Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1912-10-13
4 Million md n Quartcr.

\ Million and IA Quarter.
More than a million and a quarter
| boys and girls will attend the Ameri
can high schools. public and private,
during the school year 1878, accord
| ing "a the estimate Of DR.. +, T.. ClaX-
! ton. United states Commissioner Of
Education. Dr. ClaXton has been as
surod by Mr. Alexander Summers,
| statistician Of the Bureau. who has
made special study of the matter,
that the estimate is "A conservative one
| or the number given 100000 are es-
timated for the public high schools,
and 15O,0 for the private sennoary
schools
The American high school has
grown phenominaliy in the past dozen
years. It's development in the last two
or three years being apparently great
er than In the remarkable decade just
1 preceding. Since the twentieth CEN
| tury opened the number of public
| high schools has almost doubled and
the number of students Is easily twice
what II was at the beginning Of tho
century. The most cheering feature
OF the whole matter for the American
citizen IL the very great increase In the
proportion OF those who go from the
grades into the high school. Forme erly
(only a very few years ago, In fact
the high school was chiefly attended
by children Of the rich and moderate
ly well-to-do. Today nearly one
fourth Of the children who enter the
elementary school eventually pass into
| the high school. The exact figure ia
% per cent, II negro children arc in
cluded, and 25 per cent If whites only
arr considered This is particularly
significant, since certain critics of the
public high schools have, through n
misunderstanding Of the official re-
ports, contended that a much smaller
percentage than is here given had tho
opportunity Of high-c -chool training.
The fact remains that from % to 25
of every hundred children who enter
the schools at all go on into the high
school.
Almost equally significant for pub
lie education is the fact that by far
the most rapid growth has been in thu
public high schools The private sec
ondary schools show "A healthy in
crease-25 per cent in attendance
since 1900; but the public high schools
have actually doubled their attendance
in the same period. To make, the COM
| parison on another basis: In 1890
! forty out of every hundred high
schools We're private, and sixty public
in 1900 the proportion had changed to
% and II; and today there are only
IL private secondary schools for every
81 public schools. AS To number OF
students: In 1890 80 per cent of the
pupils We're in private high schools
and 6S per cent in public; today only
> per cent of the pupils are in pri-
vate secondary schools, the great bulk
(SS per cent? being In the public high
schools. Is it any~wonder that tho
people believe In their high school
and give but scant attention to tho
occasional hostile criticism that is
heard? The public high school ia
winning because the people are salts
fled that it is doing It's work; they
realize what II has meant to the ris.
ing standard of American citizenship.
The peop.e have shown their appre-
citation of the high school in the most
direct way possible-by supporting IT
unfoilingly and generously. They have
faith enough in it to pay huge sums
of money year after year that the hieh
school may do greater and greater
work More and more attention ia
being paid 20 high school education.
Million dollar school buildings are go-
ing up In American cites-palaces,
one might call them. did not the word
suggest idlcnoss. and there is no idle.
ness in the presont-day high school
Industry. technical ability, home-mak
ing. together with the essentials of a
cultural education, are being taught to
high schools Of today on scale that
was never dreamed OF I'm the civic
life OF any nation before our time.
Commissioner ClaNton's widely quot
ed statement Of some months ago TO
the effect that he looked forward to
the time when all boys and girls
would have at least high school edu.
cation seems likely of fufillment
sooner than even tho Commissioners
himself anticipated.