Statement by Commissioner of Education Earl James McGrath

LET TER* Washington, D. C. The people of the United States enjoy a standard of living second to none in the world. This is not the result of accident or chance. In my judgment there is a high correlation between our standard of living and the development of public education, especially public Vocational Education. Productivity is the key to high living standards; occupational competence, in turn, is the key to productivity. We can have only what we produce; to have enough to maintain our present standards of living we must produce efficiently and economically. The basic ain of Vocational Education is instruction for useful employment, hence such education makes a direct and vital contribution to increased productivity and better living for all of our people. Earl J. McGrath U. S. Commissioner of Education *By Earl James McGrath, U. S. Commissioner of Education, Federal Security Agency, Washington, D. C., for publication in Opportunity Week, March 24-28, 1952, Jordan Sellars High School, Burlington, North Carolina