home with a little printed pamphlet containing the words and pictures of the evening's work so arranged that he can teach himself. As he departs the immigrant is conscious that the school has rendered him just the service he desires, that he has made progress toward his goal, that further progress is dependent wholly on his own efforts, and that unlimited possibilities of receiving assistance in making many other adjustments to his new and strange environment are his for the asking. The teacher, also, is conscious of the progress made, and of the personal character of the service he has rendered. Both teacher and pupil know just how much of their common purpose has been achieved.

Let us suppose that on the following night the immigrant returns, and that a brief review shows the lesson of the previous night well mastered. A proud and happy pupil would then be ready to receive in a few minutes all the instruction needed to start him on the acquisition of a score of new words, signs, and sentences, practice in the use of which would keep him busy most of the evening; only occasionally would there be appeal for the assistance of the instructor, and again he would take away with him printed material upon which to work at home. As he gained confidence, and under the guidance of his friendly teacher, he would venture to use other English words that he heard, words not directly connected with his immediate project. His vocabulary would grow with in

creasing rapidity; in a very few evenings he would estimate his command of English to be sufficient for his immediate needs, and could leave for the other city. His English pronunciation would not be of the best, his idioms would be faulty, his abilities limited, but the victory would have been won. He could "speak Eng

lish" well enough for his purpose, he would have learned that he could acquire English, and he would have started on the road that leads to Americanization. For in his hour of need America came to his rescue, America did him a favor; and out of the gratitude that in such cases spontaneously wells up in the heart is born that wonderful spirit which in its fullness makes the immigrant say, "I want to be a citizen of this country. When I was in trouble she extended a helping hand. She gave me the chance I craved, the opportunity I did not have in the country from which I came. Through her institutions, I have found freedom to achieve my heart's desire. My home is here. My children go to her schools. Now this country is dear to me. I will give my life for her if she is in danger. For I, too, have become an American.'

No one knows better than the writer how ready all educational workers will be in one breath to commend a scheme of educational service to the foreign born as ideal, and in the next to condemn it as utterly impractical. However, this chapter is written not with the idea that any sudden transformation of evening-school

work is possible, but rather with the idea of pointing out opportunities, and of suggesting desirable lines of experimentation. This much is certain: the millions of immigrants who are already a part of our complex civilization are daily finding themselves out of adjustment with American ways and American institutions. A visit to any railway station, any post-office, or any police court will show countless instances in which a very little teaching of essential words, a very little explanation of rules and regulations, would be of inestimable service to bewildered immigrants and a direct aid in their assimilation. Is it not pertinent to inquire how far this fertile field is being drawn upon as a basis for eveningschool work?

Surely the sentence, "I want a ticket," is as easy to learn as "I go to the door," and much more significant to the Italian or Pole who in the past has had only the ordinary ticket agent for his instructor. Is it not the duty of those charged with assistance of the immigrant to canvass thoroughly the city's life and ways, and to determine with scientific care all instances in which the contacts of foreign born with American institutions and customs are giving rise to difficulties? Many of these would undoubtedly be available for "practical” use in the schools.

SERVICE OR ACADEMIC INSTRUCTION?

"But," the conventional teacher will say, "no amount of such fragmentary help as your scheme contemplates will ever teach the foreigner Eng

lish. He must have systematic instruction in a regular course of lessons. He must learn to read and write as well as speak. He must know nouns, verbs, adjectives, paragraphing, punctuation, and grammar, and a thousand and one other things which can only be given by careful study of a text under a competent instructor." For the conventional teacher has his eye so fixed upon his subject matter that he loses sight of his pupils and the uses which they are to make of what they learn.

The answers to such objections are many. It is possible to show how small a part all formal analysis and organization of the subject matter of any instruction plays in the actual life experiences of even the native born. Attention might be called to the relative importance of the two goals-that of assisting the immigrant in making those adjustments which result in his Americanization, and that of giving him a thorough but academic knowledge of English. There is, however, one answer which tells the whole story in such a way that even conventional teachers cannot fail to understand. For instance, in the experiment described in the preceding chapter, out of a group of 853 students in fifty-four classes, but 58 per cent of those attending on a certain evening were present eleven lessons later. In the brief interval necessary for twelve meetings of the classes, 42 per cent of the original group had dropped out, and new pupils comprising 20 per cent of the enrollment had taken their places1 1 See Table XIIA, Appendix, p. 395.

-that is, under present conditions but very few night-school pupils attend continuingly, and therefore any attempt at systematic work over a considerable period of time is foredoomed to failure. The reasons for the attendance conditions found in evening schools are many, but important among them is the fact previously mentioned, that many of the pupils do not see that they are getting adequate return for time and effort expended. This is strikingly illustrated by the attendance record shown in Table VIII, based upon a week's work in an evening high school for adults in which academic and technical courses are offered side by side.

TABLE VIII

AVERAGE WEEKLY ATTENDANCE OF FOREIGN-BORN ADULTS IN AN EVENING HIGH SCHOOL

High average due to an exceptionally able teacher.

Three classes of more than one hundred each, handled by one man.