The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-02-14
NOW TO SECURE ATTENDANCE
IN RURAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS
County Superintendent vensble Things it Can
Best he Done by The Power Of Public
Opinion Which Cannot be Resisted

Editor of The Citizen II read the
speech % our Governor at Charlotte
with more pleasure than | can express.
but above all was cheered with his
views upon the subject OF getting the
children into the schools and how TO do
it. 40 question % greater Importance
now confronts the people Of the State
ard none deserves moro careful discus
sions. Before arriving at decision as
10 what is best to be done. IL is with
much regret that | hear from every side
the cry OF Legislative conpulsion OF some
kind and a plea that as The constitu-
tional amendments came from that
source and through It's influence be-
came 4 law, it is due TO the children
under II years and OF certain age
that some method be devised TO force
upon them enough education to give
them vote. To some. and perhaps a
very large extent, il is due TO these
same children, that the Legislatures do
something TO bring about an assur-
ance that every one of them can and
shall have the required capacity TO vote
10y learning to read the amount requir-
ed, through the public schools. Does it
necessarily fellow that the only way TO
accomplish this is by a law of forcible
attendance, for so many years, OF each
child Of a certain age? Gcd forbid
There are ways and ways Of compul-
sion. Our Lord and Master, in human
point of view and reason, led a for
Torn hope" for the conquest OF the world
and gave the command to his followers
10 compel those from the highways and
hedges to come TO the feast. This COM
mand. given to those with no shadow
of earthly power and by one "despised
and rejected of men," has been executed.
by His followers, from that day to this,
and Is still being carried out conquering
and 10 conquer. and Will be. until the
whole world viii be compelled to come
in. This, In all matters cf moral char
acter-educaj ion means that If II means
snything-is the only admissible compul-
sion that can be used, the compassion OF
duty. made attractive by every human
means. bringing TO bear upon the hui
man heart and mind the most powerful
influences that OF self-eievauon.
The great duty hrst incumbent upon
the Legislature of the State is 10 try this
eompulsi0n Of attraction. Take the
counties OF the State. can in any one Of
them be found anything To attract the
average child to attend the public school
provided? a shabby. uncoeth, uncomfor-
table building, strange teacher,
house crowded with children from six
TO twenty-one years or age all unknown
to the teacher, and he or she unknown
10 them. and all OF those 10 be grouped
into from twenty Ave TO thirty classes.
for a school term OF from three to, at
iarthest, five months. Weeks pass before
even an apparent separation into classes
can be made and when made, with utter
ignorance on the part OF the teacher as
10 the capacities and characteristics Of
those classed. a school term of five hours
and thirty minutes, I'M which time thirty
recitation are TO be held, which means
in reality eleven minutes to each class.
and this time. in each recitation. liza
BE TO all KINDS OF interruptions. IA ma
jority CT Instances while the teacher is
80 engaged the remainder Of the school
is either looking out OF the windows OF
doing anything else bat studying. Here
Is a picture. as true, CT a large number
cf the schools of the state. as photo
graph. No fault cg the teacher! An an
gel could do no better. Can this be called
an attractive picture? It's true enc!
Has any Legislature the moral or legal
right to say TO a parent; You shall send
your child 10 such q place. or he pun
ishedr Gcd forbid.
Let the Legislature OF the state first
establish such system OF schools, he
ing so attractive as 10 draw the chill
dren to them, and then III they fail to
come let them talk about "a compulsory
law"
Can this re DONE Easily, but, time,
NOT great deal, will be required The
first duty is to provide the means.
How? ! see in your paper OF the eth,
that the railroads alone in the State,
outside OF other great corporations, show
gross receipts for the last year Of near
iy, in round numbers, Sl6,000, 600. Many
of the States tax these and give the
proceeds exclusively to schools. The
means can readily be found with the
nerve to use them; they are legitimate,
Just and lawful let them be provided.
The first ard most pressing necessity is
The furnishing of proper attractive. COM
Portable school houses concentrating dis
trlcts to large extent. with two or three
teachers in each school these schools to
he strictly graded and as the grades
advance, edd more room for the higher
grades. Experience shows that few Of
the schools at present go above the
fourth or fifth grades. Provide means
for terms Of not less than seven months
of school and pay higher salaries to
teachers, so as TO get the best. This
1deans attraction and this will attract.
When this fails let them talk of legal
compulslon and not until then.
Does legal compulsion succeed? Many
States have tried it. Let US look at
some statistics. New England is look
ed upon as presenting the Quintescenee
Of '.literacy" ana has emphasized legal
compulsion." Has she advanced or retro
graded? | have before me letter from
ore OF the most distinguished educational
investigators in the United States on the
very, subject / am now discussing; 1t
says:
Il am preparing a paper on illit-
eracv in the United States which
involves great deal Ct research
and study, not only of the figures oil
the last census. but of those prev
ious, back to 1870. Some Of these
disclosures astonish me, AMI think
that they will impress many others
NNF .y-4t INIs