Vocational preparation of youth in Catholic schools

Vocational Preparation of
Youth in Catholic Schools

UC-NRLF

.NETTE, O.S.B., MA.

[, MINNESOTA

A DISSERTATION

ie Catholic Sisters College of the Catholic University
ica in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy

WASHINGTON. D. C.
June, 1918

EXCHANGE

Vocational Preparation of
Youth in Catholic Schools

BT

(
SISTER MARY JEANETTE, O.S.B., M.A.

ST. JOSEPH, MINNESOTA

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to the Catholic Sisters College of the Catholic University

of America in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy

WASHINGTON. D. C.
June, 1018

CONTENTS

PACK

Preface 5

Chapter I. — Causes Leading to the Introduction of Voca-
tional Education in the State Schools 7

An Outline of the Movement toward Vocational Education

in State Schools 15

An Outline of the Vocational Guidance Movement 20

Chapter II. — An Outline of the History of Vocational Edu-
cation in Catholic Schools 27

Chapter III. — Ways and Means of Improvement in the
Development and Guidance of Vocation in Catholic

Schools 47

Conclusion 69

Bibliography 70

PREFACE

The movement towards attaining and improving vocational
education in the state schools has made rapid progress in the
last two decades. It grew from the conviction that the large
majority of pupils received no adequate preparation for their
life-work, as only a small percentage availed themselves of the
opportunities afforded by secondary schools. The danger to
which a large number of these children was exposed after
leaving school at an early age, grew to be a menace to individual
and industrial development. Many educators sought the
remedy for this evil in a radical change of the educational
system, and a course of study so arranged as to afford to the
pupils a preparation for their career. On the other hand
there were those who strenuously opposed this movement be-
cause they considered it undemocratic and tending to the for-
mation of a caste system. The attempt to reconcile these two
extremes has caused the introduction of vocational education
in addition to the usual courses offered by secondary schools,
and resulted in the creation of our ever-increasing number of
vocational schools.

A study of the history of Monastic schools reveals the fact
that these afforded excellent opportunity for vocational train-
ing; but their motive and aim in preparing their pupils for
life's work was not, like that of our modern state schools, pri-
marily utilitarian. The success achieved in art and industry
was due largely to the motivation that inspired the students of
Monastic schools to exert all their powers in the realization of
their high ideals. The influence of St. Benedict and his fol-
lowers changed the then prevalent attitude toward labor,
invested manual work with the dignity of prayer, and brought
untold blessings upon the people.

In the course of time other agencies undertook the voca-
tional training of children and continued to do so until re-
cently. In the last few decades, however, the social environ-
ment of the child has undergone a decided change. Again it
devolves upon the school to offer to the pupil sensory-motor
training in addition to the training of the mind and heart.
The same problem that confronts the state schools must also be

6 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

solved by Catholic teachers. The limited resources of the
Catholic schools render it more difficult for them to provide
industrial training. In the state schools the financial burden
is considerably lightened by state and federal aid. However,
Catholic educators are anxious to provide our pupils with
every advantage that can be secured, and it is their ambition
that the pupils attending Catholic schools receive the very best
preparation for their future work. It is the purpose of this
dissertation to indicate the causes and outline the history of
the vocational education and vocational guidance in the state
schools; to compare the motives that prompt this movement
with the motives that prevailed in the Monastic schools ; and to
indicate ways and means which are available for the develop-
ment and guidance of vocation in our Catholic schools.

The term "vocation" has at the present time a variety of
meanings. Literally it means a calling, as does the Latin
"vocatio" from which it is derived. This meaning is retained
in the Catholic Church, where the call to the religious life is
designated as a vocation. By modern writers and educators
it is used to denote a career, an occupation; and by some
authors it has even been restricted to those occupations in
which manual and industrial laborers are employed. In its
widest sense vocation is a call to the life-work of each individ-
ual, whether this be to serve God in religion or in the most
humble occupation.

The teaching of the Church, the history of her institutions,
the example of the saints, but above all the Christ-Child, are
the guides of the Catholic teacher in the sublime work of
vocational preparation of youth.

CHAPTER I

CAUSES LEADING TO THE INTRODUCTION OF VOCATIONAL
EDUCATION IN THE STATE SCHOOLS

The Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia caused American
manufacturers to compare our products with those of other
countries.1 This comparison revealed the fact that only the
abundant resources which our country commands enable us
to compete in the markets of the world with goods produced
in Europe. In every instance of successful competition this has
been due, not to superior handicraft, but to the abundance of
cheap raw material easily obtained in America. Each suc-
ceeding year, however, it became more apparent that the
supremacy in international trade rests on the basis of manual
skill. Schools for art in industry were established soon after
the above-mentioned exposition, and a decade later manual
training schools came into existence in manufacturing cities.
Though an improvement on the system then prevailing, these
were unsatisfactory in regard to the purpose for which they
had been planned because what was taught in the manual
training school was not sufficiently related to the specific
occupation in which the child would later be engaged. Here
we find the first incentive to vocational training in the state
school system of our country; it was the need of better
trained workers that suggested the schools as a means to supply
the required skill.

Meanwhile the complaints about the school system increased
in number and intensity. Employers claimed that pupils com-
ing from the schools lacked initiative, intellectual capacity,
and habits of order and promptness — qualifications which are
necessary for success in their work. A similar complaint came
from the higher institutions of learning, the universities and
colleges. Parents complained, saying that even if they were
willing to make sacrifices so as to afford the children a pro-
longed term of training and education, it did not secure for
the children any advantage in their future career, but on the
contrary, often served to "train them away from the forge and
the shop."

'Bulletin, 1916, No. 21. — Vocational Secondary Education, Washing-
ton, D. C., p. 10.

8 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

The most alarming feature was the tendency of the pupils
to leave school at the first opportunity that presented itself.
They were convinced that the education received in the school-
room was not adapted to their future needs, and too often there
was sufficient reason for this conviction. The school failed to
attract the child, and compulsory education laws were neces-
sary to secure attendance until the child had reached at least
the age of fourteen years. Practically 100 per cent of the
pupils remain in school up to that age, but 50 per cent leave
school at the age of fourteen years.2 At this period of the
child's life home restraints become weaker, in many cases all
authority over the child and power of guidance is lost.3 The
industries offer little by way of training or advancement
before the age of sixteen and little by way of financial com-
pensation.4 If these children find any employment it is of
such a nature as to form eventually an obstacle to their ad-
vancement. The Massachusetts Commission on Industrial
Education found 25,000 children between the ages of fourteen
and sixteen years who were employed in the lowest forms of
industry.5 And the Vocational Bureau reports that at least
one-half of this period is spent in complete idleness, on streets
and alleys and similar places. Those who find an occupation
at intervals drift from job to job and after some years find that
advancement is for them impossible. There is no alternative
but to keep on in what Meyer Bloomfield calls the class of
"Vocational hoboes," employed in "Blind Alley" occupations.8

The child's mind is at this age peculiarly susceptible to
harmful influences, and for this reason idleness and weakened
home influences are especially to be deplored. The exercise of
energy is a physical necessity and a safety-valve for the emo-
tions. But when conditions practically enforce a state of idle-
ness the result is disastrous. Two evils that caused alarm
among educators and psychologists were attributed to this
want of proper occupation for the growing youth. The in-

* Gaylor, G. W., "Vocational Training as a Preventive of Crime," The
Psychological Clinic, Vol. vii, No. 2, April, 1913, p. 40.

1 Ibid., p. 40.

4 A Report on Vocational Training in Chicago and Other Cities, 1912,
City Club of Chicago, p. 144.
e Weeks, R. M., The Peoples' School, Boston, 1912, p. 182.

• Bloomfield, Meyer, Vocational Guidance, Boston, 1911, p. 19.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Cattiolic Schools 9

crease in the number of criminals and the lack of skilled work-
men were traced directly to improper employment or lack of
employment during this period of transition from childhood
to maturity.

In regard to the increase of criminality, E. J. Lickly asserts
that "90 per cent of criminals begin their careers as truants."7
And G. W. Gaylor says, "It is the young man that is the crimi-
nal of today. The daring violent crimes are committed by
boys under twenty-one years of age," and he concludes by
saying that when asked the cause of their defection, "They
will tell you that they drifted into crime after being street
and night loafers."8 To show how serious are the consequences
of such conditions he cites the following headlines from the
press : "Ten Thousand Boys Arrested Last Year," "Four Thou-
sand out of Six Thousand Arrests Last Year Were Boys Under
Twenty." (This referred to a city of less than 150,000 inhabi-
tants.) "Over Half of Murderers Last Year Mere Boys." And
thus he continues to enumerate similar headings of newspaper
articles.9

In charitable and corrective work much good has been
achieved by offering employment adapted to the ability and
pleasing to the nature of the individual.10 It was suggested
to apply similar methods to the normal child and so prevent
the evil rather than apply the remedy after it had developed.
The theory was not a new one, for many centuries ago Sir
Thomas More in his Utopia had set forth the futility of punish-
ment as a cure for crime. He insisted that siiice crime and
pauperism were caused by idleness and lack of skill, they were
curable only by removing the cause, namely, by training men
to do useful work.

This theory has found considerable recognition in recent
years, and more than ever is the opinion spreading that prob-
ably "child idleness is a more serious matter than child
labor."11

' Lickly, E. J., (Report) "Successful Schools for Truants," The
Psychological Clinic, Vol. vii, No. 3, May, 1913, p. 86.

* Gaylor, G. W., "Vocational Training as a Preventive of Crime,"
The Psychological Clinic, Vol. vii, No. 2, April, 1913, p. 41.

• Ibid., p. 42.

"Weeks, R. M., The People's School, Boston, 1912, p. 185.
11 Ibid., p. 175.

10 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

In some cases it is economic pressure that compels the child
to leave school as soon as the law permits, and he is then forced
to enter an occupation that is disadvantageous to his future
development; but according to recent investigations this is
not generally the reason for discontinuance of school work.12
The majority of pupils leave simply because they do not
find school life attractive. Educational literature of the last
two decades abounds in suggestions for arousing and sustain-
ing in children love and interest for school work, especially
during the formative period. One of the means advocated
most strongly was the introduction of vocational training.

During this period the lack of skilled workmen was felt very
keenly, and this too was thought to be due in large measure
to the fact that our youths spent their early years in idleness
or drifting from job to job in the unskilled occupations. For
the time during which the technique of a trade could be most
easily acquired was not utilized. Moreover, the irregular,
shiftless habits that are usually formed as a consequence of
such circumstances proved inimical to business efficiency and
hence prevented success in later life.13

The young and inexperienced child is strongly tempted to
start in an unskilled trade at what seems to him a high wage,
rather than enter an occupation that for some time offers
little remuneration. Nor will words alone convince him that
his best investment is to invest himself by increasing his own
potential value. The objective interest that attracted him
during the first years of his elementary education has grown
too weak to act as a factor in keeping him at school. The
course taken by the pupil is determined by subjective interest
which results from understanding the necessity, utility, or duty
of further preparation.

In order to bring about this subjective interest, to foster
and encourage it, teachers and parents were urged to present
to children the material benefit that they will derive from
careful preparation for a position. When, for instance, they

18 Goldwaaser, I. E., "Shall Elective Courses be Established in the
Seventh and Eighth Grades?" The Psychological Clinic, Vol. vii, No.
8, Jan., 1914, p. 206; also, Harvey, Lorenzo D., "The Need of Industrial
Education in the Public School System, Proc. N. E. A., 1909, p. 57.

" Weeks, R. M., The Peoples' School, 1912, p. 183.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 11

are shown that 50 per cent of our skilled mechanics are foreign
born and foreign trained, and that 98 per cent of New York
foremen in factories were educated across the water, they will
realize that without similar training their opportunities for
advancement are little indeed; and that habits of carelessness
contracted while not engaged in useful work during youth will
hinder their promotion.14 On the other hand, the seeming
benefit of a high wage that a young man may receive on enter-
ing unskilled labor proves to be less tempting when compared
with the salary of a skilled workman or foreman. This com-
parison shows that only a few years will suffice to compensate
for the amount of time and money spent in preparation,
while the chances of promotion for an intelligent, skilled, re-
sourceful workman are almost unlimited.

This utilitarian aim is a potent factor in keeping the child
occupied with studies and work; it also serves the purpose
of those who are solicitous for the social and economic progress
of the nation. Whatever increases the productive capacity of
the individual necessarily increases that of the nation. The
results obtained in other countries, notably in Germany, by
systematic and thorough training of youth has evoked our
admiration and stimulated the desire of imitation. The pres-
ent attitude toward this question is expressed by Gillette in
these words : "The time comes, however, in the history of every
nation when it must educate its people in science and train
them in manufactures and industries or it will go down. This
higher scientific education is the forerunner of higher pros-
perity, and the nation which fails to develop the intellectual
faculty of production must degenerate, for it cannot stand
still."15

Political and ethical motives are forced into the background,
and purely economic motives form the basis of the modern
state school system. The underlying principle of many recent
educational treatises is that "each individual born into the
world represents an amount of social capital. The social
dividend to be realized on the capital depends upon its
investment."16

14/&t<f., p. 20. Also, Monaghan, J. C., "Should Trade Schools Be
Established?" Proc. N. E. A., 1909, p. 607.

" Gillette, J. M., Vocational Education. New York, 1910, p. 27.

'• Bonsor, P. G., "Vocational Aptitudes," Education, Vol. xxxiii, No. 3,
Nov., 1916, p. 146.

12 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

Some of the greatest manufacturing establishments in this
country have provided special instruction for their apprentices
so as to secure the requisite knowledge and skill. Systematic,
organized, continuous instruction for their workmen was more
than compensated for by the superior grade of products thus
obtained. But, since only a limited number of houses can
afford to maintain schools of this nature, very few children
receive the benefit of the courses they offer.17 To meet the
demands of a large number who begin work at an early age
it is necessary to provide means that are within the reach
of all. According to the Keport of the Massachusetts Com-
mission on Industrial and Technical Education "less than 2
per cent of the children who begin work between fourteen and
sixteen are employed in the high-grade industries, and 98 per
cent in unskilled and low-grade industries."18 And for these
98 per cent there is little opportunity for advancement ; manu-
facturers assert that "the child who does enter (the low-grade
industry) closes behind him the door of progress to a fair living
wage."19

As there exists a surplus of unskilled labor which is con-
tinually increasing, the problem threatens to become serious
in the course of time. On the other hand, the demand for
skilled workmen is daily increasing and is supplied largely by
foreigners. We cannot long hold our place as a nation without
better industrial education.20 It is frankly admitted that
markets are gained by us only because we have cheap raw
materials, and because of the great scale upon which we have
done things, but not because we can do a piece of work better
than our competitors could do it.21 Our manufacturers as
well as our social and educational leaders are anxious that we
may compete successfully in foreign markets not merely be-

17 Harvey, L. D., "Need of Industrial Education," Proc. N. E. A.. 1909
p. 58.

18 Binzel, A. L., "Modification of Handwork," Proc. N. E. A., 1909
p. 451.

18 Binzel, Alma L., Modification of Handwork, Proc. N. E. A., 1909,
p. 451.

20 Gillette, J. M., Vocational Education. New York, 1910, p. 27; also
Partridge, G. E., Genetic Philosophy of Education. New York, 1912,
p. 138.

21Monaghan, J. C., "Should Special Trade Schools Be Established?"
N. E. A. Proc., 1909, p. 608.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 13

cause we command a wealth of natural resources unequalled
by any other nation, but also because we have developed manual
skill. The enviable position that Germany has gained in the
commercial world is largely due to the industrial, industrial-
arts, and technical schools, which were established throughout
the country and which supplied efficient training to the laborers.
"Made in Germany" may be a lie as to the place of manufacture,
but it is no uncertain hint as to where articles should have
been made to secure first quality. Yet less than fifty years ago
the products of that country at our Centennial Exposition
were far inferior to those of France and England, and her own
representative pronounced them poor and cheap.22

The advocates of industrial education urge the claim that
if such progress was achieved in half a century by a nation
whose natural resources are far inferior to ours, there is no
reason why we should be less successful. Our country leads in
the production of those materials which the world needs and
if we can finish these products in the manner demanded by the
consumers, the future of our nation promises to be prosperous
indeed. Therefore the advocates of industrial training sug-
gest a system of schools like the system maintained in Ger-
many and in some parts of France and England, or at least
similar to this, but in conformity with American ideals.

While this aim appears to 'be wholly utilitarian, either from
the standpoint of the individual or of the nation, the same
argument is used by those who desire industrial education as
a means of fostering patriotism, altruism, and morality. Love
of country is augmented by the knowledge of its greatness and
achievements. The pride felt by the citizen of a nation that is
foremost in the quality as well as the quantity of products is
a strong incentive to patriotism. And reciprocally, the greater
the joy a man has in contemplating the glory of his native
land the greater will be his readiness to make sacrifices for its
maintenance and progress. Good citizenship is essential for
the preservation of the state; and the ability to support him-
self and those dependent upon him is an essential for good
citizenship. To increase the competence of the individual,
above all, to increase the number of skilled workers, tends to

w/&id., p. 607.

14 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

increase the prosperity of the nation, and consequently, to
foster patriotism.

A strong argument in favor of industrial education is the
beneficial effect of systematic and regular training in manual
work upon the character of those who are trained. Since in-
dustrial education affords the child opportunity to exercise his
craving for activity, he is attracted to the school and therefore
kept from spending much of his time in idleness and in an
environment that is conducive to the formation of evil habits.
Besides the negative phase, such activity has also a positive in-
fluence for good. Daily work is the strongest factor in develop-
ing a man's character.23 Dr. Geo. Kerschensteiner, superintend-
ent of schools in Munich, insisted on the importance of such in-
struction as a means of character-building. He attached little
value to any teaching of words unless it was accompanied by the
action that is inculcated in the lesson. Laboratories, gardens,
kitchens, and workshops were by him regarded as the central
point in the instruction given in other lessons.24 He believed
that insight is a requisite basis for dexterity, and that dexterity
and insight will develop that joy which is gained by the con-
sciousness of excelling in an occupation.25 Efficiency in work
insures success, which in turn gives rise to a legitimate pride
that affords satisfaction and pleasure to the individual. The
inward joy over well-performed work is a strong incentive to
virtuous living. Time has proved the truth of the old proverb,
"To be good is to be happy." The converse of this, "To be happy
is to be good," is also true. But when an occupation is pur-
sued only for material gain and without that inward joy which
results from love of an occupation and consequent success, it
is a constant provocation to aversion and ill will.26

The definite purpose which the child has in view when en-
gaged in manual work, the application necessary to accomp-
lish that purpose, the accuracy with which each step toward its
completion must be carried out, are each and all important
factors in the formation of character, and they accomplish what
merely mental education cannot do. Foerster, who is deeply

23 Cooley, B. G., Vocational Education in Europe, Chicago, 1912, p. 336.

14 Ibid., p. 98.

251&M?., p. 99.

M Dewey, John, Democracy and Education, New York, 1916, p. 370.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catliolic Schools 15

interested in the moral welfare of children, says : "It is my own
firm opinion that it would be an immense benefit to our boys,
and one that would make itself felt more particularly in the
sphere of sex, if handwork were made obligatory ; above every-
thing else the home education should aim at securing the most
precise and careful execution of all household work."27 The
feeling of responsibility for the performance of a certain piece
of work is in itself an aid to character building. The pleasure
derived from successful labor is very precious even to the adult,
and leads to repeated efforts and new victories. Far greater
is its influence on the immature youth and the child; they are
encouraged to further activity when they see the tangible
results of their exertions.

After thus viewing the situation we find that the main causes
which led to the introduction of vocational training in the
state schools are :

1. The prevention of crime.

2. Desire to increase the productive capacity of the indi-
vidual.

3. Ambition to augment the nation's progress in manufac-
tures and trade.

4. Desire to secure morality and happiness through satisfac-
tory occupations.

An Outline of the Movement Toward Vocational Education
in State Schools

In many instances the school received more than its due
share of blame for the inadequate preparation of children for
their life-work. The efficiency of the schools in the past was
extolled by the modern critic and it was frequently said that
they excelled because they taught fewer subjects, but taught
these more thoroughly. This statement, though very popular,
was entirely gratuitous. An examination that had been held
in 1846 in Springfield, Mass., was again given in 1905 to a
class of the same grade and age. On comparison of the papers
it was found that the result was throughout in favor of the
class of 1905. Even in spelling, for which our grandparents

"Foerster, P. W., Marriage and the Sex Problem, translation by
Booth, M., New York, 1912, Part II, p. 205.

16 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

have won a reputation, the 1905 class showed 10.6 per cent in-
crease of correct papers. The greatest increase of correct
papers, namely 36.1 per cent, was found in arithmetic.28 The
number of subjects that is now being taught in the schools is
greater than it formerly was, but that these subjects were then
taught more thoroughly is an illusion.

The cause for the seemingly decreased capabilities of the
child lies rather in the rapidly changing social environment that-
created many needs for which no provision had been made, and
deprived the child of the means to obtain that training through
useful activities hitherto at his command. Only fifty years
ago the typical American home was the farm, not the modern
farm with all its improved machinery and labor-saving con-
trivances, but the farm which was the great natural laboratory,
the small cooperative factory.29 The great object lessons of
home manufacture were daily presented to the child, even from
his earliest years. He was familiar with all the details of the
process necessary to provide the garments he wore, the food
he ate, the furniture in the home, and the implements used on
the fields and meadows. According to his age and ability he
did his share to carry on the industries necessary for the com-
fort of the family. This trained him to usefulness without de-
stroying his play spirit, and was exceedingly valuable in call-
ing forth his ingenuity and skill. He saw and learned every
detail of the work, which enabled him to see each part in its
relation to the whole. The lack of this opportunity makes it-
self keenly felt in the manufacture of articles under present
conditions where each laborer knows practically nothing of the
work performed by others towards the completion of the pro-
duct at which he works.

The change from these former conditions was rapid and
radical. The average home of the present day offers no oppor-
tunity for the child to exercise his constructive abilities. Even
the country home is very different now because machinery is
employed to do most of the work formerly done by hand. Cloth-
ing, food, furniture, and farm implements are no longer made

* Gregory, B. C., Better Schools. New York, 1912, p. 113.

w Partridge, G. E., Genetic Philosophy of Education. New York, 1912,
p. 115; also Salisbury, Albert, "Influence of Industrial Arts and Sci-
ences," Proc. Nk E. A., 1909, p. 640.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 17

at home by the farmer; they are now procured from the fac-
tories where thousands of hands are employed that would have
tilled the soil under former conditions. The rise of industries
in cities and towns drew large numbers from the country ; living
conditions were altered so rapidly that the people scarcely real-
ized how such a sudden change would affect the growing youth.
As long as the education received in the school had been supple-
mented by the industrial training of the home it had been
sufficient to enable the young man to undertake and carry on
successfully whatever work he desired; the ambitious youth
was prepared to enter any career he chose.

But the change that came was as thorough as it was rapid.
The division of labor and the specialized forms of industry
which were necessitated by the growth of manufacture, made
adequate preparation for a definite occupation essential to suc-
cess. It was often difficult to obtain such preparation; espe-
cially the work done in the schools seemed so far remote from
the future work of the child that he saw no connection between
the two. The usual result was complete loss of interest in the
school and an intense longing to be released from its unwelcome
restraint.

It was clear that the school system was seriously defective
and unable to meet the demands ; but how to remedy the defect
was a difficult problem. It was necessary to bring about a re-
adjustment of the curriculum, but opinions differ widely as to
the manner in which this was to be accomplished. Until re-
cently, the control of this movement had been in the hands of
educational authorities, and for this reason academic interests
prevailed. Opposed to these were the over-practical enthusi-
asts, who, not satisfied with the gradual transformation of our
present institution wished to discard everything that had no
immediate industrial utility.30

While the kind of training that should be given is very much
disputed, and in all probability will continue a subject of de-
bate for some time to come, it is generally admitted that the
time of training should be extended. Children who leave school
at the early age of fourteen, and this class is very numerous,
find themselves barred from any but the unskilled occupations ;

80 Weeks, Ruth M., The People's School Boston, 1912, p. 95.

18 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

and this, as has been indicated, gives rise to the formation of
undesirable habits that are likely to prevent later progress.
The democratic ideal of education will never be realized until
each child has the opportunity to complete the preparation for
his career, be that of an industrial or professional nature.31
Although there has been great progress in this direction within
the last decade, the realization of this ideal still seems very
remote. The manual training that had been introduced into
the schools was found to be deficient since this training did
not actually function in the specific work later undertaken
by the student unless the occupation in which he was engaged
happened to be in that line in which he had received instruc-
tion.32

Manual training schools were followed by the evening voca-
tional schools, whose aim was to supply the related technical
instruction, while the practical training was acquired during
the actual work of the day. Many adults seized this oppor-
tunity for self-improvement, and this demonstrates the utility
of these schools. While adults received great benefit from these
evening schools, their advantages for children were offset by
grave disadvantages. The fatigue caused by the day's labor
was augmented by night study and the result was a serious
strain upon the constitution, and detriment to the physical
development of the child. Children usually attended such
schools only when compelled by parents or employers. The
quality of work done by a tired, unwilling child is necessarily
poor and the efforts of both teacher and pupil are crowned with
but meager success.

But these evening schools are the only possible means of
progress for the more mature workers, who either did not have
the advantages of an industrial education in their youth, or who
neglected the opportunity they then had. To this class the
evening school is the only hope of advancement, and adults
have learned to realize its practical value since they suffered
from their want of preparation. Lack of provision for the
industrial education of children in the past has created the
need of evening schools, and this need will continue to exist

81 Dewey, John, Democracy and Education, New York, 1916, p. 114.
11 Bulletin, 1916, No. 21, Vocational Secondary Education, Washing-
ton, D. C., p. 11.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 1.9

until they are replaced by day-continuation schools or part-
time schools and all-day industrial schools.33 These give
greater satisfaction than the evening school. The part-time
schools and the day vocational schools resemble each other in
many ways but differ essentially in this respect : in the former
the pupils go from the school to the employing establishment
to obtain practical experience, whereas in the latter the pupils
go from the employing establishment to the school so as to
secure supplemental training.34

Technical schools no longer confine themselves to instruc-
tion in the theoretical phases of the various professions. Origi-
nally these were intended to supplement apprenticeship as a
means of vocational training, but in our time there is need of
supplanting, rather than supplementing, apprenticeship. There-
fore many technical schools have introduced work to give the
necessary practical experience.35

The National Educational Association has concerned itself
for many years with the problem of industrial training, and has
appointed a committee on Vocational Education. This com-
mittee attempted a classification of the various vocational
schools, excluding those of college grade. These schools were
classified under five distinct types, each type having a number
of subdivisions. For example, the Agricultural schools have
the following divisions: (1) Vocational agricultural day
schools; (2) Part-time agricultural schools ; (3) Practical arts
agricultural schools, and (4) Farm extension schools. The
Commercial, the Industrial, and the Homernaking schools each
have similar divisions. It was found that in the United States,
in 1916, there were in operation 92 agricultural schools, 224
commercial schools, 446 industrial schools, 423 homemaking
schools, and 24 technical schools.36 This enumeration excludes
all private and semi-private institutions and all others not
classed under secondary schools. Nor does this committee claim
the above to be a complete record of all the vocational schools
under the control of the state school system, since various causes
tended to lessen the number of schools actually in existence,

"Ibid., pp. 94-95.
34 Ibid., p. 62.
" Ibid., p. 55.
" Ibid., pp. 21-22.

20 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

and new schools are continually being established. The data
are sufficient, however, to indicate the importance of the move-
ment 'and the interest exhibited in its regard throughout the
country. For previous to the twentieth century practically
nothing had been done in this field and even until 1905, the
measures that had been taken, since they were not of a practical
nature, were not likely to produce the desired results.37

The efforts of the state schools are reinforced by many private
and semi-private establishments. The Young Men's Christian
Association has a large number of agencies for industrial,
scientific, technical, and trade instruction in the form of asso-
ciations. In 1910 there were 180 of these extending help to
many workers, either by preparing them to enter trades, or
by giving the desired instruction to those already engaged
in the trades. The number of philanthropic schools plus the
apprenticeship schools may be considered as equal to the num-
ber of schools conducted by the state.38

An Outline of the Vocational Guidance Movement

A great deal of discontent and suffering is caused by the
fact that many people are engaged in the kind of work which
does not appeal to them. While necessity may keep such indi-
viduals from seeking other and more congenial employment,
the motive which prompted them to undertake the repulsive
occupation will not restrain their ill-will nor prevent them
from evading or slighting their duties.39 For this reason many
educators and social workers are convinced that vocational
guidance is of greater importance than vocational training.
The object of vocational guidance is not to help the child to
find work, nor to prescribe an occupation for him; but rather
to direct the child to such work as he seems best fitted to do
both by nature and training.40

In 1909 a Vocation Bureau was established in Boston for the
public high school students. The express aims of this bureau
were: 1. To secure thoughtful consideration, on the part of

" Ibid., p. 11.

*• Twenty-fifth Annual Report of the Commission of Labor, 1910, pp.
544-583.

*• Dewey, John, Democracy and Education, p. 370.
40 Bloomfield, Meyer, Vocatonal Guidance — Introduction xiii.

Vocational I'iriHi ration of Youth in Catholic Schools lil

parents, pupils and teachers, of the importance of a life career
motive. 2. To assist in every possible way in placing pupils
in some remunerative work when leaving school. 3. To keep
in touch with them thereafter, suggesting means of improve-
ment and watching the advancement of those who need such
aid.41

The vocational guidance movement, like the general move-
ment for vocational education, has its origin in the solicitude
for the large number of children who leave school with very
little training and who consequently face a market for un-
skilled labor only. There are other associations that work
along similar lines and that have achieved notable results.
Prominent among these are the Trade Extension League, the
Y. M. C. A., the University Extension Course and Church Ex-
tension Committees. Many schools invite to their commence-
ment exercises lecturers who aim to direct the attention of
the pupils and especially of the graduates, to the question of
choosing and preparing for an occupation.42 There has been
rapid progress in the vocational guidance movement and a de-
cided change in its method. "Not so long ago it meant finding
a job for the individual in a certain industry." Now it is
"transformed largely into an effort to keep boys and girls out
of the industries, by convincing them and their parents of the
value of further schooling, at least until there is available a
fund of more definite knowledge of the industries into which
it is proposed to send children."43 Even in the brief period
of six years much valuable information has been gained in the
department of educational endeavor. It is evident that no
one can properly select an occupation for the child, but he may
be assisted materially by the counsellor who can point out the
advantages and disadvantages of each occupation, who knows
the requirements of the trade, and has some ability to judge
whether or not the child is prepared to fill the position, or to
advise means of acquiring the necessary preparation. "We
must plan how we may prevent from lapsing to unskilled labor

41 Ibid., chap. 3, pp. 32-33.

4iCooley, Edwin G., Vocational Education in Europe, Chicago, 1912,
pp. 101-104.

43 Bowden, Wm. T., "Progress in Vocational Education," Education
Report, 1913, Vol. i, p. 256.

22 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

the half -educated boys who leave school at about fourteen, many
with vocational tendencies but without sufficient intellectual
interests to carry them on further than the point at which the
school has left them."44 Meyer Bloomfield expresses the same
view from a commercial standpoint: "Authorities should be
empowered to deal with abuse and misapplication of the ex-
pensively trained product.'745

While this movement is still in its early stage of development
it would be unwise to expect of it more than monitory voca-
tional guidance. Both the child and his parents are to be led
to consider the matter, the child's taste and abilities are to be
studied, information regarding occupations is to be extended,
and means for acquiring the proper training should be indi-
cated to the child. A very important service can be rendered
to him by directing his attention to the problem of choosing a
life-work and to the data that have any bearing on its solu-
tion.46

One of the most important considerations that should prompt
the choice of an occupation has been almost totally ignored by
the average child. A study of boys and girls of the upper
grammar grades, made for the purpose of ascertaining1 their
choice of vocation and the reason for that choice, showed that
they were usually influenced by personal preference or general
liking for a given occupation. Less frequently the wish of
parents, or the desire to help the parents determined their
choice. Rarely was aptitude for work mentioned as a reason
for selecting a certain vocation, and where this was the case
some work had already been done in the regular course.47 Yet
aptitude for work is necessary to insure efficiency and joy in
work, to stimulate further endeavor in a successful career.

It is difficult to determine for what kind of work the child
may have aptitude unless observation can be made upon work
that has been undertaken. Gillette advocates that a large
part of the information that is given in the school should be

44 Partridge, G. E., Genetic Philosophy of Education, p. 139.

45 Bloomfield, Meyer, Vocational Education, p. 23.

"Bowden, Wm. T., Progress in Vocational Education, 1915, Vol. i,
p. 264.

47 Goldwasser, I. E., "Shall Elective Courses Be Established?" The
Psychological Clinic, Vol. 7, June, 1914, p. 214.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 23

made to bear on the future calling.48 The variety of occupa-
tions into which the children may enter makes this suggestion
scarcely applicable to any schools but such as are in a locality
where but very few pursuits are offered. And even then it is
doubtful whether it is wise to ignore the many other occupa-
tions that the child may choose from a wider field.49 A fair
means of judging the aptitude of children is by the interest they
exhibit in certain lines of work. Therefore one phase of the
vocational guidance movement is to supply material that is
calculated to arouse interst. For this purpose the Vocation
Bureau of Boston issues a number of bulletins treating of all
the phases of those occupations which are most likely to be
chosen.50 These are distributed freely among the children
who are encouraged to read them; biographies are recom-
mended as an incentive to the ambition of youth; magazines
that treat of vocational education and manual training are
found useful aids in stimulating the child's mind in regard to
his future work. Excursions to shops and factories of the
neighborhood, debates and discussions concerning the advan-
tages and disadvantages of various occupations are suggested
as a means of arousing interest and as an aid to select an agree-
able career. Questionnaires concerning the pupil's ambitions,
abilities, interests, and characteristics, when answered by the
pupil, even if he is not conscious of the reason for which they
were asked, serve as a guide to the vocation counsellor and en-
able him to suggest a general type of vocation with a fair de-
gree of accuracy.51

To be successful the vocational guidance movement must
have the cooperation of parents, social workers, teachers and
employers. If these work in harmony and disinterestedly, the
best possible chance can be offered to the children in whom
their interest is centered. It will require time and patient dis-
cussion to secure a consensus of opinion and to work out a pro-
gram that will receive general assent, since there are many

*• Gillette, John M., Vocational Education, p. 247.

49 Ayres, L. P., "Studies in Occupations," Vocational Guidance, 1914,
No. 14, p. 30.

60 Twenty-fifth Annual Report of the Commission of Labor, 1910,
p. 425.

81 Ibid., p. 411.

24 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

views, each representing elements of value.52 On this question
L. P. Ayres says : ''If we are to engage in vocational guidance
our first and greatest need is a basis of fact for our own guid-
ance. The kind of vocational guidance that many of our child-
ren need is the kind that will guide them to stay in school a few
years longer, and the kind of vocational guidance that our
schools most need is the kind that will carry the children for-
ward through the grades further and faster."53

The work of the vocation counsellor is delicate and difficult,
since it calls for exceptional qualities of intelligence. The
Women's Educational and Industrial Union, Boston, has pro-
vided a year's program for those who are preparing themselves
for work in this field. The course is offered especially to college
graduates and experienced teachers, and includes research as to
industrial opportunities, economics, statistics, observation and
practice.54 One who undertakes to guide children in their
choice of vocation is expected to have certain qualifications.
According to the opinion of Frederick Bonsor, the first of these
is a thorough knowledge of the vocational world, especially of
the industries of that locality in which the children will most
probably spend their lives. This knowledge of the vocational
world should be supplemented by intimate knowledge of the
people and their needs. To be successful the vocation coun-
sellor must have the confidence of children, parents and em-
ployers. He must have their cooperation which he can obtain
only by being in sympathy with them ;. and he will gain their
confidence only when they know that 'he is familiar with the
conditions of the laborers. The second qualification is ex-
perience along these, or similar lines. It is for this reason
that teachers and others who have previously directed the
young are preferred for this work. Besides a knowledge of the
child, the counsellor must have a knowledge of the living con-
ditions and congestion of population, of child labor and fac-
tory laws. Then, thirdly, the personality of the vocation coun-
sellor is important. A great deal of tact is required of a person
who undertakes a work in which he must deal with such a

52 Mead, Geo. H., The Larger Educational Bearings of Vocational
Education, Bulletin No. 14, 1914, p. 22.

53 Ayres, L. P., Studies in Occupations, Bulletin No. 14, 1914, p. 30.
84 Arnold, S. L., Vocation Guidance, Bulletin No. 14, 1914, p. 90.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 25

variety of characters, youths and adults, children and parents,
teachers and employers. He must be able to meet occasions
with prompt noss and decision, yet with tact and human sym-
pathy. As a fourth qualification he should have a capacity for
constructive research. Conditions are unceasingly changing,
and unless the vocation counsellor is able to follow the altera-
lions in his environment and knows how to draw knowledge
from these changes which will serve to guide him in his future
work, the aim of vocational guidance will not be realized.
While the whole process is still in its initial stage, this last
qualification is especially necessary.55

Teachers are expected to help in making the work of the
vocation bureau more efficient by giving to the counsellor the
benefit of their experience. They are urged to stimulate in
their pupils the consideration of their future career, to supply
them with the proper material for reading, and to ascertain
by direct inquiry and indirectly by means of their work in
composition, their tastes and aptitudes. "The ideal plan of
articulating the several elements which have been treated
would be to group and fuse all the various factors about the
thought of vocation which would serve as center or core of the
school program."56

Some writers advocate early information on matters per-
taining to vocation but others see in this a serious danger for
the growing child, for as early specialization effectually
hinders the discovery of personal aptitudes and the develop-
ment of latent powers in the child, so all that tends to early
specialization is undesirable. Besides it is a serious mistake
to train individuals for efficiency in a definite line of work, since
especially at the present time there are abrupt and sudden
changes in the industries, as new ones arise and old ones are
revolutionized.57 Over-specialization is the cause of unemploy-
ment and of inability to meet changed conditions; this may
become just as deterimental to the individual and society as
the lack of any development of skill. The failure of Oriental
education, which had such a fair beginning in the control of

S8Bonsor, P. G., "Necessity of Professional Training for Vocation
Counseling," Vocational Guidance, Bulletin No. 14, 1914, p. 37; also
Bowden, Wm. T., Education Report, 1915, pp. 264-265.

59 Gillette, John M., Vocational Education, p. 247.

i7 Dewey, John, Democracy and Education. New York, 1916, p. 135.

26 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

nature, was caused by the effort to suppress the individual,
hampering his development, and making progress practically
impossible.58 A similar condition would be brought about by
too early specialization, therefore the earlier preparation for
vocation must be indirect, rather than direct, or it will defeat
its own purpose.

Though at the present time there is no unanimity on this
question, the majority who have devoted their time and energy
to a study of the situation recommend a broad and liberal edu-
cation up to the age of fourteen in order to insure general
vocational development. Nevertheless it is urged that the
curriculum provide for vocational enlightenment before this
age is reached. Manual training is considered to be sufficient
to lay the foundation of trade dexterity and trade intelligence,
because basic skill, whether mental or motor, is acquired early
in life.59 Just how to keep the proper balance between the in-
formal and the formal, the incidental and the intentional,
modes of education is one of the weightiest problems with
which the philosophy of education has to cope.60

John Dewey says that "To find out what one is fitted to do
and to secure an opportunity to do it is the key to happiness.
Nothing is more tragic than failure to discover one's true busi-
ness in life, or to find that one has drifted or been forced
by circumstances into an uncongenial calling." Since in his
opinion "it is the business of education to discover what each
person is good for, and to train him to mastery of that mode
of excellence, because such development would also secure
the fulfillment of social needs in the most harmonious way,"81
the task devolving upon the school is no light one. A read-
justment of the present curriculum is imperative in order to
meet the situation. Whether the present school system may
be readjusted by a gradual transformation preserving the in-
formational, the cultural, and the disciplinary features which
they now possess, or whether a sudden and complete readjust-
ment should be made, is at the present time an undecided,
though much debated, question.62

M Graves, F. P., History of Education. New York, 1909, p. 108.
58 Weeks, Ruth M., The People's School. Boston, 1912, p. 173.

60 Dewey, John, Democracy and Education, p. 10.

61 Ibid., p. 360.

9* Gillette, John M., Vocational Education, p. 13; also Dewey, John,
Democracy and Education, p. 368.

CHAPTER II

AN OUTLINE OP THE HISTORY OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

The Church has ever been solicitous for the welfare of her
children, and so we find that from the dawn of Christianity
she provided for their education. As soon as the yoke of perse-
cution and oppression by civil authority was removed, she
fearlessly sought to accomplish her aim ; namely, to extend the
sublime message of hope and salvation to all ; to establish that
equality among men which the Redeemer had come to restore ;
to make known the loftiest truths of religion and the highest
form of morality. |Her mission was to teach religious truths
and moral precepts, but in order to do this it was necessary to
provide for the training of the intellect as well. This became
more imperative when the home influence was no longer able
to counteract the dangers that threatened the moral welfare of
her children. Therefore, she established the Catechumenal
schools, which provided religious instruction for prospective
Christians ; the Catechetical schools, in which vocational train-
ing was given to the future priest ; the Song schools and Parish
schools, where Christian doctrine, reading and writing were
taught, and the children were prepared to participate in the
services of the Church.63

Most important of all the educational institutions during the
early Middle Ages were the Monastic schools, for though the
monasteries were primarily intended for purposes of devotion,
they provided systematic instruction for the young committed
to their care by parents that they might receive a Christian
education. In the West monasticism was to be an instrument
in the hands of the Almighty for renewing the face of Europe.
St. Benedict, who know from his own experience the moral
dangers of a Godless education, began a work of untold benefit
to mankind when he established his order. It is true that this
was not done with the intention of teaching art, or fostering
architecture, or promoting other industries : the main object of

M McCormick, P. J., History o/ Education, Washington, D. C., 1915, pp.
65-90.

27

28 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

lii'e in the monasteries was the sanctification of its members,
who, according to the words of St. Benedict, are really worthy
of the name "monk" only when they live by the labor of their
own hands.64 To work and to pray was to be the occupation
of his children, and from this small and apparently insignifi-
cant beginning resulted the transformation of Europe.

The principle that manual labor has its legitimate place in
the course of instruction did not originate with St. Benedict.
In the fourth century we find in St. Basil's legislation concern-
ing pupils this statement: "And whilst acquiring knowledge
of letters, they are likewise to be taught some useful art or
trade."65 And in St. Jerome's instruction to Laeta regarding
the education of her daughter, Paula, there is set forth expli-
citly the kind of manual work that she should be taught.66
This is all the more remarkable since he outlined the course for
a noble virgin, not for the practical use that the skill of her
hands might acquire, but as a means of obtaining a complete
education.

Though the early Christians recognized the value of labor in
the educative process and were aware of its dignity, since the
Son of God had deigned to teach this lesson by His example, it
was a very difficult problem to convince the newly converted
world of the fourth century that their preconceived notions con-
cerning manual work were erroneous and not in accordance
with those of a true disciple of Christ. The Komans, whose
dominion extended well-nigh over the then known world, looked
upon the pursuit of any industry, and especially of agriculture,
which was almost exclusively the portion of slaves, as degrad-
ing occupations.67 To overcome such prejudice was one of the
many difficult tasks that confronted the Church in early Chris-
tian times. It was accomplished mainly through the influence
of inonasticism. Bound by their rule to divide the time between
prayer and labor, the followers of St. Benedict, by their ex-
ample, taught the lesson which made possible the civilization

64 St. Benedict, The Holy Rule, Atchison, Kansas, 1912, Ch. 48, p. 109.

65 Drane, A. T., Christian Schools and Scholars, New York, 1910, p. 24.

66 Denk, Otto, Geschichte des Gallo-Fronkischen Unterrichts u. Bil-
dungswesens, Mainz, 1892, p. 262.

67 Montalembert, Monks of the West. Boston, 1872, Vol. 1, Book 3.
p. 297.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 29

of Europe. According to the example of Our Lord and His
disciples, labor was sanctified by them and raised to the dig-
nity of a virtue in which lies man's redemption.

The monastery was usually located in an isolated "desert";
that is, in an uninhabited, uncultivated tract of land, covered
with forests or surrounded by marshes.68 The monks desired
the solitude which an inaccessible retreat offered, and the
donor's munificence incurred the least possible sacrifice. But
the patient toil of the monks transformed the forests, the
marshes, the sandy plains and barren heaths into fat pastur-
ages and abundant harvests. The regions thus restored often
comprised from one-fourth to one-half of a kingdom, as was
the case in Northumberland, East Anglia and Mercia.69

The material benefit that the work of the monks secured for
Europe by the clearing of forests, by irrigation, drainage, the
development of agriculture, and the impetus given to all the
industries was very great; but these were surpassed by the
mental and spiritual good that was produced by means of the
training given in these schools. The conquest of the wild beasts
that dwelt within the forests was not as difficult as the victory
over barbarian passions; to obtain fruit and grain from the
wilderness was a lighter task than to graft upon these un-
tamed natures the nobility of Christian virtues.70

The training and instruction were transmitted not only by
direct teaching in the schools established by the monks, but
also by their intercourse with the people.71 In the one their
influence was necessarily limited to the comparatively few who
had the opportunity and inclination to attend their institu-
tions. In the other it extended directly or indirectly to the
inhabitants of the entire country. Their instruction was at
first intended only for their immediate followers, who were to
attain the higher ideals of Christian life with greater security.
In the plan of Divine Providence they were destined to a groat
deal more than to accomplish their primary aim.

Since the use of meat as food was limited, sometimes alto-

•* IMd., Book 14, p. 613.

"Ibid.. Book 14, p. 613; also Grupp, Georg, Kulturgeschichte des Mit-
telaUers, Paderborn, 1907, Vol. 1, p. 261.

70 Grupp. Georg, Kulturgeschichte des Mittelalters, p. 264, Vol. 2.

71 IUd.. p. 264.

30 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

gether prohibited by the rules and customs of the monasteries,
it became necessary to raise fruit and vegetables. The result
of their labor in procuring the necessaries of life was so mar-
velous that the people deemed it supernatural; they thought
that the monks needed but to touch the ground with a fork or
a spade and the work of cultivation was completed. Again, the
legends tell us of wild beasts that left the forests and volun-
tarily offered their services to the plough-man; of the bitter
fruit of a tree made sweet and palatable by the touch of the
saint's hand. In these and similar legends we recognize the
monk as the successful tiller of hitherto unproductive soil ; we
see him taming and domesticating wild animals, and we learn
that the art of grafting was not unknown to the monk of the
sixth century.72

The comment of Augustus Jessopp on the monasteries of
England could well be applied to any one of these institutions
that sprang up in great numbers in all parts of Europe. He
says: "It is difficult for us now to realize what a vast hive
of industry a great monastery in some of the lonely and thinly
populated parts of England was. Everything that was eaten
or drunk or worn, almost everything that was made or used in
a monastery, was produced upon the spot. The grain grew on
their own land ; the corn was ground in their own mills ; their
clothes were made from the wool of their own sheep ; they had
their own tailors and shoemakers and carpenters and black-
smiths almost within call; they kept their own bees; they
grew their own garden-stuff and their own fruit. I suspect that
they knew more of fish culture than, until very lately, we
moderns could boast of knowing. They had their own vine-
yards and made their own wine."73 The diversity of occupa
tions offered by the monasteries to their members was largely
the cause of the rapid increase of their numbers. In Vienne
and vicinity there were twelve hundred monks and nuns as
early as the seventh century, or scarcely one hundred years
after monasticism had been established in the Occident. Each
convent soon possessed a school, with an attendance that seems
incredibly large in our day, because the conditions in which

., Vol. I, p. 135.
Jessopp, Augustus, The Coming of the Friars, New York, 1892, p. 143.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 31

we live are very different. Thus St. Finian's school, in the
first halt' of the sixth century, is said to have had three thou-
sand students; this number, though large, is not absurd, for
instruction was given out of doors and the students did not
live in one building. They dwelt in huts constructed by them-
selves, and, as the convent rule prescribed, earned their living
by the work of their hands.74

Gustav Schmoller, in tracing the development of industries,
expresses his appreciation of the work done in the convents when
he says that it was in these schools that workmen were trained
and artists developed. Architects and painters, sculptors and
goldsmiths, bookbinders and metalworkers were the products
of technical instruction given in the monasteries. The schools
of the Benedictines were the schools of technical progress from
the seventh to the eleventh century.75

In the course of time different orders were founded having
different aims, and new spheres of activity were created. We
have in this an anticipation of the diversity of occupation in
the different guilds to which the monastic schools gave rise.
"The studious, the educational, the philanthropic, the agricul-
tural element — all to some extent made part of the old mon-
astic system."76

The very nature of the work done by the monks necessarily
affected the people of the surrounding country. When they
made roads and bridges, erected hospitals and churches, and
brought large tracts of land under cultivation, they offered
objective teaching to all the inhabitants of the vicinity. This
work was done especially by the Carthusians, who were occu-
pied with providing asylums for the sick and the poor, with
building schools and churches, with erecting bridges and mak-
ing streets; in the neighborhood of Chartreuse this work has
been continued down to the twentieth century, and the means
wherewith to do this work is obtained by the proceeds of their
own labor.77

74Denk, Otto, Geschichte dcs Gallo-FrdnJcischen Unterrichts, p.
252-260.

75 Schmoller, Gustav, Die Strassburger Tucher u. Weberzunft, Strasp-
burg, 1879, p. 361; also Heimbucher, Max, Die Orden u. Kongregationen
der Katholischen Kirche, Paterborn, 1897, Vol. I, p. 191.

Ti Eckenstein, L., Women Under Monasticism, Cambridge, 1896, p. 186;
also Eberstadt, Rudolf, Der Ur sprung des Zunftwesens, Leipzig, 1900,
pp. 139-140.

" Heimbucher, Max, Orden u. Kongregationen, Vol. I, p. 259.

32 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

In the monastery of medieval times the baker, the butcher,
the shoemaker, the tanner, the saddler, the smith, and the
carver were able to produce articles of superior quality, and
therefore became the teachers of the colonists in all their occu-
pations, and they were instrumental in the formation of guilds
and fraternal societies.78 The work within the convent was
originally performed by the members, but the increase of their
estates made it necessary to employ many other workmen.
This gave to lay people an opportunity to learn a regular trade
and directly effected the spread of the industries in the vicin-
ity.79 Besides this, the monks tried to attract tradesmen from
afar and employed free handworkers, which indicates their
solicitude for acquiring a knowledge of whatever progress had
been made elsewhere.80

In this manner they succeeded in training men to skilled
labor that in time of need for prompt action — e. g., the erection
of barracks in the process of a campaign — each man, the low-
liest soldier as well as the highest official, was able to con-
tribute his share with great skill and speed, and the entire
work was completed in a few minutes.81 With like zeal and
eagerness did men devote themselves to the building of churches,
but this work remained almost exclusively the work of the
monks until the twelfth century. The monasteries of Cluny,
Corvey, Fulda, St. Gall, and Paderborn were veritable schools
of architecture. In the last-named convent a Benedictine
monk of the thirteenth century executed the most important
monument of early medieval sculpture.82

Special attention was also given to art and architecture in
the Dominican convents, notably those in Italy. The church of
St. Maria Novella, in Florence, which was built by them, was
daily visited by Michel Angelo, who pronounced it "beautiful,
simple and pure as a bride."83 It is remarkable that we find
few names of the skillful artists who left us such a wealth of
beauty in design and ornamentation, which even in the bare

T8Muller, Walther, Zur Frage des Ursprungs der Mittelalterlichen
Zunlte Leipzig, 1910, p. 67.

T» Grupp, Georg, Kulturgesehichte des Mittelalters, Vol. II, pp. 260-263.
99 Ibid., p. 142.
81 Ibid., p. 146.

84 Heimbucher, Max, Orden u. Kongregationen, Vol. I, p. 191.
M Ibid., p. 573.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 33

fragmentary remains is a source of unending wonder and
delight.

Like the building of churches, so also their decoration by
painting and sculpture was almost solely done by the monks.
They taught the theory as well as the practice of art in these
early ages, as is evident from the books compiled on the subject.
Theophilus, a Benedictine monk, who died in the twelfth cen-
tury, was the author of a work which gave directions for
painting.84 And a nun of St. Catherine's Convent, in Nuren-
berg, wrote one which gave instructions for making glass
pictures in mosaic.85

The extensive and valuable libraries that were begun and
enlarged by the monks indicate their high esteem for learning.
Those of the Benedictines rank foremost among the libraries
of all orders.86 Vocational training was not only no detriment
to the cultivation of letters, but rather aided the progress of
education, for some of the most famous teachers of the order
were masters in the manual arts. The biography of Easter-
wine gives us a glimpse of the eleventh century monk: "His
duties were to thrash and winnow the corn, to milk the goats
and cows, to take his turn in the kitchen, the bakehouse, and
the garden ; always humble and joyous in his obedience, . . .
and when his duties as superior led him out of doors to where
the monks labored in the fields, he set to work along with
them, taking the plough or the fan in his own hands, or forg-
ing iron upon the anvil."87 When we consider what the atti-
tude of the wealthy had for centuries been toward labor and
the laborer, we can readily understand the surprise that must
have been caused among the people when a proud nobleman
responded meekly to the call of obedience and performed the
work which hitherto had been done for him by the servant and
the slave. It is because the monks did not disdain the most
humble occupations as a means of advancing, instructing, civil-
izing and converting the pagans that they accomplished their
great task of converting Europe, for thus they approached the
lowliest and gained their confidence and good will. St. Wil-

M Ibid., Vol. I, p. 190.

M Janssen, J., History of the German People, translation by Mitchell,
London, 1905, Vol. I, Book II, p. 213.

M Heimbucher, Max, Orden u. Kongregationen, Vol. I, p. 189.
17 Montalembert, Monks of the West. Boston, 1872, Vol. II, p. 502.

34 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

frid, as he sought refuge among the pagans in the kingdoms
of the Southern Saxons, taught his future converts, who were
then suffering from a famine caused by a drought of three
years' duration, a new means of gaining their subsistence by
fishing with nets.88

The monks possessed the confidence of the people to such a
degree that parents entrusted to their keeping children at the
tender age of five, for no other place offered such opportunities
to train them in the sciences and, more important still, in the
art of leading good Christian lives.89 The moral value of labor
was practically demonstrated each day, labor itself being
transformed into prayer. For "the Church enlisted art in the
service of God, making use of it as a valuable supplement to
the written and oral instruction which she gave the people.
Artists thus became her allies in the task of setting forth the
beauties of the Gospel to the poor and unlearned. All the
great artists grasped with fidelity this idea of the mission of
art, and turned their talents into a means for the service of
God and man. Their aim was not to exalt beauty for its own
sake, making an altar and idol of it, but rather for the setting
forth of God's will."90 Art itself, though used as an instrument
to teach and elevate by means of symbols, did not suffer on
that account, nor was its development in any way hindered.
On the contrary, never did man produce finer masterpieces in
painting, sculpture and architecture than when his motive was
only to accomplish his work for the greater glory of God. Such
works were not accomplished when the motive was pecuniary
gain or self-glorification. The disinterestedness of these art-
ists is shown by complete indifference to perpetuating their
names with their work.

Some of the most exquisite creations of art were produced
by some unknown, unnamed artist. In some cases an initial is
the only indication that tells us to whom we are indebted for
the pleasure of seeing the expression of the author's noble
thoughts. In many more cases there is no indication whatso-
ever of the artist's name.91

., Vol. II, pp. 681-683.
89Denk, Otto, Geschichte des Gallo-Frankischen Unterrichts, p. 194.
*° Janssen, J., History of the German People, Vol. I, Book 2, p. 167.
81 Sighart, J., Geschichte u. Kunstdenkmale, Bavaria, Landes in Volks-
kunde, Miinchen, 1860, Vol. II, pp. 975-976.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 35

Scarcely had a nation issued from the night of paganism,
being instructed in the mysteries of faith and the laws of
morality, when the Church through her ministers hastened to
reveal to her children the pleasures of the mind and the beauties
of art. This work had begun in the catacombs at the tombs of
the martyrs and then reappeared in the great mosaics which
still decorate the apses of the primitive churches in Kome. In
the seventh century Benedict Biscop brought to England both
painters and mosaic workers from the continent to decorate
his churches. Thereby he obtained the twofold result of in-
structing the learned and unlearned by the attractive image
and also of fostering among the Anglo-Saxons the practice of
art, architecture and glassmaking.92 In the following century
Ceolfrid, who could wield the trowel as well as the crosier,
complied with the request made by the King of the Picts and
sent his monks to Scotland where they introduced Christian
architecture.93

With marvelous rapidity the work of transformation went
on and the ninth century witnessed flourishing monasteries
in all parts of the country. The description of one of these is
given in the following words : "Looking down from the craggy
mountains the traveller would have stood amazed at the sudden
apparition of that vast range of stately buildings which almost
filled up the valley at his feet. Churches and cloisters, the
offices of a great abbey, buildings set apart for students and
guests, workshops of every description, the forge, the bake-
house and the mills; and then the house occupied by the vast
numbers of artisans and workmen attached to the monastery;
gardens too, and vineyards creeping np the mountain slopes,
and beyond them fields of waving corn, and sheep speckling the
green meadows, and far away boats busily plying on the lake
and carrying goods and passengers — what a world it was of life
and activity; yet how unlike the activity of a town. It was?, in
fact, not a town, but a house, a family presided over by a father,
whose members were all knit together in the bonds of common
fraternity. Descend into the valley, and visit all these nurseries
of useful toil, see the crowds of rude peasants transformed into

•2 Montalembert, Monks of the West, Vol. II, p. 496.
"ibid., Vol. II, p. 516; also Sighart, Landes u. Volkskunde, Vol. I,
p. 260.

36 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

intelligent artisans, and you will find that the monks of St.
Gall had found out the secret of creating a world of happy
Christian factories."94 It was in this hive of activity that we
find St. Toutilo, the famous teacher, expert musician and
master in the art of painting, architecture and sculpture.95 In
those days the ability to construct, as well as to play, the organ
or other musical instrument was required of the musician.96

St. Dunstan in the tenth century obliged his parish priests
to teach the children of their parishioners grammar, the Church
chant, and some useful handicraft trade.97 This proves that not
only did the children, who enjoyed a monastic education, receive
vocational training, but also the less fortunately situated of
the parishioners. A typical example of the kind of education
received by a young nobleman of the tenth century is that of
Bernward, a talented Saxon noble whose education was en-
trusted to Thangmar in the Convent of Hildesheim. He was
instructed not merely in all the sciences of the schools, but
also in the practical and mechanical arts, leaving none un-
tried.98

When he became Bishop of Hildesheim the beneficial effects
of his education were apparent to all under his jurisdiction,
for he promoted the spread of Christian education, the arts and
mechanics. For this purpose he established convents, engaged
sculptors, painters and metallists whose workshops he visited
daily and whose work he inspected personally. He provided
means for boys and youths to learn what was most worthy of
imitation in any art ; he took those who were talented with him
to court and gave them the opportunity to accompany him when
he travelled; he encouraged them to practice any handicraft
of which they had gained knowledge.99 In this manner he
succeeded in sharing with his people the fruits of his voca-
tional training and his talents that had been developed in
the monastery which he finally entered, five years before his
death.100

•* Drane, A., Christian Schools and Scholars. New York, 1910, p. 170.
M Specht, F. A., Geschichte des Unterrichtswesens. Stuttgart, 1885,
p. 319.

"IMd., p. 360.

" Drane, A., Christian Schools and Scholars, p. 218.

•« Specht, F. A., Geschichte des Unterrichtswesens, p. 343.

MIUd.t pp. 343-344.

l<»Ibid., p. 344.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 37

Like Bernward, so also his contemporary, Abbot Godehard
of Altaich, was renowned for furthering the progress of arts
and sciences. He was skilled in the mechanic arts, being one of
the greatest architects and metallists of Bavaria. Among
other works he produced a Bible of wonderful beauty, all the
material used in its construction being prepared by his own
hands.101 Godehard's influence on industry asserted itself in
the next generation when those men who had profited by his
instruction became conspicuous for their skill in the various oc-
cupations for their artistic ability.

Whatever progress had been made in the arts and industries
up to the tenth century was due to the monastic schools. One
convent may have excelled in some particular branch of work ;
e. g., Tegernsee was noted for the production of writing materials
and for its monks well skilled in painting, glass-staining and
mechanic arts; Cluny and Paderborn were famous for the
architects that they produced; and the Cistercians were re-
nowned for their achievements in agriculture.102 But the aim
of each foundation was to help all human creatures to obtain
true peace and happiness; and, next to prayer, they knew no
more potent means to accomplish this than labor performed
joyfully and well for a noble motive.

The deep-seated prejudice against manual work gradually
gave way under the influence of the teaching of the Church and
the example of the monks who labored with untiring zeal.
Fostered by the Church, the guilds attained a wonderful de-
velopment; these taught their members to regard labor as the
complement of prayer and the foundation of a well-regulated
life. The aim was protection of the common interests of the
laboring class, but for motives similar to those that prevailed
in the monasteries. God's law and Christian love were the domi-
nant factors in shaping the character of these associations.103
During the tenth and eleventh centuries these guilds came to be
firmly established and in a few centuries their beneficial in-
fluence pervaded all the continent. In the meantime the Cis-
tercians had become the recognized teachers of all branches of

101 /bid., p. 389.

1W Heimbucher, Max, Orden u. Kongregationen, Vol. I, p. 191. Also,
Schmoller, Gustav, Die Strassburger Tucher u. Weberzunft, p. 7.
1M Catholic Encyclopedia, Guilds, p. 67 and p. 70.

38 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

agriculture. Local and national sympathy were enlisted by
the Cistercians since they favored every kind of outdoor pur-
suit. Of them especially can it be said that "they turned woods
into fields, they constructed water-conduits and water-mills,
they cultivated gardens, orchards, and vineyards, they were
successful in rearing cattle, in breeding horses, in keeping bees,
in regulating fishing, and they made glass and procured the
precious metals."104 The occupations of the religious in the Cis-
tercian nunneries were of a similar nature; "they sewed and
span, and went into the woods where they grubbed up briars
and thorns."105

The range of subjects generally taught in the nunneries was
wide. For this reason life in the convent was very attractive
to the daughters of the mediaeval knight and soldier, since it
offered the companionship of equals and a careful training of
hand and mind ; it was a welcome relief from the monotony of
life in the castle at a time when men were more frequently
found on the battlefield than in their homes.106 Monasteries
for women had developed rapidly and exerted a social and in-
tellectual influence such as rarely has fallen to the lot of
women's religious settlements in the course of history. Some
of these became centers of art industry and remained so to the
time of the Reformation. In fact, the history of art at this
period is identical with the history of the productions in the
monasteries. The technique of weaving and the art of design
were brought to their highest perfection in the nunnery.107

If an institution may be judged for efficiency by what has
been accomplished it must be said that a system of education
which developed the capabilities of such women as Hrosvith
of Gandersheim,108 Herrad, abbess of Hohenburg,109 Hildegard
of Bingen,110 St. Elizabeth of Schonau111 and Queen Ma-
thilda,112 was admirably suited to develop vocations. The in-

104 Eckenstein, L., Women Under Monasticism, p. 190.
108 /bid., p. 191. Also, Heimbucher, Max, Orden u. Kongregationen,
p. 232 and p. 425.

106 Eckenstein, L., Women Under Monasticism, p. 149.

1OT Ibid., pp. 222-224.

108 IMd., pp. 154-183.

™lMd., pp. 238-256.

l»IUd., pp. 256-286.

111 /&id., pp. 285-305.

112 Specht, F. A., Geschichte des Unterrichtswesens, p. 277.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 39

struction given in the convent prepared both men and women
for any career they desired to choose. This education was
practical for the future wife and mother since occupations
proper to their sex were not neglected.113 The arts of weaving,
spinning, embroidering and other household occupations in
which daughters had been instructed by their mothers were
gradually transferred to the curriculum of the convent school
from the sixth century onward.114 Schools for interns pro-
vided for the proper training in the religious vocation and
schools for externs which were established in all larger mona-
steries prepared students for 'a useful life outside of the con-
vent. No woman's education was considered to be complete if
she was not efficient in the domestic arts; even if she was
destined to wear the crown she was still expected to be well
able to conduct the household even as Queen Mathilda did, who
taught her servants the arts she herself had learned in the con-
vent of Herford.115

The directions that St. Jerome had given to Laeta as to her
daughter's education were followed almost without exception
in all nunneries. In regard to the pursuit of religious and
literary studies the course closely resembled that pursued by
the monks up to the time of the rise of the Universities.116 On
the whole they were the first institutions that undertook the edu-
cation of woman on a large scale. Taught more by example
than by precept, the young women so trained were able to ac-
quit themselves creditably of the work they undertook later
in life. Since a convent education gave so much satisfaction
it was appreciated by parents and it was sought for by the
daughters of the nobles, with whom it was usual to enter upon
their future career after having enjoyed the privileges of train-
ing in a convent school.117

The thirteenth century was especially prolific in archi-
tectural structures which previously had been erected mainly

1U McCormick, P. J., Education of the Laity in the Middle Ages, p.
20. Also, Montalembert, Monks of the West, Book XV, p. 690.

114 Denk, Otto, Geschichte des Gallo-Frankischen Unterrichts, p. 264.
( Specht, F. A., Geschichte des Unterrichtswesens, Part 2, pp. 280-285.

lli Denk, Otto, Geschichte des Gallo-Frankischen Unterrichts, p. 263.

i:TGasquet, Abbot, English Monastic Life, London, 1910, p. 177.
Also, McCormick, P. J., Education of the Laity in the Middle Ages, pp.
45-46.

40 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

by the monks. This art had grown to greatness in the mona-
steries and manifested itself most exuberantly in the erection
of buildings and cathedrals, which arose during this century
in every part of the country, even in places whose population
was less than that of an ordinary town or village of today.
Historians who have made a study of the productions of this
period assert that these monuments of architectural beauty
were almost exclusively the work of local craftsmen.118 Great
and glorious success had crowned the perseverance of the mon-
astic teacher, for the rude peasant of a few centuries ago had
been replaced by the intelligent and systematic laborer, then
by the skilled mechanic and artist until "we get fairly be-
wildered by the astonishing wealth of skill and artistic taste
and aesthetic feeling which there must have been in times
which till lately we had assumed to be barbaric times."119 Art
Irad grown out of manual work as a flower grows from its stem.
The distinction between the artist and the artisan was not
sharply drawn as we see by the signatures of names in early
documents. A simple ''joiner" or "stonecutter" or "copper-
smith" is the modest appendage to the names of men who today
are acknowledged as artists of great ability.120 So well did
each individual laborer accomplish his part of the grand whole
that critics now declare the cathedrals to be "noble Christian
poems embodied in stone and color."121 The student of today
finds no better models on which to exercise his imitative ability
than the work done seven centuries ago; he is encouraged to
strive for equal skill by tireless study and observation.

We marvel that with implements so crude in comparison with
ours and with material so inadequate for the purpose of the
artist, the productions of the Middle Ages should be as a whole
and in every detail so far superior to our own. The cathedrals
of the thirteenth century and the stained glass windows that
adorn them are an unending delight, even in their fragmentary
remains, and far superior to anything made since the thirteenth

1:8Jessopp, Augustus, Before the Great Pillage. London, 1901, pp.
24-25.

118 Ibid., p. 25. Also, Janssen, J., History of the German People, Vol. I.
p. 164.

]2° Janssen, J., History of the German People, Vol. I, Book II, p. 241.

121 Walsh, James J., The Thirteenth Greatest of Centuries. New York,
1913, p. 11.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 41

century. The reason for the excellence of his work is to be
found in the motive which actuated the workman. He was very
probably uneducated, in the modern sense of the term, with
little ability to read and write ; but he had the mental develop-
ment which enabled him to design and execute the work as-
signed to him, and to do this as perfectly as it is ordinarily pos-
sible for any man. The workmen heard the beautiful Scrip-
ture narratives and reproduced them in the drama which was
then so popular. In these plays every artisan actually lived
his part as a biblical character, and his later work showed the
result of the inspiration and knowledge thus obtained. Besides
he had ample opportunity to observe from childhood days how
much care was taken in each minor detail of constructive
work.122 The aim of the workman was not to hasten the com-
pletion of any article, nor the desire to obtain their pay ; they
strove rather to produce something that would be best adapted
to the end for which it was intended and at the same time be
a source of pleasure for those who were to see or use it. What
has been said of the authors who wrote the literary master-
pieces of the thirteenth century can be applied with equal truth
to the artisan and the artist. They "had evidently not as yet
become sophisticated to the extent of seeking immortality for
their works. They even seem to have been indifferent as to
whether their names were associated with them or not. Enough
for them apparently to have had the satisfaction of doing, all
else seemed futile."123

But no matter how lofty the ideal, how sublime the motive
may have been, the construction of such buildings required in
addition such skill as could only have been acquired by careful
'and systematic training. There must have been technical
schools in abundance, though they were not called by that
modern and ambitious name. The erection of each cathedral
and abbey church, since it extended over a considerable period
of time, in no instance less than twenty-five years while some-
times more than a century expired before its completion, was
in itself a center of technical education for the growing
youth.124 The greatest factor in the spread of technical knowl-

m Walsh, James J., The Thirteenth Greatest of Centuries, pp. 110-111.
"»JZ>t<J., p. 211.

1M Walsh, J. J., The Thirteenth Greatest of Centuries, Appendix, pp.
469-470.

42 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

edge was the system of guilds. These had originated in many
instances in the form of fraternities, often established and
fostered by the Church. In the first half of the twelfth century
these fraternities, whose object had been of a religious nature,
began to change, -and grew into societies and unions having a
civil purpose.125 The guilds had three aims in view, namely : To
administer Christian charity to the aged, the sick, the poor, and
those suffering temporarily from losses by fire, flood or ship-
wreck ; to promote education by aiding poor scholars and sup-
porting schools and school-masters ; and to aid in the propaga-
tion of the faith by representing biblical truth in plays.126
Since the guilds-apprentices received their instruction gratis,
the guilds wielded a greater influence in spreading technical
training than any other institution of the thirteenth century127
though many architects were still to be found outside the guilds
in the monasteries.

The fourteenth century marks a period of retrogression in the
quality of mechanical and artistic work. The chief reason for
this was the substitution of a lower motive for the high ideal of
the thirteenth century workman. During the fourteenth cen-
tury "the great idea of association for mutual help gave place
to the narrow-minded spirit of the mere acquisition of capital ;
petty rivalries and hateful egotism prevailed over brotherhood
and equality of rights ; the rich withdrew to separate guilds and
there arose internal disputes."128 The very institutions which
had been the means of securing rights and privileges for the
workman degenerated into mere capitalist's societies, and jeal-
ousy among the various guilds, as well as laws enacted against
them, caused their decay.129

The Renaissance which began at this period contributed to
the retrogression of art in so far as one result of this move-
ment was to under-value the work done by artists and archi-
tects of the previous century. Then followed the socalled Refor-
mation with its detrimental effects upon the school systems gen-
erally,130 and the wanton destruction of artistic products in

m Eberstadt, Rudolf, Der Ursprung des Zunftwesens, pp. 139-140.

1M Howell, George, Conflicts of Capital and Labor, London, 1878, p. 6.

m Janssen, J., History of the German People, Vol. I, p. 167.

ls§ Howell, George, Conflicts of Capital and Labor, p. 56.

12t Ibid., p. 68.

140 McCormick, P. J., History of Education, pp. 211-212 and p. 225.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 43

particular.131 Under such adverse circumstances it is not sur-
prising that the mechanical arts declined and barely survived.
However, when the Jesuits labored among the American In-
dians in the seventeenth century they built beautiful churches
and furnished them artistically. They attracted the savages
by the tones of musical instruments which the Fathers con-
structed in the forests of the New World. Before long they had
succeeded in imparting to the Indians not only a knowledge
of Christian truths, but also in instructing them in agriculture
and the arts of peace.132 This course of civilizing, Christianiz-
ing and educating the Indians which the Jesuits adopted was
followed by all other missionaries among the natives, and
proved to be the only successful method of securing for them
the blessings of civilization. Attracted by that which is pleas-
ing and beautiful, then given the opportunity to imitate and
reproduce that which they admired, they gradually acquired
habits of industry and culture.

Many religious congregations that were founded in the last
two centuries were established for the express purpose of help-
ing the poor classes by means of training and instruction.
A. D. 1835, the Brothers of St. Joseph undertook the care of
neglected boys and trained them to become able craftsmen,
tradesmen and farmers. Ten years later the Brothers of St.
Vincent de Paul undertook the supervision of apprentices and
labor unions.133 At this time the enthusiastic Don Bosco, in
spite of misunderstandings and persecutions, succeeded in
erecting oratories, churches, institutes, trades buildings and
printing press for his boys, thereby giving several millions of
neglected youths an opportunity to become good and useful
workers. The vocational character of his work is demonstrated
by the fact that 18,000 apprentices annually left his Oratories
to become journeymen, and that up to the year of his death, in
1888, six thousand of his students had become priests.13*

Victor Braun, a priest and contemporary of Don Bosco, tried
to help women and girls, especially those who worked in fac-
tories; for this purpose he founded the Congregation of the

m Jessopp, Augustus, Before the Great Pillage, p. 25.
m Heimbucher, Max, Orden u. Kongregationen, pp. 220-226.
"• Ibid., pp. 421-422.
., pp. 406-407.

44 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

Servants of the Sacred Heart, whose members conducted even-
ing schools, hospitals, workhouses, homes for the aged, and
gathered the poor and neglected women around themselves for
Sunday recreation,135 Two years later, 1808, the Daughters of
Divine Love undertook to educate orphan girls for their future
career, to provide shelter, home, instruction and care for poor
girls seeking employment and an asylum for disabled serv-
ants.136 The Societe des missionaires de Notre Dame des mis-
sions d'Afrique d'Alger, established also in 1868, had as object
the instruction of orphans in agriculture and handicrafts. The
congregation of the Soeurs de Jesus-Marie, in Lyons, which
came into existence in 1871, had a similar aim.187 A. D. 1889
the Congregation of Devout Laborers was founded in Vienne;
its object was to care for the physical and spiritual welfare of
tradesmen and laborers, and its members took special interest
in apprentices and journeymen and secured for them both prac-
tical instruction in technical schools, and religious training.138
The work of these new congregations and that of the older
orders was seriously handicapped at the time of the French
Revolution. Many were temporarily dissolved, others perma-
nently destroyed. But they had spread and flourished in other
countries of Europe and in America, and had gained a foothold
in Asia.139

During the nineteenth century the need of Catholic schools
in the United States was keenly felt and teaching communities
of Europe, especially of France and Germany, were requested to
supply the demand. The response was generous, and though
laboring under many hardships and not accustomed to the
language of the country, they were most successful in estab-
lishing schools in all parts of the land. The variety of local
conditions which increased during the immigration period, pre-
vented the systematic organization of Catholic schools. The
first movement in this direction by Bight Rev. John Nepomu-
Neuman, of Philadelphia, in 1852, was unsuccessful ; after

p. 539.
., p. 461.
5877&id., p. 462.
' lUd., p. 461.
9 Hid., p. 462.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 45

the Civil War efforts toward securing greater unity of purpose
and action were renewed and carried out successfully.140

The curriculum of the Catholic school was, however, largely
determined by the needs of each community. Where manual
training was demanded by the nature of the work which the
student intended to undertake, such training was provided for.
The Brothers of the Congregation of the Holy Cross opened a
manual labor school soon after they had established their
mother house and College, 1841. Commercial Academies and
Colleges were erected by the Brothers of the Christian Schools
in 1859 and I860.141 During this period the Franciscan and
Xaverian Brothers had also begun Commercial and Industrial
schools.142 The teaching Sisters aimed at training the hands,
as well as the head and heart, of the pupils placed under their
instruction, and taught them to "use the needle as well as the
pen ; to make and to mend ; to darn and to knit and become use-
ful in the home."143

The missionaries among the Indians, notably the Franciscans
and Jesuits, taught these children of nature how to build for
themselves permanent shelters, how to till the soil and store a
supply for the time of need.144 All the schools for Indian girls
conducted by the various Sisterhoods gave special attention to
manual work. In respect to agriculture and other industrial
arts Catholic educators were the pioneers in our Western
States.145 The history of the work done by the Ladies of the
Sacred Heart, the Sisters of Loretto, and the Sisters of Provi-
dence shows that the teaching of elementary academic branches
was accompanied by training in the common industrial arts.
The home of the white settler generally provided adequately for
industrial training, and therefore comparatively few schools
were required to offer vocational subjects in their courses. In
schools for the Indians, however, manual work was invariably
a part of the curriculum as a means of helping the proper de-

140 Burns, J. A., The Growth and Development of the Catholic School
System in U. 8. New York, 1912, pp. 199-200.

141 Ibid., pp. 102-108.
ialbid., p. 121.
"•/Wd., p. 125.

144 Rittenhouse, M. F., "The Mission Play of San Gabriel," Catholic
Educational Review, March, 1916, p. 231.

148 Burns, J. A., Growth and Development, etc., pp. 152-155.

46 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

velopment of the child's mind and character as well as for the
practical benefit he was to derive from it. The wisdom of pro-
ceeding in this manner is now fully recognized and advocated
for other schools besides those for the uncivilized Indian. The
changes that have taken place in the child's environment make
it necessary to supply in the schoolroom what the industrial
home furnished in the past. This is no less imperative in re-
gard to Catholic schools than in the state schools. Formerly
knowledge was equivalent to opportunity and was alone suffi-
cient to enable an ambitious youth to advance from the lowest
to the highest positions in political and industrial life. But
the changes in the school curriculum have not kept pace with
the altered condition of the social world and the evolution of
industry. This is the cause of the present dissatisfaction with
the entire school system, but more especially with secondary
schools, and the attention of all educators is directed toward
the readjustment of the curriculum. John Dewey describes the
present situation as follows : "The problem is not easy of solu-
tion. There is a standing danger that education will per-
petuate the older traditions for a select few, and effect its ad-
justment to the newer economic conditions more or less on the
basis of acquiescence in the untransformed, unrationalized, and
unsocialized phases of our defective industrial regime. Put in
concrete terms, there is danger that vocational education will
be interpreted in theory and practice as trade education : as a
means of securing technical efficiency in specialized future pur-
suits."146 The Catholic schools face the same problem and must
do their share in finding its solution. They have met conditions
in former times with admirable success, and having inherent
in themselves that wonderful power of adaptation which the
Catholic Church transmits to her institutions, the Catholic
schools will continue to offer their pupils the best preparation
for their career.

Dewey, John, Democracy and Education. New York, 1916, p.

CHAPTER III

WAYS AND MEANS OB IMPROVEMENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND
GUIDANCE OP VOCATION IN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

Current educational literature concerns itself with promot-
ing the physical welfare of the pupil and recommends all
possible means that might aid in the development of the indi-
vidual and increase the economic efficiency of society. We look
in vain for a higher motive than that supplied by this materi-
alistic ideal which during the last century has completely
replaced the Christian ideal.147 Men have been led so far from
the true philosophy of education that they do not understand,
much less heed, the principles that underlie Catholic educa-
tion, expressed by Doctor Shields in these words : "Christian
education must never forget that its chief business is to trans-
form a child of the flesh into a child of God."148 Even as the
pagan world opposed the doctrine of the Great Teacher, so the
world of today follows the standards and maxims based, not
on the principles of Christianity, but on pure materialism.
The "survival of the fittest" has come to be the rule in the
higher realms of man's endeavor, as it always has been in the
plant and animal kingdom. Outside the pale of the Catholic
Church other than pecuniary motives are seldom advocated and
still more rarely applied. "Blessed are the poor in spirit" is as
little understood by the majority of mankind today as it was
by the Jews when the lips of the Master uttered the words for
the first time. Some opponents of the Catholic school system
have even gone so far as to use the practice of voluntary pov-
erty as an argument against the efficiency of religious teachers.
The same could be said of each beatitude; meekness is deemed
weakness; charity and willingness to pardon are called cow-
ardice, and he who would return good for evil rather than re-
venge a wrong or an insult is styled a fool.

Occasionally a voice raised in protect, warns against the

147 Barnes, F. J., Education and Social Duty, C. E. A. Proc., 1909, pp.
77-78.

148 Shields, T. E., "Education as Adjustment, Catholic Educational
Review, February, 1916, p. 107.

47

48 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

neglect to curb the selfish traits of the individual, and insists
on the necessity to inculcate the opposite virtue. So it has
been remarked that the poster which appeals to our young
men to enlist in the navy for "an opportunely to see the world"
free of charge, does scant justice to the nation. But on the
whole very little attention is given to any other than pecuniary
motives, either from the standpoint of the individual or, less
frequently, from that of the nation.

Our children and youth are continually exposed to the
dangers which the spirit of the age has created. They come in
daily contact with the exponents of this utilitarian philosophy
which is taught by various means and in many different forms.
The necessary condition of civil freedom is intellectual enlight-
enment, "and our great system of public schools owes its ex-
istence in large measure to that conviction. But, blinded by
our marvelous national development and goaded on by an
insatiable desire for material advancement, we have come to
lay more and more stress on that utilitarian view of education
which makes the school a work-shop for the molding of the
various parts of our great social machine. Enlightenment, in
the sense of intellectual development, is being lost sight of
and moral training has long since been stricken from the
curriculum."149

The Catholic schools aim to counteract the pernicious effect
of the prevailing trend of thought which permeates the sur-
roundings of our children like the very atmosphere in which
they live. The only course that the Catholic educator con-
siders worthy of his attention is to follow the Divine Master in
His methods and His doctrines as closely as human frailty
permits. Our Lord's life is the best exposition of the truest
philosophy of education and His doctrine is the embodiment
of the most sublime truths. According to (His teaching, self-
denial and the eradication of selfish traits are requisite for
true progress. It were superfluous to indicate the numerous
occasions on which He taught this principle, both by word
and example, for every page of the Gospel illustrates the fact.
How different is the attitude of the modern theorist, who con-

149 Barnes, F. J., Education and Social Duty, C. E. A. Proc., 1909,
pp. 77-78.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 40

aiders the business of education to be primarily "to equip the
individual for a successful struggle with his physical and social
environments."150

Catholic education does not seek to suppress the progress of
the individual, nor to hinder the development of his powers
and of the resources of the nation. On the contrary, it has
always aimed and still aims, to encourage and foster all that
tends to the progress and development of man, both as an
individual and as a nation. The abolition of slavery and the
recognition of the equality of men, or in other words, the
underlying principles of democracy, were due to the influence
of the doctrine of Christ. And though it took many centuries
of heroic struggle and fearful hardships on the part of His
disciples, the victory was won in the course of time. Even a
brief history of the Church and her educational institutions
demonstrates that she always "nourished into vigor all the
capacities and faculties of man."151 But in so doing she was
ever vigilant lest the welfare of her children be imperiled by
the selfish designs of those who wielded power over their fel-
lowmen. The people were taught to respect the spiritual
authority, regardless of the fact that the person in whom it
was vested was not of the nobility, but frequently the son of a
poor laborer, a precept that must have been both novel and
disagreeable to a people who regarded the members of the work-
ing class so far inferior. On the other hand, those who held
the scepter were urged to practice the Christian virtues, espec-
ially justice and mercy. A study of conditions after several
centuries of Christian teaching and example reveals the benefit
extended to all people, as long as her aims are not thwarted by
the perversity of men and governments.152

The Church always exhorted her children to the practice of
self-denial, for this is the foundation upon which the welfare of
society is built. Obedience to law and authority are not pos-
sible where self-will is uncurbed; yet obedience is one of the
fundamental requisites for the preservation of the individual, of
society, and of the race. Our system of Catholic schools in the

"• Shields, T. E., Philosophy of Education, Washington. 1917, p. 359.
'•' Ibid., p. 372.

1§! Eckenstein, L., Women Under Monaxticism, p. 223. Also Denk,
Otto, Oeschichte des Gallo-Frankischen Unterrichts, p. 241.

50 Vocational Preparation o/ Youth in Catholic Schools

United States is possible only as a result of disinterested sup-
port and the self-sacrifice of the laity and teaching commun-
ities. They were called into being because under existing
conditions the state schools could provide only the intellectual
training of the child, completely ignoring religious and moral
education. The school that neglects to develop these import-
ant faculties of the child's mind does not prepare him
adequately for his life work. "If education is to prepare youth
for contact with this (constantly changing) environment, it
must build up a character, a power of will and action, strong
enough to resist the onset of evil, steady enough to pursue the
right amid all temptation."153

As means to this end the Catholic schools employ the incul-
cation of virtue, especially love for fellow-men and obedience
to law and authority. These are possible only when the in-
dividual has learned to deny his self-interests and curb his
selfish tendencies. Therefore the first step in the development
of vocation consists in firmly implanting unselfishness in the
heart of the child. Where this virtue has taken root and has
produced the kindred virtue of charity, obedience and piety,
there is no room for passions whose influence would prevent
the Divine Call from being heard and heeded. The Catholic
schools exist to aid the development of the child's physical,
intellectual, and moral powers, that he may accomplish his life
work and attain to external happiness. The methods employed
to achieve this result vary with different ages, nationalities,
temperaments, and customs of peoples; but the underlying
principle remains the same, for the uniform aim of all Catholic
schools is to inculcate virtue and to eradicate vice. In this they
follow the example of Christ, for as He adapted His teaching
in method and practice to the needs and capacities of those
whom He taught, exhorted men to a virtuous life, and con-
demned vice and evil, so do also the educational institutions
of the Catholic Church.154 This, precisely, is the fundamental
requisite for the development of vocation.

Though the principles of Catholic education, being those of
the Divine Master, cannot be surpassed by any others, the

183 Shields, T. E., "The Teaching of Pedagogy in the Seminary, C. E.
A. Proc., 1905, p. 234.

134 Pace, E. A., "Education," Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 300.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 51

ceaseless change of social conditions may often necessitate a
change in the method of their application, so as to yield the
most efficient result in a given case. Our children must be
prepared to meet and conquer the difficulties that threaten to
thwart their happiness, or lessen their efficiency. There is no
reason why our pupils should not be better prepared than those
of any other school ; on the contrary there is every reason why
they should be more capable than any others because, by their
training in obedience and self-conquest, pupils of the Catholic
schools develop strength of will to aid them in overcoming
the obstacles in their way. The opportunity for the eradication
of evil tendencies, the inculcation of virtue by precept and
example, are advantages that the pupil of the Catholic school
enjoys from the time he enters the primary room until he
graduates from the College or University. And these are so
important for the future citizen that they outweigh any other
advantage that can be offered by any other school. However, if
in the state schools the children derive some temporal benefit
which our system lacks, the Catholic educator is willing and
eager to profit by what is really good as readily as he learns
by that which is erroneous and pernicious.

When writing of the school for truants E. J. Lickley made
the statement that "Not only is an elaborate equipment not
necessary in a special school, but it is practically useless
during this period of growth of the troublesome boy. Not an
elaborate plant, not an elaborate equipment, but an elaborate
teacher is essential to the boy who is out of step."155 But the
elaborate teacher is equally essential to the boy "who is in
step" so that he may not be in danger of directing his steps in
the wrong way. Here again the advantage is all on the side
of the child who attends the Catholic school, for he is under the
care and guidance of a teacher who is in the schoolroom because
prompted by the highest motives; namely, obedience to
superiors who are God's representatives ; and Christian charity
which stimulates the desire to serve each child as a representa-
tive of Him Who lived among mankind as a Child. Among
the teachers of the state schools there are many noble, unselfish

™ Lickley. E. J.. "Successful Schools for Truants," The Psycholog-
ical Clinic, Vol. VII, No. 3. May. 1913, p. 86.

52 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

characters, who have entered the educational field and continue
to labor there for altruistic motives. However, this cannot be
affirmed of the entire class, nor even of the majority.156 But
in the religious teacher the child daily and hourly sees the
living example of self-denial, the continuous illustration of
Christ's admonition to His loved ones, "If any man will follow
me, let him deny himself."157 Moreover, with his God-given
intuitive powers the child recognizes that the highest form of
happiness is not only compatible with, but is directly con-
sequent to, disinterested labor.

It has been previously indicated how potent is the formation
of lofty motives, high ideals of manhood and womanhood,
of citizenship, and Christian duties toward men and toward
God. Every Catholic school aims to do this and tends toward
improvement in the methods employed to carry out this noble
purpose. The first and most important step in this direction
is to establish unity in the system of Catholic schools, for
"Unity is strength; it is the mark of the Catholic Church;
unity is the characteristic of everything carried on success-
fully in American spheres, and unity should be the mark and
strength and soul-inspiring principle of Catholic education in
America."158 As has been indicated above, attempts to bring
about this unity have been made even before the Civil War;
these efforts were then frustrated; but they have been again
undertaken, and the success achieved during the last decade is
very encouraging.

Union among Catholic institutions should be readily ac-
complished since our religion provides a unifying principle, and
because we are united under the authority of the Catholic
hierarchy. The movement toward unification is progressing
steadily in proportion to the appreciation of its importance.
The Catholic Educational Association is bending its efforts
to that end, and among other successes in this direction the
affiliation of Catholic High Schools, Academies, and Colleges,
with the Catholic University of America is significant. At the

158 Partridge, G. E., Genetic Philosophy of Education. New York, 1912,
p. 224.

m Mark, IX, 34.

1M Right Reverend Monsignor O'Connell, Address to Delegates, C. E.
A. Proc., 1905, p. 30.

\ <>cutl<>nal Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 5o

present time there are one hundred thirty-six of these institu-
tions on the affiliated list and the number is continually
growing. Very much remains to be done before the work of
unification is completed but even in its early stages it can
be made a powerful factor for promoting the welfare of
Catholic students, for "No teacher, no body of teachers, relig-
ious or lay, has a monopoly of the best educational thought."18*
Closer union cannot fail to make known more generally the
good accomplished by our teachers and to inspire pupils and
teachers with a wholesome pride in regard to what has been
done and with greater zeal to equal and to surpass those whose
example is worthy of imitation. The closer the union of our
educational forces will become, the stronger will be their
influence, and our ideals of true and noble manhood, of pat-
riotism, and above all, of a worthy child of Holy Mother
Church, will command the respect of all men, will stimulate
to heroic effort our youths and maidens who are soon to take
their places in the industrial and social world.

The effect of this unity on the development of vocation is
indirect, as is also that of the teacher's example and the early
training in Christian virtue. But because indirect it is none
the less potent. When we reflect on the importance of the lofty
motives that influenced the workmen in the early Middle Ages
we realize the value of cultivating the highest ideals in our
schools. Our schools must supply proper motivation for the
choice of a life-work, the method for preparation, and for all
the acts of the pupils; proper motivation is the right kind of
stimulus for the pupil to continue in school until he has ob-
tained the desired end, or at least as long as circumstances
will permit. While there are no available statistics as to the
number of our children leaving Catholic schools at an early
age, without having completed even the elementary course, we
may assume that our boys and girls have tendencies very
similar to those attending the state schools. In this instance
we can utilize the experience gained by the officials of these
schools and learn to what dangers their children are exposed,
and what measures should be taken in order to counteract, or if

168 Gibbons, E. F., "School Supervision — Its Necessity, Aims and
Methods," C. E. A. Proc., 1905, p. 166.

54 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

possible, prevent the evil that ensues. One of the means uni-
versally and most urgently recommended by the authorities
in the state schools is to keep the child in school if at all
possible. The desirability of extending the time of compulsory
school attendance until the pupil is at least 16 years old has
led to provide for it by legislation in a few states. The
arguments in favor of this regulation are that children below
this age are not able to enter the field of industrial labor with-
out endangering their physical and moral welfare; that the
employer finds such children undesirable; that the influence
of the school in aiding the proper development of the child's
character is more necessary at this impressionable age than
at any other period of his life. Therefore the vocational guid-
ance movement is concerned chiefly with encouraging children
to continue their studies, or to resume school-work if it has
been interrupted. This, however, is only one-half of the prob-
lem solved; if the child is constrained to spend his time in
school against his inclination it is doubtful whether he is
benefited by the opportunity this further training offers. He
must be interested in his school work, either because it is at-
tractive, or because he sees its utility and necessity.

It is about the age of twelve that school and its duties become
irksome to the child, and this is the time to place before him for
serious consideration the need of preparing for a definite future
career. This does not mean that the pupil should make a
definite, and as it were, irrevocable choice. It matters less
whether at this age he decides to become a carpenter or a
doctor, an engineer or a priest. But it matters a great deal
to convert his objective interest into subjective interest, and
to convince him that for success in his future work he needs
just exactly what the school gives him now. There is nothing
lost if the child later changes his plan and decides to enter
another occupation. Indeed it is quite natural that he should
change his opinion many times within the next six or eight
years. The object sought is that he direct his school work
toward a definite aim, for with an end in view he does his work
more conscientiously, more thoroughly, and more willingly
than he would otherwise. Work so performed reacts upon him
and aids in the formation of character.

Vocational I' reparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 5">

If our work in developing vocations and assisting our
children to prepare for their life-work is to be successful, we
must use direct as well as indirect means. The first part of the
problem is to be solved by the teachers in the elementary
grades. If the child has been taught a proper appreciation of
his duties, and the germ of vocation has received the nourish-
ment necessary for its development, the preliminary work has
been done. In this work the teachers receive valuable aid
from the use of suitable text-books, such as the Catholic
Education Series. These have as a conscious aim the prepara-
tion of the child for the present and the future, by stimulating
into action those faculties of the child that tend to elevate him
to the highest citizenship and lead him to his true destiny,
making his whole life a blessing to his fellow-man. With these
or similarly constructed books, the teacher's task of laying the
foundation for future vocational guidance is not difficult. The
authors of these books aim to secure the complete development
of all the faculties of the child, and for that reason every
lesson has been selected with the utmost care so that in it
are enfolded in germinal form the great truths that future
years are to unfold. To prepare the child for citizenship in the
Kingdom of Heaven is the ultimate end and therefore each
lesson directs the child toward that goal and leads him toward
the attainment of such ideal citizenship. To do this it is nec-
essary to prepare the child for ideal citizenship in the state.

There is in these books a parallel to the work done in the
monasteries; the monastic institutions, while aiming at the
sanctification of their members, succeeded in the transforma-
tion of a barbarous people into a veritable beehive of industry
and order, producing artisans and artists in large numbers,
and securing intense love of home and country ; so likewise the
aim in this series is to keep in view the eternal destiny of the
child, preparing him for it most efficiently by teaching him to
do well his present work. The child is led to see that con-
formity to the will of God leads to the realization of temporal
and eternal happiness; on the other hand, adherence to self-
will, in opposition to God's will, leads to grief and destruction.
Thus is created the proper attitude toward choosing a vocation,
long before the actual choice must be made. Later the value of

56 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

suffering and the need of courage to meet difficulties are
emphasized, the foundation for good citizenship and patriotism
is securely laid, and finally the child is prepared for the study
of history and literature.

By this time the child is ready for, and in need of, explicit
direction in regard to his future work. The Gospel narrative
of the Child Jesus in the Temple teaches us as no other
authority can, the importance of this act in the child's life.
Christ's mission, or vocation, is decided from all eternity, but
since He taught by example even more than by precept, He saw
fit to proceed in such wise that we may learn how He would
have us choose our life work. He makes His choice at the age of
twelve in the Temple, the great school not alone of the Jews, but
of all nations; in the presence of the Doctors, the teachers
of divine and human law ; and in answer to the inquiry of His
parents, the ideal representatives of all parents to whom God
vouchsafes the happy privilege of entrusting to them His be-
loved little ones. Moreover, after publicly announcing His
future work by the words "did you not know, that I must be
about my father's business?", He returned to Nazareth "and
was subject to them," and He "advanced in wisdom, and age,
and grace with God and men."160 The lesson is complete; it
indicates the time, or age, at which the child should begin to
contemplate seriously the necessity of choosing a vocation;
the motive that should govern the choice, namely the will of
His heavenly Father ; the institutions, Church, school and home,
that should influence so important a decision ; and finally the
need of long and careful preparation that is necessary for the
successful pursuit of any calling. The Catholic teacher may
use other motives to supplement, but never to supplant, this
highest motive. The ability to acquire wealth, to occupy an
honored position in society, to secure domestic happiness, to
be able to help and comfort others, are valuable as aids and
productive of much good if rightly used. But the teachers
need to guard their pupils against the prevalent tendency of
our times, and beware lest the spirit of commercialism intrude
itself and replace the high ideal of Catholic manhood and
womanhood.

360 Luke, II, 52.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 57

When the child by previous training is disposed to accept as
his model for imitation the Child Jesus in the Temple it will
not be difficult for the teacher to indicate by what means the
child should learn what kind of work God had destined him to
perform. Children should be taught that natural preferences
and the capacity for special work are not merely accidental,
but are gifts from their heavenly Father to Whom they are
responsible for the right use of all gifts, namely for His glory
and their own salvation; that they can accomplish this only
by employing their faculties for the welfare of their fellow-
men. Children will readily understand that the will of their
parents is frequently the safest guide for them to do the will
of God, and therefore they are inclined to imitate the obedient
Youth Jesus, their model.

The most difficult part of the lesson is to teach the child to
realize the necessity of patient and painstaking preparation.
Impatient of anything that appears as useless delay and waste
of time, the youth would rather make haste and finish his school
work in the shortest possible time. Catholic and non-Catholic
educators attempt to lengthen the child's school life by estab-
lishing high schools and encouraging attendance at these.
Only a small per cent of the pupils who have finished the grades
avail themselves of the opportunity thus afforded, though
these schools are maintained at the cost of considerable sac-
rifice on the part of Catholics, for their equipment incurs
greater expense than that of the grade school. The growth in
the number of Catholic high schools during the last decade
proves the imperative need of establishing means for a length-
ened school term for our boys and girls. Every teacher should
aim to increase the number of pupils in these schools for
thereby he assists in the work of preparing children for their
life-work.

The comparatively small high school attendance at the
present time may be due to various causes; the usual reason
is that the pupil does not see the relation of his work at school
to that which he intends to take up later, and is inclined to
regard the time spent in the high school as just so much time
lost. The state high schools, in order to attract and retain
their pupils, have altered their curriculum so as to adapt the
course to local conditions; the usual aim now is to fit the

58 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

pupil for a career, rather than prepare him for college, since
those who have the opportunity or inclination for further study
are very few in comparison to the number whose school days
are over on their graduation from high school. Here again we
can learn from the state schools; both from their success and
their failure. The too great eagerness with which some of them
tried to meet the desires and needs of the different classes of
pupils led to the introduction of a multiplicity of subjects and
electives, even in the first years of the high school course.
Where no provision was made for proper guidance, the pupil
being left to choose whatever courses appealed to him, it was
inevitable that he should choose impractical combinations.
These pupils, on entering their field of labor, found that they
had obtained little or no profit from their high school course ;
their experience made known to others persuaded many child-
ren not to invest their time in secondary education.

On the other hand, too great rigidity in adhering to a tra-
ditional course, without any regard for the practical needs of
the pupil, likewise serves to lessen the attendance at some
schools. Unless the child while still in the grades has been
directed to see the necessity of more than immediate prepara-
tion for a career, the few years spent in the high school seem
too long and so unrelated to his future work that he is un-
willing to undertake it. The teacher must convince the pupils
and their parents by concrete examples that a well organized
high school course is more beneficial than one that offers many
attractions, but cannot claim results like those obtained in
some of our schools. Reverend M. J. Dorney, discussing the
paper "Catholic Education Above Grammar Grades," indicated
the various occupations followed by the former pupils of his
high school and then adds : "If there is one thing that makes
me proud of our high school it is this, that every single boy
that has graduated from my school occupies a position so far
superior to that his father held that there is no comparison;
and that, to me, is the justification of that education, develop-
ing them, making them better socially. Every single boy that
has graduated from my high school in sixteen years has achieved
success in the vocation in life to which he was attracted."161

181 Dorney, M. J. [Discussions], "Catholic Education Above Grammar
Grades," C. E. A. Proc., 1911, p. 181.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic, Schools 59

The state schools, acting on the principle that the high
schools are to prepare pupils for work rather than to be the
feeders of colleges and universities, provide for instruction in
vocational branches. The methods employed and the extent in
which this is done, vary greatly in different sections, but the
effect on our system is decided and inevitable. The subjects
offered attract the child by their very novelty, and where im-
mediate application demonstrates their utility, encouragement
to attend these classes is unnecessary. The Catholic schools,
limited in regard to financial resources, cannot provide similar
courses, at least not on the same scale; but provision must be
made for our pupils so that they may not suffer any disadvan-
tage while they enjoy the benefits of a Catholic education.

The overemphasis of utilitarian aims is by no means praise-
worthy and is rather likely to defeat its own end in the course
of a few decades, besides lowering the standard of the school
and hindering complete development of the pupil. However,
we may not ignore the causes and effects of this widespread
movement and while counteracting its evil influence, we may
use it as a source of information to the benefit of our own
schools. "Patient, cheerful, methodic work through worthy
motives — if the child have these qualifications, we will have
done well by him and may rest easy as to his fitness for his
life-work."162 Since the early dawn of Christianity this has
been the aim of Catholic education; still we must use direct,
or particular means, in order to avoid vocational failures
whenever possible; the number of misfits in life may be at
least considerably reduced by systematic and united efforts,
though no system, however much improved and perfected it
may be, is able to prevent all failures.

The direct preparation for the child's vocation begins in call-
ing his attention to the need of making a choice and directing
his efforts toward adequate preparation for his career. The
value of cultivating habits of "patient, cheerful, methodic
work" should be pointed out by the teacher. The child should
learn what relation exists between work done at school and in
later life. There is a vocational, as well as a moral and his-

1112 Brother Luke Joseph, F.S.C., "Our Children and Their Life Work,"
. E. A. Proc., 1911, p. 301.

60 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

torical, value in the biographies of men and women who have
conquered the obstacles in their way to success. The worthy
motives that actuated these heroic souls and won for them
the esteem and gratitude of their fellowmen will prove power-
ful incentives for imitation. The teacher can form the basis
for further preparation by means of biographical sketches and
familiar incidents. Before leaving the elementary school the
child should be convinced that careful preparation is necessary
for any but the lowest forms of unskilled labor and that he
will receive valuable aid for his future work by the course
offered in the secondary schools.

With comparatively few exceptions our pupils take their
respective places in the field of labor after they have finished
their high school course, and more frequently before they
have completed it. Our first efforts, therefore, must be to
increase the number of graduates and to give them the best
preparation for their career. The pupils should be encour-
aged to keep in view a definite purpose during the years spent
in the high school, and to make their studies a means to that
end. The teacher, being in daily and intimate contact with
the pupil, has the earliest opportunity to learn his aptitudes
and preferences in regard to work. In some instances our
Catholic children have the benefit of a home in which they
can exercise their ingenuity at various kinds of manual work,
and here both parent and child are quick to detect any marked
ability for a certain line of work. The encouragement that
comes from this knowledge is sufficient incentive to direct the
child's interest toward this work and prompts him to select
it as his pursuit, for he realizes that his aptitude will help him
to succeed, and success brings with it contentment and pleas-
ure. But even here guidance and advice from experienced
persons are necessary for the child during his course of prep-
aration; no child can be expected to be able by a process of
reasoning to conclude that the cultivation of a special aptitude
must have as a foundation a thorough knowledge of general
studies. The teacher, whose study and experience enable him
to prove that this is not merely a theory but a demand in the
industrial and professional world, must supply for the want
of foresight and reasoning in the child, and sometimes in his

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 61

parents. The teacher can, with some preparation, also be the
safest guide to direct the course which the child should pursue
in order to obtain the desired training for his life-work.

The great majority of our children at the present time are
not in home surroundings that would aid them in discovering
their ability or in fitting them for a career by any kind of
apprenticeship. Therefore this work rests upon the school, and
the teacher must do what lies in his power to direct the pupils.
Since the various branches in high school are taught by different
teachers, it is possible that no one may consider the vocational
guidance of the pupils as his work or duty, and therefore it is
of great importance to provide for it systematically and to con-
tinue this work which has been begun in the grades. A knowl-
edge of child-psychology and child-character is essential on
the part of every teacher, and this knowledge should be used to
promote the child's welfare, not only while he is under the
teacher's immediate direction, but also to influence his career
for the future. Every lesson taught should deepen the child's
conviction that what a man accomplishes in the course of his
life depends more upon what he is than upon what he does.
The manner in which a man performs his work, not the occupa-
tion in itself, is of greatest importance.163 The artisan of the
Middle Ages who fashioned the most inconspicuous detail of
some great cathedral knew well that no human eye would be-
hold his work after it had been located in its destined place.
Still he worked skillfully and patiently, rejoicing in the reward
offered by the consciousness of labor well performed. Every
teacher has countless opportunities to show his pupils that
inconsistency is most often the cause of failure, while con-
sistency and perseverance lead to success.

Frequent talks on the value of the respective subjects, their
relation to other subjects, and their bearing on the various
pursuits, should be given by teachers and occasionally by some
prominent professional or business man to pupils and their
parents. When parents are convinced of the advantages that
result from a prolonged term of study, they wield a powerful
influence, both directly by their admonition, and indirectly by

1M Chrysostom. Brother, The Pedagogical Value of Faith,9' etc., Phil-
adelphia, 1915, p. 79.

Ci'2 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

their sympathetic attitude toward school and teachers. The
need of giving this information to parents and pupils is greater
now than it ever has been. The educated man can readily dis-
cern the weak points of a system that aims to obtain only
remunerative results in the commercial world. Not so the
average laboring man, and still less his son, whose natural
impatience to escape the discipline of the school, makes him
more eager to imitate those who devote the shortest possible
time to preparation for their work. Then too, the current
literature and the attitude of many educational leaders have
been instrumental in creating a tendency to undervalue the
need of careful and prolonged training based on broad general
culture. To correct the erroneous views which keep many from
preparing themselves thoroughly for their calling and so to
diminish their future usefulness and happiness, it is necessary
to instruct our youth and demonstrate the utility of the courses
that are offered. The paper entitled "The Classics — A Prepar-
ation for a Professional and Business Career"164 contains the
kind of information that should be made available for all the
pupils of Catholic schools and also for their parents. Too often
the pupil's impatient question "Of what use is this to me?"
is left unanswered, or is answered curtly without convincing
him; as a result he frames his own answer, dictated by his
likes and dislikes, and he is not inclined to lengthen his
course of study. Very few boys realize how much is to be
gained by attendance at school until experience has taught
them the value of such training, but this experience is a very
wasteful teacher and is apt to bring home the lesson after it is
too late to repair the loss.

The defects in the present state school system are not suf-
ficiently evident to be noticed by the pupil and the average
parent, who are satisfied with the immediate result; it may
take a decade or two before they learn by observation and
experience what the educated and thinking men foresaw would
follow as the logical consequence. The note of warning uttered
by these should be transmitted to the children who are looking
forward to the time when they shall be ready to enter upon

1M Burrows, A. J.. "The Classics— A Preparation for a Career," C. E.
A. Proc., 1909, p. 208.

Vocational r reparation of Youth hi (V/f//o//V Kchoolx (i:>

their respective occupations. Under present conditions the
sound philospohy of our leading Catholic educators is rarely
made known to the pupils or their parents to whom the
apparent advantages of a short period of preparation seem most
desirable. For various reasons many of our children have
been deprived of the benefit that secondary "education in
our schools would have procured for them ; the present tendency
to avail themselves of the opportunities affored by an industrial
or technical training will prove an additional cause to pat-
ronize the elaborately-equipped state schools rather than the
Catholic schools. Until adequate provision has been made in
our system for vocational training each teacher must exert
his influence to induce our children to continue their educa-
tional work. He must try to make our schools so attractive
and efficient that there will be no desire on the part of the
pupils to attend any other school. It is often possible to
arrange the course in a secondary school so as to offer some
electives with a view to the best interests of the children. This
plan is more easily carried out where, on account of local
conditions, most of the students in attendance intend to follow
the same career.

What the Vocational Guidance Bureau attempts to do for
the state schools can be accomplished more efficiently in our
educational system if the clergy and the teachers recognize the
utility of such a movement and lend their united efforts to
support it. Mutual cooperation between school and home, and
an organized system are necessary to make the guidance of
pupils a success. While every teacher may, and should, aid
in preparing pupils for their life-work, there should be in every
secondary school some one who more particularly devotes his
time and energy to the vocational guidance of the pupils. This
is necessary to avoid, on the one hand, duplication of effort,
and on the other, partial or complete neglect.

Among the efficient and accessible means at the disposal of
one who is to guide the young, may be mentioned suitable lit-
erature. There is a wealth of material in biographies that
could well be used in connection with vocational guidance.
Children take delight in reading books whose form and content
are adapted to the age and temperament of the reader. The

04 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

lives of heroes and saints might well form the basis of a course
that gradually leads to more specific instruction on vocational
subjects. Literature that gives information on the various
occupations, the requirements, the advantages it offers, and the
disagreeable features or harmful effects it may have, is easily
obtained for any school without great expense, and should be
productive of much good. The greatest benefit derived from it
is not the practical knowledge that it may give, nor even the
help it may offer to the child in choosing a desirable, and
avoiding an undesirable occupation. Important as this may be,
the information gained in regard to the value of thorough
preparation and the need of a broad general knowledge of
subjects, which to the child seemed unrelated to the work,
is of greater importance at his age.

In connection with collateral reading the teacher may learn
the child's aptitude, his desires and hopes for the future, from
his work in composition; and he may use this knowledge to
direct the pupil's efforts in regard to the method by which
he determines to reach the coveted end. After learning what
are the inclinations of the pupils the advisor should tactfully
use this information for the purpose of instructing them on
the relative value of occupations. He must raise to a higher
level the standard of those whose attention is fixed upon an
occupation that has no enduring interest and is of no genuine
importance. (He must aim to substitute a higher ideal and to
convince the children that among the numerous occupations
open to them, only those that are marked by essential im-
portance and that contribute to the welfare of their fellow-men
will be found to be satisfactory and to lead to true happiness.165

Sometimes a child may resolve to enter a career for which he
is ill fitted by natural endowments. Here again the vocation
counsellor can judge with relative certainty as to the absence
of requisite qualities, and with comparative safety direct the
hopes and ambitions of such pupils toward occupations better
suited to their capabilities. This must needs be done with
great care and tact so as not to discourage the child. Much of
the misery that exists at the present time is due to industrial
"misfits," which could have been avoided by the advice of

'"Henderson, C. H., "What Is It to Be Educated?" Boston, 1914, p. 383.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 65

teachers and parents. On the other hand we must remember
that no one can safely choose an occupation for the child, and
that lack of ability is often more than compensated for by
strong determination and great love for an occupation. Ex-
perience abundantly shows that where teachers and parents
have at times disapproved of a career because of the apparently
unsurmountable difficulties, the child, in fact, succeeded even
better than his more talented rival, his lack of capability being
more than counterbalanced by determined perseverence. This
should be a warning to us not to insist on persuading from
their course such children as show unwavering determination
to follow a certain vocation. The best service we can render
such children is to cultivate their taste, raise their standard
to a higher level and infuse lofty motives for choosing a
vocation.

The relative value of occupations might well be made the
subject of a formal debate by the class. This would impress
the advantages and disadvantages more deeply than merely
reading about them, for the interest that a debate arouses
among the students does not usually subside very quickly
and may be utilized by the counsellor toward further efforts.
An occasional lecture by the pastor or a citizen on vocation
in general, or on a specific calling, would prove valuable. Gen-
eral vocational intelligence is also gained by means of excur-
sions to industrial plants, to manual training and vocational
schools. Since all but the lowest forms of unskilled labor pre-
suppose the completion of at least a high school course or its
equivalent, it can not be too strongly emphasized that all
pupils be encouraged to avail themselves of this opportunity.
It may be desirable that every child finish the college course
before he enters upon his life-work, but this is impossible at
present; and unless the courses in our school system be con-
siderably altered, it is highly improbable for the time to come.
The fuller years and broader experience would insure the choice
of a permanent vocation, for "the discovery of capacity and
aptitude will be a constant process as long as growth
continues."166

The state schools in their eagerness to attract the pupils and

Dewey, John, Democracy and Education, p. 363.

G6 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

to provide the industrial training that appeals to the child,
completely ignore the danger lurking in early specialization.
John Dewey warns against the evil that must result from this
condition and says : "If even adults have to be on the lookout
to see that their calling does not shut down on them and fos-
silize them, educators must certainly be careful that the
vocational preparation of youth is such as to engage them in a
continuous reorganization of aims and methods."167

When the child has chosen a professional career, the direct
preparation does not begin until he has received a general edu-
cation which is sufficiently broad to serve as a safe foundation
for the narrower specialized training. But only a small per
cent of pupils choose professional callings, and the great ma-
jority must also be provided for by the schools. In the state
schools this is being done by establishing various classes of
schools which offer industrial training. Catholic educators are
considering just what should and can be done in our schools
in regard to vocational training. As a rule the splendid work
done by our Catholic Colleges and Academies in vocational edu-
cation is not appreciated as it deserves, perhaps because it is
not called by any such high-sounding name. These schools have
taught with a view to prepare teachers of music and art; they
had commercial and normal departments; they trained the
girl to be a successful home-maker, and both youth and maiden
received the preparation necessary for the religious vocation.
It is doubtful whether these schools were fully aware of the
fact that they were doing for many decades, some for centuries,
what the state now deems to be so necessary for the pupils. It
is still more doubtful whether they realize further possibilities
that lie within their power. So, for instance, many of these
institutions do their own printing, but rarely make use of it as
a means of teaching any but the members of the community the
technicalities of the trade. Similarly other occupations, car-
pentry, plumbing, bookbinding, agriculture, horticulture, and
a number of arts and trades, differing with the locality in which
the school is situated, and the means at its disposal, might be
utilized in vocational education.

Day schools are not generally thus equipped; still our

le: Dewey, John, Democracy and Education, p. 363.

Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools 67

secondary schools might find little difficulty in making ar-
rangements with local industrial establishments. These are
interested in the problem, and some of the stronger among them
have organized definite schools to instruct and train their own
apprentices.168 All employers are convinced of the need of
better preparation for their future employees, but compara-
tively few can afford to give them this training under present
conditions. If the pastors and superintendents of our Catholic
schools would endeavor to obtain the cooperation of employers
in each locality, their combined efforts would do much toward
the satisfactory solution of the problem in that particular re-
gion. Incidentally it would help to restore a healthy condition
between capital and labor which has been practically lost in
modern times. In some localities part-time or continuation
schools would be most acceptable to the employer, and most
profitable to the children. Pupils could see more clearly the
need of mental power in connection with technical skill and
therefore would be willing to apply themselves diligently to
their tasks at school.

The work of teachers and superintendents would necessarily
be increased by vocational guidance, and arrangements with em-
ployers, since the capacities and inclinations of the children
must be continually guided and guarded so as to avoid what
John Dewey calls "fossilizing."169 But our Catholic teachers
are willing to make sacrifices, and will gladly bear the added
burdens if by doing so they can aid the children whom they
consider their God-given charges. Besides, the marked effect
produced on the impressionable character of children by the
exercise of their faculties in useful work, and by the realiza-
tion of responsibility, is in itself sufficient recompense to the
teacher for additional labor.

To these, and similar means to obtain vocational training for
our pupils, the objection is sometimes offered that the school
work must necessarily be of inferior quality when the pupil's
time is divided between study and actual work. Experience
has shown that the contrary results obtain. Both in the history

'"Harvey, L. D., "The Need of Industrial Education In the Public
School System," N. E. A. Proc., 1909, p. 58.
»* Dewey, John, Democracy and Education, p. 363.

68 Vocational Preparation of Youth in Catholic Schools

of the past, and in the lives of our contemporaries we find ample
evidence that "to get the poorest results possible in the three IPs
it is only necessary to limit the teaching to the three K's."170
Pestalozzi says, "I am more than ever convinced that as soon
as we have educational establishments combined with work-
shops, and conducted on a truly psychological basis, a genera-
tion will necessarily be formed which will show us by experience
that our present studies do not require one tenth of the time or
trouble that we now give to them."171 Pestalozzi's theory is
verified by the history of Monastic schools in which manual
labor formed an important part of the course ; and modern edu-
cational literature fairly teems with examples which prove that
pupils who spend some time in the acquisition of manual skill,
far from doing less or inferior work than their fellow-pupils
not so engaged, are, as a rule, the most successful students.
Since the revelation of the child's especial power can be made
only by the operative processes it is of utmost importance to
furnish an environment which will give him adequate oppor*
tunity to exercise his faculties.172

m Gregory, B. C., Better Schools, p. 129.

"'Graves, Frank P., Great Educators of Three Centuries, New York,
1912, p. 130.

m Gregory, B. C., Better Schools, p. 258. Also, Henderson, C. H.,
What Is It to Be Educated?" p. 181.

CONCLUSION

If home, school, and Church unite their efforts, and present
to the child the highest ideal as the motive for his life-work;
and by systematic training of hand, head, and heart, help him
to realize this ideal, the work of development and guidance of
vocation shall have been achieved. The consequent effect will be
far beyond what at the present time is apparent. The conclud-
ing words in "The People's School" appear to be a fitting close
to this chapter. "The problem of vocational training is also
more profound than preparing men and women to work. It
is to educate the public mind, to employ a working ideal that
will gradually transform industrial practice, until labor, no
longer cramping and brutalizing, is a beautiful realization of
the noblest human possibilities; until the old words of the
Benedictine Rule take on their fullest meaning, and to work is
verily to pray."178

Weekly Ruth M., The People's School, p. 193.

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VITA

Sister Mary Jeanette Koesch was born in Einsiedl, Bohemia,
January 13, 1884. Her elementary education was received in
the rural schools of Stearns County, Minnesota. In 1901 she
was graduated from St. Benedict's Academy, St. Joseph, Min-
nesota, and continued her studies at the St. Cloud Normal
School and the University of Minnesota. After teaching six
terms in the public schools of that state she entered the no-
vitiate of the Benedictine Convent, St. Joseph, Minnesota, in
1908. The following year she completed the collegiate course,
and for three years was assistant teacher at St. Mary's High
School, St. Cloud, Minnesota. The scholastic year of 1912-1918
and the following summer school term were spent in residence
at the Catholic Sisters College, Catholic University of America,
where she received the degree Master of Arts. During the next
three years she taught at St. Benedict's College, St. Joseph,
Minnesota. The academic years 1916-1917, and 1917-1918 were
again spent in residence at the Catholic Sisters College, Cath-
olic University of America. The principal courses pursued in
her graduate work were in education under the Very Reverend
Doctor Shields, to whom the writer is indebted for the subject of
her thesis, and to whom she is pleased to express her gratitude
for helpful suggestions and encouragement. The courses under
Reverend Doctor McCormick and Doctor O'Connor, as well as
those of other members of the faculty, were a source of valuable
information and inspiration to the writer.

73

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