USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Quincy > Inaugural address of the mayor, with the annual report of the officers of the city of Quincy for the year 1906 > Part 18
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The selections should not all be of one type either of form or of sentiment. They should appeal to different moods, present many phases of thought and touch various chords of feeling, always, however, calling the mind and the heart to wholesome exercise.
While the study in each case should begin with the selec- tion itself and so much of its setting as is necessary to clear
15
understanding, it may very profitably close with a brief sketch of the writer.
Although many of the selections are short, it is not ex- pected that every pupil will learn all those assigned to his grade. Some children memorize so much more readily than others it should be required of each according to his ability. While the list suggests an abundance of suitable material for the several grades, it is highly desirable to have it supple- mented by some well-chosen proverbs or maxims presenting the condensed wisdom of the race. Each Monday morning a maxim may be placed upon the blackboard in front of the pupils as their special thought for that week. It may well be used as the text for penmanship practice in the upper grades. Generally, every pupil will know the proverb long before the end of the week. Occasionally there should be a maxim match to see who can recall the largest number of them.
Note .- The figures 1, 2 and 3 used below indicate the books in which the selections may be found.
Graded Memory Selections (1)
Waterman, McClymonds and Hughes
Three Years with the Poets (2) Hazard
Selections for Memorizing (3) Skinner
First Year.
Good Night (2)
Hugo
What Does the Bee Do? (3) Rosetti
Sweet and Low (1, 2, 3) Tennyson
Norse Lullaby (Sleep, Little One, Sleep) (2) Field
My Shadow (1, 3) Stevenson
A Child's Prayer (3)
M. Betham-Edwards Field
Sugar Plum Tree
Little Things (2, 3)
Fletcher
The Wind (1, 3)
Little Boy Blue (1)
Stevenson Field
16
Wynken, Blynken and Nod (1, 2, 3) All Things Bright and Beautiful (3) Lady Moon (2, 3)
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (3) Bed in Summer (1, 2)
To Mother Fairie (2)
The Lost Doll (2)
The First Christmas (2) Little Raindrops
Field Alexander Houghton Taylor Stevenson Alice Carey Kingsley Poulsson Hawkshawe
Second Year.
Kind Hearts are Gardens (1, 3)
There are Many Flags in Many Lands (1, 3)
Politeness (1, 3)
The Year's at the Spring (Pippa's Song) (1, 2, 3)
Browning
Hearts Like Doors (1, 3)
America (2, 3)
Suppose (I)
The Golden Rule
Dandelion
An Old Christmas Carol (2)
September (2)
Marjorie's Almanac (3)
H. H. Jackson Aldrich
Obedience
Phoebe Carey Stevenson
Where Go the Boats (3)
Forget-me-not (1)
The Twenty-Third Psalm (1, 2)
The Baby (I)
A Fable (1, 2)
The Wonderful World (1, 3)
Spring (2)
Bible Macdonald Emerson W. B. Rands Thaxter L. M. Hadley
The Rainbow Fairies
Samuel F. Smith Phoebe Carey Bible N. M. Garrabrant
Third Year. Look Up and not Down (1, 3) Hale
17
There's Nothing so Kingly as Kindness (3) Dare to be True (I) Red, White and Blue (Columbia) Jack in the Pulpit The Bluebird (2, 3) Don't Give Up (1, 2) A Visit from St. Nicholas (2)
He Prayeth Best (1, 2, 3)
The Twenty-Fourth Psalm Boys' Song (2, 3)
Jack Frost (3) They Didn't Think
The Children's Hour (2)
The Brown Thrush (1, 2)
Larcom Child
Thanksgiving Day (2)
Seven Times One are Seven (1, 2, 3)
Ingelow Lowell
Fourth Year.
Do not Make a Weak Excuse (3)
Home, Sweet Home (3)
The Sandpiper (1, 2) Somebody's Mother
The Barefoot Boy (I) Charity (First Corinthians, 13) Wisdom's Way (I)
John H. Payne Thaxter J. E. Brooks Whittier Bible
The Village Blacksmith (1, 2)
The Wind and The Moon (3)
Longfellow Macdonald
October's Bright Blue Weather (2, 3) Robert of Lincoln (2, 3) The Night Wind (2, 3)
H. H. Jackson Bryant Field Longfellow
The Ship of State (1, 3) The Brook (1, 2, 3) Duty
Tennyson Emerson
Herbert D. T. Shaw Whittier Miller Phoebe Carey Moore Coleridge Bible James Hogg Gould Phoebe Carey Longfellow
The First Snow-Fall
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Fifth Year.
So Nigh is Grandeur to our Dust (3) The Heritage (1)
Emerson Lowell Goethe
One Cannot Always be a Hero (3) November (2)
Clear the Way
Alice Carey Mackay
'Tis Only Noble to be Good (3)
Tennyson
Auld Lang Syne
The Day is Done (1)
A Farewell (2)
Ballad of the Tempest (2)
March (2)
Remember now Thy Creator (Ecclesiastes, 12)
Concord Hymn (1, 2)
An Order for a Picture
The Bell of Atri (2)
The Lighthouse (2)
The Gentleman
The Four Winds (2)
Burns Longfellow Kingsley J. T. Fields Thaxter Bible Emerson Alice Carey Longfellow Scott Thackeray F. D. Sherman
Sixth Year.
Pass It On (3)
Star Spangled Banner (2, 3)
The Charge of the Light Brigade
The Leak in the Dike
Be Good, Sweet Maid (3)
The Psalm of Life (I) Christmas (From "In Memoriam")
A Christmas Carol (2)
Francis S. Key Tennyson Phoebe Carey Kingsley Longfellow Tennyson Mulock Sargent
A Life on the Ocean Wave
Warren's Address to the American Soldiers (3) Pierpont Whittier
In School Days (2) To a Child (2) Wordsworth Tennyson
Bugle Song (2, 3)
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Sheridan's Ride (3) The True Measure of Life March (2) The Sea
Read P. J. Bailey Larcom R. W. Proctor
Seventh Year.
The Builders (1)
Battle Hymn of the Republic (1, 2, 3)
The Old Oaken Bucket
Longfellow Howe Samuel Woodworth Alice Carey
Nobility
Four Things
Van Dyke Longfellow
The Ladder of St. Augustine (I)
Bryant
The American Flag (1, 2)
Drake
The Fatherland
Lowell
Flower in the Crannied Wall (2)
Tennyson Bryant
Old Ironsides (2)
Holmes
God Bless Our Native Land (2)
Brooks and Dwight Lowell
The Chambered Nautilus (1, 3)
Holmes
Ode-The Spacious Firmament
Addison
Union and Liberty
Holmes
Think on These Things (Philippians 4, 8) Bible
Eighth Year.
Recessional (I)
Kipling
The Arrow and the Song (1, 2)
Longfellow Bailey
Address at Gettysburg (1, 3)
Lincoln
Death of Lincoln
Bryant
The American Patriot's Prayer
Ring Out, Wild Bells
Paine Tennyson Leigh Hunt
Abou Ben Adhem (1, 2)
My Native Land (Love of Country) (1, 2, 3) Scott
.
Death of the Flowers
The Fringed Gentian
Stanzas on Freedom (2)
We Live in Deeds (3)
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Civic Creed (2)
New Year's Eve (2)
Mary McDowell Tennyson Bryant E. R. Sill Bryant
To a Waterfowl (I) Life (1) Thanatopsis (1) The Quality of Mercy (Merchant of Venice) (3) Shakespeare
Vision of Sir Launfal Lowell
A Happy Life Wotton
The Landing of the Pilgrims (1, 2)
Hemans
The Nineteenth Psalm Bible
EVENING SCHOOLS.
Evening common schools were opened in the Adams and Willard buildings and an evening drawing school in the Old High school on Monday evening, October 8, and, after forty sessions, closed Tuesday evening, December 18, 1906. These schools were in session four evenings-Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of each week.
The Adams school was in charge of Archer M. Nicker- son, principal, assisted by Elizabeth S. Hiscock, Samuel D. Thompson, Elizabeth A. Garrity, Josephine Kelley, Jennie F. Griffin and Minnie E. Donovan. The number of sessions was forty. The total enrolment was 258, of whom 229 were men and 29 women. The average attendance was 85.18 and the average number of teachers 6.43.
The Willard school was in charge of Austin W. Greene, principal, assisted by William R. Kramer, Frances C. Sulli- van, Catherine McGovern, Mary B. Keating and Ellen G. Haley. The number of sessions was forty. The total enrol- ment was 129, of whom 112 were men and 17 women. The average attendance was 36.20 and the average number of teachers 4.03.
An effort was made at the opening of the evening schools to eliminate those persons who came with no serious
21
purpose of studying. This accounts for the diminished en- rolment. But while 87 less persons were enrolled in these schools than last year, the average attendance was only 13 less, thus showing a decided gain in the percentage of at- tendance, notwithstanding one or two very stormy nights when it was hardly suitable for anyone to be out.
In most of the classes excellent work was done and more than usual was accomplished. But the time has come for revising the course of study and changing the classification so as to make smaller and more homogeneous groups. Not over fifteen pupils should be assigned to a teacher, and the principal should be given more time for the work of classi- fication and supervision. It also seems highly desirable that lectures upon subjects specially adapted to the needs of mem- bers of these-schools should be given occasionally. At least there should be some appropriate closing exercises each year, including the presentation of certificates to those who have satisfactorily completed a two years' course of study. These would not only add variety but would tend to improve the attendance and to impress upon the members the im- portance of their work.
The first business of the evening common schools is to teach illiterates and non-English speaking foreigners to read and write the English language. The emphasis should be placed here and then the members should be given as much of an elementary education as the time and attendance will permit.
Heretofore in the classes learning to read the primers and first readers of the day schools have been used. In fact, most of the books used in the evening schools have been old discarded books of the day schools. This has been a mistake. In the first place, the thought presented in the ordinary primer is childish and of no interest to an adult. It is quite as important that the reading books be adapted in thought
22
as in language to the learner. Such books have been pre- pared and are to be had. Again, old dilapidated books al- ways greatly detract from the interest of any class. There is something attractive and pride inspiring about a good clean book. These influences are as potent in the evening schools as elsewhere.
The evening drawing school was in charge of Frederic G. Elton, who by training and experience is unusually well qualified for this work. . The number of sessions was forty and the total enrolment was 45, of whom 31 were in the me- chanical class and 14 in the free-hand class. The average attendance was 22-14.8 in the mechanical class and 7.2 in the free-hand.
RESIGNATION OF TEACHERS.
During the year twenty-one teachers, including one master, have resigned, twelve of them to accept more lucra- tive positions elsewhere. Most of these resigned before the increase in salaries took effect in September. Several others were offered positions, but on account of the increase decided to remain here. Among these were some of our best teachers.
In August Charles H. Taylor, Master of the Willard school, tended his resignation to accept the Principalship of the Devotion school in Brookline. Mr. Taylor came to this city from Portsmouth, N. H., in September, 1903, to take charge of the Wollaston-Massachusetts Fields district, the Master of that district having been granted a leave of ab- sence for a year. On the return of the old master, Mr. Tay- lor was transferred to the Willard school, where he remained two years. During his term of service here he fully main- tained the excellent reputation which he had established at Portsmouth and elsewhere. He demonstrated his ability as a most efficient organizer and administrator of a large and difficult school. He proved himself a wise and tactful disci-
23
plinarian, an accurate and forceful teacher and an unusually popular and successful manager of boys. He took a genuine interest in them and inspired them with a loyal and manly spirit. Mr. Taylor enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all who were associated with him in school work and left behind him an enviable reputation as a schoolmaster.
THE HIGH SCHOOL.
The most perplexing problem of the year was how to provide in September for seven hundred high school pupils with no place in which to house them, except an old four- room building condemned a dozen years ago as unfit for school use. This situation was an exceedingly unfortunate climax to the very unfavorable conditions under which the High School had been doing its work for several years. Had not a commendable public spirit led the Directors of Woodward Institute to open the institute building to high school classes afternoons during the fall term, the solution of our problem would have been still more difficult; and had a less efficient head master been in charge, the school would have suffered much more seriously, even if it had not be- come utterly demoralized. That there should be a great loss of interest and in the amount of work done was inevitable. But the gravest consequences lay in the irregular habits formed, in the blighting of educational ambition and in turn- ing the current of some lives into new and less promising channels. On the other hand, many of the pupils did good work, much better than could have been expected under the conditions; the teachers cheerfully and uncomplainingly did the best they could and the parents were remarkably patient during the long continued delay and confusion. Why the new building was not ready in September as promised is for others to explain; we can only state the fact that on Decem- ber 31, or nearly four months after a part of it was supposed
24
to be ready for school use, not a single room was ready for occupancy. All look forward to the opening of the next term with great hope for the beginning of an era of comfort and prosperity for the Quincy High School.
For the details of the work of the High School the reader is referred to the appended report of the Head Master.
Respectfully submitted,
FRANK E. PARLIN.
December 31, 1906.
QUINCY HIGH SCHOOL
Mr. Frank E. Parlin, Superintendent of Schools:
In accordance with custom, it gives me pleasure to sub- mit the following report of the Quincy High School for the year ending December 31, 1906.
Conditions have been far too difficult for the school to make any progress other than along lines which were estab- lished in former years. Teachers and pupils have worked hard to maintain the usual high grade of scholarship, deport- ment and attendance; but all have labored under the great- est disadvantages and have found it impossible to accomplish their purpose.
In January, 1906, it looked as if the end of the summer vacation would find the school free from the overcrowding which it had endured so long. Plans had been accepted, money appropriated and foundations laid; but the future hid the greater difficulties which were to be faced in September.
During the winter and spring terms, the school was di- vided into three sections, a morning and an afternoon ses- sion at the main building, and a morning session at the old building in the southern part of the city. This plan was similar to the one used in the two preceding years and gave fairly satisfactory results. Remodeling of the building was started immediately after the graduation, but it was not ready for occupancy at the end of the summer vacation. This left no accommodations for a school of over seven hundred pupils, except the old building of three rooms. At this crisis, permission was secured from the Directors for the use of Woodward Institute afternoons from quarter before two to six o'clock. The pupils were divided into four sec- tions, and handled in four sessions, two forenoon sessions at
26
the old building and two afternoon sessions at the Wood- ward. The afternoon sessions were less than two hours long. Nothing but class recitations were held, all study periods and general exercises being omitted. Even then it was necessary to hold from two to four recitations at the same time in some rooms and to omit all drawing, music, laboratory and reference work. That the progress of the pu- pils under such conditions could not be satisfactory is appar- ent; that many pupils, especially of the upper classes, lost opportunities for a broad education cannot be denied; and that the city did not make the most of its opportunity to train its youth for the widest social service is certain.
The shrinkage in registration during the summer vaca- tion was nearly two per cent. greater than in former years; and the number who left during the fall term was about five per cent. larger, mostly from the upper classes. Again, the percentage of daily attendance during the fall term was 93.4 per cent., which is almost two per cent. lower than formerly and means that there were about fourteen more pupils absent each day. It is not difficult to find the reasons for the loss of pupils and the decrease in membership and attend- ance. Pupils and parents saw little chance to secure an edu- cation under such crowded conditions, in such short sessions and at such unfavorable hours. Pupils worked or played all the forenoon, and were too tired to attend school in the after- noon. Some parents thought that the education which could be obtained in less than two hours did not repay the boys and girls for the loss of opportunities for profitable work, while others objected because their boys and girls must do school work in rooms poorly lighted by artificial means, and because they must return home after dark.
It is to be regretted that conditions have made it neces- sary to omit subjects as important as music and drawing. There has been neither room nor time since September for
27
either of these. The new building, however, with its assem- bly hall and drawing room, will provide an excellent oppor- tunity to resume and to broaden the courses in each of these subjects. Drawing, especially, should be allowed the same number of recitations per week as the sciences, languages and mathematics, and should be broadened by the introduc- tion of more advanced courses. A pupil who likes drawing and shows aptitude for it should be allowed to make it one of his four required courses.
The wear and tear on school property has been very much greater than usual. All the furniture, supplies, appa- ratus and books had to be moved first to the old building, where they were stored during the summer; then, when school opened, to the storage rooms on Washington Street; and finally, back to the main building midst dust and dirt. All through the fall term the pupils have been deprived of desks where they could keep their books and supplies, and have been obliged to carry them back and forth to school each day in straps or bags. Even with the greatest care on the part of all concerned, there have been many scratches, much breakage and considerable loss.
The old furniture still needs a careful and thorough overhauling before it is placed or used in the new building. The marks and scratches on the desks act as a constant sug- gestion to the pupils to make more marks. Covering the desks with a coat of varnish is not sufficient. They ought to be scraped or planed and then varnished. In some cases new tops ought to be provided.
Ten lessons in cooking for the girls of the senior class are too small a number to give much practical knowledge of the subject. Domestic science should be a regular course for the girls of the upper classes. The new building provides a room for this department. Some provisions should be made for the equipment of the room and for a teacher who
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can not only conduct classes, but can also manage the lunch room which is connected with it. The health of the pupils would be improved if there were an opportunity for those who need it, to purchase a simple but good lunch.
Is it not time that provision were made for the introduc- tion of some form of manual training into the courses of study? Young men and women are graduating each year without any special training to fit them for doing skilful work in the numerous industries of the city. Quincy's pros- perity today is due largely to the stonecutters who are work- ing her natural resources, and to the machinists who are tak- ing advantage of her fortunate location. The continuation of this prosperity, as competition increases, will depend much upon the skill of hand and the acitivity of mind which the rising generation shall possess. No wiser expenditure of money can be made than in providing liberal opportunities, in the form of workshops, for the training of the hand and eye as well as of the mind.
It now looks as if part of the building will be ready for use soon after the opening of the new year; but it is doubtful if the whole building will be finished and ready for occupancy much before the beginning of the school year, next Septem- ber. When completed it gives promise of providing the youth of the city for several years with ample accommoda- tions and excellent opportunities for a high school education.
Before leaving school, the members of the class of 1906 raised a large amount of money for school decoration by publishing the annual number of the Golden Rod, and they also donated a generous sum from the class treasury for the same purpose. The following data show that the city acted wisely in providing this class with the means of an education:
The class is distributed as follows:
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Graduate work in High School 4
College
6
Other Schools 16
Teaching
At work in Boston 23
At work in Quincy I7
At home
5
Total
72
In closing, I wish to thank the members of the Commit- tee, the Superintendent, and my assistants for their hearty support and co-operation.
Respectfully submitted,
CHARLES F. HARPER.
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QUINCY TEACHER'S ASSOCIATION
Officers :-.
President,-Thomas B. Pollard, Washington School. Vice President,-Charles Sampson, Quincy School. Secretary-Treasurer, Austin W. Greene, Gridley Bryant School.
Executive Committee :--
Thomas B. Pollard, Chairman, ex-officio.
L. Frances Tucker, High School.
Beatrice H. Rothwell, Adams School.
Josephine T. Collagan, Coddington School. Elsie E. Turner, Cranch School.
Austin W. Greene, Gridley Bryant School.
Elizabeth Hiscock, John Hancock School.
Frances Elcock, Lincoln School.
Florence C. Gammons, Massachusetts Fields School. Charles Sampson, Quincy School.
Thomas B. Pollard, Washington School.
Frances C. Sullivan, Willard School.
Mary L. Hunt, Wollaston School.
Adella W. Bates, Woodward Institute.
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SCHOOLMASTER'S CLUB OF QUINCY.
Officers :-
President, Charles F. Harper.
Vice President, Austin W. Greene.
Secretary-Treasurer, Frederic W. Plummer.
MEETINGS.
January 16, 1906. "Banking." Mr. Rupert F. Claflin.
February 21, 1906. "Defects of the Grammar Schools as Shown by Graduates upon Entering the Secondary Schools." Charles F. Harper, Frederic W. Plummer.
March 21, 1906. "Bryant, Longfellow and Whittier-a Com- parison." Supt. J. H. Carfrey, Wakefield.
April 18, 1906. Dinner at State of Maine Club. "The Ideal Schoolmaster." Members of the Club.
October 17, 1906. Each Grammar Master was assigned some subject of the Grammar School course and was given five minutes to tell "What to Do and How to Do It."
November 19, 1906. "Labrador." Col. Edward Anderson. December 19, 1906. Dinner at State of Maine Club. "Waste in Education." Supt. Asher J. Jacoby, Milton.
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REPORT OF TRUANT OFFICER
To Mr. Frank E. Parlin, Superintendent of Schools:
I herewith submit my ninth annual report as Truant Officer. The work of the past year has been largely given to the investigation of cases of reported absence from school, of which the accompanying table will show that there was an increase of two hundred forty-nine over the preceding year. This is due in most part to the neglect of parents, and their eager haste to get their children to work; and also to the wretched condition of the high school, which caused many children to absent themselves from school and to deceive their parents about the matter.
With the rapid growth of the city, only the stern hand of the school laws and a vigorous enforcement of the same by this department will keep the unruly, discontented children in school, and I might say bring the lawless, selfish parents to a realization that there is a law protecting and insisting on the education of the children.
With the change in the law a considerable portion of my time has been given to the enforcement of the law requiring labor certificates. I have found in nearly every case a ready response and desire on the part of the employers to comply with the same.
I feel sure much that has been accomplished in this de- partment is due to the careful attention to all the details of the department by the superintendent, and certain work carried out by me under his direction.
I wish at this time to record my sincere thanks for every courtesy extended to me during the year by all connected with the school department.
The following tables will show in detail my work for the year.
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TRUANT STATISTICS.
1906
No. of absences reported
No. of parents or guard-
ians notified.
Truancies determined by
investigation.
Truants
school
truancy.
Children returned
school from street.
Tardiness investigated.
No. of manufactories or
No. of children found
employed contrary to
No. placed on probation,
January,
112
108
16
1
0
0
5
1
1
February,
66
63
14
0
0
0
3
0
0
March,
87
82
7
0
1
1
6
2
1
April,
86
83
9
2
0
0
7
3
0
May,
79
77
14
1
2
0
8
0
2
June,
63
61
4
0
0
1
4
1
1
September,
108
104
9
0
0
0
11
2
0
October,
186
183
35
2
1
2
16
5
1
November,
116
115
19'
0
0
3
19
6
2
December,
105
104
11
4
0
1
14
4
0
Totals
L008
980
128
10
4
8
93
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