USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Plainville > Plainville, Massachusetts annual reports 1906-1912 > Part 21
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Massachusetts Agricultural College: Algebra, Physi- ology, Geometry, English, History, Physical Geography.
Lowell Textile School: Some subjects pursued the first year in the course of Textile Engineering, Elements of Mechanism, Mechanical Drawing, Algebra, Hand Loom Weaving, Elements of Textile Designing, General Chem- istry, Freehand Drawing, Decorative Art, English, German or Spanish.
And now we may hear, "My boy is going into a jewelry shop to earn his living. What does he want of German (or something else) ?" Well, German will do as well as anything for an illustration. From talking with jewelry
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ANNUAL REPORT.
manufacturers and their employees I learn that Germany is our live competitor in jewelry; that her labor is cheap; that, too, she has workmen as skilled as ours; and that she is reaching out for an American market. Now, would it not be worth something, yes, a good deal, for a live boy, one who is going to get on in the line he has chosen, to take a German Jewelry Magazine, like the American Jewelry Magazines, such as I have found in all the jewelry manu- facturers' offices, and keep himself informed on what the Germans are doing, and how they do it? The best men in the shop to-day are sent to the large cities of our own country annually, or oftener, to get new ideas. Is it absurd to think that a hustling firm, if it had a good, bright young man with a knowledge of German, might send him to Berlin for new ideas? I think not in these days of progress. Let us all, then, parents, teachers, and school officials, do our best to see that our children in our High School have a course selected for them with a definite aim in view from the VERY BEGINNING, if possible, and that the course be then spoken of in the home and everywhere as something into which one should put his very best effort.
GRADUATION .- I would again most urgently call to mind my recommendation of last year : that pupils should very, very seldom take more than the required number of courses, four, in a year. If pupils can only stay two or three years in a High School, I feel confident that they will gain most by taking few subjects, and doing the very best they can in these. Quality is better than quantity.
As I said at the beginning, so I would repeat, that I believe the results of the year's work are encouraging. For your kind suggestions I wish to thank you, and to assure you that the year has been a pleasant and agreeable one to me.
With the intention to make the future better than the past. I'am
Sincerely yours, GEORGE W. HOWLAND.
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ANNUAL REPORT.
Report of Superintendent of Drawing
Mr. George M. Bemis, Superintendent of Schools :
Dear Sir :- When I came to the schools of Plainville, in the latter part of October, 1908, I found an agreeable field for labor, due largely to the favorable attitude, already established, toward drawing and the allied arts. Now, after a few months' work, I realize that I am reaping some of the benefits of another's efforts.
It is difficult for me to give a satisfactory account of the work. I wish, instead, that the wellwishers of the pupils might witness some of the lessons.
Drawing, in our public schools, is not an end in itself, but rather a means toward many ends. Art, imperceptibly, lends a helping hand to every school-room duty or study -- sometimes in the form of the useful arts, sometimes deserv- ing the name of the fine arts. In after life it bears a part in all kinds of construction, from the making of a hut to the building ond ornamenting of a palace; from the child's toy ship to the fully equipped ocean-liner ; from an Indian's beaded necklace to an emperor's jeweled crown.
What we can do in the schools may seem small, but it should serve to awaken the pupil's sympathy with beautiful color arrangements, and give him skill in an all-around use of the pencil. It should make him realize that Nature holds all the elements of art, just as the piano-forte holds all the tones of music, but he must pick and choose and group them together in order to produce perfect harmonies.
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ANNUAL REPORT.
In many countries drawing and manual training are important factors in the schools. For exhibition at the International Art Congress, held in London last August, forty-one (41) different countries, including our own, sent representative drawings, the work of pupils, to illustrate their methods of teaching the subject. The great educa- tional value of such a convention is evident.
If we do faithfully our part in instructing the children in this department, if we exhibit their best work from time to time, and help them to make useful articles, which shall have these qualities, accuracy, sincerity and modesty, who, then, can estimate the value of the work?
The following passage is quoted from an address by Mr. Herman A. MacNeil (sculptor) :
"It is, of course, an impossible thing for us to accurately estimate the art power, if I may so put it, that is to-day being exerted in the United States.
"Of art museums, schools, clubs, associations, leagues, guilds and federations, with their permanent or yearly exhibitions, whose chief, if not sole, interest is for art, we have over one thousand. Of this number, more than two hundred fifty (250) are art schools with their yearly produc- tion. There are thousands of art teachers and artists, archi- tects, painters and sculptors constantly at work in the United States, forty-four art magazines, three hundred forty-one (341) writers and lecturers on Art.
"These, with the knowledge they are disseminating, and with private collections, make the bulk of our art power- plant at the present time,-a very creditable showing, when we consider that in less than four hundred (400) years we have passed through the periods of colonization, revolution, amalgamation as a nation, are well along in the period of materialization, and getting a firm grasp on beautification.
"One might talk for hours on the innumerable ramifica- tions of interests in things aesthetic from these agencies, that
-
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are gradually percolating the American people, of the output of architects, sculptors and painters, of the movement in arts and crafts, and of the magnificent strides made in the application of aesthetic principles in the teaching in our public schools."
I wish, in conclusion, to add my word of approval for the good work that is being done by the corps of teachers in this town.
Respectfully submitted, ALICE WINIFRED STURDY.
1
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ANNUAL REPORT.
Supervisor of Music
Plainville, Mass., February 7, 1909. Mr. George M. Bemis, Superintendent of Schools :
Dear Sir :- The work in music the past year has been carried out according to the Course of Study in Music which was established two years ago.
Individual singing still forms a large part of the work, especially in the lower grades, and some very excellent work is being done.
Much credit is due the pupils and teachers in the eighth and ninth grades for their patient and faithful work during the year.
The school is exceedingly small, and on that account the conditions which are liable to exist in these grades, namely, the changing of the voices among the boys, and the inability to always keep the correct pitch, has-on account of the size of the school-been very apparent, making the work at times very discouraging; but the school has worked hard, and is beginning to reap the results of its hard and patient labor. While we cannot expect the best of singing under such con- ditions, we are satisfied with the effort.
The work in the High School is one of my pleasures. It has grown steadily from year to year, and with the interest and effort displayed will soon rival many choruses its size.
Thanking you and the School Committee for the cordial support given me, I am
Respectfully yours,
MARTHA J. C. TISDALE.
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ANNUAL REPORT.
Motto: "Deeds, Not Words."
PLAINVILLE. HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION EXERCISES.
PROGRAMME.
March.
Margaret Estelle Blackwell, Pianist.
Song-Mountain Echoes.
School.
Invocation.
Rev. George M. Bailey.
The Class History.
Edgar Delbert Swallow.
Our Immigration Problem.
William Henry Barton.
Song-Morning.
Unison Song.
Shorthand as an Occupation.
Genevieve Frances Brunner. The Class Prophecy.
Marion Ellen Tierney.
Some of the Causes of the Civil War. Earl Bisby Thompson. Song-'Tis Morn.
School.
The Cruise of the Atlantic Squadron. Harriette Louise Greenlay.
The Origin of the Town and County and of Their Forms George Edward Hartman. The Need of Preserving Our Forests. Isabella Mary Connon. Song-The Bridal of the Birds. Girls' Chorus.
Presentation of Diplomas.
Superintendent George M. Bemis,
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Song-Good Night. -
School.
Benediction.
-
Rev. George M. Bailey.
GRADUATES, 1908.
Classical Course :
Isabella Mary Connon, Marion Ellen Tierney.
General Course :
George Edward Hartman, Earl Bisby Thompson.
Business Course :
Harriette Louise Greenlay, William Henry Barton, Genevieve Frances Brunner. Three Year Course. Edgar Delbert Swallow.
CLASS OFFICERS:
President-Isabella Mary Connon. Vice-President-Earl Bisby Thompson. Secretary-Marion Ellen Tierney. Treasurer-William Henry Barton. Class Colors-Blue and Gold.
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ANNUAL REPORT.
The following courses of study are recommended for those who wish preparation along the lines indicated at the heads of the courses :
College : First Year.
English. Algebra.
Greek and Roman History.
Latin.
Elem. Physics.
Second Year.
English.
Plane Geometry.
Latin.
French.
Chemistry, etc.
Third Year.
English.
Latin.
French.
German.
Adv. Alg. and Sol. Geom.
Fourth Year.
English.
Latin.
French.
German.
Lab. Phys. and Chemistry.
Normal School : First Year.
English. Algebra. Latin. Elem. Physics.
Second Year.
English.
Plane Geometry. Latin.
Elem. Chemistry, etc. Third Year.
English.
English History.
French or German.
Adv. Alg. and Sol. Geom. Fourth Year. English.
U. S. Hist. and Civil Gov't.
French or German.
Commercial Arithmetic.
Lab. Physics and Chem. Technical School : First Year.
English.
Algebra.
Elem. Physics.
French
Second Year.
English.
Plane Geometry.
French.
Chemistry, etc.
Third Year.
English. French.
Adv. Alg. and Sol. Geom. German.
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ANNUAL REPORT.
Fourth Year.
English. French.
German. Lab. Physics and Chem. Business : First Year.
English. Algebra.
Commercial Geography.
Typewriting, Spelling, etc. Second Year.
English.
Plane Geometry.
Stenography and Type-
writing.
Bookkeeping and Penman- ship.
Third Year.
English.
Stenography and Type- writing.
Bookkeeping, etc.
French or German.
Commercial Arithmetic (if taking a three year course ).
Fourth Year. English.
U. S. Hist. and Civics. Stenography and Type- writing. Commercial Arithmetic. German.
General Information First Year.
English. Algebra.
Elementary Physics. Commercial Geography. Second Year.
English.
Plane Geometry. Bookkeeping and Penman- ship. Elementary Chemistry.
Physiology and Botany. Third Year.
English. Physical Geography and Astronomy.
English History.
French or German. Fourth Year.
English.
U. S. Hist. and Civics.
French or German.
Commercial Arithmetic.
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ANNUAL REPORT,
General Information
First Year Latin.
This year is spent in laying the foundation for further work. A vocabulary is learned; the declensions and con- jugations are fixed in mind; the syntax is explained and illustrated ; this is all largely very "dry" work. Lastly, but first in value perhaps, the use of Latin is illustrated by a constant teaching of the English words that are based on the Latin words; for in our English tongue over seventy per cent of the words of six letters or more are drawn direct from the ancient Latin.
Text. Collar and Daniell's First Year Latin.
Second Year Latin.
The equivalent of four books of Caesar's History of his wars in Gaul is translated. As much of Roman history, character, thirst for empire, customs, and military power as can be gleaned is sifted out. The class is led to get as good an idea of the Gallic tribes as they can. A discussion of grammatical points not touched on in the first year is conducted. Some composition based on the text is pre- pared. The year's work is really a drill ground for the more enjoyable years to come, if the pupil takes the work in Cicero and Virgil.
Text. Caesar's Gallic Wars-Allen and Greenough. Composition based on the text, and composed by the teacher.
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ANNUAL REPORT.
Third Year Latin.
Five of Cicero's orations are read in this year. Atten- tion is paid to accurate translation, and to good English. An endeavor is made to arouse the interest of the class in Roman politics, with the hope that lessons may be drawn from it of use in our day. Some work is done in composi- tion. As a whole the year is spent in going from the mechanical to the literary point of view.
Text. Cicero's Orations by Allen and Greenough.
Fourth Year Latin.
Virgil is the author whose writings are studied this year. The equivalent of five or six books of the Aeneid are read. It has been found to hold the interest of the class to dwell on the moral and religious life of the Romans as brought out in this epic poem. Little attention is paid to the "mechanics" of the language, but much attention is given to getting the true meaning of the writer, and then express- ing in good and accurate English. It is almost a course in English and morals as much as in Latin.
Text. Virgil's Aeneid by Greenough and Kittredge.
Beginners' Algebra.
The course includes the subjects usually taken by beginners. The subject is taught so that the pupil may learn to reason out the causes, and not simply repeat opera- tions which the teacher has told him are correct without giving him the reason. It is a reasoning, not a memory, course. The pupil who works faithfully finds a new field of knowledge open up before him.
Text. Young and Jackson's Elementary Algebra.
Plane Geometry.
The reasoning of algebra is advanced another step in this course. Again the memory methods are discarded and the suggestive method followed. No statement is allowed for which a reason cannot be clearly given, The whole of
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.
the subject as outlined in the ordinary plane geometry is usually covered. In a large degree the work is original; in fact, almost entirely so. If there is a subject in the common schools which will teach accurate thinking, I believe it is plane geometry.
Text. Shutt's Plane Geometry. Suggestive Method. Commercial Arithmetic.
In this subject we review the work of the grades and build on that advanced work. The pupils are led to reason out the processes which in the grades they largely memorize without drinking in the reason for the process they use. Common fractions, percentage in its many practical forms, ratio and proportion, measurements, and decimals, are among the subjects handled carefully.
Text. Moore's Commercial Arithmetic.
Advanced Algebra.
The work is of the same nature as in the beginners' course. Graphs and quadratics are among the subjects that are thoroughly dealt with. The work done depends largely on the needs of the pupils taking the course.
Text. Young and Jackson's Algebra.
Solid Geometry.
The work is a continuation of that done in plane geometry. Originality is the keynote of the requirements.
Text. Wentworth's Solid Geometry.
Greek and Roman History.
These two subjects include the principal history of the world from one thousand years before Christ to four hundred and fifty years after Christ. The one question kept continually before the class is, "What effect on our times, if any, has this particular event, that we are studying, had?" Particular attention is paid to the forms of govern- ment used in Greece and Rome, as from them modern Europe and America have derived their ideas of the same.
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One who would have a sound knowledge of his own town or city government must build it somewhat on what was happening in the "city-states" of Greece five hundred years before the Christian era.
Texts. Myer's General History is used as a base. All which we can get that bear on the subject we use. The topical method is used.
Medieval and Modern History.
This course traces the rise of modern Europe from the downfall of Rome to the present time. On account of the amount of time and the number of nations covered it is an outline course, connecting our Ancient History course with those given in English and American History. Perhaps the main point kept before the pupils is the gradual growth of government by the people, or the awakening of the masses of the European world slowly, very slowly, out of the Divine rule of kings to the Divine rule of the people. Another important subject is the growth of the Christian religion. !
Texts. Any good books on the subjects. The topical method is used.
United States History and Civil Government.
The subject is taken up with the Constitution of the Country as the central point. In the colonial period the principles that were later woven into the constitution are dwelt upon ; in the period of our national existence the effort is made to show how our government has taken on its present form, while conforming to the constitution. Another aim in the History teaching is to make the learner under- stand that every effect has had its cause : that History is not a haphazard mass of facts. In civil government, which runs along parallel with the history, the aim is to so instruct that the pupil knows what sort of a town, state, and national government he lives under, and, more important perhaps, why and how it came to be such. The course should be elected by every pupil.
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ANNUAL REPORT.
Texts. All the histories of England and America, and works on American government, that we can get. The topical method is used.
English History.
In English History a general survey of the physical as well as the historical conditions of the different periods are studied as an introduction to the course. This is followed by the various settlements made by the Romans, Anglo- Saxons, Danes and Normans and the effects of their settle- ments in the country and the literature. The reigns of the Houses of Plantagenets, Lancaster and York, Tudor, Stuart and Hanover are then compared.
The Constitutional side of English History and its relation and bearing upon American History is pointed out.
Special themes of four hundred words are required at certain times and include such subjects as Feudalism, Chivalry, the Norman Conquest and its Effect upon Eng- land.
German I.
I. Grammar. Joynes-Meissner.
2. Work in pronunciation and verb drills.
3. Memory Work. Poems.
4. Translation :
1. Marchen und Erzahlungen.
2. Gluck Auf.
3. Sight Translation.
German II.
I. Grammar. Joynes-Meissner, finished.
2. German Composition. Harris.
3. Dictation.
4. Conversation.
5. Translation :
I. Wilhelm Tell.
2. Hoher als die Kirche.
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ANNUAL REPORT.
3. Immensee.
4. Sight Translation.
French I.
I. Grammar. Chardenal five times a week during the fall term and three times a week with translation twice during the winter and spring terms.
2. Memory Work, poems.
3. Translation :
Super's French Reader.
La Mere Michel et Son Chat.
Roger's French Sight Reading.
French II.
I. Grammar. Chardenal, finished.
2. Francois Introductory Prose Composition.
3. French Poems and Dialogues learned.
4. Dictation.
5. Translation :
Contes Bleus.
L'Abbe Constantin.
La Tulipe Noire. Memoires d'un Collegien.
French III.
I. Review of Grammatical Principles.
2. Francois' Advanced Composition.
3. Dictation and Vocabulary Practice.
4. Translation :
La Tache du Petit Pierre.
Colomba.
Mlle. de la Seigliere.
La Fontaine's Fables.
French IV.
I. Francois' Advanced French Prose Composition.
2. Dictation.
3. Conversation.
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ANNUAL REPORT.
/
4. Poems.
5. Translation : Hermani. Hugo. Les Precieuses Ridicules. Athalie. Racine.
English Literature.
The work in English in the literature course consists of the reading of the following books :
Freshman Year.
The Ancient Mariner (Coleridge).
Ivanhoe (Scott), read outside.
Lady of the Lake (Scott).
Vision of Sir Launfal (Lowell).
Tale of Two Cities (read outside ).
Twelfth Night ( Shakespeare).
Sophomore Year.
The Merchant of Venice ( Shakespeare).
The Vicar of Wakefield (Goldsmith), (read outside ).
Julius Caesar (Shakespeare ).
Irving's Sketch Book.
Silas Marner (Eliot), (read outside).
Junior Year.
Macbeth (Shakespeare).
Sir Roger de Coverley Papers (Addison), (read outside). Tennyson's Idylls of the King.
Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies.
Carlyle's Essay on Burns.
Senior Year.
Milton's Minor Poems. Webster's Bunker Hill Oration.
Chaucer's Prologue. Carlyle's Heroes and Hero Worship. History of English and American Literature.
The work in this course is chiefly to increase the pupil's
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ANNUAL REPORT.
appreciation for good literature. The lives of the authors are studied and selections from the books read and learned Thought questions are introduced on each book, giving the pupil an opportunity to express his understanding of the classic. Some of the books are read in class, while a few are required to be read outside, and book reviews of the. same given as outside work.
The Work in English during the Year 1908-1909.
The work in English this year has been chiefly in the composition line, this study occupying the larger part of the recitations. The reading of the classics has been used to supplement the composition work, in the writing of character sketches, descriptions and reproducing the story in condensed form in the pupils'. own words. The work in all four classes has been much in the same as regards composition, but different classics have been studied.
The work in tabulated form is as follows:
Freshman Class :
I. Brief Review of English Grammar.
2. Capitalization.
3. Punctuation. (Exercises without any punctuation or capitals given to punctuate. )
4. Description. (Both written and oral work.)
Persons-Local Character, My Doctor, Policeman, Chinaman, Characters in Literature.
Places-Cities (Attleboro, Plainville), Parks, Coun- tries.
Objects-A Country Store, Public Buildings, an Old- fashioned Clock, a Store Window at Christmas Time.
Imagination-Old Farm House.
Sophomore Class. The same with the addition of other subjects :
9. Long Themes.
Commercialism in Education. Should Immigration be
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Stopped? Japan Fifty Years Hence. An Indus- trial Age. Is Work a Blessing? Watches, Their Origin and Manufacture. Winter Sports. Care- lessness a Habit. Advantages. The Flying Machine. Disadvantages.
IO. Versification.
II. Figures of Speech.
, Juniors, same as Freshman and Sophomores, with additions : ,
I2. Novel and Drama.
(a) Novels. I. Kinds, Romantic, Historical, Artistic, Ethical. 2. Plot. 3. Characters, Description. 4. Important Elements, Conversation.
(b) Drama, Origin, First English Comedy and Tragedy.
Drama Continued. Definition of Comedy. Definition of Tragedy. Climax. Catastrophe. The Unities.
13. Poetic Forms.
Difference Between Poetry and Prose. Classes of Poetry, Epic, Lyric, Dramatic. Mixed Poems, Legends, Allegory, Ballad.
Seniors. The same as the Freshman, Sophomore and Junior. More attention paid to the last numbers, with a general survey of the work done in English by means of the History of English Literature.
5. Narration. (Both written and oral work.)
Personal-How I Earned My First Dollar. How I Ran Away. How I Kept House One Day.
Narrative-My First Skates. My Experience With a Peddler. The Landing of the Pilgrims.
Historical-The First Thanksgiving.
Narrative-Paul Revere's Ride. Autobiography of a Penny.
Fictitious-A Narrow Escape.
Narrative-A Successful Undertaking.
6. Letter Writing.
Business-Answering Advertisements. Applying for
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Places. Recommendatory Letters. Renewing Sub- scriptions.
Parts of Letter, as Heading, Salutation, Body, Con- clusion-To Relatives.
Friendly-To Friends. Accepting Invitations.
Formal-Declining Invitations. Invitations. Return- ing Thanks.
Informal-Offering Congratulations. Sympathizing.
7. Exposition.
Character Sketches. Character Sketch of Macbeth.
8. Argumentation.
Debates (oral and written).
Methods-Inductive, Deductive.
Briefs-Affirmative or Negative.
Conclusions-Example : Resolved, That the Govern- ment Should Hold the Railroads.
Physics I.
This course is designed for those in the entering class of the High School. It embraces a brief study of the principles of Matter, Fluids, Motion, Mechanics, Heat, Sight, Sound, and Electricity. No mathematical training is required or given, the aim of the course being to make clear to the student the Practical'value of Physics. Higgin's text book used.
Chemistry I.
The course in Chemistry extends over the fall term and aims to give the student a general idea of the history, principles, and the applications of the science. A brief study of the elements-metallic and non-metallic-with a few simple experiments, is taken up and their commercial and industrial significance is emphasized. William's text book is used.
Physics II.
This course is intended for those who have completed Physics I. It gives the student a brief review of the prin-
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