¶ The author explains at some length the principles, demands, and methods of vocational education; he states the grounds upon which hopes of success may reasonably rest; he indicates some actual results gained by schools conducted on more practical lines; and he points out others which would follow upon the reorganization of our educational system in general.
¶ The vocationalizing of the schools has regard to the constitution, inclination and ability of the individual, and is intended to give him suitable training for his niche in life, to show him how he can make the most of himself and in what line he can prove himself most productive to society. At the same time, this scheme of education does not ignore the informational, the cultural, and the disciplinary aspects—it insists that the individual be fitted for good citizenship.
¶ The introduction of vocational education into the public school system of the United States, with the curriculum adapted to the chief kinds of occupation belonging to each community, will mean greater development and power for the country. From vocational education, introduced to meet the differing community needs, will result greater efficiency and better appreciation of the schools, increased attendance of pupils, greater compensation for teachers, greater productiveness, higher wages, and improved society.
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
AN ELEMENTARY TEXT-
BOOK OF THEORETICAL
MECHANICS
By GEORGE A. MERRILL, B.S., Principal of the California School of Mechanical Arts, and Director of the Wilmerding School of Industrial Arts, San Francisco
$1.50
MERRILL’S MECHANICS is intended for the upper classes in secondary schools, and for the two lower classes in college. Only a knowledge of elementary algebra, plane geometry, and plane trigonometry is required for a thorough comprehension of the work.
¶ By presenting only the most important principles and methods, the book overcomes many of the difficulties now encountered by students in collegiate courses who take up the study of analytic mechanics, without previously having covered it in a more elementary form. It treats the subject without the use of the calculus, and consequently does not bewilder the beginner with much algebraic matter, which obscures the chief principles.
¶ The book is written from the standpoint of the student in the manner that experience has proved to be the one most easily grasped. Therefore, beyond a constant endeavor to abide by the fundamental precepts of teaching, no one method of presentation has been used to the exclusion of others. The few necessary experiments are suggested and outlined, but a more complete laboratory course can easily be supplied by the instructor.