IN AMERICA.

Taihape Daily Times, 19 February 1918, Page 3

IN AMERICA.

CHILD TRAINING IN WAR TIME. AN AMERICAN PROFESSOR’S VIEWS. Professor Frank Leavitt,” of the School of Education, University of Chicago, has prepared for the National Child Labour Committee a statement on the need of keeping up educational standards in war-time,ana the necessity of protecting and training children during the war. Professor Leavitt said in part:— ' That there is need for the extra protection for the potential working child at the present time is shown In many ways. Recent figures from a large Eastern city show that there has been a decrease in the elementary school enrolment of over 3000 children within a year. The superintendent states that it is due to the unprecedented demand for child labour, and that the demand is still increasing. 1 The enforcement of present child labour laws and compulsory attendance laws will prevent such a demoralisation of the school system as that which occurred in Great Britain, and it is safe to say that the children under sixteen will bo well protected in most of the progressive States. But even in these States, and under the most favourable conditions, there is need of protecting those children who leave school unnecessarily to accept low-grade positions because the un usually high wage is so alluring. Boys who, under conditions obtain ing three years ago, could not find places where they could earn more than six dollars, now find it possible, in many communities, to get work at from two t othree dollars a day. Two dollars and a seventy-five cents a day is a high hurdle to put in front of a school door. It raises the question In the minds of the parents as well as the children, as to whether that whlcn the child receives in the school is actually worth as much. Of course, in general, we believe that it is, but we are not in a good position to show the reason for the faith that is in us. The duty of the school, and of the community, too, should be obvious. We should study the situation sufficiently to enable us to prove to the I potential working children just what another year or two of education would be worth, and to show them the reason why.