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 1910 > Part 17
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22
Respectfully submitted,
ALICE G. WHITE, Librarian.
14
THOMAS CRANE PUBLIC LIBRARY
STATISTICS
Accessions
Added by purchase, new books 2,577
Added by purchase, to replace old copies 401
Added by gift 217
Added by binding periodicals 106
Added by return of missing books 6
Total gain 3,307
Discarded and replaced 209
Discarded and not replaced 145
Discarded from contagious diseases 18
Lost and paid for 11
Charged and not returned
16
Missing from outside shelves, Main hall . .
19
Missing from open shelves, Children's room 7
Total loss 425
Net gain 2,882
In the library, Dec. 31, 1909
27,233
In the library, Dec. 31, 1910 30,115
Circulation
Main hall 64,325
Children's room 22,207
West Quincy reading room, July 6-Dec. 31 8,068
From Central through Reading room, July 6-Dec. 31 803
(Included in Central library circulation)
15
LIBRARIAN'S REPORT
Circulation, continued
Schools 631
Total circulation 95,231
Percentage of fiction, Main hall 60.9
Percentage of fiction, Children's room 62.1
Percentage of fiction, West Quincy reading room 56.8
Days the Central library was open 304
Days the West Quincy reading room was open 151
Largest day's circulation, Main hall, Nov. 5 458
Largest day's circulation, Children's room, Nov. 7. . . 195
Largest day's circulation, West Quincy reading room, Nov. 28 118
Average daily circulation, Main hall 211
Average daily circulation, Children's room 73
Average daily circulation, West Quincy reading room 53
Largest day's attendance, West Quincy reading room, Nov. 16 225
Average daily attendance, West Quincy reading
room 93
Recorded library use, Main hall 2,510
Recorded library use, Children's room 2,733
Stereographs loaned 10,243
Stereographs used in library
2,629
Vacation books loaned, July-Oct. 237
Books borrowed, Inter-library loan 11
16
TIIOMAS CRANE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Circulation by Classes, 1910
CLASS
Main Hall
Children's
Room
West Quincy
Reading Room
Schools
Total
General Works
696
899
713
2,308
Philosophy and Religion
1,111
66
9
1 1,187
Sociology
633
55
106
8
802
Science
950
721
357
51
2,079
Useful and Fine Arts
1,235
468
176
32
1,911
Literature and Philology
1,922
1,237
388
36
3,583
History
1,263
785
213
91
2,352
Travel
1,492
1,643
664
108
3,907
Biography
1,105
747
237
66
2,155
Fiction
39,168
13,798
4,585
238
57,789
Periodicals (unbound)
14,750
1,788
620
17,158
Total
64,325
22,207
8,068
*631
95,231
*Number of books loaned to schools. Statistics of use not recorded.
there
17
LIBRARIAN'S REPORT
Registration
New registrations in 1910
Main hall 876
Children's room 347
West Quincy reading room 537
1,760
Number registered, Dec. 31, 1909
4,534
6,294
Cancelled registrations
1,737
Whole number of borrowers, Dec. 31, 1910 4,557
Miscellaneous
Books rebound 782
Books repaired by binder 27
Books bound from sheets 215
Periodicals bound 179
Periodicals rebound
98
Total 1,301
Books mended at the library 4,501
Unbound periodicals mended at the library 227
Total 4,728
Periodicals subscribed for, 1910-11 104
Periodicals received by gift, 1910-11 18
Library Art club exhibits
13
18
THOMAS CRANE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Quincy Donors to the Thomas Crane Public Library during the year 1910
Baxter, Miss Clara L.
Conti, Angelo
Hlingston, William E.
Melendy, A. Edward
Merrill. Hon. J. F.
Prescott, George W., Publishing Co.
Quincy Branch National Alliance
Sheahan, Henry B.
Spargo Print
Spear, Mrs. Charles A.
Taylor, Mrs. Ella E.
Wainwright, Miss Belinda E.
Periodicals at West Quincy Reading Room 1910-1911
Harper's Monthly
¿Harper's Weekly
Century Magazine
Lippincott's Magazine
Outing Popular Mechanics
Scientific American
Scientific American Supplement
Delineator Ladies' Home Journal
¿Good Housekeeping
American Boy
Youth's Companion
St. Nicholas Boston Herald *Quincy Daily Ledger *Quincy Telegram *Gift ¿Added for 1911
Annual Report
OF THE
Schul Department
OF THE
City nf Quinry
Massachusetts
For the Fiscal year riding Derember 31. 1910
1640 MANET
QUINCY? 18837
-
ADVERTISER STEAM PRINT
QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS
1911
3
School Committee for 1910
-
AT LARGE.
TERM EXPIRES
Dec. 31, 1910
DR. NATHANIEL S. HUNTING, 1136 Hancock Street, Quincy.
MR. ARTHUR W. NEWCOMB, Dec. 31, 1911 98 East Howard Street, Quincy Neck.
DR. EDWARD H. BUSHNELL, Dec. 31, 1912
566 Washington Street, Quincy Point.
BY WARDS.
WARD 1 .* MIR. DEXTER E. WADSWORTH, Dec. 31, 1910 157 Goffe Street, Quincy.
MR. JOHN D. MACKAY. Dec. 31, 1910
64 Merrymount Road, Quincy.
WARD 2. MR. JOHN J. O'TIARA, Dec. 31, 1910
39 Newcomb Place, Quincy.
WARD 3. MR. JOHN L. MILLER, Dec. 31, 1910
211 Franklin Street, South Quincy.
WARD 4. MR. JAMES F. BURKE, Dec. 31, 1911
11 Cross Street, West Quincy.
WARD 5. DR. WILLIAM G. CURTIS, Dec. 31, 1912
10 Grand View Avenue, Wollaston.
WARD 6. MR. HERBERT S. BARKER, Dec. 31, 1911 365 Hancock Street, Atlantic,
* Note-Mr. Dexter E. Wadsworth died April 7, and Mr. John D, Mackay was elected May 16.
4
CHAIRMAN.
MIR. JOHN L. MILLER.
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS. MR. ALBERT LESLIE BARBOUR.
Office. 8 Washington Street. Office hours; Mondays and Fridays from 8 to 9 A. M., Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 5 P. M.
CLERK.
MISS LUCY M. HALLOWELL.
Office, 8 Washington Street. Office hours: 8 to 12 A, M. 2 to 5 P. M., Saturdays, from 8 to 12 A. M.
TRUANT OFFICER.
MR. CHARLES H. JOHNSON.
Office. 7 Temple Street, Room 3. Office hours for issuing Labor Certificates: 8 to 10 A. M., 1.30 to 2 p. M .. and from 7 to 9. all evenings except Thursday.
The regular meetings of the School Board are held at eight o'clock P. M., the last Tuesday in each month.
5
STANDING SUB-COMMITTEES FOR 1910
FOR THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS.
High Messrs. Miller, Curtis, Newcomb
Adams
Messrs. Newcomb, Miller, Burke
Coddington Messrs. Hunting, O'Hara, Mackay
Cranch Messrs. Newcomb, Bushnell, Hunting
Gridley Bryant Messrs. O'Hara, Burke, Miller
John Hancock Messrs. Mackay, Bushnell, Burke
Lincoln Messrs. Mackay, Burke, Hunting
Massachusetts Fields Messrs. Curtis. Barker, O'Hara
Quincy Messrs. Barker, Curtis, Newcomb
Washington Messrs. Bushnell, O'Hara, Mackay
Willard Messrs. Burke, Hunting, Miller
Wollaston Messrs. Curtis, Mackay, Barker
BOOKS, SUPPLIES AND SUNDRIES. Messrs. Newcomb, O'Hara, Curtis. TEXT BOOKS. Messrs. Curtis, Mackay, Bushnell.
TRANSPORTATION. Messrs. Burke, O'Hara, Barker. EVENING SCHOOLS. Messrs. Mackay, Hunting, Burke. SPECIAL SUBJECTS. Messrs. Bushnell. Newcomb, Miller.
RULES AND REGULATIONS. Messrs. Barker, Curtis, Newcomb. TEACHERS. The Chairman, Messrs. Hunting, O'Hara.
FINANCE AND SALARIES. The Chairman, Messrs. Barker, Burke.
1
Report of the School Committee
To the Citizens of Quincy :
Your School Committee respectfully submits the follow- ing report. The enviable standing of the school system of Quincy, which has placed her in the front ranks of education, has been maintained during the past year. Book knowledge has not alone been taught, but in addition, the fundamentals of life, power and efficiency. To mould and shape the charac- ter of the coming generation should ever be a prominent factor of education.
Your Committee fully realizes that it made no mistake in the selection of Albert L. Barbour for Superintendent. At his suggestion many valuable changes and additions have been made to our school system. His painstaking supervision. earnestness, and thorough executive ability are greatly ap- preciated by the Committee and the character of the schools bears witness to his thorough and conscientious work for the city.
The Committee wishes to express here its appreciation of the teaching force, which so faithfully labors for the good of our children. Wages of almost every vocation have increased in the past few years, while teachers' salaries have remained unchanged. If due consideration be given to the nature of their work, which is of immeasurable value to the city, and to the excellence of the services rendered by them in their work, it cannot be denied that they are not receiving, under the present
7
S
salaries paid them. a just return for their labor. If we con- sider further the increased cost of living, and the various other necessary expenses incidental to the advances made along educational lines, it must be admitted that the teachers of the Quincy schools cannot do more than barely earn a living. The Committee, therefore, recommends an increase in their salaries to equal at least, that paid in neighboring cities.
The High School. under the able management of Head Master James D. Howlett, who was elected to his position one year ago, is in a flourishing condition. Seven hundred seventy- one pupils are enrolled. The curriculum has been broadened so that it offers diverse courses to satisfy the needs and inter- ests peculiar to the various pupils in their preparation for fu- ture work.
To the great satisfaction of parents a lunch counter has been installed. where at a nominal cost, good wholesome food is provided. It is practically self-supporting and is highly satisfactory to all. Domestic science in its various branches is being adequately provided for. Such an important addition to the high school course cannot but meet the hearty approval of all.
We wish to emphasize the importance of the department of manual training. Only within the past year has any con- siderable work been done in this line. At the high school building a promising beginning has been made. Here boys of the high school and those of the eighth grade in the grammar schools may in limited sessions receive instruction. This in- struction is greatly restricted by lack of room and proper lathes, tools, benches, etc., which are absolute essentials for suc- cessful teaching. Other cities have seen the importance of this branch of education and have amply provided for it and Quincy certainly should do likewise.
If, with satisfaction to all interested parties. Adams Academy could become a part of our school system and be recognized in some way in the name of our high school, there would be ample room and means for the maintenance both of a strong classical department and a practical training school
9
which your Committee feels would satisfy long felt want in this city. It is urgently urged and recommended that this umion of forces be brought about.
The evening schools have been most satisfactory. At the high school seven separate rooms have been used for various kinds of teaching. The Committee thinks the results obtained justify nrging that a regularly organized evening school for advanced pupils be made distinctly a part of our school sys- tem. The attendance at the other evening schools proves their success.
The present congestion at the Coddington School should bo relieved by the much needed opening of the Atherton Hough School. This new building will be nearly filled when it is opened. The proposed new buildings at Wollaston and Montelair will supply a long and greatly felt want in these sections. The rapid growth of Squantum and the increasing number of families settling in Atlantic as a result of new in- dustries starting at Neponset will soon demand increased ca- pacity at the Quincy School. Ward Two with the Fore River Shipbuilding Company and other industries about to locate there will soon demand a new school building situated nearer the center of this district. These demands the city must soon meet and we earnestly ask that early attention be directed to these sections.
The telephones, which have been installed in each of the schools, have resulted in the saving of much valable time which formerly was lost in travel from one building to another and which is now better utilized in the direct work of the schools.
The wisdom of establishing among the scholars of the grammar schools a system for the saving of pocket money has been fully demonstrated. During the past year, as a result. from eight to nine hundred dollars have been saved each month by the pupils and placed on deposit to their credit in the Quin- ey Savings Bank. In this way, thrift, a great essential to sue- cess in life, is taught our children. We strongly advise the continuance of this system.
10
The Committee recommends that the Board of Health in- stitute a thorough-physical examination of every child at the beginning of each school year and that proper compensation be paid the school physicians for this extra work.
We condemn the drinking fountains found in our school buildings as unsanitary and of unsatisfactory type and_we recommend the installation of some approved type of drinking fountain in each of our schools.
The wisdom of having adequate playgrounds surrounding each of our grammar schools cannot be doubted, and we recom- mend that these be provided wherever it is possible. We therefore in this connection advise and urge the purchase, as soon as possible, of the Arnold lot, adjoining the Coddington School. and also of the lot adjoining the Massachusetts Fields School.
The present prosperous condition of our schools. is a testi- mony of the good will, liberal and hearty support and keen interest of the citizens of Quincy in past years, and that she has taken such a prominent position in education should be the just cause of much pride to her citizens. The Committee feels certain that when future demands are made on them the same promptness and loyalty will be manifest as in past years.
On April 7. 1910. Mr. Dexter E. Wadsworth. who was serving his second term as a member of this Committee and who had rendered the city faithful and very efficient service in this department and in other ways. passed from this life.
At a joint meeting of the School Committee and the City Council held May 16. 1910. Mr. John D. Mackay was chosen a member of this Committee to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Wadsworth.
The School Committee at a meeting held April 26, 1910. adopted and placed on record the following resolutions :-
11
In Memoriam
IN MEMORY OF MR. DEXTER E. WADSWORTH
The members of the School Committee wish to put on record their high appreciation of Mr. Dexter E. Wadsworth as a member and as a man.
As a member of the committee he was always prompt and attentive to all its duties-earnest and careful in all his de- liberations. As a man he was a good citizen-a true and loyal friend-thoughtful and helpful to others-giving always the best that was in him to whatever he undertook.
The schools and the city are distinctly poorer from the loss of a character of such strength and promise.
Our most sincere sympathy is extended to the wife and mother at this time of their great affliction.
Resolved : That this memorial be spread upon the records of the School Committee and a copy be sent to the family of Mr. Wadsworth.
John L. Miller, Chairman. Arthur W. Newcomb, .John J. O'Hara. William G. Curtis.
Nathaniel S. Hunting.
Eward H. Bushnell.
James F. Burke.
Herbert S. Barker.
Albert L. Barbour. Secretary,
Quiney, Massachusetts. April 26, 1910.
The foregoing report presented by a special committee, consisting of Dr. Edward HI. Bushnell, Mr. John J. O'Hara and Mr. Herbert S. Barker was adopted as the annual report of the School Committee of 1910.
ALBERT L. BARBOUR,
Secretary.
Report of the Superintendent
To the School Committee of Quincy :
Herewith I submit my second annual report as Superiu- tendent of public schools, which is the thirty-sixth in the series of such reports and the sixty-first of the printed reports of the. School Committee of Quincy.
School Efficiency
The success of any business or process may best be meas- ured by its product. We are accustomed to take careful account of the output, the waste and the costs of production in nearly all fields of human industry. In some fields it is possible to do this with almost mathematical exactness; in almost all is it possible to search deeply enough to determine whether or not there is progress and by what means that progress may be made continuous and widely inclusive. For instance, in the minds of those concerned in the education of youth and anxiously seeking successful results, such questions are apt to arise as the fol- lowing: How great a percentage of pupils entering the first grade are continuing to the final grade? How many reach the final grade without repetition of the work of one or more years ? What is the cause of the repetition of work or the elimination of pupils from school in the first eight grades? What is the record of success made by pupils after entrance to the high school ? How many pupils leave high school on account of failure to do the work or are obliged to repeat work? Of the number who are carried through to high school graduation
13
14
how many have any definite aim or are prepared in any special direction for a productive life work ? Such questions, of course, are mainly quantitative ; yet it will be generally agreed that they are entirely pertinent and highly important. Some of them can be answered exactly in numbers and percentages ; others can be answered only in a general way and without any assurance of certainty, since inferences and not exact knowl- edge must so frequently be used as the basis in determining conclusions.
The growth of the school system on the side of efficiency will be influenced very greatly by the fearlessness and intelli- gence with which we take such questions into account, and a consideration and a comparison of our results from year to year even if incomplete cannot fail to be of great value. For instance. the graduating class last June from the combined grammar schools of the city numbered 418; in September 1902, the first grades of the combined schools numbered 869, over 200 of whom had entered school for the first time the previous year. These two statements in a general way, indicate some elmina- tion from school and a considerable amount of retardation as the pupils pass from grade to grade. A study however of the history of a class, year by year, from its entrance to school as a first grade until its graduation as an eighth grade gives us information as to the point in the school course where pupils find progress most difficult, and where they most com- monly leave school. An examination moreover of the individu- al instances of pupils leaving school to determine actual causes. will give information which if properly interpreted and handled should be of immense value in our efforts to make the school system more efficient. The same statement would be true as to a study of the individual instances of retardation of school progress. In our most recent graduating class cited above, 3 spent 5 years in completing the course; 1 spent 6 years; 11 spent 7 years; 193 spent 8 years ; 155 spent 9 years ; 37 spent 10 years; 17 spent 11 years; 1 spent 12 years. In other words, 210 or a bare majority required more than 8 years to complete the course. A study of a series of classes from year to year will enable us to determine whether
15
.
the number of pupils who meet retardation at some point or other in their school course is being reduced or not, and if this study is conducted in such a way that cach pupil becomes a subject of thought, requiring specific reasons for individual failures, we can undoubtedly reduce to an appreciable degree the very considerable amount of waste energy, which goes on from year to year, and which is a charac- teristic of all school systems. A careful attention directed to- ward individual failures actual and threatened in the many school rooms of the city with an analysis of causes will inevi- tably arouse equal interest in applying such remedies and pre- ventives as may be brought to bear to ward the failures off, so that as the individual is studied more closely profit should ac- crue both to the school system and to the child.
Especially in the high school where most retardation and waste energy takes place. a study of individual failures and of pupils leaving school will do much to inform us whether the school is gaining in power to achieve results; and will in- dicate how the work of the school may be modified or its scope broadened to make the widest possible appeal to adolescent youth.
In a word, the school department should keep a record of its successes and its failures, as far as it is able to use any standard as a measure. If it has material each year with which it achieves no measurable or worthy results, causes must be studied and these as found or inferred should be recorded whether to the credit of the schools or not. In an extended and country-wide study which was made under the direction of the Russell Sage Foundation along these especial lines, the schools of this city hold exceptionally high rank in efficiency attained. Even so. the improvement which may easily be made by facing the fact that this retardation and elimination is constantly go- ing on, by going well below the surface to search for individual causes and to apply remedies, and by directing to the study of this question the intelligent attention of the entire school force. is so great and of such vast worth that it is the most immediate duty of the school department, and is already being under- taken.
16
Enough has been said to indicate the great amount of school waste. The great and general contributing causes to this waste are also quite well known. Physical inefficiency is one very large factor, probably the largest. The system of medical inspection by physicians, and of examination of eye- sight and hearing by the teachers, incomplete though it is, has thrown a new light on school work. We find, year after year. that the list of dull or slow or non-promoted pupils corresponds to a startling degree with the list of pupils who are deficient in eyesight or hearing. who have adenoids or enlarged tonsils or who give various evidence of mal-nutrition. A more thorough medical inspection. one that would include every child at regu- lar intervals, not merely the selected cases, were it to be ac- companied by adequate remedial work, undoubtedly would more than repay its added cost by preventing a large amount of suffering. discomfort and misspent energy.
Another factor contributing heavily to school waste is the inability of the school department with its limited resources to give sufficient attention to the individual child. With a high ratio of pupils per teacher, the child needing special attention is apt not to receive it unless there be assistant teachers who will give this individual help. Whenever such assistance is at hand, either for pupils who have been doing unsatisfactory work or for those who have been promoted conditionally, it usually yields very satisfactory results and averts many threatened failures. More work of this nature would bring in- creased efficiency.
Still another factor that tends to waste energy in many in- stances is the non-adaptation of the course of study to many children who may be of average or less than average ability. If a very large number of children require more than eight years to complete the grammar school course. there is a natural pre- sumption that the course of study is not adapted to the maturi- ty of the children. Especially does this seem true when the average age of the different grades is comparatively low. As the amount and kind of work required in preparation for high school is generally standardized by custom and public demands. the non-fitting of the course of study to the pupils must in our
17
case, so far as it exists, be caused by a lack of maturity on the part of the children rather than by the undue demands of the course, and this will in time undoubtedly be remedied, as a re- sult of the recent action of the School Committee in increasing the age required for admission to school from five to six years.
Change in School Age
A very important rule enacted by the School Committee early in the past year was that which required that all children entering school, beginning September, 1910, should have at- tained the age of six years, and which further provided for two entering classes each year. This change in the age required for entrance to school is one which has been under consideration in this city and has been discussed for some years and it is in line with the most intelligent practice. Dr. John T. Prince in a re- port to the State Board of Education in 1909 said, "There are two good reasons for not favoring an eight years' course to be begun with children five years of age. In the first place such a plan could not be carried through thoroughly without over-tax- ing the pupils. This would be especially true if the present length of school day is maintained and if as is likely more in- dustrial work is demanded. In the second place the formal work generally required in reading, writing and arithmetic is entirely too difficult for children of five and the transition at that age too sudden from the freedom of the home to the formal work of the school." This statement puts the case exactly and is corroborated by the experience of the teachers of this city.
A careful study of the statistics of any class as it has pro- gressed through the school system shows that there are two points in the school course where the amount of retardation has been unduly large; at the end of the first year in the elemen- tary school and at the end of the first year in the high school. The one reason almost universally given by teachers who have to do with these cases of failures is lack of maturity sufficient to grasp the work assigned. The child of five is not a proper subject for class room instruction as it is now generally given and certainly should not be subjected to constraint upon his
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.