Report of the city of Somerville 1877, Part 8

Author: Somerville (Mass.)
Publication date: 1877
Publisher: Somerville, Mass.
Number of Pages: 252


USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1877 > Part 8


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The wisdom of such a policy is vindicated by the transcendent importance of the interests involved. The momentous consequences dependent upon the proper instruction and right direction of the young during the years of their pupilage, demand the bestowment of such compensation as will secure the highest order of ability and the most efficient service. The influence of teachers in moulding the character and in shaping the destiny of those intrusted to them is beyond computation ; consequently a high standard of qualifica-


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tions should be demanded, and corresponding remuneration should be bestowed.


Tillotson says, " It requires great wisdom and industry to advance a considerable estate, much art and contrivance and pains to raise a great and regular building ; but the greatest and noblest work in the world, and an effect of the greatest prudence and care, is to rear and build up a man, and to form and fashion him to piety and jus- tice and temperance, and all kind of honest and worthy actions."


Since the efficiency of the schools depends so largely upon the character of those to whom they are intrusted, we cannot empha- size too strongly the importance of placing over them such teachers, and such only, as bring to their work the highest capabilities. In ordinary business transactions, value is given only in consideration of equivalent value received. In a matter of such vital importance as the selection and appointment of teachers, the highest assurance should be obtained that the ability secured is commensurate to the compensation awarded. Great care, therefore, should be exercised by those on whom devolves the duty of applying the appropriations so generously provided.


The thoroughly competent teacher has broad and liberal culture. He is conversant with all subjects he attempts to teach, - has sur- veyed the entire field to be traversed from an elevated standpoint, and possesses accurate knowledge of each minute portion of it. Like a skilful guide, he is perfectly familiar with all the intricacies and meanderings of the way, and never blindly misleads those com- mitted to his guidance; but without hesitation, directs them at once and by the shortest route to objects of the greatest interest and importance. He is not content with the rudimentary knowl- edge contained in the text-books of the schools, but extends his investigations, and gains an acquaintance with all subsidiary and collateral studies, and thereby becomes thoroughly furnished for his work. He is a constant student, and is ever making valuable addi- tions to his intellectual treasures.


The activity of intellect thus induced in the teacher is communi- cated to his pupils, and manifests itself in the life and enthusiasm of his school.


The successful teacher, in addition to broad and liberal culture and varied and extended attainments, possesses also the ability to communicate to others in a clear, forcible, and attractive manner the knowledge which he has garnered. His familiarity with the


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subjects taught enables him to select whatever is of the highest value to those whom he instructs, and thereby saves them from exhausting their energies upon matters of trivial importance. He adapts his instruction to the capabilities and necessities of his pupils ; is quick to detect the difficulties existing in their minds, and, by apt illustrations, illumines whatever is dark and difficult to be understood by them. His language is clear but concise. He avoids loquacity. His words are few but fitly spoken, and hence are " like apples of gold in pictures of silver."


But education implies much more than the mere acquisition of knowledge and the cultivation of the intellect. In its true signifi- cation it is the training of the man, the harmonious unfolding of the whole being. It has respect to whatever is essential to the right performance of the varied duties of life and to the attainment of the great ends of existence.


In consequence of what the teacher is, vastly more than from what he says, there is ever emanating from him an unconscious influence that imperceptibly but surely moulds the character of his pupils. It is of the highest importance, therefore, that he should be a model not only of all that pertains to the proprieties of social life, but the very embodiment of whatever we would have his pupils become. His life should be pure ; his example, in all respects, should be worthy of imitation ; and his character, such as will in- spire the confidence, the respect, and the love of his pupils.


The crowning excellence, therefore, of the true teacher consists in the purity and nobility of personal character


" Heart merit wanting, mount we ne'er so high,


Our height is but the gibbet of our name."


V. PUPILS.


The whole number of persons in the city between five and fifteen years of age, on the first day of May last, as ascertained by the Truant Officer, was . 4,157


Ward One


1,284


Ward Two


1,499


Ward Three


707


Ward Four


667


Increase for the year


129


137


Whole number of pupils in all the schools in May


last . 4,005


Number of pupils over fifteen years of age


309


Average whole number of pupils in all the schools for the year 3,787.7


High School .


209.3


Grammar Schools


.


.


1,905.7


Primary Schools


1,672.7


Average attendance in all the schools for the year


3,549.5


High School .


204.5


Grammar School


1,804 9


Primary Schools


1,540.1


Per cent of attendance in all the schools for the


year .


93.7


High School


97.7


Grammar Schools


94.7


Primary Schools


92.1


Number of tardinesses in all the schools for the


year


4,667


High School .


117


Grammar Schools


2,071


Primary Schools


2,479


Number of dismissals in all the schools for the


year .


3,008


High School


261


Grammar Schools .


1,725


Primary Schools


1,022


.


·


138


TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PUPILS IN EACH OF THE THIR- TEEN CLASSES IN DECEMBER; THE AVERAGE AGE OF PUPILS IN EACH CLASS; THE PER CENT THAT THE NUMBER IN EACH CLASS IS OF THE WHOLE NUMBER.


School.


Class.


Boys.


Girls.


Total.


Average Age.


Per Cent.


High


First


11


22


33


18 yrs. 2 mos.


.805


Second


20


23


43


17 yrs. 3 mos.


1.049


Third


19


36


55


16 yrs. 4 mos.


1.342


Fourth


44


46


90


15 yrs. 5 mos.


2.196


Grammar


·


First


66


92


158


14 yrs. 9 mos.


3.855


Second


81


100


181


13 yrs. 11 mos.


4.417


Third


144


137


281


13 yrs. 1 mos.


6 857


Fourth


230


194


424


12 yrs. 4 mos.


10.347


Fifth


221


225


446


11 yrs


3 mos.


10.884


Sixth


287


251


538


10 yrs. 2 mos.


13.129


Primary .


First


262


242


504


8 yrs. 9 mos.


12.299


Second


271


281


552


7 yrs. 8 mos.


13.469


Third .


418


375


793


5 yrs. 9 mos.


19.351


Total


2074


2024


4098


100.000


Number of pupils in all the schools in December,


4,098


Boys


2,074


Girls


2,024


Number over fifteen years of age


328


Number of pupils in the High School


221


Boys


94


Girls


127


Number of pupils in the Grammar Schools


2,028


Boys


1,029


Girls


999


Number of pupils in the Primary Schools


1,849


Boys


951


Girls


898


The High School contained 5.393 per cent, of all the pupils.


The Grammar Schools contained 49.488 per cent of all the pupils.


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The Primary Schools contained 45.119 per cent of all the pupils. Whole number of pupils registered in all the schools during the year 1877 4,906


Average number of pupils to a teacher, taking as a basis of computation the whole number in attendance in December


46


High School . 32


Grammar Schools . 43


Primary Schools 56


Number of pupils graduated from the High School ·


36


Number of pupils graduated from the several Grammar Schools


120


From the Prescott School


40


Luther V. Bell School 23


Morse School . 23


Forster School


22


Lincoln School 12


Of the 120 graduates from the several grammar schools, 103 applied for admission to the High School, 84 passed a satisfactory examination, 79 entered the school in September.


The following named pupils passed a satisfactory examination for admission to the High School : -


FROM PRESCOTT SCHOOL.


Edwin H. Sawyer.


Bessie R. White.


Geo. A. Snow.


Gertrude Guild.


Theodore V. Enslin.


Mary E. Mclaughlin.


Herbert N. Libbey.


Mary L. Howes.


Frederic E. Wallace.


Ella C. Page.


Oren G. Elder.


Ida M. Haynes.


Geo. F. Steele.


Lulu M. Horton.


Chas. Lattemore.


Clara I. Atwood.


H. A. Hopkins.


Ada E. Scott.


Fred L. Fisher.


Hattie A. Crane.


Arthur I. Plaisted


Susie J. Palmer.


Geo. W. Smith.


Sarah A. Remick.


Herbert S. Littlefield.


Estelle F. Howes.


140


Flora M. Eastman.


Eliza M. Rubel.


Minnie E. Barnes.


Lillian J. Colson.


Mamie Palmer.


Lilian M. Totman.


Lillian W. Dalton.


Charlotte E. Snow.


LUTHER V. BELL SCHOOL.


S. W. Janes.


J. S. Guthrie.


S. J. Riley.


C. E. Riley.


M. E. Harney.


I. C. Brooks.


C. M. Wood.


E. H. Lansing.


M. P. DeFatta.


F. A. Bickford.


C. E. Eldridge.


T. P. Rowe.


A. E. Crimmings.


W. S. Donahue.


M. A. Perry.


Nola E. Hall.


FORSTER SCHOOL.


Edward F. Woods.


Gertrude Powers.


Fred C. Fitz.


Florence A. Withey.


Nellie R. Winslow.


Jennie C. L. Locke.


Sarah S. Lears.


Jennie L. Crafts.


MORSE SCHOOL.


Frank E. Richards.


Gardner W. Homer.


Alexander Foster.


C. F. Davis.


Annie Foster.


R. Heber Hodgdon.


Jerry J. McGarr.


G. Fletcher West.


Chas B. Sewall.


Lucy M. Stone. Annie L. Powers.


Carrie M. Vance.


Annie H. Lord.


Katie L. Byard.


LINCOLN SCHOOL.


Edmund Chamberlain.


Maud Winter.


Edwin F. Peckham. Emily Bevins.


Louise H. Bevins.


Chas. A. Pratt.


Wmn. F. Edlefson.


Fred M. Kimball.


Chas. E. Brown.


W. E. Raybold.


L. W. Elkins.


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The following named pupils have been admitted during the year, from schools outside of the city.


FIRST CLASS.


September. Frederic Wm. Shaw, from private school, Brooklyn, N. Y.


SECOND CLASS.


September. Florian Delton Record, from Auburn High School, Maine.


FOURTH CLASS.


January. Minnie G. Gifford, from Woods Holl.


September. Hattie Devens Turner, from Prescott School, Charles- town.


Frank Vernon Cooke, from Bridgeton High School, Maine.


66 Harry Swords, from Warren School, Charlestown.


October.


Frank H. Johnson, from Leominster High School.


Hattie P. Burbank, from Salem High School.


November. Emma M. Apted, from Wells School, Boston.


The following table shows the average of the monthly examina- tions of the first class in each of the grammar schools, and the result of the examination for admission to the High School.


No.


SCHOOL.


Average Age.


Monthly Examina- tions.


High School Examina- tions.


Average.


Arithmetic and Grammar.


34


Prescott .


14 yrs. 11 mos.


80.0


78.3


79.2


74.1


18


L. V. Bell


15 yrs. 4 mos.


80.5


75.1


77.7


72.7


13


Forster . .


14 yrs. 9 mos.


76.9


72.9


74.9


69.1


14


Morse


.


14 yrs. 8 mos.


84.4


75.4


79.9


71.1


5


Lincoln ..


16 yrs. 4 mos.


83.3


71.8


79.7


64.0


84


15 yrs. 0 mos.


80.3


75.9


78.1


72.2


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MUSIC.


For many years the schools have been provided with competent and special teachers of vocal music, and much has been accom- plished in this useful branch of instruction. Singing has always been an interesting feature in the daily exercises of our schools, and its elevating moral influence upon the pupils is unquestioned.


In September of last year the course of instruction in music was more definitely and systematically arranged than formerly ; and as a consequence, the results of the present year have been much more satisfactory than during any previous year.


Much valuable aid is rendered to the special teacher of music by the regular teachers of the several schools. But the knowledge and skill necessary to render one a competent and successful teacher of music require more time for study and practice than the regular teachers can spare from the hours devoted to preparation for ordi- nary school work. Hence the necessity for the employment of a teacher who makes music a specialty.


DRAWING.


Instruction in drawing is given by the regular teachers. The results in most of the schools are satisfactory.


When drawing was first introduced, and during the time that the regular teachers of the schools were qualifying themselves for the new work required of them, special teachers of this art were a necessity. But drawing has been a legal requirement for several years, and excellent facilities for acquiring the ability to teach it successfully have been accessible to all. At the present time, all teachers employed by the city are expected to teach drawing with the same degree of skill and success that they do penmanship or any other regular branch of instruction.


EVENING SCHOOLS.


The Evening School, which was in operation at the beginning of the year, was continued until March 30, with an average attend- ance of 37.33. The school was reopened Monday, Nov. 5, and has been in session six evenings each week; the boys meeting three evenings, and the girls three, alternately.


143


The teachers are : Herbert A. Chapin, principal, B. B. Platner, Sam'l N. Cutler, Annie S. Gage, and Ada I. Howe, assistants.


Whole number registered during the last two months . 248


Boys, 218 ; girls, 30.


Average attendance .


91


Boys, 79 ; girls, 12.


Entire cost of the school for the year : -


Tuition 95 evenings .


$540 00


Janitors' services


37 59


Books and stationery


46 53


Gas .


161 64


Total


$807 54


MONTHLY REPORTS OF THE TRUANT OFFICER.


1877.


Cases investigated.


Cases of truancy.


Number of Truants.


Arrests.


Absentees placed in school.


January


100


15


7


3


February


94


19


12


1


March .


70


25


17


April


85


38


23


May


52


14


6


June


47


28


21


September .


138


55


40


October


129


46


36


November


145


39


33


1


December


113


46


31


Total . .


973


325


226


1


4


ELI A. SMITH, Truant Officer.


144


TEXT BOOKS.


At the beginning of the school year, in September, Harper's School Geography was introduced into the fourth class, and his Introductory Geography into the sixth class, these being the only classes requiring new geographies. These books will be in- troduced whenever new supplies are required, until all the classes are furnished with them.


Hillard's Franklin Readers and Monroe's Readers and Spellers were introduced in September, 1874, in place of Sargent's Readers and Speller, which had been in our schools twenty years.


Greene's Grammar was first introduced in November, 1854. In September, 1874, Swinton's Language Lessons was substituted for it in the third and fourth classes. In September, 1875, Swinton's Grammar was introduced into the first and second classes.


Warren's Geographies were introduced in January, 1867, and Harper's in September, 1877; Walton's Arithmetic in March, 1865 ; and Greenleaf's in September, 1876 ; Seavey's Goodrich's History in September, 1868, and Campbell's in September, 1874.


SCHOOL SUPPLIES.


Scholars are furnished with the following articles, for school use, at the expense of the city : - pens, ink, lead pencils for writing in the primary schools, slate pencils, paper for all written exercises, and writing books.


145


EXPENDITURES FROM JAN. 1, 1877, TO JAN. 1, 1878.


BY THE CITY COUNCIL.


Repairs and permanent improvements,


$6,047 99


Insurance .


1,888 70


Rent .


653 33


Fuel .


2,722 96


$11,312 98


BY THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.


Teachers' salaries for day and evening


schools


$68,157 93


Superintendent's salary


2,000 00


Janitors' salaries


3,380 09


Truant officer's salary


900 00


Water


367 25


Gas .


445 50


Printing


302 60


Books for indigent pupils and evening


schools


1,131 70


Writing books


460 00


Stationery and other school supplies


852 71


Miscellaneous


554 42


78,552 20


Total expenditures .


$89,865 18


RECEIPTS.


Tuition of non-resident pupils


$115 38


Rent of school halls .


84 50


Sundries


35 36


235 24


Net expenditures


$89,629 94


10


146


CONCLUSION.


It is a well-established and generally accepted truth that the sta- bility of our national institutions and the general prosperity and happiness of communities will be proportionate to the intelligence and morality of the people. For the dissemination of intelligence and the encouragement of morality, public schools accessible to all classes are regarded as indispensable agencies, and hence it is that communities cheerfully acquiesce in systems of taxation for their support.


Our public schools require, annually, for their maintenance, large expenditures of money ; their results, therefore, ought to meet the reasonable expectations of those who feel the burden of taxation for their support.


It should occasion no surprise that systems of public instruction are subjected to many criticisms, or that communities are sensitive and solicitous in regard to the character and standing of their schools, inasmuch as each individual has a personal interest in the results secured.


While all censoriousness calculated to weaken public confidence and retard the progress of education is to be deprecated, all intel- ligent and just criticisms, which tend to excite healthy interest and enhance the efficiency of the schools, should be solicited and encouraged.


In the minds of those who are most deeply interested in the wel- fare of our schools, the following inquiries naturally arise : Are the large appropriations for school purposes economically and judi- ciously expended ? Are the results attained commensurate to the expense incurred ? Are the studies pursued wisely chosen and well apportioned, and are they such as will have a practical bearing upon the lives of our pupils in all their multifarious relations? Are the methods of instruction which have been adopted the best that have been devised, and do they correspond to those employed in cities where schools have the highitest reputation ? And then in regard to our teachers : Are they, all of them, the best that can be secured for the compensation awarded? Have they that high degree of intelligence and culture, that enthusiasm and devotion to their work, which are essential to the highest success? Are they apt to teach, wise in their selection of what is most important to be taught, and


A


147


do they discipline with judgment and discretion? Do they exert a salutary moral influence upon their pupils? Are they thoroughly conscientious in their work, and do they labor incessantly as those who must give account ?


We will briefly consider some of these inquiries.


1. Expenditures. - Successive committees have regarded it wise economy to keep the school property in good condition, and to furnish all needful appliances for the convenience and comfort of the schools, but in their expenditures for the city, it has been apparent that they have exercised the same degree of prudence that they would in the management of their personal affairs. The liberality of the School Board in supplying pupils with stationery and other essential articles for school use, is vindicated by the results secured.


The largest and most important item of expense is for teachers' salaries.


The education of the young is a matter of vital importance and depends largely upon the character and efficiency of those to whom it is intrusted. Hence the importance of securing teachers of elevated character and ample accomplishments. But thoroughly competent and eminently successful teachers possess a combination of endowments, natural and acquired, rarely found in the same individual, and communities that would avail themselves of the services of such must be content to pay their price ; for all labor has a market value corresponding to the importance of the work to be performed, and the intelligence and skill requisite for its suc- cessful accomplishment. A reduction of salaries to meet a low average of teachers would be highly detrimental to the interests of education. The only wise and truly economical policy is to be lib- eral in compensation, but exacting in requirement ; to pay such salaries as will secure teachers of the highest qualifications, and to continue in service those only whose results correspond to the compensation awarded.


2. Character and Standing of our Schools. - Our schools, with few exceptions, are meeting reasonable expectations. They are fully sustaining the reputation of former years, and are making regular and substantial advances. By visits. and an interchange of pupils, we have frequent opportunities to institute comparisons between our schools and those of other cities, and to become assured that they compare favorably with those having the highest reputa-


148


tion. Scholars leaving our schools and entering schools of similar grade in other cities, find themselves equal to the work demanded of them ; and scholars coming to us from other cities are not found to be in advance of their associates in our schools of grades simi- lar to those from which they came. It is also true that as large a proportion of our graduates enter college without conditions as from the best preparatory classical schools.


3. Discipline. - School discipline is a fruitful source of anxiety and irritation. Good order, complete subordination, and prompt obedience are indispensable requisites to success, and must be maintained at all times. On teachers rest the responsibility and -. necessity of their maintenance, and on their ability to secure these essential results their success largely depends. Ordinarily, mild and gentle means are adequate. Most pupils, especially those who are well trained at home, can be influenced by moral motives and the more gentle persuasions of kindness. But in most schools there will occur, occasionally, instances of persistent and deter- mined insubordination which but comparatively few teachers can subdue without recourse to the infliction of physical pain. But the application of the rod is always exceedingly irksome to teachers, and is the cause of irritation, of mortification, and of grief to the parents of offenders, even though they may acknowledge the justice of the act. For these and other important reasons, corporal pun- ishment is inflicted only as the last resort.


The School Committee have clearly indicated their sentiments in this regard by their instructions to teachers, as contained in the general regulations of the public schools.


Teachers are enjoined " to aim at such discipline in their schools as would be exercised by a kind and judicious parent in his family. They are required to avoid corporal punishment in all cases where good order can be maintained by milder means. In no case shall they resort to cruel or unnatural punishment. Blows upon the head, by the hand or rod, are expressly prohibited. Ridicule, pro- voking sarcasm, and all harsh expressions are to be studiously avoided."


It gives me pleasure to bear testimony to the earnest desire and endeavor of teachers to conform to these requirements, and to secure good order by gentle means.


Corporal punishment is entirely excluded from the High School, and is rarely inflicted in the upper classes of the grammar schools.


149


Three teachers of primary schools, and three of grammar schools, report no case of corporal punishment during the year ; one teacher reports one case only ; three teachers report two cases each. In the grammar schools, the average number of punishments to a school during the entire year has been three in four weeks ; and in the primary schools, one in two weeks. Each succeeding year, for the last five years, has shown a marked decrease in the number of cases of corporal punishment.


4. Courses of Study. - The courses of study for the several departments of our schools are substantially the same as those adopted by all the cities and leading towns throughout the com- monwealth.


In consequence of the wide range of knowledge and the limited time during which many of our pupils attend school, the selection and apportionment of the studies to be pursued by them are mat- ters of unusual interest, especially to those on whom rests the responsibility of giving direction to the education of the young.


The true aim of all study is the acquisition of important knowl- edge and the cultivation of the intellectual powers ; but mental discipline is best secured by the proper pursuit of knowledge, and just as effectually secured by the acquisition of that kind of knowl- edge which will be of the highest practical value. We are required, therefore, in accordance with the dictates of our best judgment, to select from the vast range of knowledge such subjects, and such only, as have the most direct bearing upon the essential duties of life, and will impart to those who pursue them the ability to per- form aright the duties and meet successfully the responsibilities awaiting them. We are required, also, to give to each subject of · our choice that degree of prominence which its relative importance demands.


· 5. Methods of Instruction. - In respect to general methods of instruction most educators are in accord, but in regard to specific methods they are greatly at variance. In view of the numerous theories on educational subjects, and the various and conflicting systems of instruction propagated from the platform and through the press, we do well to follow the sacred injunction, "Prove all things ; hold fast that which is good."


Our general system of instruction is clearly defined and strictly adhered to, but in regard to specific methods of instruction, no inflexible rules can be established. Each individual teacher, after


150


careful study and comparison and experiment, adopts those methods which, in his judgment, will enable him to secure the best results.




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