Theory of Regenerative Machine Tool Chatter·

· let us recognise the absurdity and iilogieality of the age reqrictiun. lt is ironie that the very organisations which have done so much to instigatc and support the trend towards a greater equality of educational opportuoity for the mass of the population should be the ooes to shut the door in the fac,e of their fellow workers who wish to enter their ranks. Many semi-skilled men who regret their lost opportunities could do the more skilled joh, if they wcre given lhe chancc · te get the necessary training; it is only the exercise of a harsh monopoly power which prevents them from doing 50. If recognition , as a skilled craftsman depended on passing 1 test of competence instead of, as now, 10lely on the length of training at a parti.cular age, a semi-skiilcd operative might, :by worJcjng at a technical institute in the evenings, get the apport unity ta hetter : him,clf. Thi, wo"ld he bolh Illon; just to ,him and better for industry which needs him. Second wc must accept the fact that there ·are different degrees of intelkctual abiJity as well as manual skil!. To assume that flVcry boy who gets accepted for an apprentice'p (a process which is rarely more than ually selective) is necessarily capable of stering the technical instruction which was planned for the most intelligent and C\lthusiastic p"pils j, as iilogieal as ln a"""IC that l'very boy who gets into a grammar ,tchool is capable of taking an honours degree a university. We must recognise a . rchy of talent and provide for it accordy. This does not mean that the less elligently endowed apprentice does not to go to school or college during his .. g. On the contrary, he does. But set him to a task which is quite beyond . power is to make him bored and resentful distrllstful of any educational ellort. e County CoUeges planned by the Educa• n Act were intended to olfer a wider and . re flexible curriculum than the merely hnica1. They were designed ta give ung people sorne understanding of the 'ety in which they live and of their own and that of their industry, in it. If apprenticcs who now attend the classes which they are completely lost could ead he provided with 'omcthing marc Iy tailored to their needs the day at Dege could be made both c ioyable and ble. .It is possible that even for tk abler boys can profit from the COUrSe, a different gement of time might be Jllure suitable. apprentices of a higher grade-those • 'ng for technical jobs-a "sandwich" m has been introduced in which a period month, in the shops is foUowed by a '00 offlllllim(" silldy al coJiege. Ilmighl that a similar system for the craftsman d be more effective. Five months at followed by one month at college provide just the same number of hours as the present system of day : but il would give the colleges a to plan a course of instruction ed to meet the needs of the apprentice time to carry it into effect. h changes, valuable as they may be themselves, would not, however, solve problem of the shortage of numbers. 'long as adolescents' wages are as high present it is unlikely that many more or moderate sized firms will be willing se the number of their apprentices. possible ways out of this difficulty may ggested. Groups of firms migbt join cr to share the cast of a number of tices who movc from one nrm 10 for their training. This i& already done on a small scale in London and THE ENGINEER