The Garment Trades (Volume 19) (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1916 Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XI EDUCATION FOR THE GARMENT INDUSTRY From the viewpoint of vocational education, the most important characteristic of garment manufacturing is that it is the industrial field which offers the widest opportunity for women wage-earners in Cleveland. Young women enter the work in great numbers at about the ages of 18 and 19 and as a general rule remain for only a few years. The available census data indicate that in this city one girl in every five or six enters some branch of the sewing trades and among these a large proportion go into garment manufacturing. Since a considerable proportion of the young women of the city do not enter any kind of wage-earning work, many more than one in five among those who do go to work begin in the sewing trades. Probably the proportion lies between one in three and one in four. These figures indicate that the sewing trades are of the first importance from an educational point of view. Two Types Of Preparation For Future Workers In the opinion of the Survey Staff the needs of future garment workers can best be met in two ways: first, the modification of the courses offered in the junior high schools, and; second, the establishment of a one-year trade school for girls who wish to go into industrial work. A Two-year Course In The Junior High Schools A reorganization of the Cleveland school system is now under way through the establishment of junior high schools. Under the conventional plan of organization that has been in force in Cleveland up to the present time, the elementary course has consisted of eight years or grades, and the high school course of four years. It is now proposed to substitute for these two units of eight and four years, three units consisting of six years, three years and three years respectively...