PART I
Types of Problems Facing Young People
First Problem: What immediate personal decisions are we facing
today? How are they affected by the war? To
what extent do our decisions differ from those of
young men and women in the city?
Some people maintain that everyone's first concern must be
the war. Others hold that the war is a "pretty bitter pill to
swallow" and that we must keep up our morale by "living" as much
as possible. If the war is a long one, children will be young people,
young people will be adults when it's over. Naturally, all of us are
working harder, under greater nervous tension due to many uncer-
tainties and shocks. Thus, we need time for recreation-time to
stand off and take stock. Specifically, we want to know:
1. What should we do about school?
Should we leave school to work on the farm? go into industry?
If we continue in school, what courses should we take to be
ready for a job? for living? Are high schools and colleges
giving the information we need? What do we need? Where
can we get sound advice and reliable information?
Farm and factory, army and navy, and all the other military
services need manpower. They are vying for recruits. Often,
draft boards are not too helpful in advising whether there is time
for us to complete our schooling, so many of us have quit and
enlisted. Parents are usually willing to make great sacrifices to
help their sons and daughters get an education, but now with the
scarcity of farm labor, occasionally they decide "it's no use to waste
the money since the army will get the boys right away anyway."
Labor is scarce, particularly in farming areas where wages are low,
so some schools are adapting their terms to meet the situation.
Every young person can get vocational training now if he wants
it since the government is helping to provide special defense courses.
But, how many of us want or can find the kinds of work we'll be
"It's harder to concentrate in school now, because of the good chances to
make money working. Why shouldn't I work and save up enough so I can get
a better education later, when I can't get a job?"
"We fellows who are in college don't know just what to do. We want to
make our contribution both to winning the war and to the future. We are
satisfied that we can do more in the future if we finish our education, but we
don't want to be slackers."
4