of the Dominion are engaged in the various agricultural and pastoral industries. More than a quarter of those in tjliiese industries are employers of labour, and mere than half are in business on their own account, less than half being wage-earners. The proportion of those who are t’ie»i own masters is several times greater in these occupations than in any of the secondary industries or in commorce. For this reason the boy who chooses one of the various branches of farming has a better chance of becoming liis own master and. so attaining independence than if be liad chosen any other of the occupations of town or country outside the learned professions. In addition to this great advantage, farming of all kinds means an outdoor life and in most cases plenty of physical activity as well as demanding a skill, knowledge and craftmanship greater than arei needed in almost, any other occupation. There is thus full scope in the life of the farmer for all the powers that a 'boy or girl may possess. In a peculiarly high degree, therefore, a hoy may find satisfaction and happiness in tli© work of the farm, and if he has also a deep love of nature and a keen interest in living tilings, in addition to* pluck and, determination,there is no reason why he should not win through to a competence even if h© starts out after training with little or no capital. In any easo the farmer is, in difficult times, usually in a better position than the town dweller, since he is able to ]>roduee for bimself many of the necessities of life, and in the last analysis it is the jieasant population of a country that best survives the stress of wars and revolutions. In every sen'se, therefore, the farmer is thebackbone of a country. This is particularly tru e of this Dominion, in which for many years the agricultural and pastoral industries must be the main support of the country.”