LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

BUREAU OF EDUCATION, Washington, September 23, 1913.

SIR: One of the most successful attempts to give instruction in the trades in the public high school and at the same time to preserve the best of the traditional high-school course is that begun at Fitchburg, Mass., five years ago. The cooperative plan, adopted in imitation of that in use in the college of engineering of the University of Cincinnati, has become widely known as the "Fitchburg plan." There is a demand from high-school officials and others interested in secondary education for fuller and more accurate information about the plan, the methods of its application, and the results obtained than can be had from the many brief partial accounts which have appeared in the magazines and school journals. The plan is, I believe, based on sound principles of pedagogy and might well be adopted, with necessary modifications, in many other cities and towns. I therefore recommend that the manuscript prepared by Mr. M. R. McCann, of the physics department, English High School, Worcester, Mass., be published as a bulletin of the Bureau of Education.

Respectfully submitted.

THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

P. P. CLAXTON,

Commissioner.

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THE FITCHBURG PLAN OF COOPERATIVE INDUS

TRIAL EDUCATION.

HISTORICAL SKETCH.

At a meeting held in New York City in the spring of 1908, Prof. Herman Schneider, dean of the college of engineering of the University of Cincinnati, presented to a group of metal manufacturers gathered from all parts of the country the plan of cooperative industrial education used successfully under his direction, by which arrangements had been made with several shops of Cincinnati to give the students in engineering the larger part of the practical training required for graduation. Among those who were present was Mr. Daniel Simonds, a manufacturer from Fitchburg, Mass., a broad-minded and public-spirited citizen of one of the most successful industrial centers of Massachusetts. Immediately he saw the possibility of adapting the plan to his home town, and through it of solving the problem of industrial education for boys of his city.

Mr. Simonds returned to Fitchburg and presented his ideas to the school authorities. The feasibility of the plan was conceded, and a committee was appointed to inspect the work in operation in Cincinnati. The committee reported in favor of the immediate adoption of a similar plan in connection with the high school of Fitchburg. Several employers of skilled labor in Fitchburg came forward to assist in the movement and to give that phase of cooperation without which the course would be impracticable, namely, the use of their shops and machinery.

FITCHBURG AND ITS ACTIVITIES.

The city of Fitchburg is situated 50 miles from Boston, among the rolling hills of north central Massachusetts, on the Nashua River. Its interests are largely manufacturing, and the diversity insures ample means of gratifying the aptitudes of a large body of students. According to the latest census, the city has a population of 37,826 and is the center of a district of 150,000 people. It ranks high in its advantages for health and education, industry, trade, and transportation. It has skilled labor, adequate capital, and an abundance

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of electric power. Fitchburg has a national reputation for the production of such articles as revolvers, bicycles, saws, paper, steam engines, screen plates, iron and brass castings, steel horse collars, woolens, and ginghams.

MAKING THE START.

After the city council, school department, and employers decided to adopt the cooperative industrial plan it was decided first to secure a director who had adequate qualification. It was agreed that such a man must have had a technical education and also actual experience in shopwork. In August, 1908, Mr. W. B. Hunter was engaged, and to him was given much latitude for the development of the work. It was realized that the inauguration of the new plan would require extensive change from the ordinary high-school routine and that this change was essential to the success of the cooperative industrial course. Mr. Hunter was given the general plan of the course that had been decided on by the school authorities, and he was left to work out the details.

It was determined to put the scheme into operation in September, 1908, and the public was so notified. Early in August Mr. Hunter began interviewing applicants for entrance to the industrial course, and their parents. Boys who wished to follow the trades as a permanent occupation were selected in preference to others, and 18 were chosen to start the course. By daily visits to the shops during this period the arrangements were made for beginning, and by the opening of the school in September these boys were all at work. The pupils were paired, and during the first week half of them remained at work, while the rest attended school. Those who attended school the first week spent the second week in the shops, and those who remained in the shop the first week attended school the second week. This alternation continued throughout the year. The director had no trouble making final arrangements with the employers, as they had already signified their willingness to cooperate as soon as Mr. Hunter was ready to take up the work.

VARIETIES OF OCCUPATION.

The main idea of this course is to provide an opportunity for learning a trade and obtaining a general education at the same time. The plan of spending each alternate week in some occupation in the industries of the city has been continued throughout each school year since the beginning. Continuous work during the vacation periods is provided for every boy who cares to work. The boys are employed in industries offering such occupations and trades as machinist, patternmaking, sawmaking, drafting, iron molding, tinsmithing, piping,