Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-11-15
Rural America
Undercducatcd
nv Fr. d ric !. staskin

| most complete collnpsc Of education y
large part Of rural America.
\ II ehouId make every American cItizcr
| thoughtful to rchllze thai hs country
which now seeks 10 stand before the world
as the leading champion and eSnmpIc 81
democracy, with all that democracy nm
plies in the way of universal education
and enlightenment. is not Offering dr
cent cducatIon 10 much more than half 81
the children born within ita limits
Because Il teacher IN rural America
| is often paid less than q good lInskillcd
! laborcr, ard because the American pfHplc
! MS represented IL their national govern
menf are not sufficiently lutcre 4tcd to dn
anything about II, hundreds of rural
! schools are closed this fall ior lack Oi
! teachers 4 nation vide recruiting rnn-
| paigrr for school teachers Is about to be
launched and If this appeal faia # Is
possible that the government may have
| 70 Use lte power under the draft law io
! keep the country schools open
| eirrArio4 GnowfNG SERIOUS.
IN spite Of the aprcois for assistance
| that have already hccu made the eltua-
| tion IS steadily growing m0fr serious.
| Reports from $50 countries IN ~ @tatrs
| Show TINT the schools arc 10000 tcachcrs
short 1hey also show thai the teaching
profession has been drained Of ITS most
efficient individuals hy 30 greater app"r
tunitics offered by he war and that most
Of lts personnel tins yoar II mado np -
beginners In some counties the stporn-
tondcnte report bat - per cent 81 thor
teachers tbie veHr are without preVlpus
teachinR experience
Tins ehpr aye of course reaches Gf7
most arute stare IN thc rIrnl distfirts.
Il ~ cstlulutcd Tint at least five hundred
thousand rural school children arn with.
out teechcf4 ~ TIA" present tIrnc lH mouy
errtt1us uf tho country the ,lstrlcf school
houses hnvc not been opened ~ All. and
the children ar,. working 20 ttc farm
Itbnr - 80 scarce rh3t a laTg" family
| has herorno m economic asset i ran
rlfhcr hn kcpt ni homc to peforn th.
iarru Vnri, ~ the li-cnce II hircd bands
or u can hc hlrcd out - ncIgtbouug
iarns al tho rate of $50 pcr dav por
child As long ~ ihcro are applcs =" 10
plekcd. fnlI vegetables ~ hc harys q
md stored. and cvtra lrnaude upan he
form dary, TIE iarrnor IS ua' groall4
apItatcl - Tie teacher @carcF'r
ytFw oF RVS =lrr trl1~
Indeed. sonc ol tic rcturtr r-lr1l 81.
trir'- urycr permit themselves "a ~
come greatly aUitatcd over She fucrr
matter of education Ia ua'tV coUn.GH-
tlee. tc sfhooihotsc - mere d1i1rIda'rd
structure .iau any barn - be found tfnpng
ij4t surrounding farms Children - II
ages and III tlrens iages VI pragr,
afc eeatcd ~ one room which usu1l
heated iq 4 stuaH wood stove adcd ~
tightly sraied doors and Windows
Tho srho. rn1rtq usually q nc pro
dcsineI pns6cr tvpc and has nc"u
eha-ci hy tie oasd board ~ cducaflpn.
consisting II three ar four Farmers ehlrH*
bce3lsc ahc has hc ailr n"re-sarv qtI5a-
catioa the ab.j's - !IYc on N ~
trerhhl4 -,u,. .ar. \ccnrIing 10
students i. ta,s ma.tcr u riraI educat ,on.
It - lrap. lhie ~ convince 'hc average
rural b.ari . trustees that oE"ap
teacher II not I.- a- enpty,c - ex-
r,ci-Ire nne y teacher d j teacher and
with that shs. ea-rrs-- .ln problem
Rcfart. sE,- lysr. - .aEs.-tIg4tiou -aewcd
that la-- thin ale fhIrd af the -lra.
tcarl = ii tbs country aad auy pro
fc--lor4al training lhe superintendent
81 schools .ar fbe state II lr<as as~crts
that n i...-i - per cent f fte mlrai
school tea.btrs II tha' state maze al.ir
4etcnfb 4ra.e cGEnati3n and az pro-
ie>-I nai 'r-au.nG.
In ,he at.oI Wo-r Nirrin.a. 2conrt-
ing T. E, ~.are ~.psr!l en..ei :, -@a.'I-.
~ per cent rf tie rt.r4I teachers hasf #u.a
, an en-. 4ruia eeuoatlon tH3 no Tr.-
fe,.I. f5.a 'rlnlQe Nhcu Hrsl-fraiard
teacher n secured by r.r. .omM4airs.
si4l ..-aal. remains nniE ar t war. a
order to pet the experience" atI ..en
leaves iur more TeiualelItlye Eeles 81
Worh.
PROFILE FAIL To REALIZE.
NIlic .li tAIs has been set forth before.
cdar-tianai authorize, lcel that 4 hl>
lat 5ttI.p-ted thy n, tlou chat L should.
People haye failed ta realize the '.Ati.I.l.
sIeul-ieauec ii 'hs condition For years
the tacn,an Ttpa iI., thtaalh tit 1.r
uI IT. Zreat men. t:.s declared tiiat eait.a-
tlan was lis 9sdNatlau II tio tea lt rs
dId nor do Their work we'll, tlls rcp4Dls
! would not oNtlasI tiy span Vi 3 -eier,-
tian Wc have been t..d BY Co.eAe.
Roosevelt.
Ard otter puit,laa~ both R,pi6le.n
and Democratic Have s4ouu a. e.a.lis
tcrriil4pg possibilities through tie I. I s1
education But tbc~, waru.nE~ havv a,itd
toptuetr:t5s tie rural coos pauents>
III the aiies an eighth gra5e etuta me-.
while unfortunately obtained wy less
than oue-haI5 o5 uur urban >ehnal pupalJ-
tion Is Stdl considered TIM lh~as,le
mia uu4 on which d person cau h.r> ~
st.ecccd Ill the world, ba; ID the country.
thousands Of Americans aTe growing up
with mach less preparation than this III \
state ot uuuauGatCd self satisfaction.
The average rUrpI school term. for cN-
ample. !, ncarlN 80 DAYS shorter than the
aver+1c arbau school term
In Hauv Instances 1t becomes ,VCu
shorter IN thr illness of the teacher or the
children Is he lack of fuel or funds or
through any other small emergency which
mi,y ar-c In one district last winter the
school Naa closed ior an entire month tie
cau~c Lthof was scarce and none ii he
farmers had the tnn to haul 4 uad III
wood u the srhoolhouse Eln.tiX. Il
was the Wlle ii one oi the iurael- ae-
compaulcd by her two sons aged ] and
l5, Who chopped the necessary Iuei and
haulrd II to the schooihousc IN uue ii tacir
farm wagons Aud thls wife reeely.d 8
stern rchuhe from her husband lar tsalH-
one oi his Wagons loF TINS purpose
CITY PARENTS EXEBCI~Fn
Z ity parents are noW very much ch-
ereiscd over the fact that their children
have lest j months schooling BY reason
of tho influenza epidemic, declared an
offielpI 81 the | nited ~ate- burcn u
Education The other day n discus lHe
educational facilities ot the n3#a3 3a~
irirf~ People are already tt1aa ln4
ugar-tiou- for Masking up th.~ .ne.
annut tha schools bc kept opya >tt
Z :. -