School Credit for Home Work

by L. R. Alderman

	Credits	1st	2d	3d	4th	Total
		week	week	week	week
Building fire[6]	1	7	6	7	7	27
Milking cow	1	15	15	15	8	53
Splitting and carrying in wood (12 hours' supply)	2	....	....	....	....	....
Turning cream separator	2	....	....	....	....	....
Grooming horse	2	....	....	....	....	....
Gathering eggs	1	6	7	5	4	22
Feeding chickens, pigs, horse, or cow	1	12	12	11	12	47
Churning or making butter	3	....	....	....	....	....
Blacking stove	3	....	....	....	....	....
Making and baking bread	10	....	....	....	....	....
Making biscuits	2	....	....	....	....	....
Preparing meal for family	6	2	2	2	2	8
Washing and wiping dishes	4	....	....	....	....	....
Sweeping floor, each room	1	12	12	12	14	50
Dusting furniture, each room	1	4	....	5	2	11
Scrubbing floor, each room	4	2	2	2	2	8
Making bed (after school)	1	2	2	1	1	6
Washing, starching, and ironing own clothes, worn to school each week	30	....	....	....	....	....
Bathing, each bath	4	4	4	4	4	16
Arriving at school with clean hands, face, teeth, nails, and hair combed	2	5	5	5	5	20
Practicing music at least 30 minutes	2	....	....	....	....	....
Retiring on or before 9 o'clock	1	7	7	7	7	28
Bathing and dressing baby	2	....	....	....	....	....
Sleeping with windows open or with window-boards	2	7	7	7	7	28
Work not listed, per hour	6	8	6	5	4	23
	——	——	——	——	——	——
Total						364

L. S. Trefren,
Parent or Guardian

---

The following letter, dated April 20, 1914, is from Mrs. Bertha McKinney, of a district near Ashland, Jackson County.

Pupils of the first, second, and third grades, who have earned two hundred credits in a month have a half-holiday. Those of the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades must have earned three hundred credits to entitle them to the half-holiday, and of the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades, four hundred credits. When all have the required number of credits, all have the half-holiday. I have twenty pupils, and all are doing the home credit work. I keep the record of the credits earned in a notebook, and place the number earned by each pupil on the monthly report card. I think the plan a good one, though in a few cases the parents are not careful enough with their part; that is, they sign the blank form, then the child can put down any number he pleases. I have had only one such case.

Superintendent Joel O. Davis, of Weston, tells of the manner in which his school began to use home credits:—

The opportunity came in October of last year, when an unexpected influx of pupils made it necessary for us to engage an extra teacher and adopt a departmental plan for the fifth to eighth grades inclusive. This made it necessary for those grades to prepare two lessons at home, thus making the required home reading a burden. I at once offered these students the choice of reading the required books, and writing the reviews, or making the points by home work, under the conditions as shown by the accompanying card. Nearly every child accepted the home work plan, and went to work enthusiastically.

On the opposite page is one of the Weston credit cards, filled out by a pupil, Crete Allen:—

Home Work Record, Weston Public School

Credits will be given for the performance of the following named duties when this card is returned, at the end of the month, properly signed by the parent or guardian.

These credits will be accepted in place of the home reading heretofore required, at the rate of 100 points for each book.

The parent must check the work each day as performed.

Any evasion or falsification of the record will forfeit all claim to credit.

To obtain credit each duty must be performed by the child unaided by others, and must be well and satisfactorily done.

No credit will be given for work that is paid for by the parent or others.

Parents are requested to see that the above conditions are complied with and to encourage thoroughness and truthfulness by using care in recording so as to give no unearned credits.

Make one mark, and only one, for each duty each day.[7]