The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1909-04-23
WOULD keep TIVE
BOYS IN SCHOOL
SUPERINTENDENT HUNTER ON
THE BOY WHO WANTS TO QUIT.
REPLY TO SCHOOL CRITICISM
City Superintendent Of the Norfolk
Schools Makes Plea for Bays to stay
in school-Points to Large Percent
age Of Girls In High School.

Norf0lk, NeD., April lt-Euitor
News: Critics of our public school
system very frequently charge that
our schools are not effective and that
boys and girls turned out from them
are not fitted to get along in the
world. Business men sometimes join
this anvil chorus" and advise young
men to spend their teens" elsewhere
than in the school room. So eminent
business man as Charles M. Schwab,
lately president of the United States
Steel corporation, said in speech a
, few years ago, "A boy Is foolish to
spend his years after he is sixteen In
! the school room. He would much bet
| ter begin early on his business career"
This type of advice, added to the
general criticism, falling on the al
ways too attentive ear of the young
boy, leads him to believe his time
wasted in the school room when he
might be making dollar day. The
result is that in far too many of our
communities from 60 to rs per cent
of the students in the upper grades
|
girls. The girls seem to be securing
corner" on education as well as on
the good positions in many business
and professional lines.
This very prevalent view OF success,
held by so many boys and young men
and born of the criticism and avice of
so many of their elders, is fatal
error, fatal to most individuals who
act upon it and to most communities
where it is the prevailing public senti-
ment. For, although our American
public schools are not above criticism,
they are nevertheless effective; al
though many educate few very high
! ly they still educate the masses well;
| and it is with the equipment furnished
by the great American free school sys-
tenn that most of our people have to
meet the affairs Of life. In proof of
this | can cite no higher authority
than the census report of 1900. The
results given by the census report are
as follows: Among 40,700,00O adult
| inhabitants OF the United States in
1900, 5000 were listed as persons
eminently successful in a business or
professional way 100000 of this adult
population had no schooling whatever.
OF these only 81 had achieved marked
success. This is less than one
eminently successful person in every
10000.
| OF the above mentioned adult popu-
lation, 32,S00,00 had common school
education. OF these 8O8 were num-
bered among the eminently success
full, which is less than one successful
man to every 10000.
| 100000 of the reminder of the adult
population possessed high school
education and 1,245' of these were
numbered among the 5000 successful
ones, giving this class ratio of one
successful person to every 1000.
| The college-bred adults of the coun-
try were 100000 in number, and of
this comparatively small portion of the
total, 5,768 were considered eminently
successful. This ratio is in every
| 200
j
things: First the large number with
at least common school education
shows that our schools are eminently
democratic-that they are for the
masses and not for the few. Second,
| the increased number of successful
men in each class as the amount of
| education increased in each succeed
| ing class shows that the criticism that
our schools are not effective and do not
| assist men and women in successfully
meeting the affairs of life, is absolute
| ly groundless. This means that the
| boy who leaves school because of this
| false advice before he has at least
high school education is throwing
| away his best opportunities for the
| future; that for the dollar earned to-
| day he is sacrificing many dollars in
the tomorrows to come; that he Is the
fellow who Is holding the penny so
close to his eye that he cannot see a
dollar six inches away"
A closer observation of the above
ratios presses still another conclusion
upon one: For boy to have a CON-
mon school education means that his
chance of success is about four times
as great as if he had none. For him
to have high school education multi
| plies his chances of success by twenty
and to complete college or univer-
sity course multiplies his chances
again by ten. That is, the college man
has, other things being equal, 200
chances to succeed where the man
who has quit school at the end of the
eighth grade has one.
OF course this does not argue that
the genius, even though uneducated in
the common meaning of the word, will
not succeed. Many instances can be
cited of the almost uneducated man
who has been brilliantly successful.
but in every instance such one has
marked native ability. He has over.
come his handicap in equipment by
force of his personal genius. But the
ordinary boy or man of today has not
this personal genius. He cannot afford
to throw away the advantage offered