Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-06-07
why Girls Leave School.

lttu LlD 10 fAHVApNNsJ
in a bulletin just issued by the United
States bureau of education. The au-
thors Of the bulletin have made care
full study of trade and labor conditions
among the girls in Worcester, Mass,
preliminary to the establishment a
trade school for girls. They find that
from one-half to three-fourths of the
girls at work in the factories could have
had further schooling if they wanted to
or if their parents had cared to insist
upon it.
The survey showed that the number
Of girls between IA and 16 years of age
who leave school is constantly increas-
ing. During the past five years many
more girls between those ages left the
Worcester schools than can be account
ed for by increase in population. Only
about II per cent of them had finished
the grammar schools; most Of them left
in the sixth and seventh grades.
Why did the girls leave schOoli Va
riOus reasons were assigned by the girls
themselves. Some 30 girls said they
did not like school,; " "cOuld not get
along with the teacher" were not pro-
moted, or wanted to go to work. Two
were working to help pay for piano.
One Of these was a cash girl of IA years
who had left the ninth grade to go to
work in department store for So, later
$3.50 week. Another was a girl of Is
from the eighth grade, who went to
work in a corset factory for 81 and
rose to $4.S2. Still another girl was
taking music lessons and contributing
to the payment on the piano.
Twenty.seven girls were found at
home. In some cases they had left to
help in housework, while few had left
at a time Of temporary stress, and then
had not returned to school. Four girls
had changed places with the mother,
who worked in a corset factory, laundry
or some such place, while the girl,
whose wage.earning power was small,
kept house for the mother Of the chill
dren.
Curious differences as to what the
parents thought they could afford were
discovered: "The mother of family
of eight children, living in apparently
direst poverty, would have been glad to
have sacrificed and pinched still furth-
er to have had her daughter stay in
school onger, if she would. The moth
cr Of another family Of six, living in a
comfortable apartment house, with
hardwood floors, piano and other alux-
uries, said her daughter wished to stay
in school longer, but the burden Of sup
porting the family was too heavy fo'
the father to bear alone; so the girl
was taken out of school to 90 to work
A visit to a Swedish family revealed a
carpenter and his wife, washerwo
man, who had just built and owned q
new three.story apartment house. YET
the 15-yearold daughter, with a sew
enth. grade education, had been sent tC
work in n paper-goods factory at So Q
week. "The question; why did yor
leave school' was put TO some 1884,
moro mature workers in tho corse
trade, Ninety.one per cent Of these wo
men had left school between the age
of 10 and IS, and fully 80 per cent be
cause Of their dislike of school or be
cause they wanted to go to work. OF 2
workers in a clothing factory S5 pc
cent had left school between the ages o
l3 and 10, 25 per cent of their own va
lition.
In tho opinion of the authors Of tn
bulletin, conditions such as were foun
in Worcester emphasize the imperativ
need for special training Of a practica
sort for girls between the ages of 10 an
IS. In tho main the children lef
school simply because they disliked tn
school work. Not getting the kind q
training they might have liked, an
would have profited by, they Blind
Joined the army Of shifting, inefficien
discontonted girls that go from one IN,
notonous factory job to another, an,
because Of their lack of training. rarel
rise above the class of low.paid, NJ
skilled workers.