Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1914-05-23
DO OUR HIGH
SCHOOLS PAY?

SCHOOLS PAY
The following is an extract from
series of articles now appearing /
Pictorial Review by Ella France
Lynch, the wellknown educational IL
vestigator:
Such general statistics as / hay
been able to gather Indicate that tn
number of pupils attending Higl
School is less than seven per cent. o
the total number entering school. TIL
other ninety three pre- cent. leavs
as soon as they arrived at workin,
age or earlier. OF the small percent
age who start the High School course
few complete it. The figures taker
from one district are.
Pupils Attending High Schools.
FIRST Year.. >. :. :. =. - ..15,4OC
Second Year. :. :. :. :, 1920
Third Year :. :. :. - 5000
Fourth Year 3,4O0
Graduating i. :. !. :. !. $500
There are on an average four grad
yates to each of the six hundred High
Schools. Only one-sixth of the pu-
pills entering are On the graduating
list. What it costs the state to turn
them out, Is difficult to compute be-
cause of the fluctuations In attend
ance. o.
Why Is it so many pupils drop? Be-
cause of the inability of the parents
to finince their schooling? undoubt
eddy few drop out for this cause
But the great majority, as any High
School teacher will testify, leave be
cause they cannot keep up with the
studies demanded, because their ele-
mentary training has given them
neither the training and knowledge
necessary for successful High
School course, nor the habits of work
and of study essential to High School
success. They cannot study. There
fore they do not care to study and
find the High School course stupid,
uninteresting and dull.
Boys and girls who have never
done anything of their own volltion
but have been forced to cram under
the watchful eye Of a teacher whose
position depends upon their usccessfl
promotion, are badly fitted to benefit
by the freedom of the modern High
School course. The High School as
sumes desire for knowledge and
habits of study. The boys and girls
lounge comfortably through a term or
two, see the number of their condi-
tons mount, and leave because they
cannot catch up. But while, in a large
measure, the elementary schools are
responsible for the lack of habits of
work, they are not responsible for
the High School course itself or
rather for the various High S.hoo
for the High School course
proper has become submerged in the
shallow water of business colleges
and vocational schools.
Summed up the situation presents
1 nice state of affairs for a democ-
'acy. We have established free
schools for small portion of our I
'opulation-seven per cent for whic
he other ninety-three per cent. help
o pay. Were these schools attend |
ID by boys and girls chosen because |
II their peculiar fitness for scholastic l
'ducation and for the pursuits In life /
o which 1t leads, these institutions U
night be termed democratic. But just
ne factor determines the presence t
4 the majority of High School stu p
ents-the ability of their parents r
o support them through comfortably a
rolonged schooling. Badly equip Il
ed by the inadequate methods of d
he elementary schools, finding little
the High School course to attract Il
hem, the pupils drift slowly away c,
Thile the expense of turning out the b
ew who remain, mounts; and we Il
nnf tho hin -,