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The Wisconsin Alumni Magazine                                           
                  January, 1931
Blessed Is He \0
                          Has Found His Work
ii    AST Friday in my estimation was a red letter day        by Bart   
  . M    C     i ck
       on the La Crosse High School calendar. I believe                 A.V'*
  cormic, o
       the students obtained more knowledge that day,  were supplemented
by practical courses which do not
       at least in regard to their future, than any other  meet the college
entrance requirements, but which, it is
day in their career." It was a student of Central High  believed, prepare
boys and girls who are not planning
School speaking following the annual guidance confer-  on college entrance
for the serious problem of providing
ence of La Crosse junior and senior high school pupils  a wholesome living
for themselves and adjusting them-
held in September, at which some ninety to one hun-  selves to the requirements
of present day citizenship.
dred twenty-five local business, professional, and trade  But this story
has to do with the guidance conference.
men and women of the city                                               
    Under the leadership of Miss
held conferences with twenty-                                           
    Hintgen, the public schools,
five hundred boys and girls,                                            
    the vocational school, the nor-
discussed life's opportunities   SOME    fifteen  years ago  the La     
 mal school, the social service
intimately with them; frankly                                           
    clubs, the College Club, the
pointed out to them the ad-       Crosse  public   schools, realizing   
  Women's Club, the Business
vantages and disadvantages of   that new responsibilities were being    
 and Professional Women's
the trades, the professions, and           r                     beng   
    Club, the Mothers' Club, and
business from hairdressing to    placed upon them through changing      
 the Parent-Teachers' Associa-
preaching; explained to them    industrial and   social conditions,     
 tions cooperate.  Conference
the traits of character and the  took st     to      the school sys     
 day is a city-wide affair. It is
habits of usefulness necessary           eps o adjust               y-  
    a great day for the boys and
for success in each; answered   tem   to  meet the   new    demands     
 girls, and probably as great a
personal and intimate ques-       through new    programs in educa-     
        for the community.
tions frankly, conscientiously,                                         
       "The plan is good for the
and honestly; and inspired      tion, new school organization, and      
 students and teachers and good
them to a keener self-analysis   new curricula. The climax of the       
 for the community," said one
that they might provide for       new  program   is the annual com-     
  of the section group advisors.
themselves to their best advan-                                         
      The editor of the daily press,
tage and to the best advantage  munity school guidance conference.      
 who was one of the hundred or
of society in which they live.                                          
    more citizen leaders who were
  Back in 1915 the rapidly de-                                          
    put on their mettle by the dis-
veloping new social order im-                                           
    criminating queries of the jun-
pressed school officials with the necessity of a new deal  ior citizens of
the city said, "I don't know how much the
in the upper grades and high school. The first step was  students got from
the efforts of their elders to try to
the development of vocational information classes as a  show them the good
and bad sides of the various jobs
part of the course in English in the junior year of the  in the world. Not
as much as they wanted, I am sure,
high school. But since many boys and girls at that  remembering the eager
faces that abashed me-but
time never reached the junior year, it seemed advisable  whatever they got
was clear profit; insurance, however
to start the work a year or two before the school-leaving  small, against
taking the wrong turn at the beginning,
age. In 1921 class work in occupational information  which might wreck a
life. We all, from our own ex-
was organized in the seventh and eighth grades under  perience, sweet and
sour, owe these young people all the
the leadership of Miss Josephine Hintgen, '20, an upper  guidance we can
give them. It is little enough at best."
grade teacher. Since that time Miss Hintgen has ac-    The plan was originally
instituted in 1925. It has
quired training at Wisconsin, Harvard, and Chicago,  been developed by the
director, Miss Josephine Hintgen,
and today is recognized as one of the pioneers and lead-  to its present
state of perfection as outlined in the follow-
ers in the work. There followed in order the develop-  ing paragraphs:
ment of new activities, which have grown into what is                   
  The Plan
one of the most complete courses in practical educa-   1. The annual conference
of junior and senior high
tional guidance in Wisconsin: a stay-in-school program,  school, vocational,
and teacher training students with
an accumulative record card, achievement and intelli- nieytoehuddtwt-fvbsnspresoal
gence tests, occupational informational classes, reorgan-  and trade men
and women, in as many groups and vo-
ization of the school system on the basis of six grade  cins, ih
elementary and junior and senior high schools, the   chtoose tshel grou cofrnehe
 wisea hyesr tc attdend.ma
establishment of exploratory courses, the educational  2. There are well
defined preliminary and follow-up
guidance conference, character education, study helps,  programs.
citizenship projects, and the reorganization of the high  3. There is a well
organized program of community
school course of study. In the latter the traditional  participation.
academic courses based on college entrance requirements                (Continued
on page 171)
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