In the High School at St. Cloud, Minnesota, great attention is paid to vacation work as well as to work done during the school year. At the beginning of the fall term the following questionnaire is sent to high school pupils, and to elementary pupils above the fourth grade:
Vacation Report—Grades Five to Twelve
.....................................School.
Note—Teachers are requested to have pupils fill out this blank
carefully. It is very important. Explain each question. Caution children
not to over- or under-estimate.
1. Name ............. Age ............. Grade or Class ................
2. Did you help at home during the summer vacation? ....................
3. Did you take music lessons? ..... Travel? ..... Attend Summer School?
4. Did you do any work along the line of agriculture, horticulture,
gardening, bee-culture or poultry-raising? If so, what? .............
........ Estimate carefully the net profit ................... $.....
5. Did you have a flower garden? .............. Name six or more of the
leading flowers that you raised. ....................................
.....................................................................
.....................................................................
6. Name wild flowers, birds, or trees you have observed this summer.
Flowers .............................................................
Birds ...............................................................
Trees ...............................................................
7. What pieces of hand-work, if any, did you do during vacation?
Wearing apparel .....................................................
Household art .......................................................
Wood ......................... Iron..................................
Cement .............. Give estimated value of such hand-work $.......
8. What electrical contrivance or other home accessory did you
make to save your mother work? ......................................
9. Which of the following home tasks did you do this summer?
Prepare one meal alone daily? ...... Bake the bread? ................
Bake a cake? ....................... Make the beds? .................
Do the washing? .................... Do the ironing? ................
10. Are you sleeping in the open air or with open window? ...............
11. Can you swim 300 feet or more? ..... Did you learn this summer? .....
12. Were you employed elsewhere than at home? ...........................
13. State kind of work done ............ Employer .......................
14. Number of weeks employed ........... Amount earned per week. $.......
15. Total amount of cash earned during vacation. $.......
16. Fair estimate of the value of your home work. $.......
17. Total cash value of your summer work (items 15 and 16). $.......
18. Have you a savings bank account? ... Amount of your deposit. $.......
Principals ascertain amount of deposit for lower grades. $.......
The financial results of this vacation work are summarized as follows:—
| Total | Deposit | |||
| Cash | Home Work | Earnings | in Bank | |
| High School | $6,393.01 | $1744.45 | $8137.44 | $2793.36 |
| Total for city | 16,422.00 | 3666.15 | 9559.25 | 3144.92 |
| Highest | individual | earnings | — High School | $260.00 |
| " | " | " | — Grades | 200.00 |
| Average | " | " | — High School | 76.00 |
| Highest | " | deposit | — " " | 300.00 |
| " | " | " | — Grades | 500.00 |
Pupils may graduate with honor from the St. Cloud High School by attaining certain standings and by offering two credits for home or continuation work. One of the sixteen credits required for regular graduation may be a credit for home or continuation work.