Wage Earning and Education | Page 8

girls, although girls are required to attend one year longer than boys. Additional evidence as to the laxity in the enforcement of the compulsory law is found in the results of an inquiry conducted by the Consumers' League of Cleveland in the spring of 1916, in cooperation with the survey.
TABLE 5.--AGES OF PUPILS ENROLLED IN PUBLIC ELEMENTARY, HIGH, AND NORMAL SCHOOLS IN JUNE, 1915
------------------------------------------------- Age | Boys | Girls | Total -------------+-----------+-----------+----------- 6 | 4,255 | 4,180 | 8,435 7 | 5,012 | 4,815 | 9,827 8 | 4,496 | 4,407 | 8,903 9 | 4,268 | 4,103 | 8,371 10 | 4,093 | 3,951 | 8,044 | | | 11 | 3,747 | 3,593 | 7,340 12 | 3,700 | 3,646 | 7,346 13 | 3,676 | 3,631 | 7,307 14 | 3,445 | 3,271 | 6,716 15 | 2,358 | 2,291 | 4,649 | | | 16 | 1,190 | 1,163 | 2,353 17 | 672 | 680 | 1,352 18 | 403 | 358 | 761 19 | 135 | 156 | 291 20 | 41 | 52 | 93 | | | Over 20 | ... | 22 | 22 -------------+-----------+-----------+----------- Total | 41,491 | 40,319 | 81,810 -------------------------------------------------
An attempt was made to follow up the cases of all the children who had left one public elementary school during the period of one year preceding the study. The work was done by the case method and the homes of the children were visited. The total number of cases studied was 117, of whom 89 were girls. It was found that one-third of these children had graduated and gone on to high school. Another third had gone to work, and of these, 40 per cent had done so without graduating. The children constituting the remaining third were staying at home, and among these a majority had dropped out without graduating.
Of the eighth grade graduates one-half were found to be illegally employed, as they were less than 16 years of age. Among those who dropped out and went to work before completing the course 80 per cent were illegally employed.
The fact that many girls drop out without graduating and before the end of the legal attendance period and remain at home indicates that most of them do not leave on account of financial necessity. This conclusion is substantiated by the testimony of the girls and their parents, many of whom say that the girls left simply because they grew tired of attending and did not see the value of remaining.
These facts point to the necessity for much more effective work in enforcing the compulsory attendance laws, for far better inspection of shops and factories to detect violations of the child labor laws, and above all to such a reform of the schooling opportunities provided for older girls as will make them and their parents see the value of securing the advantages of the training provided.
EDUCATION AT THE TIME OF LEAVING SCHOOL
About 3,700 boys and an approximately equal number of girls drop out of the public schools each year. Most of the boys and a considerable number of the girls enter wage-earning at once. Their educational equipment at the time of leaving school is indicated in Table 6.
TABLE 6.--EDUCATIONAL EQUIPMENT OF THE CHILDREN WHO DROP OUT OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS EACH YEAR, AS INDICATED BY THE GRADES FROM WHICH THEY LEAVE
--------------+--------------------- Grade | Number leaving --------------+--------------------- 4 | 70 5 | 440 6 | 960 7 | 1260 8 | 1630 | I | 890 II | 590 III | 150 IV | 1410 --------------+--------------------- Total | 7400 --------------+---------------------
Slightly less than one-fifth finish the high school course. Nearly three-fifths drop out before entering the high school, and approximately three-eighths before reaching the eighth grade.
Under the present compulsory attendance law a boy who enters school at the age of six and afterwards advances at the rate of one grade per year until the end of the compulsory attendance period should cover nine grades--eight in the elementary school and one in high school--by the time he is 15 years old. In actual fact, however, only about two-fifths get any high school training. Nearly all of the rest take the eight to nine years' attendance required by law to complete eight, seven, six, or even a smaller number of grades.
It is from this body of pupils that most of the wage-earners are recruited. In the course of the survey several investigations were made for the purpose of finding out what educational preparation workers in various industries had received. One of the most extensive of these was conducted in connection with the study of the printing industry. Educationally the printing trades rank higher than most other factory occupations, yet the average journeyman printer possesses less than a complete elementary education. Composing-room employees, such