30 January 1933: A careers master is to assess Harrow’s eldest boys,with back from the Institute of Industrial PsychologyHarrow, it is announced, and has appointed a “careers master” to its staff; he will be in charge of a special form at the top of the school,where he will study the intelligence and aptitudes of the boys who are committed to his care and give advice on the careers which they should seek. He is even prepared to “get into touch with business firms so as to secure places for boys who cannot find them for themselves,” though it is added that that function is not so famous at Harrow, and where,it would seem, most boys are born to careers which their parents believe already mapped out for them.” In their cases it is a runt difficult to see what the “careers master” is to do - unless it will be his business to argue with the parents and point out that the careers which they believe selected are the erroneous ones. It almost sounds as though the parents ought to be in his form and not the sons. In some cases he will certainly believe a double duty to perform; first he must diagnose a lad’s abilities, and then he must persuade the parents into allowing those abilities to point their own way to a career. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com