Classroom Vocations

The Black and Gold 1976

School Time Occupations...

  Providing a break from the daily school routine, speakers came to the many and diversified classes on the campus.

  Family living classes featured, among others, experts on self improvement--hair, clothing, and general health.

  In the business department, prominent persons in the business industry spoke to accounting, shorthand, and typing classes. A former McKinley student and top executive secretary, Joy Labez, explained the duties and requirements of a secretarial position.

  Others included broadcasters from local stations, folk guitarists, Hawaiiana authorities and many accomplished alumni who, through the application of material learned in school, had risen to the heights of their vocational goals.

...Preparations for Future Careers

  Part of the everwidening modern educational system was providing students with vocational opportunities. Aiding students to explore their own interests, training and counseling helped focus a clearer vision of their future vocations.

  Cooperative Education was one such program, which put students in touch with jobs from  outside sources or in public schools such as room cleaners, printshop, and office volunteers.  A credit course, those enrolled had the option of taking this as part of  or in conjunction with a regular schedule enabling students to either attend classes part of the day, then leave for work or as a "seventh" course. Requirements expected were 250 hours of work per credit (two credits maximum), recordings earnings, statements, turning in an employer evaluation and attendance of seminars which taught responsibilities of employee, employee and employer relationships, and laws and taxes.

  Another facet of Cooperative Education program was the Career Exploration Program which brought speakers on various fields to McKinley. Present situations on the employment market and demands for certain specialists were discussed.

  For those who could not decide on careers and were unsecure about their talents, there was the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery which was administered by Army personnel. This consisted of series of timed tests which ran through everything from Math and English to Mechanical skills. After scores returned to the school, interested students could take advantage of a two-day period in which army counselors returned to McKinley to interpret results of the four-hour testing session.

  The more adventurous and confident went on to explore what has received more publicity in recent years - the Liberty House and Penney's Fashion Boards. Members on these boards received jobs from the stores (Liberty House and Penney's) and had a chance to experience the fashion world through fashion shows put on at high schools and for the general public.

McKinley High School Class of 1977

40th Reunion Summer 2017