Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1906-12-27

an1 respect f0r authority. tzo virtues
~ eaasa lacking In the American
gamtA u today.
Hut when n child eaters sehool, his
FIRST lessons In eaRGxenShlp begin. and
hersam lies the chief value q the pub
lie school. fiere be II brought face
10 face With the real things u life,
the things that be KIIl be obliged to
observe throughout his whole exist
eaee. Obedience. respect for author.
aty, considerations for the rights Of
otheE& honesty. tFmshfalness. and the
Like. are forced upon him whether he
gtll or not. bringing home 10 him
that in order TO b. happy these
things must be observed. and that
the way Of the transgressoE Is hard.
II II the business Of the school then
20 make up as far Is possible for any
lack Of training q. home, hence the
importance of the teacher d. a factor
I'm training for citizenship is beyond
question. Whatever may have been
tbs character q his home training.
the average pupil will soon fall In
line With the school requirements
and nos upward through the grades
according to his ability, This Is the
rule. and will apply In most eases up
10 about the are of puberty. when
| there In a most decided exodus from
the schools. more especially do tht
boys drop out at this time. The ex
cuses given are that they are tired
Of school. that they want 10 go to
work. or that they do not like ,n'
teacher, The number Of pupils that
drop out at this time IL alarminglv
large.
Statistics regarding this elimination
from our schools reveal some very IN.
teresting facts. In the first place.
only about s per cent Of the pupils
entering the elementary schools re-
main to enter the high school. and
enough Of these drop out during tho
next four years to graduate Onl!
about ? per cen Of the original mum.
Der. OF those boys who enter the
high school. about f0ur-fifths drop
out before graduating II In almost
impossible to ascertain the real rea.
son for this condition. for teachers
who have had experience In this line
Of work know that the reasons gener.
alp given are fictitious. For exam.
pie. statistics show that 'lndiffer.
ence," failure 10 work." and dislike
for authority" are responsible for
about 35per cent Of the boys that
drop out. and that having 10 work
for IS per cent more, the remaining
80 per cent being due 10 natural. mis-
%cellaneOus causes In our best grad.
ed schools from which such statistics
are generally taken. We would natTr
ally expect to find pupils entering
the high school thoroughly qualified.
not Indifferent. or liable 10 fail in
their work. While there are many
eases where boys are really cnmpnH'
cd by circumstances Over which thcv
have no control to go 10 work. vet
experience teaches us that it differ.
ence and failure in school work. as
we'll az the excuse Of having - quit
to go to work may he directly trace
able 10 dislike for authority. iu". wa
believe. largely to lack If proper
home training.
There are some who won't Law the
blame for this on the school. hut the
school will not accept it From The
very nature Of things. our schools
cannot graduate boys wh"F' attend.
ance IL irregular. who arc 0"' late at
night, who spend their 'inl'. loa!ing
on the streets. who have never been
trained to work or obey at home,
whose bodies are enerva'ed by the
use Of tobacco and the practise Of
CHER vicious habits, and whuSN minds
ale filled with sporting news. trashy
literature and other things that make
FOR poor citizenship. For such the
school ran do but little except to APP
peal to parents. TO society, ard - a
merciful God.
When We consider the large per
cent of pupils that drop DIT before
reaching the high school We are I'M
p'"ased with the fact that these pu'
Pills must receive their training in
Ire grades, We are apt tn pay more
attention to the work that our high
s<Icols are doing than We do TO that
o: the grades. High school teachers
Alc generally chosen with greater
care and receive higher salaries than
grade teachers. large sums ate spent
FOR buildings and paraph"rnalia. and,
ic general. 1t costs q per capita
10 maintain the high schools than IL
does to maintain the grades. or
course, the same may be said of or
colleges. We would not In any sense
underestimate the value of these
higher institutions OF learning, but
the fact should be borne in mind that
e5 per cent OF our pupils do not get
beyond the grades. AS has already
HAN -.ol Ait. FoaS 10 RvnrlnTl-.