New-York tribune., 1921-10-03
Mothers Keen
10 End School
Chaos by Ballot
Declare Late Classes Upset
Home Life of Pupils aud
Keep Many at Studies
Until Well in Evening
kecitations Are Cut Short
Children Compelled to Ride
Cars During Rush Hour:
Gall Buildings Insanitarv

chluren, which keeps some of them in
Grass rooms until 5:15 O'Clock dailv. eft
"h'ch time they must either walk
nome in the dusk or fight for standino
room IN crowded streetcars and sub
ways are bringing an added worry to
group OF already over-anxious mothers
many OF them are eagerly looking for
ward to Election Day, when thew NAV
use their ballots to bring to their chill
dren fair schooling.
one distressed mother, who lives in
west 1S6th Street, thirty-one blocks
from the George Washington High
School, which her young daughter ot-
tends, told Tribune investigator Of
her constant anxiety
Helen is on the 12:15-5 ) shift and
ohe strceJcars run approximately every
twenty minutes. After o'clock the
cars are filed with workinomcn On
their way home. The result is that
helen arrives home some time after G
1nls woman is the mother of seven
chlldren, and she expresses thankful
ness that part OF them are now out of
school.
Utter Lack of System
only part of a child's education
comes from the actual classroom
studies declared this mother "Hahits
or regu ularity and of thinking properly
are most important results to be real
lzed from school work But under the
present conditions in New Y orly schools
lrregularity and an utter lack Of avs
tenn are bred into The children.
"Chlldren should go to school the first
thing in the morning, when their minds
and bodies are fresh. Wow many bust
ness men would permit employees to
come to the office at Ills or 12:15,
with their energy spent and their in
terest divided? And how many EN-
plcyers would permit their workers to
wherever they had TO go in the Office,
and make them sit three in a seat
when they were working on some
problem?
Several days ago, I am informed,
three children complained to their
teacher that they had no place to sit
The teacher told them to run outside
and sit on the lawn.
No English Recitation
"My little girl has recited in Latin
and history classes Just once during
the three weeks that school has been
in session, and not even once in Eng
lish. They win give tests once q
month, and the children will be graded
on the results of these tests for which
they have not been prepared by their
teachers.
cone Of the advantages Of living in
the city is supposed to be the educa-
tioNal opportunities. That argument
& ody r cd n
heavy taxes and the high cost of hv-
ing. And yet with population of
nearly 100000 in the Washington
Heights section there is not one girls'
high school between Hath and Dvck-
man Street.
George Washington High School is
not only insufficient in capacity, but is
not fit place for children to be. It
was erected almost sixty years ago and
was abandoned at one time as unfit
for school building. Now it has been
thrown back into service to fill need
not properly cared for by the city au-
tbortcs. TO care for the overflow Of
children number of temporary wooden
structures have been built around it,
1T is shameful to think OF the suffer
ing that Will result in the coming cold
weather.
cone Of my little girls attended Wad
lelgh High School. This means that
she must travel in the subway at the
most crowded hour in the morning and
stand butfeting that wears out a grown
person. One morning her coat was ac-
tually torn off her in the crowd. and
she would have lost it if a man had not
thrown it to her just as the car doors
were closing
ut is time that the mothers Of
school children made q concerted effort
and took control Of the schools ont
of the hands Of the men who have in
fiicted such hardship on their chill
dren"
The conditions in WASHINGTON
Heights, The Tribune investigator
found, arc not confined to that section
alone. In other districts additional
hardships are imposed on children. it
was learned.
One mother on the lower West Side
asked the investigator to look into
conditions in the boys school on West
Thirteenth Street between Seventh and
Greenwich avenues.
Here was found class of thirty
boys studying by artificial light at 5
o'clock in the afternoon. Further in
Vestigation showed that the same con
ult'ohs existed throughout the build
ing.
The rooms were not lighted in mod
erll fashion, but by ordinary suspended
lights, of low candle power and COW
cred by dirty globes.
Extremely insanitarv conditions
have existed in this school for some
sine, the mother of two of its pupils
declares
"If mothers would only look into
school conditions and use their vote
to better them, | am sure that there
would be an infinite Improvement"
this woman declares. 81 don't believe
men understand what it means. Thcv
have made no concerted effort to force
any change despite the fact that their
own children are the sufferers"
h. of &. Here Pledoes