EVENING SCHOOLS, schools which endeavor to educate those who for vari ous reasons cannot attend schools con ducted in the daytime. For the most part they are attended by people who earn their livelihood by working through the day and who desire to better their positions. They provide instruction in the primary grades, in vocational train ing, and in the liberal arts. Those who desire the primary work are chiefly older children and adults who have grown up illiterate. The largest number of stu dents attending evening schools in the United States are those who wish to place themselves above the position of unskilled laborers by learning a trade. The introduction of courses in liberal education is comparatively an innova tion. In 1834 New York City estab lished the first evening school and for a time it prospered, but as only primary instruction was given the number of students remained between ten and twenty thousand. When, however, even ing high schools giving instruction in commercial and technical work were opened, the number of students greatly increased. The Cooper Union of New York, a private institution, is one of the most famous of those offering secondary and vocational education by evening high schools. Massachusetts now leads the States in the Union in the number of evening schools and in average attend ance of students. Of the 204 cities which in 1913 had evening schools, 41 were located in Massachusetts cities. This
has largely been the result of a law passed by the State in 1911, which made provision for the extension of the work in night schools as a part of the move ment for vocational education. Many private institutions similar to the Cooper Union in New York have opened night schools. The Maryland Institute of Bal timore and the larger branches of the Young Men's Christian Association are conspicuous in the efforts to provide education for those who must earn their living by day labor.
In Germany the evening schools were started as early as the 18th century, but not until 1844 did they receive state or municipal aid. By 1914 Germany had established the most complete and effec tive system of evening schools, and at tendance on them was made compulsory for certain classes of people. As a re suit nearly 600,000 Germans attended night school during 1914. The number attending in the United States did not exceed 150,000. England surpassed even this record in evening school attendance, nearly 700,000 being given instruction in 1914. The courses in England are more varied than elsewhere, and in most cases lead to degrees, a most unusual affair in the States. The municipal gov ernments have made the evening schools centers of the social activities of the young people of the city, and much at tention is paid to physical education.