/f/^ jzzxu: ILLITERACY IN ALABAMA-LET'S REMOVE IT THE PROBLEM, THE PLAN, THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOVERNOR X ILLITERACY DAY MONDAY, JUNE 7, 1915 PUBLISHED BY ALABAMA ILLITERACY COMMISSION '' MAY 10, 1915 n: ZZZXHL i If-- l'b(^^ lc-. ALABAMA ILLITERACY COMMISSION HON, WM, D. JELKS, President Birmingrham HON. JAMES B. ELLIS Selma MISS MARY N. MOORE Athens MRS. W. K. LINSCOTT Mobile WM. F. FEAGIN, Secretary-Treasurer Montgomery MRS. E. D. THAMES, Field Agent Greenvillt All communications should be addressed to the Secretary-Treasurer. (.^ V INTRODUCTION THE Alabama Illiteracy Commission has no authority, nor does it desire to issue orders. Its duty is not to command but to point out an open door of opportu- nity and summon those who will to enter. Believing that there are thousands of loyal sons and daugh- ters of Alabama who are bigger in their sympathies and in their ideals of service than any monetary consideration, we invite such to join in a concerted statewide crusade for the elimination of illiteracy. Let those who would enter such a service bear in mind that there are no beaten paths to follow and no proven guides to lead. The very essence of the work is research and initia- tive, and many who enlist will doubtless be able to devise bet- ter plans than any we are now prepared to suggest. The chief qualifications for the work will be a spirit of con- secration, of application, of patience, and of determination, and those who succeed may be teachers of the World, for as yet but little is known or attempted in this wide field. It is supposed that the actual work of teaching will very largely fall upon the shoulders of the teachers of the State, but the task is of such delicacy and magnitude as to require the best skill and effort of all who are prepared to assist. The Illiteracy Commission desires to give the widest pub- licity to ways and means of attacking the problem and the fullest recognition to those who contribute in anywise to its solution. To these ends it solicits frequent communications, both critical and constructive, from all who are or may be- come interested in the movement to banish illiteracy. Sincerely, ALABAMA ILLITERACY COMMISSION, WM. D. JELKS, Chairman, WM. F. FEAGIN, Sec'ty-Treas., JAMES B. ELLIS, MISS MARY N. MOORE, MRS. W. K. LINSCOTT. PROCLAMATION BY THE GOVERNOR HEREAS, the people of Alabama look with pride upon her remarkable record of progress and are moved with a passionate desire to further promote her in- dustrial, intellectual, and moral efficiency; and, Whereas, the realization of this patriotic ambition calls for the promotion of literacy and the elimination of illiteracy; and, Whereas, intelligent effort in this direction requires: First, a knowledge of conditions. Second, the organization of the forces who are to perform the work. Third, the united and persistent efforts of the workers. Therefore, I, Charles Henderson, Governor of Alabama, in response to the widespread sentiment among our people, as expressed by the Legislature of Alabama, the Alabama Illiter- acy Commission and the Alabama Educational Association do hereby set apart and designate the first Monday in June, one thousand nine hundred fifteen, to be observed throughout the State as ILLITERACY DAY, and I appoint and fix this £.s the time when every literate man, woman, and youth in the commonwealth shall consecrate himself to the service of his State and community, and as the date when the people shall meet, confer, and organize clubs for the banishment of illit- eracy in the several communities. I call upon the teachers in every community, the school improvement associations, the chambers of commerce, the farmers' unions, the press of the Stat§, the ministers, law- yers, physicians, farmers, business men, and all others to lay aside matters of private concern and to heartily cooperate in working out plans for the removal of illiteracy. With a lofty faith and resolution that Alabama, under the favorable guidance of Almighty God, shall wipe away the black stain, I call on every literate man, woman, and child of every station, community or creed to consecrate himself to this stupendous though surmountable task. Done in our City of Montgomery, on this the fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord, 1915, and the 140th year of our American independence. CHAS. HENDERSON, Governor of Alabama. D. of D. lUN .^ 19 5 CONDITIONS THE magnitude of the task confronting us, if we are to banish our illiteracy, will appear from the fact that there are 641,168 persons in our State from the ages of 10 to 20 inclusive, 15% of whom, or 96,406, are illiterate, while from the ages of 21 and over, we have 1,015,- 070 persons, 26% of whom, or 266,273 can neither read nor write. If we sort out our white men and women we will find 31,661 males of voting age, and 33,765 mature women who are fet- tered by illiteracy, either number approximating the com- bined adult white male population of our three largest cities, Birmingham, Mobile, and Montgomery. Based on the 1910 census, only 3,874 of our native white illiterates are city dwellers, while 80,894 of them reside in the country. The town rate is 2.5% and the country rate is 11.5%, but there is no room for a quarrel between the city and the country. In our only city with a population exceed- ing 100,000, our native white illiteracy is greater than in any city in its class in the country except Atlanta, Louisville, Richmond, and Nashville. There are in Birmingham, Mobile and Montgomery, respectively, 186, 39, and 33 native white men of voting age who have to have assistance in casting their ballots. In our four cities of the second class with populations ex- ceeding 10,000 inhabitants, there are 701 native white persons 10 years of age and over who cannot read and write. There are in our twenty-one cities of the third class with populations from 2,500 to 10,000, in round numbers 2,200 na- tive whites 10 years of age and over, who cannot read and write. The lowest rate of illiteracy among our native whites is found in Montgomery County, but even there we find 122 males of voting age who cannot intelligently transact any business requiring the ability to read and write. The statistics showing the rank of the several counties is contained elsewhere in this pamphlet. SIGNIFICANT FACTS ABOUT ALABAMA'S STANDING IN ILLITERA- CY AS COMPARED WITH THE 47 OTHER STATES IN THE UNION Total population 10 years of age and over 47 Total white population 10 years of age and over 44 Total native-born white population 10 years of age and over 44 Total negro population 10 years of age and over 48 Total male population 21 years of age and over 46 Total white male population 21 years of age and over 42 Total native-born white male population 21 years of age and over 43 Total negro male population 21 years of age and over 48 Wherever we may choose to place the responsibility for such conditions, deplorable and lamentable as they may be, and however we may attempt to shift the burden of the blame, they are a serious reflection upon every man and woman within our borders and a discredit to our State. THE PROBLEM Those who have made the most exhaustive and scholarly study of illiteracy conditions have told us that the reducible minimum to which illiteracy should be lo,wered in the United States is 1% for native-born whites, 5% for negroes, and 12% for foreign-born whites, the latter number representing the average illiteracy of the countries from which our immi- grants come. If we accept the standard which others by common consent have set up, Alabama's problem becomes one of reducing her native white illiteracy from 9.9% to the minimum of 1%, and her negro illiteracy from 40.1% to 5%. We may ignore our foreign-born population, inasmuch as statistics show that their percentage of illiteracy, so far as Alabama is con- cerned, is already below the minimum stated above. THE MOONLIGHT SCHOOLS OF KENTUCKY Perhaps the most unique and significant of all the efforts to remove illiteracy was undertaken by Mrs. Cora Wilson Stewart, Superintendent of Schools in Rowan County, Ken- tucky, in September, 1911. *"Illiteracy in the United States and an Experiment for Its Elimination," tells the story: "Having studied carefully the conditions of the county, Mrs. Stewart decided to open night schools for adults on moonlight nights in the public schoolhouses of the county. She outlined her plan to the teachers and called for volun- teers. All the teachers of the county responded. On Labor Day, September 4, 1911, these teachers visited the homes of the people throughout the county, explained the plan, and announced that moonlight schools would be opened the next evening. It was expected that the response would be slow, but more than 1,200 men and women from 18 to 86 years old were enrolled the first evening. They came trooping over the hills and out of the hollows, some to add to the meager educa- tion received in the inadequate schools of their childhood, some to receive their first lessons in reading and writing. Among these were not only illiterate wives, sons, and daugh- ters, but also illiterate merchants or "storekeepers," illiter- ate ministers, and illiterate lumbermen. Mothers, bent with age, came that they might learn to read letters from absent sons and daughters, and that they might learn for the first time to write to them." Almost one-third of the population of the county were en- rolled. Says Mrs. Stewart: "They had all the excuses and all the barriers which any people might offer, — high hills, bridgeless streams, rugged roads, weariness from the day's hard toil, the shame of be- ginning study late in life, and all the others, — but they were not seeking excuses,^ — they were sincerely and earnestly seek- ing knowledge. Their interests, their zeal, and their enthusi- asm were wonderful to witness. It was truly an inspiring sight to see these aged pupils bending over the desks which their children and grandchildren had occupied during the day. Their delight in learning and their pride in their achieve- ments exceeded any joy that I have ever witnessed." In some instances, where shyness prevented some of the adults from attending at first, lessons were given in their homes until they could read and write a little. They were then willing and eager to enroll in the night schools. In September, 1912, a "moonlight school" teachers' institute was held in Mbrehead, Ky., and the superintendent and teach- ers who had conducted the first moonlight schools instructed others who wished to do work of this kind in Rowan and ad- *United States Bureau of Education Bulletin, 1913, No. 20— Whole No. 530. joining counties, and in the fall of 1912 the movement spread to eight or ten other counties, while the enrollment of adults in Rowan County reached nearly 1,600. The success of the men and women proves that it is not so difficult for illiterate grown-ups to learn to read and write as is generally supposed. They learn in a very short time, if given opportunity. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are sim- ple subjects when mature minds are concentrated upon them. A child of ordinary mind can be taught to read and write in three or four weeks, and the adult can do at least as well. One man, aged 30, after four lessons in the evening school, wrote the county superintendent a legible letter. Another man, aged 50, wrote a legible letter after seven nights' at- tendance. A woman, aged 70, wrote a legible letter after eight nights of study. These cases are, of course, excep- tional; but experience has shown that a few weeks' atten- dance at the night schools has been sufficient to enable the adult pupils to pass over the dark lines of illiteracy and to get mto the class of literates. One of the significant facts brought out in this experiment is that adults of limited education have taken advantage of the opportunity to return to school and to increase their knowledge. Of the 1,600 adult pupils attending night school during the second term, 300 were unable to read and write at all, 300 were from those who had learned in September, 1911, and 1,000 were men and women of meager education. In a number of instances adults from the night schools have enrolled as pupils in the day schools; and the superin- tendent states that the presence of a determined man or woman in the school has proven an inspiration to pupils and teacher. The change in the attitude of the community toward the school, where the night school has been undertaken, is in it- self significant. A school trustee thus describes the change in his community: "I have lived in this district for 55 years and I never saw any such interest as we have here now. The school used to just drag along, and nobody seemed interested. We never had a gathering at the school, and nobody thought of visiting the school. We had not had night school but three weeks un- til we got together right. We papered the house, put in new windows, purchased new stovepipe, made new steps, contrib- uted money, and bought the winter's fuel." The remark of one old woman of 70 probably voices the feelings and sentiments of all the adults who have learned to read and write in these night schools. When asked what benefit the moonlight school had been to her, she said: "Oh, to be able to read my Bible and to write to my children and grandchildren! I would not take anything for the privilege." The studies pursued in these moonlight schools are reading, writing, arithmetic, and spelling. Brief drills are given in the essential facts of language, history, geography, civics, sani- tation, agriculture, and horticulture. The reading text is the Rowan County School Messenger, edited by the county super- intendent, published weekly for the special benefit of the adult students, and furnished free of charge. This paper deals largely with school and county affairs, and the news is made up in short sentences designed to help the pupils in their ef- forts to read. This experiment in Rowan County, Ky., shows that it :s possible to bring help to illiterate men and women even under the most difficult and adverse circumstances. PLAN OF ATTACK The inauguration and oversight of the campaign for the banishment of illiteracy is a problem confronting the Ala- bama Illiteracy Commission, but if the undertaking is to be the inspiring success it ought to be, there must be men and women in every county and in every community who will pa- tiently and faithfully assist in working out and in prosecut- ing plans for the accomplishment of this task. With this in view the Commission will, in the near future, appoint a sub-commission for each county, to be composed of at least two business men, the county superintendent of edu- cation, the principal of the county high school, or some other prominent teacher, and the president of the school improve- ment association, or of the federation of women's clubs. Upon this committee will rest the responsibility of arousing the proper sentiment and enthusiasm throughout the county, of mapping out plans for the workers enlisted, and of having the oversight of the general plan and policy of the illiteracy campaign in the county. This county organization will main- tain the closest relationship with the State Commission and will report regularly upon the condition and progress of the movement in the county. The State Commission, on the other hand, will lend all aid and encouragement possible to the county organization and will publish from time to time such data and plans as may be worth while for encourage- ment and information. No matter how efficient the state and county commissions may be, however, the campaign against illiteracy will not succeed unless there is in each neighborhood not only a teacher and school trustees, but a number of other public- spirited men and women ready to cooperate and promote the movement. In conformity with the proclamation of the Governor and the plans of the Alabama Illiteracy Commission, it is expect- ed that the district trustees will arrange for a meeting of the people of the school district at the public schoolhouse at some convenient hour, on the first Monday in June, say at ten o'clock, the purpose being the organization of a local club for the study and removal of illiteracy in the district. The meeting should be called to order by the chairman of the district trustees, and after devotional exercises, including singing, the proclamation of the Governor should be read and a brief statement of the purpose of the meeting made by the chairman or some one appointed by him. At this point a twenty-minute address by the strongest available man should be made, looking towards creating a sentiment favora- ble to the organization of the club. He should set out the facts whixih necessitate the organization, and show the mag- nitude of the problem to be attacked. The scope of the work and appropriate statistics are contained in this pamphlet. It will be all the more impressive if a chart showing in heavy black letters the relative standing of the county, has been prepared in advance from the tables found on pages fur- ther on in this bulletin. A similar chart should also be pre- pared in advance from the data secured in the school census taken in the summer of 1914 for persons from the ages of ten to twenty inclusive. The figures and rank of the several counties of the State are contained in "Literacy and Illitera- cy in Alabama," published by the Department of Education. The data for each district may be had from the census book- lets in possession of the county superintendent of education. After the address referred to above, two or three five-min- ute talks should be made by leading persons in the commu- nity. Such expressions should be spontaneous and if the proper sentiment has been aroused, they should look directly toward a permanent organization of a district illiteracy club. A permanent chairman and secretary should be chosen and the organization initiated. It will not be necessary to have a constitution and by-laws, but at least two definite committees should be appointed to report at a future fixed meeting. (a) Committee on census enumeration. Two duties in particular rest upon the shoulders of this committee. First: To secure the full name and address of every person in the district ten years of age and over who cannot read and write. Second: To secure the attendance of persons so enumerated at such evening schools as may be arranged for. (b) Committee on evening schools. This committee will be expected to arrange for the conduct of the evening schools, and under the direction of the sub- commission of the county to aid in the enlistment of volun- teers for the work of teaching. There will doubtless be cases where, because of temerity, embarrassment or isolation, some illiterate persons will not attend an evening school. This committee will endeavor to work out some plan for bringing such individuals to school or taking the school to such indi- viduals through personal work. After the appointment of these committees and the con- clusion of such other matters as seem pertinent to the satis- factory organization and continuation of the club and the ini- tiation of the illiteracy campaign in the district, the club should adjourn until a fixed date, not later than ten days hence, when reports from the committees indicated above are to be heard. The secretary of the club should at once send to the sub-commission of the county the complete record of the day's proceedings. ILLITERATES TEN YEARS OF AGE AND OVER NATIVE WHITE Rank. County. Number. Per Cent. 1 Montgomery 355 1,7 2 Sumter 73 1.8 3 Dallas _ 177 2.4 4 Greene 66 2.8 5 Mobile 980 3.0 6 Bullock 126 3.5 7 Wilcox 164 3.5 8 Jefferson 3,408 3.6 9 Lowndes 107 3.7 10 Macon 134 4.4 11 Lee 510 5.2 12 Marengo 368 5.6 13 Perry 280 5.8 14 Elmore 675 6.3 15 Chambers 863 6.9 16 Baldwin 600 7.2 17 Monroe 570 7.3 18 Autauga .■ 437 7.4 19 Hale 341 7.8 20 Barbour 741 8.3 21 Butler 817 8.3 22 Clarke 818 8.3 23 Coosa ; 625 8.5 24 Russell 372 8.5 25 Choctaw 437 8.9 26 Pickens 764 8.9 27 Lamar 893 9.1 28 Morgan 1,669 9.2 29 Pike 1,115 9.4 30 Bibb 914 9.5 31 Washington 541 9.6 32 Cullman 1,813 9.9 33 Crenshaw 1,145 10.1 34 Colbert 1,100 10.2 35 Clay 1,303 10.3 36 Calhoun 2,163 10.7 37 DeKalb 2,051 10.9 38 Tallapoosa 1,522 10.9 39 Henry 841 11.1 40 Conecuh 930 11.3 41 Marshall 2,101 11.3 42 Talladega 1,581 11.3 43 Escambia 1,034 11.4 44 Lauderdale 1,915 11.6 45 St. Clair 1,359 11.6 Rank. County. Number. Per Cent. 46 Madison 2,391 11.7 47 Tuscaloosa 2,419 11.9 48 Houston 1,938 12.0 49 Winston 1,048 12.4 50 Limestone 1,449 12.5 51 Shelby 1,686 12.6 52 Walker 2,599 12.8 53 Etowah 2,913 12.9 54 Blount : 1,824 13.3 55 Randolph 1,712 13.3 56 Dale 1,495 13.4 57 Marion 1,547 13.6 58 Chilton : 1,753 13.7 59 Fayette 1,373 13.9 60 Covington 2,388 14.3 61 Geneva 2,385 15.9 62 Cleburne 1,388 16.1 63 Coffee 2,282 16.2 64 Franklin 1,949 16.6 65 Jackson 3,519 17.0 66 Cherokee ; 2,084 17.0 67 Lawrence 1,848 17.9 ILLITERATE MALES OF VOTING AGE NATIVE WHITE Rank. County. Number. Per Cent. 1 Montgomery 113 1.6 2 Sumter 26 1.9 3 Dallas 73 2.8 4 Greene 26 3.3 5 Mobile '. 370 3.3 6 Jefferson 1,150 3.4 7 Lowndes 42 4.3 8 Wilcox 73 4.4 9 Bullock 57 4.5 10 Lee 160 4.9 11 Marengo 145 6.3 12 Macon 66 6.4 13 Perry 106 6.6 14 Elmore 270 7.7 15 Chambers 322 7.9 16 Baldwin 241 8.1 17 Monroe 221 8.5 18 Autauga 182 9.1 19 Barbour 266 9.1 Rank. County. Namber. Per Cent. 20 Russell 135 9.1 21 Clarke 315 9.5 22 Colbert 355 9.5 23 Hale - 146 9.5 24 Butler 312 9.8 25 Bibb 331 10.1 26 Morgan 641 10.1 27 Choctaw „ 167 10.2 28 Lamar .._ 326 10.3 29 Coosa » 256 10.6 30 Pickens 309 10.6 31 Calhoun 716 10.9 32 Cullman „. 625 11.0 33 Washington ..._ 213 11.0 34 Crenshaw 430 11.4 35 Pike 445 11.5 36 Henry 288 11.6 37 Walker 793 11.6 11.8 38 Clay 486 39 Talladega „ 542 11.9 40 DeKalb 746 12.3 41 Lauderdale 666 12.5 42 Escambia 368 12.6 43 Winston _ 343 12.6 44 Marshall 756 12.7 45 Tallapoosa 597 13.2 46 Madison 887 13.3 47 Conecuh 362 13.4 48 Houston .. 708 13.4 13.4 49 Tuscaloosa 954 50 St. Clair 514 13.5 51 Shelby 610 13.7 52 Limestone 541 13.9 , 53 Etowah 1,110 14.3 54 Marion _ 501 14.3 55 Dale _ 536 14.9 56 Blount 661 15.0 57 Chilton 625 15.0 58 Fayette 480 15.1 59 Covington _ 874 15.4 60 Randolph 651 15.7 61 Jackson 1,183 17.2 62 Franklin 656 17.4 63 Geneva 839 17.4 17.7 64 Cleburne 439 65 Coffee 811 18.1 66 Lawrence _ 610 18.4 67 Cherokee „ _ 817 20.2 ILLITERATE CHILDREN FROM 10 TO 20 YEARS NATIVE WHITE Rank. County. Number, Per Cent. 1 Lowndes .._ 4 .5 2 Dallas 18 .8 3 Montgomery - 57 1.1 4 Sumter 15 1.1 5 Greene 8 1.3 6 Macon 19 1.9 7 Bullock 22 2.1 8 Mobile _.„ - 239 2.3 9 Lee :. 69 2.3 10 Marengo _ 51 2.5 11 Jefferson - 807 2.5 12 Perry _ 50 2.9 13 Hale 48 3.6 14 Russell - ™ 44 3.6 15 Coosa 90 3.7 16 Elmore 162 4.0 17 Pickens 146 4.4 18 Pike 176 4.6 19 Autauga 100 5.2 20 Wilcox 75 5.2 21 Barbour 179 5.8 22 Clarke ; 198 6.1 23 Baldwin 227 6.3 24 Tallapoosa 340 6.3 25 Butler 260 7.0 26 Calhoun 565 7.6 27 Morgan 483 7.7 28 Chilton 369 7.7 29 Lamar 303 7.8 30 DeKalb 556 7.9 31 Washington :. 163 7.9 32 Colbert 310 8.0 33 Crenshaw 308 8.4 34 Shelby 401 8.4 35 Tuscaloosa 588 8.7 36 Marshall 672 9.2 37 Bibb „ 353 9.2 38 Talladega 449 9.4 39 Chambers 481 9.7 40 Conecuh _ 272 9.7 41 Henry 234 9.7 42 Blount 546 9.9 43 Clay :..:.... 458 10.1 4/: St. Clair 467 10.1 45 Monroe 281 10 Ji Rank. County. 46 Cullman 47 Etowah 48 Houston 49 Marion 50 Escambia 51 Lauderdale 52 Cherokee ... 53 Dale 54 Lawrence 55 Choctaw ... 56 Franklin ... 57 Winston 58 Fayette 59 Walker 60 Covington 61 Limestone 62 Jackson 63 Coffee 64 Cleburne ... LIBRPRY OF CONUKbbb 029 487 187 1 65 Madison 1,024 66 Geneva 1,010 67 Randolph 1,140 779 10.6 643 10.7 496 10.7 405 10.9 660 10.9 484 1L3 453 11.3 429 11.6 244 11.8 492 11.8 406 12.8 517 12.9 951 12.9 959 13.4 566 13.4 931 13.6 775 13.8 460 14.6 024 14.7 010 17.4 140 21.3 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS • liililllllllllllill 029 487 187 1