directory. - Surrounded by Reality

n6~IADISON DIRECTORY.of males; nu mber of females; whole number of pupils: avcrngenu mber; number of visitors; also, the standing and conduct ofthe pupils, and t he names of par ent, or guardian.T bcsc rczlsters will fur nish th at kind of informat ion which isso indispensable to the Superintendent, as well as to all thosewho ::tTC responsible for the character of our public schools.B lank forms of rep orts of the weekly standing of each pupil,to be filled out by the teachers and sent home t o parents orgu ardians, will soon be in readiness.T J. RDI XESS.-Thc evil of tard iness has been diminished in allth e schools, alth ough it has not been ent irely overc ome. F orthe few cases which now remain, paren ts arc , for the most part,re sponsible. E very case of tardiness is fai thfully preserved int he permanent records of the school, an d to a cert ain ex tentdetermines the stand ing of the pupil, whether he is or is notresponsible. Xo reasons for tardiness nrc given, as the fact th ata pupil retains connection with the school aft er repeatedlycoming late t o school, is of itself sufficien t eviden ce that he basgi ven sat isfact ory reasons to his tea cher. .A written excuse,while it tr ansfers responsibility frcm th e pupil t o the parent,cannot remedy th e evil, or render it less injurious or odious.W ere all par ent s fully aware of its effects, they would submitt o consid erabl e inconvenience before t hey would lower thestnndina of th eir chi ldren, or cause th em to int errupt th e progre..s of the school, by coming in aft er the exercises commence.Ir.R EGUL AR ATT E:S-OA:S- Ct:.-An oth er evil which interfereswit h the pr ogress of our city schools, is irr egular attendance.No pupil sh ould be allowed to absent himself from school, evenfor one half day, exc ept in case of sickne ss or some urgentnecessity. If-scholura cann ot attend school more than th reefourthsof th e time, it is much better for t hem, and for theschool. for them to nttcud every day for one-four th par t of theterm, t han to be nbscut oncdny in four du-lng t he whole lengthof SChO(I1. A bout fift y per cent. of the ab sences, during th eInst t erm, was occasioned by the delay in building sidewalks tot he school hous es.A large number of childre n in the second ward remai ned atborne part of las t term, becau se they were unable t o cross themar sh between th eir b-m es and th e school house in the thirdwar d. Many children hav e been kept out of school in the firstward in consequence of the bad condition of th e roads lead ingt o the school house. , \'e hope immedi ate steps will be taken t oremedy these defects.Thc practice of excusing pupils from schoo l, Cor minor rea-