The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1910-01-20

Men and women connected with the
schools of Kenosha have received let
ter from State Superintendent c. P.
Cary in which he makes strong pro-
test against the action of many teach
ers in favoring the state university in
the conducting of the high schools of
the state. In his letter the state of
fetal SAYS.
ADDISON, Wis, Jan. II, 1910.
To Superintendent, Principals and
Teachers:
In my last letter I spoke of the de-
simultaneously, If you please--of
freedom for high schools to develop in
a manner consistent with their own
proper genius and function. Up to the
present time university entrance re-
quirements together with some sporadic
and frequently lf-hearted attempts to
meet the community needs, have, as a
matter of fact, shaped the high school
courses Of our state. To test the truth
of this, try the simple experiment of
asking yourself how many high school
principals in the state would, In your
opinion, be willing to face the results
of allowing their high schools to be
dropped from the accredited list. of
the state university or even from the
North Central Association list because
of intentional non-conformity with col.
lege requirements. Not long since a
high school principal remarked to me
of his own accord that the situation
was bad but that he had a wife and
children and he would not endanger his
position by saying openly what he knew
to be true. I did not ask him to ex-
plain fully, but I inferred from the
drift of his voluntary remark that he
was afraid Of the citizens of his own
little city and of his alma mater.
By some hocus-pocus the citizens of
our cities have quite generally come to
believe that high school that stands
well ob G1lC 0GdCC uI1NCIblby 10 ,IuSG Wudb
is wanted and all that is wanted It
is only natural for many superintend-
ents and principals to feel the same
way, for most of them are graduates of
the state university or other colleges,
and they naturally feel that course at
the university is the chief end of man.
Pupils that chance to be cut on the
bias and do not fit into this scheme
are then regarded as lacking ambition
and mental power. They are a bother
and the sooner they ego to work. the
better. But the fact is that many of
these pupils that thus drop out of school
are not lacking in either brains or am
bition. They simply do not find it con
genial to study Latin and ancient his
tory and pursue a course that leads in
the direction of the learned professions.
1t seems to me fortunate that some can
not be coaxed or wheedled or driven
into the professions; but regard it az
most unfortunate that such people can
not get in our schools the kind Of In
struction suited to their needs.
Why should state or people be SO
tremendously jealous about giving an
opportunity to every one who shows any
symptom of desire to enter profession,
and yet will give little, if any, help be-
yond the rudiments of literary educa-
ton to those who prefer to make liv-
ing in some other kind of social service.
Some schoolmen Will tell you (I quote
the words Of one; he is not a college
graduate either, "We are entirely in
dependent of the university, but it so
happens that what we want in our high
school is precisely what the university
wants. =" A remarkable coincidence! I
wonder what the statistics in that city
would reveal as to the number of chill
dren that might enter that high school
but do not because they or their parents
feel that four years in such school
would be largely wasted, and also as to
the number that enter and then drou
out in search of something worth while
Come to think of it, l have at hand the
statistics for the same superintendent
high school as to the number that drop
ped out for one reason or another. and
here they are: The second year of the
high school showed an enrolment 90
per cent less than the first year; the
third year 50 per cent less than the Sec
ond year, the fourth year about 20 per
cent less than the third year. Out of
every FIVE pupils that entered the fresh
lC,on+inued on naoo Ky