The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1915-06-29

tn the Board of City School Com
-,;eeioners. Dawson, Ga.-Gentle-
non I have the honor to submit
+bie nv second annual report of the
oondition of your school system.
From the statistical report attach
cd hereto you will observe that the
total enrolment is 661. We have en-
rolled $50 whites and 81 colored.
of the former it is a very interesting
foct TO note that we enrolled ia
hoys and 176 girls, a difference OF
or1v two. This difference is found
in the high school, where we enrolled
96 boys and 38 girls, total of "a
In the grammar school we enrolled
1873 girls and 1873 boys.
These figures are interesting for
several reasons. In the first place
more than rs per cent of your gram
mar grades are entering the high
school. This is an unusually good
percentage, when you consider that
average enrolment of the high school
is nerhaps not more than seven to
ten per cent of the grammar grades.
believe that our high school enroll
ment for next year will 40 per cent
of the enrolment of the grammar
grades, This should be very encour-
aging.
In the second place, the statistical
table would seem to indicate that you
are keeping your boys in school. in
fact there are very few, if any, boys
mr. girls of school age in Dawson who
are not in school. This statement
nerhaps should be modified and
should state that few are out of
school who should be in school.
assume that no argument is needed
for all of you to agree on the fact
that the school room is a most in
appropriate place for loating. From
the verv nature of things the school
is only a supplementary agency to
the home, and it can never be more.
On account of this fact it is abso-
lutely necessary for the home to as
sumo some of the responsibility for
the child's efforts and acts during
the school term. This applies espe-
cially to the time spent outside the
school room. If some restraint is
not thrown around a child at home
and if parents do not cooperate with
the school in the effort to accomplish
honest work little will be done and
little or nothing should be expected.
While we are not entirely free from
such conditions little of such a spirit
is seen in our school. Under ideal
conditions the problem of the hope
lessly Indifferent pupil can and will
be eliminated.
| wish to report further in this
connection that the attendance for
the year has been good. The attend
ance for the year has reached the
very high average of little more
than 81 per cent. This has been ac-
complished under adverse conditions,
owing to the fact that our attendance
as well as our work has suffered on
account of an epidemic of measles in
the school and in the town.
| deem it wise and eXpedient at
this time to recommend that you
formulate quarantine regulations IN
regard to all infectious and conta-
giOus diseases. / consider this mat
ter very important, not only for the
general welfare of the school, but II
will protect the health of both the
school and the town as well. The
regulations should be reasonable and
well defined, and your superintend-
ent should be instructed and empoW-
cred to enforce them.
On the whole, the work for the
year has been good. l believe we
have fewer failures than usual. A
number of the pupils are conditioned
in one or two subjects and will DC
able to make up the work during the
summer and go on with their grade.
| have felt the need of some regu-
lation with reference to pupils who
fail If a pupil failed to make
grade in nine months under favora-
be conditions l doubt whether ne
can complete the work in only lew
weeks during the summer under un-
favorable conditions. And l am moi
sure that this practice does not en-
courage carelessness, especially with
the pupil who is already inclined u