The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1918-10-11
SIX DAYS NOW
CONS I'ITUTE A
WEEK
Parish Superintendent and Mem
bers of Parish School Boards.
Gentlemen:

Indications at this time point to q
very acute labor shortage next year,
and it is unquestionably true that
: the services Of many thousand child
rem, especially boys under twenty
years of age, will be required for
planting, cultivating, and harvesting
The various farm crops.
The question as to whether or not
children should be employed on the
farms is not debatable-the necessi-
ties of the case are such that they
will HAVE to be so employed.
The problem for solution by the
school officials is to so organize and
conduct the schools as to interfere as
little as possible with the children's
education and to make available SO
far as possible student labor at the
periods of the year when this labor
is most needed.
Many thousand boys will be need
ed next spring to plant and cultivate
food crops and next fall to harvest
the~crops, In meeting this situation
we should avoid, If possible, the
shortening Of the school session, and
with this in mind the following sug.
gestions are submitted for your con
sideration
/. Have the schools, both city and
country, taught six days each week
The result of this arrangement will
be to reduce session of nine months
out loss of time to the children.
Your teachers have been employed
on the basis of a school month of 20
days, and the six-ray week arrange
ment would require that they be paid
extra for the additional time. This
would give no trouble and would en-
tail no additional expenditures. The
session whatever its legnth, would
cost the same as under the five-day
week plan. To illustrate: A teacher
employed for nine months at $1,000
per month would receive for the SEES
sion $630.00 Her salary is $3.50
per day( or $84.00 a month, under
the six-day week plan, or $4,000 for |
seven and one-half months.
| believe that this suggestion mer-
its your serious consideration. Even
when times are normal, there is no
valid reason for operating the pub
nc schools for only FIVE days each .
week; in these times of stress, when
labor is scarce, and becoming scar
Ger. there seems to be every reason
for operating the school six DAYS
each week.
| am thinking seriously of asking
the State Board of Education to re-
llure all public schools to adopt the
plan suggested above; for the pres
ant, however, the matter will be left
20 the discretion of tn parish school
2 l have frequently called your at
;ention to the question of the divided
session, especially for country
h | s, attempting to make
he vacation periods correspond as
learly as possible to the periods
when the services of the children
'ould be used to best advantage on
ne farms. / again invite your at
entlon to this matter. Whether the
chools are operating or not. the
armers are going to require that
heir children help make and harvest
ne crops, and we should recognize
ne fact, and organize the schools in
with it. The children will
e most needed during the spring :
nd fall months, This suggests that :
he school terms should fall in the 9
lmmer and winter, leaving the
hildren free to work on the farms !
uring the planting and harvesting q
easons. n
am inclined to believe that the
lty schools could wisely organize on n
lis basis, for there will probably be c
demand next year for the services
city boys who have enrolled in the f.
oys' Working Reserve. q
3. Where it is demonstrated that "
le services of the larger boys are re- t,
1ired for farm labor, during the n
hool session, these boys should be G.
lcused from their school duties and h
ade to suffer in their school stand h
g as little as possible.
4. Still another alternative would 81
to shorten materially the school ia
sslon in order to make available II
Dor for farm operations. This we in
lsh to avoid, if possible, and I az
ink we can if the suggestions above A
e favorably acted upon.
Yours sincerely