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SCHOOL S
Three Boys' Classes
Provide Techniques
By Bill Fore
Mill Tribune Staff Writer
John Doe's boy isn't going on to college when he gets out of
high school. He doesnt have the inclination for four, or even
two, years of academic study but he is an alert youth with a
capable pair of hands and a mathematical turn of mind. If proper
training were available he could become a skilled artisan in any
of a score of trades and be learning a respectable wage within a
few years after he left high school. Multiply young Does situation
by several hundred in each of the nation's communities and you
begin to get a picture of the gap in American education that has
gone largely unfilled until the past few years.
Recognition of the need for vocational education at the high
school level has developed into a national trend lately with the
western states taking the lead. The Medford city school system
is oDviousiy in uie vauKUHra 01
Started during the war when
facilities were installed to train
welders for defense industries,
the vocational education depart
ment at the Medford senior high
school now includes three fully
equipped shops for carpentry,
metal working and machine shop
trades. In addition there are sev
eral classrooms for the more
conventional vocational courses
for future homemakers and of
fice workers.
Many Attend College
The percentage of high school
studends who go on to college is
somewhat higher here than in
the rest of the state about 30
per cent here compared to 20
per cent for the state as a whole
but the need for vocational
training is considered no less im
portant. In fact, Superintendent
of Schools E. H. Hedrick says
the present program is to be ex
panded. But expansion, he said,
will proceed along sensible lines
not flooding the local market
with skills not in demand. A sur
vey is being conducted in Med
ford to determine just what
skills are needed in this area and
the vocational curriculum of the
immediate future will be based
on the findings so that students
will not find themselves thrown
on the labor market wtih un
wanted knowledges and skills.
Placed In Jobs
Classroom and shop training at
the high school here is followed
up by job placement where
possible. The three shop instruc
tors say they believe their boys
have about a year's advantage
over other apprentices who have
not taken the courses. One glance
at the work these teen-agers are
doing would convince the aver
age observer of the public serv
ice the school is doing in the way
of providing craftsmen for local
industry and in giving students
skills that will stand them in
Out-Of-Class
Schools Heavy, List Shows
Use of Medford's public school
buildings docs not end when stu
dents are dismissed from classes
or extra-curricular activities in
the afternoon. Nor is the use of
the school facilities limited to
the younger generation.
A typical week finds some ac
tivity in progress almost every
night at the school and on Sat
urdays during the day as well.
School officials encourage this
use and make an effort to have
the facilities occupied. When the
buildings are idle, they are do
ing no one any good, according to
School Superintendent E. H.
Hedrick.
Demand Heavy
Demand on the part of organ
izations and business firms for
the gymnasiums or auditoriums
is heavy. Many groups have to
be turned down. Others have to
utilize school property other
than that originally asked, and
at different times than they re
quested, according to Hedrick's
office. Requests must necessarily
be made far in advance.
To obtain the facilities, groups
must have some adult respon
sible. That person must see that
his group conducts itself in or
derly manner and that lights are
turned out and doors locked
when the evening program Is
over.
. To show a typical week at the
Itnior high, Hedrick pointed to
fie week of February 20 to 25.
Typical Week
On Monday evening there was
a Christian Science lecture in
the auditorium, Shrine patrol
session in the girls' gymnasium
and clothing construction, home
nursing and public speaking ex
tension courses for adults in var
ious classrooms. Related train
ing classes were held in carpen
try, plumbing and electrical
trades.
On Tuesday night AAU bas
ketball finals took place in the
boys' gym and the Kiwanis club
used the auditorium to rehearse
its show. Adult courses in tail
oring, foods - cooking, business
law, business English and chil
dren's literature were held in
classrooms.
More related training courses
nd an adult class in clothing
construction met on Wednesday
and a current affairs college ex
tension class met on Thursday.
Medford and Ashland Kiwanians
staged their Kiwanis Kapers Bnd
Minstrel show on Friday and Sat
urday nights at the auditorium.
Cym In Use
During one week the junior
high gym was used In the even
ings for city league basketball.
The parent - teachers associa
tion, the hobby club and the
Shrine patrol used the girls' gym.
Adult classes occupied the jun
ior high sewing room on Monday
nd Tuesday evenings.
iAt Jackson school in the even
''Vf of an average week Boy
twuts and Smith-Dynge Lumber
mis leaaersmp.
good stead when they start look
ing lor jobs.
But vocational education is
high cost education small
schools can't hope to provide stu
dents with the kind of equipment
that would be comparable in any
way to what they would encoun
ter in actual trades work.
Use War Surplus
Medford was fortunate in find
ing a stock of war surplus equip
ment that could be purchased
for a fraction of its true value,
and with several thousand dol
lars worth of lathes, drill presses
and welding equipment the
school formed the nucleus of its
present machine shop. The shop
is housed in a separate building
adjacent to the high school ana
is used by 28 boys during two
three-hour day trades periods.
Instructor is George Barnum, a
retired machinist. His students
get intensive training in acety
lene and arc welding, motor over
hauling, machine tooling, and
job shop repair techniques. If
they complete their regular
courses of study within the pre
scribed time limits, they are al
lowed to earn more practical
expericene by bringing in their
own cars for repair and over
hauling.
The course would be more
crowded if it weren't for the fact
that trades students represent a
more or less hand-picked group
with a serious attitude toward
their work. Those without a pro
fessional eoal take less specializ
ed courses designed to give them
only a general, overall under
standing of the crafts. Superin
tendent Hedrick characterizes
these general courses as "shop
courses.
58 Metal Workers
Instructor Scott Brill has a to
tal of 58 students in his metal
work shoo but only 11 taking the
three-hour day trades course. The
rest are enrolled in three one-
Use Of Local
company had the gym on Mon
day, American rruit urowers
on Tuesday, Mobilgas and Cal
ifornia Oregon Power company
on Wednesday, Cub scouts and
American Fruit Growers on
Thursday, St. Mark's church
league on Friday and Nazarene
church young people on Satur
day.
Recreational Use
The firms and church groups
used the facilities for recreation
such as basketball, volley ball
and badminton. The parent
teachers association has the
Jackson gym one per month.
At Lincoln school during a
typical week, the building was
used by Degree of Honor, Boy
scouts and the Latter Day Saints
on Monday, Boy scouts and
Green's confectionery on Tues
day. Methodist church and
Green's on Wednesday, Free
Methodist young people on
Thursday and Rogue River acad
emy and Latter Day Saints on
Saturday.
Other groups who use the Lin
coln gym but not listed for the
one week are Central Church
of Christ. Daughters of the Nile,
Cub scouts, Lady Activians, Jun
ior Degree of Honor and the
PTA.
At Roosevelt
An average Roosevelt school
week is Boy scouts and Med
ford corporation on Monday,
Timber Products and airport on
Tuesday, Church of the Breth
ren and Medford corporation on
Wednesday, Explorer scouts and
Timber Products company on
Thursday and Brownie scouts
and a badminton groups on Fri
day. Washington school gym dur
ing one week was used by the
Baptist church young people and
Mann's Department store on
Monday, the philharmonic so
ciety on Tuesday and Wednes
day and First Christian church
and Mann's on Thursday.
Gyms Open Saturday
In addition all gyms of the
public school system are open to
youths Saturday mornings and
afternoons for supervised recre
ation. When interest wanes at
one gym the activity there may
cease but outdoor activity may
take its place. There is folk danc
ing for girls at Lincoln school
on Saturday and for Girl scouts
at Roosevelt on the same day.
Hedrick has termed the whole
program of full utilization of
school facilities "very success
ful." BIDS CALLED
City council park committee
members Friday advertised for
sealed bids for completing the
piping and heating system of the
city park swimming pool. The
offers must be submitted to the
office of Citv Recorder J. R
Woodford in the city hall not
later than 2 p.m. March 21.
Second Section
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THEY LEARN THE MACHINIST'S TRADE These students have at their disposal thousands
of dollars worth of modern machine shop equipment that has been installed in a special building at
the senior high school to train vocational education students in the rudiments of automobile mech
anics, motor repair and overhauling and general machine shop skills.
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FUTURE METAL CRAFTSMEN This earnest group of senior
high school students are enrolled in the day trades class in metal
work. Part of a hand-picked group, chosen because of aptitude and
interest, they are given a comprehensive course in all phases of
metal work, including light welding and brazing, metal spinning
and wrought iron technique, instructor is Scott Brill.
hour morning classes and do not
go into the subject as thoroughly
as the carefully screened stu
dents who will eventually end
up with jobs in metal works.
The year's work in Brill's class
takes the student through 42 sep
arate projects based on a course
GREATEST
AND...
ki i m
NO TUBE-
TO PINCH
TO PUNCTURE
TO PURCHASE
ROGUE SERVICE & SUPPLY CO.
23 Years In Medford at 8th and Front Striata
ROY P. STOY.General Manager PHONE 2-6119
I
MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 1950
s Li I
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of study worked out by the voca
tional education department of
the University of New York
From the first simple project in
volving only a piece of tin snip
ped and bent along prescribed
lines, the student progresses
through a series of problems that
TIRE ADVANCE
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familiarize him with evcrv phase
of the master tinner's trade. And
now the metal working shop has
added a piece of equipment that
is giving the class training in
metal spinning an operation de
manding skill and precision but
one that is in increasing demand
Get Joureyman's Knowledge
When they have completed the
course. Brill's students have a
journeyman's knowledge of gen
eral sheet metal work, light
welding and brazing, metal spin
ning, and wrought iron worK.
For them, high school education
has taken on a new and valuable
meanine.
Instructor L. A. Mentzer's
course in carpentry has attracted
10 students. In addition there is
a class of 30 architectural draw
ing students and an average of
22 to 25 in the hour-long wood
working classes.
Major project for each year's
trades class in this course is a
four-room bungalow that is plan
ned and built by the students
themselves from the drawing
boards to the site. After it is first
built in the shop, the complete
house is disassembled in sections
and hauled to the lot owned by
a veteran or other qualified per
son, where it is set up, finished,
painted and wired and sold at
cost, all with the sanction of the
local organized building trades.
Three Houses Built
Three of these projects have
SM 50 YEARS!
The B. F. Goodrich
Puncture Sealing
Tubeless Tire
Site 4.00-W
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25
65
Plus
Tribune
Pages 1-8
Lincoln Schoolboy
Patrol Now Organized
A new schoolboy patrol has
been set up at the Lincoln school
under the guidance of Traffic
Sergeant Clyde Fichtner to di-
rect juvenile pedestrians at the
intersections of Jackson street
with Central and Riverside ave
nues. The schoolboy patrolmen will
be stationed at crossings of Cen
tral avenue and Maple street.
Bartlett and Jackson streets, and
Maple street and Riverside ave
nue from 8:30 a.m. until 9 a.m.
and from 3:30 p.m. until 4:15
p.m.
Members of the safety patrol
are Mark and Grant Parrott,
Andrew Walker, Terry Krinock,
John Foust, Gary Lewis, Dick
Payne, Audrey Brown, and Ken
neth Hendrickson.
been carried to completion so
far, giving three different groups
of boys comprehensive experi
ence in the carpentry business.
Training in the science of putting
together a modern dwelling is
augmented by instruction in cabinet-making,
house-wiring and
general shop work.
Though the chief vocational
emphasis at the high school is
logically placed on trades nor
mally followed by men. the pro
gram in no wise neglects the
girls. In this respect, courses fall
into two general types those for
future homemakers and those for
girls who will , for a time at
least, fill jobs in the business
world.
Nursing Required
Acting on the well-founded as
sumption that somethina like 90
per cent of all girls will estab
lish homes of their own within
six years after they leave high
school, the Medford school sys
tem has made a course in home
nursing a requirement for gradu
ation. The school adminislration
also feels that every girl should
know the rudiments of cooking
and sewing whether she sets up
house keeping for her husband
or in an aDartment of her own.
Commercial courses include
shorthand, bcekkeeping, Instruc
tion in business machines and of
Freedom of Choice
of Pioneers made
this great state
This growing eom
muunity hat
"freedom of choice"
! It -t " Zl .. ,.r, ,r .,u
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HOUSE UNDER CONSTRUCTION The day trades class in
carpentry at the high school each year builds a small four-room
bungalow for actual sale on a site owned by a veteran or other
qualified person. But before it is set up on the lot it is first put
together in the shop at the high school as shown here. Later it is
disassembled and moved to the site for final construction. All the
work, including the wiring and painting, is done by the students
themselves as part of the class project.
course, typing. There are 205
students enrolled ii typing
courses not entire'.- vocational,
since everyone nowadays wants
to know how to type and 92 in
bookkeeping, the next most pop
ular commercial course.
Choice Is Problem
Hedrick points out, in com
menting on the program develop
ed here, that there are some
12,000 vocational trades and pro
fessions in the United States. The
high school inaugurating voca
tional education in its curricula
is immediately faced with the
question of which of these to
feature. Obviously its selection is
restricted both by the ability of
teen-age students to grasp proles-
sional skills and knowledges
and by the type and amount of
eaumment the budget will siana
Hedrick's yardstick has been the
needs of the community and the
larger needs, of society.
The vocational counselling
service at the high school invar
iably qualifies Its recommenda
lions it mav indicate, but never
prescribes, vocations with a
DO YOU KNOW
THE FACTS?
England is at present governed by a
Socialist type government.
They have Nationalized, Railroads,
Banks, Mines, Professions .... including
Doctors and Dentists.
United States Marshall Plan Billions
are making it possible for the English to
claim success for the Nationalism of In
dustry and Professions.
NOTE TOO . . .
that men who work In these industries
. . . work WHERE the government di
rects they shall work.
Likewise Doctors are paid a set salary
set by the government the public is pro
vided FREE medical service (lately a small
fee is sometimes required).
Doctors' offices are packed, "just
because it's FREE." Doctors have but
little time for study . . . Patients can not
be given enough attention. And RIGHT
NOW this plan, very slightly altered, is
proposed by the Administration In Wash
ington for OUR use LIKE IT?
GET THE FACTS... NOW!
Get the Facts
About Socialised Medicine and YOU All
1
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.... , .x i.ii iHiWHI
hard-headed recognition of what
opportunities the local economy
provides. Counsellors attempt to
fit the student's apparent appti
tudes into thit pattern.
Stress "Common Factors"
In courses which have been
chosen as being most appropri
ate for this locality, the school
has tried to incorporate those
knowledges and skills that are
transferrable from one field to
another. Hedrick terms them
"high common factors" and
under this heading he classes
knowledges like reading and
mathematics and skills like
welding. They are fundamental
in any number of trades and
graduates with a mastery of them
are better equipped to compete
on the Job market.
With these principles as a
guide and with past successes as
encouragement, Medford's voca
tional education program can be
expected to grow as circum
stances permit and to maintain
its position as a model for many
schools in the state.
Freedom of Choice
is the RIGHT of .
every citizen of the
U.S.A.
PROTECT Your
Freedom of Choice
the FACTS!
I