New-York tribune., 1906-06-24
EVENING SCHOOLS GROW.

The evening high school which we started in
1856 Of great valUe-IIore than are such in
sttutions now. as colleges and the high schools
reach far greater numbers to-day than they did
then. I principal Of a common evening school,
and found that. although would start the term
with 80 pupils would soon dwindle to go.
Where the other 800? Roaming the streets in
idleness, and perhaps vice and crime. This dwin-
ding due the fact that the younger boys
kept back the older boys. who found the instruc-
ton that they needed was not to be secured. We
had no proper classification and no truant officer,
that we were helpless. The pupils came and
well stand in the lobby Of a great hotel and try
TO teach the people as they passed in and out as
and that the money spent on the evening school
was wasted and might just as well be thrown into
evening school Of which / was principal, and some
mittee on evening schools informed me that they
were going to establish an evening high school and
less the board would agree 70 be satisfied with a
long time for the board 10 give in on this latter
teachers New York ever saw, all young and
4mbiuo1s-John Jasper, Burnett F1tzGerald and
ct was rather curious plan We adopted. We
arranged twenty-five subjects for the curriculum,
and allowed each pupil to study three subjects.
We admitted by examination IN arithmetic and II
q boy who ought 10 be IN day school in bed ap-
that ne failed. and we got rid Of him, But If a
young man evidently IN earnest appeared ne
wanted become
builder. 7 told him take architectural and
mechanical drawing, geometry and English. Five
or six years later I saw the same young man IN
Sixth avenue. dressed Ike an italian count Well
] said. what you doing now? oh, I'm build
ing the City Hall az White Plains he replied,
and then went on to acknowledge his gratitude to
the night school EX-Borough President Jacob A
Cantor was one Of the first pupils to attend the
evening high school. He fifteen years old
then. He said he wanted TO become statesman
gave him political economy. American history
and elocuton as his three courses. and he made
good use Of his early studies in after years in the
! Assembly and Senate. Instead OF only seventy
/ i've pupils that first year we had 200"
To-day Manhattan Borough alone has six even
ing high schools thirty-eight evening elementary
schools two evening trade schools and another
one soon 10 be opened Last year there Il ,l58
pupils enrolled in the evening high schools and
sand nine hundred and twenty-nine non En- glish
speaking pupils enrolled at the evening schools last
year, and l6JD teachers and principals engaged
IN these night schools.
We had no gymnasiums IN the early days, but
our boys at No 50 used Washington Parade
Ground as a playground, and had a military reg-
ment Of lt9, with officers and complete discipline"
continued Dr; Hunter They could march fine
ly as the 9TH Regiment. School gymnasiums are
"a recent improvement and Mr.. Snyder has made
wise provisions for them in all the new buildings.
sanitary conditions at the schools different in
The early days, but so were they everywhere in
those days No greater advance has been made in
any erection IN the last ufJy years than in
ton"
This years estimate OF the Board of Education
asked for an appropriation OF SIS 319 for repairs and
the city schools. 1865 for sanitary repairs and
additions.