Maine West's industrial arts department in D‑wing is truly a modern, up‑to‑the minute unit providing preparation in the various fields of industry to all students taking shop courses. An introduction to various occupations of industry is provided for boys, but girls are not excluded from enrolling in courses that might interest them.

According to Mr. Robert Cochrane, chairman of the department, "Approximately 95 per cent of today's youth will come in contact with some phase of industry. Not only are we prepared to give students this important education, but we also have the methods and tools to teach boys trades in the different fields of industry."

The work experience program is an important part of the curriculum. In this program a student goes to school for a half day and works the other half. The department changes for the benefit of the community by sending surveys to local industries in the surrounding communities asking various questions concerning what they are looking for in their future employees. Maine West's industrial arts department is constantly striving to meet these standards.

Equipped With Best

The fields the department is equipped to handle every year are vocational, pre‑technical, pre‑vocational, and general education. One of the highlights in some of the courses are in the electrical shop, which is one of the finest equipped in the state. Here students study an applied form of physics. Auto mechanics is a theory and practice course; the functions of the automobile and different types of engines are studied.

The drafting courses serve two functions. The first is to give the student an opportunity to learn the fundamentals of drafting, and the second is to give an understanding of design and blue print reading. Printing gives the student an opportunity to learn the fundamentals of the printing industry from letter-press and silk-screening to printing articles for school use.

New equipment is constantly being added. In the print shop a new offset lithograph press was installed during the past few weeks. In the electronics shop a new RCA demonstration panel has just arrived.

Particularly outstanding and unique is the work now being done in industrial math. This course teaches math concerning problems encountered in the shop; an example of which might be how to find the pitch of a roof. Maine has had this course for 15 years and is now helping other schools to adopt it.

Some of the outstanding projects of the year are entered in contests. The student, however, is not taught just to win a contest. If the project is unique, shows some skill, and is educational, it is entered.

Non‑college bound students have unlimited opportunities through the industrial arts department to prepare themselves for good jobs.