West Night High School - Echo Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

Page 33 text:

will result in the greater efficiency of their employeest Evening schools, which are a part of the public provi sion for education in nearly every large City. are another expression of the desire of the people to elevate the standard of the community. The child who is compelled to leave school in order to earn a livelihood may Si1ppiemeni his abbreviated training by evening study. The man or woman whose task demands an intelligence which a limited school experience could not develop may come as freely as the child for the evening instruction. The stenogrglpher may come to add to her equipment In English; the foreignrhorii day-worker, to learn to read and write the language of his adopted country. In the evening schools the immediate need of the student is dominant. Nowhere else does the Wurk of instruction seem an essentially real. The teacher gives with the joy nf recognized service; and the Rtndent, recognizing his need, is hungry ii 1t knowledge, and in his unquenchable thirst for self-improvement OVQTCOTTICB 2111 diFFicuities. XYhat is. the purpose of our modern school in providing these numerous advantages? To what end are these un- limited opportunities offered? It is but natural that these things promote the elevation of the individual. ,It is the aim of the modern school to provide 2L means for making 0f the future generations happy, healthy, industrious men and womenemen and women of whom the Wurltl may be justly proud.

Page 32 text:

the text Which they were supposd to be studying. Again and again ehiidren who failed to pass from grade to grade were reported as dull, inattentive or stupid, and a5 possess- ing less ability than their neighbors, simply because they were required to perform tasks which the condition of their eyes rendered them unable to accomplish. A simple test by the Visiting physician revealed the difficulty, and, the proper remedy having been applied, the children made rapid headway and soon were classed fairly with their mates It is, Without queetion, 0f the greatest importance that children also have clean and healthy mouths The actual condition of children's teeth can be best Studied in our schools. The YiSitng physician discovered upon examinm tion that in a great many cases the ill health of the children was due to their decayed or diseased teeth. A notable ine crease in the general phsyieal health of the children has been apparent in the schools where defective teeth have been made and kept clean and efficient, The modern school also provides a means whereby the children may receive valuable inStruction during the sum- mer months Walk through the hot, dusty 'StI'ECtS of the city in the vacation season and Observe the Cl'lildrenegath- ered in alleys. chatting on the eurhstones and you will turn with satisfaction to the open school buildings, with their Clean, coal schoolrrmms, their cheery teachers, and the wholesome occupations which have lured more fortunate children from the interests and associations of the streets. Since the attendance is not compulsory, the Occupations of the vacation schools must present intrinsic interest, from the Childis point of View. He mast think it worth while, or he will not exchange for it the freedom and excitement of the streets. The schools are therefore driven to learn What children consider worth while It may be wnod-working, which Claims their attention and attendance, or basketa weaving, sewing, cooking, or the weekly trips to the coun- try. that proves tithe tie that binds The vacation schools and playgrounds, with their 21th- letie :tlhlrements, unite in endeavorhig to give an oppor- tunity for making the vacation enjoyable and beneficial to the children whose home advantages are limited, whose parents are at work eLii'd cannot give them sufficient care, or have not the meansiitn give them the opportunities of a vacation in the country. Continuation schobls afford anbther example of the solution of modern problems in education, These schools are not continuation schoolrks in the sense of being places where the instruction of the elementary school is continued and reviewed. but a continuance of the chiidis education under new conditions and from a new point of view. Neces- sity forces some children to leave school at an early age, and these schools make it poseihle for such children to eon- tinue their education, even while employed, Each child is given instruction in the theory and practice of the industry or occupation in which he is engaged. The children are required to attend the continuation school a minimum of four hours. a week, and in nearly every case their employers willingly allow them this time without making- a deduction from their earnings, because they realize that such training

Page 34 text:

tt THE N IGHT BRIGADE? or about general closing time? Did :vou ever note that the face of each one leaving said building at this particular time is: likely to be wreathed with an enduring smile? This smile is based upon the satisfaction that comes from a sense of something attempted, S.Omething clone. Now shift your place of observation to the entrance of the West Night High School at or ribout the time for the evening work to begin. You will see a broader smile suffusing the faces Of each entrant as he approaches the portals of this evening temple of Cadmus. The basis of this Hevening smileh is the sense that comes from a realization that the work of the evening is to be of a nature that will cnure to the eternal benefit of the participant. No martyr he who thus sacrihces hi5 evenings to learning The return is worth so much more than the time antlleffort expended that the idea of sacrifice is foreign to the topic. He approaches his task with a sense of confidence in that he has full knowledge of the worth of the time thus to be spent. XVhile the writer hereof would pass full praise to all night students everywhere, he would put special emphasis upon the loyal, royal body that assembles bee heath the roof of the West Night High Take them all in all, there is not their like in all this City. Loyal to their tasks, loyal to their school, loyal to themselves, they.r are loyal to all the world and thus to themselves. I want all West Nightets to read this with a feeling that this tribute to them comes from a. full heart and that no reservations are attached to these statements. It is With a sense of sincere gratitude that your Principal pens these farewell words to you on the eve of the closing of the term 1914. May your futures be ever bright. Forward the Night Brigade? $113 you ever stand at the exit of a large manufacturing establishment or ofhce building at MR. WILKINSON.