Chapter 4
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.