The copper era. (Clifton, Graham County, Ariz.) 1899-1911, 1910-03-10
Educational Matters.

al IhlS llhC VI Tue year par
ents are probably making plans for
their children who are now in the
various schools of Clifton. These
plans are important as their future
welfare is at stake. All teachers in
terested in children hope that they
may be kept in school until the en-
tire high school school course has
been finished. After children enter
the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth
grades they donot wish to continue to
go to school. Children, especially boys,
frequently have the notion that it is
the real life to be earning money
rather than to be living in the high
ideals of the school. This should
have little weight with the parents
as they must be firm in order to be
kind.
The child is short-sighted and does
not appreciate the intellectual power
that is necessary to accomplish all
he should accomplish in life. The
more education, the more power the
The late w. T. Harris, ex-commis-
sioner of education of U. S., compiled
some statistics from a book, "Who's
Who in America" that contains the
names of ten thousand men who have
been successful in their respective
lines of work. Statements in regard
to the mental training of these men
showed:
l. That from 1900 to 1870 the un-
educated boy in the United States
failed entirely to become so notable
in any department of usefulness and
reputable endeavor as 70 attract the
attention of the "Who's Who''
editors, and that only twenty-four
self taught men succeeded.
?. That a boy with only training
below the high school had one chance
in nine thousand.
3. That boy with high school
training had one chance in four hun
dred, that is, he had twenty-five
times the opportunities of the boy
who stopped at the end of the eight
grade.
4. That a college education gave
one chance in forty, that is, it in
creased the young mans chances ten
times more than those of the high
school boy, and two hundred and
twenty times those of the boy whose
training stopped with the school
grade.
In conclusion DR.. Harris says: "It
is unnecessary to extend this inquiry
to women, education is practically
her only door to eminence.
The child from twelve to twenty
years of age is at the most critical
period of his life. More study is
given today to this period of life
than to any other. Before the age
of twelve he is understood and easily
managed; from twelve to twenty he
is a perplexing problem. He uses
much energy during this period in
the growing and maturing processes.
Often his apparent lack of interest
is due to the fact that both of these
processes are using all his powers.
The high school emphasizes the
good work done in the primary school
and, at the same time, stimulates the
pupil by placing before him the
broadening courses of study of the
higher schools and colleges. Memory
and imagination are usually more
active at the age when the pupil is
in the primary grades. The reason
ing powers are not at their best until
after he has finished the eight grades.
Hence were it not for the high
school the boys and girls would be
sent out into life without a proper
framing of the reflective faculties
by whose activities general princi-
Piles are discovered and rules of con-
duct are constructed.
Some parents have the erroneous
notion that a private school is a bet
ter preparatory school for college
than a good high school. In 1904
President Elliot, of Harvard, wrote
in his report that the high schools of
the country furnish HARVARD her
best students-better than the men
who come from private institutions,
as shown by the following table:
Honors Unsatisfactory Fail
Grades A ORB B EtoF
per ct per ct per ct
Public high school ,I6 Sc Is
Acad. and End. schools II 81 p
Private day school. 50 81
These facts are limited to the year
under review, and are based an OBJ
seryation of 100 persons.
The graudest purpose of the high
school is to edncate these vnnnn nen.