New-York tribune., 1921-10-20
Children Shut
Out of Crowded
Kindergartens
Mothers, With Many Home
Cares, Are Unable to Send
Little Ones to School for
Even Few Hours a Day
House Routines Upset
Class Schedules ConflictWiih
Women's Work; Pastor
Warns Youth Of City Peril

Public school kindergartens are so
crowded this fall that many children
cannot be admitted, even for part time
or double sessions.
Classes range in number from fifty
to cightyfve, making It impossible to
give the children the individual atten-
ton upon which the kindergarten idea
is based. Mothers who have looked
forward to the Kindergarten as help
in keeping little children off the street
and relieving them of care for q few
hours day have been unable TO find
class for them. AS the school rating
IS based on the assumption that the
children in the first grade have had
kindergarten training, children who
cannot be admitted to kindergarten
this fall will be behind their class-
mates when they finally enter the
grades.
Mothers Problems Increase
Talks with mothers watching over
little children Of kindergarten age
playing on the sidewalks yesterday
afternoon revealed many problems
such as that of Mrs. Doell, at 226 East
Sixth Street, who said:
"The schools are so crowded that it
is necessary to register children
little boy of FIVE and a half in this fall.
but they told NE that they could only
register him for February and that
they might not be able TO take him
then. 1t is SO important to get the chill
dren into kindergarten before they are
six, IS they are supposed to start right
into the first grade at SIX, and their
Arst grades are all so crowded that
the children do not get much out Of
their work there. | hoped that my boy
could have full year of kindergarten
work first"
Mrs. Ruth Xemerson, 312 East Sixth
Street, said:
"My children are all out of school,
but | want to tell you about my neigh
DOR. She has q baby only few weeks
Old, but she has TO take her little girl
OF six years to school ct 7:45 every
morning and she has to leave the baby
alone while she does it. OF course, if
It were the regular hour for school
older children would be going then, or
she could arrange for the little girl to
20 with some other child, but at that
early hour children are hardly out of
who might look after the child and
bring her home are in school, this
mother has to leave her baby again
and 20 back for the little girl, who
gets out at 1890 a. NJ. Some older
children in the ne:ghborhood go to
school ct 1O:3O, but this child is COM
ing home at that time, you see. Then
just at lunch time, the little girl must
be taken back to school
No Consideration for Home
"Now, tell me why schools canno. be
planned 50 that little children can 20
in the morning and stay until about
1870 o'clock, and then come home, il
that is all the time they can give them
Don't they think about the mothers at
all? 1t seems to me that they just
plan the schools without any reference
to the home. II is as if children's
whole lives had no other interest but
just to shuttle back and forth to
school.
"Of course, know it is because
there are not enough schools to take
care Of the children right. But why
not? They told Us three years ago
that there would be enough schools
We mothers would like them to tell us
now what they really meant then
The Rev Herbert Oldfeld, of Olivet
Memorial Church, opened the first Of
the fall meetings of the Mothers Club
Of that church yesterday with e spe-
cial prayer for the schools Of the city
of New York and the "boys and girls
who are being ruined by being turned
into the streets by the present sys-
TENS"
Speaking Of conditions afterward. the
Rev Mr.. Oldheld said: I'VE will all
have to face the fact that until the
schools are taken out of politics and
put into the hands OF educators we Will
never have the results that we ouqht
to have. We look TO the public schools
u give US cultured educated young
men and women. But as long as the
schools are tho plaything of the politi-
cans, who care nothing for the chill
dren, we will never have better condi-
tions."