The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1917-01-20
MID.YEAR PROMOTION
Second Article Describing the New
System Of Advancement to BE
Inaugurated in the Maysville
Public Schools at the BE.
ginning Of tho Second
Semester

In my previous article there was a
reference to the time that can be saved
in large number of cases. For the
average child there will be no saving
Of time unless it be secured through
the two advantages named, (a) Better
classification, and (b) Individualized
work.
For the bright child as well as the
slow one, there Is every reason to sup
pose that from one-half to two years
can be saved from the time they enter
LIST Grade to graduation in the 18th
Grade.
From my previous article it is clear
how this saving of time will accrue to
the bright but 1t may not be so evident
how 1t will to the slow one. We have
children that have spent four years in
the 'Srd and 4th grades, for example,
who would have completed the two
grades nthree years more satlstactor-
lily had we been able to have denoted
them at the middle Of the 3rd Grade
and required them to take the work
over before they were lost so COM
pletely and had become so confirmed
In the habit of being contented with ;
getting help from others, copying, and
Indifferent Rotations. BY spending a
year and half in each Grade the Bird
and 4th Grades could logically have
been completed in three years better
than now in four. A child after having
spent one entire year in the Bird Grade
is very hard to interest in the same
work the second year. Each year a
child saves means not only the price
of years labor to the parent when
the child completes the school, but a
saving to the city of $3172 (based on
1876 report) You can easily see
= the saving to the city in the case of
thirty pupils year and if boy is
worth $500 the first year out of High
School that saving goes to the par
ent.
AS to making the work more in
dividual," it will be necessary only to
say that teacher who now has forty
five in the 3rd and 4th Grades can not
do but very little individual teaching
but II the same number of 4th Grade
children were in her room, it would
have the effect of individualizing the
work much more. To illustrate, a
teacher can present principle of
arithmetic with as much individualism
to twenty children of the same exact
y mental calibre, as to one, but If she Is
presenting it to twenty of widely d.
vergent intellects that breaks up the
group individualism." While l will
admit that no teacher will ever have
forty-five with the same "exact men,
tai calibre' yet by promoting at half
year intervals and redistributing chill
dren SO that there will be one grade
In room. it is easily seen that pupils
will then be grouped much more nearly
according to equal attainments.
As to making our work articulate
with other schools-last year in Jan
uary We enrolled seven pupils that
had been promoted to 'B" classes or
the beginning part of the different
grades from other cities. AS we did
not have any classes beginning at the
middle Of the year, was compelled to
put the children back one-half year
In some cases that was all right but in
others 1t worked an injustice on the
pupil and parent and one, in particu-
lar. was not slow in telling me about
Il;
While pages could be written show
ing why we should have mid-year pro-
motions, / take 1t that this is sufficient
for the "why" the next article will
explain the How"
W. J. CAPLINGER.