Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1913-06-27
Toledo, O

Bearing this III mind we may next
find out why these one hundred elev
en- people left school
Out OF the Ill:
8-E'inished High School
Attending Training School
2-Had trouble with the teacher.
l1-t1ad to support family
6-i1ad poor health
Gould not profit by instruction
GALVANIZED to work
So we see that more than fifty
per cent left school because they
wanted to work. The aim Of life is
wealth, and wealth can only be got
ten by hard work; but there are diff
ferent kinds of labor that seek the
same end A common labOrer gets
the small salary Of $150 TO $500
per day; but successful business
man gets a much higher reward for
his labOrs The aim of the school is
to prepare the child to meet life
with a definite view in mind.
Children that reach the age Of
| fourteen, which is the compulsory at
| tendance limit, and find themselves
only in the fifth or sixth grade, when
! they should be in the eighth very
| seldom stay to graduate. They drop
out without finishing. They look at
| life with a false pride and see it OH
| ~ in dollars and cents. They cannot
| see the higher elevations in life
which can only be reached by edu-
cation.
| We find in every school some chill
dren that are older than they should
be for the grade they are in. The
| teacher has hard time with these
students. They are unfit for the
| srade they are in and render the
| work more difficult for other pupils
n the same class. This class OF
students is called the retarded class,
and their number varies greatly i'll
different cities. Wherever we find
| that the retarded children constitute
/ large part Of the school attendance,
we find that many of them do not
complete the grammer grades.
| 1t is noteworthy that very small
| per cent left school because they
could not profit by instruction. IN
reality is is probable that the lack
| Of success in school studies is the
greatest single cause which impels
pupils to drop out Of school.
The general health of the young
people in our school is such that but
few are compelled to leave school
IN account Of their own removable
| physical disabilities. IN some Of the
larger cities sixteen per cent OF those
out of school leave because Of their
physical defects.
Next, let US consider the occupa-
ton OF those who thus early leave
school What are those one hundred
eleven people doing? BY inyestiga-
ton we see that those engaged in:
A place of business 16
Going to higher schools II
Teaching
Attending training school 5
Married
Home
Servant Girl
Common labor as
This shows that most of those who
leave school from the elementary
grades are engaged at common labor,
the wages of which range from $3.50
to $500 per day. TWenty-one of this
class report that they find practical
value III the reading, arithmetic
spelling and grammar that they
studied in school. Certain it is that
not much value can be obtained from
these few years attendance at SC
young an age.
Those that are now married find
that their schooling has helped them
in an economic line -Four of the
sixteen who have a place in business
make use Of stenography, which is
taught III the high school, and two
find bookkeeping practical. Five Of
the whole number are now teaching,
and eleven going to higher schools
These surely profitted by their en-
tire course of study.
We have seen that out of the |
quarter of a million boys and girls |
that drop out of school each year, |
and fail to graduate from the ele- |
mentary grades, our city contributed, |
during the year Of 1911 and 1912, one |
hundred eleven. Seven per cent of |
these dropped out because they fin
ished the high school; five per cent |
Left because they wanted to attend
some other school; ten per cent left
because they were needed to sup
port the family; five per cent left
on account of poor health; and six
ty-nine per cent left because they
wanted to work.