Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-01-09
PRATT new MEMBER
Chosen to Fill Vacancy in Rock
Island Board of Edu.
cation.
RECOMMENDATION BY HAYDEN
Says Abolition of the Lock-Step
in the Schools Would Bet
ter the System.


regular monthly meeting last even
ing with Messrs. Marshall, Robbins
and Bollman present. The special
matter laid over from the last meeting
was the election of successor to 4.
A. Donaldson as member of the board.
William j. Pratt was nominated by
Mr.. Bollman and elected with the
concurrence of Mr.. Robbins.
The report of Sdpt. II. B. Hayden
contained an important recommended
ton in regard to admitting new pu-
pills in the primary grades Jan. 81,
and for the balance of the month, in
stead of after the Easter vacation, and
reducing the intervals between classes
to a half year. Following are extracts
from his report:
when the admission of children
into the first grade is delayed until
the spring vacation, very little actual
advance can be made by those chill
dren in the two months remaining in
the school year. beyond becoming
accustomed to the routine of the
schoolroom. Children admitted in
January can easily make gain of a
| half years work before the close of
the year. Quite asgood many parents
have this week sought admission for
their children in the several primary
rooms of the city.
Il would recommend further that
| in the classification ofour schools the
half year be recognized as the interval
between classes.
This would mean simply that
while we would maintain the eight
grades of work in our common schools
inst at present. we would. in CLASH
tying our pupils. develop classes
working on each half years portion
of this work.
Better for All Pupils.
1.-The points that would urge in
favor of the shorter interval between
classes are:
First, it is better for all pupils.
The average pupil moves on the same
under either Pian. Pupils who are
stronger in their work than the aver
age can win special promotion which
| is impossible when classes are year
apart. And pupils who fail in their
| work are benefited first. by being
given an opportunity to review after
only half years failure; and second,
by being asked to review only half
ears work.
sit frequently happens that pupils
do good school work through nearly
an entire school year, and in the last
| months of the year, from sickness or
other causes fail in their work. Many
of those pupils cannot be promoted
they are not ready for the work of the
next year. They must repeat with
| the next lower class. To repeat the
work of an entire year is an injustice
and hardship With a half-year in
terval more of these pupils can be re-
tanned in school and kept more nearly
! in the work in which they belong.
| Again. the half-year interval will
relieve the pressure in the lower
grades. 1t is here that most of the
congestion occurs. Under the plan
now in use, pupil who fails of pro-
motion goes back over full year
work. This is constantly returning
to lower classes pupils who have fair
lily earned a half-year's promotion.
All such pupils are carried along in
the schools half grade lower than
where they rightly belong. These
Il
ton to- the pupils coming up from
lower grades by regular promotion,
keep the lower grades crowded. Car
ry them where they belong. a half
grade higher, and relief is evident.
| Improves system.
| From the standpoints, also, of
economy of teachers work, more eff
fective classification of pupils, and a
more flexible system of school man
agement, the half-year plan of promo
tions has commended itself to the ed
vocational world. 1 would therefore
most respectfully recommend its
adoption for the Rock Island schools y
The number of pupils attending
school during the month of Decem Der
was 8. 240, the average daily attend
ance was 3.043; per cent of attend
ance, 1922; per cent of punctuality,
SO So; number neither absent nor
tardy. 2.030; cases of hardness, 53;
cases of truancy, 10.
The Bills Allowed.