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arin ---- » ese dom en ser A irene "CHALLENGE IN OUR SCHOOLS (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3) of the old grammar school type of education designed for university preparation and the learned professions; these boys would need as pert of their schooling more practical experiences with more obvious im- mediate values, And so technical schools were built, and technical departments were added to high schools, E courses offered were basically industrial rather than technical, and introduced boys to trades such as those of the machinist, electrician, automotive me- chanie, carpenter, and draftsman. If they completed the full course and graduated, they were likely to be granted a year or more off an apprenticeship by the trade if it were an organized craft, This technical education is a cembination of practical work in shops and laboratories, and academic work appropriate to the Grade level in English, history, mathematics, science, and perhaps a foreign language, The practical work is related to certain skilled oceupa- tions, It must be accepted unequivocally that in On- tario technical education includes much academic work, Unfortunately all too often the pupils of lowest ability were shunted off into these so-called technical courses, because they were incapable of doing satis- factory work in the matriculation courses, The products of the technical schools, not only those who dropped out part way through but even those who graduated, were generally looked upon by school and employer as boys of limited capacity, While some of them un- doubtedly were successful in industry, on the whole technical education in Ontario high schools never did establish a reputation of high quality, It filled a need, however, for a certain type of pupil and for a certain type of job that resulted from the gradual industrialization of Ontario during the first half of this century, and technical schooling spread through all the urban communities of Ontario large enough to support the school plant required, Beyond the high school level technical education may continue as engineering at university, as tech- nology at a technical institute, or apprenticeship as a technician in industry or as a trainee in a skilled trade, FTER the second world war, our educational authorities recognized a new need of industry as it developed more complicated and more technical procedures, This need was for a class of worker be- tween the skilled mechanic and the engineer, This worker, or technician, must know the mechanical techniques but need not be a journeyman in a trade; he must know much more about the scientific and supervisional or managerial principles involved than the mechanic, but need not be so broadly or deeply versed in these principles as the engineer or the manager, because his discretionary power and respon- sibility are limited to a junior level of decision making; It was a natural evolution, then, for the rehabili- tation centre in Toronto that had given crash training courses to thousands of service and ex-service men, to change into the Ryerson Technical Institute, Here students go for specialized education in various tech- nological fields after they have graduated from Grade 12 or Grade 13 in high scheel, Four more technical institutes are fn process of development in other parts of the province, Hamil- ton, Windsor, Ottawa, and the Head of the Lakes, and this is by no means the end, The establishment of tech- nical institutes has been the most progressive move that our Department of Education has made since the war, Other provinces and states were ahead of us, It is interesting to note in passing that of 12,000 Ontario high school graduates who entered upon further education last year, 5900 went to -university, and 6100 started courses in technical institutes, elemen- ONTARIO TODAY tary school Teachers Colleges, nursing, and similar fields, During the last three or four years the Ontario authorities have realized thet the industrial type of technical education which we had practised so long was inadequate for present-day needs, especially as it was failing almost completely to serve boys of superior ability, Accordingly in technical schools we have been pressed to upgrade especially the mathematics end science courses to the intellectual level of the courses in the metriculation department, Unfortunately, this is serving one purpose and type of pupil at the expense of another, We are now making intellectual demands upon candidates for some of the skilled trades which they are incapable of meet- . ing and which the trades do not require. And yet we are not going far enough for the pupil who is to be- come a technician, The boy of really limited ability is left out in the cold almost completely, J am told that in Germany today there are seven technical institutes for every engineering school. In Bwitzerland a similar proportion holds, and a Bwiss industrialist tells us that Swiss production of techni- cians has been the source of success of their economy. England for many years has provided truly technical education for its boys parallel in intellectual level to its grammar schools which prepare for univer- sity, All these schools include the high school grades and go beyond, The post-high school level is taken care of now in Ontario by our new technical institutes, The program in the high school grades is still lacking in Ontario, ¢ Because of our post-war increase in birth rate, more youths are coming upon the labor market in Canada than ever before, Jobs are not now increasing in like proportion, miners and PAGE NINETEEN T= alternative is for Canada to revert to a na- tion of farmers, fishermen, trappers, ' "Your supposed to test the water with your elbow, not with the baby" : More are unemployed than in recent years, Most of the unemployed have not com- pleted a high school educa- tion; almest half of them never went to high school, Only thirty percent of jobs available are unskilled jobs, Most of the unemployed have no special skill, At the same time, the na- ture of industry is changing so that more of the jobs re- quire special skills and high- er skills, In addition, boys are stay- ing longer in school, and there is even talk in some quarters of raising the com- pulsory school attendance age from 16 to 18 years, ; E can not serve these boys with the programs of education that sufficed for a different type of school pop- ulation fifty, or thirty, or even ten years ago, and that LOOK to a fine future in Canada's Army! Through its service in United Nations contingents and its contribution to NATO, the Cana- dian Army plays an important role in helping preserve world peace, Today there are vacancies for young men of calibre to join the modern Canadian Army on a career basis, Those selected benefit from first-class training of both mind and body , , , interesting, varied, well-paid work , , , unique opportunities for travel and adventure , ; , the constant satisfaction of giving valuable service to their country, If you are between 17 and 256 ~ single and physically fit = get full details TODAY! served a different type of society and economy even ten years ago, Providing improved tech- nical education at the high school level will be costly, Failing to provide it will be even more costly, For Can.' adian industry to compete even in the domestic market, let alone in the international or export market, our effic- iency has to improve drama- tically, and our working force must grow immeasurably in competence and skill, Mail the attached coupon to the following address: AAG MANNING HQ Central Command Oakville, Ontario without obligation, details on Please send ne, (AE | | career opportunities in the Canadian Army, 4 Name Address | City/Town Province | Age Phone No... 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