In Maycomb, it looked like the school system wasn’t very good at doing its job. From what I understood, each grade level was in one classroom and the school wasn’t very large, but that’s mainly because it’s a small town. Scout mentioned that most of the first grade had failed it last year, which surprised me because that meant that either the students weren’t very motivated or that the system just wasn’t working. The implementation of the “Dewey Decimal System” probably meant that the school was trying a new thing that had potential to increase literacy and grades, but it was too forced upon the students. For example, Scout was punished because she didn’t learn to read by the new system and they discouraged free reading and writing.
The attendance of school in Maycomb should have been enforced more. When I read that the students were only required to attend school on the first day, I didn’t think that made much sense. Going solely on the first day isn’t doing much for the students and this likely contributed to the high flunk rates at the school. The new system should have included stricter attendance policies, which would also improve the literacy rates and grades. I understand that some of the families were in poverty and needed the help of their children, but that’s why students had Summer Vacation, to do just that.
I agree with the implications that the education at Maycomb Coutny seems to be very lacking in enforcement. From what I read, it seems like the children have no motivation to go to school, and the teachers seem to lack to motivation to even teach the students well enough to try to make the students want to work. What kind of education system would just let the studen’t fail the first grade over and over again, and even punish people for being ahead of a failing class?
When you think of the negatives in the Maycomb school system you have to think of the positives as well. First of all it is necessary to remember that this book takes place in the Deep South during the Great Depression. At This time it was necessary that everyone in the family that could work should, so that the family would be able to survive. I agree that for families that were able to manage their children should have had to go to school, but the poorer farmer families who needed as many hands on their farm as possible, the rules should be much more lax.