Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-07-23
TELLS CONDITIONS
IN THE PINE BELT
Education Commissioner Ken
dali Makes Public Letter
from School Teacher.


TRENTON, July 2S.-Deploring tht
lack Of educational IA silit.es in tht
pine belt of Burlington county anC
s the lack of any attempt of loca
boards of education to improve con.
dftfons, State Commissioner of Edu.
cation Calvin N. Kendall today made
public letter he received from q
teacher in one Of the pine belt schools
telling of her struggles to educate
children there.
DR.. Kendall visited schools in the
: heart Of the pine belt in the sprins
aid secured first-hand information OF
educational conditions existing ir
Burlington county. The teachers, he
said, are Handicapped by poor anc
Irregular attendance of children and
the complete failure of the authori
ties to enforce the compulsory schoo
laws.
The lack of necessary materials fol
Industrial activities and the failure
of local boards to make any attempt
to supply the children with equipment
necessary for manual training also
impressed DR.. Kendall. DIR. Kendall
said that without the enforcement OF
tho transportation laws for schoo
CHILDREN a large percentage of the
children would not be able to attend
school at all. For obvious reasons the
real names of the children are not
gwen.
he letter received by DR.. Kendall
from a teacher in the pine belt tell
ing OF her experience, in part, fol-
lows:
do not think the proportion OF
aefective children is any greater here
than In other sections, but. the major
lty OF the parents grew up under the
same conditions and are totally with
out education, so the children do moi
absorb much valuable knowledge in
their home surroundings. This, com.
blned with their great irregularity OF
school attendance makes them an.
pear mentally slow to strangers.
AS transportation was nor fur.
nlshed last year until the middle OF
the school term, and as the attend
ance laws were not enforced, also as
ignorant parents are exasperatinely
proficient in furnishing plausible ex-
cuses for the non-attendance of their
children, my yearly report of attend
ance was very poor. Do you wonder
that so many are behind in grade and
that. am not able to graduate a very
tui sc ilutnDtIs
Very few of the mothers are even
moderately expert with the needle
and those few find it easier to allow
their daughters to grow up without
learning how to sew than to take the
necessary trouble to teach them.
think we find this condition prevalent
everywhere.
The principal things needed fol-
the benefit of these children are
hrst, enforced school attendance, and
second, supplies for domestic science
work.
About three-fourths of them have
never been inside of Sunday school
room and their religious training is
practically nil. OF course they gel
the common virtues instilled into
them at school and theoretically al
home, and you will find few schools
where the pupils can be more safely
trusted
I'm commenting upon this Commits
sioner Kendall stated that upon hi.
visit to the school he was impressed
with the fact that what these chill.
dren need most of all is a good ca.
pable teacher who understands theiI
needs and a teacher who is interested
in her work. Such a teacher they
have. The teacher being a native
herself of the region is particularly
adapted to understand the needs OF
the children.