The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-03-24
AMER|CANSA ARE NOT
BEST STUDENTS
New York Man Says Immigrant
Children Learn To Read and Write
More Universally Than Natives.
BY w. q. SHEPHERD.

NEW YORK. March 24.-Hats OF To
the Immigrant boy and girl In the
American school.
The children who stand at the head
OF their classes are not Americans.
Cold figures show how wrong are
school authorities who blame the
showing OF their poor school systems
TO immigrants.
Leonard p. Ayres, associate director
OF the department OF child hygiene
OF the Russell Sage foundation, who
has been startling educators by his
revelations OF conditions in American
schools, to aid In the general effort or
all educators to find out what Is the
matter with our elementary education
al system. has gained some astonish-
ing facts about the abilities OF the
children OF immigrants.
What Is the effect OF a large for
eign population on the showing of q
school system makes?" I asked Ayres.
Wait a minute" he said. II don't
want you to put me In the light OF
arguing one way or the other for i'm
migration. I'm willing to tell the facts
about immigrant children. with that
understanding.
1T Is unfair TO the immigrant TO
accuse him OF being the cause OF the
bad records Of the schools in some OF
our large cities. It's also unfair to the
taxpayer and to the people,"
But does the immigrant send his
children to school at all If he can
avoid it," l asked
That's wrong idea," he replied.
Il have figures to show he does. These
figures are not any credit to some
OF the school authorities who have re-
Gently boon trying to defend their
school systems.
I'm 1900. 65 per cent of the country's
native white children OF American par
entage from to Is years of age were
ia school. while ~ per cent of those
of foreign parentage were In school.
This means that the immigrant IL a
little more anxious to have his cnD.
dren go to school than Is the Ameri-
can parent.
Here are some figures: Boston,
with ~ per cent OF her population
aliens, carries GA per cent of her chill
dren through the grades, while Baif-
more, with only 3S per cent OF ner
population alien, carries only 20 per
cent OF her children to a satisfactory
roint. Chicago, with an alien popula-
ton of n per cent, carries SO per
cent OF her children through the eight
grades, while New Orleans. with only
81 per cent of her population alien,
treats only 81 per cent OF her children
ms she should. -
New York. with It's n per cent OF
foreigners, puts 43 per cent OF her
children through the elementary
course.
There are in this country" added
Ayres, ABOUT three times as many IL.
literate American born children OF
American parents as American born
children of foreign parents.
"The immigrant certainly does send
his children to school and his children
learn to read anu write more univer-
sally than do the native children"
"In what race are found the smart
est children?' | asked.
We'll. all the figures l have on that
are based on a study OF 10000 children
in New York city. They show that the
German children have the best rec
ords only 16 per cent OF them were
backward. The Americans came next.
with 10 per cent behind in the grades.
The Russians we're next, with % per
cent weak; English, "a per cent; Irish.
20 per cent: Italians, SO per cent.
1.-THE English speaking pupils
American, English, Irish--do not make
the best school records"
but doesn't ignorance OF the Ian
guage hinder the immigrant children
Not to the extent one might think.
Out OF 10000 children who graduated
last June in New York | found thai
the greater proportion OF the rapid
children came from foreign homes
where no English was spoken
"The Immigrant, then, Is not the
cause of poor showings Of school sys-
tens. | have figures from 80 cities,
giving the percentage OF backward
children In the schools. l find that
the cities having the fewest backward
children are those having the greatest
foreign population, while those having
tine most backward children have
larger American population.
1T seems to me these figures mean
we must face the immigrant problem
bravely; 70 call immigrants ignorant
foreigners will not help US nor are we
justified IN using the term.
When the white man first came 10
these shores the American Indian
tried TO deal with the immigrant prob
lem in his own way, and failed. We
will fail unless we meet the problem
honestly. To do this we must not de-
hide ourselves into the belief that the
Immigrant is to blame for school III
effectiveness"