The Prescott daily news., 1916-05-05

right to know the reasons for this great mortality. If we accept the claim of many, that the high school should be the preparatory school for the university, and only three of the fifteen enter the university, the pub lie has right to know why.
 If the high school, however, is ac- cepted as the peoples college" and not as preparatory school for col lege, we have a right to ask in what way it has prepared it's students for the occupations they will follow. Ninety per cent of the girls will be home makers, and few schools in Ar kansas have taught them many les sons of efficiency for this great life work. The majority of the boys will enter some form of commercial life, with no preparation except the desire
 to dress well. Too many of the grad uates, and far too many of those who dropped out on the way, enter upon forms of clerical or office work.
 | The high school offers the finest op- portunity in America for the great work of preparedness for the problems that must come. So far it has sig nally failed when measured by the ordinary laws of efficiency. It has thrown out too much waste. There is no good excuse for the horrible nor tality that marks the earlier years of | the high school course. Such mortal Iity proves that the system has been
 too ruthless and that too little thought was given to the 97 per cent and too much thought to the per cent; too little regard for the eff ciency of the many and too much l thought for the glory of the few. It must be admitted that far too many 1 high schools have had little, if any,
 influence even in building up an eff
 cient community citizenship. It be-
 hooves thoughtful patrons of our
 schools and earnest patriotic men and
 women to give serious consideration i to the problem of making the high school an efficient factory.
 No factory can be efficient with in- ferior buildings and inferior workmen who are paid low wages. In Arkansas we cannot have efficient high schools until each community provides ade- luate and well arranged buildings and teachers who have the training and zeal that will enable them to do eff cient work for training efficient citi- zens. Our communities must come to appreciate the fact that the high school should train for efficiency in the business of that community.
 The modern high school, to be an efficient factory for efficient members of a democracy, should be an expon-
 snt of good health, good morals and real efficiency in all things It should
 stand for industrialism and agricul-
 .ure and home making. The efficient aigh school should have more attrac- tive power to draw into it a larger proportion of those from the lower grades and a greater holding power 'or retaining in it's ranks those who enter the high school. It should send is students into the industrial or the | commercial world or into the homes Df the community as efficient work : ITS This cannot be possible until more money is put into the invest . nent in the way of buildings, equip : nent and teachers, and real efficiency !! ,annot be possible until courses of study shall be offered that will pre- pare for efficiency in the community md the avowed purpose of the high Iohool be declared to be to train for [
 community efficiency and not merely gain for college.