The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-16
NIGHT SCHOOLS IN BIRMINGHAM FOR NEXT SESSION Board of Education Is BusiIy Working Out Important
 Project For City
CITY FAR BEHIND IN
 THIS CLASS OF WORK
It Is Estimated That Night Schools Here Would Start With Enrol- men of 1000 Pupils and
 21 Teachers.

Birmingham must have a night school next year. The Board of Education. has decided that it must be, and the return ing travellers from other cities are de- caring that it is going to be.
 The Board of Education appointed a committee two months ago for the pur- pose of working on this great problem. This committee consists of Mayor Ward, J. J. Smith and Dr. E. P. Hogan. They are already planning for the work and by October it is believed that the evening school will become a permanent institu- tion in Birmingham.
 When it is considered that other cities have evening schools on an enormous scale, the position that Birmingham oc- cupies can be realized. St. Louis. for instance, a city estimated to be about six times larger than Greater Brming- ham will be, has an enrolment in it's evening schools of $500 and 127 teachers were employed in the term just closed.
 Should Have 1000 Pupils.
 Comparatively, Birmingham should have a school of the same character with an enrolment of about 1000 and about 21 teachers. Instead of that she has prac- tically nothing. A few private institu- tions on a philanthropic basis are toil- ing along under great disadvantage, while the vast number of young people who are forced to work are offered no means for completing their education.
 East Lake, even, is ahead of Birming- ham on this question. That suburb has a well regulated night school which has "a good attendance, and Is reported to be doing fine work Of course Birming- ham has been spending large sums of money on her day schools and the finances of the city have been very low, but as Dr. J. H. Phillips, superintend- ent of education says:
 '"The time has come when conditions demand an evening school. In a laboring city there is sure to be a large element ready and willing to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by night school The time sLould not be far of when visitors to Birmingham will speak as highly of our night schools as they
 
 Flourishing In Memphis. In Memphis, Tenn, the evening enroll ment is practically 20O0. and it is carried out on a grand scale. In Newark, N. J. plan has been inaugurated which is proving of great value. A section Is pro- vided to which anarchists and socialists and all classes of fanatics are invited raf in found that they are very open to com mon sense, that having listened only to their leaders they come full of arguments but are willing to listen and to be con- vinced, so that a great work is being done along this route.
 Following the line mapped out in other cities there would probably be two gram mar schools, one in the Paul Hayne school on the Southside, and one in the Powell school for the Northside. The evening grammar school offers sub- stantial common school education and af- lords every student an opportunity to make up deficiencies of early school train ing and to complete the course of the day school which he formerly was noi able to finish. Besides the elementary branches pupils would take full course in free hand, industrial and mechanical drawing and in bookkeeping.
 Evening High School Come
 Then there would be an evening i.igh school probably located in the High school building, with two years course, com prising the ordinary high school branches, such as mathematics, physics and chem istry, ancient and modern literature, Ian guages, history, industrial and mechan- ical drawing and commercial branches including bookkeeping, typewriting and stenography. To this course would per haps be added whatever might be needed to satisfy the individual needs of the stu dents, instruction of a technical char acter being added whenever sufficient pupils apply. Ambitious students would be able to complete preparations for university courses.
 A special feature would be the classes for foreigners who wish to acquire the use of the English language. The duties and privileges of American citizenship would also be impressed upon them.
 Wherever the evening system has been started it has been found that even a higher grade of efficlency is maintained than in the day schools for those young people who through industry and appli- cation are working their way through. They are far more regular in attend ance, and in thus giving their evenings to a better preparation for the den:xnds of life instead of giving them to pleasure and diversion it is pointed out they will become useful and respectable men and