El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-05-28

/ noFatons regarding the com
! mencement exercises which are tho
/ GROWING event % the year to millions
I Of young people scattered over the
| cities and towns Of the country. For
| merry commencement exercises vvere
/ confined only to towns Now thew tal<e
] place IN rural schools IS well. and the
/ extension of graduation privileges 10
1 the children of the country schools has
/ been one of the important deveIop-
! menls or pubic education in recent
/ years While such privileges do not
/ as yet cover the entire country they
/ are increasing each year as the rural
/ school system progresses.
Grammar Grade Exercises.
Graduation exercises are not entirely
/ confined to high schools as is COM
I monty supposed Many educators feel
| that the large number of children who
! never reach high school deserve some
! sort Of recognition Of the work they
| have accomplished in the elementary
J schools so that grammar school gradu-
| atoms obtain In some localities IN
! der this system a boy or girl who has
! completed the work of the grammar
/ grades is presented with a certificate
/ TO that effect and the presentation is
I usually accompanied by pleasing eN-
I erCiSes similar in character TO those
I connected with the awarding of the
( high school diploma
In Philadelphia. two of the oldest
/ schools of the city have had gradual
ing exercises at the completion Of the
: eighth grade for nearly half a century.
These schools We're located in what
was once the industrial part Of the
Z city and were attended chiefly by chill
I dren whose circumstances necessitated
! their beginning their life work at an
early age a number of men who have
achieved unusual prominence in city
or state affairs have come back at
/ various times to award the certificates
: to q new class and to testify in their
/ addresses to the inspiration and bene-
fit they derived from grammar
school CertlTcate when high school
diploma was beyond their reach. In
many cases the grammar school GER
tificate is an incentive also to secure
the diploma, as the child who has OBJ
tanned this is apt to desire the higher
document if he can spare the time to
: secure it by attendance at the high
school
Joint Exercises for Counties
In some OF the western states, com
( mencement exercises for an entire
county are held in the county seat In
one county In Missouri this year over
$50 children were graduated and re-
Of advanced grammar grade work. The
exercises were held in the court house
and were attended by the parents and
friends Of most of the children. some
of whom lived considerable distance
from the schools. These county grad
uauOn exercises are becoming more
common In a number of states. al
though they present many difficulties
which the school authorities would
like to see overcome 1t frequently
happens that the students who are the
best entitled TO q certificate are IN
aule 10 make the journey TO the county
seat TO receive it. Some Of these com
mencement exercises were attended
with more elaboration and expense
than is considered desirable or suit
able for children Of grammar grade
age so that some modification of this
condition Is being attempted this year
In number of communities
Township Divisions.
IL IS generally felt that even for
high school students the county COM
mencement or graduation exercise is
too cumbersome an affair. although
the schools themselves are usually not
large enough to accommodate such :
services For this reason the township
division which exists in a number of
states is a boon to the school authOri-
Ties having this matter in charge.
w here there is a township high school !
II IS usually possible 10 arrange to /
hold in il not only the commencement
exercises of its own pupils but also
graduation exercises for the children /.
who have completed the grammar
desirable.
The grammar school commencement. /
however, is regarded with disapproval /
0y many educators who feel that the +
line OF demarcatlOn between the gram J
mar grade and the high school should ,
not be emphasized The tendency to /
Degln nigh school work during the
last year or two in the grammar /
school VIII tend to do away with the I
grammar school commencement. and .
II IS, therefore, much discussed Q
question The educators in a town in /
Ohio who had it in operation several !
years discontinued il last year uDOn
the ground that students who received I
a certificate from the grammar school {
were not apt TO go on to high school.
This theory has been COntradicted by Z
those who favor the division between /
the schools.
Favor SfnlpIfcftv.
Inc tendency upon the part of edu-
Gators IN charge of all public school /
&C mans nceIneEts IS towards increased
simplicity. They claim that the pub
liz school is democratic Institution /
IN which every pupil should have the Z
same privilege. Therefore, no innOva-
ton should be permitted which would /
involve any undue financial strain uD- /
on any student. Simple dressing for I
the girls, the prohibition of white kid
gloves and slippers and similar eN- I
travagances are being insisted upon I
more strongly each year. This is es- ]
pc clallE true Of the public schools in
the larger cities Some of the rural
schools are now struggling with Gus Z
toms which the city schools have al
ready dlsregarded but the pendulum
is swinging backward for these also.
Vocational Training.
The work in vocational training and
domestic science which is being added
in more and more schools each year {
has given a new turn TO what might I
the rural schools, especially in the
states The schools where I
the parents and friends assemble in the
to examine the specimens of I
hand work wrought by the children Z
during the year. and remain to eat a
luncheon or country dinner cooked by z
the senior girls before assembling for
the formal graduation exercises in the !
afternoon seem to have reached the I
maximum of practical suitability in
the way Of closing exercises.
Each boy and girl who completed
the course received q certificate and {
the branches include matters which I
viii fit them for practical work in
life, aside from the knowledge gained Z
from the study of books In some
schools, these exercises are becoming Z
known most appropriately as closing
festivals and seem more in keeping
with the true spirit of public educa-
ton than do the more formal exercises.
They seem a natural outErOwth of the
boys corn clubs and the girls tomato
clubs which have carried such a benefit
cent influence into many communities [
Closing Is Remote From Work.
The feeling exists that the com
nenCement exercises. which really
mark the completion of several years
systematic work, should in some way
demonstrate what has been learned or