The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1922-05-09
HOW TO BRING OLDER
BOYS BACK TO scHoo

/
turist).
A very definite effort Is being made
BY Smith-Hughes high schools TO
reach the older boys who have drop
ped out Of the rural schools IN the
grades. Recently while the writer
was talking with Mr.. @. Ivan Barnes.
director Of agricultural education for
the State OF Kentucky. Mr.. Barnes
said, This season about $50 boys.
who had left school in the grades and
had given up all idea of ever going
TO school again. are back in our high
schools for a half year or for a full
year. Many OF these boys left school
even before they reached the eighth
grade and what they are dong in
high schools is interesting me great
ly. ! believe very firmly our schools
should let down the bars for these
boys who have not completed their
education. but viii be the farmers TO
tomorrow"
Following up this idea of an edu-
cation in high school for the sake
Of education and with no thought of
credits for college or university en-
trance. a letter of inquiry was sent
to the Sharpe High School in Mar
shall county, Kentucky. Mr.. J.
Haynes Miller. the principal and
teacher in Smith Hughes work.
wrote in reply:
"A four-year high school course
was organized here last September
The community had a two-year
course with some thirty students,
while today we have over a hundred
about evenly divided between boys
and girls. Most of the students are
rather old for the classes they hap
pen to be in, and the majority OF
them are from sixteen 10 twenty
three years Of age / should Judge
about half Of the students have come
back into school after dropping out
In the grades.
That the general public may be
kept thoroughly in touch with the
school, we organized a community
club at the beginning of school which
meets every Thursday night. Stu
dents as well as patrons take part in
these programs, and we have had an
attendance of as many as three hun
dred people. We have a Boy Scout
organization and are going to organ
ize the girls along similar lines. Our
aim has been to reach every student
in the community and interest him SO
he viii stick in school
"Of course, / am meeting with
some opposition from school people.
They quite naturally think / am low
ering the standard of admission to
high school, as. some of these boys
have never taken the eighth grade
examination. Personally ! feel that
this is fertile field for work in the
State. / find that out-of-school boys
and girls, who are anxious to come
back, are our hardest workers and
get great deal out of what they are
doing. am using a great many of
the principles which are used in the
rural high school in Denmark-that
is, we sing and study and we en-
phasize local and State history. L
find that this type of work holds us
close both to the students and pa
irons. We have just closed a very
successful ten-day singing school
which met at night"
In Mr.. Miller's letter he enclosed
some letters from a few of his stu
dents, which were most interesting.
One students of twenty years. who
had been out of school for four or
five years. had the following to say:
Il am delighted that Mr. Miller is
taking so much interest in helping
me. / am taking the Smith-Hughes
work under him. Ny intention is to
try some perfect work this year on
red clover, bluegrass, Bermuda grass,
soybeans and alfalfa"
Another boy of nineteen. who hap
pened to be the oldest Of ten chill |
dren, says of his work in the high |
school:
1t was always my wish that / |
would get a chance 70 study agrieul-
ture. | think that what I am accom-.
plishing am going TO put into use"
A twenty-year-old boy in the neigh
borhood. who had travelled over the
country quite extensively, but had
come back TO the farm. writes:
The interest the boys are showing
in the Smith-Hughes work is wonder
full. They are securing the agricul-