The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-08-21
Country Schools of tine County Lose
Nearly Thousand Pupils.
Enrolment Decreasing at The Rate
of ESQ a Year.
The Children Are Crowding Into the
City and Village Schools.
Not Carrying Out President RooseveIt's
Idea of Full Baby Carriage.
From Thursdays Daily.

The falling off in the attendance of the
common schools of the county, which
has been going on for years at the aver
age rate of $50 a year, is one of the most
remarkable tendencies of the times, and
it's full cause would be interesting to
know
The records of the office of the county
superintendent of schools show that the
number of pupils entitled to apportion
ment this year is 5000, and that 1856 were
enrolled but failed to attend a long
enough period to be entitled to the APP
portionment. Last year the number en-
titled to apportionment was 3,34O, and
the number who failed to share in the
apportionment was 1852. In 1897 there
were 3,739 who were entitled to share
in the apportionment, and 900 who were
not.
1t will be seen that the total enroll
ment has fallen from 4,72S in 1897 to H.,
1872 last year and to 3,S7S this year.
The falling off has been steady for a
number of years.
When asked today by The Free Press
reporter for an explanation of this unex-
pected fact, County Superintendent
Freement said that it would be difficult
to account for all the falling off, although
there are some causes that will account
for at least part of it. In the first
place he thought that there must be
fewer children in the county. although
the population is increasing. This is
the tendency of the older settlements,
as the younger people often move west,
and those who remain are not inclined to
carry out Roosevelt's advice about the
full baby carriage.
Another main cause of the falling off
of the attendance in the common schools
is the improvement in the efficiency of
the Independent districts located in the
various villages. The schools at Lake
Crystal, Amboy and Mapleton and the
other villages draw heavily upon the
county school districts in the immediate
neighborhood, which in some cases are
almost denuded of children who are will
ing to attend the district schools.
!, Another cause is that the country
schools are more efficient than in former
years and the pupils are prepared to en-
ter the city schools at younger age
than formerly, so that they are not en-
rolled in the country schools for so long
a time
The falling off in the attendance in the
country schools runs about evenly
through the different ages. Of children
between the ages of five and eight there
were l2l4 enrolled in 1897 and 975 this
wear. Of those between the ages of
eight and sixteen, there were 1901 en-
rolled in 1897 and $3.50 this year. Be
aween the ages of sixteen and twenty
one there were 343 enrolled in 1897 and
22S this year.
1t must not be inferred that the
county is going backward in any partic-
ular because the attendance in the coun-
try schools has been falling off year by
year. On the other hand it is a sign of
progress. AS the farmers have gained
in wealth they have been able to move
to this city or to the villages, where they
believe that the educational facilities
have been better, in order to give their
children the benefit of the best that
could be had. Others, who could not
leave the farms themselves, yet were
able financially to do so, have sent their
sons and daughters to the city or the
village to attend school. Others have
been able to send their children to the
country schools more continuously than
heretofore, and the result has been that
these have completed the course much
more rapidly than was the average case
some years ago, and their names have
not been borne on the enrolment lists
as long Better teachers, induced by bet
ter salaries, and normal school train
ing, have made it possible for the scholars
to advance more rapidly. All of these
things are signs of progress rather than
of decay, and speak well for the county.
The way for the country districts to hold
their own with the village districts IS
for them to employ equally good teachers
and to equip the school rooms with
equally good supplies of all kinds used
in the study of various subjects.