The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-07-10
NUMBER 25.
IRREGULAR scHouL ArrENpANor
A Paper Read by Miss Anderson, of
Smiths Falls, Before the Lnnark County
Teachers' Association

IRREGULAR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
A Paper Read by Miss Anderson, of
smith's Falls, Before the Lnnark County
Teachers Association.
At the outset, l may say that do not
purpose, treating fully so Comprehensive
a subject. shall merely point out some
causes of irregular attendance and one
or two remedies; and shall leave it to
the members of the association TO criti-
else what ] have written, on the condi-
ton that the criticisms be constructive
rather than destructive. | hope to re.
ceive assistance from those who listen to
my feeble attempt. In looking over the
March number of the Educational jour
nal, l find that tifty-nine per cent. was
the average attendance of registered
pupils in towns during the past twelve
years. Now this is far from what il
should be.
In Smiths Falls our average attend
ance for the past four months has been
eighty-twO per cent. This is a little in
advance of what it has been, but there
is yet great room for improvement.
Some causes of irregular attendance
are: loveless teacher, an unattractive
school room, Ignorance of interested
and disinterested parents, and last, but
certainly not least, a dislike on the part
OF the pupils for work, not the work,
but work
BY loveless teacher 1 mean not a
teacher without love, but without love
Tor his work and pupils. He will, no
doubt, love the little money he makes
out of the business, and perhaps love
some particular object whom he teaches
but that will be all. He will not love
his work sufficiently well to cause him
to prepare for it attractive presentation
to his pupils; this will cause bad teach
ing, and bad teaching is sure to cause
irregular attendance. A school room
devoid or any attractions is not very
desirable place for pupil who is accus-
TONED perhaps to every luxury at home.
The house should be kept well ventilated
ana made as cheerful as possible by
means OF maps, pictures and flowers.
The last part of the school to be noticed is
the Fairgrounds. 1t should be thoroughly
dry and provided if possible with pole.
bars and ropes for gymnastic exercises. If
more OF our Fairgrounds were furnished
in this way it would be inflicting a pun
ishment on some children to detain them
| at home. Ignorance of interested and
disinterested parents is another of the
causes of irregular attendance. Some
parents seem to be very much interested
in the education of their children and
are always pleased to hear of their sue
cess in school, but sometimes through
| Ignorance of school work and school
regulations they detain their children at
home for some very trifling work which
the parent would have done himself, had
he known the injury he was doing his
child. Again some parents who have
succeeded fully well in life with almost
no education, do not regard it as a seri-
GUS injury to the child to keep him at
home. There are some children who do
not care for work of any kind. When
we see child not willing to assist in
work at home, but always trying to
shirk it, we may be certain that the
child will never like school work, and
no matter how attractive the school
ground may be, or how much love NAV
be bestowed upon him, the school room
will never be an attractive place for
him.
l have classified the evil effects as fol
lows:-It is an evil to the pupil, to the
teacher, to the school in general, and to
the community at large. 1t is an evil to
the pupil, for when the child is fire.
Iquently detained at home, he becomes
discouraged and not being able to keep
up with the class, begins to think he
will never make q scholar, and so forms
a dislike for school and when a dislike
for school is once formed, truancy is
generally the result. After a child has
been out of school for few days he
comes with his lessons unprepared, and
he invariably has some excuse which he
has very likely concOcted on his way to
school, and if not detected in his mis-
statement of the case he may try worse
plan for the next time. Boys are also
led to frequent places they should not,
in order to elude the vigilant eye of the
teacher or of any other person interested
in them. They are thus drawn into bad
company and form habits which very
often lead to their ruin. | know of a
case in which child had been playing
truant for week. At the expiration OF
, that time he came with a note to the
teacher, written by his father, asking as
{ favor not to punish the boy as it might
, lead to truancy again. She did not pun.
ish him that being his first offence. But dc
you think he attended school regularly
after this? No! He knew what was in
I the note his father had written, and an
very much afraid it will end in his eX
IDulSlOn. .AnOUlleG case IlldJ has COME Ulluel
my notice, is that of boy whose mother
kept him at home on an average of two
v days in the week. This also ended il
truancy, and when he put in his mex
p appearance at school, he brought not
from his mother fOrbidding the teache
to punish her boy, saying that she CAV,
4 him all the punishment required. Now
|, who but the parents are to blame il
y such cases if their children give then
trouble in after life? do not hesitate
g moment in saying that if the create
S portloniof thewicked men andwomen too
r of our present day, had attended schoO
6 regularly in their youth, our peneten
=, tiaries would be far from being as full a
. they are. know from experience tina
} irregular attendance is a greater hiT
}. drance to progress in town schools tha
r in rural schools, for we have promotion
/. examinations has much to do with tn
. teachers success. / have frequent,
q heard that trustees when engaging
: teachers, invariably ask the question
4 "How many pupils were promoted iron
. that department last term?n and if
o pretty fair percentage is not shown, tina
/ the teachers services are not require,
d for another year; whereas the mail
cause of the failures lay in the pupil
k and their parents. Again, if the pupi
is forms an aversion to school, the blam
l. is very often laid on the poor, overworke
;. teacher, and if child happens to b
e punished for unprepared lessons, report
n