The Detroit times., 1910-03-24
AMERICANS ARE NOT
BEST STUDENTS
New York Man Says Immigrant
Children Learn To Read and Write
More Universally Than Natives.
BY w. c. SHEPHERD.

NEW YORK. March 24.-Hats OF 10
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 =. Ayres. associate director
of the department OF child hygiene
OF the Russell Sage foundation. who
has been startling educators by MS
revelations OF conditions in American
schools, to aid in the general effort CT
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 rs the effect OF a large for
eign population on the showing or
school system makes" l asked Ayres.
Walt minute" he said. Il 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 faces
ABOUT immigrant children. with that
understanding.
1T is unfair TO the immigrant 10
accuse him OF being the cause OF tn@
bad records OF the schools In some of
our large cities. It's also unfair TO the
taxpayer and 10 the people"
but does the immigrant send h's
children TO school at all IL he can
avoid IL" l asked.
That's a wrong idea" he replied.
Il hsve figures TO show he does. These
figures are not any credit TO some
Of the school authorities who have re-
Gently hcen trying TO defend their
school systems.
I'm 1900. 65 per cent OF the countrys
native white children OF American par
entage from TO 10 years OF age were
IN school, while 70 per cent OF those
OF foreign parentage were In SCHOOL
This means that the immigrant Is
little more anxious 10 have his cnii'
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 chit
dren through the grades, while Barr
Inore. with only 3s per cent or der
population alien, carries only 70 per
cent OF her children 10 a satisfactory
roint. Chicago, with an alien popula-
ton OF II per cent, carries 62 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
as she should.
New York with its II per cent OF
foreigners, puts 43 per cent OF ner
children through the elementary
course.
"There are In this country" added
Ayres. "aDout three times as many III
literate American born children OF
American parents as American Dorm
children of foreign parents.
/ THE immigrant certainly does seno
his children to school and his children
learn to read anu write more univer-
sally than do the native children.
| I'm what race are found the smart
est children" | asked.
We'll. all the figures | have on tha'
are based on a study OF 10000 children
/ I'm New York city They show that the
German children have the best rec
ords: only 10 per cent OF them were
| backward. The Americans came next,
with 10 per cent behind in the grades.
The Russians were next. with % per
cent weak; English, "a per cent; irish.
% per cent; Italians. SO per cent.
THE English speaking pupils
! American English. Irish--do not make
| the best school records.
But doesn't ignorance OF the ian.
Ruage hinder the Immigrant children!
Not TO the extent one might think
Out of $4,000 children who graduatel
last June in New York | found tina.
the greater proportion OF the rapid
Iclildren came from foreign homes
where no English vas spoken.
THE immigrant. then. is not the
cause OF moor showings OF school eys-
tems have figures from 80 cities,
giving the percentage or oackwalo
children in the schools. | nnd ina.
the cities having the fewest backWaf
children are those having the greatest
foreign population, while those having
! the most backward children have
larger American population.
81. seems TO me these figures mean
va must face the immigrant problem
lbravely: 10 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
tricd 10 deal with the immigrant proc
lem I'm his own way. and rallied. We
viii, fail unless we meet the problem
honestly. To do this we must not de-
lIrde ourselves into the belief that the
Immigrant Is to blame for school IN
effectiveness"