New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-07-31
Country Child
HasHalf-C1lance
For Education
Weeks Investigation Shows
Boys and Girls in Cities
Have Better Health as
Well as Better Schools
Columbia Expert Reports
Poor Pay Given Educators
in Rural Districts Held
to Blame for Conditions

At ths conclusion of q weeks con
ssreness with county school superin-
ten9ents yesterday on rural education
., problems, 1t was found, according to
Professor Mabel Carney, of Columbia
f university, where the sessions were
held. that the country child received
onfv half the educational facilities af-
torded the city child. In addition, she
said. the rural school child actually
xas suffering from serious physical
nsglect despite his moro heaIthfuI en-
vironnent.
The work Of investigating education
al conditions in rural districts was
conducted under the auspices of the
departments OF rural education and
educational administration OF Column
bia University, with Professor Carney
as one of the leaders in the movement
mo greater unfairness in the an
mails Of education" commented Profess
sor Carney yesterday, "can be found
than the inequality which exists in
the rural field. Almost half the school
children of the United States, about
100000 attend one and two teacher
rural schools. These children receive
their education in 10000 boxcar build
ings, many Of them dilapidated and
neglected.
Daily Attendance Less
aTheir school term averages 1877
days Il year. as against 1874 days for
eitv children. This means that the
country child has an elementary school
course Of only six years, where the
city child with better teachers, has
eight years In addition, the average
dailv attendance Of the country child
is 65 per cent, as against 80 per cent
for the city child.
"In the matter Of higher education,
study made by the Bureau of Educa-
ton shows that the average country
child has one-sixth as many opportuni-
ties for high school education as the
city child. It is also estimated that
90 per cent OF country children never
60 further than the rural school
an matters of health the situation
is even more serious, the death rate in
rural areas being five times as high as
in New York City. Forty-eight per
cent Of country children have defective
teeth, but only 33 per cent of city
children are so neglected. Twenty
eight per cent of country children have
affections of the tonsils and % per
cent adenoids, while urban figures are
Is and u per cent respectively.
Badly Nourished
an ear defects country children are
four times as badly off as city chill
dren, while eye defects run % per
cent for rural pupils and only L per
cent for urban. Sixteen per cent Of
country children suffer from malnutri-
ton and generally improper feeding,
while only 7 per cent of city children
suffer from similar causes.
"The whole story of the plight of
the country school child may be
summed up by the statement that the
rural child's chance OF getting an edu-
cation is little better than half af-
forded the city child. The country
boy or girl IS getting only about one.
hall the teaching ability, one-half the
health protection, less than half tie
supervision and not quite half the eff
helent administration of his school af-
falrs that is everywhere accorded his
more fortunate city cousin"
The underlying cause of this situa-
ZION, explained Professor Carney, was
the small salary paid the country
seacher Forty per cent of the teach
ers In rural communities, said Miss
Carney, receive less than $500 a year;
"a per cent less than $500 and Ii per
cent less than $500. The United States
as a whole is spending $40 for each
city child's education. For each coun-
ny child it is expanding $24.
Teachers Paid Poorly
Inadequate emoluments, it was said.
have brought about shortage of coun-
try teachers, in addition to a poor
class of rural educators In Septem-
Der, 1920, said Professor Carney, there
was an actual shortage of $4,000 teach
er5 IN the country districts of the ma
ton OF 100000 rural teachers in the
United States, about half have not COM
pieted four years high school course,
while 10 per cent have finished only
seven or eight grades of the elemen-
tary school One-third of all the rural
teachers have had no professional
preparation whatever Less than 2 per
cent are normal school graduates.
1t was generally agreed that some
Improvement could be effected with the
consolidation OF one-teacher schools
and more careful choice of county
superlntendents, many of whom are
now selected on politically partisan
grounds rather than educational fitness.