Official reports of the town of Wayland 1905-1908, Part 9

Author: Wayland (Mass.)
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Printed at the Middlesex Freeman Office
Number of Pages: 498


USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wayland > Official reports of the town of Wayland 1905-1908 > Part 9


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).


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Morris.


231-W85


Life more Abundant. Henry Wood.


252-K61N


National Sermons. Charles Kingsley.


252-K61


Sermons for the Times. Charles Kingsley.


296-J54


250th Anniversary of the Settlement of the Jews in the United States.


252-K61V


Village, Town and Country Sermons. Charles Kingsley.


252-K61W


Water of Life and other Sermons. Charles Kingsley.


252-K61WE Westminster Sermons. Charles Kingsley.


SOCIOLOGY.


380-J62


330-B38


Ocean and Inland Water Transportation. Emory Johnson.


United States in the Twentieth Century. Pierre Leroy-Beaulieu.


89


Town of Wayland.


SCIENCE.


599-ST7


American Animals. W. Stone and W. E. Cram.


598-B59B


Birds that Hunt and are Hunted. Neltje Blanchan.


512-W46 Essentials of Algebra. W. Wells.


592-K61


Glaucus. Charles Kingsley.


595-H83


Insect Book. L. O. Howard.


595-H71M


Moth Book. W. J. Holland.


589-M35


Mushroom Book. Nina L. Marshall.


580-H26


New Creations in Plant Life. W. S. Harwood.


504-K61 Scientific Lectures and Essays. Charles Kingsley. 582-R63 Tree Book. Julia E. Rogers.


USEFUL ARTS.


619-D12A


American Cattle Doctor. George H. Dadd.


633-B15


Book of Ensilage. John M. Bailey.


619-C39


Comparative Anatomy of Domesticated Animals. A. Chaubeau.


690-H76


Country House. C. E. Hooper.


636-L89


Farm-Yard Club of Jotham. George B. Loring.


636-W23


Farmer's Vacation. George E. Waring, Jr.


636-ST42


Feeding Animals. E. W. Stewart.


634-B27


Fruit Garden. P. Barry.


636-W23H


Handy-Book of Husbandry. George E. Waring, Jr. Horse. William Youatt.


636-Y8H


Horse and His Diseases. Robert Jennings.


630-C88


How the Farm Pays. William Crozier and Peter


Henderson.


630-M46 635-F95


How to Farm Profitably. Alderman Mechi. How to Make a Vegetable Garden. Edith L. Fullerton.


636-H33H 636-H33


How to Select Cows. W. P. Hazard.


Jersey, Alderney and Guernsey Cow. Hazard.


W. P.


636-AR5


636-F64 630-H26


Manual of Cattle Feeding. Henry P. Armsby. Milch Cows and Dairy Farming. C. L. Flint. New Earth. W. S. Harwood.


90


636-J44


Public Library.


631-K68


Principles and Practice of Land Drainage. J. H. Klippart.


630-T36R


Rural Affairs. 8 vols. J. J. Thomas.


636-M59


Stock-Breeding. Manly Miles.


636-R15


Sheep Husbandry. H. S. Randall.


630-T56


Young Farmer's Manual. S. Edwards Todd.


FINE ARTS.


799-H78


Camp-Fires in the Canadian Rockies. W. T. Hornaday.


796-H19


Camp Kits and Camp Life. C. S. Hanks.


780-F13


Century Library of Music. 20 vols. J. J. Paderewski, ed.


786-C43


Commemoration of Founding of the House of Chickering & Sons.


799-SCH3


728-H23


Flashlights in the Jungle. C. G. Schillings. Stables, Outbuildings and Fences. George E. Harney.


LITERATURE.


811-C81


Bright Words. Anna B. Cornwall.


824-C83


824-K61H


850-EV2


From a Cornish Window. A. T. Quiller-Couch. Historical Lectures and Essays. Charles Kingsley. Italian Poets since Dante. W. Everett.


824-K61L


Literary and General Lectures and Essays. Charles Kingsley.


824-K61P


Plays and Puritans. Charles Kingsley.


821-K61


Poems. Charles Kingsley.


821-N87


Poems. Alfred Noyes.


824-K61PR


Prose Idylls. Charles Kingsley.


824-K61R


Roman and the Teuton. Charles Kingsley.


811-C811


Roses and Myrtles. S. J. Cornwall.


824-K61S Sanitary and Social Essays. Charles Kingsley.


814-M81


Shelburne Essays. 4 vols. Paul E. More.


91


Town of Wayland.


HISTORY AND TRAVEL.


914.4-G73


Book of the Riviera. S. Baring-Gould.


917.4-B13C


Connecticut River and the Valley of the Con- necticut. E. M. Bacon.


975-AV16


Dixie after the War. Myrta L. Avary.


919.1-D26


Englishwoman in the Philippines. Mrs. Campbell Dauncey.


942-L58


Essays on Administrations of Great Britain. Sir George C. Lewis.


973-M83


Historical Tales, American. 2 vols. Charles


Morris.


942-M83


Historical Tales, English. Charles Morris.


944-M83


Historical Tales, French. Charles Morris.


943-M83


Historical Tales, German. Charles Morris.


938-M83


Historical Tales, Greek. Charles Morris.


950-M83


Charles Historical Tales, Japan and China. Morris.


973.8-M83


Historical Tales, Our Island Empire. Charles


937-M83


Historical Tales, Roman. Charles Morris.


947-M83


Historical Tales, Russian. Charles Morris.


946-M83


Historical Tales, Spanish. Charles Morris.


974.4-M38B


History of Fifth Mass. Battery.


973-R34


History of United States. vols. 6 and 7. James F. Rhodes.


915-L235


In the Forbidden Land. 2 vols. A. H. S. Landor.


954-R13


*973.3-M382


Lord Curzon in India. Thomas Raleigh. Comp. Mass. Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War. Vol. 14.


918-P39


Panama to Patagonia. C. M. Pepper.


910-AR7


974.4-G14


Ten Thousand Miles in a Yacht. Richard Arthur. Third Mass. Regiment of Volunteer Militia.


974.4-B83


974-4-T62B


974.4-N44D


Twentieth Regiment of Mass. Volunteer Infantry. Vital Records of Beverly, Mass. Vol. 1. Vital Records of Dalton, Mass.


92


Morris.


Public Library.


974.4-R36D Vital Records of Douglas, Mass.


974.4-N44E Vital Records of Edgartown, Mass.


974.4-R36G Vital Records of Grafton, Mass.


974.4-ES7 Vital Records of Lynn, Mass. Vol. 1.


974.4.N44NE Vital Records of Newton, Mass.


974.4-N44NO


Vital Records of Norton, Mass.


974.4-R360A Vital Records of Oakham, Mass.


974.4-R36PH


Vital Records of Phillipston, Mass.


974.4-R36RO


Vital Records of Royalston, Mass.


774.4-N44ST


Vital Records of Sturbridge, Mass.


974.4-ES7W


Vital Records of Wenham, Mass.


917.9-J23


Wonders of the Colorado Desert. 2 vols. George W. James.


BIOGRAPHY.


B-C394H


Chatham, Life of. Frederic Harrison.


B-C475


B-B284


Churchill, Lord Randolph. 2 vols. W. S. Churchill. Dedication of Statue of Major-General W. F. Bartlett.


B-AT85


Friend of Marie-Antoinette. (Lady Atkyns. ) Frederic Barbey.


B-H1850


Hamilton, Alexander. Frederick S. Oliver.


B-J352W


Jefferson, Joseph. Francis Wilson.


B-L634RO B-C452


Lincoln, Master of Men. Alonzo Rothschild. Memoirs of Prince Chlodwig of Hohenlohe-Schil- lingsfuerst. 2 vols. Friedrich Curtius, ed.


B-P267


B-IR84S


Pasteur, Life of Louis. René Vallery-Radot. Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving. 2 vols. Bram Stoker.


920-W75


Recollections of Thirteen Presidents. John S. Wise.


B-SH52


Sherman, John. T. E. Burton. [English Men of Letters Ser.]


B-F854A


Two-hundredth Anniversary of Birth of Benjamin Franklin.


93


Town of Wayland.


FICTION.


D892AG


Agénor de Mauléon. 2 vols. A. Dumas.


K611A


Alton Locke. Charles Kingsley.


D892AN


Ange Pitou. 2 vols. A. Dumas.


D892A


Ascanio. A. Dumas.


D372A


Awakening of Helena Richie. Deland.


Mrs. Margaret


D892B


Black Tulip. A. Dumas.


D892BL


Black, the Story of a Dog. A. Dumas.


D892BR


Brigand and the Horoscope. A. Dumas.


D892CW


Chauvelin's Will and Stories of the French Revo- lution. A. Dumas.


D892CH


Chevalier d'Harmental. A. Dumas.


D892CE


Chevalier de Maison-Rouge. A. Dumas.


D892CO


Companions of Jehu. 2 vols. A. Dumas.


D892CC


Comtesse de Charny. 3 vols. A. Dumas.


C4744CO


Coniston. W. Churchill.


D892C


Count of Monte Cristo. 3 vols. A. Dumas.


M134CO


Cowardice Court. G. B. Mccutcheon.


V654D


Disenchanted. Pierre Loti, pseud.


G655D


Doctor, The. Ralph Connor, pseud.


D892D


Duke's Page. 2 vols. A. Dumas.


D892E


Emmanuel-Philibert. A. Dumas.


F935E


Evasion, The. Eugenia A. Frothingham.


W217F


Fenwick's Career. Mrs. H. Ward.


D892F


Forty-five, The. A. Dumas.


ST426G


Gentleman Player, A. R. N. Stephens.


T885G


Great Refusal, The. Maxwell Grey, pseud.


K611HE


Hereward the Wake. Charles Kingsley.


G445H


House of Cobwebs. George Gissing.


K611H


Hypatia. Charles Kingsley.


M134J SI63


Jane Cable. G. B. Mccutcheon.


D892L


La Dame de Monsoreau.


W764L Lady Baltimore. Owen Wister.


OP55MA


Jungle, The. Upton Sinclair.


Malefactor, The. E. P. Oppenheim.


94


Public Library.


D892MA


Marguerite de Valois. A. Dumas.


D892ME Memoirs of a Physician. 3 vols, A. Dumas.


H494N New Canterbury Tales. M. Hewlett.


D8920 Olympe de Clèves. 2 vols. A. Dumas.


SI140


On the Fields of Glory. H. Sienkiewicz.


H227P


Pair of Blue Eyes, A. Thomas Hardy.


L316


Peter's Mother. Mrs. Henry de la Pasture.


K624P Puck of Pork's Hill. R. Kipling.


D892Q


Queen's Necklace. 2 vols. A. Dumas.


D892R


Regent's Daughter. A. Dumas.


W241S


Seeing France with Uncle John. Anne Warner.


D892SH


She-Wolves of Machecoul. 2 vols. A. Dumas.


B352


Spoilers, The. Rex E. Beach.


D892S


Sylvandire. A. Dumas.


D892TH


Tides of Barnegat. F. Hopkinson Smith.


D892T


Twenty Years After. 2 vols. A. Dumas.


D892TD


Two Dianas, The. 2 vols. A. Dumas.


K611T


Two Years Ago. Charles Kingsley.


L513


Uncle William. Jennette Lee.


D892V Vicomte de Bragelonne. 4 vols. A. Dumas.


D892W War on Women. A. Dumas.


K611WE Westward Ho! Charles Kingsley.


D892WH


Whites and the Blues. 2 vols. A. Dumas.


SM52W Wood Fire in No. 3. F. Hopkinson Smith. K611Y Yeast. Charles Kingsley.


JUVENILE.


j-ST82


Dave Porter in the South Seas. Edward Strate- meyer.


j-B7943


Dorothy Dainty in the City. Amy Brooks. Four Boys in the Yellowstone. Everett T. Tom- linson.


j-P613H j-K611HF


Harding of St. Timothy's. Arthur S. Pier.


j-551-K61


Heroes. Charles Kingsley. Madam How and Lady Why. Charles Kingsley.


95


j-T594F


Three Musketeers. 2 vols. A. Dumas.


SM52TI


Town of Wayland.


j-B7943R Randy's Loyalty. Amy Brooks.


j-R345 Little Miss Rosamond. Nina Rhodes.


j-808-SE8 Roosevelt Bears. S. Eaton.


j-W884S Sheaf of Stories, A. Susan Coolidge.


j-R394S Silver Crown. Mrs. L. E. Richards.


j-ST65T j-K611W j-D587 j-808-Y7


Two Cadets with Washington. W. O. Stoddard.


Water Babies. Charles Kingsley.


With Mask and Mitt. A. T. Dudley.


Young Folk's Library. 20 vols. T. B. Aldrich, Editor-in-Chief.


Vol. 1. Story Teller.


Vol. 2. Merry Maker.


Vol. 3 Famous Fairy Tales.


Vol. 4. Tales of Fantasy.


Vol. 5. Myths and Legends.


Vol. 6. Animal Story Book.


Vol. 7. School and College Days.


Vol. 8. Book of Adventure.


Vol. 9. Famous Explorers.


Vol. 10. Brave Deeds.


Vol. 11. Wonders of Earth, Sea and Sky.


Vol. 12. Famous Travels.


Vol. 13. Sea Stories.


Vol. 14. Book of Natural History.


Vol. 15. Historic Scenes in Fiction.


Vol. 16. Famous Battles by Land and Sea.


Vol. 17. Men Who Have Risen.


Vol. 18. Book of Patriotism.


Vol. 19. Leaders of Men.


Vol. 20. Poems.


MARGARET E. WHEELER,


Librarian.


Wayland, February 13, 1907.


96


Auditor's Report.


AUDITOR'S REPORT.


WAYLAND, March 16, 1907.


The accounts of the financial officers have been examined and found correct.


The annual returns to the State Bureau of Statistics of Labor, required under Acts of 1906, Chapter 296, have been compiled and forwarded.


The Auditor begs leave to offer the following recommendations :


1. That the vote of the Town requiring the Auditor to annually notify delinquent taxpayers be rescinded.


2. That the by-law of the Town requiring the Auditor to super- intend the printing of the Town and School reports be repealed.


3. That bills against the Town be examined and approved by the Auditor before being committed to the Selectmen for payment.


4. That the date for ending the Municipal or Financial Year be changed to January 31.


FREDERICK H. FOWLER, Auditor.


97


Town of Wayland.


INDEX.


Assessors, Report of


25


Auditor, Report of


97


Cemetery Commissioners, Report of


43


Collector, Report of . .


58


Commissioners of Town of Wayland Sinking Fund, Report of Commissioners of Water Works Sinking Fund, Report of Finance Committee, Report of .


55


Fire Department, Report of Engineers of


48


Gypsy and Brown Tail Moths, Report of Superintendent


61


Health, Report of Board of


42


Highways, Report of Surveyor of


33


Jurors, List of .


19


Librarian, Report of


87


Library, Accessions to


89


Library, Report of Trustees of


85


Library Funds, Report of Treasurer of


83


Poor, Report of Overseers of


27


Selectmen, Report of


11


State and Military Aid


.


20


Town Clerk, Report of


22


Town Meeting, Warrant for


1


Town Officers and Committees


7


Treasurer, Report of


63


Water Commissioners, Report of


51


Water Works, Report of Superintendent of


.


53


.


.


.


.


.


98


.


56


81


Incidentals


13


.


ANNUAL SCHOOL REPORT


Unun nf Wayland Massachusetts


NINETEEN HUNDRED AND SEVEN


ANNUAL REPORT


OF THE


School Committee


OF THE


Town of Wayland, Mass.


FOR THE


YEAR ENDING MARCH 1, 1907


PORATED


N


L


A


1635 ..


EAST SUDBURY


FOUNDED


8 LI


1835


PRINTED FOR THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE


1907


SCHOOL COMMITTEE.


ISAAC DAMON, Chairman Cochituate, Mass.


TERM EXPIRES 1908


HARRY E. CARSON .


Cochituate, Mass. .


.


.


1907


EDWARD M. BENNETT, Secretary


·


1909


.


Wayland, Mass.


SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.


S. C. HUTCHINSON, Cochituate, Mass.


TRUANT OFFICERS.


J. F. BURKE, Cochituate, Mass. J. C. VINCENT, Wayland, Mass.


School Committee.


REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.


To the Citizens of the Town of Wayland :-


Your committee takes pleasure in reporting that the schools are in a prosperous condition. A serious drawback to the successful accomplishment of desired results is the constant change of teachers, four teachers having resigned at Wayland Centre since the first of the year. In answer to the question often asked, namely, why the committee does not retain good teachers when it has them, we would answer that the appropriation does not admit of paying such teachers the salaries which they can obtain in many other places.


In connection with this it must not be forgotten that as citizens we all must do our part to make the teachers feel at home and contented, and so make them the less willing to leave. We would urge the people to visit the schools more frequently, that they may become better acquainted with the teachers and the work they are doing, thus assuring them of a hearty interest and support.


It is to be regretted that some of the children living here are attending school outside of the town, for it is thought that the co-operation of all the townspeople is necessary in order to secure the best results in our schools.


Special attention is called to that part of the Superinten-


3


Town of Wayland.


dent's report referring to the need of a new schoolhouse at Cochituate, and to that part relating to the systematizing of the course of study.


It seems unnecessary for the committee to make a more extended report, as the details are fully covered in the report of the Superintendent.


We desire to express to the Superintendent, the teachers and all others who have shown their interest in the welfare of the schools, our sincere appreciation of their efforts in the education of the children of the town.


ISAAC DAMON, HARRY E. CARSON, EDWARD M. BENNETT.


4


Superintendent of Schools.


REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.


To the School Committee of the Town of Wayland :


I herewith present my first annual report as superintendent of schools. It is the ninth annual report in the series since the for- mation of the union district for school supervision with the towns of Dover and Sudbury.


The reports of the towns of a union district are of necessity somewhat similar because of the similarity of methods in supervision and administration, and because of the tendency toward uniformity in methods, text-books, and courses of study. They differ, however, in that they endeavor to present the conditions and needs of the individual town, and wherever similarity appears it indicates a similarity of conditions, or needs, or educational policy in the ad- ministration of school affairs.


This brief report is designed to show, in part, what the schools are doing, what they need, and what is being done for their im- provement in this town.


TEACHERS.


It is a pleasure to commend the efficiency of the teachers. They are devoted to their work and have a lively interest in the welfare of their pupils. They spare neither time nor effort to achieve results. They are well educated and trained in the normal school or in the school of experience,-the majority in both. They respond quickly to suggestion and are anxious to do the best work in the best way. Results are generally satisfactory and when otherwise it is more often due to conditions for which the individual teacher is not responsible.


5


Town of Wayland.


Education, training, and experience combined with native ability and a strong personality are necessary to produce a successful teacher. Continued success demands a progressive teacher, one who keeps in touch with educational progress and is himself a student. More and'more is demanded of the twentieth century teacher.


The teacher is, therefore, entitled to increasing consideration. He has a right to the sympathetic co-operation and support of every parent and citizen. The teacher's task is difficult. Appreciation of a teacher's endeavor is the duty of every parent. There is no more effective co-operation than an active appreciation. There is nothing that costs little or much that is more helpful to a teacher than genuine appreciation heartily manifested. I urge upon parents the recognition of the teachers' work and worth and its ap- preciation.


TEACHERS' SALARIES.


A very practical appreciation of a teacher's work is a liberal salary. It is becoming more and more a necessity to pay higher salaries. We cannot keep our best teachers nor even secure good ones much longer at the present rate of increase in salaries and the demand for teachers in surrounding towns. Teachers are uneasy and discontented under the present condition of low salaries and high cost of living. And with reason, for recent investigations show that while the average increase in the cost of living is from 15 per cent to 20 per cent, the average increase in the salaries of teachers is only 10 per cent to 12 per cent.


The average salary paid to the regular grade teachers in this town for the present school year of thirty-seven weeks is $394.67. This, reckoning a year of fifty weeks, or three hundred days, is an average of $7.89 per week, or $1.32 per day.


It appears that the yearly earnings of unskilled labor are more than the average salary of the grade teachers of this town.


" It is not to be supposed that the teacher can expect the same yearly compensation regardless of the length of the school year. But it must not be forgotten that he teaches to secure a living for twelve months. If the sum paid for the work of teaching is not


6


Superintendent of Schools.


sufficient for a year's support, and especially if the vacation is long, the teacher must seek other means of gaining a livelihood. Such employment is sure to be at the expense of the school work. It inevitably divides the interest of the teacher in the work of the school, or the teacher is called away entirely, and a new teacher with each new year or oftener is the result."


" The school authorities can unquestionably hire teachers at very low rates by the month, and pay for only the number of months desired, but such a policy, whether in city or country schools, is a sacrifice, not of the interests of the teachers primarily, but of those of the pupils. Experience in a teacher adds greatly to the value of the services rendered as in any skilled occupation, and teaching must be regarded as a skilled occupation. If the teacher with his experience is to be retained in the profession he must receive a sufficient remuneration for the necessary expenses of living, not for eight or nine months, but for the entire year. " *


To illustrate the matter in another way, a teacher who receives a yearly salary of $394 pays from $225 to $250 for living ex- penses and has left for clothing, travel, self-improvement, recre- ation, and other necessary expenses from $144 to $169. How much can a teacher save for the proverbial rainy day? It is true that some teachers are without cost for living expenses during va- cations, but it is also true that many teachers have to assist in the support of relatives or in the education of other members of the family. In any case the balance seems a mere pittance in view of the ever increasing demands upon the teacher.


The following extracts from the Report of the Committee to Investigate the Conditions with Respect to Salaries of Teachers in Middlesex County are of interest in the present consideration.


The " Committee believes that the prevailing salaries of grade teachers to-day are not commensurate with the requirements made upon them in the way of professional equipment and standards of living."


" The better class of positions at the present time are open only


* From the Report of the Committee on Salaries, Tenure, and Pensions of the Public School Teachers in the United States.


7


Town of Wayland.


to those who have had a reasonably broad academic preparation, supplemented by a full course in the normal school and some suc- cessful experience in teaching. Not only are the higher standards that are being justly set by school officials in these respects com- pelling the would-be teachers to a larger expenditure of time and money than formerly was required in preparation, but they are also compelling those who are now in the ranks to take up special courses of study in order to be eligible to advancement."


" Again the advancement in the social standards of living in general during recent years as the natural result of the great pros- perity in the business world has operated to put upon teachers the necessity for greater expenditure in the way of dress and social requirements."


" The importance of a high standard of personality and profes- sional efficiency in the public school teaching corps is well understood."


" Low salaries for teachers mean certain inevitable results :


1. The character of those who take up the work of teaching will gradually deteriorate because many of the brightest and strongest personalities will prefer other fields of labor in which the remun- eration is greater.


2. " Low salaries mean shorter periods of service by first class teachers."


3. " A prevailing low rate of wages means less ambition on the part of teachers and less opportunity for professional growth while in service, a fact that operates distinctly against the best results in our schools. A reasonably high standard of salaries, therefore, is even more important to the public than it is to the teachers themselves."


All of these facts and conclusions appear from a study of our own conditions. The loss of teachers, the difficulty of securing teachers of training and experience for the salaries paid, and the discontent of underpaid teachers,-all operate to the disadvantage of our schools.


To the credit of our teachers be it said that their labor is not measured by the money they are paid. They do their level best.


8


Superintendent of Schools.


They could not do more if they were paid more, but they would work with greater satisfaction and it would inevitably react to the advantage of the school.


The policy of a town should be, not to secure teachers for as little as possible in the hope of getting a good bargain, but to pay the highest salaries the town can afford for the highest and most important work of the community,-public education.


SCHOOL BUILDINGS.


The school building at Wayland is a fine edifice and well adapted to its use. It is kept in repair by a public-spirited citizen, and nothing is wanting in this respect.


In regard to the Cochituate building, I find by reference to earlier reports, dating as far back as 1901, that the building had the fol- lowing deficiencies :-


1. Poor ventilation.


2. Lack of modern conveniences.


3. Poor heating facilities.


4. Lack of hall space.


5. Poor lighting.


6. Long stairways.


7. Dampness.


8. Dilapidated appearance.


9. Poor location.


These objections would appear to still hold good. The building is rapidly deteriorating and will continue to do so as long as the committee pursue their present policy, a wise one, of expending only the minimum amount for repairs. Expert opinion testifies that money cannot be economically expended upon the present building. The only thing to be said is that it would be wiser and safer to pro- vide a new building before danger is incurred by fire or disease in the old one.


The recent test of the eyes of the school children shows that the per cent of defective eyesight in the grades at the Center school is 18.5, while in the Cochituate schools it is 42 per cent. The com_ parison is suggestive to say the least. Considering the insufficient


9


Town of Wayland.


light of the Cochituate school rooms, the well-lighted rooms of the Wayland school building, and the wide difference in the percentages of defective eyesight in the pupils of the two buildings, there is some reason for concluding that there is a relation of cause and effect between the poor light and the defective eyesight of the children at Cochituate.


CONSOLIDATION.


The schools of Wayland are now well consolidated. The trans- portation of the Lokerville pupils brings the schools all into two buildings. The size of the grades is not exactly adapted to con- venient arrangement, but by the division of one grade the classes were so placed that no teacher has more than forty pupils or less than twenty-two.


ATTENDANCE.


Every effort is being made to improve the attendance and punc- tuality. The rank of the schools for 1905-1906 appears in the appendix. A monthly attendance bulletin is issued during the pres- ent year. The pupil is encouraged to make a good record for the honor of his school as well as for the credit of having his name upon the roll of honor. This furnishes a broader and perhaps a better motive for continued good attendance and punctuality.


COURSE OF STUDY.


It seemed to be the opinion of all concerned that the course of study for the grades needed revision and elaboration. This is under way, and the preliminary outline for arithmetic has been placed in the hands of the teachers. It is designed to make the outline in each subject as definite, explicit and comprehensive as possible, so that each teacher may know exactly what is expected in each course ; to construct the course after a modern and practical plan, and to arrange it so that the pupils may be strictly up to grade in all sub- jects. It may take some time to bring these things to pass, but it is entirely possible.




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