pupil, with the advice of the principal, to make his own combination of
subjects. Whether prepared by the school or by the pupil, however, the
courses lead to college, to normal schools, to advanced technical
schools, or to some definite vocation. On one subject, progressive high
schools are in absolute agreement,--the course of study must furnish
both culture and technical training in a form which meets the needs of
high school children.

X From School to Shop and Back Again

The tendency toward vocational training finds its extreme expression in
the so-called Industrial Co-operative Course in which boys and girls
spend part of their time in school and part in the factory. Note this
legal document. "The party of the second part agrees to place, as far as
possible, the facilities of his establishment at the disposal of the
School Committee for general educational purposes along industrial
lines." In these words, the individual manufacturers of Providence,
Rhode Island, who are co-operating with the school board for the
establishment of the industrial co-operative course in the Technical
High School, place their mills and factories at the disposal of the
school authorities. The plan instituted at the suggestion of the
manufacturers themselves has won the approval of all parties during the
two years of its operation.

The Providence experiment differs from those of Cincinnati and
Fitchburg, Mass., in two respects,--in the first place, the school
authorities have a written contract with the manufacturers. In the
second place, they may decide what the character of the shop-work shall
be. The boy who elects to take the industrial co-operative course in
Providence spends ten weeks in a shop at the end of his freshman year.
Apprenticeship papers are signed, the boy gives a bond, which is
forfeited if he drops the course without a satisfactory reason, and for
three years he spends 29 weeks in the shop and 20 weeks in school,
alternating, one week in the shop, the next in the school. For their
shop-work the boys receive ten cents, twelve cents, and fourteen cents
an hour during the first, second, and third years, respectively. Though
this wage is not high, it is sufficient to enable the boys to earn
enough during the year ($175 to $250) to pay for their keep at home
during their high school course.

At the present time sixty-two Providence boys are working part time in
machine shops, in drafting rooms, in machine tool con