THE FUTURE WAGE-EARNERS OF CLEVELAND
In 1915 there were in Cleveland approximately 50,000 boys between the
ages of six and 15, and 56,000 girls between the ages of six and 16,
the age period during which school attendance is required by law. Of
these 106,000 children approximately 37,000 boys and 38,000 girls were
enrolled in the public schools. Exact data as to those attending
private and parochial schools are not available. The total enrollment
in such schools has been variously estimated as between 25,000 and
30,000.
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The public school system in 1915 enrolled approximately 82,000
children of all ages, of whom about half were boys and half girls.
They are taught in 98 elementary schools and 10 high schools. The
elementary course comprises eight grades. At the beginning of the
school year 1915-16 two junior high schools were opened for pupils of
the seventh and eighth grades. It is to be expected that this plan
will soon be extended throughout the city, so that the enrollment in
elementary schools will be made up of pupils of the first six grades
only. The distribution by grade is given in Table 3. The kindergarten
grades and the special ungraded classes are omitted.
TABLE 3.--PUPILS ENROLLED IN THE DIFFERENT GRADES OF THE PUBLIC DAY
SCHOOLS IN JUNE, 1915
-------------------+--------------------
Grade | Pupils
-------------------+--------------------
1 | 13,108
2 | 10,857
3 | 10,562
4 | 9,323
5 | 8,902
6 | 7,259
7 | 6,429
8 | 4,903
|
I | 3,122
II | 2,100
III | 1,534
IV | 1,399
-------------------+--------------------
About 77 per cent of the children are enrolled in the grades below the
seventh, about 13 per cent in the seventh and eighth grades, a little
over six per cent in the first two years of the high school, and less
than three and one-half per cent in the third and fourth.
There are eight academic high schools, two technical high schools, and
two commercial high schools. The technical high schools are steadily
growing in favor. The registration of boys in these schools increased
about 33 per cent from 1913 to 1915, and of girls about 77 per cent.
During the same period the registration of boys in the academic high
schools decreased slightly, while the increase of girl students was
only eight per cent; in the commercial high schools the number of
girl students increased 20 per cent, while the enrollment of boys fell
off more than 10 per cent. The enrollment by individual schools is
shown in Table 4.
TABLE 4.--ENROLLMENT OF HIGH SCHOOL PUPILS, SECOND SEMESTER, 1914-1915
----------------------------------+-----------------------------+
| Enrollment |
Schools +---------+---------+---------+
| Boys | Girls | Total |
----------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| | | |
Academic high schools | | | |
Central | 804 | 711 | 1,515 |
East | 607 | 688 | 1,295 |
Glenville | 405 | 611 | 1,016 |
West | 246 | 377 | 623 |
Lincoln | 277 | 329 | 606 |
South | 213 | 238 | 451 |
| | | |
Total | 2,552 | 2,954 | 5,506 |
----------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| | | |
Technical high schools | | | |
East Technical | 1,161 | 548 | 1,709 |
West Technical | 515 | 242 | 757 |
| | | |
Total | 1,676 | 790 | 2,466 |
----------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| | | |
Commercial high schools | | | |
West Commercial | 249 | 528 | 777 |
East Commercial | 49 | 96 | 145 |
| | | |
Total | 298 | 624 | 922 |
----------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| | | |
All high schools | 4,526 | 4,368 | 8,894 |
| | | |
----------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
About three-eighths of the high school pupils of the city are in the
technical and commercial schools. Of the boys 56 per cent are enrolled
in the academic high schools, 37 per cent in the technical schools,
and seven per cent in the commercial schools. Of the girls 68 per
cent attend the academic high schools, 18 per cent the technical
schools, and 14 per cent the commercial schools. In the commercial
high school approximately two-thirds of the enrollment is made up of
girls. In the technical high schools the opposite condition prevails,
the girls constituting less than one-third of the total enrollment,
while in the academic high schools the girls outnumber the boys by
nearly one-sixth.
AGES OF PUPILS
The distribution as to ages is shown in Table 5. The largest group is
made up of children seven years old. Between 14 and 15 over 30 per
cent leave school. The loss from 16 to 17 is approximately 43 per
cent, from 17 to 18 about 44 per cent, and from 18 to 19 nearly 62 per
cent.
The compulsory attendance law requires boys to attend school until
they are 15 and girls until they are 16. That the law is not
adequately enforced is demonstrated by the heavy loss between the ages
of 14 and 15, and the fact that the loss between 15 and 16 is
approximately the same for both boys and 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 as compositors, linotypers, stonemen, proof-readers,
etc., undoubtedly stand at the head of the skilled trades as to
educational training, but it was found that only eight per cent were
high school graduates. Six per cent had left school before reaching
the seventh grade, and 16 per cent before reaching the eighth grade.
The other departments of the printing industry made a much less
favorable showing.
An investigation conducted by the Survey in the spring of 1915,
covering 5,000 young people at work under 21 years of age, indicated
that only about 13 per cent of these young workers had received any
high school training and that less than four per cent had completed a
high school course. Over one-fifth reported the sixth grade as the
last completed before leaving school, and nearly half had dropped out
before completing the elementary course. Less than seven per cent of
the boys engaged in industrial pursuits had received any high school
training and only 42 per cent had got beyond the seventh grade. The
educational preparation of the boys engaged in commercial and
clerical occupations was somewhat better, nearly 22 per cent having
attended high school one year or more; about one-half had left school
after completing the eighth grade and nearly one-third had not
completed the elementary course.
These facts have a vital relation to the problem of vocational
training. If the great majority of the children who will later enter
wage-earning occupations do not remain in school beyond the end of the
compulsory attendance period, and in addition over half fail to
complete even the elementary course, vocational training, to reach
them at all, must begin not later than the seventh grade, and if
possible, before the pupils reach the age of 14.