The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-10-12
AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOLS.
A Million and a Quarter Scholars Will
Attend This Year


More than a million and quarter
boys and girls will attend the American
high schools, public and private, during
! the school year. l0l2-l3, according
to the estimate of DIR. p. p. Claxton,
United States commissioner of edu-
cation DIR. Claxton has benn as
sured by Mr.. Alexander Summers, stat
] tstician of the bureau, who has made
a special study of the matter, that the
estimate is a conservative one. OF the
number given 100000 are estimated
for the public high schools, and 10000
| for the the private secondary schools.
The American high school has grown
phenomenally in the past dozen years, It's
development in the last two or three
years being apparently greater than in
/ the remarkable decade Just preceding.
Since the twentieth century opened the
number of public high schools has al
most doubled and the number of
students is easily twice what it was at
the beginning of the century. The most
cheering feature of the whole matter
for the American citizen is the very
great increase in the proportion of those
who 90 from the grades into the high
school Formerly lonly very fey years
|ago, in factl the high school was chief
" attended by children OF the rich and
moderately well-to-do. To-day nearly
one fourth Of the children who enter the
elementary school eventually pass into
the high school. The exact figure is p
per cent, if negro children are included,
and 25 per cent if whites only are con-
sidered. This Is particularly significant,
al, 4xs, urt& - Ia. It,,b
schools have, through a misunderstood
ing of the official reports contended that
much smaller. percentage than is here
given had the opportunity Of high |
school training. The fact remains that
from p to rs of every hundred children |
who enter the schools at all 20 on into /
the high school.
Almost equally significant for public /
education is the fact that by far the !
most rapid growth has been in the pub /
lie high schools. The private secondary |
schools show healthy increase 25 per I
cent in attendance since 1900; but the
public high schools have actually |
doubled their attendance in the same
period To make the comparison on
another basis: In 1890 forty out Of /
every hundred high schools were private,
and sixty public; in 1900 the proper
ton had changed to % and II; and -
day there are only 10 private secondary
schools for every 81 public schools. As
tc the number OF students; In 1890, -
per cent of the pupils We're in private
high schools and 6s per cent in public;
to-day only IL per cent Of the pupils
are in private secondary schools, the
great bulk tSs per cent? being in the
public high schools Is it any wonder
that the people believe in their high
school and give but scant attention to
the occasional hostile criticism that is
heard? The public high school is win
ming because the people are satisfied
that it is doing its work. they realize
what it has meant to the rising stand
ard of American citizenship.
The people have shown their appre
ration of their high school in the most
lirect way possible by supporting It
and generously, They nave
'aith enough in it to pay huge sums of
money year after year that the high
schools may do greater and greater
work, More and more attention is being
,aid to high school education. Million
lollar school buildings are going up in
american cities palaces. one might call
hem, did not the word suggest idle
less, and there is no idleness in the
resent day high school. Industry, tech
zeal ability, home making, together
With our boys and girls in the splendid
Ugh schools Of to-day on scale that
vas never dreamed of in the civic life
+ any nation before our time. :
Commissioner Claxton's widely quoted
tatement of some months ago to the
feet that he looked forward to the
ime when all boys and girls would have
{ least high school education seems
kelly of fulillment sooner than even
he commissioner himself anticipated.