One day a few years ago, when Edith was in her third year of high school, she walked up to her section teacher and said, with a note of pride in her voice: "I'm quitting school." "Why, Edith?" asked Miss Carter, much concerned. "I've just been offered a job in an office. Jobs are pretty scarce nowadays. I think I had better grab this one before someone else does. It's a pretty good job, too, twelve dollars a week, and all I have to do is file bills and letters."

Miss Carter invited Edith to sit down. "Perhaps you know better than I do whether you ought to accept this job, but let me tell you what I think about it. While it's a fine job now, will it be a fine job five or ten years hence? Surely you expect to do better later on, don't you?" "Of course I do; this is only a start," Edith assured her.

"But is this the job you are fitted for now? Remember, as you yourself say, jobs are scarce today. Good jobs are even more scarce. I grant that you would have no easy time finding a better job today, even if you were better educated. However, when the depression lifts, things will be different. "You must realize that you aren't going to raise your standard of living with a filing job. You admit that you expect to advance to something better. But what chance does a person stand in business today without at least a high school education? And the future looks black, even for those who are high school graduates. Many business men are beginning to ask for college-trained employees. And here you are wishing to face the future with only three years of high school."

Edith had listened attentively. "I don't mean to be discourteous, Miss Carter, but isn't it true that many successful men and women have had either little education or none at all?' she asked. "You wouldn't say that that is the case today, would you? Of course, when our country was young, when industry had not yet been built up, when life in general was still simple, uneducated men and women could rise to the top. But things are much more complicated now. Every man and woman who is striving for success in business or in the professions meets strong competition from others who are equally well-educated and equally ambitious. I think of of our ex-mayors was right when he said, "Soon plumbers will have college degrees. "I must admit that what you say sounds true," Edith agree, "but I want to have some fun out of life. Pretty clothes, movies, parties, and dances are very tempting to me right now. If I earn my own money I can enjoy more of them. Besides, I won't have to spend my evenings doing homework." Miss Carter smiled. "Believe me, Edith, I don't blame you one bit, but if it's fun you're after, take my advice and stay in school. How long do you think just parties and movies will keep you interested? On the other hand, if you develop many real interests, you're going to have more fun, right now and later on, too.

"If you were able to play a good game of tennis or golf, to dive and swim well, wouldn't that add to your pleasure? Your health education class can teach you skill in these sports. Besides, to be an expert one must have good health. You may learn in your biology, chemistry, and hygiene classes how to build up good health, and more important how to hold onto it, once you have it.

"There are many persons who aren't able to enjoy a good book, a fine play, or a concert of classical music. Why? Because they don't understand them. One of the biggest tasks of the school is to help its pupils understand and appreciate 'the real thing' in music, art, and literature. And since you say you're interested in dancing, why not join our Social Dancing Club where you'll get training in all dancing, including the latest steps? No, Edith, knowing you, I am certain that movies and parties alone are not going to entertain you for very long."

This time Edith was timid but frank when she interrupted. "But aren't some of the many subjects which I am required to study in this overcrowded school useless? How can they possibly do all these things for me?" "That's a good question, and I'm not sure that my answer will satisfy you," Miss Carter replied after a brief silence. "It's true that there are some groups who urge that the size of classes be increased still further, that the government stop building schools, that night-schools, kindergartens, and after-school centers be abolished. I agree with you, however, that learning is more difficult in an overcrowded school. I believe, too, that the vast majority of parents and other citizens believe in the schools, and that their efforts will eventually win over the relatively few who wish to cut down on the schools.

"As for what you call unnecessary subjects, remember that there isn't a single study which everyone would say is absolutely necessary. After all, Edith, we must recognize that we are living in a changing world. Just as business and science must experiment, so must the schools. When educators feel sure that a subject is not needed, it is dropped from the course of study. Do you realize that until recently all pupils were studying the same subjects in the same way as they did a few hundred years ago? This was before progressive schoolmen recognized the need for adjusting the school to the many changes in life.

"Now the schools have hit their stride and are marching on. We are constantly dropping old subjects and adding new ones in an attempt to find out which ones best fit the needs of today's pupils. The same subject isn't taught in the same way to all pupils any more. Even the content of our subjects is changed from time to time and brought up to date."

Just then the bell rang. As Miss Carter rose, she asked Edith to go to each of her classes and then return at the end of the day. All day long, Edith was both excited and thoughtful, excited over the prospect of her career in the business world, and thoughtful about what her section teacher had said. She sat pondering in her last period bookkeeping class, when she heard Mary Gannon, a fellow-pupil, say: "Mr. Gross, my brother says that a lot of the things that he was taught, and that we are learning now in bookkeeping, he never uses at all in his office."

"Naturally, Mary," replied Mr. Gross. "There are many rules and principles you are studying here which will not be used in the business you may enter. "Then why should we study them, Mr. Gross?" "Simply because we can't trust to chance. It's important for you to understand all the important principles of bookkeeping. You see, every business has its own peculiar bookkeeping problems. A wholesale fruit and vegetable concern will not keep its books in exactly the same way as a steel factory. It is our hope that if you know the important principles of the subject, you will be able to adapt yourself to different conditions and methods.

"This is true of all teaching. Do you suppose that any doctor applies every single rule he learned in medical school when he is out in practice? Schools nowadays would be unwise to train their pupils to fit a particular job and nothing else. We would rather have you ready for any good job." Edith, very much interested by this time, raised her hand to ask Mr. Gross whether he believed that a thorough training in bookkeeping would lead to success in the field.