CHAPTER IV Principal Cities of the State Outside of New York City The following chapter of this report contains information in gard to training for citizenship in New York State outside New York City. It does not claim to be comprehensive, but is representative. It contains all the information obtainable. om the superintendents of schools in cities having a population er 10,000, and a few others. The views of the superintendents, though more or less fragmentary, indicate the nature of their oblems, the tendency of their efforts and their desire to operate with the State Department of Education. It may be interest here to call attention to the fact that many educational thorities throughout the country, in response to the request of is Committee for their suggestions in regard to citizenship raining and immigrant education, implied that it would be arrying coals to Newcastle to make such suggestions to New Tork State, where the best methods in the country are already ing employed, according to their views. 1. Albany C. Edward Jones, Superintendent of Schools. The leading industries employing foreign-born labor are the railroad shops and the iron and steel foundries. Only one factory conducts classes for its foreign-born, the average age being somewhere between thirty and forty. Americanization work is being done by the Board of Education and by the State of New York. The requirements for teachers of adult foreigners is the completion of the Americanization course in the State College for Teachers. The Board of Education of the City of Albany in the fall of 1919 published a handbill announcing school courses for the The following paragraph from this handbill contains a unique idea: season. "All courses are free, but a registration fee of one dollar will be collected for each Academic, Commercial and Vocational Course. This will be returned at the close of the course provided the student has a record of 80 percent of attendance." There is at Albany an Americanization Council, whose aims are expressed in the Constitution as follows: CONSTITUTION ARTICLE I The name of this organization shall be the Americanization Council of Albany. ARTICLE II Definition "Americanization Work," as used in this constitution, is hereby defined to be the study of speaking, reading or writing the English language, the study of American history, institutions or political government, the development of patriotism, and intelligent citizenship or the interpretation of America's ideals of freedom and service. ARTICLE III The object of this council shall be to promote and to act as a clearing house for organizations in the City of Albany, doing Americanization work, and to stimulate and co-ordinate all such work for better citizenship so that there shall be no duplication of plan or effort. ARTICLE IV Membership Sec. 1. The membership of this council shall be composed of one representative and one alternative from any organization in the City of Albany that is actively interested in Americanization and which contributes annual dues. The dues shall be $2. 2. Amsterdam Data furnished by Superintendent of Schools. There are about 5,000 Italians and 9,000 Poles. At least 2,000 of these foreigners attend the public schools. The average age is from five to sixteen in the day schools and over twenty-one in the evening schools. The Americanization work in Amsterdam is supervised by the Superintendent of Schools. We require teachers to have taken a special course for teaching adult foreigners. We pay $3 per evening to principals and $2 per evening to regular teachers. We have no bother in getting teachers. The chief industries employing foreigners are a carpet mill and the button shops. 3. Auburn In answer to a questionnaire, Henry D. Hervey, Superintendent of schools submitted the following: 1. What is the population of your city? 36,000 2. What is the foreign population, divided as to nationality? 3. What are the leading industries in which foreigners are employed? International Harvester Co., Columbian Rope Co., International Harvester Co. Twine Mill and various shoe shops. 4. Do any of the industries conduct classes for teaching English, American history, civil government, etc., for their foreign-born employees? Columbian Rope Company and International Harvester Co. Twine Mill. 5. What public school facilities are open to foreign-born adults for learning English, American history, civil government, etc.? Evening school eighty nights a year, two-hour session each night. 6. How many adult students of the various nationalities attend public schools? 7. Is the attendance regular? Average attendance for elementary department, 90.76. 8. What is the average age of adult alien students? Men, 15 to 44; women, 15 to 64. 9. How many hours per week do the courses cover? Six hours. 10. Is there any movement in your city to Americanize" foreigners? By whom is it conducted? Yes, Board of Education and Chamber of Commerce. 11. What are your requirements for teachers of adult foreigners? Special training and experience for this work. 12. What salary do you think should be offered to attract teachers of competence to do this work? We secure good teachers at $2 per night. am giving the figures contained in the census of 1910 for the tribution of our foreign population. These figures are doubts very much out of date, but I know of no others more reliable. distribution of foreigners in our evening school is that for year 1918-19. We have no figures for the current year, ugh I am giving the total registration in the non-English aking department, men and women for the present year. You I note that it is somewhat less than for last year, but we are t including in our figures for this year those who are attending sses in the mills. There are probably seventy or seventy-five pils now attending English classes not under the immediate pervision of the public schools. We are not able to give the erage age of alien students, but are giving the age range. We e doing everything possible to wipe out illiteracy in our city. 4. Binghamton Data furnished by Superintendent of Schools. The population of Binghamton in 1910 was 53,668. It is obably 59,000 now. About one-third of the population is forn. Shoe and cigar factories are the leading industries employg these foreigners, none of which conduct classes. In the year 918-19 we had a registration of 130 students of foreign birth the evening schools, with attendance about 95 percent of the gistration. The average age was 22 years. The Department of Education and the Civic Club do some mericanization work. We require teachers of experience and natural ability. We ay them $2.50 and $3 per night. From $3 to $3.50 would be etter, although we have no difficulty in securing competent help. 5. Buffalo George E. Smith, Superintendent of Schools. The estimated population of Buffalo is about 526,000. The oreign population is divided as follows: |