The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-10-02
EDUCATIONAL COLUMN.
BY Mabel Horner, County Supt.

A uumUeT OIL Inquiries lcSoi vino
our compulsory attendance law have
come to the superintendent during
the past week. 1t is thought advls-
able to publish some sections OF the
law in this column.
(See School Laws of Iowa, PIP.
III and 119.)
Compulsory Attendance.
Sec. 2S23-a. Duties of parents or
guardians-penalty. Any person
having control of any child of the age
of seven Gu to sixteen (16) years in
elusive, in proper physical and men
tai condition to attend school, shall
cause such child to attend some
public, private or parochial school.
where the common school branches
of reading, writing, spelling, arltn-
metic, grammar, geography, physl-
ology, and United States history are
taught, or to attend upon equivalent
instruction by competent teacher
elsewhere than school, for at least
twenty-four (24) consecutive school
weeks in each year, commencing with
the first week Of school after the flrst
day of September, unless the board
of school directors shall determine
upon a later date which date shall
not be later than the first Monday in
December; but the board of directors
in any city of the first and second
class may require attendance for the
entire time the schools are in SEES
sion in any school year. Provided
that this section does not apply to
any child who lives more than two
(2) miles from any school by the
nearest travelled road except in those
districts in which the pupils are
transported at public expense, or who
is excused for sufficient reasons by
any court of record or judge thereof
or while attending religious service
or receiving religious instruction.
ANY person who shall violate the
provisions of this section shall be
guilty of misdemeanor, and upon
conviction thereof shall pay a hne OF
not less than three ($3) dollars nor
more than twenty ($2O) dollars, 1or
each offense 33 G. A, ch. ls6,lS!'
so G.. A., CHI. 116, l; ~ u. A. en-
1913, !.
Sec. 2S23-f. Enforcement. 1T
shall be the duty of the director or
president of any board OF directors,
or any truant officers appointed by
such board of directors, to enforce
the provisions of this act, to sue Tor
and recover the penalties herein pro-
vided, and to institute criminal prose-
cution against any person violating
the provisions of this act, ana any
such officers neglecting to 40 so WIN
in thirty 800 days after written
notice has been served upon him pv
any citizen of said district or the
county superintendent OF the county
within which the offending person
shall reside. shall himself be liable
for a fine of not less than ten (SlO)
dollars nor more than twenty (S2o)
dollars for each offense. 80 G. A.
Oh. 1874; 80 G. A., CHI. l2S, 6.
Sec. 2S23-g Teachers and school
oficers-duties. All teachers OF the
public schools of the state, and coun-
ty superintendents, and school ottic-
ers and employees shall promptly re-
port to THE secretary of the school
CORPORATION any violations OF the pro-
visions of this act, of which they have
knowledge or information, and ne
shall promptly inform the president
of the board of directors thereof,
and such president shall, if necessary,
call a meeting of the board OF dlrec-
tors to take such action thereon as
the facts shall justify, and any child
placed in any truant school may pe
discharged therefrom at the discre-
ton of the board, upon sufficient as
surance of the future good conduct or
such child. 29 G. A., CHI. 1913, I.
:: :: ::
Il have a good director said a
l>o1; ha
be willing to get the things we need
in our school, but every time he buys
US any thing some body in the dis
trict finds fault with him and says,
1T wasn't necessary, they could get
along without that The complaint
usually comes from some one who
has no children in school,
Yes, no doubt, the statement is
true. The school could get along
without the dictionary, the maps, or
the chart. Indeed there are few
people in Decatur county but could
get along with less than they nave:
Great armies of people in India and
China and southern Europe get
along for a while at least without
meat or bread. The Fiji islanders,
unless he has been greatly calum-
nized, gets along without clothes.
The Mexican farmer, generally gets
along without team and wagon, and
without a floor in the house; and our
ancestors only few generations
back got along without threshing
machines, reapers, cultivators, stoves
and sewing machines. 1t is not
question of getting along in our
public schools, but of maintaining
such a standard as advancing civillza-
ton and progress demands. Is 1t
asking too much, to ask that the
schools of the county show evidence
of progress and improvement equal
to those shown on the farm and in
the home? Are they doing it? Rath-
er have they not been in many in
stances merely getting along? An
Irishman had the theory that his
horse could get along without food
He began daily to decrease the ra-
lions, and would no doubt have
proven his theory to be correct but
lust as he got the food supply down
+ to one straw a day the nag up and
died."
There are schools in this county