Year: 1874

While we boast of our free school sys-
tenn, there are some facts, which are wor-
thy of careful consideration by all who
desire the welfare of our State and
nation


The report of our county Supt for the
last year shows, that, there are $3.50 per-
sons in the county between the ages of 5
and 81, and that only 716O of that num-
ber have been enrolled during the year.
After making ample deduction for invalids,
cripples, those attending select schools
and colleges, and those who are married,
there are yet about 1000 of the school
children Of Mahaska county, who were not
enrolled during the last year


The total average attendance was 1895,
being little over oue-half of the enroll
ment. Thus while 1000 were not enrolled
at all, 5000 of the enrolment were not in
attendance The non-attendance being
distributed among large proportion of
the enrolment, no certain ones would be
absent all of the time so that the whole
school would suffer from the irregularity.
All are aware that the question of "Com-
pulsory education" has been agitating the
public mind for some time and is not yet
solved. Although law conpC ling parents
to send their children to school during a
certain number of months in each year,
might in part remedy the defects of which
we have spoken. We have no such law
at present And must we so on, allowing
our past record to repeat itself while one
half of the children of the comfy are
being deprived of all, or part of the ed
ucation, which the government has pro
vided they should receive, simply waiting
for a law to be passed con pei ing tn I'm to
take it. Every American citizen must see
that while the government has the right
to provide for its own salty by compelling
its children to be educated, that law to
that end will reflect greatly upon the NOR
al condition of the parents Of this nation.


If the parents of this county could
realize the responsibility which rests upon
them in this matter, there would be but
little need of compulsory education"
Could they realize that they, the people of
the county, have SIG6,0S4.00 invested in
school houses, apparatus and libraries.
and that they are annually payingstheir
teachers $42,S4393 besides the ''contin-
gent fare other Incidental expenses, and
that they are actually robbing their chill
daen of the benefit of all this, besides
thwarting the design of 50 benevolent an
institution, and lowering the moral stand
ard of the community, by keeping their
children from school, or by not teaching
them that it is their duty to acquire at
least common school education, they
would be willing to put forth greater ef-
forts to keep their children in school at
least three months in the year


Few persons, who have not given the
subject thought, realize the effect of ir
regular attendance in school SupposC
that teacher has class of ten, who are
studying Physiology, and that he can de
vote thirty minutes each day to their
recitation Some day when he is explain
ing some principl. which und.rlies the
future work ot I'll, class, two OF Its lhem-
bers are absent, for some trldlng cause.
The next dav they come to the class with
out having the lesson prepared, because
they do not understand the preceding
lesson, and they cannot go on with the
class until they do understand it. Then
there is no alternative for the teacher but
to repeat the explanation of the previous
day, which we will suppose occupies thirty
minutes. So those who were absent not
only lost the time Of themselves, bat
robbed each member of the class of the
same amount of time, besides requiring
the teacher to repeat his former explana-
ton; discouragins the class by beng
detained; disarrans ing their own WORK
and cultivating habits of irreguiarity'
The above illustration is only for one Of
the four or five classes of which the in
diyiduals who were absent would be mem-
hers In view of these facts, which
illustrate only few of the evils Of non
attendance and irregular attendance


school, will not the parents of Mahaska
county make greater effort than ever
before to have their children attend school
at least part of the year, and to have
III .tta,,daoca raoularp