Arizona republican., 1917-01-29
THE EDUCATIONAL PROBLEM
 By Geo. R. Varney, D. D.


 have sucked into their own coffers the bulk of the nations wealth; but they have left an army of men, women and children sucked dry and thrown into the sewer of life Others have attained positions of honor and power in the nation; but if their eminence is lofty only by contrast with the masses, whose prostrate bodies they have used as steping stones to climb to the sum- init, the nation as a whole is not bene- fitted by their power and honor
 But our boys and girls must be taught not only that the nation is an organism. in which each citizen and individual has some function to per form that is needful to all, but that humanity is an organism. The solid arity of the race must live as a burn ing throbbing passion in all our souls if our nation and the other nations of the world are to reach the heights. This nation has no more right to fight and pull down and live off the other nations of the earth than the strong individual has to fight and pull down and live off the weaker individual. To suck into our own coffers the money and into our own vitals the manhood of the nations of the earth is no more
 
 the lowest parasite to feed upon the blood of animals and of men.
 Let's change our education, and go to making men.
 But right ideas of education will not in themselves solve the problem We must bring our children within the reach of such education. Compulsory education is, therefore. the second step in the solution of the problem. This sounds simple and stereotyped; but it is stupendous and startling. Start to pull the strings that will draw our children into our schools, and you will find the ends tied around almost every other great problem in the nation.
 My latest available statistics on edu- cation are for 1912 and 1913. That year we had 25,5S7,3 ,331 children of a school age. that is, between six and fourteen. Only 72.5 per cent of these were enrolled in the common schools, and only 53 per cent of them were in daily attendance. Only S.4 per cent of these ever go beyond the common schools, while only about half of them never graduate from the common schools. We have no national statis- tics on this phase of the subject but in New York City it has been found that taking the second grade as 100 . per cent in attendance, 97.7 per cent are found in the third grade, 95.1 per cent in the fourth grade, S9.1 per cent in the fifth grade. 77 per cent in the sixth grade. 62.7 per cent in the sev- enth grade, and only 4S.7 per cent ir the eighth grade. A1r. Draper says in his annual report of 1908: q confess that il startles me to find that cer- tainly not more than two-fifth and un- doubtedly not more than one-third o1 the children who enter our elementary schools ever finish them. and that not one-half of them go beyond the fifth oI sixth grade It is hardly less surpris-
 ing to find that only about one third of the pupils who go to the high schools remain beyond the second year. anC that only about one-sixth of those who enter remain to graduate It all indi. cates that the lives of children are be- ing wasted. that there is a sad lack ot definite aim and purpose about it all and that our educational plans do not rationally meet our conditions"
 All will concede that the ability tC read, write and cipher a little is nc true test of education. Millions car do all this who can neither goverr themselves nor contribute their shar, toward the well-being of the whol, nation. Statistics show that our ele vent per cent of illiterates furnisl thirty three per cent of our crime, ant that one-third of our criminals are to tally uneducated and four-fi prac tically so. Not only, then, do the ilit crate fail to govern themselves an, contribute their share toward the well being of the whole people. but the prey upon the rest, become publi charges, and, to some extent at least threaten the well being of the nation The necessity for compulsory educa tiOn is therefore aparent: but tn , ], means by which this is to be secures are not so plain. We must learn wh thirteen million of our population of
 school age are habitually absent iron school, and then attack the causes tha keep them away. The United State census does not give the causes of ab !, sences; but the school statistics c different cities are helpful Chicag may perhaps be taken as typical 0 the whole country. In one year thei school report shows 12,900 childre : missing school from insufficient causes: 9275 were habitual idlers, wh could not be forced into school, an
 from whom crime found it's recruits 504 worked away from home! 362 wer obliged to work at home, 571 wer kept at home by parents disapprovln , education; 25 because of physical de l formities; 390 because of lack ( clothes; S79 because of sickness; 2 because of private lessons at home 395 because of unknown reasons; an 65 because they were too old althoug st laft in
 j From these figures it appears tha A 72 per cent were absent from scho' 5 because they were habitual loafer : with tendency toward crime. Tn T brings us face to face with the erin problem, and reminds us that we can
 not solve the educational problel 2 without solving at the same time th crime problem. Ten per cent of tf 5 absentees were out of school becaus
 they had to work or had no suitab | clothes to wear This brings us fac U to face with the labor problem. an | reminds us that starvation wages, UT employment and prohibitive prices fC t the necessities of life, compel parent
 to send their children into the labC !, market, to bid against men and thu | lower still further the price paid fC = labor. Thus are the children robbe Il of an education and men forced out '' their jobs. Compulsory education wi
 forever be impossible unless we solN the labor problem, and thus enab men to support their families.
 It must be remembered howeve 0 that the intemerance of the father his desertion of his family are give C in large percentage of the causes n.