School Credit for Home Work

by L. R. Alderman

1. No pupil is obliged to enter the contest.

2. Any pupil entering is free to quit at any time, but if any one quits without good cause, all credits he or she may have earned will be forfeited.

3. Parent or guardian must send an itemized list (with signature affixed) to the teacher each morning. This list must contain a record of the work each child has done daily.

4. Each day the teacher will issue a credit voucher to the pupil. This voucher will state the total number of minutes due the pupil each day for home work.

5. At the close of the contest pupils will return vouchers to the teacher, the six pupils who have earned the greatest amount of time, per the vouchers, receiving awards.

6. Contest closes when term of school closes.

7. Once each month the names of the six pupils who are in the lead will be published in the county papers.

8. Ten per cent credit will be added to final examination results of all pupils (except eighth graders) who enter and continue in the contest.

9. When a pupil has credits to the amount of one day earned, by surrender of the credits, and by proper application to the teacher, he or she may be granted a holiday, provided that not more than one holiday may be granted to a pupil each month.

10. Forfeitures—dropping out of contest without cause, all credits due; unexcused absence, all credits due; unexcused tardiness, 25 per cent of all credits due; less than 90 per cent in deportment for one month, 10 per cent of all credits due.

11. Awards—the three having the highest credits, $3 each; the three having second highest, $2 each. Awards to be placed in a savings bank to the credit of the pupils winning them. Funds for awards furnished by the school district board out of the general fund.

List of duties with minutes credit allowed for each

1.	Building fire in the morning	5	minutes
2.	Milking a cow	5	"
3.	Cleaning a cow	5	"
4.	Cleaning out the barn	10	"
5.	Splitting and carrying in wood (12 hours' supply)	10	"
6.	Turning cream separator	10	"
7.	Cleaning a horse	10	"
8.	Gathering eggs	10	"
9.	Feeding chickens	5	"
10.	Feeding pigs	5	"
11.	Feeding horse	5	"
12.	Feeding cow	5	"
13.	Churning butter	10	"
14.	Making butter	10	"
15.	Blacking stove	5	"
16.	Making and baking bread	60	"
17.	Making biscuits	10	"
18.	Preparing breakfast for family	30	"
19.	Preparing supper for family	30	"
20.	Washing and wiping dishes (one meal)	15	"
21.	Sweeping floor	5	"
22.	Dusting furniture (rugs, etc., one room)	5	"
23.	Scrubbing floor	20	"
24.	Making beds (must be made after school), each bed	5	"
25.	Washing, ironing, and starching own clothes that are worn at school (each week)	120	"
26.	Bathing each week	30	"
27.	Arriving at school with clean hands, face, teeth, and nails, and with hair combed	10	"
28.	Practicing music lesson (for 30 minutes)	10	"
29.	Retiring on or before 9 o'clock	5	"
30.	Bathing and dressing baby	10	"
31.	Sleeping with window boards in bedroom (each night)	5	"
32.	Other work not listed, reasonable credit

While it is sometimes more convenient to have printed record slips, it is not necessary. Mr. O'Reilly carried on the grading by having each child write out his home credit work on ordinary tablet paper. The great majority of home credit schools have used the plan in 1914 without any printing whatever. It affords the children practice in written expression.

I give here two sample slips brought in by Mr. O'Reilly's pupils in the first home credit contest in the United States.

Tora Mortensen

Jan. 31, 1912.

Prepared supper	30
Washed and wiped supper dishes	15
Made 3 beds	15
Swept 1 floor	5
Washed teeth	10
Was in bed at 9 o'clock	5
	——
Total	1 hr. 20 min.

(Signed) Mrs. Emma Savage.