McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1921-02-11
EDUCATIONAL

'ers IN puDlishlng my letter last
week, and this encourages me to
tsy once more. desire to ac-
Spowledge my appreciation of all
hat is being done by teachers
and patrons lin making effective
she operation Of the compulsory
attendance law. regret to say
that some teachers are about as
Indifferent to this law and the eff
fort that is being made as some
of the parents are, whom we are
trying to persuade first, and then
compel next, to observe this law.
[ have not lelrd from all of the
teachers. but those not respond
ing to my efforts are few in num-
Der.
Lam sure we have succeeded
in enrolling over 500 pupils who
have either never attended school
or who have attended irregularly,
since we began this drive"
One teacher writes that he has
enrolled every child in the dis
trict, subject to this law, except
the children of one family and
they have the whooping cough.
Another has enrolled all except
two who are sick,
Another teacher says his en-
rollment increased 10 the week
after,he sent the notice. and Says
that if there are delinquents in
the district she does not know it.
| have a long letter from an
,ther teacher, who begins by
saying thathe takes great pleas
are in writing me about his
school," Ht has enrolled forty
pupils an increase of 15 over the
first month and will get the 9TH
ers if they stay in the district.
He is doing his whole duty. and
is getting results. The people
are now commencing him and
talking their school.
One teacher writes me that he
has been working Al years as a
teacher, and that his enrolment
for January was the best he had
ever, had. Every child in the
district enrolled with an average
daily. attendance of SO. per cent.
The report Of another teacher
shows an increased enrollmentof
l6 and an average daily attend
ance Of 81 per cent. These are
fine reports and show that the.
people are law-abiding. and will
help us to enforce this law.
| am receiving many letters
from patrons seeking infor-
mation. Some want an excuse
to dodge the law.
Agood citizen wrote me that
|one family in his district was not
abie to send the children to
school, because they had no shoes.
clothes, nor books. and the par
ents were SO destitute that they
could not buy them. That pres
tented q pitiful situation and q
lawful excuse. ! wrote this cit
lizen to make an investigation.
land if then the parents would
agree to put the children in school
that ] would see that they were
provided withholding, shoes and
books. am determined that No
child in this county shall be de-
priyed Of an opportunity to go to
school on account Of extreme des-
ltitution.
The law is working fine. We
want to have it working better.
Let our county slogan be: Every
child In school every day. With
everybody's help, every child
subject tn the provisions Of the
compulsory attendance law can
be enrolled and then kept in
school every day. The respona-
bility, let me emphasize again, is
with the teacher, first. Let me
hear from you, both parents and
teachers with your suggestions,
and Criticisms, too, If you have
ANY, and remember that what
we are doing is being done upon
behalf of the future citizenship
lof this mighty nation Of ours.
McNairy county children must
mot lag behind and be forced to
drop out of the procession on ac-
count of ignorance on their part.
but worst of all, ignorance upon
the part of those whose duty It
WAS to see that they had q chance.
Yours truly,