Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-10-22
Mss ADA C. NESPER
DECIDES THE FATES
OF MANY CHILDREN
che Determines if They Are
old Enough and Intelligent"
Enough to Quit School and
Go to Work
HAS CONSIDERED 100000

last 100 boys and girls are to be
= ..ch day in a first-floor room of
~ ~ ,,a building at 1892 Cherry street oc>~
Wy al nv the Bureau of Compulsory
Education'
,-r ~ s draras are enacted. In the CEN
y. tu',','s - Zach is Miss Ada c. Nesper.
-. shs has been associated with the
e', s,n. ss clerk" this pleasant-faced,
eea's,, wonan has been an important fac
h'nD., ~ the lives of a half million human
w., II has been her duty for ~ years
pss,n,ne every child who has attained
" " -. Of IA and who, because OF pow
w. az for some other reason, has found
~ :. ..oessary to leave the schoolhouse and
.,ier the factory.
r.. compulsory education law, after
...r,fving several other requirements, de-
..rss that the child laborer must be
NJ 10 ''read and write the English lam
-.sss ,nteliigently." II is Miss Nesper's
s.ssrsss 10 decide who is and who is
y, An intelligent reader and writer.
:, !, ,mpossible for any child less than
q v.srs old to be employed in Philadel-
n. unless he has at some time made the
fferaaintance OF Miss Nesper. He must
s,nts his age TO her and then produce
hrrfisnal certificate or some other means
- nroos When this condition has been
s.,ished he must read and write In her
presence
n she is convinced by the demonstra-
,,on that the applicant is intelligent" she
,ssues the labor certificate. The boy is
ther able to apply for job, terminating
Ms school career forever. ~ her view
a the applicant is unfavorable, the GER
tlseate Is refused and the child returns
a school for at least two more years.
This constitutes the most momentuos
,rperience In the life of many child.
were Il not for the smiles of Miss Nesper
and her words of encouragement. the
sennllcation room would be a chamber
AZ horrors. The youngsters describe her
ss "the nice lady behind the desk" and
N Is only her sympathetic attitude that
enables the little citizens to bear the anx-
isty
MANY TYPES AMONG THEM
In the crowd that congregates daily at
the headquarters of the bureau are pow
erty stricken, underfed and nervous chill
dren. There may be future criminals on
the lists as we'll as boys and girls who
are destined to be leaders among their
fellows. Miss Nesper likes to predict the
fate Of applicants and in numerous cases
has proved her ability as an observer of
types
Her prophesies usually are realized, and
often a boy of ten years returns as
man to tell Miss Nesper that he has been
Tuccessful in his vocation, to satisfy her
that she made no mistake In granting
him a certificate.
Miss Nesper has no authority, except
that conferred upon her by the chief Of
the bureau, Henry ]. Gideon. He has
right to overrule any or all of her deci-
eione, but he never does. Mr.. Gideon and
the public in general are satisfied with
the Judgment OF the clerk" and Miss
Nesper is known among Philadelphia
sducators as 'the woman who never
makes a mistake
She has made an unofficial study Of
conditons which prompt children to quit
school Poverty is not the only reason,
she finds. Hundreds of boys who have
spplied for certificates in the last year
have done so because they are too big"
Questioning on the part of Miss Nesper
revealed that they were tired of being
called big KID" 'lanky," etc, because
nature had endowed them with a greater
stature than their classmates.
PUPILS EAGER TO QUIT SCHOOL.
Few pupils begin, work in the indus
tries unwillingly according to her be-
nef The novelty of wage earning and the
Impression that it is manly to leave
school cause large proportion of the
ety's children to abandon their educa-
tor.
But the saddest part about the whole
ahair" says Miss Nesper, sis that here
We have great army of children who
are 10 end the happiest days of their
lives, their school days. the majority of
Them entirely ignorant of the problems
hey will face in the days to come. They
Usually act blindly. Sometimes they are
mpelled by the menace of starvation to
set job, but often they stop school for
no good reason at ALL"