The San Francisco call., 1896-08-05
Their Parents Desire Them to
Move in Fashionable
Circles.
EVENING TUITION EXTENDED
An Increased Attendance-Th Course
at the Horace Manu-The
Webster Primary.

The free common schools, in Republic
like the United States, are the last places
on earth where the existence of caste
would be suspected. Still, strange as it
may seem, instances of it have recently
come to the surface and are causing no
little annoyance to the authorities.
Talk about your American aristo-
Gratis" said Superintendent Madison Bah
cock yesterday, "you will find few of
them in the public schools of San Fran
cisco.''
The Superintendent. who was seated at
his desk with a file of letters in front of
him, sighed YEARLY and continued; ~
am pestered to death at the opening of
this term with applications from parents
for the transfer OF their children from one
school to another IN all parts OF the City.
There is no sound reason for these re-
quests; the motive is purely whimsical.
An idea prevails among parents and
pupils that some schools and some
neighborhoods are more fashionable and
aristocratlc than others. lis a non
sensical idea, Of course, but it is TO these
schools that transfers of children at the
beginning of every term are requested.
The personal popularity of principals has
cOlnGlutIR " 10 WITH IL dS W6ll dS tue
neighborhood in which the school is 10
Gated and the class of children by whom it
Is supposed to be attended.
i've known parents to ignore an excel
lent school only few blocks distant from
their residence anu to make application
for their children to be transferred to some
school a mile or more away. They had no
complaint to urge against the principal or
teachers, but were prompted to ask for the
transfers from a whimsical notion that
the distant neighborhood was more aris-
tocratic and that its school, principal and
teachers we're more fashionable IN their
habits ard customs than those nearer
home. These transfers, when made, cause
more or less expense to the school depart
ment, not TO mention the cost OF carfare
10 parents and the trouble of an equitable
classification.
1.-The result of it is to half fill some
schools and to overcrowd others. There
are schools wbicH, as you know, enjoy
regulations for dress, m8nners, wealth,
etc, and these, illogically as it may seem,
are chosen by many parents IN preference
TO those where their children may profit
by sound methods OF instruction and
where caste and fashion are conscien-
tiously kept in the background.
''For the trivial reasons mentioned prin-
cipals are naturally reluctant to give
transfers, and when they are insisted
with tantalizing cases of this character
that my time has been largely occupied
since the opening of the term. You can
hardly con ceive of the extent TO which the
feelings of pupils. teachers and parents
run in this direction. Instead of the fra
ternal good fellowship which should exist
among all OF our public schools there is,
am sorry 10 say, widespread jealousy
and rivalry.
at is now the policy of the Board of
Education to extend the system of our
evening school education. This is a most
useful branch, giving, as it does, educa-
tional facilities to young men and young
during the day, have only their evenings
to devote to study. New classes have
been established at the Fairmount and
Richmond primaries and at the Franklin
and Mission grammar. The enrolment
at the Fairmount thus far is 125 students,
which is exceptionally large. At the
Richmond So are already enrolled. Re-
ports from the Franklin and the Mission
are not yet received, but I doubt not that
they will be equally satisfactory.
1.-The San Francisco Normal School has
an enrolment of eighty young ladies who
aspire to become professional public
school teachers in the near future. The
business evening school is flied to over
flowing. The enrolment at the Girls
Is also fully up to the average, and at the
Polytechnic High School there is no
diminution of attendance. The transfers
of teachers this year have been compare
t1vely few, and nearly all of these were
made at their own personal requests.
"The junior high school class, just
opened in the Horace Mann Grammar
School under the tuition of Miss Ada
Goldsmith, has fair enrolment. The
statement To the contrary in a morning
paper was not authorized by me, and as
you know the first day of term is no
criterion as to the number of students.
There has not been any falling off either
in the attendance at the Lowell High
School. Altogether il may be said that
the new term of the public schools of this
City opened with an increased attendance,
and under highly favorable auspices"
It is expected, now that the Supervisors
have appropriated 100000 for that pur-
pose, that the erection of the Mission High
School will be promptly begun and COM
pleted during the year. In the meantime,
however, junior classes can be accommo-
dated at the Horace Mann Grammar
School.
The historic old Webster Primary
School, under the experienced supervision
of it's popular principal. Miss Agnes NJ.
Manning, began the new term under pecu-
liarly happy circumstances. After its
brisk and successful contest for existence
the teachers and the pupils met again last
Monday like happy family that had long
been separated and was once more joy
fully reunited. Evidently the parents had
not lost confidence in the ability of the
teachers or the duFa bility of the build
ings, for the classrooms were crowded as
usual with children of both sexes, who
prefer the old Webster to any other school.