Standardization within each state is considered desirable by most authorities. All of the educational facilities of a given commonwealth probably ought to be co÷rdinated under some supervising state agency. The administrative ideal in state education is so to systematize the schools of the state that they will be bound together by a common purpose, guided by the same set of established principles, and directed toward the same social ends.
314. SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.—A serious defect of our educational system arises in connection with school attendance. In many states the school attendance laws are laxly enforced. It is claimed that at no one time is more than three fourths of our school population enrolled in the schools. Of those who do comply with the school attendance laws, there is a considerable percentage which cannot acquire an adequate education within the limits of the compulsory school period. Only about one third of the pupils who enter the first year of the elementary school reach the four-year high school, and only about one in nine is graduated. Of those who enter high school, about one third leave before the beginning of the second year, about one half are gone before the beginning of the third year, and fewer than one third are graduated.
Within the last decade there has been a marked tendency among the several states to enforce school attendance laws more strictly. No less encouraging is the growing belief among educators that the school attendance period ought so to be adjusted that every child will be guaranteed the working essentials of an education. There is grave doubt as to the wisdom of raising the minimum age at which children may withdraw from school, but at least greater efforts ought to be made to keep children in school at least for part-time schooling beyond the present compulsory period. As will be pointed out presently, much is already being done in this direction.
315. EDUCATION AS PREPARATION FOR DAILIY LIFE.—It is sometimes said that our educational system neglects practical activities for subjects that have no immediate connection with the problems of daily life. Many citizens have thoughtlessly condemned the whole program of education because they have observed that particular schools have allowed pupils to go forth with a fund of miscellaneous knowledge which neither helps them to get a better living, nor aids them in performing the duties of citizenship. On the basis of these and allied considerations, there is a growing demand that education be made more "practical."
There is much to be said for and against this attitude. Some enthusiasts are apparently carrying the demand for "practical" education too far. The growing importance in our industrial life of efficiency and practical training should not blind us to the fact that education is cultural as well as occupational or vocational. The education of an individual is not estimated alone by the degree to which he succeeds in practical affairs, but as well by the extent to which he shows evidence of training in the appreciation of moral, artistic, and literary values. It is sometimes difficult to see that the study of literature, ancient languages, and similar subjects is preparation for life, and yet wise training in these fields may prove as important as studies which aid more directly and immediately in getting a living.
On the other hand, our educational system must take note of the growing importance of industrial activities. Since education is preparation for life, the school must accommodate itself to the changes which are now taking place in our economic and social organization. As modern society becomes more complex, more tinged with industrial elements, more a matter of co÷peration and interdependence, education must become more highly evolved, more attentive to vocational needs, and more emphatic in the stress which it lays upon the actual duties of citizenship.
The more complex the needs of daily life, therefore, the greater the necessity of shifting emphasis in education. But in thus shifting the emphasis in education we must be careful not to disturb the balance between cultural and "practical" subjects. To discriminate between what should be taught and what should be omitted from the curriculum, to retain the finest elements of our cultural studies, but at the same time to fit our citizens to meet the demands of office, shop, and factory,—these are the tasks of the educator.
316. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION.—Vocational training is one of the most significant developments in modern education. This type of education is designed to train the young person to earn a good living in that branch of work for which he seems best fitted. Some of the supporters of vocational education believe that this specialized form of training ought to be commenced very early and in connection with the regular curriculum. Others think that vocational education should not be attempted until the child has been given enough generalized training to enable him properly to perform the fundamental duties of citizenship.
But whatever its relation to the curriculum, vocational education is of great significance. If combined with vocational guidance it not only prevents the boy or girl from aimlessly drifting into an unskilled occupation, but it singles out for special attention children who show special aptitude for particular trades and professions. Vocational education for the blind, the deaf, the crippled, and the otherwise disabled is social service of the finest and most constructive type.
317. FEDERAL ENCOURAGEMENT OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION.—In February, 1917, Congress passed the Smith-Hughes Act, establishing a Federal Board for Vocational Education. This board promotes vocational education in co÷peration with the several states, and administers the Federal aid granted to the states under the Act. Each state accepting the provisions of the Act must provide a state board to control a system of vocational schools. Evening, part-time, and continuation schools offer instruction in agriculture, industry, commerce, transportation, and the professions. Each state must also agree to appropriate, either through the state or locally, an amount of money for teachers' salaries, equivalent to the sum received from the Federal board. Such states must also agree to provide proper buildings and meet the running expenses of the system. In the first year under this Act, the Federal appropriations amounted to more than a million and a half dollars. This sum is to be increased annually until the year 1925-1926, when the states will receive $7,000,000 from the Federal government in support of vocational education.