Perth Amboy evening news., 1912-10-11
HIGH SCHOOLS
ARE POPULAR
Million and Quarter Boys
and Girls Attending.

More than a million and a quarter
boys and girls will attend the Ameri-
can high schools, public and private,
during thee school year 1928, &C
cordtng to the estimate of DR.. P. p.
CIaxton, United States Commissioner
OF Education. DR.. Claxton has been
assured by MI. Alexander Summers,
statlstician of the Bureau, who has
made a special study of the matter,
h a the estimae is a conservative one.
OF the number given 1,100,0 900 are
estimated for the public high schools,
aud 10000 for thep rivate second
airy schools.
The American high school has
grown phenominally In the past doz-
en- years, its development in the last
two or three years being apparently
greater than in the remarkable de-
cade just preceding. Since the twen-
tieth century opened the number of
public high schools has almost dou-
bled and the number of students is
easaly twice what it was at the be-
ginning 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 go from the grades into
the high school. Formerly (only a
very few years ago., in fact), the
high school was chiefly attended by
children of the rich and moderately
well-to-do. Today nearly one fourth
of thee hildren who enter the ele-
1nentary school eventually pass into
the high school. The exact figure
is % per cent, if negro children are
included, and rs per zen if whites
only are considered. This is partic-
ularly significant, since certain crit
les of the public high schools have,
through a misunderstanding of the
official reports, commended that a
much smaller percentage than is here
given had the opportunity of high
school training. The fact remains
that from 90 to 2 offs every hundred
children who enter the schools at all
go OF to the high school.
Almost, equally significant for pub
lie education Is the fast that by far
the most rapid growth has been in
the public high schools. The private
secondary 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 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
today there are only 16 private sec
ondary schools for every "a public
high schools. AS to number of stu
dents. In 1890 32 per cent of the pu-
pills were in private high schools and
G8 per cent in public; today only IL
per cent Of the pupils are in private
secondary schools, the great bulk (88
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
winning because the people are salts
fled that 1t is doing it's work; they
realize what 1t has meant to the ris-
ing standard of American citizen
ship.
The people have shown their ap-
probation Of their high school in the
most direct way possibility sup
porting it unfailingly and generously.
They have faith enough / 1t to pay
huge sums Of money year after year
that the high school may do greater
and greater work. More and
attention is being paid to high school
education. Million dollar school
buildings are going up in American
cities-palaces, one might call them,
did not the word suggest idleness,
and there is no idleness in the pres
cnt day high school, Industry, tech
nical ability, home making, together
with the essentials of a cultural ed
ucation, are being taught to our boys
and girls in the splendid high schools
of today o ma scale that was never
dreamed of in the civic life of any
nation before our time.
Commissioner Claxton's widely
quoted statement of some months
ago to the effect that he looked for
ward to the ime when all boys and
| girls would have at least a high
school education seems likely of full
illment sooner than even the Com
missioner himself anticipated.