THE INSTRUCTOR TiE'MAN AND '* THE JOB { BY CHARLES R. ALLEN Cornell University Library T 65.A43 The Instructor, the man and the job; a ha 3 1924 004 678 649 ([fortteU IttittcrHitjj Slihrarg 3ltt)aca, JJem ^atk BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF HENRY W. SAGE IStI M\\ Cornell University VM Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924004678649 THE INSTRUCTOR THE MAN AND THE JOB CHARLES R. ALLEN THE INSTRUCTOR THE MAN AND THE JOB A HAND BOOK FOR INSTRUCTORS OF INDUSTRIAL AND VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS BY CHARLES R. ALLEN SOMETIME AGENT FOR INDUSTRIAL TRAINING OF BOVS AND MSN, UASSA- CHUSBTTS BOARD OF EDUCATION, AND SUPERINTENDENT OF INSTRUCTOR TRAINING, U. S. S. B. EMERGENCV FLEET CORFORATION PHILADELPHIA AND LONDON J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY COPYRIGHT, I919. BY J. E. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY SET UP AND PRINTED IN UNITED STATES PREFACE Fob a long time men in trades and industries have been imparting what they knew to learners, and in order to do this some sort of an instructing process has been carried on. It is equally true that for a long time those whose business it was to impart knowledge, have been learning how to teach, that is, they have been learning the principles and practices of the teaching trade. Since the industrial instructor has usually stuck to his shop and the teacher has stuck to his school, the body of knowledge, experience, and skill in the teaching trade has not been avail- able to the trade instructor, so that, in general, trade instruc- tion in industry and in vocational schools has been carried on without the advantage of the use of the teacher's trade. Just as in any other trade, there are in the teaching trade "operations," "tools," equipment and methods that have been found most effective in putting things over from the instructor to the learner. Information regarding them has not, however, generally been accessible to the industrial instructor, because it has been confined to professional teachers and em- bodied in educational publications which are not likely to come to the attention of the mechanic. Moreover, where such publications have come to his atten- tion he has found them hard to understand and their contents difficult to apply, since they are written for the use of teachers in general schools. Training courses for vocational instructors where they have been established have aimed at meeting this difficulty by presenting the principles and practices of the teaching trade in such a manner that industrial instructors could apply them in their own special line of instruction, but in many cases trade instructors are unable to avail themselves of the oppor- tunities offered by these courses. iv PREFACE This book is intended, therefore, to serve two purposes — to serve as a handbook to instructors in industrial plants, and also to serve as "instruction notes" in instructor training courses. The material as presented here has been developed out of notes originally used in instructor training courses and sub- sequently modified for the training of shipyard instructors in connection with the instructor training work of the Emergency Fleet Corporation under my direction, in which over one thousand instructors have been trained. The rapid development of trade and industrial training, both in vocational schools and in industrial plants, and the special development of intensive training due to war condi- tions make the trained instructor of greater and greater value to American industries. It is hoped that this book may con- tribute to the development of efficient training in our voca- tional schools and in our industries. If it does, the purpose for which it was written will have been accomplished. Charles R. Allen. October 1, 1918. INTRODUCTION Those of us most familiar with the work of Mr. Allen have long been anxious that he write for pubhcation so that all those interested or engaged in industrial education might have the benefit of his rich experience and ripened views. This book on the preparation of teachers is the first result. Let us hope it will be followed by others dealing with the problems of the organization and administration of vocational schools with which Mr. AUen has been so closely connected for almost two decades. There are few, if any, men so well qualified as he by experi- ence and abihty to speak with authority in this field. Person- ally, I owe to the author a debt of gratitude I can never repay for the help he has given me during the past ten years. He has been not only a capable assistant at various times but also mentor and guide upon whose keen analysis of problems and sound philosophy of vocational education I have long reUed. Comparisons are always invidious. Nevertheless, I am of the opinion that this book is the most important contribution yet made to industrial and trade training. It deals with the most vital of our problems — the proper selection and training of competent instructors — ^without which government grants and imposing equipment are but sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. While only principles of pedagogy fundamental to all suc- cessful teaching are presented, they are a;pphed to the instruc- tion problems of the vocational class with a keenness of analy- sis, a wealth of illustration, and a clearness of statement not to be found in any other text with which I am acquainted. Recognizing that which the War has made apparent to all, that large industrial plants as well as schools must in the future carry on training for new employes, the text has been prepared so that it can be used equally well in the preparation of instruc- tors for schools or for industrial plants, most of whose teaching problems are common. INTRODUCTION The book presents not abstract theory but practical methods based on sound principles which the author developed in his work as a supervisor of teacher training in Massachusetts and worked out in the form here given while he was supervising training courses for shipyard instructors under the Emergency Fleet Corporation of the United States Shipping Board. The plan of training, therefore, is not a dream or a guess but a demonstrated success. Every one interested in or touching the problems of voca- tional education, particularly industrial education in any way, needs to read this book. It will help him to think straight as well as to train teachers properly. Indeed, all those engaged in regular education cannot fail to profit by studying the exceedingly clear analysis and discussion of methods of instruc- tion where "pedageese" is avoided so that the text may be equally readable by all. Employers and foremen will gain from Mr. Allen's exceed- ingly clear and thorough discussion a conception of the need and possibilities of training the new workers of which most of them have never dreamed. Perhaps most valuable of all, those who beUeve that regular schools of education can meet the needs of shop instructors by the customary courses on educational philosophy and method given by those unac- quainted with industrial processes and vocational schools, will learn from the book that the pedagogy of industrial edu- cation has already built up a definite content or courses of its own. Those courses can only be taught successfully by persons familiar with the organization and processes of both industry and the industrial school. C. A. Pbossbr. TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I TRAINING IN THE PLANT CHAPTER PAGE I. — ^The Principles of Effective Training . . 8 II. — Methods of Training . . . .11 III. — Training on the Job ..... 23 IV. — Picking the Training Force. . .31 PART II THE ANALYSIS AND CLASSIFICATION OF TRADE KNOWLEDGE V. — The Producer and the Instructor . . 37 VI. — ^The First Operation. The Determination of what is to be Taught . . . .42 VII. — The Classification of what Must be Taught 46 VIII. — The Determination of " Blocks" . . 64 PART III ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONAL ORDER IX. — The Determination of Learning Difficulties 77 X. — Establishing a Difficulty Scale. . . 85 XI. — ^Applying the Difficulty Scale . . .88 XII. — Getting Jobs into an Effective Instructional Order ....... 92 XIII. — ^Tying up the Auxiliary Information with the Job Instruction. ..... 97 XIV. — Getting the Jobs in more than One Block into AN Effective Instructional Order . . 106 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PART IV PUTTING IT OVER CHAPTER PAGE XV. — The Trade Instbuctob . . . .117 X\'T. — What Instruction is ... . 121 XVII. — The Instructing Operation . . . 126 XVIII. — Detailed Discussion of Steps in the Lesson. Step 1 . . . . . 132 XIX. — Detailed Discussion of Steps in the Lesson. Step 2 . . . . 136 XX. — ^Detailed Discussion Step 3 . . 139 XXI. — ^Detailed Discussion. Step 4 . .141 XXII. — Securing Trade Intelligence . . 143 PART V METHODS OF INSTRUCTION XXIII. — Methods for Step 1 . . . . 147 XXIV. — Methods for Step 2 . . .151 XXV. — Methods for Step 3 ... 158 XXVI.— Methods for Step 4 ... 163 XXVII. — Information and Development. Lines of Approach . . ... 165 XXVIII. — ^The Technical Lesson and the Produc- tion Lesson ..... 169 PART VI LESSON PLANNING XXIX. — Lesson Planning ..... 177 XXX. — ^An Illustration op the Planning op a Lesson ...... 184 PART VII INSTRUCTIONAL MANAGEMENT XXXI. — Special Problems of the Instructor . 205 XXXII. — Organization for Handling Different Types of Instruction .... 210 XXXIII. — The Organization of the Instructional Gang 219 TABLE OP CONTENTS vii CHAPTER PAGE XXXIV. — Instructional Conditions as they are Affected by Surroundings and Ma- terial ...... 235 XXXV. — ^How Surroundings Affect Instruction . 245 XXXVI. — ^Handling the Gang for Effective In- struction. ..... 248 XXXVII. — Interest and Interest Factors . . 257 PART VIII ORGANIZATION FOR TRAINING IN INDUSTRY XXXVIII. — The Organization for Training . . 287 XXXIX. — Instructional Bookkeeping . . . 304 XL. — ^Training Principles and Policies. . 319 XLI. — Apprenticeship Training . 334 XLII. — The " Cold Storage " vs. the Application Theory .... . 336 XLIII. — The Relative Order of Theory and Practice ...... 342 XLIV. — ^The Short Unit Course . . . 347 PART IX THE USE OF THIS MATERIAL IN INSTRUCTOR TRAINING COURSES XLV. — ^The Use of this Material in Instruc- tor Training Courses . . .351 Appendix A. — ^The Use op this Material by Foremen . .361 B. — The Use of this Material for Self-Training 363 C. — Some of the More Important Terms Used . 365 PART I TRAINING IN THE PLANT CHAPTER I THE PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE TRAINING This book deals with three factors in efficient production — the instructor, the man, and the job. The instructor, because it is through effective instruction that we can secure efficiency in training. The man, because when properly trained he does the best work. The job, because production efficiency comes from well instructed men doing good jobs. Therefore it deals with the question of effectively training green men or "learners" and with other forms of training for production work. It points out some ways by which learners can be trained most rapidly and trained to do their work in the best way through the application of definite principles to training problems. One of the most important points in effective training is to see that the men who are used as in- structors really know how to "put over" what they know, hence, a considerable portion of this book is given over to a description of how such a man can organize his trade knowledge for effective instruction, how he can effectively plan his in- struction work, and how he can best handle his men under instructing conditions. The organization under which such a man can work to the best advantage is discussed and an effec- tive type is described. To avoid any misunderstanding it should be stated here that this book does not deal in any way with trade processes, or with technical training. It assumes that, whether the training is given in a school shop or in the plant itself, the instructor is thoroughly equipped so far as knowing how to do his job is concerned. It deals solely with instruction, not with pro- duction, except so far as effective training functions in better production and greater output — which it does. An appendix contains suggestions as to the use of this material by men in industry who desire to become better 4 THE INSTRUCTOR instructors and to those who may undertake to use it in "Instructor Training Courses." The Possible Field of Training.^In any production plant the product is got out by a number of people who are em- ployed on a variety of jobs. These jobs may range from highly skilled to unskilled jobs. The variety of jobs to which effective methods of training can be applied is much greater than is generally supposed. In the past it has fre- quently been considered that only jobs in the so-called skilled trades were worth training for. More recent study has shown that there are very few industrial operations or semi-skilled jobs for which definite training is not of value. In general, it may be said that a job is worth training for if it presents these characteristics: (1) Anybody cannot learn to do the job. That is, in training, it is found that certain natural qualifications count, as quickness, neatness, a good eye, physical strength, weight, etc. (2) The trade recognizes jobs of different degrees of difficulty in the same line — as, for example, in machine shop work or in making paper boxes there are recognized "grades" of jobs. , (3) There is a best way of doing the job. (4) It is recognized that an appreciable period of time is required for a learner to reach maximum efficiencj' — in other words, a man cannot do the job as well the first time as he can after a period of practice. There are but few jobs that do not meet these conditions. The training discussed in this book has in mind training on such jobs as well as in skilled trades. The Necessity for Training.— Whether a new man comes into the shop from another shop of the same kind, or from a trade resembhng the trade that he takes up, or comes in absolutely green, he needs a greater or less amount of "breaking in" — that is, he needs training. Of course, what he needs and how much he needs depends on what his new job is and how much he knows, already, but he always needs something put over to him if he is to do his new job as well as it should be done. THE PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE TRAINING 6 Somebody has to put this over to him, and, to that extent, that somebody is just as truly an instructor, a teacher, as if he were a "regular" teacher in a school. After all, a teacher is only somebody whose business it is to put things over — to teach. Teaching is therefore always going on in any shop. It is a necessary part of the carrying on of the work, because (while it would be an ideal condition if it were possible) it is impossible for any shop to keep going by only employing men who know how to do the work and especially men experienced in doing the work of that particular shop. There will always be some turn- over. Men will drop out for one reason or another and other men must be employed to fill their places. So instruction, or training, must go on all the time. In some way, the new men that come in must learn how to do the work, and this training process must be carried on in addition to the production work for which the shop is established and operated. The Best Situation. — If this training process has to be carried on somehow we would have the best conditions if: — (1) Each man were trained so that he could do his job in the best possible way. (2) Each man were trained to do his job in the least time compatible with thorough training. (3) The experiences of each man during the training period had been such that he stayed through the training period and did not quit when only partly trained. If he is trained so that he can do a first class job that jis evidently the best proposition both for him and for the shop. A man who is thoroughly "onto his job" and knows it is less likely to quit, makes better money, spoils less stock. What- ever time and effort may have been spent in training him is certainly a better investment and is likely to be a more per- manent one. The less time taken to train him, provided he is well trained, the quicker he gets up to full production capacity. This again is both to his advantage and to the advantage of the shop. If his experiences in training are disagreeable, if he is con- tinually "bawled out," if he feels that he is not "catching on," if he knows that he is not "getting on," if he is "guyed" by 6 THE INSTBDCTOR the regular workmen as a "greenie" he is very likely to quit and hunt another job. In such a case, the shop has not only lost a man, but has lost whatever training the learner had got up to the time' that he quit. The value of this training lost in the turnover is greater than is generally realized. Training an Overhead Charge on the Shop. — However it is handled, training costs money. This money makes an over- head charge on the shop. The more this overhead charge can be kept down and men still properly trained the better: but this overhead cost cannot be "ducked, " it is there whether one sees it or whether one doesn't. The problem is to make this overhead cost as small as possible and still do a good training job. In order to get a line on how to do this it is necessary to know what items afiFect the training cost. In many cases both shops and men are losing money because an unnecessary amount of time is spent in training, because the training as given is not scientifically planned and put over, because, under the conditions, much training is lost in turn- over, and because many learners never learn how to do a really first class job. Some Factors in the Overhead Training Cost. — Among the more important factors tending to increase the overhead train- ing cost are: (1) Turning out second class men because no precau- tions were taken to see that the learners were trained only by first class men. (2) Taking too little time to train a man properly because it was nobody's business to follow him up and check him up to see that he was properly trained. (3) Allowing him to continue in training after he is trained, and knows or thinks that he can do " as good a job as any other fellow" — resulting in discontent and an increased turnover. (4) Putting improperly trained men onto regular production work because no training standards have been established. (5) Accepting for training, men who are not fitted for that particular sort of work or continuing to train them after it has become evident that they are unfitted for work in that particular line. THE PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE TRAINING 7 Turning out Second Class Men. — How can a man that does not know how to do a job himself teach another man to do it? How can a man who is only a second class man train a green man into a first class man? It can't be done. In the average run of a shop there are men of all grades: some first class, some average, some hanging onto the pay roll by the skin of their teeth. If the training is " anybody's job " what are the chances for a given learner to get his training from a first class man? Even if the new man starts with a poor man and is later polished off by a good man, say the foreman, how much will he have to unlearn? How much extra trouble will it make? How much extra time will it take? That time and trouble cost money. The cheapest way is to use only good men for training from the start. If a second class man trains a second class man and he in turn trains a second or more likely turns out a third class man, where is the shop headed? Evidently, so far as skill and effi- ciency go, it is on the down grade, and the longer this process goes on the further down the grade it goes. The whole ten- dency is to steadily reduce the level of efficiency. On the other hand if the skill and knowledge of only first class men is utilized for training, if learners are only trained by first class men, then the tendency is to continually raise the level of the skill and efficiency of the shop. Turning out a Man before he is properly Trained. — Unless there are definite standards established and somebody sees that a learner is trained so that he can meet those standards before he is turned out from training, the shop is likely to get a good many poor men because- they are not fuUy trained. These poor men will go on causing an unnecessary overhead cost as long as they are employed. After they go out onto regular production work they are not likely to make up what they lack. They are more likely, sooner or later, to quit or get fired. In either case, the value of the partial training that they did get is lost to the shop. If a training job has to be done anyway it pays to do a good job while you are at it. Keeping a Man in Training after he is Trained. — As already pointed out, training costs moneys— somebody must give time 8 THE INSTRUCTOR — machines and tools must be used in instruction — so long as a training process is carried on in any way. Unless the training is stopped as soon as a learner is trained so that he can do a good job, time and equipment are being spent or tied up for no useful purpose. Where the training calls for putting a learner through a series of jobs from the easiest to the most difficult, it is often thought that it is a paying proposition to keep him on a job after he has learned to do it as well and quickly as he ever can do it, so as "to get some production out of him." As a matter of fact the cheapest thing to do is to pull him off that job as soon as he can do it and put him onto the next one. That is, the cheapest thing to do is to get him into the regular production force as soon as possible. As a regular man on the job he will get at least as much out of the equipment and be a better asset to the shop. If he has been properly trained, so far as he is concerned, the overhead cost for training has been stopped. In other words, it pays to concentrate training; get it done; finish the training job as soon as possible and get the training organization and equipment at work on some other man. Not only does this unnecessarily prolonged training period increase overhead costs as just indicated, but, it also tends to make the learner discontented. Rightly or wrongly he is hable to think that he is being "worked." As a result he is much more likely to quit. This also adds to the overhead cost as already pointed out. Failing to Establish Training Standards. — Wherever it can be done, failure to establish training standards results in men being put on production work by guess instead of through exact knowledge that the man is competent. This guesswork results either in the learner being held in training too long or not long enough. Whatever may constitute "a fair day's work" by trade standards should be determined and a man trained until he can meet these standards, if the overhead cost of training is to be reduced to a minimum. Training the Unsuitable Man.— Another serious cause of unnecessary overhead cost is attempting to train a learner without making any attempt to size him up against the re- THE PRINCIPLES OP EFFECTIVE TRAINING 9 quirements of the work for which he is to be trained, or after it has become evident at any point in his training that he is not the man for that particular sort of work. Any man cannot be trained so that he will make a good man on any job. Suppose a man is started in training for a job requiring a high degree of accuracy and it appears that he has not got the "accuracy sense," or the job requires neatness and quick fingers and the learner is not naturally neat and has "butter fingers." (For example, in one concern it was found that only two girls out of three could make fancy paper boxes. Any machinist will say that "you can't make a machinist out of anybody. ") In such cases as these (and they will occur) the quicker it is found out the less the unnecessary cost due to useless training. The Value of Good Instruction in Reducing Overhead Cost — Training Cost. — There is no question that a man who knows how to put it over, who knows the instructing game, can train a learner faster and better than a man who only knows the job even if he knows that job thoroughly. Experience has proved this again and again. If a man who knows how to instruct can train men on a given job in half the time that is required by a man who does not know how to put over what he knows, overhead costs are reduced. A considerable por- tion of this book is given up to "pointers" on how to put it over, because this is such an important factor in cutting down training costs. Summary of Conditions for Effective Training. — If a concern must train somehow in order to keep up the effectiveness of its force (and all concerns must) its problem is to secure maximum production and minimum overhead cost by bringing all its force to a point where they can all do their different jobs in the "best" way. Since training, no matter how it is carried on, puts an overhead charge on the business the problem is to train as well as possible but to keep the training cost as low as possible and still train first class men. This is largely a matter of meeting certain conditions among the most important of which are: (1) Training the right people by some suitable method of selection. (2) Conducting the breaking-in process 10 THE INSTRUCTOR in such a way that the learner will stay through it and then remain with the concern. (3) Establishing standards of good workmanship and training to those standards. Overhead cost will be cut according to the degree' to which the training work is organized and operated according to the definite principles that underhe eflBcient training work. CHAPTER II METHODS OF TRAINING Methods of Training. — As has aheady been pointed out, training has to go on somehow in practically all shops. It always has gone on — in some form it always will. At different times and in different concerns training has been carried on in a great many different ways, but all of these ways, or methods of securing training, can be put into one of two classes, which we can for convenience call training by absorption and training by intention. Training by Absorption. — Where this method is used there are no definite arrangements made for training. New men "pick up " their work as they can. They get what information they can from others who are on the same sort of jobs. Per- haps they find a "good fellow" at the next machine and "get next " to him at the noon hour. "They use their eyes and their mouths. " In this way they gradually get so that they can do some sort of a job or else get fired. If they are able to stay on the job they are finally absorbed into the working force — hence the name. Under this method it is absolutely nobody's business to help the new man to get onto his job. What he gets he gets himself, either through his own efforts or through the friendly help of other workers or foremen who are not paid to help him but are paid to get out production. It is a case of " pushing him off the end of the dock " to sink or swim, and taking a chance that if he starts to drown, and yells for help, somebody will leave his regular job long enough to throw him a line. For clearness of illustration the case cited above is, of course, an extreme type, but it illustrates the actual way by which a man gets his training in a shop where no definite plan for training is operated. The point is, that the shop, as such, assumes no responsibility for seeing that new men get the 11 12 THE INSTRUCTOR training that they need. Getting such training is strictly "up to the man." A common modification of this method is where a shop allows piece workers to take on learners as "helpers." As an example, suppose a weaver in a cotton mill is running a cer- tain number of looms, say, for illustration, eight. His wife's cousin makes a deal with him to come in as a "helper.' Perhaps the "helper " pays for the privilege. With the aid of this "helper" the weaver can run, say, ten looms instead of the eight, so he makes more money. After a while the " helper " thinks that he can run a few looms himself, and when the mill is short on weavers he gets a chance to try it on his own hook. In this way he gradually becomes some sort of a weaver. What training he got, good or bad, he did not get through any training plan operated by the mill. "Officially" the mill had nothing to do with it. It did not even know "officially" that the man was in training. Another illustration of how this method works in practice is when a man "steals his trade." For example, he goes to a machine shop where they work on a lathe job. In a few hours or half a day the foreman finds out that the man knows nothing about his job and fires him. However, he has found out something about the job. He goes to another concern, represents himself as a lathe hand and gets a job on the strength of it. This time he may last a few days. He works the same game again with another shop. Because he knows a little more he may last a little longer. By keeping this game up he may finally become able to do some sort of a lathe job. As in the other cases, what he got he got by himself, with what help he could get from other men whom he "pumped" as he could, and who were not supposed to help him, but were supposed to work on their own jobs. Training by Intention. — This method differs from training by absorption in that there is some recognized plan for training new men. Somebody is expected to train them either as all of his job or as a part of his job. Some illustrations of how training by "intention" is carried out in practice would be an apprenticeship scheme; a definite recognition of helpers as a METHODS OF TRAINING 13 part of the working force; a definite responsibility placed upon foremen to train new men as well as to get out produc- tion. Definite training departments, whose sole responsibility is to train, as described in this book, and trade schools, would illustrate training by intention carried to the extreme point of development. In all of these cases somebody is paid to train the new man. It is intended that he shall be trained— hence the name. Characteristics of the Two Methods. — It will be noted that in the preceding description of the two methods no questions were raised as to how well or how cheaply men could be trained by either method. It was only pointed out that by one method somebody is made responsible for training the men, and by the other method nobody is made responsible, and the man is left to get his training as well as he can — it is his job and nobody else's. The Two Methods Compared. — If the two methods are compared certain facts become evident. By the "absorp- tion" method the length of time required for a man to get so that he can do the job, is a pure matter of accident. If he is a "good fellow" of considerable push, and happens to get in with some other "good fellows" who are interested in him and are willing to show him, the training time will be shortened. If he happens to be timid or shy, or runs up against a bunch of men who "throw him down" or "kid" him when he tries to find out something about his job, the training period will be greatly increased. If he gets jobs of different degrees of difficulty he is likely to get them any way that they happen to come. Since nobody is looking out for him, he is put onto regular work when he guesses that he can do it and can con- vince whoever is in charge that he guessed right. He cannot be really trained against standards. Nobody really knows when he is trained. What help he gets may come from men who are not themselves first class men on the job, so that the way that he learns to do the work may not be the best way. Even if they are good men there is no probability that they are good at putting over what they know to a new man, and he does not get an entirely clear idea as to how the job should 14 THE INSTRUCTOR be done. All such things make his training long, ineffective, incomplete, and in the end, costly. Where the plan of training by intention is operated some- body is made responsible for training the man. It may be the foreman, a skilled man in charge of a helper, or an instructor who only trains. Whoever it is, a part of his job, or all of his job is to properly train the man. Under this plan it is possible to see that he gets help when he needs it, and that he does not have to wait for a chance to get it any way that he can. It is possible to see that he gets the easiest jobs first and the most diflScult jobs last. It is possible to keep track of his training and know when he is trained enough to meet given standards. It is possible to be sure that what he gets he gets from first class men, and not from anybody that happens to be around. This amounts to saying that by this method the training can be controlled and planned whereas it is accidental and cannot be controlled under the "absorption" plan. Of course the degree to which training under the intention plan is effective is determined by the extent to which it is organized in accordance with sound principles, and the manner in which these principles are worked out in detail, but the points noted above can be effectively met where training is by intention and cannot be effectively met when training is by absorption. Training by Intention the Cheaper Plan. — From the stand- point of the overhead training cost, as already discussed, training by intention is the cheaper plan. Many large con- cerns recognize this fact and operate intentional training schemes. The various conditions that have been pointed out as unavoidable under the absorption plan (unnecessarily long training periods, learning from poor men, loss of partly trained men, etc.) all make for an excessive overhead cost. The possibilities pointed out under the "intention" plan permit of giving the most effective training at the lowest overhead cost. The degree to which the cost is actually reduced de- pends, of course, on how the training is actually carried out in practice. Some Ways by which Intentional Training is Carried out in Practice. — Of course intentional training is carried out in all METHODS OF TRAINING 15 sorts of ways in practice, and the methods of "breaking-in help " that are usually followed in such schemes for intentional training are well known to shop men, but for purposes of dis- cussion some of the more common methods are given here. (1) The foreman, in addition to his responsibility for getting out the product, is made responsible for the training of new men. He personally instructs them, keeps track of them, checks them up. Many foremen have been very successful in training men themselves and, in some cases, have developed most excellent methods. (2) A competent workman (an "old hand") is put in charge of one or more learners. (Helpers, apprentices, green men.) In the old days, under the apprenticeship method, this was the standard plan. Training is, of course, carried on in the regular shop as in the first case. (3) Certain men are given the exclusive job of training. These men are paid to do nothing else. Men are broken in by them — it is their job and nobody else is supposed to have anything to do with the man until he is trained. Such men are sometimes called instructing foremen to distinguish their job from that of production foremen. Under this plan training is also carried on in the shop. (4) Training is not carried on in the regular shop but in special "training shops," so that men do not get into the regular work until they have been thoroughly trained. Under good conditions the training is given with the same equipment as that of the production shops, and the same sort of work is carried on. A modification of this plan is the trade school shop as it has been developed in some parts of the country. (5) Distinct training departments are established with distinct heads and instructing staffs. So long as men are in training they are under the authority of the training de- partment and not under the production foremen. When properly trained in the training department they are turned over to the production department as competent men. Training may be given in special shops or in the regular production shops. 16 THE INSTRUCTOR Of course, there are many modifications of these five forms. For example, a foreman will often start a distinct training shop for elementary training. This separate training shop may be in some corner of the production shop. After a little prelimi- nary breaking-in in the special "shop," the man's training will be completed in the regular shop. The five examples given will, however, serve as a basis for discussion. Training by Intention Requires an Instructor. — Before taking up a discussion of the relative advantages and disadvantages of the different typical methods just cited, one important point should be clear. Training by intention, however it may be carried out in detail, always puts the responsibility for training onto somebody. That "somebody" is paid for giving part of his time, or all of his time to training instead of giving all of his time to production. That is, training by intention always uses an instructor. This is true because an instructor, whatever he may be called, is somebody who is paid to "put it over": to teach. In this sense, training by absorption does not assume that any instructor is required. The Job of the Instructor. — Whenever a man has the job of putting over what he knows to somebody else, whether he thinks so or not, he is an instructor. His job is to instruct or, to use the more common word, he is a teacher and his job is to teach. Men who give shop instruction rarely think of themselves as teachers. They seldom realize that they have the same sort of a job as any other teacher, but such is the fact. So far as the teaching end of it goes, teaching Bill Jones how to set an index head on a universal miller, teaching a new recruit how to handle a rifle, and teaching Bill's son, Sammy Jones, how to solve an algebraic equation are all the same sorts of jobs. Like any other job it can be well done or badly done, but is the same kind of a job. Whatever he may be called, a man who has an instructing job is an instructor. If a man has the instructing job on his hands he naturally wants to do that as well as it can be done. As in all other cases, the best conditions will enable the instructing job to be done in the best way. It is also true that when a job is done METHODS OF TRAINING 17 in the best way it is done in the cheapest way: that is, in the long run it costs less to do the job in that way, though some- times, before the matter is thought out it looks as if it was costing more. The following paragraphs discuss the different methods of intentional training that have been given from the standpoint of getting the most effective instruction as well as from the standpoint of cost. The Different Methods Compared. — If we look at the five methods of training given it is evident that they can be divided into two groups. In examples (1) and (2) the instructor has a double job. The foreman, or the breaker-in has to get out the work and also instruct. In examples (3), (4) and (5) the instructor has only one job : to instruct. As is pointed out in detail later, this does not mean that men under instruction may not turn out work, and good work, but it does mean that the job of the instructor is only that of training. He is responsible for the training that he does. The work turned out, while impor- tant, is a "side show." In cases (1) and (2) we have a divided responsibility, in cases (3), (4) and (5) a single responsibility. The Single Responsibility Plan is Better. — A production force is on the job to get out product. The shop is organized to turn out work; that is what it is there for. A foreman, or other executive or supervisor, is responsible for getting out the maximum product as well and as quickly as possible. Men are employed to do their individual jobs and not to train other men. Anything that interferes in any way with the best conditions for getting out the work, slows up production and puts an unnecessary overhead cost on the production work. The attempt to handle training through the regular production force, not only interferes with production but also interferes with the efficiency of the training. The following paragraphs discuss these points in detail. Why Traiaing by the Use of the Regular Production Force Interferes with Production. — The general principle involved here is the value of specialization. When it is desired to get a piece of work done as well as possible, the best way to do it is to put someone on that job, hold him responsible and let him give his undivided attention to getting it done. The 18 THE INSTRUCTOR more he can concentrate on it, the better work he will do. Men who are held responsible for production will do better work if they concentrate their time and effort on production than they will if their time and eflFort has to be divided between two distinct jobs: training and production. For illustration, assume that a foreman, as in example (1), is expected to run his shop and also act as an instructor; these are some of the results: (1) The problems of getting out production are of one kind. They relate to operations, production, speed, getting maximum service out of the equipment. They head up into getting out the product in the necessary quantity, of the necessary quality and with as much speed and as httle lost motion as possible. The problems of training are, as shown later, of a totally different kind. They relate to methods of training. They deal with such questions as, what a man is thinking about while he is being instructed; how to secure and hold his attention; how to be sure that he fully understands; how to find out what he has not fully understood. They head up into turning out trained men as rapidly and efficiently as possible. Now these two kinds of problems call for two distinct kinds of thinking and for two distinct kinds of training. It is hard for a man who is used to thinking about production problems to shift once for all and think about instructing problems as he does when he becomes a "steady" instructor. This has been the experience of every shop man who has become an instructor. He finds it a hard and a slow process to make the shift. Under the conditions assumed, the foreman who both runs his shop and instructs must make this shift a great many times a day. First, for example, he plans to get out a certain job by ten o'clock the next morning. Then he must think out the best way to instruct a man on a certain job. Next he may have to shift back to another shop problem, then back to an instructing problem and so on. He is in the same condition as a man trying to do a pattern maker's job and a machine shop job METHODS OF TRAINING 19 at the same time, or a ball player trying to pitch and cover first base. Mentally he is running back and forth between two entirely different kinds of jobs. Now such running back and forth means a distinct loss of efficiency. A man cannot thoroughly get "down to brass tacks" on either job. The result of putting this double job onto a man who is responsible for production is to keep him from doing his best on the production job, and that suffers accordingly. Under tnese conditions pro- duction suffers because the man responsible for keeping it up to top notch is bothered with the details of another job as well as those of his own. This is especially true where either job is enough to keep a man busy. The usual and almost inevitable result is that one of the jobs is neglected. Either training or production suffers. Under ordinary conditions training suffers badly and produc- tion is retarded as well. The foreman is bothered, he is in- terfered with on his main job, and the training is badly done, so that there is a loss at both ends. The above discussion will apply equally well to the case where skilled men in the shop are expected to do their jobs and also instruct. If they do any real instructing they are in exactly the same situation as the foreman — their thinking and attention must run back and forth between the two kinds of problems which they are supposed to handle. This interferes with doing the job, and also interferes with the effectiveness of the training. (2) The extent to which a combined producer and in- structor leaves his production job in order to instruct is so much time lost in production. When a skilled man leaves his job to show a green man how to do something, whatever time he takes is lost time so far as production goes. If this instruction work is divided among a number of men the total time lost amounts to considerable. This of course slows up production to just that amount. The same amount of time concentrated in one or more men who gave their time to instruction only would serve to instruct a considerably larger number of men. The amount of time and attention that is diverted froaa 20 THE INSTRUCTOR production, under the conditions just discussed, is enough, where any amount of training is carried on, to appreciably affect production efficiency. Men whose job is to get out production cannot work with full efficiency if they have to carry the "overload" of training as well. Put it in another way. A certain number of men have to be instructed. This takes a certain amount of time and energy no matter how it is done. If this time and energy are drawn from the production force it will require more time and energy than if the same number of men were trained by instructors who did nothing else. This saving of time and effort means an increase in production, in addi- tion to the direct saving due to time and energy kept in production where the production force do not have to instruct. Why the Use of the Regular Production Force Interferes with Effective Training. — If training interferes with produc- tion the situation also works backward. It is almost impossi- ble to secure the most efficient training when the same men are made responsible for both maximum production and efficient training work. This is true for practically the rea- sons given in the last paragraph. Trying to do both jobs cuts down good work on both. The instructing job, if it is to be well done must be concen- trated upon. Learners must not be left standing around for further instructions because the "instructor" has to attend to some production problem at just that time. Neither should they be poorly instructed because the instructor was too hard pushed for time to properly plan the instruction work. When the instructor comes off a production job and comes on an instruction job he has to make the same "shift" de- scribed in the last paragraph, only this time from production to instruction, and he will not do as good a job of instructing as he could have done had he been thinking of instructing all the time. The effect of this continual shifting on the efficiency of both training and production is generally overlooked because it is largely a mental question and so is concealed. Often METHODS OP TRAINING 21 the man who is trying to do both jobs is not aware of the trouble himself. He may be conscious of the "drag" but he does not realize the cause. The great interest that many fore- men take in training, and their unconsciousness of the "drag" of the double job, often makes them reluctant to turn train- ing over to a specialist although it really means a relief. Specialization an Advantage. — Keeping the responsibiUty for getting out production and for training separate unquestion- ably makes for the efficiency of both. Men who are to instruct should be held responsible for instruction only. Men who are to produce should be held responsible for production only. This is the most efficient organization. Giving both jobs to the same set of men cuts down efficiency on both and is a wasteful organization. This means that whenever training is to be done, instructors should be employed: men whose sole business is to instruct — and these instructors should be trained for their jobs. As in any other line of work, instruction will be good or bad according to the degree to which the instructor is "onto his job," according to the degree to which he is an expert in his line. This is as true in the instructing trade as it is in any other trade. Definitely and Accidentally Trained Instructors. — As in any other trade, an instructor may have " picked up " his trade as an instructor or he may have secured definite training. We may have a trained or an untrained instructor. As in other trades, there are best ways of putting over instructing jobs and a man can get these "points" from a man who knows them. That is, an expert teacher who knows how to teach can show a prospective trade instructor a good deal about " how to put it over, " in connection with that man's instructing job. Of course it is plain that such a " training course " would not undertake to teach a man anything about his trade itself, but would only show him how to "put over" to better advan- tage the trade knowledge and skill that he already possessed. It is evident that the more a man knows about his job the more time and attention he will put into it, because he does know more about it. This is as true of an instructor as of 22 THE INSTRUCTOR anybody else. The more he knows about the instructing job the more he will feel the "drag" of a double responsibility, the more he will see the loss of efficiency in training due to "shifting." The less a man knows about instructing as a distinct trade the less the double combination will disturb him. This makes it particularly desirable that trained instructors should be only held responsible for instruction. The Value of the Trained Instructor. — Experience has shown that a trained instructor can do a much better instructing job than an untrained man, no matter how competent that man may be in his trade or on his job. The former can train men quicker, easier and better. He knows how to handle men under good instructional conditions which are often very different from good production conditions. He can plan his work and use the best "putting over" method for a given teaching job. He knows how to inspect his own work and can tell whether his learners thoroughly understand what has been taught them. He can analyze his trade and can de- termine just what instruction should be given a man for a specific piece of work. The employment of trained instructors, therefore, adds greatly to the efficiency of any training work, and the cost of properly training them is more than repaid by the increased efficiency that results directly in the training itself, and, through that, in decreased overhead charges and increased production. Summary. — Training must be carried on somehow. It may be by intention or by absorption. By the absorption plan the concern, as such, assumes no responsibility for seeing that the recruit secures training. By the intention plan it does assume that responsibility. Training by intention is more efficient and cheaper, but requires an instructor. The instructor may be required to attend to both instruction and production or the two jobs may be specialized. Specializa- tion is" more efficient and cheaper. It is still cheaper and more efficient not only to use specialized instructors who only instruct but to use trained instructors, who know how to instruct. CHAPTER III TRAINING ON THE JOB The preceding chapters discussed the value of definitely organized training, described certain common methods by which this training may be carried out, and pointed out the most economical and eflBcient working conditions. There still remains to be discussed the question of how and where this training is to be given. This is particularly important, as many training schemes have been less efficient than they might have been because undesirable and inefficient methods were employed. It is also true, that, for reasons discussed later, more expen- sive and less effective training methods are quite liable to be employed in industrial plants where those in charge were not familiar with the fundamental principles on which the most effective training can be developed. The Two Methods. — Whenever practical training is under- taken, it is generally carried on according to one of two methods which for convenience may be designated as training on the job and training by exercises. Whatever the details, in training on the job, the learner, from the beginning, is put directly on actual work. Production starts as soon as train- ing starts. From the beginning of his training, the learner uses the same tools and machines and works up the same stock as would a regular producer on that job. He turns out a product that is of value, although, of course, his productivity is not so great. In training by exercises, the learner is not put on actual work from the start. Production does not start when training begins but there is a period during which the learner does not produce in the sense that his product is of value. It may be true, that, by the exercise method of training, the learner may use the same tools and machines, or even work on the same 23 24 THE INSTRUCTOR stock as a regular man on the job, but his product is not used. It is "junked," or dissembled after it has served its training purpose. The test for an "exercise" is therefore, not how the job is done but what becomes of the product after the job is done. The Two Methods Illustrated— The Exercise Method.— Take the case of training riveters in a shipyard. According to the exercise method, a green man would be set to driving rivets on some old plates. After he had driven a number, they would be cut out and more rivets would be driven in the same holes. This process would be repeated until he was considered sufficiently expert to "graduate" into real work in the production force. The same old plates would be used over and over again for successive learners. Another illustration is in the method of training in machine shop work often followed in the shops of technical schools. A series of operations are laid out to be put through by the learner. (Say, rough turning, fine turning, thread cutting) and, after these operations are finished, the final product is "junked." Still another illustration is in training brick- layers; a wall is laid up by the learners and laborers are employed to tear it down. Another variation of this method is where a learner is put on as an observer and after a while is allowed to "try his hand" on some odds and ends, as in a jointry shop, where, after some observation, he is allowed to try making a joint with pieces of scrap stock. It will be observed in all of these cases, that between the time that the learner is taken on and the time that he was started in on "work" there was a greater or less period of time when he was of no direct productive value. The Two Methods Illustrated— The Job Method.— The second method can be illustrated by such cases as the follow- ing. In training a riveter in a shipyard, from the start, he is put upon work that has a value. This work, of course, is selected for its simplicity, but, the rivets that are driven stay driven, unless, of course, they are defective, as in the riveting done by any production riveting gang. The parts that are TRAINING ON THE JOB 25 riveted together stay together and go into the ship. In the same way, in jointry work, simple jobs that really count in production, are selected and given to the learner from the beginning. The simplest, roughest jobs are given first and the learner gradually progresses to finer and more diflScult work as his training goes on. In training a learner on a special machine, he is started directly on the machine itself without any appreciable period of observation. In all sucl^ cases, it will be noted that no appreciable period intervenes between the time that the learner is started in training and the time that he begins to produce. Theory of the Two Methods. — The exercise method is based upon the theory that a learner must, in some way, secure a certain amount of skill before he can be trusted on actual work. Unless he has acquired this skill he will spoil work, damage machines, spoil jobs. In certain cases, in training for skilled trades, it is also based on the theory that if a learner can be given skill in a series of disconnected operations he can, later, readily combine any set of those operations into the doing of any given jobs. The method of training on production is based on the theory that, under proper conditions, the "non productive period" is unnecessary, in the great majority of cases. The greater interest of the learner, the value of his product, the added training value to learners in working under actual working con- ditions more than offsets the chances of the small amount of spoiled work that results where this type of training is carried on under proper conditions. Since most men in industrial plants have not known how to secure proper conditions and have sensed the dangers of the "jobs" method of training, it is not surprising that they have tried the exercise method to a greater or less extent. Advantages and Disadvantages. — The advantages of the exercise method may be listed out as follows: (1) If the learner is thoroughly trained on exercises before he is put to work, the danger of spoiled work is minimized. 26 THE INSTRUCTOR (2) Since his work is of no value he does not require as careful watching as if he were on a real job. (3) Such work has a certain trying out value. (4) Where definite instruction is planned such exercises can be arranged in any desired order without regard to the requirements of actual work. (5) In many cases exercises can be so contrived that the learner can be less "bother" around the shop than if he were put onto regular production jobs. The disadvantages of this method may be listed out as follows: (1) As already stated, this method calls for a period of non-productive work. In a school, where students are not paid for their time, this is perhaps less important than in a shop where learners are under pay. In the shop this non-productive period adds to the overhead cost. (2) The training conditions are artificial. Under actual working conditions men are not put on work unless the product is of value to the output. (3) Experience has shown, especially in shops, that where a learner knows that his product will not have to meet the actual test of use, he is less interested, tends to be more careless in his work and is less anxious to get on. (4) It is very diflBcult to apply in many shop operations, especially on automatic or semi-automatic machines and on a large number of semi-skilled jobs. (5) In many cases, exercises as planned, do not repro- duce actual working conditions. In the effort to avoid tying up tools and equipment on non-productive work the tendency to use "artificial" exercises is strong. One illustration of this is the common tendency to consider that any old worn out tool or machine is good enough for training exercises. The advantages of training on the job may be listed out as follows: (1) There is no non-productive interval, hence overhead cost is reduced. TRAINING ON THE JOB 27 (2) The learner's interest is kept up from the start, hence he is much more Hkely to do his work as well as possible, and to desire to get on as fast as possible. (3) It is practically the only method that can be used in training on many industrial jobs. (Semi-skilled, auto- matic, etc.) (4) All training can be given under actual production conditions. The disadvantages are: (1) The danger of spoiling work, if not properly con- trolled. (2) The difficulty of securing the right sort of work for training by selecting it only from the work of the shop. (3) The difficulty of securing suitable work for training without seriously interfering with the regular production work. Training on the Job the Better if these Difficulties can be Minimized. — It is evident that training directly on produc- tive work is the cheaper and more efficient method provided its disadvantages can be removed. If the period of non- productive work can be cut out, that is a distinct advantage. If the interest of the learner can be kept up to the highest pitch, the time required for training will be reduced and the learner will be much more likely to stay through the training. As stated, there are many jobs for which it is practically im- possible to train on any other basis. The disadvantages of the exercise method are fundamental in their character. The objections to the job method are not fundamental, but can be eliminated by a proper organi- zation. Many concerns have admitted the advantages of the method of training on production and, in fact, many have tried it in some cases with unsatisfactory results. This failure has not been due to the insuperable difficulties of the plan, but to the omission of a vital factor, the trained and competent instructor. Where such work has been undertaken without such an instructor all the difficulties of this method have been at 28 THE INSTRUCTOR their maximum. With no instructor (as by the absorption method) where such help as was given was given by other work- men incidental to the doing of their own jobs, of course results were very bad. Machines were smashed, stock spoiled, men injured and discontented, training poor. Even where the foreman has had this additional load put upon him, in addi- tion to his proper job, that of running his shop, similar results have occurred, though it is only fair to say, that many foremen have worked "overtime" and have achieved some measure of success in spite of their double load, especially where such men had some notions as to the principles of effective instruction. Where an instructor has been employed he has usually been selected either because he was a good production man or as has sometimes occurred, because he was not (the idea being to use a less valuable man on the training work and keep the better men in production). In few cases was he selected because he could instruct efficiently, either because he was a natural teacher or because he had been trained as an instructor. The Instructor and Training on the Job. — as already stated the key to effective training on production is the instructor who can instruct. Such a man knows how to ana- lyze out the different learning processes through which the learner must go in training for each job. He knows how to take the learner through those processes step by step. He knows how to be sure that the learner has got one step before he takes him to the next. He knows how to handle the learner so that he is interested in getting along as fast as possi- ble and in doing as good a job as possible. If in addition, his job is only that of an instructor, he is on the instructing job all the time, preventing mistakes, anticipating difficul- ties, straightening out the learner as soon as he starts to go wrong. And he has no other job to think about. Under these conditions the dangers of job training are reduced to a minimum. As in all other trades, as a general proposition, a trained instructor can do a better job than an untrained instructor. Hence the better trained the instructor the better the results in job training. An investment in training instructors will TRAINING ON THE JOB 29 be well repaid to any concern undertaking training and is especially desirable when training is to be carried on by inten- tion and on the job. The Importance of Traihing on the Job. — As already stated there are very few situations where training on production from the beginning of the process is not the most efiBcient and the cheapest in the end. This, of course, provided inten- tional training is used with properly qualified instructors. Experience has shown that, under these conditions it can be carried on without seriously disturbing the work of the pro- duction force. This is, of course, largely a matter of coopera- tion and proper organization. The adoption of this method makes it possible to train eflfectively on a large number of specialized and semi-skilled jobs for which training cannot be given in any other way. It is as important that efficient methods of training should be used for training on these jobs as on "skilled" jobs. "Many a concern suffers more from lack of first class workers on jobs of this class than from lack of skill in its highly skilled men, who are often relatively few in number. The tendency to concentrate attention on training to the few highly skilled trades that may be represented in the force results in a loss of efficiency. Some large concerns have even found it desirable to train their office boys. Training on the Job in the Trade School. — A trade school that trains its students on productive work differs in no essen- tial way from a commercial concern so far as training condi- tions go. The same requirements as to trained and qualified instructors exist here that would be found in an industrial plant training its learners on the job. What has been said applies therefore to such a school as well as to an industrial plant. It is the personal conviction of the writer that exer- cise training has no more place in an efficient trade school than it has in an efficient plant. Summary. — There are two general methods of training: on the job and by exercises. The exercise method assumes a period of non-productive training, the job method does not. A comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of the 30 THE INSTRUCTOR two methods shows that the exercise method has certain fundamental disadvantages and the "job" method certain disadvantages that can be practically cut out by proper organization and right working conditions. DifBculties in carrying on job training have been mainly due to lack of specialized, trained, qualified instructors. The job method is the most eflBcient and the cheapest, both in industrial plants and in trade schools. CHAPTER IV PICKING THE TRAINING FORCE The final key to the success or failure of any training course is the sort of man that is put in charge of the work. EflPec- tive organization is necessary, adequate provision for training is necessary, but these alone will not give effective training results. The following suggestions may be of value to those who may be interested in manning a training plan, or in selecting prospective instructors to attend an Instructor Training Course. Trade Experience. — It is useless to look for good instruc- tion unless the instructor is a thoroughly good ' workman. The notion that "a man that is not good fenough for the job is good enough for an instructor on that job " will only lead to trouble. Where foremen or their subordinates are asked to pick out men it has sometimes occurred that they have recom- mended men that they wanted to get rid of rather than their best men. This may have been natural for men who had no notion of what an instructor's job really is, but these men were of course, really defeating their own ends. Experience has shown again and again that the only man who is worth selecting for a prospective instructor is a thorough master of his job. A rough guide is the length of time that a man has worked at his trade. For instruction in skilled trades it should be not less than eight years. For specialized work it may be less, but the tendency is to undervalue a long trade experience, as an asset for an instructor. As already stated he must not only know about the job, but must know how to do it, and his experience must have been sufficient so that he can "hold down his job with any man." He must command the trade respect of the production force. 31 3ie THE INSTRUCTOR General Education. — Many concerns have felt that young men of good general education, who had had some contact with the industry in the line in which they were to instruct, were desirable material for instructors, though they had little or no actual trade experience. Often a young man with some techni- cal training who has acted as an inspector or assistant to an executive is selected on account of his education and general ability. Such men are not likely to succeed as instructors and should not be selected. If an instructor cannot "hold up his end " with any man in the shop, if they do not respect him on a production basis, if they do not know that he has "been through the mill," he will not succeed as an instructor no matter how well educated and intelligent he may be. Such a young man may know a great deal about how to do the job, but being able to do the job is another matter. In- telligence is needed, but it is that of the shop, not that of the school. Of course the above statement does not mean that the more general education a man has the better, provided he has his trade, but the tendency to assume that good education is an equivalent for trade ability is an unfortunate one. Another mistake sometimes made is in selecting a man who has had a school experience but has either no trade experience or very little. This comes from a confusion as to what constitutes the job of a trade or job instructor. An educa- tional experience is of value, but alone, it will not serve the pur- pose, for the same reasons given in the preceding paragraph. Age. — Prospective instructors should not be too young. From thirty to forty is perhaps the best age, but men well over forty have made good instructors when properly trained. A man who takes up instructing has to learn a new trade, the instructing trade. Whatever his age, if he has grown " stifiF " he is not likely to pick up and practice the new trade effectively. If too young, lack of trade experience and immaturity will prove handicaps. Other Desirable Qualifications. — A supervisory experience, such as that of a foreman, is desirable provided it has not been "so long that the man has lost the "feel" of the job. Where PICKING THE TRAINING FORCE 33 a considerable period has elapsed since he actually worked at the job himself this is likely to prove a detriment. The Ability to "Put It Over." — It is commonly assumed that if a man can do a good job himself he can teach a learner how to do it. This is not the case, however. Many men who can do a first class job cannot teach anybody else how to do that job. The two qualities do not necessarily go together. It is true that the better a man is on his job the better instructor he will make, provided he can teach. Some men seem to be "natural teachers, but such men are rare. The average good man can acquire, however, the ability to instruct best through an effective training course. This has been very plainly shown where such courses have been conducted. The Director of Training. — The desirability of putting the training work in charge of a responsible head (a director) is discussed later. In selecting such a man, many concerns have failed to recognize the importance of his job. They have picked out men who were too young. Men without sufficient experience in handling men; men without knowledge of the principles of great training, whose only experience has been in the field of production have been put upon this work. An ex- perience in production, especially in the plant in which the train- ing is to be given, is a valuable asset for a director, but, never- theless, if he lacks knowledge of the principles of good training and of instructional organization he will be lacking in efficiency. Any director should be as good an instructor as any of his staff. The director of a training department has a job that is as vital to the success of a concern as the work of any other department. He should be chosen as carefully as any other department head and paid as well. He should be given authority commensurate with his responsibility. Summary. — The best instructor is a man of thorough trade experience, preferably in the plant. He should not be too young or too old. He should be a first class man on his job, but adaptable and able to change from production to instruc- tional conditions. The attempt to substitute men with other types of experience is liable to lead to unsatisfactory results, and to lower the efficiency of the training. PART II THE ANALYSIS AND CLASSIFICATION OF TRADE KNOWLEDGE ss PRODUCTION AND INSTRUCTION A Comparison THE SHOP Turns out a product. Knows what kind of a pro- duct it is going to turn out. Gets out the product from specifications and plans from which parts are made and then assembled. The man responsible for the finished product knows all the parts that go into the com- plete product. The parts of the complete product are assembled in the order that will give the most rapid and easy assembling. THE INSTRUCTOR Turns out an instructed man. (A learner.) Knows what kind of work he is training the learner for. Works from a planned course of instruction made up from definite teaching units. (Lessons.) The instructor knows all the branches and operations of his trade. The course of instruction is put over in an order that will enable the learner to get it as rapidly and easily as possible. 36 CHAPTER V THE PRODUCER AND THE INSTRUCTOR Introductory Note. — Parts II., III., IV., contain material especially prepared for the use of instructors or prospective instructors, and for use in Instructor Training Courses. For this reason certain points presented in Part I. are again pre- sented here from a somewhat different angle. The Producer vs. The Instructor. — All industrial work is carried on in order that a product may be obtained; its aim is to turn out some sort of a manufactured product: to "get out production." For this purpose workmen are engaged, machines are operated, tools are used. The aim of a cotton mill is to. turn out cloth, of a steel mill to turn out steel; of a shipyard to turn out ships. In these or in any other produc- tion plant the workman or mechanic by the exercise of' his knowledge and skill contributes to the production of the par- ticular article for which the plant is operated. The greater the skill and intelligence of the workmen, the better the equip- ment, the less stock spoiled by poor workmanship and the more effectively the different jobs are routed and inspected, the more efficiently and cheaply is the cloth, or the steel or the ship turned out. A man who has learned his trade and has practiced it efficiently is therefore an efficient producer. He has lived and worked in the surroundings of the production plant; he naturally thinks of his job in terms of product. Training is carried on in any industrial plant in order that people (apprentices, learners,' helpers, etc.), that is, people who do not know how to do jobs, may learn how to do jobs. Unless training were in some way carried on in connection with production after a while production would stop because all the people who knew how to do the work had died and there would be nobody to continue the work; so that we should have no more steel, or cotton cloth or ships. The aim of 37 38 THE INSTRUCTOR training is therefore not to turn out production but to turn out men who have been given the necessary skill to enable them to weave cotton cloth, or make steel or build ships. Its product is an effective producer, but is not production. An Instructor, by the exercise of his knowledge of instruction methods and his skill in applying them to the work of instruc- tion, produces an efficient workman and makes him out of a man who, before he was instructed, was not a worker at all, or was not a thoroughly efficient worker. The greater the skill and intelligence of the instructor the better the instructional equipment, the fewer good men or apprentices spoiled by poor instruction and the more rapidly and efficiently the instructional process is carried on, the more efficiently and cheaply are the learners converted into efficient producers. A competent producer who has also been trained to instruct and who on account of that training, "knows his job " from the standpoint of putting over what he knows, is an efficient instructor. As an instructor he works on a training job. He naturally thinks of his job in terms of trained learners. He thinks in terms of training and not in terms of production. The Producer who Becomes an Instructor. — When a man who has always been a producer, becomes an instructor, he usually gets into difficulties because he does not realize that he has, in reality, changed his job; that he has stopped being a producer and has become a trainer. He attempts to do a training job but he still thinks in terms of a production job. This is why a man who knows his trade usually thinks that he can teach it, and why, when he finds that things do not go right he usually blames it on the men or apprentices he is trying to instruct. Some men are natural teachers; they have, in some manner, picked up more or less of the instructor's trade, but in general, no matter how thoroughly a man may know his trade, or how much experience he may have had in production, he usually "falls down" as an instructor when he first tackles the instructing job because he does not know how to put over what he knows into the head or the hand of his learners. Often he realizes that he is not doing a good in- structing job, becomes discouraged and quits, when the real THE PRODUCER AND THE INSTRUCTOR 39 diflBculty is that he never realized that, when he became an instructor he really took up a new trade which he knew nothing about and that what he needs is to get hold of the new trade, (instructing) in order to succeed. Some Common Dif&culties. — Among the more common difficulties which the "green" or untrained mechanical in- structor encounters are: First, inability to take accoimt of stock as to what he knows; that is, he knows it, but he has never listed it out. He cannot analyze his trade. Second, when he has to put over more than one job he does not know how to arrange the different jobs so that each job that the learner masters makes the mastery of the next job easier. He does not know how to arrange his jobs in an effective instruc- tional order. Third, he is often unable to distinguish between what must be taught as jobs and what should be given to the learner in the form of information. Fourth, he does not know how to plan so that it will be given to the learner at the time that he must apply it on the job for the first time. Fifth, he does not know how to teach or put over any given job rapidly, effectively and thoroughly. Sixth, he does not know how to handle learners under instructional conditions though he may know how to handle them under production conditions. The First Difficulty: Inability to Analyze. — It is one thing to know; it is another thing to know what you know. A man who has learned to do things by doing them is not, as a rule, in the habit of "taking stock" of his trade knowledge. On the job he uses his knowledge and skill so unconsciously that he hardly gives a thought to how he does it or what he does to do it. He works, so to speak, automatically. When he undertakes to put over to somebody else what he knows, or what he can do, that is, when he becomes an instructor, he must be able to determine what he is going to teach. The learner does not know it; he has got to learn it. The instructor does know it and he must therefore know what he is going to put over to the learner so that he can determine just what the learner must know when he has instructed him. Of course, the instructor, knowing his trade, has all these 40 THE INSTRUCTOR things in his head, but, until such a "stock taking" is carried out the instructor is in much the condition of an old-fashioned country store where all sorts of things are in stock but nobody knows just what is in stock. Just as the up to date store has an inventory, so the instructor must take an inventory of his stock, — what he has to teach. The efficient workman who becomes an instructor ' even if he recognizes the necessity of this stock taking cannot usually do it at first, because, as pointed out above, he has never had occasion to look at his work from that angle. He must do what amounts to looking at his trade as an outsider would; he must watch himself at work and note down what he does. He must "watch himself at work." This is a hard thing to do if a man is not used to doing it, and the producer who becomes an instructor has never had to do it, hence he usually gets into trouble because he has not got the power of analysis as it is called. The Second Difficulty: Inability to Arrange the Work in an Effective Instructional Order. — In teaching a trade a great many things must be taught to the learner one after the other. That is, the different things which the instructor wishes to put over must be handled in some order. In a general way almost anybody will recognize the desirability of giving "easy work" before giving "hard work," but beyond that general notion few mechanical instructors go unless they know how to arrange the work in the most effective instructional order. A further difficulty is that, if they do undertake to arrange it in an effective order they usually work it out from the standpoint of difficulty in production, which is all right for a production job, but all wrong for an instruction job, because the instructor must figure his order on the basis of the things which make it difficult for the learner to acquire, which is a very different thing from the question of the difficulties of doing a job. The instructor must determine learning difficulties; not -production difficulties. Failure to take in this distinction between the two kinds of difficulties commonly results in getting an inefficient instructional order of instruction, when any order is laid out. Training for the Instructing Job.— People who make a business of teaching have found out how to go to work to get THE PRODUCER AND THE INSTRUCTOR 41 what tliey wished to teach into an effective instructional order and how to determine just what must be taught. These methods and rules for going at this job are well known to instructors in schools but, naturally, the man who comes onto an instruction job directly from the trade does not know them and so does not know how to go at this part of his job as an instructor. He really has to learn a new trade with new opera- tions and new tools. He can be greatly helped in getting hold of his new trade if he can learn it with the help of an "old hand" at the teaching trade. Where this can be done the prospective instructor can secure help in getting his instructor training. Where he cannot get such help and must train himself, the job is more difficult but he can get considerable help from the following notes. This part deals with that side of the instructor's job which concerns itself with the determination and classification of what is to be taught to the learner in a given trade. Under these conditions the suggestions for self-training in the Appendix will be of value. CHAPTER VI THE FIRST OPERATION. THE DETERMINATION OF WHAT IS TO BE TAUGHT The Trade Analysis. — The first operation in the work of an instructor is to determine what he has to teach to train a learner for the trade that he is to be taught. If only a portion of the trade is to be taught, (as might be the case with a man who partly knew the trade) or where a man is to be trained in some portion of the trade, (specialized operations, for example) which might come up under some conditions, the instructor must determine, out of all the things that should be taught for the complete trade just what things must be taught in that particular case. The instructor must not only be able to take account of stock for the whole trade but must be able to de- termine what will be required for any part of the trade. If the learner is to be trained for a house carpenter, or a tool maker, or a printer, just what must he know and be able to do when the instructing process is completed? If he is to be trained as a special machine operator, just what must be taught him so that he can do that job as well as it can be done? If in printing, he is to be trained for some special branch of the trade, as compositor or press feeder, what part of the whole printing trade must be put over? If a man is to be trained to make sheet metal pipes and elbows, just what must he be taught out of all that a first class sheet metal man needs to know, before the instructor will "stand" for him as a com- petent man in that special work? In order to be able to an- swer such questions the instructor must know exactly what he must put over in each case, and so must take "account of stock." Unless he does this he can, at best, only guess at what the learner should be given to fit the requirements of each case. Such a stock taking is commonly called analyzing the trade 42 DETERMINATION OF WHAT IS TO BE TAUGHT 43 and is the first operation whicli the instructor must take in laying out a course of instruction. What is Meant by Analyzing the Trade. — Analyzing the trade simply means listing out all the things that the learner must be taught if he is to be taught the complete trade. If the trade is that of a carpenter, the instructor notes down all the different jobs that a carpenter has to do. If it is plumbing, or book binding, or machine shop work, the same listing of jobs must be carried out. If, in addition to the jobs them- selves, there are certain special words (technical terms) whose use he must learn, or special tools whose names he must know, or constructions or computations which he must be able to make or special safety precautions that he must take, these must also be listed completely out. The point in each case is to make a complete list of all that the man must know when the instructor has trained him for the complete trade. If less than the complete trade is to be taught then the problem is to pick out what is required in that case from the complete "trade list." Laying out More than One Course of Instruction. — An instructor in a training department often has to instruct more than one sort of learner. For example, an instructor in print- ing, if he is competent, may have to instruct one group of learners who are to be compositors, another group who are to be trained for linotype operators, and another group who are to be pressmen. Under some conditions it might be necessary for the same instructor to train different groups in different stages of progress in the same trade; or in different specialized parts of the same trade. In all such cases, a distinct analysis must be made for each line of instruction. Where partial trades are to be taught, a special line of instruction must be laid out, only, as pointed out above, in this case, the special instruction material can be taken out of the course of instruc- tion for the complete trade. The essential point is that the instructor must first know what sorts of training he has to give and then lay out lines of instruction for each sort of training. In order to do this he must be able to make the necessary analyses. 44 THE INSTRUCTOR Where work is carried on by a gang, as in riveting in a ship- yard, or in blacksmithing, the instructor should make as many analyses as there are different jobs in the gang, and not make one analysis for the work of a whole gang. For example, in the ease of the riveting gang mentioned above, one analysis should be made for the job of the heater, another for the riveter, a third for the passer and a fourth for the holder on. The same method of going at it would be followed for other gang trades. The Instructor Must Do this Job. — In making these analyses the instructor uses entirely his knowledge of his trade. He simply picks out from all his trade knowledge what he con- siders necessary to put over for a given instructing job. Evi- dently this work can only be properly done by a man who thoroughly knows his trade. Only another man who knows as much about the trade as he does can help him in this. The work requires considerable time, because a man, even if he knows the trade thoroughly will seldom list out all necessary points the first, or even the second time. Summary. — The line of instruction must be based on an analysis of what is to be taught. This the instructor gets at by looking at his trade from the outside and listing all the jobs, special terms, calculations, etc., which he must somehow put over to the learner. Nobody can help him in this; he must get it from his own knowledge of his trade. (He might, of course, get some help by talking it over with another man in his own trade.) If the instructor is to instruct more than one sort of learner, as many analyses must be made as there are distinct lines of instruction to be given. DETERMINATION OF WHAT IS TO BE TAUGHT 45 THE CLASSIFICATION OF TRADE KNOWLEDGE Man is Paid for Doing Production Jobs . . . .Assembling Shaping Jobs. . . . . Service Jobs . ..Technical Jobs.. . . . . . .Trade Drawing. . . . .... Miscellaneous .... Sketching .... Making . . . .Reading Trade Mathematics . . . .Trade Judgment. . . . .Problems Constructions .... Special Methods Man is not paid for having Trade Terms .... Trade Science Knowledge of Stock .... Material .... Machines . . . .Location . . . .Operation .... Special .... Recognition .... Working Properties Auxiliary Knowledge but is paid for doing jobs which he could not do well unless he possessed and used auxiliary knowledge. ... .Safety First .... Care of Tools and Equipment, . . . Ignorance .... Carelessness . . . .Accidental Occupational In use .... Not in use Prevention of loss .... Prevention of waste CHAPTER VII THE CLASSIFICATION OF WHAT MUST BE TAUGHT. THE SECOND OPERATION IN GETTING OUT A LINE OF INSTRUCTION Preliminary. — The previous chapter discussed the ques- tion of determining what the learner must be taught if he is to be trained for any given trade or particular line of work. For each case the instructor must determine what that learner must know and what he must be able to do when the period of instruction is completed. These various things however are of more than one kind, and the next step is to divide all the things that the learner must be taught into different sorts or classes. That is, the content must be classified. This process corresponds to sorting out bolts into different sizes, or dis- tributing type or mail. In a sense we label a set of pigeon holes and sort out what we intend to teach into the different compartments according to the label on each compartment. According to its character this thing goes into one compart- ment and that thing goes into another compartment. The Importance of Getting Properly Classified Analysis. — Getting out a correct and complete analysis and then classify- ing correctly is the key to the whole problem of getting an effective order of instruction. If the analysis is not complete the instructor will omit things that the man should be taught if he is to be completely trained. If it is not correct, the man will be improperly trained and cannot do his jobs properly. If the jobs that are to be put over are not properly classified, the instructor will not know how to choose the best methods of instruction for the different kinds of lessons, he will not know how to choose proper teaching conditions for instruction and he will not know whether what he wishes to give to a learner in any given case should be taught him or merely given to him as information. He will not be able to distinguish between 46 CLASSIFICATION OF WHAT MUST BE TAUGHT 47 the things that must be taught as a part of the job itself, and the auxiUary material which should not be taught in separate lessons but "hung onto the job" by the method described later.' One of the chief reasons for inefficient instruction is that instructors are unable or imwilling to take time to thoroughly work out the classification and analysis of the lines of instruction which they have to teach. They never know exactly where they are. One of the chief differences between a good instructor and a poor instructor is that the former does base his instruction on properly worked out and classified instruction material and the latter does not. Classification Labels. — The term job means anything that a man is paid to do. Reading a blueprint is a job, running an automatic machine is a job, setting type is a job. It should be noted that something may be a job for one man and not for another, according as he is or is not paid for doing it. A blue- print man is paid for making blueprints. That is his job, but it would not be a job for a machinist. The Different Sorts of Jobs.— If we look carefully at the different sorts of jobs which men are paid to do we find that they are not all of the same kind; one class of jobs such as pattern making, gear cutting, paper box making, type setting, high power machine work require the working up of stock; the stock is in some different shape or form than it was at the beginning of the job, or, after the job was finished, the different parts were arranged in some definite relation to each other that had been determined in advance. We will call such jobs production jobs. Another sort of job, such as reading a blueprint, or making a lay out for a sheet metal job do not themselves result in the working up of stock, but are necessary for the doing of pro- duction jobs. We will call jobs of this sort technical jobs. A third sort of job, such as that of the power house man, the steam engineer, the crane operator, while they do not con- tribute directly to the getting out of the product, make it easier or less expensive. We might operate a heavy shop without power cranes, but we would do it much more slowly • Chapter XIII, Part HI. 48 THE INSTRUCTOR and it would cost much more. We could, perhaps, carry the material around with gangs of men, but we would lose time and spend more money on the job. We will call such jobs service jobs. Service Trades and Production Trades. — In general, in most industrial plants there are trades that consist of service jobs and trades that consist of production jobs. Under ordin- ary conditions it seems probable that much more training will be required for production jobs than for service jobs. While the methods of instructional procedure would be the same for both classes of trades, this book deals more directly with instruction for production trades. Such modifications as would be required for service trades will readily suggest them- selves to an instructor. Trade Jobs and Technical Jobs. — In the practice of nearly, if not all trades, both technical and production jobs are called for. In some trades there are many technical jobs, as in sheet metal work, or in mould loft work in a shipyard, in some cases there are none, as in operating special machines or in most textile jobs, such as weaving or spinning. Anything is a job, however, (as defined in this book) provided it is some- thing that a man is paid to do. Whether it is a technical job or a production job is a matter for further classification. The chief value of being able to distinguish between the two classes of jobs is that in instructing, matters of selection of method and determination of the best place where the instruction can be given are largely affected by the class of the job which is to be taught. Classes of Production Jobs.— Production jobs may be divided into assembling jobs, shaping jobs, forming jobs and miscellaneous jobs. Under ordinary conditions in any plant each trade consists mainly of jobs of one kind, so that we have assembling, shaping trades and forming trades. In each of these trades there may be a few jobs that do not agree with the basis of the classification for that trade; that is, in a shaping trade, for example, there may be a few jobs that are not shaping jobs, although they are performed by a man who follows that trade. Such jobs would be classed as miscellaneous jobs for that trade. CLASSIFICATION OF WHAT MUST BE TAUGHT 49 Since each kind of trade^ under the above classification, needs somewhat different treatment when it comes to laying out a course of instruction, some of the chief characteristics are discussed in the following paragraphs. Assembling Jobs. — An assembling job calls for the putting together of parts that some other workers have turned out. Such trades as type setting, plumbing, installing, brick laying or setting stone work would come into this classification. After assembling, the parts are just the same as they were before, so far as they themselves go, but they are arranged in certain relations to each other so as to form an assembled product. (A brick wall, a page of type, a shoe, for example.) It is evident that a man in an assembling trade must know the names of a great variety of parts and must be familiar with a great many names which indicate location, relation to some other part, etc. As will come out later the assembling trades work out, for a line of instruction, quite differently from the other production trades. Machines and tools are usually simple, skill comes mainly in the ability to adjust parts correctly, or to fasten them properly when they have been adjusted in place. Shaping Jobs. — In a shaping job the form of the stock is not changed but the shape of it is. Thus, for example, a plumber or a coppersmith, in bending lead pipe changes the shape of the pipe but not its form. A pipe that has been bent into a curve is still a pipe, but its shape has been changed. Forming Jobs. — In forming jobs the stock is formed by some method, as in the case of the blacksmith or foundry man. A lead pipe when bent could still be recognized as a lead pipe but a piece of bar iron made into a horseshoe would not be so recognizable. The pipe has been shaped — the bar has been formed. In working with steel these forming jobs often require the use of heat. The forming job usually requires less general knowledge of locations, but does call for more skill in the use of the special tools of the trade, and often in the application of moreauxiUary knowledge. 60 THE INSTRUCTOR Miscellaneous Jobs. — As already stated in any trade there are liable to be some jobs that do not agree with the charac- teristics of the trade or which may even seem to belong to another sort of trade. For example in house carpentry, which is essentially an assembling trade where the stock comes ready milled, it might be necessary to get out some wedges, which would be a forming job. Such a job would be classified as a miscellaneous one for the house carpenter's trade. Classification of Technical Jobs. — As already stated, a technical job contributes to the getting out of the production job but does not, itself, result in the forming or shaping or assembling of stock. Reading the blueprint for dimensions or shapes would be a job of this character. Figuring the offset for turning a taper would be another. Figuring the gears on a screw cutting lathe would be another. Making the con- structions for getting out a pattern for sheet metal work would be another. Kinds of Technical Jobs. — Almost all, if not all technical jobs require either the interpretation (reading) of a drawing or sketch or call for some form of calculation. That is, they are either jobs in the use of sketches or blueprints or they are jobs in calculations. They are either trade drawing jobs or they are trade mathematics jobs. A third class of technical job occasionally occurs in certain trades which calls for knowledge of a condition, such as the job of temperer, judging when a piece of steel is at the correct heat for tempering. Such tech- nical jobs, when they are found, nearly always call for some knowledge of science or for skill and knowledge in the adjust- ment of parts. Trade Drawing. — In certain trades such as machine shop work or pattern making practically all information comes from the designer to the workman in the form of the blueprint. Whenever a blueprint is read we have a technical job. Such jobs occur much more often in some trades than in others, for example in the machine shop work as against the work of the anglesmith, working from a templet. The printer has no call to use the blueprint, the roof framer has. In some trades there would therefore be no trade drawing at all, and in others there CLASSIFICATION OF WHAT MUST BE TAUGHT 51 would be considerable. The instructor must determine in each case, if there are any jobs requiring trade drawing in the particular trade that he has under consideration; if he decides that there are no jobs of that character, he should cross trade drawing out of his "stock in trade," if there are, he must include such technical jobs in the list of jobs that he prepares. If any drawing is included in the trade the instructor must determine whether it is sketching, or blueprint reading and if it is sketching, whether the demand is for the making of sketches, or the reading of sketches, or both. Mechanical Drawing. — Outside of the training of drafts- men and others for the drafting room there is little likelihood that there is any demand for the making of regular mechanical drawings in the ordinary run of instruction work in industrial plants. A trade instructor is not Ukely to be called upon to lay out a regular course in mechanical drawing even in the training of apprentices. The test, in each case is that the sort of drawing (if any), that is included in the training course is the sort of drawing that the man actually uses in connection with the doing of his job. If he has to read the drawing only, he should be trained only in the reading, if he has to make sketches, he should be trained only in that; if he has to read sketches only, he should be trained only to read them. Under good instructional condi- tions, the industrial instructor wiU not waste any time in in- structing a man in anything that he will not actually need to use and apply in the work for which he is being trained. Many shop instructors have a tendency to desire to train in regular mechanical drawing regardless of whether the man will use it in his trade or not. That is, they tend to want to train men out of the shop and into the drafting room; to make draftsmen out of them instead of workmen. While a knowl- edge of mechanical drawing is undoubtedly of value to any man engaged in mechanical pursuits, work of this character should seldom or never become a part of the work of the shop instructor, since the ability of a man to make a mechanical drawing seldom is a job in his trade. Blueprint reading, and sketching, are much more likely to be included in the work of 52 TIIE INSTRUCTOR the instructor. Courses in mechanical drawing are often available in the evening courses conducted in many cities and towns. If a man in the plant desires to put in some of his own time in taking such a coui