Show country children are the heaviest losers about 20 millions of american children have just begun their school year of 0 1924 each one of 0 tho them should attend as nearly school days as possible that is the length ol of school term in our best schools on the average children are in school not much more than days for rural schools the term is much shorter the cost of keeping the schools open will be not less than I 1 ya billions of dollars it has been estimated and probably correctly that every day in school is worth from 16 to 17 to a child because lie he will be able to earn that much more in later years it is fair then to say that 20 millions of children attending days each this coming year represent actual production by the schools of some 50 billions of dollars of potential wealth nearly thirty times the expenditure for the st bools not many investments are as good as that or pay such enormous divi bends we could estimate the school day as worth much less than 16 a pupil and still have many times a good justification for all the money we spend on education but great as the return is we can not afford to reduce it by keeping children out of school or by letting them go irregularly A child ought not to throw away a 16 day for any trivial reason in a few years he will be compelled to compete with others who have made the most of that day bd aad ofas of as many more school days as they could its good business then to keep the school open for a 1 long term and re keep all the children in it every day j |