The Report of the Deputy Superintendent of Schools, San Francisco, 1879-80 on the subject of Evening Schools - from the SF Muni Report of that year. A careful perusal and comparison of the reports of the leading cities and towns of the Union will show that that evening schools of this city have not been surpassed by any in the county. It is doubtful, even , if results of equal value have been attained anywhere else. Under the energetic and judicious management of the late principal, the instruction was systematized and graded, and the attendance and morale of the schools greatly improved. A glance at the tabulated reports will show that hundreds of young men and women, who are occupied in various avocations during the day, resort regularly to these classes, and strive earnestly to obtain knowledge which will increase their working power and help to elevate them in the world. A great mistake seems, however, to have been made in the recent policy of the Board regarding the evening schools. The experiments has been tried over and over, here and elsewhere, of excluding from the corps of evening teachers all who are occupied in the public schools during the day, and it has always ended disastrously. That the actual efficieny of our evening schools is diminished at least 20 per cent by this action will not be disputed by anyone who will care to investigate the facts. Successful instsruction in this important department of public education requrires peculiar adaptability and competency on the part of the teacher; and this is found more frequently among the day teachers than anywhere else. These classes will only reach thier hightest efficiency when competent, experienced male teachers are in charge of all the clases. The young men and women who attend these schools are in earnest- they mean business- and the best instructor for such a class of pupils is a man who has mixed with the currents of the world, who knows from his own experince what will best help his pupils in their daily life, and who has learned how to economixze his time and words, and to direct the efforts of the pupil so as to secure th best resuls from his labor. (the report now turns to the teaching of the Spanish language in the evening classes) DUDLEY C. STONE- Deputy Superintendent ---------------------------: Carolyn Linda J Hennessy wrote: > Hi all! In looking for my grandfather in early schools, I came across > many 'evening' schools. Were these high schools? Someone suggested they > may be for drop outs? Your collective information would be appreciated. > Linda > ________________________________________________________________ > GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! > Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! > Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: > http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.