Page 53 - 1913 November - To Dragma

58 TO DRAG MA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

are serious in their work. The school opens three times each week
for two hours of the evening. That means six hours of work per
week, and the pupils in the Sophie B. Wright have bookkeeping
five times a week for forty-five minute periods, of three hours and
forty-five minutes of work. The night students usually finish the
course in one session. Such a thing has never happened among day
pupils, but, of course, concentration of study means much. No pupil
need take more than one subject unless he is taking stenography;
that course embraces English, shorthand and typewriting. This
course has forty-five minute periods, so that the pupil may have each
subject every school night."

The other eight schools are elementary and in them is to be
had reading, spelling, penmanship, English and arithmetic. The
course in reading is planned to supply the lack of history and geog-
raphy. I f the demand is great enough, sewing is given, but no
manual training, and no cooking. There are no night industrial
schools, but for that matter there are no day industrial schools, either.
Two, however, are in preparation: the Nicholls Industrial School,
to be at Antonine and Laurel streets, and the Delgado, to be erect-
ed with the funds left by Delgado for that purpose. There is no
reason why these schools, as soon as completed, should not be made
to serve the double purpose of evening and day schools.

The problem of attendance is a serious one in New Orleans. The
year always starts well, falls off materially at Christmas time,
increases again, with a second falling off in hot weather. England,
Germany, and a few cities in the United States, issue rewards for
regular attendance. The only reward so far that New Orleans has
offered is a card admitting the student to one of the gymnasiums
during vacation.

For the last four or five years, vacation schools have been success-
f u l in this city, but this year, because of the pecuniary embarrassment
of the School Board, no appropriation has been made for 1913. The
vacation schools offer academic courses, and many of them basket-
weaving, manual training and domestic science. Their attendance
is good. There are no playgrounds as yet attached to the" public
schools. The Playground Commission of the city is steadily work-
ing towards that end, but they have not been able to secure the
necessary funds. The association has already established five inde-
pendent playgrounds in various parts of the city, and in these gym-
nastics, play, gardening, folk dancing and other activities are success-
fully carried on.

Although there are no school playgrounds, the School Board is