The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-08-20

their teachers with serious INJURY. ou posing
these moro tiOtous ebuitiOns b. DE prevented
as a general thinQ, that quioter mischiet wnich'
| though not absolutely intertupting insfucupn,
sprtDt-ly retards ~. remains ana - narder 10
meet. Corporal puutshment IS prohiulted ana
the only lawful remedy stronger IN the teach
er's tongue Il the threat OF expulsion. But ex-
pulson Ia not often pr tctised for various
reasons much more Troublesome class Of
| bows are expected than In the ordinary school,
ard teachers are required to Dear more, and to
| he prepared to work under greater oimculties
| IL ia also to a teachers crsdit to MAINTAIN a
| large class: neither does he like to confess his
inability to master his boys. but the main
re1son il undoubtedlv the regulation Of the
| 30 ard OF Education which requires an average
attendance OF thirty pupils to each teacher, and
dismissal OF rs many teachers IA may be neces
cult enough. under any circumstances, to pre-
vent large falling on In The attendance In the
course OF the school session, owing to various
causes. such as the failure on the part OF pupils
and parents to understand the value OF educa-
ton, and very often, especially during the hOli-
day season, the necessity OF working over time
In shops and factories ian attendance OF 15OO
has thus fallen to 800, no teacher feels like en-
daugering his position still further by recon-
mending the expulsion OF mischievOus pupils,
who may often number one-fourth OF his al
| ready dwindling class
PUNISHMENT.
The proposal to Introduce CORPORAL punish.
| ment has been very strongly resisted, but most
OF those who are practically acquainted with the
evening schools OF New York firmly believe that
| Il would be great benefit Another great OBJ
stacle to progress IA the irregular attendance.
| THIS Ia occasiOned Ivy the same causes that con-
tribute to the falling on In the attendance. The
| consequence IL that almost every step must be
taken two o. three times, Tor frequently only
| half the class IA present one evening, and the
| following evening only the other hali may De IN
| attendance. with all these draw oncks, how
ever. the evening school Is a great benefit.
As the session approaches IFS conclusion, II Is
customary IN some OF the schools to prepare
| closing entertainment. The bows are taught to
| sing, though not by note and the thousand
voices oc more that ring through the capacious
| issue from the chests Of thost gu kept. hard
worked, plcbeian offspring. Music has it,
| breed. Their song certainly lacks no energy.
| Dialogues, orations. aud declamntions are also
| prepared these falling to the part OF the higher
| ri --es. Commissioners Of the Board Of Edu-
cation, school Trustees, and Interested visitors
| OF all kinds attend. They make speeches to
that sea oi boys heads about the value Of an
| education, how well II pays and how that's the
| only way to get to own some OF those hne
| houses up on Fiuh avenue, and also some other
speeches that are nos so well understood.
There Il rarely a week hut visitors are shown
| through tho schools. Among these callers there
| came one evening william Cullen BRYANT, whom
the boys had never heard Of. Iney said no
| looked just Ike Slnta Claus, and wished he
| would come about Christmas time.
The more advanced the pupils are, the easter
| instruction H. lhey perceive the value Of edu-
| cation better. aud are more desirous OF using
their opportunities In the higher classes too.
| the worst Kind OF BOYS are seldom found. These
seldom rise verS far iu their studies. 1t hsrd
to make them learn H. the nrst Instance at all,
| and whit The. do nnally acuu re one wear, they
are pretty sure to lose Dy truancy or absence tns
next. ne more advanced class are OCCASION
| ally bright and promising. Instruction Is con
| fined to reading, spelling. penn tn-nip. geogrd-
| phy. and arithmetic; but la these studies they
are comparatively well grounded.
AN INTERESTING TEATURk
The German pupils recent immigrants. who
| study chiefly Engllsh under German Instruct rs)
| form feature uf great interest. lhete are even
| ing schools III the German wards IN which half
| of tue number attending are OF that nationality.
| In one school u 81 Houston street. there were
| IN the winter Of 1873 over eOl. They are OF ali
| ages. sometimes whole family Of father and
| sous Will attend. Grav-headed men arc often
| among them. They are much tho most orderly
aud attentive of the pupils, and In every respect
the most enc ournglnH. Comparatively well edu-
ted men are sometimes found ia these class as !;
men VINO understand the higher Mathematics,
perh apps. but have yet to learn English CIR .du-
ates ~ GottiuRen and HsdeDufg are II be
seen IN the evening ward schools OF New York.
| Another feature OF great In crest Is the ad ult
| class 1nis 10 composed Of grown men, and Is
| sometimes a most extraordinary assemblage.
they differ from class Of adult q srmans la that
| their native Language Is English aud that they
come for instrdc ion In the ordinary element ary
| school studies. there il great difference in the
| wish To learn the same thing. Very lew have
| learnt the same thing 10 have the class OF any
particular grade Ia consequently impossible. Be-
side a cartman who Isl istlearnlng to write may
cit a BLACKSMITH VINO IA ongrossed with the alpha
bet. "A bakers apprentice studies suDtrhctl IN
nextto amasOn who 10 advanced ia fructons. one
man ~Hnts to learn only to write. Another has
determined 10 devote himself wholly 10 afithine-
tic There /, also great diversity Of character.
young loafer my come with more than h II
an eve to n, while ON the other hand there
may be s'oer' iulddle-ageu man whO mas sur
f.red many hitter e1perence from the neglee
] OF ui- tAlll cAlthtlJu, anu WHO lAlo III ne en-
deaVur, T. repair tue misfortune.
/ There are also evening schools for girls, In
which the INSTRUCTORS are exclusively female.
lhe uuplis mere are the cOuhterpart' olOM!ng
for their eek, % those in tue male schools. They
como from factories and shops, are servants aud
Tue salaries IRE sufficiently large for the class
| Of teachers that axe hkely to instruct the even
Two hours per nisht. Where the average night
| " attendance exceeds 100 he receives So nut
such d contingency has never baup ened. Assist
| IA lie teachers receive - per ul.nf, Fem ale
| principals. 1915 assistant female teachers In
| female schools. a. IN male schools 81 -
| Notwithstanding their defects, tho evening
| schO Is are OF great value. For those who VISA
to learn good opportunity l., after all, offered,
and oven the least attentive are likely TO be Kept
from f.rsetting what they did learn In the pm
mary schools. some OF the boys make steady
prugress, advancing every year VITA gre ter
case, and grad uatiug, en.er tue evening nix }
school, Ia time acquiring compArativ-n good
| cduCatluus. Whatever advantage these schools
could not AFFORD to attend at other schools day
the ATTENDANCE.
The schools are located chiefly in the poorer
Districts Of the CITY, hat being where they are
very large, in tho winter OF 1873 the NUMBER
taught was 10 ~, aud the average nightly ~.
tendance l6J. la ISL the numbers were II .j6l
ana 9,1l5. In 1873 the number Of teachers was
oti, ueing IA average to each, exclusive OF prlI-
clpAls, 4 p pupils. here were Is male princl-
pals and |. female, 10 male assistants anO lgJ
female, Of whom - we've stationed ia male
schools. OF tho pupils l2l53 were male, 5,5,i
|
tht average female, showing greater regularity,
343J. The largest average male attendance any
one week, eX Iiultiug great disparity, was 1919
the largest female, 8047. There are also a lew
coiOrei evening schools In winch the number
taught was i2l, and tho number OF Instructors
eight. the city superintendent and his assist
ants examined 2i7 classes mat year IN 10
classes Instruction was pronounced excellent,
ana ~ 10 good. There are lfteen male evening
schools, twelve female, aud throe cOlDred. Ihs
largest male attend nee was In l. ., Houston
street tue number taught being 1857 the aver
age attendance 81 Tue next was IN Thirty
nfth street, Tine numb r taught beilS l,Dt9; the
aver ~ att0udture 053. 1he third was IN Allen
street, nor Hester, where the number taught
VS. l,3sJ, aud tht average attend aHce 55j. The
occasional dtpatity between the number en-
tered and the average tendance appears from
the record II the school ia Twentieth street,
near Second avenue, In which the nam er en-
rolled Wa LIZ, AMI the average Attendance 3Jj.
\ liige avviag" Was reported nom the school IN
GreeuNich stree, ~ the First ward, IN whicn
the number cntervd was 3o), and tho average
attendance sjj lhe largest female attend anoe
WAS IN Flltn street; numUer entered, 0l0; aver
age q .trndan Ala Next came tho school IN
Fourteenth street; numoer taught, 80; AVERAGE
attendance, 40 Iniri was HE scnoui IN Iwen-
U-eigutu street; nuuiDer taught 800 average
attendance, 80 Ihe cost Of tue evening schools
for That year vas SlQa,c90. lhis Includes tho
cost OF the evening nign school.
| a IA Il dny