Charlevoix county herald., 1920-03-26
The New
School
Movement
Continued from First Page,

of completing the eighth grade is only
one-third that of the graded school
student.
Need we urge the necessity of a
high school education? That is usual.
ly taken for granted, but like all
automatic statements, there is usually
proof IL we seek it. OF the 10000
who leave school without a full ele.
mentary school training, only one
achieves distinction in any field Sta
tistics show that their chances are in.
creased four times if they finish, the
entire eight grades, 81 times if they
graduate from high school, and their
chances are 500 times as good il they
are college graduates. We need more
country boys and girls who are col
lege graduates but they must first be
given a square deal in the grades
and fair chance to get their high
school training.
When we are talking of consolida-
ton, one of the first questions that
is always asked, is about the roads in
the winter time? The same question
delayed the delivery of mail for a
number of years but when mail deliv.
cry was arranged for, the roads were
taken care of. Transportation is not
new thing, however. We do not
need to say it can be done, but merely
it has been done and is done. Iron.
ton county in the Upper Peninsula
has transported her children to school
for a number of years without diff
Guilty. In Wexford and Genesee coun-
ties children have been transported
all this winter In response to my
question as to how it works they tell
me that they have much open country
and the roads drift considerably so
that the men have to open the roads
after every storm, but in spite of this
the principal of the Grand Blanc Con-
solidated School near Flint, says that
there has not been a complaint this
winter, and that the children like il
ever so much better than having to
wade to school, arriving cold and wet.
The Commissioner of Wexford coun-
ty says that the new consolidated
school at Hoxeyville near Cadillac
Is having no trouble at all with its
four buses this winter They are
proud of their school and happy in its
success. In this county six districts
are transporting their children to
neighboring districts. l have at hand
letters from the directors of these
districts. With one accord, they
agree that it is the one and only
thing to do. One driver lost five days
this year, but if you will compare this
with the number of days the children
would have lost l am sure you will
not think his record so bad. Extracts
from these letters are authority
enough in answering the problem of
transportation.
Our triplicate district reports fire.
quently give 81 per cent or even low
er as the rate of attendance for the
school year. Another indication that
you are not getting full returns from
your taxes for remember that you pay
for the child's education every day
that he is absent. The average at
tendance in consolidated schools un-
der the transportation system is above
80 per cent and is frequently as high
as 81 per cent. Hardness is reduced
to a minimum. There is frequently
none at all.
Besides all this in consolidation
you have an adult with your children
on the way to and from school every
day. Every year complaints come to
me of quarrels and evil doings by
the roadside. When you engage your
drivers carefully, all Of this is done
away with.
Most frequently of all you ask the
question of cost. Well, if you had ten
months or even only nine months OF
school instead of seven or eighth
you were maintaining a good instead
of mediocre building-if you were
guarding your children day by day in
school and out-if you were giving ev-
cry child more personal attention,from
a teacher, who had fewer grades and
more pupils in each class, If you had
twelve grades instead of eight, it
should be worth to you the price Of
your child's future, and since that is
worth by statistics 81 times as much
il he completes his high school
career, your taxes would be mere
item to you even if they were trebled
several times over.
You will remember however, that if