MAY 1957 tituacs of ‘I/out/z toward Occupational Oppoctuuitics aucl Social Scroiccs iu 6/1crokcc flouutu :3" " y. s » TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION R. D. LEWJS, DIRECTOR, COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS acknowledgments also are made to the superintendents and principals of all the high schools in Chi SUMMART This study was conducted by lthe Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in 1956 to dete w attitude of high school seniors toward occupational opportunities and social services in Cherokee ' All of the white senior boys and girls in the county (234) were interviewed between Ianuary 3 and 1956. This particular study is one phase of a broad research project entitled: “An Analysis of Agri Resources and Opportunities for Further Development." ‘a Senior boys in Cherokee county prefer an average job in a town or city to ownership and o of their own farm. Senior girls prefer that their future husband hold an average job in town rath own and operate a farm.. Most of the seniors prefer to live and work in Cherokee county, but do not believe acceptable empl will be available in the county. They, therefore. feel that they will have to leave the county. From the standpoint of personal opportunity. the students are not interested in farming in general. production, dairying, pulpwood cutting or sawmill work, which are the predominant agricult ~ available in the county. A general attitude held rather firmly by a large number of students is that industrial expansi been held back by business leaders and other influential individuals because of their fear of com and their unwillingness to change. Most institutional services in the county were rated as being adequate or very adequate. services rating high include: (1) church facilities and programs. (2) availability of hospitals and medical care. (3) educational facilities and programs in high school, (4) credit facilities and (5) -. Services or areas which the students think are very inadequate are: (1) job opportunities, (2) oppo q to obtain specialized training or develop special skills and (3) recreational opportunities and progr Action programs which would meet “felt needs" of the students should include: (1) a voc counseling service with particular reference to employment opportunities. (2) a program of spe"_ training particularly for those seniors not going to college in order that they might develop skills which ' allow them to obtain acceptable employment, (3) a public relations program to inform students attempts to obtain new industry and to acquaint them with plans for continued growth and develo of the local area and (4) increased emphasis on part-time farming as an acceptable‘ means for co ~ -_ the advantages of off-farm employment with the advantages of farm life. A ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Acknowledgments are made to C. Metz Heald, agricultural agent, and Mrs. Irene Odom. home d stration agent. of Cherokee county, and to their staff for their assistance during the study. S county for their cooperation and assistance. CONTENTS Summary . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .* Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FarmOwnershipversusTownIob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Rural Farm Boys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rural Farm Girls . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' RuralNonfarmBoysandGirls- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Urban Boys and Girls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 f. . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . .. Auxiliary Farm Enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . i Broiler Houses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dairying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . 4 Pulpwood Cutting and Sawmill Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J . _ . . . Industry . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . Employment Here versus Elsewhere . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RuralFarmBoys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rural Farm Girls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . Urban Seniors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . t . School Program . . . . . . . . . . V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-H Club and Vocational Agriculture Goals of Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Characteristics of Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Implications. . . ‘HIS 1955 MESSAGE TO CONGRESS, the j President stated: “In this wealthiest of Y nations where per capita income 1s the highest in the world, more than one- f the families who live on American farms ove cash incomes of less than $1,000 per I Included in the President’s message was int program recommendedvby the Secre- l Agriculture to “help farm people with ,; income achieve the goals to which they ves aspire.” In this report, the Secretary culture recommended that a state-federal i program should be undertaken to can- A. problems of such areas and explore hes. This would give a factual picture of .0 with respect to farming adjustments, ortunities for off-farm work, improved al training and related aspects in com- ' ' improvement. ~ ly after this report was made, the Texas tural Experiment Station initiated an in- ’ study in East Texas entitled: “An 's of Agricultural Resources and Oppor- _. for Further Development.” Cherokee was selected as one of several counties E e intensive research and for the establish- a rural development program. Q Secretary’s report also pointed out that jcipal changes in such areas will be made _ g people, many of whom have not yet pd their education. Since the senior year i school is a time when occupational de- are made, it was felt that a study should to determine what, if any, predisposition w the minds of high school seniors toward j'onal opportunities and social services Cherokee county. f» instruments were used in an attempt to f the attitude of the high school seniors: I attitude scale and (2) a personal inter- the depth type which also included the l. he projective technique and various other ‘ng methods. j of the white senior boys and girls in k" county (234) were interviewed between g 3 and June 1, 1956. Seventy-eight were "a as rural ifarm, 72 as rural nonfarm and ban dwellers. There were 127 males and ales. Jment of Agriculture’s Human Resources,” House H No. 149, Washington: U. S. Government Print- ce, 1955, p. III. Attitudes e/ I/eut/r ten/arr! Occupational Opportunities and Serial Services in fllrerekee 601mm BARDIN H. NELSON, Professor Department of Agricultural Economics and Sociology FARM OWNERSHIP VERSUS TOWN I OB Senior boys were asked the following ques- tion: ‘.‘If you were ready to begin your life's work and had a choice of the following two situations, which would you choose: (1) an average job in a town or city or (2) to own and operate your own farm ?” Girls were asked which of these two jobs would they prefer their future husband to select if he had to make a choice between the alternatives mentioned. Rural Farm Boys Of the 47 boys who live on farms, 32 indi- cated their preference for the average job in town. Ten out of the 15 who selected ownership and operation of their own farm qualified their answers by adding other considerations. Seven” of these 10 said they would farm only if they could begin with the right set-up. Explanations of the right set-up varied, but included such things as tractors, other machinery, large acreage of land, sizable herds of purebred beef cattle, grade A dairies or broiler houses. Two others said they would prefer to farm if they could make a living at it. The remaining individual stated: “I would farm before taking just any old job in town.” Justifications given by those who selected the town or city job were uniform in content. The following comments are fairly typical: “It’s got to where a farmer doesn’t have a chance. He doesn’t know from one day to the next whether he’s going to eat. A storm may ruin his crops. One year tomatoes may bring 2 cents and the next year 4 cents. Farming is plenty hard work but I don’t mind that. Lately we just haven’t got our money back. That’s why daddy went to work at the state hospital 2 years ago. We just couldn’t make a living farming.” “You look back at your father or at farmers and see they can’t make it. We work in town to buy the farm. What We make didn’t come out of the ground. Only 1 farmer out of 50 in Cherokee county gets his living out of the ground. Most of the people who farm are on this veteran’s program. Half of the ones I know farmin draw money that way. ’s father is the only one I know who makes his living from the farm.” “Farming is just not any good any more. No one is trying to do anything for the farmer. Some of our farmers were allotted 1/10 of an acre. Bankers, barbers, lawyers get into anything that’s making money. If they lose, they can write off their losses. Farmers can’t. Take the broiler business. When it was real good, one man put up 10 houses. That type of thing just brings the price down and nobody makes any money.” The essential ideas found in the following two statements were expressed by nearly all of the boys interviewed: “There’s no future in farming; also, you’ve got to have a mighty big set-up.” “It’s just a living anywhere you go, but you can’t get that on the farm.” Rural Farm Girls Only 2 of the 31 girls who live on farms prefer that their husband farm. One of these wants her husband to be a big ranchman while the other wants her husband to farm “even though I know you can’t make anything on one.” Reasons given by the 29 girls selecting the average job in town for their future husband are similar to those that follow: “Farmers around here are poor.” “Work in town is not ‘as hard.” “I don’t want to be a farmer’s wife.” “Farmers never have anything” and “farmers are in the lower class.” Rural Noniarm Boys and Girls Among the 72 rural nonfarm boys and girls, only 4 indicated a preference for farming. Even these 4 added significant qualifications to their selection. Short excerpts from the explanations of the 68 who selected an average job in town are: “Farming is living from hand to mouth.” “Farming is too uncertain.” “Equipment is too high and prices too low.” “Farming is not as promising as other things.” “Most of us plan to go to college. After college most people do some- thing else.” . Urban Boys and Girls Only 4 out of 84 urban seniors selected owner- ship and operation of a farm. The following comment made by an urban senior boy reflects the attitude of almost all of his fellow students: “You don’t get enough money for it. It’s really just a gamble. ’If a storm wrecks your crop, you’re in the hole. Riding a tractor -all day doesn’t appeal to me. So many people are losing money. Young people want to get out and make some money and you sure can’t make it on a farm.” AUXILIARY FARM ENTERPRISES Broiler Houses One enterprise that has developed rapidly in many areas of the South during the past 10 years is broiler production. On a number of farms in Cherokee county, broiler growing is an auxiliary enterprise. During a discussion of the operation of broiler houses in Cherokee county, 21 of the 47 farm boys indicated that they think broiler 4 \ Association. The money problem is the __ production has helped the farmers and the _ as a whole. Nine of the boys displayeda n attitude while the 17 remaining ones were. neutral or uncertain. The following comments are typical of favoring the broiler industry‘: “It’s a‘ business. Most people who have-jthem are i‘ a good living from them. The main draw the expense to get set up so they can make _ living.” “My grandfather has 10,000 broil has its ups and downs, but you can make ' at it.” The following is an example of the n comments: “There isn’t much opportuni cause there are so many in it. If you y living, you’ve got to have a job besides that. few people have enough time to tend to p Another stated: “Some people are holdin because they are scared there are going tot rznany. Price hasn’t been above 25 cents in" 1me.” ' . Of the 30 boys who have strong favor unfavorable attitudes toward broiler prod 28 indicated that they do not believe =4; would be building more broiler houses unl situation changed drastically. Reasonsgiv this belief are: (1) price varies too muc price is too low, (3) too big a risk and (4 of money or credit. One of the 2 boys who. broiler production is expanding in the coun it in these words: “More people are b‘ houses every day.” i A general attitude held by all except 6 students interviewed, is that, although the ~ industry has been helpful in past years, it - little permanent hope to farm people. The dents feel that whenever it becomes ap that a reasonable profit could be made on i ers, businessmen and other town people ' put in so many houses that the result W0 such low prices that no one would make a y None of the students thinks of the broiler’ ness as representing an occupational oppo F: for him personally. a Dairying An analysis of the attitudes toward farming reveals that among the 47 farm‘ 28 hold favorable or very favorable atti Five hold negative attitudes, and 14 are neutral or indicated they have no knowlef attitude concerning dairying. One indi stated: “Dairying is a good enterprise i into. There’s considerable interest in it i county. It’s expensive. A grade A barn q lot of equipment costs you a whole lot. It a long time to come out where you will s1 profit.” Still another stated: “I like the, business. I’ve been thinking about it. We; seven heifers. We sell at South Texas Prod‘ drawback. It takes so much to get started. other said: “It’s the only job in this cou the farm that is paying off.” ' w negative comments are based either l investment required 0r that it is a 1 The following statement reveals one dent’s thoughts: “I heard some people dairy farmers were the ones making the j hat is wrong.~ Dairy farmers aren’t ight, definitely. I don’t think they get a I Sometimes ‘they’ will cut the price of fy should set a decent price and leave it. 1m awful lot of money'to start and it ‘A: an awful long time to pay out.” Atudents as a whole indicated a very gative reaction toward the idea of their 1 money to go into dairying or broiler ‘n. Their thinking is that the returns ttle and too uncertain for the risks in- orrowing money and taking a chance pts which seem to haveessentially the ning to the students. It seems clear _ rviewer that most students are strongly w» not to become burdened with debts or g-term involvements with the exception ' home and furniture. Id Cutting and Sawmill Work udents have a strong negative attitude ' lpwood cutting and sawmill work. They pavorable to either job as supplementary s full-time employment. Of the 47 rural "s, 33 gave strong reasons why they would der work of that type. Two boys said rd work, but you could make good money aperwood if you had a power saw. The , 12 indicated that they are not familiar ith either job to know how they would work. The following statements are “There wouldn’t be one in the whole ho would want to. It’s a job for a V: I'm concerned. When a person can go f: and become specialized, he’s got no ’ sawing logs or cutting paperwood. I necessarily an easy job, but something ‘v a future to it.” “Boys in my class cut paperwood or work in sawmills. '1 the idea of being a woodcutter. Most ,= y, ‘I’d never be a woodcutter’.” ly every student indicated that industrial ent will determine whether the county f his illustrates further their lack of faith V ture of agriculture in the area. Reasons i to why industry has not developed more Ivary widely. However, approximately the responses fall into three categories. " students feel that city councils and other people have blocked industrial develop- a hirty-five, students think the lack of ~ water is the main factor affecting expansion. Some 15 students think that i; changes and developments are blocked too many people are set in their ways lunwilling to change; following comments are illustrative of the 1 of the students: “ , people are afraid they will become little fish in a big pond and they would rather be big fish in a little pond.” “We just have a plain old clannish town. The people that have control in this town are living for themselves. Industry hasn’t had a chance to come in here.” “Some of the people in are prejudiced against anything new coming in. They don’t want to lose anything. They fear competition from bigger companies that would come in if things were growing faster.” “A few men in—-———-——hold all the business. ‘They’ are pretty wealthy and keep other businesses and factories out. One man on the city council tried to get things moving. They told him to shut up. He said there wasn’t much point in trying to express your views. They would rule you down every time.” “City council has been keeping a lot of them out. Last year a hat factory wanted to come in, but the city council kept them out. There are a lot of old timers who control the town and school board and don’t want the town to change. When a store comes in, they have to sign an agreement not to undersell other stores. You pay higher prices here than in other towns.” These statements and many other similar ones“ certainly reveal that large numbers of the senior students have little appreciation for the adult business and industrial “leaders in the county. Such comments would suggest the need for some type of public relations program aimed at high school students. EMPLOYMENT HERE VERSUS ELSEWHERE Rural Farm Boys When the 47 farm boys were asked if they prefer employment in their home county to em- ployment elsewhere, 30 answered their home county. Some 16 prefer work elsewhere while 1 is undecided. Explanations by those who prefer work in their home county reveal the presence of a serious dilemma in their thoughts. This is revealed in the following statement: “I’d rather stay here than any place on earth if work were available, but we just don’t have it here. It has . everything I would like except opportunity or work.” The students were asked: “Do you think the chances of your working in your home county as an adult are greater than they are for working elsewhere?” Only 6 of the 47 farm boys think the chances are greater for their working in their home county, as contrasted with 32 who think elsewhere and 9 who are undecided. In their explanations, the great majority stated that they know of no better place to live, that they like the people, it is their home and they would like to remain there, but . . .! The following comments reveal the transition in the students’ thinking: “Jobs here pay less than any county in the State.” “There aren’t many jobs and there are better living conditions and better jobs elsewhere.” 5 “There’s just nothing to do. Only one industry and it pays 10W Wages.” “Most boys and girls are looking for something easy. You get ahead faster in the city.” “There are no job openings! Everything is moving out. Three stores closed recently.” “Most people leave here to get a better job even though they prefer to be here.” Rural Farm Girls The attitude of the rural farm girls does not differ materially from that of the boys. Out of a total of 31 farm girls interviewed, 21 prefer to work in their home county. Seven expressed a preference for employment elsewhere and 3 are undecided. When asked where they think the chances are greatest of their being employed, 9 answered the home county, 9 elsewhere and 13 are undecided. However, as the interview pro- gressed, every girl expressed the belief that better jobs could be obtained elsewhere. Three- fourths of the girls also indicated that there are no acceptable jobs available in their home county. One after another commented: “There’s just nothing to do around here.” Almost as common was: “If you don’t want to farm, there is nothing to do.” ' Urban Seniors The urban boys and girls are more critical of the employment situation than are the rural farm or rural nonfarm youngsters. Of a total of 84, slightly more than half (43) stated that they would prefer to work elsewhere. When asked where they thought the chances were greatest of their working as adults, 80 percent said elsewhere. Typical comments are: “There are better oppor- tunities and better pay elsewhere.” “Just not any new developments or opportunities around here.” ,,A senior girl concluded her remarks with the following emphatic statement: “Students here have more ambition than these jobs take.” SCHOOL PROGRAM When asked to rate the educational facilities and programs of the high school they were at- tending, 132 out of a total of 234 (56.4 percent) gave their school a score of 4 out of a possible score of 5. A score of 4 meant that they consider the program and facilities are adequate. Some 62 seniors consider facilities and programs are in- adequate. Only 7 feel they are very inadequate while 18 think they are very adequate. ' In their explanations of their ratings, most of those who rated the school as being adequate or very adequate pointed out weaknesses in the school which they would like to see corrected. Those rating the school as inadequate pointed out the same weaknesses and indicated that they accounted for their rating. In the first group, overall satisfaction was strong enough that, regardless of the student’s recognition of weak- nesses, he still rates the school high. Those with less overall satisfaction tended to base their judgment more on recognized weaknesses. 6 The primary weakness cited by bette 75 percent of the seniors is the lack of offerings. The following statements are typical: f “We don’t get as wide a field of st as We should have. I couldn’t get ch istry. We don’t have any mefghanicalt ' ing. In fact, the only vocational thing have is agriculture.” “We don’t have enough courses in i school. I’d like to have had h; economics, drama or speech.” ‘ “Those who are going to college other courses in high school.” “We need more specialized courses chemistry, physics and other types courses.” ' “I guess maybe we need some con dation of schools so we could get be training for college. We need things . Latin, chemistry, trigonometry and geometry. I, almost forgot mecha ' drawing. Then we’ve got a few boys , don’t want to go to college or don’t I the money. There ought to be some s courses for those who can’t go to colle A significant number of youngsters A or two schools referred to the poor qu teaching. Typical comments; are: 1i “Teachers here have just been A too long and are so set in their ways _ they don’t get the job done.” I “The teachers are too lenient on“ quiring students to study. A student l make good grades without really doing. best work.” “When most of the kids go off to coll they don’t do too well. Several flunkede of Texas, A&M and other colleges. I " through elementary and high school ‘ I’ve seen few parents visit this school. only time the principal comes in is when has something to ask or tell the teach Most of the kids pass their English. i biggest trouble is with their math. g usually teach math and they ar qualified. I wish there was a law aga their teaching important courses ‘ math. is taught by———t, e1~.i-—is also taught by this *~ teacher. Nobody could get much out oft classes.” l The school receiving the highest rati i on the rating scale and the students’ expla has surprising characteristics. One of the’ expressed it this way: <“This school does everything it should, but what is offered ' When you get out of a course here, you something. It comes down from the p 1 If you get out of line he can get plenty ‘ Some folks might call him old-fashioned, of the seniors would. Why he’-ll dress g one day, but the next day if you want a ething in connection with the school v you up. He makes you feel like you 0st anything, but look out if you ‘fluff on’t try. He treats the girls just like itoo.” I. hool receiving the lowest rating is the pupils feel the teachers are too 4 that the principal has little knowledge , goes on within the classrooms. Un- 1- the students’ strong appreciation of ucation as a vehicle for obtaining ac- employment plays a large part in de- j. their attitude toward the school. i) and Vocational Agriculture ugh 4-H Club work is not officially a he school program, it is included here as considered with vocational agricul- e interviews. .- 47 farm boys, 25 had participated in » work for an average of 3.2 years. Only he 47 had not participated in FFA work. rticipants had participated for an aver- I _6 years. Only 6 out of 43 boys con- ‘rojects experienced a loss on them, while f even and 25 made a profit. l3. were asked to indicate by a scale i their experiences in 4-H Club and A affected their attitude toward farming tion. pers of the 47 boys were: " swer .............................................. _- 12 favorable toward farming as vocation .......................................... __ lrable toward farming as a i» ation .............................................. __ 11 > ided about farming as a ' ation .............................................. -. 13 ivorable toward farming as a a ation .............................................. .- 6 l unfavorable toward farming ~. a vocation .................................... -- 3 e interviews proceeded, it became clear , erviewer that this scale was meaningless some of the boys answered in terms of itude toward the 4-H Club and FFA _» , while others answered in terms of their I toward farming as a vocation. The _; comment reveals how the students i reacted: “I didn’t make any money rojects in 4-H. I raised chickens in FFA te them at; Home. FFA didn’t have any- do with the way I feel. I just don’t like .' It helps you if you do want to be a lneral, the students revealed strong favor- - tions toward the 4-H Club and vocational re programs. Most of the comments are similar to the following: “I learned about diseases of animals, insects that hurt crops, parliamentary procedure and leadership.” “I learned about farm management and how to do things for myself.” Examples of negative comments are: “I re- ceived very little benefit from carrying out 4-H or FFA projects. I learned how to make rope and bud trees. I already knew most of it.” “It was fun and you did learn something about farm- ing but not much. The teacher didn’t seem to know too much about FFA and the program was not too- big.” Regardless of their personal feelings toward the program, the boys and girl's expressed a strong opinion that vocational agriculture should include more shop or industrial training, such as welding, plumbing and carpentry, or that separate industrial education courses should be established. These statements or questions were generally prefaced by the following clause: “Since none of us plan to farm, why don’t they teach welding, cabinet work and mechanical training?” GOALS OF STUDENTS It became apparent to the interviewer that most of the youngsters set high consumption standards for themselves. And the economic factor seemed to dominate in most decisions or definitions of situations which they made. Ideas expressed in the interviews and scale scores reveal three general areas which the stu- dents feel are very inadequate in their home county. These are: (1) job opportunities, (2) opportunities to obtain specialized training or develop special skills and (3) recreational oppor- tunities and programs. Most institutional services and facilities, how- ever, were rated as being adequate or very adequate. Among these are such things as: (1) church facilities and programs, (2) availability of hospitals and general medical care, (3) education- al facilities and program in high school, (4) credit facilities and (5) housing. In spite of their attitude toward these services, ' one after another emphasized that most of the people living in the county are not making prog- ress, and that more than anything else the students do not want to “get in a rut.” When talking about the type of work they would like, the students mentioned such things as high pay, easy work, retirement plan, hospital benefits and tenure. One young man, though somewhat unique in his method of expression, stated what seemed to be something of a consensus for the group: “I want to get a job that will pay me the most money the quickest.” In the discussions of their future life, more than two-thirds of the students brought out that modern homes, furnishings, automobiles and other modern conveniences make a good income 7 a necessity. They also are aware of their need for specialized training t0 Command such a salary. When the 47 farm boys were asked if they plan t0 go t0 college, 24 said “yes,” 19 “no” and 4 are undecided. Of the 19 saying “no,” 12 said they plan to take some type of specialized training. Specific training mentioned included: printing, mechani- cal, tile setting, welding and pipe fitting. Of the 7 who answered “no” to both college and specialized training, 5 indicated that they had good jobs awaiting them. These jobs are ones they had held during previous summers and include rough- necliing, pipelining, cement finishing and factory Wor . When questioned about their plans for college, 34 of the 46 urban boys said they plan to attend, - 9 do not and 3 are undecided. Of the 9 who do not plan to go to college, 7 stated that they plan to take some specialized training. The primary training which the girls plan to take after high school is secretarial training or nurses training. Secretarial training is of paramount interest because most of the girls had one or more years of typing in high school. They also think that secretarial positions could be obtained readily in Tyler, Dallas and Houston. The cost of training seems to be the primary deterrent for those interested in nursing. CHARACTERISTICS OF PARENTS Some proof of the reliability of judgment and the overall attitudes of the rural farm seniors is revealed by the actual farm income plight of their parents. For example, only half of the parents consider farming to be their major job. Of those parents who do consider farming as their major job, better than half have supplementary jobs in addition to farming. Approximately one-third of the mothers are employed at regular jobs away from the farm. Half of the rural nonfarm mothers have regular employment. Still a higher proportion of the urban mothers (52 out of 84) have regular jobs. The role which parents play in the formation of the attitudes of the seniors may be observed in the following comments: “Young people have seen their fathers work so hard and not get anything out of it. My father has told me and my little brother not to ever try farming. After you work months on a crop and have to give it away, there’s not much reward. As for other jobs, there is nothing here to keep us. We have pretty big ambitions now. Maybe in a year or two We will come back with our ears down. There is no chance for advancement here. A secretary stays a secretary and the boys can’t get financed around here. They can go to college, but they don’t come back.” Out of a total of 78 fathers of rur; youngsters, 62 fathers are farm owners. I acreage owned by these farm owners is 11 average acreage devoted to crops is 13.0., 78 farm youngsters, 52.5 percent indicat their families produce some meat for ho sumption. Slightly more .-.(-5§.9) indicat they have a farm flock of chickens. Sligh (51.3) indicated that they have a milk cow.” ly all the comments which students ma cerning these three activities are of a n nature. There was a tendency to asso garden and milk cow with a small farm for the students have little or no appreciatio ~ Every farm and urban boy had a part-t during his senior year. Only two of th nonfarm boys did not have a job. Earnin ing the school year up to the time of the in A averaged $474.40 for the rural farm boys, _, for the rural nonfarm boys and $601.62 f, urban boys. Only 11 of the 47 farm boys in" that they had done farm work for pay ~ their senior year. i IMPLICATIONS Both the attitude scale and the personal views reveal a very favorable attitude l} part of the students toward rural life w. institutional services provided by the loc; But the students hold unfavorable attitu ward farming and other alternative occu available in the local area. Although agriculture is playing mor more of a minor role in the total econo _ dustrial development has not proceeded > enough to fill the gap. The primary emplo available to Cherokee county youths is i, such as grocery store clerk, filling station ant or one-dollar-per-hour factory work. With high goals rather firmly estab these students recognize that their aims ~ be reached through these jobs or by fa Consequently, migration out of the local? appears to them to be the only acceptable so Action programs that would be accep these youngsters should concentrate on s’. aspects of the problem: (1) a counseling s, with particular reference to employment ~ tunity; (2) training particularly for those 3 not going to college to develop special skillsi would enable them to obtain employment y ed as acceptable by them; (3) a public re f program to inform students of local atte A attract industry and acquaint them with? for continued growth and development Y local area; and (4) increased emphasis on, time farming as an acceptable means fori- bining the advantages of off-farm emplo with the advantages of farm life.