workers near him, or to his foreman; was unable to find valuable literature for home-study on the subject of his trade. The experience of many an apprentice was, doubtless, different from this, but surely the mental attitude of the journeymen who were the only teachers must have tended toward some such resulting attitude of doubt or hesitancy in the apprentice.
Mental Attitude of the Worker-Teacher. — Under the old plan of management, the apprentice must appear to the journeyman more or less of a supplanter. From the employee's standpoint it was most desirable that the number of apprentices be kept down, as an oversupply of labor almost invariably resulted in a lowering of wages. The quicker and better the apprentice was taught, the sooner he became an active competitor. There seldom existed under this type of management many staff positions to which the workers could hope to be promoted, certainly none where they could utilize to the fullest extent their teaching ability. There was thus every reason for a journeyman to regard the teaching of apprentices as unremunerative, irksome, and annoying.
Worker Not to Blame for This. — The worker is Page 211 not to be blamed for this attitude. The conditions under which he worked made it almost inevitable. Not only could he gain little or nothing by being a successful teacher, but also the bullying instinct was appealed to constantly, and the desire of the upper classmen in hazing days to make the next class "pay up" for the hazing that they were obliged to endure in their Freshman year.
Attitude of the Learner. — The attitude of the typical learner must frequently be one of hesitancy and self-distrust if not of fear, though conditions were so varied as almost to defy classification. One type of apprentice was expected to learn merely by observation and imitation. Another was practically the chore boy of the worker who was assigned to teach him. A third was under no direct supervision at all, but was expected to "keep busy," finding his work by himself. A fourth was put through a severe and valuable training by a martinet teacher, — and so on.
Teaching Often Painstaking. — It is greatly to the credit of the worker under this type of management that he was, in spite of all drawbacks, occasionally a painstaking teacher, to the best of his lights. He insisted on application, and especially on quality of work. He unselfishly gave of his own time and skill to help the apprentice under him.
Methods of Teaching Usually Wrong. — Unfortunately, through no fault of the worker-teacher the teaching was usually done according to wrong methods. Quality of resulting output was so emphasized that neither speed nor correct motions were given proper consideration.
Teacher Not Trained to Teach. — The reason for this was that the worker had no training to be a teacher. In the first place, he had no adequate idea of his own capabilities, and of which parts of his own method were fit to be taught. In the