USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Melrose > City of Melrose annual report 1909 > Part 3
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Table VIII. PER CENT OF RETARDED PUPILS IN OTHER CITIES .*
City
Per Cent Retarded
City
Per Cent Retarded
Medford .
7.5
Utica, N. J
32.6
Waltham .
10.6
Melrose
33.4
Meriden, Conn.
13.0
Woonsocket, R. I.
35.4
Quincy
17.9
Philadelphia, Pa.
36.8
Aurora, Ill.
18.3
Columbus, O.
37.3
Boston .
18.5
Los Angeles, Cal.
38.3
Malden .
18.5
Baltimore, Md.
46.3
Springfield .
23.3
St. Louis, Mo
46.6
New York .
30.0
Memphis, Tenn. (white) .
51.3
Portland, Oregon
30.7
Cincinnati, O ..
58.7
Reading, Pa. .
31:6
Memphis, Tenn. (colored)
75.8
Trenton, N. J.
32.0
*From Tables presented by Secretary Ayres.
Previous to September, 1909, children were admitted to an elementary course of nine years at the age of five. If all children entered at that age, or within a few months of that age and progressed without interruption, the average age of any grade should be the average age of that class when it entered
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SCHOOL REPORT.
the system, plus the number of years it has been in the schools and the average age of the class entering the High School should be within a few months of fourteen years.
Early in the present school year the average age of pupils. in all grades was found to be considerably above the normal. The average age of the entering class at the High School proved to be fifteen years and nine months. This meant that, unless many children had entered school late, this particular class of 193 pupils had met with an average loss of one and one-half years during the nine years course below the High School. This meant that, on the average, each child had taken one-sixth more time than the course called for, at an in- creased cost to the City of $9,405.85 for this one class. In- vestigation showed that the number entering school late was a. negligible quantity.
Further study throughout the schools disclosed the follow- ing facts:
In December, 1909, there was a total membership of 2753. Of this number, 929, or more than 33 per cent., have- lost, somewhere in the course, from one to four years, from having to repeat the work.
Table IX.
Number retarded one year 783
two years 128
66 66 three years 13
four years 929 5 Number of different children
Total number of years lost 1098
Extra cost to the city, based on average cost per pupil for past ten years. $35,674.02
Extra cost to city of those children who have left school, by graduation or otherwise, during past twelve years, based on same ratio to average membership. 37,493.46 .
Total $73,167.48
Average extra cost per year $6,097.29
A study of the causes of this retardation resulted as. follows:
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CITY OF MELROSE.
Table X.
Retarded on account of backwardness, due largely to immaturity 367 Retarded on account of sickness, largely preventable . . .260
Retarded on account of unnecessary absence and lack of interest 206
Retarded on account of transfer from other cities or towns 96
Total
929
We find further that the period in their school course in which these children were retarded, was as follows:
Table XI.
Retarded in Grade I
244
60
66
66
III
167
66 66 66
IV
133
66
66
66
V.
102
66
66
VI
81
66 66
VII
65
66 66
66
VIII
40
66
66
66
IX.
12
66 66 66
X. .
5
66
66
66
XI
1
66
66
66
XII
1
66
66
66
XIII
1
Total number of years 1098
Again we find that there are repeating the work this present school year, a total of 231 pupils at an extra cost, ex- clusive of Furniture and Repairs, of $7,449.75, and dis- tributed as follows:
Table XII.
Grade I.
42
66
II .
37
66
III
41
IV 20
66
V.
20
VI
11
VII
27
66
VIII
24
60
IX
7
66
X
2
Total
231
66
66
II. 246
The conclusion to be drawn from these tables, regrettable for the past but full of hope for the future, is that much of this
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SCHOOL REPORT.
waste might have been prevented. Somewhat more than 39 per cent., was due largely to immaturity, and the greatest re- tardation was in the lower grades. Recent investigations and discoveries, especially with the x rays, disclose the fact that children of equal age are far from being equally developed in respect to the bones and vital organs. If those whose bodies develop slowly are forced in their studies, the brain draws off the blood supply and is developed at the expense of the body. Later the body claims its share of attention, but usually too late for full development, and as a final result both brain and body suffer. In the near future science may help us to deter- mine just when each child is ready to take up school duties. Until then it is safer to give all children the benefit of as much time as possible for bodily development. From this stand- point the recent action of the School Committee, in raising the age limit of entrance to six years, was justified and should do much in the future to remove a hitherto considerable cause for a large percentage of retardation.
The next important reason, that of sickness, is largely preventable. Better knowledge of hygienic living in the homes, better light, more and better ventilation and better sanitary conditions in the schools, closer medical inspection and even a system of district nurses, would not only save many valuable years for the children, but would reduce to a minimum this large item of extra expense and thus be an actual saving, financially, to the city. These two causes, moreover, warrant the installation of semi-annual promotions, as a large majority of those who have been retarded on account of backwardness have had to repeat a full year's work when one-half a year would have been sufficient. It would further justify an extra teacher in each large building, to work indi- vidually with backward pupils, in addition to their regular class work. The great majority of retarded pupils need only this extra help, which cannot possibly be given by the regular teachers, to help them over the hard places. These extra teachers would save their salary many times over.
The third cause, that of unnecessary absence and lack of interest, to which more than one-fifth of the retardation is due,
.
52
CITY OF MELROSE.
is the fault jointly of the school authorities and teachers on the one hand and to the homes on the other,-to the former for not inforcing rigorously the laws governing non-attendance and for not seeking more cordial and confidential relations with the parents; and to the latter for not showing proper interest in the advancement of their children and for lack of cooperation with the schools. Practically all this item of extra expense could and should be eliminated. At least one large city has placed upon the parent the burden, usually borne by the com- munity, of supporting their children when sent to the Truant School, and this position has been sustained by the local court. So far as I know, there is no legal reason why the same policy could not be put into effect throughout the Commonwealth. Further, if the parents of those children who have to repeat the work, were obliged either to furnish a physician's certificate that their children were physically or mentally unable to do the work, or to reimburse the city for the extra expense, we probably could predict a remarkable awakening of interest on the part of the children, and a larger measure of public support.
The last cause, that of transfer from other towns, while involving the smallest number, is the one that is the most difficult to correct. Each community, from necessity or be- cause of local conditions and demands, properly develops a system of schools different from any other. Children going from one town or city to another seldom fit at once into the grade corresponding to that from which they came. Possibly, in the future, closer supervision by the State, more intimate relations between educators, and more definite agreement as to what are the fundamentals, may place the schools of the State, and especially the elementary grades, upon a more uni- form basis.
In considering this whole matter, however, it should be borne in mind that a certain amount of retardation is necessary and wise. Our aim, therefore, should be, not absolute elimina- tion, but to approximate the minimum.
A Measure of Efficiency. We have, on the other hand, a much more hopeful view of the situation when we consider the output of our educational plant in comparison with other systems.
53
SCHOOL REPORT.
As Mr. Ayres has pointed out, "a factory is most efficient when it is being worked to its full capacity. As rises or falls the relation of finished product to raw materials, so rise or fall profits and dividends. These principles of manufacturing economics are the impelling forces that explain the vigilant care with which managers and owners watch these variable features and the painstaking exactness with which they state them in the annual reports of mercantile corporations."
"In vivid contrast to this condition is the lack of definite information available in the field of educational administration with respect to the degree of efficiency in the use of our educa- tional plants."
"What proportion of the children who enter our schools remain to complete the elementary course? Among all the questions in the field of school administration this is today one of the most important. It is the question of the relation of the finished product to the raw material."
"As we have seen, the lower grades are in large measure made up of children who do not advance as they should. The stream of children progressing through the grades is dammed so that these grades are abnormally swollen. The upper grades, we find, have in them less than 100 per cent. of the annual number of beginners, chiefly because many children are retarded in the lower grades. At the end of the compul- sory age period, they find themselves still far from graduation. They are humiliated and discouraged by their lack of success and find the work of the grades they are in most distasteful. As the law no longer compels attendance, they drop out."
"The general tendency of American city school systems is to carry all of the children through the fifth grade, half of them to the final elementary grade, and one in ten to the final year of the High School."
It has been possible, because of the records kept in this city, to ascertain the number of children in the first grade for any given year for the past twelve years, and thus, by com- parison with the same grade at the present time, to compute the percentage of pupils retained. The following table shows the number of children in each grade above the sixth, when
54
CITY OF MELROSE.
that class entered as a first grade, the number in each grade for the fall term, 1909, and the nearest per cent. that each grade is now to its number when it entered our public school system.
Table XIII.
Grade
Number Enrolled as First Grade
Number of Present Grade
Per Cent Retained
Boys
Girls
Total
VII
364
173
158
331
91
VIII
324
153
158
311
96
IX
356
110
111
221
62
High School
1st year
316
92
101
193
61
2d
316
56
76
132
42
3d
66
359
71
59
130
36
4th
306
44
68
112
37
It is interesting; to note in this connection that of last year's graduating class, the largest in the history of our High School, nearly 50 per cent., are pursuing higher studies. This shows the need and tendencies of our school population, and the desire of the parents for a complete preparatory education. We are actually sending to higher institutions nearly twice the percentage of children that usually graduate from the high schools of other cities.
We find from this table that, in spite of the large measure of retardation in our schools, we are still carrying through the elementary grades and the High School a remarkably large number of our children. In other words, our educational out- put is large.
The following table gives our standing, in comparison with other cities, as to the percentage of children carried through the eighth and ninth grades, and to each year of the High School, according to the figures given by Secretary Ayres.
55
SCHOOL REPORT.
Table XIV.
Grades
High School
City
8
9
I
II
III
IV
Melrose
96
62
61
42
36
37
Newton .
78
69
55
46
38
38
Waltham.
80
73
71
48
30
29
Haverhill
90
78
47
32
24
24
Fitchburg
87
58
74
41
27
23
Somerville .
68
64
48
33
26
22
Malden .
74
70
47
37
22
19
Quincy
82
61
35
22
18
Lowell .
67
54
39
32
27
17
Portland, Me.
62
55
40
29
19
16
Medford .
86
72
50
30
26
14
Newport, R. I.
63
48
41
24
15
12
Springfield, Mass.
76
57
17
16
15
11
Cleveland, Ohio
48
28
17
13
10
Meriden, Conn.
62
46
42
18
13
9
Boston .
64
59
29
19
15
6
Jersey City, N. J.
45
15
7
4
3
The above tables show, as is to be expected, that our period of greatest loss is between the eighth and ninth grades, when many pupils reach the age limit of compulsory attend- ance. It is at this time that children who are discouraged by retardation and "thoroughly trained in failure," leave our schools to earn a living in a social system that demands workers trained in an atmosphere of success. Herein lies a serious defect of the public school system of our country.
On the other hand, the above tables show that, in the re- tention of pupils, we stand practically at the head of those cities of the country at large, whose statistics are available. Furthermore, we are carrying through the upper grades and the High School an unusually large percentage of boys. These facts show beyond dispute that our schools as at present or- ganized, approach at least, the adaptability to the needs and desires of their patrons that should be required, and refute, for our own community, two leading criticisms of the public school system as a whole, namely, that we are not giving the training that the parents wish, and that the course is better fitted for girls than for boys.
56
CITY OF MELROSE.
Moreover, it is very generally conceded that "the amount of education furnished by our common school course is the minimum which may be safely allowed to the future citizens of this democracy." Therefore, the fact that we carry 96 per cent., into the eighth grade and only 62 per cent., into the ninth grade, is an excellent argument for the reduction of the elementary schools to an eight grade system. With the re- forms already inaugurated, we shall do away with a large part of the retardation, and, even with the raising of the entrance age, we ought to put children into the eighth grade at, approx- imately, the present average age, which is nearly a year higher than it should be. We may thus hope to give a still larger proportion of our children a complete elementary education.
These conditions which have been presented at some length, seem of unusual importance and significance, if we are to place our schools upon a business,-to say nothing of a scientific,-basis. If we are to eliminate wasteful processes and increase our educational output, we must have carefully gathered and definite data, exact knowledge as to results, and above all, the cooperation of parents, and the loyal support of a community thoroughly enlightened as to the real facts con- cerning our public schools.
Playgrounds.
Dr. T. S. Clouston, a noted Scottish alienist, in a recent lecture before the "Child Study Society," spoke in part as follows :- "The effects of environment are such that they may make or mar the mental development of a child, may equip it physically to face the world and its work with ease, or leave it relatively miserable, incapable, anemic. These environments include the outward forces of nature, such as light and air. Town life under the best conditions is apt to make children un- stable in mind. Yet stability of mind is the most desirable quality for any growing human being. It follows that the children of all residents in towns should be secured plenty of fresh air and sunlight, and the fullest opportunity for play and exercise. No city or town is entitled to regard itself as modern
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SCHOOL REPORT.
which does not possess adequate playgrounds for its children. Who can estimate the loss to a nation which arises from the absence of playgrounds, whereby the physical and moral characters of men and women are materially affected for evil ?"
Massachusetts has recognized the validity of this argu- ment by authorizing cities and towns to purchase tracts of land for playground purposes. Melrose has already shown an inclination to make such provision, and is looking about, none too soon, for available lots. In this connection I would earn- estly recommend the purchase, where possible, of land near or adjacent to the larger school buildings, that could be used be- fore and after school and at recess. At present the children are obliged to play in the open streets, which is not only dan- gerous, even when supervised by the teachers, as is done at recess, but is also against the city ordinances, and we are thus teaching the child to break the law.
A small lot of land adjoining the Franklin School was pur- chased last fall. Provision can be made for at least two other large buildings at small expense if the matter is taken up at once, and this much needed relief should be seriously con- sidered and definite action taken.
The High School.
As this report is written, the upper floor in the new south wing of the High School is occupied. It is probable that we may have the use of the entire wing within a short time. When this is possible, we shall return at once to the usual one session basis. The north wing should be ready for use in September, in time to receive the ninth grade, and indications now are that the whole building will be filled from the time of its completion. This will relieve the over-crowded grammar schools, all of which are now using the assembly halls for class rooms.
For a discussion of the condition and progress of the High School, I refer you to the report of the Principal, which follows. It is only just, however, that due acknowledgment should be made of the loyal, whole hearted manner in which all con-
58
CITY OF MELROSE.
nected with this school have accepted the extra work which has been necessary this year, and the efficiency shown by the management in maintaining the usual high standard of work under unusually difficult conditions.
Report of the High School Principal.
Mr. John C. Anthony,
Superintendent of Schools.
Dear Sir :-
I herewith submit the report of the High School for the past year with some suggestions as to its present needs.
Ninety pupils were graduated last June, the largest class in the history of the school. Of these nearly one-half entered higher institutions, being distributed as follows:
Harvard College
2
Massachusetts Institute of Technology . 4
Dartmouth College . 2
Boston University 3
Tufts College . 2
Tufts Medical School
1
Bates College . . 2
1
State Agricultural College
1
Rhode Island State College
Michigan Agricultural College 1
Smith College 1
Simmons College . 4
Salem Normal School . 5
Bridgewater Normal School 2
Six are continuing their studies in other institutions, and six have returned to school for a Post-Graduate course. Of the remainder thirty-five have taken business positions, either in Melrose or Boston. This makes seventy-eight out of the ninety who are either preparing themselves for greater effici- ency or have already entered upon their life's work.
The maximum enrollment for the year 1908-1909, was 523, of the present year 578, showing an increase of fifty-five pupils, and judging from the number now in the ninth grades, there ought to be as large an increase next year. Although the enrollment of the school has increased very rapidly, yet it has been a healthful growth. The number of graduates has
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SCHOOL REPORT.
more than kept pace with the increasing numbers in the enter- ing classes, a much larger proportion of the graduates are en- tering college each year, and there is an increasing demand by business men for graduates of our commerical department.
The work of the past year has, on the whole, been very satisfactory, notwithstanding the fact that we have been greatly handicapped by cramped quarters and the confusion necessarily caused by the additions to the building. I cannot speak too highly of the splendid spirit shown by both teachers and pupils, and the effort made by both to maintain the stand- ard of scholarship during this trying time. That the work has not suffered more is due entirely to their cheerful and hearty cooperation with the management of the school. The honor- list, those pupils who maintain the highest mark given, was more than doubled during the past year. This shows that the standard of scholarship is higher than ever before, and that there is, among the pupils, a greater appreciation of the value of a High School education. Many of our graduates who have entered college, are taking high rank. One college to which we have sent many students during the past four or five years, sent us word that our pupils were the best prepared in some subjects of any who entered that institution.
There have been several changes in the corps of teachers during the past year.
In January, Mr. C. Ross Appler, the efficient head of the Commercial Department, resigned to accept a position in the Girls' High School, Boston, and Mr. Harold C. Spencer was en- gaged as a substitute. In May he also resigned to accept a position in the Boston High School of Commerce, and Mr. Rob- ert S. Schoonmaker was engaged to fill out the year. Although he was practically an inexperienced teacher, yet he showed such marked ability and aptitude for the work, that he was reg- ularly elected to this position, and everything seems to indicate that the efficiency of this department will be maintained.
Mr. Orren H. Smith, the head of the English Department, resigned in June, to accept a position in the Girls' High School, Boston. During the four years he was in Melrose, he won an enviable record as an instructor, and as a forceful man whose
. 60
CITY OF MELROSE.
influence for good was felt throughout the school. During the past ten years, the resignation of no teacher has caused such universal regret as his.
Mr. Robert F. Allen, who had successfully taught English and Physics for one year, was made provisional head of the department.
Mr. Robert L. Cummings, a graduate of the University of Maine, and with two years' experience as a teacher, was elected to the position of teacher of Physics and English.
Owing to the increased membership of the school and the accumulation of work in the Commercial Department, Mrs. Helen E: Long was elected as teacher of Bookkeeping and Commercial Arithmetic.
Such a change of teachers as took place the past year is greatly to be deplored, especially when the change comes dur- ing the school year. However able the teachers may be who are chosen to fill the vacancies, the change cannot be made without impairing the efficiency of the school, and without distinct educational loss to the pupils.
While the financial limitations of a city like Melrose are recognized, and the seeming burden of a High School as large as our own, yet I believe it is imperative that some means should be devised whereby the services of competent teachers may be retained.
With the increased facilities which we are to have in our new building, the efficiency of the school ought to be greatly increased, but this cannot be done if our school is to be a train- ing school for teachers for other places.
The course of study has been in operation with slight changes, for the past eleven years, and needs to be revised. It is now especially lacking in subjects suited to the needs of the entering class. If we could have a good course in elementary science for that year, or some course along industrial lines, it would, in my opinion, be of inestimable value to a large number of pupils, and be the means of arousing an interest which would encourage many, who now drop out, to continue in school and graduate.
With a membership of about 580, we have twenty
61
SCHOOL REPORT.
teachers, nineteen besides the Principal, one teacher to every thirty pupils. The general rule throughout the State is one teacher to every twenty-five pupils. In this way it can be seen that we are greatly handicapped by having too large divi- sions. An instructor cannot do his best work with more than twenty-five pupils. Many of our divisions, especially in Eng- lish, History, and some of the Commercial branches, number from thirty to forty. When classes are as large as this, it is impossible for a teacher to reach every student, so that many are neglected, and in nine cases out of ten, it will be those who need the most attention.
The ideal condition is not to be expected, yet there ought to be one or two additional teachers, if we are to accomplish what is expected of us.
For many years it has been my firm conviction that every school of four hundred or more pupils, ought to have an extra or utility teacher, one to whom no regular classes are assigned, but who can devote her entire time in helping those who are a little slow, or who by force of circumstances have not been able to be in school all the time. Many pupils who become dis- couraged and leave school would be taken by this teacher and helped so that they would get the benefit of a good education.
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