It has continually in mind the job and is not concerned primarily with health, character, home membership, citizenship, or self development, except as these will help in the job.

Vocational guidance is, then, only one phase of guidance but a very important. There is unqestionably grave danger in the narrow vocational point of view. The job, while important, is not all-important, and if we confine our attention too narrowly to the job, we shall be very likely to have a one-sided view of the individual, and neglect the other very important objectives mentioned. But since vocational guidance, like vocational education, is more easily organized and more definite in its objectives than, let us say, civic guidance, it is necessary for us to give more time to its organizations than that of any other form of guidance.

Another question is, when shall guidance be given? Should it be given only at the time when the individual is confronted with the necessity for a choice or can it be given earlier? Guidance is concerned with choice, it has to do with crises, and as such it should help at the time when a choice is to be made, but the best kind of guidance is the kind that prepares one in advance for the choice; it forecasts the crisis and paves the way for intelligent choice. It helps the individual to secure the data necessary for an intelligent decision.

Should we give advice to young people or content ourselves with presenting facts to them and with the work of preparation already described? It is usually true that the more one has tried to give advice at the times of choice, the more he shrinks from it and the less he thinks of the practise. In general, the better the preparatory work has been done, the less necessity will there be for actual advice. Of course, we cannot entirely escape responsibility for giving advice, but when we do give it, it should always be buttressed by actual facts and experiences.

It hardly seems necessary to discuss the question of compulsion as a method of guidance. Clearly it is no part of the purpose of guidance to choose for a person what he shall do, to prepare him for it, and to make him do it. This is never desirable nor permissible as an educational process. In times of great national crisis, as in the late war, this method may, of course, be not only desirable, but absolutely necessary. And it might always be desirable as a method of training in an autocracy, but never in a democracy, whose ultimate purpose is the good of each individual citizen. We shall continue to employ negative prescription in certain lines of work, where we refuse to allow a person to perform a certain activity, if he lacks the qualities or the skills necessary to do it successfully. Thus we shall refuse to allow a man that is color blind to become a locomotive engineer. We may refuse to allow an osteopath to practise medicine, because he has not prepared himself in materia medica. Nor do we allow a person to teach in our public schools unless

he has a certificate that is supposed to guarantee a certain minimum training. This field of negative prescription will inevitably be enlarged whenever and wherever public safety or the public good demands. But this is far removed from positive compulsion. We may surround ant individual with forces that will predispose him to a certain choice, we may give him the facts and experiences that should enable him to choose intelligently, but in the last analysis he must make his own choice. The purpose of guidance is intelligent self-guidance. This only is democratic; this only is educative. This is the point at which so many people fail. They are so afraid that the boy will make an unwise choice that they cannot leave him alone. They fail to realize that efficiency is not the chief purpose of democracy; it is the development of character. Character cannot be developed except by responsibility, and responsibility is dependent upon choice. When there is any real choice between a lower and a higher, there is always the possibility of choosing the lower. But it is only thus that we can accomplish the purpose of education in a democracy.

If this conception of guidance is correct, several conclusions are inevitable.

1. Guidance is not something to be taught. To speak of a class in guidance is to reveal ignorance of what guidance is. We organize and direct the activities of the school for guidance purposes, and in a sense, we give guidance, but we cannot teach it.

2. Guidance is a function of every part of the school life; it belongs to every teacher, to every subject, and to all the varied student activities.

3. To be effective, it needs organization, direction. There must be some agency, individual or committee, responsible for gathering together and co-ordinating all the forces of the school for purposes of guidance. A complete organization must include: teachers of various subjects, employment managers or supervisors, counsellors, attendance officers, and social workers.

4. The curriculum organization of the school should include certain subjects, such as vocational civics, short unit try-out courses, etc., whose special purpose it is to bring together certain data of special importance for the guidance work.

5. Those who have direction of the guidance work should have training at least equal to that of any other teacher, and in addition should have wide experience in industrial and commercial lines of work, should be trained in methods of social work and above all, should be especially gifted with sympathy, tact and understanding of boys and girls.

DISCUSSION

Harvey R. VanDERSLICE (Superintendent of Schools, Coatesville).—Considering the selection of subjects made by the pupils, Superintendent Vanderslice recommended the studying of catalogs from the different schools in the classroom. After High School, What? That is the question confronting every high school girl and boy. Therefore it is the duty of the teacher to prepare his

pupil to meet and answer the question for himself. If the pupil cannot finish the high school course, then lead him to see how he can continue in the co-operation school, the continuation school, the university, or the night schools.

The "guidance" program should include the studying of as many occupations as possible. The speaker thought sixty different occupations would be covered in a term. These should be classified, not according to the national plan, but should rather be grouped to emphasize the preparation necessary for each. Those who aspire to work in vocations such as medicine, law, college professorship, engineering, dentistry, etc., should have a college education. He advocated starting right in with some occupation or vocation that some member of the class wanted and emphasize the necessary preparation. The personal characteristics necessary should be studied in vocational occupations. There should be a complete outline for the child for the study of any occupation. This outline should go into the details but it would be too comprehensive for class room discussion. There should be a shorter outline for class use. A good plan is to have outside speakers address the pupils, and it is suggested that a copy of the outline be handed to the speaker for his guidance in addressing the pupils. The speaker also advocated the visiting of various industries and the use of motion pictures to gain knowledge as to vocations. It was also recommended that good books of fiction be used to gain a knowledge of the meaning of life and business. "A Guide to Occupations," by Allen of Harvard University, published by Harvard University Press, was recommended as a very good aid.

MRS. HARRY WILDES (William Penn High School for Girls).—The Guidance Work done at the William Penn High School is as follows:

1. We have one lecture period a week in the auditorium, with an outside speaker, on the occupation under discussion, followed by three class room periods. 2. We try to bring out the feeling among the pupils that it is very desirable to earn one's living for a while at least.

3. Early in the term we give out a questionnaire for general information about the pupil's family, her future plans-education and vocational—and outside interests.

4. Each pupil is taken by the class room teacher for a personal interview, the teacher writing on the back of the questionnaire any specific information thus gained.

5. Most girls take the commercial course because they do not know what else to take to prepare themselves for future occupation.

6. We have to do a lot of health counseling. Many come to us undernourished, due, not so much to lack of food, as to lack of proper food, and this is due in many cases to poor cooking at home.

7. The parents are invited to call at the school for discussion of the pupil's problems. If this cannot be done, we go to the home.

8. Our school has organized a series of parents' meetings where we explain just what we are trying to do in this guidance work.

9. Our difficulty often comes from the fact that the child is financially unable to go on to finish her education. Sometimes we are able through the Placement Bureau to obtain part time employment which enables them to continue or go on to higher institutions.

10. Most of this guidance work is done during the first year but we encour age our girls to come to us at all times, even after leaving school.

12. All senior girls are required to register with our Placement Bureau to prepare for their placement after graduation.

13. Our teachers are asked to keep a character record of all pupils. These records are most useful in all sorts of guidance and follow-up work.

RUTH WANGER, South Philadelphia High School for Girls. The following points were brought out:

1. We find many girls who change their courses during the term. Some start in the commercial course because they do not know that the normal school course is free.

2. Many have ambitions entirely above their abilities and they do not want to take our advice. I am reminded of three Italian girls ages nineteen, seventeen and fifteen, with mental abilities of twelve, thirteen and twelve, respectively. All three wanted to become teachers. We suggested trades school, but next day the father came and insisted that they finish the high school course.

3. Our guidance work is mostly done during the first year the pupil is with us. The second and third-year pupils are supposed to have two periods a week with the home room teacher. The seniors are supposed to have one period a week when their future plans and work are discussed.

4. At the end of the first quarter every pupil who has failed in two or more subjects is interviewed and the reason for the failures corrected if possible. Past records are collected and discussed.

5. Girls who want to leave are interviewed. If the mental ability is weak and not sufficient to carry the girl through high school, we do not encourage her to stay. In other cases we try to give financial aid for future education, as that is what is needed in most such cases. I recall one particular case of a thirteen-year-old girl who had left and gone to work at $5 a week. We found she was the only one working in a family of five, the father being ill. She was very reticent but on being offered $5 a week toward the support of the family she was ready and willing to return to school.

6. We have one person who gives all her time to home visiting and every first year pupil's home is visited. In this way many misunderstandings are corrected.

7. We do not do a great deal of placement work but we do as much as we can, and we do follow them up and try to help. They often write to us for advice, or to tell us of their progress.

8. There is the problem of the colored pupil taking the commercial course, with poor prospects of a position after graduation. I am reminded of one colored girl who has recently started out as a public stenographer and is doing nicely. Then there is one who is now doing practice teaching at the Normal School and who has been told she cannot be a teacher. She has come back for advice.

9. A questionnaire is sent to the employer as we are anxious to get his view and suggestions.

GLADYS MARION ADAMS (West Philadelphia High School for Girls).—The work in the West Philadelphia High School for Girls is as follows:

We have several outside speakers every term. These are usually arranged for by the pupils themselves. The girls have access to books on vocations for women. We use a questionnaire at the beginning of the year for general information and we act on this information. The class secretaries are chosen by the girls themselves and generally are commercial pupils. The girls usually write several compositions to show why they want a certain vocation. We govern their choice of subjects. Use is made of the various abilities in the class work and credit given for this original ability. Pupils are grouped according to their abilities.

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