HIGHLANDER WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1971 Daily Play e JAN We Vocation Training or Regimentation? By LAURIE CRAIG Recently, the government gave a vocational grant of $550,000 to the Ogden City Schools. Ben Lomond and Ogden will each receive $15,000. The grant will be distributed in six different programs. Many of these programs will be beneficial to students in high school who do not plan to attend college or those who are unsure about which vocation to pursue. However, there there are several programs which may do students more harm than good. The program entitled “Every Educator a Career Educator” will create a vocational implication for EVERY class. Teachers are supposed to find material that will MAKE the subject areas _ relate to work. This is fine for the student who is interested in getting a job directly after high school. However, for those who have a career in mind that would require further schooling, the pressure to relate school to an occupation might interfere with the simple learning some students do, just to enrich their minds, further their knowledge and just for the pure joy of learning. In the program “Every Advisory Teacher a Career Advisory Teacher”, the students will virtually be forced into picking and planning a career. Don’t people realize that not everyone decides what they want to spend their life doing in the tenth grade. In fact, most people do not. If a student is forced into picking and working towards a definite career at that young age, what happens when he has taken numerous courses pertaining towards his career and he suddenly changes his mind? All of that precious learning time will have been wasted on something the person will most likely never use again in-his life, because it is specialized vocational learning. He will then have to start over again and will have little background in other fields. The most unrealistic program is the “World of Work.” This program pertains to the children in elementary school. The purbc. will be to get students to look at jobs realistically. Job placement in the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades will be conducted. The children will no longer be able to dream about being an astronaut, fireman, nurse or movie star. They will be faced with stark reality five years too soon. Why shouldn’t children be allowed to be children while they ofgjifg too soon are young? People have to face the decision that would shape the rest of his life. He pt to change his mind many times. The programs will have to be modified and regulated to be effective. Participation should be of one’s free choice instead of 'mandatory in the education program. Certainly education about occupations is a vital part of schooling. But educators must rea- lize that it takes time. Time in a mature mind to formulate one’s life occupation. Too many men today are working at jobs they are very unhappy with, only because they lack the knowledge and the ambition to learn how to do anything else. Many of them were forced to go to work early in life at any job they could get and became too accustomed to it to break away and improve their education and get a better job. Specialized learning is great, but an intelligent person knows about many areas and can perform very well in many areas. Our first goal is to educate people in a general sense. Then we can be concerned about educating children for a life occupation. STAFF BOX Editor . Assistant. Clan Editors ean ee Susan Hamilton, News Ken Alford April Brough Lesley Alford ee Gayle Francom, Karla Funk, Laurie Craig, Star Jackson, Kevin Kinney, Mike Stubbs, Ann Kraft, Jody Hicks. Jan Richards. Advisers Mr. i Mott e Highlander No nation, no station My envy e’er could raise; A Scot still, A Scot still; I knew nae higher praise —Robert Burns Hull, Dear Editor: I was wondering where the student lounge is located in the school. Last year there was a lot of talk about having a_ student lounge this year. Well, we still don’t have one. Yet, Dr. ‘D’ is always trying to destroy the Parking Lot Clan, also to end some of the sluffing. This could be done in an easier way than he’s going about it. I feel that if Dr. D. would quit thinking about this and start doing some _ things, we would probably get our lounge and he would end one of his problems. Signed, Bo Hall. a job job ini . nae ‘a Mr. Wight ‘ Don't take life so seriously. You'll never get out of it alive. The persons for the people with whom we associate The people for the places where we strive for existence We all have used lights, scenery, and sound effetts to enlighten our performances Our actions are of our own playwright To cater to our needs of pity, praise, or otherwise We are producer, director, actors, and the world... well the world, is our audience We conjure emotions, create response We play our parts to succeed in our minds and for private satisfaction, Then to be socially poured into the plastic mold of our SOCIETY. dition. hardships ving to: worry about i as it i Charlie Yamashita, student of the month, stands on the steps of the school for which he has fought so hard to keep its tra- RICHARDS all have our costumes for the characters we daily portray a4. eee As for the school board, they only know what they hear, and what they hear isn’t both sides of the story. They have only heard the complaints against smoking and nothing else. If a student smokes and wants to have a_ cigarette between classes, he will. If the parking lot is off limits to smoking, he will go where he can smoke, and will most likely be late for class. Thank you, Mike Stubbs The Constitution says, ‘‘Freedom of Press,’ and this is the truth. There are three students involved in this particular situation. We were in an assigned classroom with permission to play records. While playing a record we were interrupted. We had no idea that we were disturbing anybody. If we would have, we would have done something about it. The teacher opened the door, walked in, took the album soff; turned off t p phonograph pave "Swimming is man Concerning keeping the parking lot clean, it’s always as clean or cleaner than the front parking lot, the school grounds, and even the hallways. Our student body doesn’t keep any place clean. office. Editor: This letter is an objection to the attitudes of some teachers towards students. Dear Editor: e following Letters to the © ator Editor are not necessarily the your P.E. credit for graduation. . opinion of the newspaper staff. Why? The school board feels a person has to be able to swim four different strokes, 30 yards Dear Editor: each, to be able to graduate I have talked ,to the people from high school. What this has pro and con about the controto do with education, I don’t versial issue of the “Parking understand. Lot Clan” here at Ben Lomond They say it may save your and have come to sympathize life in the future. If you want with the members of this exto know how to swim, you clan. should take swimming lessons. If not, it should be your own The people against the clan business. haven't much to argue exWhat happens to a _ person cept that students weren’t atwho just can’t swim? He is tending classes, the parking lot humiliated in front of his class, wasn’t being kept clean, and and in the office. He is forced “the school board says NO.” to take a makeup swim class which he cannot pass and forc- The attendance of the student body, with or without the Parked to take the whole P.E. class ing Lot Clan, will forever reover and over until he has eithmain the same. Smoking doesn’t er drowned or has dropped out entitle you to sluff, and most of school. non-smoking students know that A student’s future graduation for a fact. They also know that shouldn’t have to depend on the people who smoke get the whether he can pass a course blame, and the penalties. in swimming. It’s not that im- The parking lot should be opened for smoking. It would a lot more convenient for students, the teachers, and Dear rebe the the portant. Thank M.S. you, Dear Editor: The project “student lounge” is fantastic and has been needed for quite some time. Although there is one matter no cne has mentioned—the music. Recently the teachers have been complaining about the type of music and the volume of it, that is played in the media center. In the _ student lounge would we, the students, be allowed to play the type of music that we desire at the volume ed we to want? study could use the meIf so, then students who wantdia center. Those who wanted to relax could use the student lounge. I do hope all Ben Lomond Scots will participate in the newest goal of the school — OUR student lounge. Thank you, Pat Gilgen Where “the a oot ar®eyau going with that record?” He aske d, “Is it yours?” I replied, — “Yes it is.” He said, “Why don’t you go to the library and listen ‘to it?” I replied, ‘““We don’t have an admit.” He said, “Well, don’t play it here.” I said, “All right. I won’t—SIR.” He returned to his class and started a film. It was very loud, so another student put the record back on. Somebody in his room opened the door to his room. I proceeded to the door and said, “Your noise is bothering our class,” and calmly closed the door. Approximately five minutes later the door came open again. Cne of the other students involved went over and shut the door. (It wasn’t done belligerently, the door just bangs). Well, the instructor came in again and said, ‘Don’t slam that door again.” The student said, “I didn’t slam it,” and he shut the door again. That was the last we heard from him but we fear unnecessary repercussions! I realize there is a lack of communication between groups but wouldn’t it be better to ask questions before making decisions? Our point is, we were told we could use the rooni. We were begrudged for using it and we corrected the cause. Then we were interrupted by the same problem that the same teacher complained about when he shut down our music. Is there standing? a medium of under- Signed, Guy M. Dinsdale BARBER SHOP 317 North Harrison a