The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1913-04-24
EDUCATIONAL.
tBY c. w. MEISN EST }

statement on the subject of the Sage
Foundation report on public education
in this state. Mr.. Cary shows that the
raising of the schools to higher stan.
dard of efficiency would require larger
expenditure of money. Following is
Mr.. Cary's statement:
We have heard much in political
way regarding Wisconsin's educational
standing. 1t has been shouted from the
housestops that we rank twenty-eighth
as to our educational system. AS poll
tical bunk such statements are not
worth moments consideration and
from that point of view / would not
dignity it by so much as reference.
However, there is no question in my
mind but that the people who get out
this report were entirely innocent of
politics and had in view simply the
publicity of certain educational facts
of general interest.
81 presume nobody in the STATE of
Wisconsin has any idea that our rank
educationally is twenty-eighth. This
is not altogether matter of blind state
pride of prejudice. Certainly any we'll
informed person knows that in the mat
ter of efficiency we do not rank twenty
eighth, but, on the other hand, nobody
knows definitely where we do rank.
1--WE do know this, however, that to
bring up any country school or any city
system of schools to high degree of
efficiency and maintain that standing
is an extremely difficult task, so diff
cult indeed that it is rarely accomplish
ed TO the satisfaction Of intelligent cr-
tics. To bring up the schools of a
whole state to high degree of pro-
fciency is task that requires the CO.
operation of whole state and it re-
quires that emphasis should be placed
where the emphasis belongs.
''To say that Wisconsin schools even
| the best of them, are far below what
we all earnestly desire they should be,
is to utter merely a truism. But let
us direct our attention briefly to the
| significance of the Russell Sage Foun-
dation report. TO put the matter into
a nutshell, what would Wisconsin have
| to do in order to stand first in every
particular mentioned in this report.
The reply can be given almost in sim
gle word, namely, double our expend-
ture of money for educational purposes.
We would have to double our teachers
salaries. We would have to more than
double our investment in school pro-
perty. We wouldihave' to more than
double the,expenditures for every pupil.
In the matter of taxation on every 500
Of assessed valuation of the state, it
would be necessary to increase by two
or three fold. All this we should have
to do if other school systems stood still
in this matter of expenditure of money.
There is one other thing we should
have to do in order to make entirely
sure of our ranking 1t would be nec-
essary largely to increase our school
attendance. When this is said the
whole story is told as to what Wisconsin
must do if she wishes to rank well in
the next Carnegie Foundation report.
! "lt should be explained that this re-
port takes children from the age of 5
to Is and on that basis nearly 25 per
cent of our children are not in school.
Many children do not enter at 5 and
many drop out of school in the years
between IA and Is. We have almost
identically the same ratio of children
not enrolled in any school that Mime
sofa has. Those who have been using
this report so freely have not been care
full to explain all these matters to the
people. If the state really wants to
work for a high ranking in such per-
cent let me repeat, the thing TO do is
for the people TO vote great deal more
money locally and for the legislature to
increase greatly the appropriations for
school purposes so far as it relates to
our elementary schools.
"lt should be borne in mind that it is
not simply the country schools that are
considered in this report but the grades
OF city schools also. Wisconsin is sadly
handicapped as compared with Mime
sofa for example, for the reason that
Minnesota has permanent school fund
of 1921 ,000 900, as against our - 900, 600.
In order to give you some crumb Of
consolation, / would add that we have
climbed up in our standing on the ILL
teracy question from the seventeenth
place TO the thirteenth place in the
past ten years, and that we have de-
creased our illiteracy for all persons
over 10 years of age by - per cert.
81 might further add that in ten
years we have increased our total ex.
penditure for public school purposes for
, every man, woman and child In the
9 state from 81. 50 TO S4.6i, or about sew.
enty-two per cent n this Is not suf
! fciently rapid pace, you know how tc
increase it.
Respectfully,
sc. =. Cary