New Britain Herald Newspaper, February 28, 1928, Page 19

UncleSamSa usv%y%@jmf/m/;&m@' | Exactly Wha “literate - t Is an ~Told ' fed oW Here with Figures and Tests by Which You Can Rate Yourself THIS is another of the series of articles in which Uncle Sam ex- plains to Hardie Meakin, famous Washington correspondent, the in- tricate workings of our government. Today Meakin reveals, exclusively for this newspaper, that there are a startling number of illiterates in the United States. Another article of this series will follow at an early date, i By HARDIE MEAKIN. F you were asked to estimate the num- ber of persons in the United States who are unable to read and write you probably would rccall having met one or two and having heard of several others, and more than likely you would mention some vague figures such as, “About one out of 10,000.” Then, if you were told that statistics gathered by War Depart- ment officials shcw that one person out of four, instead of ouly one out of 10,000, is unable to read and write, you u'oufd be astounded. Neverthcless, these figures— one out of four—on illiteracy in the United States are true. Startling as the situation may appear to the reader, Uncle Sam himself was no less surprised. The findings on illiteracy in the United States, as given out by the Census Bureau recently were far below the alarming ‘“one out of four” deter- mined by the War Department. Census Bureau workers reported the illiterates ran about seven per cent or “one illiterate to every fourteen able to read and write.” This, while being far from desirable, caused no great alarm. But the War Uepartment officials brought out the records of drafted men it had kept during the war disclosing 24 per cent iliiterate instead of only seven per cent. Since this larger ratio is based on actual tests, it is considered more re- liable than the smaller ratio given out by the census workers. This marked difference of opinion ex- isting between two of Uncle Sam’s in- stitutions as to the percentage of illiter- ates in the United States is a natural one, The census worker went to the door of & house and asked many questions, in- cluded in which was one as to whether or not all could read and write. If Bill Jones could only write his name he would proudly answer to the effect that he could write. If he could read that name when he had written it, then he said he could read. The hurried census worker had no time or means of making further tests. But the War Department, in making its estimate, did not take the drafted man or the recruit’s word for it when he said he could read. Numerous tests were devised. In the Denens Literacy Test four series of questions were asked.C The answers to all were “yes” or “no” and the man tak- ing the test was given a specified time to draw lines under the correct answers. !f he could read and answer less than six of the 42 questions he was classified as il- literate, Twenty-four per cent, or almost one- fourth of those teking this and similar tests made such poor showings as to come under the lowest classification. A group of questions from the Denens Literacy Test is reproduced on this page to show {ts fairness and simplicity The Burezu of Education, created by Congress to seek standards in methods of teaching, is inclined to accept the War De- artment’s figures as correct and is en- Suvorln; to lessen the high percentage and ip time wipe it out irely. This is a tremen- dous task. The proper procedure, according to the bureau, is to establish more schools and then more schools. The bureau itsclf can- not establish these. Since education is pri- marily a state under- taking the bureau’s chief fob is offering helpful advice. Reports from state departments of edu- cation compiled by the bureau disclose that all property used for public school pur- poses had a value of $4,252,000,000 at the end of 1925. No later figures are as yet available, Enrollments in public elementary and secondary schools of the various states amounted to 24,650,291 pupils. Of this number 8,650,903 were in the public high schools. The average daily attendance in these schools for the year was 19,838,384, It cost the country as a whole, out of the <tate taxes, $98.10 for each pupil. The total amount expended for educa- tion in the public schools in 1925 was abput 2.87 per cent of the total income of thepeople of the United States for that year, says John J. Tigert, commissioner of education. Since this has proved in- sufficient, Uncle Sam plans to increase the amount for 1928. Of all taxes collected in 1925, 22.6 per cent of the whole was expended in education, One of the most difficult problems faced by the states in seeking to eradicate illiteracy is that of the rural schools. There are approximately 12,000,000 stu- dents enrolled in the rural schools in the open country or in villages and towns of 1,000 population and less. In years past the country boy or girl who wished to learn to read and write was faced with the matter of transporta- tion. 1If the school was ten miles from his home it meant a 20-mile trip daily on foot, by wagon or astride a mule. Better oroads and improved transportation facili- ties have had a tendency lately to lessen this difficulty. The one-teacher school is slowly but surely fading out of the general plan. The greater ease of communication has helped to create the larger school whete, with teachers for the various grades. the country boy and girl are now receiving pylcticull{ the same advantages as their ut‘ cousins. oferring to these schools as “consoli- dated and centralized” the Bureau of Education points out that they are being established at the rate of about 1,000 a year. On the other hand, the one- teacher schools are disappearing at the rate of about 5,000 a year. ne con- solidated school usually takes the place of about five of the smaller and less efficient schools. Through the efforts of the Bureau of Education the states transport the chil- dren to and from the schools. This item costs close to $30,000,000 a year for the 48 states combined. About 20,900 busses are used regularly to transport the children. In addition to these there are about half as many more horse-drawn A wd A 5 LELLER F 4 JOMEAN / woly s olle ; i G bmes CAN YOU PASS THIS INTELLIGENCE TEST? in Which to Fill the Above Simple ailed to Make the Requi busses working at the same task. The busses call for the children before school and return them to their homes in the afternoon. It is this transportation sys- tem which has made the consolidated schools possible. When the Bureau of Education was first created in 1867, after 25 yecars of effort on the part of teachers and super- intendents throughout the country, it was known as the “Department of Education.” The appropriation making it effective carried four salaries: a commissioner at $4,000 a year; chief clerk, $2,000; one clerk at $1,800, and another at $1,600. In creating the “Department” Congress said that it should, through the gathering of statistics, etc., “promote the cause of education throughout the country.” Two years later Congressional opponents of the plan looked upon it as a failure be- cause it had not, within that brief time, “enlightened the mass of ignorance then existent.” Under this criticism the “Department” was abolished and the Bureau of Educa- tion was created as part of the Depart- ment of the Interior. This change cost the commissioner of education a reduction of $1,000 annually in his personal salary and left one of the clerks unprovided for. Henry Barnard was the first commis- sfoner of education. He retained the position until 1870 when he was suc- ceeded by John Eaton. A few years after John Eaton assumed charge the Bureau of Education made what was termed an excellent showing. This has constantly grown until now, with the teachers and the public behind the idea, Congress appropriates about $400,- 000 annually. An additional $200,000 is given the Bureau annually to carry on the educational work in Alaska, which is directly in tharge of the Bureau. The work in Alaska places schools, hospitals, orphanages and co-operative business enterprises under the comm sioner. In addition to this the Bureau, for the benefit of the natives, has charge of the reindeer herds, a service which has proved highly beneficial. This service began in 1890 when 16 reindeer were imported into Alaska. It was found that the natives of Alaska were eking out a precarious existence upon th few whale, seal and walrus that they could catch. Across the Bering Straight, in Si- beria, but & few miles from Alacka, with climate and country precisely similar, Form Properly. were tens of thousands of tame reindeer supporting thousands of natives. The 16 werc imported as an experi- ment. In 30 years they have increased to such an extent that they form a wealth- producing industry affecting the entire region from Point Barrow to the n Islands. is work of the Bureau of Edu- ct come one of this country’s of meat. There are ap- proxima 00,000 square miles of tree- less regions in Alaska, worthless for agri- culture, which could furnish grazing land for about 4,000,000 reindeer. No less creditable is the showing made by the Bureau of Education in the moun- tain regions of Tennessee and Kentucky. improving living conditions and in- creasing the incomes of the people, as it has done in Alaska, it hopes to instill the desire for education and thus in time wipe out illiteracy. It is with this in mind that the Bureau of Education becomes active in seemingly irrelevant lines—particularly in advocat- ing good roads. The Bureau recognizes that any improvement in transportation is followed swiftly by a natural improve- ment in educational faciliti South and North Carolina are pointed out as among the latest examples of this reasoning. The mountains of Kentucky, lacking in good roads because so sparsely settled, have long been a sore spot with those who would eradicate illiteracy. The early history of the rural Kentucky schools shows that conditions have always been far from satisfactory. A system of five trustees, with a sixty-day term of school, has been replaced by a system of three trustees with & 120-day term of school which has brought about some improve- ment. But even now, with many schools open four months out of the year and then only partially nded, the situation in Ken- tucky is bad. The War Department’s figures show- ing that about one-fourth, or 24 per cent, of the population of the United States are unable to read and write promises to bring increased activity in the elementary educational world for the year 1928. With attention thus centered on the appalling facts the Bureau of Education will be provided with the sary funds and authority to take up work efficiently. A great part of the illiteracy in the United States is due to the negroes and Laperres?! Even So, Many of Those d Grade and Were Classified as llliterates. 80k WyyJer ~ ™ Draw & 1ine under the right answer Is coal white? Do boys like to play? Is every young womsn & teacher? - - - Are avenues usually paved with oxygen? Do you cordially recommend fOrgery? - - Is & punctual person contimally tardy? - Are instantanecus effects invariadbly rapid? - - ¥o Are algedraic symbols ever found in mamslste « WO Is aa infinitesimal titanic bulk possidlie? « = No 1s a "gelatinous exaltation” ridiculous? e « =% Is avarice sometimes exhibited by caneod? - = = Jo - «=¥No Yes - ==-No Yes -« Yoo e Yos ~-=Xo Yes -ee¥ Yoo Yeos Yos Yos Tos Yos TRY THIS ONE. The Above Questions are From the Denens Literacy Tost. the Right Answer. Draw a Line Under Twenty-Four Per Cont of Those Taking This Test Could Not Answer One-Seventh Correctly. forcign inhabitants. Educating them is another work in which the Bureau of Edu- cation has become interested. Instances are shown where immigrants 60 and 70 years of age have entered night schools along with young people and learned to read and write En;lis . Since some of these were fairly well educated in their own tongues they were not classed as illiterates, but others were illiterate ih every sense of the word. Figures comsfllad by the census work- ers, which are less alarming but are said to be less exact than those compiled by the War Department officials, show that illiteracy among the foreign classes in the United States has steadily declined since 1890. During the ten year period 1880- 1890, however, illiteracy among the for- eign born increased rlgidly. This was due to the influx from Southern Europe during that time. The increase in primary education sinee the year 1900 is beginning to be appsrent among the negroes of the South, Very few of the older negroes are able to read and write, but the literacy of the younger generations of negroes promises soon te cohmpan favorably with that of the whites. What [Science Says of the Fate, for Good or Evil, of Child Geniuses - California Child Killer. At Right, His School Record. T is indeed a strange parent who is I not inordinately proud over the first outcropping of ‘“‘genius” in an excep- tionally brilliant child. To change this would be going contrary to human nature. But, in view of recent events, scientists are joining in & warning that precocity in a child should make its parents exercise ex- traordinary care in guarding such a child from the many ¢ pitfalls which await it. Over-development of the mind early in life may lead to either fame or disaster. The case of William Edward Hick- man, confessed Los Angeles kidnaper and murderer, is cited by the experts as an ex- ample of how precocity may lead to disaster. On the other examples of how properly con- trolled precocity may lead to fame. The normal child, whose mind does not mature before the proper time, has the race for fame a decided advantaze in and fortune. Parents of such children should be glad of it instead of env . parents of hri of whom MUSICAL PRODIGY. hen Ni Y. Old, Yehudi ade His Debut with the iolin in Symphony Orchestras. hand, Ellen Elizabeth Benson, the twelve-year-old girl whose first novel is now being sold, and Yehudi Menu- 1.030 B Havelock Aotors.. . . . .. . Warriors, divines, artiste and Jurists. . . . .. . . Surgedns, inveators sad Aversge Age §enins Degins te.Achieve c e dramtists . . . ..., Faturalists, explorers, novelists, historiaus. Philosophers . . . . . Reformers. . Satirists, mmorists . Average Age Genius Does Its Best Work Chemists, physicists Plagwrights, poets . . Fovelists , , . . . . Explorers, warriors. . Oomposers, actors. . . Fhysicians, statesmen. Philosophers , . , . . Satirists, lmmorists . Jurists 28222883022 U S S L hin, young San Francisco musical Genius Must Mellow Naturally prodigy, are given by the scientists as Copyright, 19: Best Work Is Produced at Ages Given Above. Introatonal Feature Service, Inc., Gres Britais K The Age at Which Genius Begins to Achieve Is Controlled by Experience, as Shown Above Chart. study, it was found that but 292 had any preten- tions to precocity in youth. The brain pasees through a period of evolu- tion as well as the body. When a child attempts to carry the mental burdens of maturity there is a strain, the same as there would be were he to attempt the physical burdens. If the strain is so great wLReUL, iVt iLACwe UalgLte Wl tae list Anne Austin, Has Published a Nevel of Her Own. the child breaks under it, only failure, in- sanity or death lies ahead. Hence Sei- ence’s warning of ‘“careful supervision.”