USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1881 > Part 6
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Truancy. - During the year, the Truant Officers have reported one hundred and eighty cases of truancy, and five habitual truants who have been sentenced to the House of Reformation for Juvenile Offenders, at Lowell. Truants often repeat their offence, and their
121
names reappear in successive reports ; consequently the number of cases of truancy reported is in excess of the actual number of tru- ants, provided none have eluded the vigilance of the Truant Officers. These truants vary in age from seven to fifteen years, and represent the most neglected portion of our school population: Their early developments awaken alarming apprehensions concerning their future career.
The facts disclosed by the foregoing statements force upon our consideration the important and practical questions, What more can be done to diminish truancy, to increase the per cent of attend- ance, to induce a larger number of persons to avail themselves of all the advantages liberally furnished for their improvement, and thereby to elevate the average standard of education in the com- munity ?
Compulsory Laws. - The compulsory laws of the State aim to render available to every citizen the means for securing the rudi- ments of learning and all the advantages which may accrue from their possession. These laws are humane in their intent, and their enforcement is essential to the well-being of those in whose behalf they were instituted, and for the highest prosperity of the Common- wealth. The following are some of their provisions : -
1. "No child under the age of ten years shall be employed in any manufacturing, mechanical, or mercantile establishment in this Common- wealth."
2. " No child under fourteen years of age shall be so employed, while the public schools in the city or town where such child lives are in ses- sion, unless such child can read and write."
3. "No child under the age of fourteen years shall be so employed, except during the vacations of the public schools, unless during the year next preceding such employment he has, for at least twenty weeks, attended some public or private day school, under teachers approved by the school committee of the place where such school is kept "
4. " Every person having under his control a child between the ages of eight and fourteen years shall annually cause such child to attend, for at least twenty weeks, some public day school in the city or town in which he resides."
5. " Each city and town shall make all needful provisions and arrange- ments concerning habitual truants, and children between the ages of seven and fifteen years who may be found wandering about in the streets or public places therein, having no lawful occupation or business, not attending school, and growing up in ignorance."
122
Whatever may be the judgment of any in regard to the expedi- ency or the wisdom of enforcing all of these laws, no diversity of opinion can exist relative to the propriety of using all legitimate moral influences to secure their observance. No community can afford to incur the consequences that must follow from the total or the partial illiteracy of any portion of its citizens.
Relation between Education and Crime. - Much time and labor have been expended in various parts of the country in ascertaining the relation between education and crime. All investigations in this direction prove beyond a doubt that ignorance is a fruitful source of evil, and that intellectual training is a preventive of crime. In his report to the Bureau of Education in Washington, Dr. E. D. Mansfield says : " An examination of the criminal statistics from nearly all the States leads to the following con_ clusions : (1) That one third of all criminals are totally unedu- cated, and that four fifths are partially uneducated. (2) That the proportion of criminals from the illiterate classes is at least ten- fold as great as the proportion from those having some education." In 1879, the National Educational Association appointed a com-
mittee to investigate this matter. Dr. Wickersham, the chairman of that committee, says : " With the reports of the penitentaries and prisons of some twenty States before us, we reach the follow- ing conclusions : (1) That about one sixth of all the crime in the country is committed by persons wholly illiterate. (2) That about one third of it is committed by persons practically illiterate. (3) That the proportion of criminals among the illiterate is about ten times as great as among those who have been instructed in the ele- ments of a common-school education or beyond."
In concluding his report, Dr. Wickersham says : " We are well convinced that with all its defects, the system of public schools is the most potent agency, by all odds, at work among us to-day, to root up vice, to lessen crime, to lift up the people to a higher plane of civilization, and to save the sacred principles of republicanism our fathers planted on American soil, and bade us cherish with our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."
123
PRIMARY SCHOOLS.
Of the thirty-five schools of this grade, twenty-one contain one class each ; ten, two classes each ; the remaining four, three classes each. Two schools of eighty pupils each have two teachers.
Number of pupils in attendance in January . 1,826
Number admitted during the year
· 792
Number promoted to the grammar schools
·
434
Number in attendance in December
1,919
Whole number registered during the year · 2,618
Average number of pupils to a school, computing from the average wl:ole number 50
A large proportion of the teachers in the primary schools have taught in their respective grades several years, and have acquired superior skill in management and in adapting instruction to the capacity of their pupils. Indications are everywhere apparent that the children in these schools are kindly treated, judiciously managed, and well instructed; and are accomplishing all that should be required of them.
The third class complete Monroe's Charts, Monroe's First Reader, Parker and Marvel's First Reader, and receive instruc- tion in the rudiments of writing and drawing. The second class complete Parker and Marvel's Second Reader, and Monroe's Second Reader; spell from the readers, and from dictation ; complete the first half of Greenleaf's First Lessons in Numbers ; write daily on ruled slates from copy and from dictation ; complete the first five cards of White's Series in Drawing, using slates specially prepared for the purpose. The first class complete McGuffey's Second Reader, and the Franklin Advanced Second Reader ; spell from the readers and through the first thirty-five pages of Harrington's Spelling Book; complete Greenleaf's Primary Arithmetic and Wallcut's Numeral Cards ; write daily on ruled slates from copy and from dictation ; write original compositions frequently, using slates and paper ruled with guide lines ; complete two drawing books of White's Series.
We cannot urge too strongly the importance of making the schools - especially those composed of little children - pleasant
124
and attractive. All causes of discomfort should be carefully and persistently avoided. Each school-room should be bright and cheerful. The air should be kept at an agreeable and equable tem- perature, and as pure as possible. To avoid weariness, the regular exercises should be short and varied, and frequently interspersed with singing and physical exercises. The tones of the teacher's voice should be cheery, her countenance sunny, and her entire demeanor such as to inspire the confidence and affection of her pupils. Swett, in his " Methods of Teaching," says, " First of all make your school pleasant. The primary condition of a learner is satisfaction in learning. Be' courteous and polite : you can more easily win by kindness than drive by authority. Cultivate a habit of cheerfulness that shall shine out from your countenance like the light of the rising sun."
Children never conceal their joys, but are often reticent concern- ing matters that mar their happiness, and are inclined to endure in silence much that overshadows their lives. Hence the liability to overestimate the pleasures of childhood, and to forget that sorrows also are incident to that period. Boyd says, "I believe that the sorrows of childhood task the endurance of childhood as severely as those of manhood do the endurance of man." Children respond quickly to kindness, and are keenly sensitive to injustice. A cut- ting remark or bitter sarcasm often inflicts a wound that time never heals. It is not in the nature of children to cherish malice, - hence the injunction, " In malice be ye children," - therefore they may forgive ; but to their latest day, they will not forget those acts of injustice of which they were the recipients in the defenceless years of childhood.
"None is fitted to be a teacher," says Hart, "who has not learned to sympathize with the real wants and feelings of chil- dren." Horace Mann has said, " The voice of nature forbids the infliction of annoyance, discomfort, or pain upon a child while engaged in study. If possible, pleasure should be made to flow like a sweet atmosphere around the early learner, and pain be kept beyond the association of ideas. You cannot open blossoms with a northeast storm ; the buds of the hardiest plants will wait for the genial influences of the sun, though they perish while waiting."
125
TABLE SHOWING THE AVERAGE WHOLE NUMBER OF PUPILS, THE AVER- AGE DAILY ATTENDANCE, AND PER CENT OF ATTENDANCE, IN EACH PRIMARY SCHOOL DURING THE YEAR.
SCHOOLS.
TEACHERS.
Average whole number.
Average attend- ance.
Per cent of attend- ance.
Foster
M. H. Pennock
46.8
44.2
94.4
L V. Colby
41.2
38 0
92.2
66
A. T. Couch.
38.9
35.6
91 5
66
L. G. Perry.
44.9
40.4
90.0
Prescott
S. E. Pratt
54.2
51.1
94.3
66
E. M. Plummer
55.5
51.5
92.8
66
E. F. Schuh
73.3
65.8
89.7
Edgerly
A. M. Cowles
50.7
48.4
95.5
66
A. L. Prescott.
51.8
49 1
94.8
C. M. Bagley .
69.7
63.9
91.7
Tufts Street
H. V. Hathaway
40.2
36.7
91.3
66
Ada Cowles
37.0
32.1
86.7
Luther V. Bell. ...
L. F. Appleton.
60.5
56.4
93.2
66
A. M. Houghton
67.5
60.2
89.2
Prospect Hill.
. .
..
M. A. Vinal.
37.7
34.4
91.2
Brastow
L. D. Harding
52.6
48.2
91.6
Bennett
Maria Miller .
50.2
46.4
92.4
M. B. Currier
53 8
48 6
90.3
Jackson
A. C. Damon .
45.8
42.2
92.1
66
M. M. Hobson
44.8
40.0
89.3
66
A. E. McCarty
46.8
43.1
92.3
Webster.
A. L. Savage. .
56.0
52.9
94.5
Union
I. M. Prince .
46.2
44 0
95.2
Morse
C. N. Sanderson
59.0
54.0
91.5
Beech Street.
Z. E. Freeman
62.5
47.5
90.4
Spring Hill.
A. E. Furber
46.6
41.0
87.9
Franklin
E. C. Ruggles
55.7
51.7
92 8
Harvard .
A. E. Robinson
518
45.4
87.6
Highland
A. P. Lord.
40.1
38.8
96.7
66
S. E. Pray
36.0
33.2
92.2
66
C. M Smith
35.8
31.8
88.8
Lincoln
A. L. Clapp
39.8
36.8
92.4
Cedar Street.
A. M. Porter
. .
58.8
43.7
74.3
1,744.5
1,590.2
91.1
A. I. Howe
51.0
46.8
91.8
C. I. Houghton
51.3
46.3
90.2
126
GRAMMAR SCHOOLS.
Taking the average whole number of pupils belonging to all the schools during the year as the basis of computation, it is found that the forty-six schools of this grade have contained 51.5 per cent of all the pupils in the several departments. . Forty-three of these schools have one class each ; the remaining three have two classes each. Six schools have two teachers each.
Number of pupils in attendance in January . 2,199
Number received from the primary schools . 434
Number in attendance in December
2,148
Number in attendance in December, 1880
2,072
Whole number registered during the year
2,311
Average number of pupils to a school, computing from the average whole number during the year 45
At the close of the summer term, one hundred and thirty-two pupils were graduated at the several grammar schools : boys fifty- five, girls seventy-seven.
From the Luther V. Bell School
43
Prescott School
33
Morse School
· 25
66 Forster School . 17 . .
Lincoln School . 14 .
Number promoted to the first class in June
148
second class in June
.
225
66
.
66 66
fourth class in June .
362
66
66 fifth class in June
364
66 sixth class in June .
434
·
.
66
66 third class in June .
301
.
Of the one hundred and thirty-two pupils graduated at the gram- mar schools, one hundred and seven applied for admission to the High School, one hundred passed a satisfactory examination, and eighty-seven entered the school in September.
127
TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PUPILS GRADUATED AT EACH OF THE GRAMMAR SCHOOLS, THE NUMBER OF APPLICANTS FOR ADMISSION TO THE HIGH SCHOOL, THE NUMBER WHO PASSED A SATISFACTORY EXAMINATION, AND THE NUMBER WHO ENTERED THE SCHOOL IN SEPTEMBER.
SCHOOLS.
Number of graduates.
Number of applicants.
Number successful.
Number entered.
Forster
17
17
17
*18
Prescott
33
25
25
19
Luther V. Bell
43
28
24
21
Morse
25
24
22
19
Lincoln
14
13
12
11
Total
132
107
100
88
* One from the class of 1880.
The Committee on the Revision of the Course of Study in the Grammar Schools have made some important modifications in the course in arithmetic, during the year, in order that pupils who do not complete the grammar-school course may pursue a wider range of topics than heretofore, and gain some familiarity with various subjects ordinarily pursued late in the course.
Text-Books. - Greenleaf's Complete Arithmetic has been substi- tuted for Greenleaf's Practical Arithmetic in the fifth and sixth classes, and Greenleaf's First Lessons in Numbers for Greenleaf's Primary Arithmetic in the second class of the primary schools. Monroe's Fifth Reader has taken the place of Appleton's Fourth Reader in the third class. Monroe's Sixth Reader has displaced Appleton's Fifth Reader in the first class. The Duntonian Series of Writing Books have been substituted for the American Series, and White's Drawing Books for Walter Smith's.
Teachers are receiving instruction in drawing from H. P. Smith, Esq . author of White's Drawing Books.
-
128
TABLE SHOWING THE AVERAGE WHOLE NUMBER OF PUPILS, THE AVER- AGE DAILY ATTENDANCE, AND THE PER CENT OF ATTENDANCE IN EACH GRAMMAR SCHOOL DURING THE YEAR,
SCHOOLS.
TEACHERS.
Average whole number.
Average attend- ance.
Per cent of attend- ance.
Forster
J. S. Hayes
47.8
46.4
97.1
M. E. Wild
37.8
36 3
95.7
M. E. Northup
42.8
41.2
96.2
66
F. M. Guptill
53.8
50.8
94.4
..
N. M. Whitney
50.4
48.8
96.8
66
A. A. Batchelor
49.3
46 0
93.3
Prescott
A. G. Southworth.
40.3
39 4
97.7
V. E. Hapgood .
56.7
55.3
97.5
Adelaide Reed
43.1
41.5
96 3
66
A. A. Anderson
49.0
47.0
95.9
A. I. Sears
48.8
47.1
96.5
66
C. T. Brown
45.2
42.8
94.7
66
.
H. H. Winslow
47.8
45.6
95.4
66
Clara Taylor
49.9
47.6
95.4
Edgerly
H. N. Sands
44.4
42.3
95.4
Luther V. Bell.
Robert Bickford
46.7
45.8
98.1
66
·
M. H. Marden
44 4
42.9
96.6
E. M. Gooding
39.2
37.8
96.4
A. C. Hunt.
43.6
41.7
95.6
Helen Tincker
39.6
37.4
94.4
F. A. Wilder
44.2
41.4
93.6
66
. ...
M. E. Berry
47.0
45.8
97.4
66
. . . .
L. F. Howe.
48 3
46.2
95.6
66
....
A. M. Snow
48.0
46.3
96 4
66
. . . .
L. J. Page
50.6
48.0
94.8
Prospect Ilill
A. L. Sanborn
36 6
34.6
94.5
66+
A. C. Damon.
47.3
42.6
90.1
66
.
Ellen Ledyard
48.5
44.9
92.6
Brastow.
S. E. Pennock
34.0
32 5
95.6
Bennett.
A. A. Roberts
43 2
39.6
91.6
Jackson
N. O'Leary
45.2
42.0
92.9
Webstert
A. L. Sanborn
30.3
28.6
94.3
Morse
C. C. Hunkins
27.7
26.7
96.4
66
N. P. Nichols
29.3
28.4
96.9
66
P. S. Downes
40.2
39.5
98.0
66
C. N. Burgess
45.3
43.9
96.9
66
A. E. Sawyer
51.2
48 3
94.3
Beech Street.
M. A. Haley
51.9
48.6
93.6
Franklin
J. E. Clark
27.4
25.1
91.6
66
H. A. Hills
44.0
40.0
90.9
Highland
G. E. Nichols
38.5
35 5
92.2
66
Georgiana Cutter
39 6
35.8
90.4
L. J. Conwell
42.9
40 7
97.2
S. F. Gibbs
43.7
39.8
91.7
Lincoln *
M. A. Paul
39.9
37.2
93.2
Cedar Street
Alice Simpson
37 5
35 1
93.6
2,0-2.5
1,978.2
94.9
·
·
F. P. Hudson
43.0
418
97.2
.
·
.
. . ..
. . .
. . . .
. . ..
.
.
.
..
36.6
35.6
97.2
Jennie Colburn
.
* Organized in September.
t Discontinued in September.
129
HIGH SCHOOL.
Whole number of different pupils during the year 342
Largest number at one time 256
Number admitted during the year
. 99
From our grammar schools .
88
From other schools .
11
Number graduated .
34
Number of graduates who entered college . 7
Number of graduates who entered the School of Technology 5
Number who have left the school during the year, exclus.ve
of graduates 60
Whole number at the present time
248
Number over fifteen years of age
·
209
Number in course preparatory to college
70
Number pursuing the regular course .
139
Number pursuing the English course
. 39
Number in the first class on entering the school
95
Number at the present time
35
Number in the second class on entering the school
100
Number at the present time
49
Number in the third class on entering the school
107
Number at the present time
73
Number in the fourth class on entering the school
94
Number at the present time
91
.
.
Of those who graduated in June last, three entered Harvard Col- lege, two the Harvard " Annex," two the Boston University, and five the Institute of Technology.
It will be seen, by referring to the table on the next page, that 1,875 persons have been connected with our High School since its organization in 1852. About 1,180 persons entered from 1858, when the first graduates entered, to 1877, when the last graduates entered. Of this number, four hundred and forty-three graduated, and eighty-six entered college. It hence appears that an average of thirty-seven and one half per cent of those who entered the school from 1858 to 1877, inclusive, graduated.
.
9
130
TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS WHO HAVE ENTERED THE HIGH SCHOOL SINCE ITS ORGANIZATION IN 1852, THE NUMBER GRAD- UATED, AND THE NUMBER WHO HAVE ENTERED COLLEGE.
ENTERING CLASSES.
GRADUATED.
ENTERED COLLEGE.
Year.
Number.
Year.
Number.
Before 1858
263
1860
1
In 1858
27
1861
1859
32
1862
6
1860
§ March, ( Sept.,
25
1864
12
1861
32
1865
11
1863
26
1866
8
1
1864
35
1867
7
4
1865
37
1868
17
4
1866
36
1869
25
3
1867
52
1870
16
2
1868
55
1871
33
2
1869
59
1872
21
2
1870
65
1873
28
5
1871
59
1874
26
3
1872
74
1875
31
9
1873
83
1876
33
7
1874
72
1877
37
7
1875
81
1878
31
8
1876
86
1879
34
13
1877
83
1880
27
7
1878
110
1881
34
7
1879
101
1880
109
1881
94
Entered other classes at
different periods
129
Total
1875
443
86
TWENTY-NINTH ANNUAL EXHIBITION OF THE SOMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL, TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 1881.
ORDER OF EXERCISES.
SINGING. - Sailor Chorus (with orchestra).
1. SALUTATORY IN LATIN.
2. ESSAY. - The Story of a River.
CHAS. A. PRATT.
LUCY M. STONE.
33
1863
6
1
1862
17
131
3. READING. - From " Macbeth." CLIFFORD WALKER. Srihner's.
4. READING. - Sister Weeden's Prayer.
LILIAN M. TOTMAN.
5. ESSAY. - Brevity. JENNIE L. LOCKE. SINGING .- Semi-Choruses : a. " If thou wilt go to the churchyard." (Accompaniment of stringed instruments.) b. Fidelin. (Accompaniment of wind instruments. ) Brahms. Unison Chorus : The Lost Chord (with orchestra and organ). (Instrumentation by S. H. Hadley.) Sullivan.
6. READING. - The Ride of Jennie M'Neal. Carleton.
CLARA I. ATWOOD.
7. From " Much Ado about Nothing." (Original Version in Greek. ) GEO. A. SNOW, GEO. F. WEST, EDWARD F. WOODS, AND OTHERS.
8. ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS. J. LILLIAN COLSON.
* MUSIC. - Overture : " Pirates." Sullivan.
RECESS.
SINGING - Cantata : The Morning (with orchestra). Ries.
9. ESSAY. - Masks.
IDA M. HAYNES.
10. Tous les jours la même chose.
HALLIE M. HOOD, MARY L. HOWES, MINNIE W. JACKSON,
MARY B. MORSE, SARAH A. REMICK, BESSIE R. WHITE,
GEORGE F. STEELE.
11. ESSAY. - The School-Room Clock.
MARY P. BANKS.
12. READING. - Song of Milkanwatha. (Translation from
original Feejee.) ARTHUR I. PLAISTED.
13. READING. - Das Glück von Edenhall. Uhland.
ANNIE FOSTER.
14. POEM. FREDERIC M. KIMBALL.
SINGING. - Ave Maria (Female voices, with orchestra). (Instrumentation by S. H. Hadley.) Marchetti.
Quartette : The Old Romance. Mendelssohn.
(Graduating Class.)
15. READING. - Orpheus et Eurydice. Ovid.
GERTRUDE POWERS.
16. PROPHECIES. MINNIE A. PERRY.
17. VALEDICTORY. SUSIE F. B. PERRY.
18. PRESENTATION OF DIPLOMAS, by MAYOR JOHN A. CUMMINGS.
19. PARTING HYMN.
* Hadley's Orchestra.
132
MEMBERS OF THE GRADUATING CLASS.
Clara Isabel Atwood,
Mary Prince Banks,
Hattie Amy Crane,
Annie Elizabeth Crimmings, Lillian Wynne Dalton,
Annie Foster, Emma Eastwood French,
Nola Eloise Hall,
Hallie Monks Hood, Mary Louise Howes, Jennie Louise Locke, Lillie Ellen Morrill,
Mary Blake Morse, Ella Cora Page, Minnie Alice Perry, Susie F. B. Perry, Charlotte Estella Snow, Lucy Maria Stone, Lilian May Totman, Frederick Mason Kimball, Arthur Irving Plaisted, George Frederick Steele, Clifford Walker.
OF THE COURSE PREPARATORY TO COLLEGE.
Charles Augustus Pratt, George Andrew Snow, George Fletcher West, Edward Franklin Woods, Ina Caroline Brooks, Julia Lillian Colson,
Ida Maria Haynes,
Mary Elizabeth Mclaughlin, Gertrude Powers, Sarah Ann Remick,
Bessie Randall White.
In Memoriam.
Prof. Henry H. Babcock was principal of our High School from August, 1859, to the close of the school year, July 19, 1867. He possessed in an unusual degree the respect and affection of his pupils, and the confidence and esteem of the entire community. We learn from former reports that when he came to the school it contained only forty-three pupils. The course of study extended over three years ; the first class were studying the Latin Reader ; no pupils had ever been prepared for college ; there was no grad_ uation of pupils completing the course ; the attendance was very irregular. In 1860, a four-years' course of study was adopted, and in 1862 a class was graduated and diplomas were awarded. Dur-
133
ing his administration the school constantly increased in numbers and interest, and when he resigned, contained one hundred and twenty pupils, and ranked with the best schools of its grade in the Commonwealth.
Those of our citizens who were pupils of Mr. Babcock, and others who knew him, will be interested in the following memorial adopted by the Chicago Literary Club on the day following that of his death : -
" Henry H. Babcock departed this life at his late residence in the city of Chicago, Monday evening, Nov. 7, 1881. He was born in Thetford, Vt., Dec. 19, 1832, and spent his life in the pursuit of knowledge, the profes- sion of teaching, and the service of scientific societies.
" He came to Chicago in 1867, after an honorable career as a teacher in the schools of Massachusetts, and soon become the principal and the pro- prietor of the Chicago Academy, and remained in that position till the time of his decease. He was Professor of Botany in the Chicago College of Pharmacy, and director of the Botanical Garden, and in that department achieved a wide and merited distinction. He was a leading member of the Illinois State Microscopical Society, and at one time held the presidency of that body. He was long identified with the Chicago Academy of Nat- ural Sciences, and was president of that institution when he died.
"He was one of the founders of the Union Swedenborgian Church of Chicago, and was also president of that organization at the time of his departure for the eternal world. He was also a highly esteemed member of the Chicago Literary Club, and his name stands upon our present ' Scheme of Exercises' as the leader appointed to conduct a conversation on 'Our Native Flora' at the meeting to be held on the coming 8th of May.
" In all positions he did his work well. In manner he was kind and dig- nified ; in spirit, noble; in character, pure; in conduct, just; in scholar- ship, eminent; and in devotion to duty, unswerving.
"The Chicago Literary Club, therefore, places upon its records this memorial of Henry H. Babcock, and testifies its affection and respect for him as an upright man, an eminent scientist, a good citizen, and an honored member of this society."
134
CONCLUSION.
It is our privilege and pleasure to report that the schools, as a whole, have been doing substantial and satisfactory work during the year, and are in a prosperous condition. Their most unfavora- ble and discouraging features have been disclosed under the head of " Attendance."
For a series of years our schools have been wisely managed and well instructed, and have maintained an honorable rank with the best schools in the neighboring cities. Hence we do not claim for those of the present year, marked superiority over those of some former years. In the realm of intellect, as in the vegetable king- dom, there are limitations to growth even under the most favorable conditions ; consequently there must be a limit also to our require- ments and expectations. As time advances, however, the recorded and ever-accumulating experience and wisdom of the past, and the superior opportunities of each succeeding period, secure the develop- ment of improved systems of instruction and methods of study, whereby more can be accomplished in a given period of time and with less expenditure of vital energy. As a consequence, the schools of each succeeding year give gratifying evidence that they fully sustain the reputation previously acquired, and make substan- tial advances.
In their management of our schools, successive committees have adopted as their policy the golden mean between undue conserva- tism on the one hand and extreme radicalism on the other. Their course is clearly indicated by the following quotation from the writings of one of the wisest men of our time : " True wisdom con- sists in avoiding the extremes peculiar to conservatism and refor- mation, and aims to make man possessor of all the good which the past can bestow and all the good which the present can pro- duce, uniting in one happy result the benign results of conservatism and improvement, retention of the past and progress of the pres- ent." As a result of this policy, all changes which have been effected in the schools during these years of perturbations and revo- lutions have been gradual but substantial, and no time has been squandered upon doubtful experiments.
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