USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1868-1871 > Part 12
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1. That all the property tax payers attend the annual meeting for appropriations, in April.
2. That the number of Assessors be increased by the election of Assistant Assessors.
3. That the number of Selectmen be increased to nine.
4. That the offices of Town Treasurer and Collector of Taxes be filled by one and the same person.
5. That the town elect annually, in lieu of an Audit- ing Committee, one Auditor, to whom all bills from all
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Boards, and all demands against the town, of every de- scription, shall be submitted before the same shall be paid by the Treasurer.
6. That some more simple method of notifying town meetings be authorized by the town.
7. That as the town has no code of By-Laws worthy the name, a Committee be chosen at the next town meeting to prepare a suitable code, and submit the same at a subsequent meeting.
R. E. DEMMON, CUTLER DOWNER, AARON SARGENT, L
Committee.
SOMERVILLE, January 1, 1869.
REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
WE respectfully submit the Twenty-Seventh Annual Report of the School Committee, with a high apprecia- tion of the importance of the vital interest committed to our care.
To mark out the course for the intellectual and moral training of the youth of so large a community,-to give direction to the vast capabilities of the human mind,- to shape, it may be, the destiny of immortal natures, in- volve responsibilities which the wisest and boldest may well assume with diffidence and many misgivings.
Various considerations invest childhood and youth with an interest that attaches to no other period of life, and greatly enhance the responsibility of those to whom the interests of education are intrusted.
Childhood, especially, is ingenuous and confiding. Skepticism dwells not in the heart of a child. He readily receives as true, the testimony of his superiors. His intuitions render the slow process of reasoning unneces- sary. Youthful minds readily receive and firmly retain whatever is communicated to them. The last impres- sions that pass from the recollection of an aged man, are those with which he was familiar in his youth.
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The season of pupilage is also the forming period of character.
" 'T is here the current springs, whose stream May flow in honor or in shame."
What the young are, as they pass out from under the tuition of our schools, they will be likely to remain through life ; for
" The childhood shows the man, as morning shows the day."
Lord Shaftesbury states, as the result of his personal investigation, that " of all the male adult criminals in London, not two in a hundred who lived an honest life up to the age of twenty, afterwards enter upon a course of crime," and that " almost all who enter upon such a course, do so between the ages of eight and sixteen years."
Hence educators, deeply impressed with the sense of their responsibilities, should exercise incessant vigilance ; -constantly keep before the minds of the young a high purpose-pure and noble aims ; should prudently check their " budding ills ;" and while they patiently and dili- gently assist them up the rugged ascent of the "Hill of Science," gently guide their erring feet into those paths of virtue and true wisdom, which are pleasantness and peace.
In applying the liberal appropriations of the town to the intellectual and material wants of the schools, it has been our endeavor to render all the school-rooms as pleas- ant and attractive as possible; that our children may approach them with willing feet. They are constructed with a view to health and comfort. They are light, spa- cious, commodious ; well warmed and ventilated, and so furnished that pupils may pursue their studies as free from weariness and all physical discomfort as possible. The happy faces that greet us in our frequent. visits, assure us of the success of our efforts to render the
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school life of our children pleasant and agreeable to them.
TEACHERS.
In the selection of teachers, we aim to secure those who combine the largest number of the best qualities of our nature. Those who are thoroughly furnished ; apt to teach ; skillful in communicating ; abounding in love for the young, and for their calling; largely endowed with patience and forbearance; capable of governing with gentle firmness ; possessing enthusiasm to inspire and characters in all respects worthy of imitation.
It requires a rare combination of endowments to con- stitute a teacher, who, in every particular, is equal to the exalted place occupied, and the important_ duties inci- dent to it. " He who hath found such an one, hath found a treasure."
No maxim has been bequeathed to us more truthful than this one : " As is the teacher, so is the school."
Hence, the school, as a faithful mirror, exhibits to the practiced eye, the character and qualities of the teacher as truthfully as any work of art does, the genius and skill of the artist.
We therefore fully realize that we cannot confer upon any school a greater blessing than to place over it a teacher thoroughly competent for its instruction and management.
The important work of the teacher is much more highly appreciated and better rewarded than formerly ; conse- quently the profession is attracting to it a higher order of talent and qualifications, and teachers are stimulated to labor earnestly for the attainment of a high degree of culture, and of eminence in their profession. This of itself is sufficient cause for the constant improvement so manifest in our schools.
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SCHOOL DISCIPLINE.
In matters of discipline, we counsel mildness. Prefer- ing the gentle persuasions of kindness, and an appeal to the higher motives, whenever these will prove efficacious, we would resort to more stringent measures, only as phy- sicians do to caustic remedies, from urgent necessity ; and would have for our motto : "DEAL GENTLY WITH THE CHILD."
The " Check and Credit" system, so generally adopted to secure order and industry, may be as free from objec- tion, perhaps, as any other yet devised. But we are free to confess, we do not hold it in high esteem. Its moral effect upon the young we consider questionable, and shall joyfully welcome the introduction of some other system equally efficacious, but attended with less danger.
Veracity is a cardinal virtue, and cannot be guarded too zealously.
The sad countenances and tearful eyes of children, as they lose their " credits," or increase their " checks," are so frequently witnessed by us, we learn, to some extent, how ardently they desire a high position in their re- spective classes; and we realize how strong a temp- tation to falsify or equivocate is constantly placed be- fore them. We would therefore urge the importance of applying the system with extreme caution ; for if we are securing order and industry at the expense of moral rectitude, we are making a fearful exchange. The slight- est deviation from virtue furnishes just occasion for alarm.
" The course of evil
Begins so slowly, and from such slight source, An infant's hand might stop the breach with clay ; But let the stream get deeper, and philosophy, Aye, and religion too, shall strive in vain To turn the headlong current."
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A man having been reproved by Solon for speaking falsely, excused himself by saying : "It was only in jest." Solon, striking his cane upon the ground, violently ex- claimed : " If we allow ourselves to speak falsely in jest, we shall stand a chance of acquiring the habit of speak- ing falsely of serious matters !"
PROMOTIONS.
Promotions are made to the High School, at the com- mencement of the Winter Term only. In the other De- partments, in addition to the regular annual class promo- tions, there are individual promotions from one class or department to another, whenever they are warranted by the qualifications of individual pupils.
Diversity of endowments is manifest in every class of every school.
" Some are, and must be, greater than the rest."
Some minds mature much more rapidly than others. Some pupils acquire knowledge with greater facility than others who may be their equals in mental strength and. capacity. Some are ambitious and industrious, while others lack application. Some are endowed with more than ordinary physical strength and endurance, and con- sequently, can devote more time to study, without injury to health, than others less fortunate in these particulars.
It is manifest, therefore, that a rigid adherence to any system of class promotions, exclusively, would do great injustice to some of the classes of pupils specified, and would result in permanent injury to others. For it is as injurious to advance pupils before they are qualified for promotion, as it is unjust to keep them back when they are proper candidates for advancement.
Individual promotions remove all obstacles to the more rapid progress of those pupils who surpass their class-
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mates in industry, or mental activity, or physical endur- ance.
The great importance of this subject of promotions to the large number personally interested, will justify some- thing more than a passing notice.
But the narrow limits of this report must necessarily restrict us to brief statements, and the mere enunciation of a few suggestive propositions.
We are urged to its consideration by a deep convic- tion that great injury and cruel wrong are being inflicted upon multitudes of youth, by forcing them beyond their capacity to comprehend, or by imposing upon them bur- dens which they have not the mental and physical strength to bear; and this too, in our own Common- wealth, so justly commended for its wise systems of pop- ular education.
When we call to mind the ardent affection of parents for their . children,-with what tender solicitude they watch over them,-what sacrifices they cheerfully make to promote their welfare,-it may seem like a work of supererogation for us to raise a warning voice and assume the attitude of counsellors. But the most ardent affec- tion and the kindest solicitude are liable to be misdi- rected. These delicate flowers
" May take a blemish from the breath of love, And bear the blight forever."
By misapplied anxiety in matters of education, the fairest jewels may be laid aside prematurely, and the joyous light of many dwellings may be extinguished be- fore its time.
We have a sad instance of the cruelty and permanent injury that may be inflicted upon a child by loving, doting, and highly educated parents even, in the case of the brilliant and lamented Sarah Margaret Fuller.
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Her father was a lawyer of note, and for eight years represented Massachusetts in Congress. Her biographer says : " He devoted great pains,-far too great pains,- to the intellectual culture of his child. She lived among books,-read Latin at six years of age, and was early familiar with Virgil, Horace, and Ovid. She then went on to Greek. At eight years of age she devoured Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Molière, and at fifteen was immersed in literature and philosophy.
She was petted and praised as a prodigy. She was a child without toys, without romps, without laughter. She had no natural childhood. Her mind did not grow -it was forced. A child should expand in the sun ; but this little victim was put under a glass frame and plied with all manner of artificial heat. Her brain was un- mercifully taxed to the serious injury of her health. She was kept up late at her tasks, and went to bed with stimulated brain and nerves,-to be haunted by spectral illusions, nightmare and horrid dreams ; while by day she suffered from headache, weakness and nervous affections of all kinds. In after life she was the victim of disease and pain. In a pathetic prayer found among her papers, she says : "I am weary of thinking. I suffer great fatigue from living. I sink for want of rest, and none will shelter me." "To hear the occasional plaintive tone of sorrow in her thought and speech," Mr. Channing says, " was like the wail of an Æolian harp heard at intervals from some upper window."
This is a marked instance, and, it is to be hoped, is with- out a parallel for intensity of wrong and suffering; but we are thoroughly persuaded that while we write, there are numbers in our own community suffering to a greater or less degree from similar causes.
Those who suffer most are usually pupils of the high- est order; with delicate organizations and sensitive na-
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tures ; and who combine largely those qualities of mind and heart we most admire.
Influenced by feelings of commiseration for such, we make our plea in their behalf, and can only wish we pos- sessed the ability to make manifest to all the cause and cure, and could induce the immediate application of the remedy.
We have already intimated that it is our pleasure to witness happy faces in every school-room we visit. But we are grieved also, to witness indications of care and anxiety and weariness and discouragement upon coun- tenances that should be radiant with happiness.
Merry, ringing laughter,-buoyant footsteps,-happy · faces,-sparkling eyes,-are natural accompaniments of childhood and youth. We should take warning when these are not apparent.
The following expressions: Youth is life's merry morning,-its golden period,-its joyous spring-time,- its palmy days,-are not high wrought metaphors, but only imperfect representations of the joyousness of child- hood wherever the benevolent designs of the Creator are not thwarted.
Whenever the step of the child loses its elasticity,- his face its brightness,-his eyes their sparkle,-his laughter its joyous ring .- or, whenever his appetite be- comes fitful, -- his sleep disturbed,-and he betrays unnat- ural nervousness or irritability in connection with his les- sons, be sure something is wrong in his treatment at home ór in school.
The primary object of the school is to aid pupils in the acquisition of knowledge, and in the cultivation mainly of their mental faculties, but with due regard also, to physical development and moral culture. To accom- plish this object successfully, there must be the constant exercise of discrimination and judgment.
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We must acquaint ourselves thoroughly with the men- tal and physical capabilities of those whom we would instruct.
We must carefully decide how much time pupils may with safety to health, devote to study. There must be a wise adaptation of instruction, in character and amount, to the age, physical strength, mental capacity, and pre- vious preparation of pupils. We must determine as accurately as possible how much assistance we shall render pupils, and how far they must be made to rely upon their own efforts.
First then, as to the time children should be kept in school, and be required to devote to study.
No general rule can be given that will apply to every case. Parents who know as no other persons can, re- specting the health and endurance of their children, must decide in each individual instance. Committees in as- signing the limits of the school year, endeavor to adapt them to the wants and average capabilities of pupils. Forty-two weeks constitute our school year. In addition to the ten weeks of vacation, there are six and one half stated holidays. The High School has five sessions a week of five hours each. All the other schools have ten sessions a week, averaging two and three-fourths hours each. These sessions are divided by recesses, which reduce the time for study and recitations to four and one-half hours in the High School, and to two and one-half hours in the other schools. After deducting the time required for general exercises and the ordinary business of school, probably not more than one-half the time spent in the school-room is devoted to close mental application.
From careful observation, our conclusion is, that no healthy pupil will be injured by attending school every school day through the year, provided his studies in amount and character, are adapted to his physical strength and mental capacity.
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This brings us to what we regard as the root of the difficulty. Pupils are either overworked by having as- signed them lessons of too great length in studies which they understand ; or, having been promoted prematurely, they are harrassed and discouraged in their attempts to pursue studies beyond their comprehension - mainly the latter. This arises principally from causes in them- selves highly commendable ; as the solicitude of parents for the advancement of their children; the anxiety of teachers for the rapid progress of their pupils; and the ambition of scholars themselves, for promotion. Evi- dently, we are all in too great haste.
In the education of the young, the true maxim is : " Make haste slowly." TIME is as essential to the healthy development of the mental faculties as it is to the growth of a tree. No forcing process will bring to maturity the majestic oak before its time. By enriching the soil we may stimulate its growth ; but its tough fibres must be wrought out in nature's laboratory by slow processes. Thus must it ever be with the human mind, which of all created things is most enduring.
By careful instruction and judicious training, we may hasten and render symmetrical its natural growth. But with patience we must toil and wait.
We would not clip the wings of those who have the strength to soar; but we would learn wisdom from the unerring instinct of the eagle, that never makes a mistake as to the proper time for stirring up her nest and send- ing forth her young upon untried pinions.
The acquisition of knowledge is ever a source of in- tense delight to those who can gain a clear and intelligent understanding of the subject under consideration. And under such circumstances, the mind is always invigorated by the proper exercise of its faculties. But it must be re- garded as not only unwise but cruel to require, or even al-
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low pupils to plod on day after day, and year after year in the dark, as many do, perplexed, and disheartened by vain attempts to understand subjects, which from want of mental growth, they are unable to comprehend. School life to such must ever be an incessant round of painful drudgery. Our limits will not admit of an enumeration of the pernicious consequences of such a course.
To avoid the evil under consideration, the requisite time must be furnished for the natural, vigorous growth of all the powers of body and mind. Any apparent loss of time will be much more than compensated for, by the additional physical strength and mental vigor with which the young will go forth to engage in the conflict of life.
Due regard must be had also to the natural order in the development of the intellectual faculties. In nature, it is: "First the blade, then the ear," but we must patiently wait till autumn, before we can rejoice in the possession of " the full corn in the ear."
There is a corresponding order of progression in the province of mind. In the child, observation, curiosity, memory and faith, are developed early. The rapidity with which children of tender years acquire knowledge from observation, and skill by imitation, is a matter of surprise. They memorize with rapidity and ease, if not with positive pleasure. What we should consider a Her- culean task, they would regard as mere pastime. As we have already intimated, their faith and intuitions render the slow processes of reasoning unnecessary.
Win the confidence and affections of a child, and he will not call in question your assertions. This fact greatly enhances the responsibility of educators, but it gives them peculiar advantages in communicating knowledge.
Reason, therefore, would seem to indicate that oral
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instruction, object teaching, and memorizing should be the principal work of the Primary School, and also of the lower classes of the Grammar School.
Reason and judgment mature slowly. Studies, there- fore, which require the exercise of these faculties, should be pursued late in the pupil's course.
To require a child to reason logically, or to exercise the judgment of mature minds, would be like demanding of nature, autumn fruits in June.
Again, while we furnish pupils with all needful assist- ance in gaining knowledge and in developing the mental faculties, we should not forget that the mind can be strengthened and matured only, by the exercise of its own powers.
We may generously furnish facilities for acquiring an education ; but each one must learn for himself. Thought comes of thinking as strength does by action. Every dif- ficulty, successfully overcome, imparts to the victor addi- tional vigor, and insures victory over others more formida- ble. It is mistaken kindness to do for pupils what they must perform for themselves in order to become skilful in doing. They should early acquire the habit of self- reliance, and should be encouraged in the exercise of their own abilities. Knowledge may be imparted ; but the mind is educated only by the exercise of its own activ- ities.
We would urge upon pupils the importance of regular- ity in attendance - of faithfulness in the preparation of every lesson. They should make themselves masters of every difficulty that presents itself as an obstacle to their progress. In an intellectual conflict, the true policy is : " To leave no enemy in the rear." Then their apparent advancement will be a true index of their real progress. They should determine to become thorough and accurate students, and should labor for a symmetrical develop-
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ment of all the powers and faculties with which God has endowed them.
APPROPRIATIONS.
At the annual Town meeting held on the second day of March last, $12,000 were appropriated to purchase land, and erect a school-house in the vicinity of the Jack- son School. And at the meeting of the Town held on the thirteenth of April last, $12,000 were appropriated to purchase land and erect a school-house on Webster. Avenue and south of the Fitchburg Railroad. These buildings were to be constructed of wood, with brick basements ; each to contain four school-rooms of ordinary size, and rooms in the basement for the janitor.
A lot of land containing about 20,600 feet, and located on the corner of Joy and Poplar Streets, was purchased for $2,482.35, including right of way in the rear of the lot. Another lot containing 11,050 feet, and located on the north side of Webster Avenue about equi-distant from the Union Glass Works and Cambridge line was pur- chased at 17 cents per foot.
These buildings were constructed in a thorough and workmanlike manner by our townsman, George W. Trefren, Esq.
Three rooms in the building on Joy Street, were occu- pied by schools in September; and two rooms in the building on Webster Avenue were similarly occupied in November.
The school on Joy Street was named the BENNETT SCHOOL, as a token of respect to Clark Bennett, Esq., who was a faithful and efficient member of the School Board during a term of eleven years.
The school on Webster Avenue was named the WEB- STER SCHOOL.
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BENNETT SCHOOL BUILDING.
Cost of lot, .
$2,482 35
building, including outhouses, 8,112 50
6. sewer and grading, 556 35
fences and sidewalks, 585 48
66 furniture and stoves, 907 00
Total cost, $12,643 68
WEBSTER SCHOOL BUILDING.
Cost of lot,
$1,878 50
building, including outhouses,
8,495 20
sewer and grading,
341 20
66 fences and sidewalks, 538 50
66 furniture and stoves,
606 80
Total cost,
$11,860 20
To meet the current expenses of the schools for the year 1868, the Town appropriated $41,700.
The expenditures from March 1, 1868, to March 1, 1869, have been as follows :
-
Teachers' salaries,
$27,350 00
Janitors' 66
. 1,391 00
Fuel,
3,002 00
Repairs, .
. 3,160 23
Miscellaneous,
3,447 91
Superintendent's salary,
1,000 00
School furniture,
681 00
Insurance,
795 00
Balance unexpended,
.
873 86
$41,700 00
CEDAR STREET SCHOOL.
For the accommodation of scholars residing in the vicinity of the Dry Clay Brick Yard, the Walnut Hill school-house was moved in August last, to Cedar Street,
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and located on land known as the " Town Farm," which lies between Broadway and the Lowell Railroad.
A school was commenced in that building in Septem- ber, and named the CEDAR STREET PRIMARY SCHOOL.
To meet the current expenses of the schools and the rapidly increasing demands for school accommodations, committees have been under the necessity of asking for large appropriations for a series of years.
Various causes beyond our control have contributed to impose a heavy burden upon our citizens during the last eight years. In addition to the large amount of money necessary to meet the emergencies of war, we have ex- pended for the purchase of land and the construction and furnishing of school-houses more than $120,000 in excess of sums received from Insurance Companies.
Few towns in the Commonwealth have increased in population more rapidly than Somerville has within the last ten years, and none certainly, have suffered so se- verely from the destruction of school property.
To refresh the memory of the older inhabitants, and for the information of those who have more recently be- come residents of our beautiful and thriving town, we will insert a few items gathered from the records of the past.
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