Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1921-02-12

Odessa and Townsend to
I'm all the consultations thus |
far made. we feel confident that the |
instruction being received at these |
larger centers Is far superior to that |
which was given previous to the
consolidation.
Let us bear in mind that the task
OF the consolidated school is not
limited to the child in the school.
1t reaches into the home, and seeks
to be helpful there. tn task is to
make all country life more scienti-
fic. and all people more contented-
Attendance Gains 20 Per Cent
This year marks the first attempt
to secure better school attendance in
our county with the aid Of an at
tendance officer. A good begin
ming has been made. and a decided
step taken in the right direction
Next year should show better re-
suits than this one. as it will not
then be necessary to expend 80 great
an effort in placing the right ideals
before the teachers and their com
munities- Already our teachers are
urging children to attend more reg
ularly and to remain longer in
school.
Parents who ask for work per-
mits point ont their extreme need
OF farm help, and seem to under
stand that such permits ought to be
only temporary. Some careless
parents, when sent the attendance
records OF their children for two or
three years, wrote to the attendance
officer, promising better report
next year.
Because the work here is so new
il has been necessary to try to con-
vince some OF our people that an
attendance officer is valuable. What
does she do that the regular officers
of the law could not do2
THE reply is that she is dealing
with children. and not with adults
She is adjusting difficulties between
the school and the home She is
not trying to detect or to punish
crime, but is trying to keep this
generation OF children in school until
they have seen the value Of educa-
ton, and will then themselves try
to give the next generation a great
deal more than they have. An at
tendance officer is not a policeman
but a social worker. She seeks the
cause of non-attendance, and at
tempts to remedy It She tells the
various children societies of poor
neglected children who need cloth
ing. She sends the nurse to the sick.
and acts as a friend TO the child on
every occasion
Observation-Disclosures and irregular at
tendance are extremely wastefuL
They cause both waste in money
and in opportunity.
'In 1914, DR.. Charles A Wagner
former Commissioner of Education
for Delaware, issued a pamphlet in
which he presented the school at
tendance figures for this State for
the years 1912-1e1s. He made
strong appeal for better attendance,
and consequently a more economic
exnenditure OF school funds. He re-
ported 81 per cent. as the attendance
in the white schools OF our county
while the colored schools had
little over 81 per cent; average Oh
both, 81 per cent
This year New Castle county
averaged II per cent This shows
a very gratifying gain OF 20 per cent
Rut even IT per cent means that a
real loss has resulted from irregular
la.tendance. II every child had at
tended every day. the $174,0oo which
was the amount directly spent on the
schools. (omitting money spent for
bond. tuition and transportation
would have been economically used.
Twenty-three per cent, however OF
100000 was wasted, because the
lchildren were not present to receive
the instruction provided.
.sIn the white schools, from the
first 10 the eighth grade, inclusive
there were s77s children. Forty per
cent. were advanced beyond their
normal grade, while over 40 per
cent. were retarded. This last AZ
ner cent. can trace their lack OF
normal progress largely TO poor al.
tendance. Children who are no'
present every possible Gay, no hOe
as a rule, keep up with their classes
and are consequently not promoted
each year. They finally become dis
couraged. and drop out OF school
very inadequately prepared for lie
special classes should be formed
for these retarded children. where
} Individual attention can be giver
} them, and every effort made to pre-
pare them for their proper grade
, children lose much time every yea
because OF contagious or infectious
) diseases. When health regulation
are properly carried out, whoopinl
. cough and other children's diseases
, win be as rare here as yellow fevel
! in Panama
Good roads and consolidation o
done away with the bad weather
excuse for absence"
The county superintendent o
schools, the report says, has mad
many duties in addition to super
vision OF teachers. Therefore, New
Castle county has rural schoo
supervisors TO assist in this work
AS 14s are employed in the county