The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1899-12-22
MID. WINTER PROMOTION IN THE
SCHOOLS.

ito give or not to give" which arrives
at about this time of the year, that is
attracting more general notice from
parent and teacher than promotion in
the schools And it is safe to say no
question seldom has more earnest az
vocates on both sides than this sub <p
The time seems to have arrive oSSS'
liberate consideration of tbr So
those in whom the power c&N ,4on
is vested. They have it 4r pro-
vince to continue the evil l last year
or to overcome it entirely by the exer-
else of goodjudgment. The Free Press
has taken no part in the matter, but
now believe that we shall be direlict il
our duty as dispenser of public senti-
ment if we longer ignore question
that is fraught with so much interest
to the taxpayer and one, too, that
means so much to the youth of our city,
We have taken the trouble to secure
the private opinion of'many children,
parents aud educators upon this vital
question and have found diversity of
opinion.
The children say they do not want
promotion if they have to work any
harder than they now find it necessary
to do to keep up with the new work in
to which they are thrown-mostly in
an unprepared condition. Last year
they were not quite ready for promo
ton and yet they were promoted.
Some parents agree with the chill
dren and if they are not fully prepared
for the new work it is certainly great
mistake and injustice to push these lit
tie people beyond their ability and
comprehension.
Some of the ablest teachers in the
schools assert that last year they were
compelled to promote children who
should really have remained until the
close of the term where they were.
One teacher informs us that thirty
four children from her room marched
up stairs and forty took their places
rom below. She has been all this term
trying to get some of those children in
to condition to do the work OF that
room which they should have been able
to do easily from the beginning if they
had been given more time in the grade
below. And now that they are be.
ginning to grasp and absorb the work
before them comes up the question of
wholesale promotion. In short they
must do eighth grade work in four
months that the average child should
cover in eight months.
Superintendent Uline, in speaking of
the matter said: "Midyear promotion
is the ideal thing if confined to the
grades and only apply it to such
groupes as would be benefited there
by. All children are not equally apt,
and what one acquires without seem
ing effort is the most abject drudgery
for another. One advantage of mid
year promotion, if it can be stopped in
the proper place, is that it saves the
pupil qualified to advance half year,
while those not qualified for promotion
are equally benefited by this
grouping method, Then, toe, the
nearer classes are together the
easier will it make advance
ment. Promotion to a certain extent
can be obtained without overcrowding
the rooms; and if confined to the
grades there will be no crowding. The
average will then be about forty pupils
per room. The average between the
primary department and eighth grade
is better than it has been for years, and
the time has come when pupils must do
more thorough work in the grades than
has been done in the past year.
'There are many reasons against
wholesale promotion at this time If
PERSISTED in it would require more
teachers and new high school building.
This the people are not ready for
and if any more expense is necessary it
should be put into the grades If all
pupils are promoted at this time it will
give teachers two classes instead of
one, and it is impossible for teacher
to dotfull justice to pupils under such
conditions. Then, too, the child is
with one teacher too short time to re-
ceive that benefit that comes from a
longer association.
when judiciously handled mid-year
promotion is very good thing for
graded schools, but it must come
slowly and with the utmost caution to
make it success
1t would seem, then that the best
thing for the children is a judicious
culling of especially bright pupils for
promotion and not this wholesale