512 State Papers and Addresses

MONTROSE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

DEDICATION OF THE VOCATIONAL BUILDING

October 9, 1941

Reisterstown

TODAY marks another step in the continued progress of this school. The
buildings comprising the institution represent a tremendous advance
over those in which your activities were carried on at Carey and Baker Streets.
Careful planning in the development of the work has been exercised by the
devoted group of men and women comprising the Board of Directors. As the
physical property of the institution has improved, so has the spirit which
directs its destinies. It may be1 said, that the general attitude of our people
also has changed, and has developed a willingness to bear larger. burdens that
the wards of pur State may have better care.

No longer do we think of institutions, such as these, as places of confine-
ment. The opprobrium attaching. to the former name has, fortunately, entirely
disappeared. Organized society, speaking through its government, has decreed
that the problem be approached from the standpoint of education and. training
to correct defects of environment, and to counteract harmful influences.

Today this. emphasis is properly placed on education and training. This
approach merely makes effective for a selected. group the principles which we
apply to young people in the population. at large; namely, that in the complex
society in which we live, specialized training is absolutely necessary to. fit the
individual to be self-supporting, and to have some knowledge and appreciation
of the physical world in which we live. The emphasis today is. strongly on edu-
cation and vocational and professional training, and the activities of government
in this and other matters, should and does merely reflect the will and desire of
the people.

And so we find the four-point program of this institution built largely
around this concept of governmental responsibility. Hence, under the able
direction of the Superintendent, Mrs. Gardner, consideration is given first, to
academic education, offering instruction from the fifth grade through high
school Thus is carried out the mandate of the General Assembly, which, in its
classification of State functions, associates this institution with the Department
of Education. Under capable teachers, regular academic courses, comparable
to those given in the public schools, are offered.

Secondly, a recreational program is, in effect, utilizing a fully equipped
gymnasium and an adequate campus. Appropriate athletics, wholesome play,
and the development of a spirit and practice of fairness and good sportsman-
ship, characterizes the recreational program which has been most helpful in the
development of those committed to our care.

Third, proper emphasis on the spiritual side of life. In a world all too
prone to forget Divine guidance and to neglect the practice of moral virtues, it