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 1916 > Part 18
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September 12, 1916, to December 23, 1916.
469
Number of patients treated .
Number of visits. 1089
Number of patients dismissed . 112
Number of patients discharged 41
267
REPORT OF SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
Fillings.
Number of amalgam fillings
437
Number of cement fillings. 568
Number of temporary stoppings.
226
Number of zinc oxide fillings
147
Number of synthetic fillings
20
Number of treatments .
260
Extractions.
Permanent teeth 220
Temporary teeth
584
Cleanings
189
In the light of the above report it is needless for me to say anything in behalf of this type of work. So much has been said about the influence of oral conditions on general health that, I believe, this community is well informed in the matter. The establishment of such a clinic as the Quincy clinic is a credit to the community.
Arrangements were made the latter part of the year which obviated the necessity of children being taken to the Boston Hospital clinics for tonsil or adenoid operations. The Quincy Hospital authorities and its surgical staff have now taken over this work so that children whom the school nurses take there for treatment now receive service and after treatment equal in skill to that which they could receive in Boston and without the discomfort of the going to and from that city.
Evening Schools.
The evening school problem remains as complex, as difficult of solu- tion and as great a challenge as ever. The work of the past year has not differed from that of the years immediately preceding in the effort and energy put forth to develop, a well-rounded system. It should be frankly admitted that while the results of the individual schools have been ad- mirable they are only at the surface of the possibilities which lie below.
Most important of all our work are the schools for foreigners. Every city and every citizen should recognize that truth.
With so large an annual influx of non-English-speaking people as came to our cities just before the European war, an influx which may be resumed at its conclusion, these communities must either make a strenuous effort to Americanize the newcomers or be themselves gradually de-Americanized. Of course, there will be all stages between these two extremes, but the danger of de-Americanization is too great to be over- looked. For that reason the School Department has made every effort to draw the illiterate to evening school and to keep him there. It is a most difficult matter to overcome the natural inertia of the immigrant. The widespread publicity of opportunities, the encouragement of his fellow countrymen who have already succeeded, the constant sympathy and untiring efforts of some of our best-trained teachers are all employed to this end.
On the other hand are the attractions of the social clubrooms and the fellowship of his friends, the natural fatigue of the individual after a long day in the shipyard or the quarry and the interruptions occasioned by the very frequent demands of night work and over-time.
In view of all these handicaps, the evening schools have done well to secure so large an enrollment as they have and to maintain the attend-
268
CITY OF QUINCY
ance. It is quite clear, however, that the State as a whole must take up the problem of immigrant education before much greater progress will be made.
Three buildings have been opened for immigrant education the past year, the Adams, Willard and Washington. Each school has, by reason of its location, ministered in the main to a distinct racial group. In cach school the problems have been peculiar to that school and group and have been attacked in different ways. Since the European war the enrollment and attendance have shown a regular decrease as they have in all other cities. The following figures indicate the conditions of attendance during the school year of 1916-1917.
Evening School Attendance.
Enrollment
Average Aggregate Attendance Attendance
Schools for citizenship
676
206
14,870
School for drawing.
40
24
976
School for commercial and civil service work
89
50.4
2,017
In the High School building, beside carrying on the general free- hand and mechanical drawing courses which are required by law, we have attempted each year to meet such general academic needs as manifest themselves. What we should work for and endeavor to obtain is an eve- ning High School providing instruction in a number of the day High School subjects for such pupils as are competent to pursue them. As a matter of fact, there has been almost no demand for instruction of this nature up to the present time and the only classes which have been organized are the elementary commercial classes, giving instruction in arithmetic, business forms, spelling, penmanship and simple bookkeeping, and a civil service class which provides work of a rather elementary nature. These classes vary very little from year to year in enrollment or regularity of attendance and within their scope do excellent work for which there is considerable demand.
This year for the first time an evening gymnasium class for women was opened, with meetings each week and with an excellent attendance.
The High School.
While the report of Mr. Collins, the Head Master of the High School, records in detail the year's happenings and progress, some comment should be added on the general condition and the future of the school.
There has never been a time within my knowledge of the school when it was doing better and more effective work with so little friction or wasted energy. Notwithstanding an enrollment and general attendance which fills every corner of the building, every department of the school carries on its work smoothly and harmoniously.
For a number of years the High School has maintained a most credit- able reputation as to the preparation and later record of those pupils whom it has fitted either for college examination or certificate. The record of its graduates whom it sends on to normal schools is becoming better with each succeeding class and those departments which have no connection with preparatory work are being conducted in a sensible, practical manner.
-
269
REPORT OF SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
The High School of this city is in every sense of the word a people's school. It has had of recent years and does now have a very high per- centage of the total school population on its rolls and it has never been dominated by the college preparatory idea. In recent years, too, we have greatly reduced the amount of elimination of pupils in the first years of the High School course, knitting the work more firmly to the work of the elementary school.
The natural consequence has been a marked yearly increase in en- rollment and attendance to such a degree that immediate consideration should be given to the providing of new accommodations.
This problem is now the most pressing and most important one before the School Committee and one which should be immediately considered.
The disposition which is to be made of the Adams Academy Fund, a matter which is now in the hands of the court, will have some bearing on the whole question and it is hoped that with the adjustment of this the city may proceed to consider new building plans as soon as possible. The report of the Head Master of the High School follows.
To Mr. Albert L. Barbour, Superintendent of Schools:
I herewith submit to you my fifth annual report. As in former years, I have to make note of the considerable increase in the membership of the school, but this year the larger number has brought a really alarming condition. If the great demand for boys and girls in mercantile and manufacturing establishments had not somewhat relieved the situation, we should have been helpless in our attempt to make the present accom- modations meet the demands of our numbers. The floor of our assembly hall is used most of the week for recitations and the balcony is used all the time for a library. It will be absolutely impossible to carry on school another year under present methods. The work of teachers and pupils will have to be arranged in such a way that the school will have a morning session for part and an afternoon session for the rest. Below are the statistics for recent years.
1916
1915
1914
Whole number enrolled.
1116
1055
987
Whole number at date.
1038
997
933
It was found to be desirable to make a few changes and additions to the program of studies at the beginning of the present year. The time given to Ancient and United States History was extended a little in order to better meet the requirements in those subjects. For several reasons it was thought wise to change the system of stenography taught in the school from the Chandler to a Pitmanic system.
There has been a decided movement throughout the State toward connecting the pupils of our schools more closely with the life of the com- munity in which they live. Desiring to have our part in this movement, we have established a course in Community Civics for our entering classes in order that they may become familiar with the aims and purposes of government in our own and similar communities.
In keeping with our desire to broaden the scope of instruction in order to develop as widely as possible the talents of our young people, there have been established several courses in the Theory of Music. Harmony is offered for Freshmen and Sophomores and Musical Appreciation for Juniors and Seniors. In addition, for the present year, the young women
270
CITY OF QUINCY
of the Senior class expecting to enter normal schools have been given a course in Harmony especially designed to be of assistance to them in their training for the teaching profession. These courses in music have been very popular and already give evidence of bearing fruit in the way of added ability among the pupils to appreciate good music and even to produce original compositions of some merit.
The school had its part during the year in the celebration of the Shakespearcan Tercentenary, which movement was general throughout the English-speaking world. An interesting program consisting of parts of Shakespeare's plays and old English songs and dances was prepared and this performance was given twice; once for the pupils of the school during a regular session and again on an evening later when the parents were invited to enjoy it. The costumes, scenery and furniture for this performance, it is worth while to note, were made by pupils in various departments, while the music and dancing were from regular work of the school.
By means of a fund at its disposal, the school was able to purchase an excellent Hume concert grand piano to use in place of the piano which has done service in the school for many years. The fund also sufficed to provide a Victrola, which has furnished much enjoyment to the school and has been of valuable assistance in the music courses previously men- tioned. The graduating class of 1916 generously donated the profits of The Golden Rod, the school paper, to purchase records for the Victro a and the German Club has recently given additional records. Because of these gifts we have a fairly good equipment of very useful records and by means of these, together with occasional additions, we can set before the pupils examples of the best there is in music.
One of the most beautiful gifts that has come to us during the year, and one which we have highly appreciated, is a large silk parade flag fittingly mounted and with a suitably engraved plate, which was presented by the Massachusetts Department of the Women's Relief Corps through the influence of friends in the local Corps. The Alumni Association has con- tinued its good work by adding to our library an attractively bound set of Kipling's works. The Quincy Women's Club, also, desiring to do something for the school, appropriate 1 a substantial sum of money which was given to a young woman of the last graduating class to assist her in sccuring a higher education. I mention these various gifts as an indication of the growing interest in the school and of a desire on the part of many organizations to have a share in promoting the welfare of our young men and women.
In closing this report I wish to say, on behalf of the teachers in the school and myself, that we fully realize that in the School Committee and yourself we have real friends who are willing not only to share our burdens, but at all times to give encouragement and to show real ap- preciation of efforts and ideals.
Respectfully submitted, ERNEST L. COLLINS, Head Master.
Conclusion.
While each of the recent years has witnessed marked changes and additions to the Quincy school system, the educational world is moving forward so rapidly and the school population is increasing to such a degree that new needs are constantly pressing.
271
REPORT OF SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
Beside the new High School accommodations which we now so badly need, we should continue to enlarge and broaden the scope of our industrial classes, we should seek to strengthen our system on the side of the mainte- nance of health, which can best be done by the employment of a medical officer on full time. The School Committee of 1917 will include in its powers the care of its school buildings and this should lead to better kept buildings than we have previously had.
With the opening of the new buildings there should come kindergartens, classes for sub-normal or atypical children, open-air classes for those physically defective and such other differentiations as investigation, experi- ment and the best practice have indicated as desirable and necessary to enable the public schools to reach all the children of all the people. Past experience with the sentiment of the people of this city assures me that all these good things will come about in due season.
With the knowledge that the present School Committee goes out of office with the adoption of a revised charter, I wish as Superintendent of Schools to bear witness to the wholehearted, disinterested and valuable service that the School Committees have given Quincy during the years that I have been associated with them. In professional matters the Superintendent has invariably been accorded unqualified support. All administrative matters and all measures involving the expenditure of public funds have been decided on a broad, businesslike basis with a scrupu- lous care to secure economy. On all matters wherein the public may have had differences of opinion, all sides have been heard with patience and intelligence, and decisions have been made without bias. In a word, the service of Quincy School Committees has typified representative government at its best.
It is a great pleasure for me to bear witness to this service and to acknowledge this support.
Such service and support, supplemented by a harmonious and efficient teaching corps, should inspire and encourage a broad and helpful com- munity attitude toward public school education.
Respectfully submitted,
ALBERT L. BARBOUR, Superintendent.
STATE-AIDED INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS.
The past year has shown as marked progress in the line of industrial education as the years immediately preceding.
The Independent Industrial School for Boys has added one new trade, the machinists', to its list and has equipped one room in its building with a considerable amount of machinery for this trade. One additional in- structor has been required in the electrical department. All departments at the school have had all the work that they have been able to attend to in productive lines and the amount of work which has been done by some departments in repairs for the city amounts to a very large sum. In common with all similar schools of the State, it has been found that the present period of easy employment and high wages has had a tendency to reduce the number of boys seeking trade training, as the lure of easy money has over-shadowed the larger aim. Consequently, for the first time since its organization, the school has been without a waiting list and a greater number of boys than usual have been taken as tuition pupils from surrounding towns.
Mr. Spofford's report will give the details of the work of the school.
In September a Home-making School was organized in the Arnold house on Coddington Street. This school offers a two years' intensive course in those subjects which go to make a woman efficient in the home. Stress will be laid on cooking, sewing, dressmaking, millinery, laundry, care of children and care of the sick. Judged by the four months the school has been organized, there will be a steady yearly demand for train- ing of this type. In order that the school may properly accommodate a second-year class, the building should receive an addition during the coming summer of sufficient size to provide a larger kitchen, one class- room and an adequate toilet room. The work of this school is supple- mented by a considerable amount of home visiting on the part of the teachers in order to see that the routine work of the school is being properly correlated and to insure that ample opportunity is provided to put the knowledge gained in school to actual account in the home. Miss Elizabeth Douglas, who has been for some years in charge of the cooking at the High School and who established the lunch counter at that school, was appointed Director of the Home-making School when it opened, and her report, together with the course of study at the school, is appended to this report.
The evening industrial classes have been no less successful or well attended than in previous years. Occasionally the demand for one type of evening trade instruction may fall off as we approach what may be called a saturation point, but another demand rises to fill its place. For instance, there was no demand this year for classes for electricians or for carpenters, but, on the other hand, classes were organized in shop mathe- matics and in layout work for coppersmiths.
Classes for women in dressmaking and millinery were opened in September in both the High and the Willard Schools. A table to be found in the appendix shows how successful these classes have been.
ALBERT L. BARBOUR.
272
273
REPORT OF SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
To Mr. Albert L. Barbour,
Superintendent of Schools:
I have the honor and pleasure to submit herewith my fifth annual report of the work in the Quincy Industrial School.
The Full-Time School.
The Full-Time School began the year with seventy pupils enrolled in the woodworking, electrical and sheet metal trades. This number remained about the same until the school opened in September, when, on account of the abnormal business conditions and the exceedingly high cost of living, many of the boys who had secured work for the summer vacation did not return to school.
The boys in the woodworking department began work on the draw- ings and designs for the furniture for the Home Making School in January, 1916, and when school closed for the summer vacation they had completed the sewing tables, cutting-out tables, blackboards, umbrella racks, coat racks, and the following quartered oak furniture: Dressing tables, chif- foniers, bedsteads, library table, sideboard, principal's desk, etc. All of this material may be seen at the Home Making School.
The sheet metal department designed and made a large refrigerator, sheet metal kitchen cabinet and first-aid cabinet for the Home-making School; also installed a new furnace and made all the necessary new fur- nace pipes.
Our electrical department installed all the electric wiring for lights, lighting fixtures and bell systems in the Home Making School.
In addition to this work done for the Home-making School, the various departments have co-operated with the other city departments and have made such repairs as have been necessary in all of the school buildings in so far as our trade departments would permit.
The sheet metal department has made a large number of sheet metal products which have been sold to local dealers and to the public in general.
The woodworking department has made several pieces of furniture on order from residents of Quincy and Weymouth. This department has orders on hand from people outside of Quincy who have seen the furniture in the Home Making School.
The pupils of the school are granted a ten per cent commission on all orders which they secure. This has proven to be of considerable as- sistance to some of the boys.
Most of the machinery for the machine shop arrived late in May and was installed by the co-operative boys from the Gear Works during the month of Tune. The electric wiring for the machine shop was done by the pupils in our electrical department, so that when school opened in September everything was in readiness for the machines to be started. Mr. Grover C. Russell was appointed as instructor in the machine depart- ment.
Mr. Matthew S. Nicoll was appointed as instructor in the woodworking department to succeed Mr. Hugh H. Marshall, who resigned early in the summer.
Mr. Walter F. Perry was appointed as instructor in academic and electrical subjects, on laccount of the rigid rules of the State Board of Education relative to productive work, and also the new law which re- quires that a licensed electrician be on the job with pupils when installing any work for electric lighting or power purposes.
The products of all departments have been of exceedingly high stand-
274
CITY OF QUINCY
ard and great credit should be given to the boys and the instructors for the gratifying results obtained. The actual cash received from all de- partments for the past year was $945.77. Bills unpaid from the Com- missioner of Public Works were $199.10.
The Co-operative School.
The Co-operative School started the year with ten pupils enrolled from the Boston Gear Works and the Couch Telephone Company. The work has been more satisfactory from the industries standpoint this year than in the past, on account of the new schedule of alternating, which was adopted the latter part of the year preceding, namely, the alternating between the Boston Gear Works is on the three-months-about basis, and between the Telephone Company is on the two-weeks-about basis.
Distribution of Pupils to Date.
Co-operative School. 8
Full-Time School, woodworking department 27
Full-Time School, electrical department .
18
Full-Time School, sheet metal department. 18
Full-Time School, machine department.
18
89
Tuition Pupils.
Towns Represented
Co-operative department .. .
2
Weymouth 1
Cohasset
1
Full-Time department. 13
Weymouth
3
Braintree
2
Brockton
1
Bridgewater
7
-
15
We have endeavored to give Quincy boys opportunity for admission to this school in preference to out-of-town pupils, but in many cases the applicant wanted either the electrical or machine trade and refused to accept any of the other trades taught, although the other trades offer fully as good a future as the trade selected.
In closing, I wish to express my sincere appreciation and thanks to you for your helpful advice and co-operation in the past, and to thank my instructors for the hearty co-operation which they have given me.
I would also thank the Boston Gear Works and the Couch Telephone Company for their co-operation in the past year.
Respectfully submitted,
J. GOULD SPOFFORD, Principal.
275
REPORT OF SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
Home Making School, Quincy, Mass.
January 1, 1917.
To Mr. Albert L. Barbour,
Superintendent of Schools.
I have the honor to submit herewith the first report of the Quincy Home Making School.
School began on September 5 in the Zenas Arnold house on Codding- ton Street with a membership of twenty-four, which has since increased to twenty-seven. The house had been furnished not as a school, but as a home. The boys of the Industrial School had already made the furni- ture, wired for electric lights and installed a larger furnace. In their turn the girls began immediately on the household sewing, so by the first of October the house had been completely turned into a home.
The aim of the school is to train girls above the age of fourteen to become efficient and capable home-makers and also to develop in them sufficient skill to carry on remunerative work, either within the home or in the trades which have been taken from the home. That the work may not be too narrow, in addition to the trade work and correlated subjects, the pupils spend twenty per cent of the school time on academic subjects of cultural value.
All of the practical subjects are being taught by specialists in their own line of work; a graduate nurse teaching the home nursing, a worker from the trade itself teaching the millinery.
In order that the girls may gain speed, manipulation skill and con- fidence, home project work is required. This is the assignment of home lessons in the practical work, records being kept of the time spent and result of the work, and credit being given for each project. This home work is proving valuable, it being the means of bringing the school closer to the home. The success of this is due to the fine spirit of co-operation shown by the mothers.
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