Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-02-26
6S~
HIGH SCHOOL AT NIGHT.

lIBNatt CShASCo -
The high school building was an i'm
pressive sight Tuesday night. 1t was
impressive both inside and outside. To
the parents of the pupils, Of course,
the most interesting feature was the
assembling of the classes, the in
ytruction given by the teachers II the
ye~citations by the students.
But to the person who merely pass
nd by the building had q most attrac-
tive appearance. Every room was
brilliantly lighted. There were signs
If activity everywhere. Seldom, II
over, has the building been seen under
like circumstances AS soon as one
came in sight Of the building it
attracted attention. Many favorable
were heard in regard to It's
appearance.
One thought that the brilliantly
lighted building brought to mind was,
what if 1t should be thus lighted every
night except Saturday and Sunday,
and crowded with students? What a
wonderful meaning it would have for
the coming generation and the future
of the city.
The public school has been likened
to q factory. 1t Is q great power plant
turning out American citizens. In
some respects the public school has
to be too much like a factory. It's
methods have to be more or less
mechanical, training the children
along certain specified lines regardless
of a~daptabillty to individuals. But
this is because the public school has
to provide for all classes and condi-
lions.
Accepting the factory idea in every
sense of the word, it is apparent that
the average public school building as
now used represents a great deal OF
waste capital. The structures which
cost the taxpayers so much none
could easily be utilized a great deal
more than they are. Tuesday nights
demonstration proves 1t.
1t is just as easy to teach classes at
night as It Is during the day. The
pupils passed from room to room
Tuesday night the same as during the
regular periods and the whole evening
session passed off as If it was nothing
unusual.
Why should 1t be unusual?
Night classes in the grade schools
are impracticable, no doubt because of
the age of the pupils, But in the high
school pupils. when not studying at
home, are at the movies" attending
some social function or enjoying
athletics in n form or another. Night
classes would be no burden to them.
AS the classes become crowded.
therefore would 1t not be possible TO
engage more teachers and simply keep
the building In use longer? The
students would not have Il more
work to do, but the hours OF attend
ing classes might be different. Some
classes would be in the morning, some
in the afternoon-as late as 8 o'clock
perhaps-and some in the evening
Pupils would be coming and going at
all times and then many boys and
girls who now are compelled to leave
school early to go to work might be
able to pick out such subjects as are
taught during hours when they are
not at work. thus keeping right on
with their studying.
There is a certain odium about a
night school, especially to II who
has been accustomed to attending
during the day, that. unless one is ex-
tremely ambitious, is hard to over
come. But if sessions of the regular
school are being held at night as
well as during the day, with all classes
of Students attending at different
hours, there is no discrimination be
tween the pupils who have to do out
side work and the pupils who do not
The idea of having the high schoo
IN operation for two or three hours
every school night was forcibly i'm
pressed upon ones min by the sigh
of the building Tuesday night. Per
haps as time passes and the need o,
more class room is felt. this idea o.
spreading the classes out so as to ge
moro use out of the building may b,
developed in a way that will meas
much for the city and the city's boy:
and girls.
OYSTER BILL PASSES.