USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1883 > Part 7
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600
1875
66
Annie R. Cox .
575
1883
Alice P. Lord.
550
1881
66
Sarah E. Pray
550
1878
66
Carrie M. Smith
425
1882
Lincoln
Mary A. Paul
600
1879
Alice B. Chadwick
575
1883
Cedar Street
Alice Simpson
550
1872
66
Alice M. Porter .
550
1880
Teacher of Music .
S. H. O. Hadley.
1,333
1868
66
Kate O'Brien .
300
1883
Helen Tincker
650
1872
Isadore L. Taylor
300
1883
Maud M. Hobson .
500
1879
Annie L. Savage
550
1873
Mina J. Wendell
625
1882
Hattie A. Hills
575
1874
Lilla A. Hayward
675
1881
Lizzie J. Conwell .
600
1873
S. Adelaide Blood.
575
1882
141
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
PUPILS.
Number of pupils in attendance in January .
4,518
Number of persons in the city, whose ages were be- tween five and fifteen years, on the first day of May last, as ascertained by the Truant Officer Increase for the year ·
5,478
Number between eight and fourteen years of age
3,400
Number in attendance in December
4,767
In the High School
275
Grammar Schools 2,286
66 Primary Schools 2,206
Number over fifteen years of age in December .
403
Whole number registered during the year
5,726
Number in attendance in December, 1882
4,511
TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PUPILS IN EACH OF THE THIRTEEN CLASSES IN DECEMBER, THE AVERAGE AGE OF PUPILS IN EACH CLASS, AND THE PER CENT. THAT THE NUMBER IN EACH CLASS IS OF THE NUMBER IN ALL THE CLASSES.
GRADE.
Class.
Boys.
Girls.
Total.
Average Age.
Per cent.
High
First
'17
2S
45
18 yrs. 3 mos.
.95
Second
25
31
56
17
66
2
1.17
66
Third
33
45
78
16
7
1.64
Fourth
33
63
96
15
8
2.01
Grammar
First
95
108
203
14
9
4.26
Second
120
151
271
14
66
0
66
5.68
Third
166
149
315
13
3
66
6.61
Fourth
222
179
401
11
11
8.41
Fifth
286
223
509
11
3
66
10.68
Sixth
353
234
587
10
3
12.31
Primary
.
First
341
295
636
9
2
13.34
Second
323
270
593
7
10
12.44
66
Third
572
405
977
6
66
5
20.50
T. tal
2,586
2,181
4,767
100.00
6:
.
.
.
.
376
·
.
66
.
142
ANNUAL REPORTS.
ATTENDANCE.
Average whole number in all the schools for the year . 4,438.4
High School . 261.5
Grammar Schools
2,158.8
Primary Schools 2,018.1
Average attendance in all the schools for the year .
4,191.0
High School 254.1
Grammar Schools
2,060.1
Primary Schools 1,876.8
Per cent. of attendance in all the schools for the year . 94.4
High School
97.2
Grammar Schools
95.4
Primary Schools
93.0
Number of tardinesses in all the schools for the year .
2,851
High School .
178
Grammar Schools
1,227
Primary Schools ·
1,446
Number of dismissals in all the schools for the year
2,122
High School
392
Grammar Schools
953
Primary Schools
777
MONTHLY REPORTS OF TRUANT OFFICERS.
1883.
Cases Inves- tigated.
Cases of Truancy.
Number placed on probation.
Number sent to House of Reformation
January
25
6
·
1
February .
22
12
March .
28
14
April . .
21
15
May
18
11
June
20
11
September
19
11
October
21
9
3
2
November
18
7
1
December
12
7
204
103
4
3
WM. H. BRINE, JAIRUS MANN, Truant Officers.
143
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
PRIMARY SCHOOLS.
The primary schools contain forty-six per cent. of all the pupils in the several schools. Of the forty-two schools of this grade, thirty contain one class each ; nine, two classes each; and one contains three classes. In eight of these schools there has been no case of corporal punishment during the year.
Number of pupils in January 2,048
Number admitted during the year
950
Number promoted to the grammar schools
470
Number in attendance in December
2,206
Average number to a teacher
55
Number registered during the year
2,998
Rare qualifications are essential for the successful management of primary schools. Each succeeding year the impression becomes more general, that only such teachers as have had special training in the art of teaching, should be entrusted with the education of young children. In some of the best German elementary schools, men of literary distinction are employed in teaching children the rudiments of learning ; and in the highly organized Jesuit schools it was a regulation that only those teachers who had been specially successful in the higher classes, should be entrusted with the care of the lowest.
It was said by Horace Mann : "It ought to be universally understood and intimately felt, that, in regard to children, all precept and example, all kindness and harshness, all rebuke and commendation, all forms, indeed, of direct or indirect education, affect mental growth, just as dew and sun and shower, or . untimely frost, affect vegetable growth. Their influences are integrated and made one with the soul, and though imperceptible in childhood, work out more and more broadly into beauty or deformity in after life."
144
ANNUAL REPORTS.
EXHIBIT OF THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS.
SCHOOLS.
TEACHERS.
Average Whole Number.
Average Attend- ance.
Per Cent. of Attend- ance.
Forster
M. H. Pennock
49.1
46.6
94.9
*
66
A. S. Winnek .
34.S
32.5
93.4
L. V. Colby
43.4
41.0
94.5
66
L. G. Perry
49.2
45.7
92.9
66
A. S. Gage
44.0
40.4
91.8
Prescott
S. E. Pratt
49.4
47.0
95.1
66
E. M. Plummer
53.9
51.1
94.3
66
F. M. Morton .
48.9
44.2
90.4
Edgerly
H. V. Hathaway
41.0
39.3
95.8
66
A. L. Prescott
51.4
48.7
94.7
Tutts Street
L. A. Burns
39.1
36.7
93.8
L. V. Bell
Kate O'Brien
59.2
55.6
93.9
E. L. Schuh
62.3
57.2
91.8
Prospect Hill .
M. B. Currier .
42.2
39.2
92.6
66
C. I. Houghton
49.6
45.9
92.5
Brastow
L. D. Harding
55.6
51.8
93.2
Bennett
Maria Miller
49.4
46.S
94.7
Jackson
A. C. Damon
50.0
45.6
91.2
66
A. E. McCarty
57.0
53.8
94.4
*Webster .
C. J. Whittemore
33.8
30.5
90.2
66
A. L. Savage
56.3
53.2
94.5
Union
I. M. Prince
52.3
4S.3
92.3
Beech Street
M. E. Bosworth
41.9
40.4
96.4
66
Z. E. Freeman
43.8
41.0
93.6
Spring Hill
A. E. Furber
44.2
40.4
91.4
Franklin
E. C. Summerhayes
47.7
44.9
94 1
66
C. S. Plimpton
52.4
51.2
97.7
Harvard
A. E. Robinson
41.0
35.9
87.5
Highland
A. P. Lord
37.5
36.0
96.0
66
S. E. Pray
47.1
11.3
94.0
66
C. M. Smith
54.5
50.3
92.3
Lincoln
S. A. Mattoon .
43.1
40.3
93.5
Cedar Street
Alice Simpson
37.7
35.4
93.9
A. M. Porter
47.1
38.1
80.9
2018.1
1876.8
93.0
C. M. Bagley
52.0
48.6
93.4
Ada Cowles .
49.2
45.3
92.1
A. M. Houghton
56.0
51.6
92.1
N. A. Hamblin
39.1
37.1
94.9
I. E. Taylor
61.4
54.0
87.9
M. M. Hobson
50.0
46.2
92.4
F. A. Robinson
4S.8
46.8
95.9
Lillian Nealley
51.7
47.9
92.6
*Organized in September.
145
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
GRAMMAR SCHOOLS.
The grammar schools contain forty-eight per cent. of all pupils in the public schools. In ten of these schools there has been no · case of corporal punishment during the year. Two schools report no case of tardiness, and ten one case each. In two schools there have been no dismissals.
Number of grammar schools
50
Increase for the year
2
Number of pupils in January
2,199
Number received from the primary schools
470
Number in attendance in December
2,286
Average number to a school
45
Number over fifteen years of age in December
157
Whole number registered during the year
2,439
At the close of the school year in June, one hundred fifty-one pupils were graduated at the several grammar schools.
From the L. V. Bell School
44
66 Prescott School 34
66 Morse School 26
66 Forster School 24 .
66 Highland School 23
Number promoted to the first class in June 196
66 second class in June .
265
66 66 third class in June 302
.
66 fourth class in June .
381
fifth class in June
418
66
66 sixth class in June
470
Eighty-seven of the graduates from the grammar schools entered the high school in September.
From the Prescott School
19
66 L. V. Bell School
19
Forster School 18
66 Morse School 18 .
66 Highland School .
13
The course of study prescribed for our grammar schools is. sub- stantially like the courses adopted by most cities in the Common-
10
146
ANNUAL REPORTS.
wealth, and, in many respects, is satisfactory. In some branches, however, at certain stages of advancement, the requirements are in excess of the capabilities of our pupils.
The preparation of courses of study, is one of the most difficult and important duties required of school officers. The Public Statutes prescribe the studies to be pursued, define school age, and the period during which school attendance is compulsory ; but the responsibility of limiting school time, selecting text-books, prescribing the extent to which they shall be pursued, and of apportioning the work among the several classes, devolves upon school committees. The efficiency and success of the schools depend, in large degree, upon the wisdom exercised in these particulars.
The tendency of the times is, to extend the curriculum of the schools, to the loss of thoroughness in the more essential branches of instruction, and to curtail school time without a corresponding diminution of the amount required in each particular branch of study. Some compensation is found in the increase of facilities, and in improved text-books and methods of instruction ; still the work demanded is in excess of ability to perform. The present generation of pupils evince no increase of aptitude in acquiring knowledge, and they derive comparatively little advantage from the accumulations of preceding generations.
" When did Age transfer to Youth The hard-gathered lessons of its day?"
All are compelled to begin with the rudiments of learning, and to advance by slow stages up its rugged way.
Were less attempted, more, doubtless, would be accomplished for the permanent good of our pupils. In order, under existing cir- stances, that the work required may be completed in the allotted time, much of it is performed by the teachers, to the injury of their pupils. The teacher's province is to guide, stimulate, and encourage pupils to exercise their activities ; to train them to the formation of correct habits of study ; to use all healthful incentives, and to impose all : eedful restraints, with a view to the formation of strong, symmetrical, and noble characters ; but never to perform, for pupils, their legitimate and essential work.
We cannot emphasize too strongly, that the young are educated, not by what is done for them, but by what they do for themselves,
147
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
under wise direction ; not by what is communicated to them, but by what they acquire by their own earnest, persistent endeavor. The most valuable teacher, therefore, is he who is most successful in training his pupils to habits of patient study and careful inves- tigation ; who teaches them the art of gaining knowledge, unaided, from the printed page and the ever-open book of nature, and to make a wise application of what they know. The success of our pupils in the labor of life, will be greatly promoted by the mental strength evolved, and the self-reliance induced, by patient, perse- vering study, and the independent exercise of their capabilities.
If the curriculum of the schools is too extensive, and the work required is excessive, the inquiry is pertinent : Why are they not abridged to conform to the capabilities of the learner? Within certain limitations, they are, in practice. But the interests of the various cities and towns of the Commonwealth are so interwoven, and the interchange of pupils is so frequent and general, uniform- ity of practice and conformity to prevailing sentiment and usage, seem to be a necessity. Besides, in matters of public concern, the convictions and judgment of individuals, must yield to popular sentiment and demand.
148
ANNUAL REPORTS.
EXHIBIT OF THE GRAMMAR SCHOOLS.
SCHOOLS.
TEACHERS.
Average Whole Number.
Average Attend- ance.
Per Cent of Attend- ance.
Foster
J. S. Hayes
28.7
27.8
96.9
66
M. E. Stiles .
39 9
37.9
95.0
66
E. H. Wilde
41.2
39.2
95.1
F. M. Guptill .
50.0
47.4
94.8
66
M. E. Wild
39.6
37.4
94.4
A. A. Batchelor
41.5
39.3
91.7
Prescott .
G. A. Southworth
44.7
44.1
98 6
66
Adelaide Reed
35.9
34.9
97.2
66
C. G. Fogg
36.4
35.6
97.8
66
E. M. Cate
40.3
38.9
96.5
66
A. A. Anderson
46.5
44.8
96.3
66
C. T. Brown .
51.6
49.4
95.7
66
Clara Taylor .
54.5
52.1
95.6
Edgerly
F. P. Hudson
38.1
37.0
97.1
66
A. I. Sears
46.3
44.7
96.5
66
H. M. Pierce .
53.4
51.8
97.0
66
H. H. Winslow
54.8
52.8
96 3
L. V. Bell
Robert Bickford
53.9
52.7
97.8
M. H. Marden
52.1
50.2
96.3
E. M. Gooding
43.1
41.3
95.8
66
F. A. Wilder .
43.6
42.4
97.2
66
M. E. Berry
50.1
48.9
97.6
66
L. F. Howe.
43.5
41.5
95.4
66
E. F. Schuh
40.5
38.1
94.1
66
A: M. Snow
45.1
43.7
96.9
Prospect Hill
Helen Tincker
48.2
45.5
94.4
66
Ellen Ledyard
47.5
45.1
94.9
Brastow .
S. E. Pennock
55.6
51.8
93.2
Bennett
A. A. Roberts
37.8
34.4
91.0
Jackson
John Wilson .
41.7
37.9
90.9
Webster
M. L. Longfellow
37.0
34.2
92.4
Morse
F. F. Murdock
26.5
25.9
97.7
66
Corinne Harrison
25.8
25.0
96.9
66
P. S. Downes .
36.7
36.1
98.3
66
E. F. Gould
49.2
45.2
91.8
66
M. A. Haley .
40.0
38.0
95.0
Franklin
H. A. Holbrook
33.9
31.5
92.9
66
H. A. Hills .
42.4
40.2
94.8
Highland
G. E. Nichols
51.3
49.3
96.1
66
Jennie Colburn
44.3
41.6
93.9
L. J. Conwell .
45.7
43 1
94 3
S. A. Blood .
48.8
45.4
93.0
66
A. R. Cox
47.0
44.8
95.3
Lincoln
M. A. Paul .
31.4
29.3
93.3
66
A. B. Chadwick.
35.5
33.3
93.8
2,158.8
2,060.1
95.4
66
L. J. Page
57.6
55 2
95.8
Elvira Morrill .
49.6
47.6
95.9
A. E. Sawyer
45.1
43.5
96.4
66
L. J. Brooks .
29.5
28.5
96 6
A. T. Couch .
35.4
33.8
95.5
* Organized in January. ¡ Organized in September.
149
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
HIGH SCHOOL.
Whole number of different pupils during the year 376
Largest number at one time 278
Number admitted during the year
108
From our grammar schools
90
From other schools
18
Number graduated
43
Number of graduates who entered college
7
Number who entered Boston University Medical School . 1
Number who entered the School of Technology 4
Number who have left the School during the year, exclu- sive of graduates 58
Whole number at the present time
275
Number over fifteen years of age
246
Number in course preparatory to college
78
Number pursuing the regular course
105
Number pursuing the English course
32
Number in the first class on entering the school
107
Number at the present time
45
Number in the second class on entering the school
56
Number in the third class on entering the school
111
Number at the present time
98
Number in the fourth class on entering the school
96
Number at the present time 96
Number of pupils at the present time is about 6 per cent. of the number in attendance in all the schools.
The number of pupils graduated this year, is six more than the largest number graduated in any previous year.
Number at the present time £ 94
150
ANNUAL REPORTS.
THIRTY-FIRST ANNUAL EXHIBITION OF THE SOMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL, TUESDAY, JUNE 26, 1883, AT 9 O'CLOCK A.M.
ORDER OF EXERCISES.
SINGING .*- Solo and Chorus: Qui Tollis-Mass in B flat. Farmer.
Vocal March. Southard.
1. SALUTATORY IN LATIN. ARTHUR H. OSGOOD.
2. ESSAY. Nihilism. EDWARD W. HARNDEN.
3. READING. Daisy's Faith. Mathews. JENNIE M. KEYES.
4. READING. Mona's Waters. MARY E. O'BRIEN.
SINGING .- Unison Solo: The Two Grenadiers (male voices).
Schumann. Taubert.
5. ESSAY. Two Hills.
6. READING. The Catholic Psalm.
NELLIE M. SYLVESTER.
7. FROM "MARIA STUART." Schiller.
MARY C. ALLEN, ELEANOR L. ROBINSON.
8. READING. Higher Education for Women. Century.
LILLIAN V. LOVEJOY.
SINGING. Selections from "Lohengrin." Wagner.
*a. Introduction-Act III. (orchestra alone). b. Bridal Chorus.
9. FROM "HAMLET." (Original Version in Greek). ALBERT D. DAVENPORT, GEO. W. FOSTER.
FRED M. PERKINS, FRANK C. STOWELL.
10. READING. Selected. MINNIE G. CURVILLE.
11. ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS. ABBIE A. MATTOON.
RECESS.
MUSIC .- Overture "Iolanthe " (Orchestration by Henry Hadley). Sullivan.
SINGING .- From " Loreley: " a. Ave Maria (female voices). b. Vintage Song (male voices). Mendelssohn.
12. ESSAY. Sounds.
ANNIE C. THAYER. Brueys.
13. FROM "L'AVOCAT PATELIN." FRANK C. CHAPIN. HERBERT A. WILCOX.
HERBET M. HOWES, FRED I. WRIGHT.
ALBERT C. TUFTS, MINNIE S. TURNER.
14. ESSAY. We. HATTIE RAYMOND.
15. READING. Ginevra. Coolidge.
ELEANOR C. BOOTHBY.
* WITH HADLEY'S ORCHESTRA.
GEORGIA SMITH. Hubbard.
Cradle Song (female voices),
151
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
16. POEM.
CHARLES H. ST. JOHN.
SINGING-Semi-Chorus: Bird Song. Taubert.
Solo and Chorus : Sanctus,-St. Cecilia's Mass (with organ) Gounod. Ovid.
17. NIOBE. ELWOOD G. TEWKSBURY.
18. PROPHECIES. RUTH C. MILLS.
19. VALEDICTORY. FLORENCE L. GOODHUE.
20. PRESENTATION OF DIPLOMAS, BY MAYOR JOHN A. CUMMINGS.
21. PARTING HYMN.
MEMBERS OF THE GRADUATING CLASS.
Lena Gertrude Allen, Mary Charlotte Allen, Carrie Louise Blake, Eleanor Chadbourne Boothby, Helen Fleming Bowie, Hattie Amanda Cheney, Lucy Estelle Clark, Minnie Gertrude Curville, Fannie Eliza Dillon, Elizabeth Veronica Finegan, Florence Lizzie Goodhue, Jennie Madelin Keyes, Lillian Virginia Lovejoy,
Susie Augusta Mattoon, Ruth Caroline Mills, . Mary Etta O'Brien, Belle Frances Powers,
Hattie Raymond,
Eleanor Louise Robinson, Clara May Smith, Georgia Smith, Mary Isabel Snow, Nellie Maude Sylvester,
Annie Cleveland Thayer, Minnie Stimpson Turner, Harriet Ellen Vickery,
Frank Colburn Chapin, Edward Warren Harnden, William Thomas Harney, Charles Hartwell St. John, Albert Clifford Tufts, Herbert Augustus Wilcox, Fred Irving Wright.
COURSE PREPARATORY TO COLLEGE.
Henry Blanchard Barber, Albert Dudley Davenport, Geo. Waldo Foster, Herbert Morton Howes, Arthur Henry Osgood,
Fred Miller Perkins, Frank Caleb Stowell, Elwood Gardner Tewksbury, Margaret Teresa Keefe, Abbie Antoinette Mattoon.
152
ANNUAL REPORTS.
EVENING SCHOOLS.
The evening school which was in operation at the beginning of the year, in the Webster school-house, under the charge of Mr. John Wilson and three assistants, was continued thirty-three evenings.
Whole number registered.
Males, 59 ; females, 21. 80
Largest number in attendance
72
Average attendance ..
43
The school in the Cedar street school-house under the care of Mr. L. B. Pillsbury and one assistant, was continued twenty-five evenings.
Whole number registered 55
Males, 45 ; females, 10.
Largest number in attendance - 45
Average attendance 22
Cost of instruction in both schools
$337 00
Janitors' services
66 75
Total cost
$403 75
HEALTH.
We respectfully invite earnest attention to the important sub- ject of school hygiene, and solicit a careful revision of practice pertaining thereto.
An impression very generally prevails that the prime obiect of public schools is the development of mental strength and ac- tivity, and the bestowment of such knowledge as is helpful in the performance of the ordinary duties of life. But education in its broadest significance has respect to the complete and harmonious development and training of all the powers and faculties of our entire being. The true educator, therefore, has due regard to physical training and moral culture, as well as to mental develop- ment and the promotion of sound learning.
As recipients of the trust delegated to us of directing the education of the youth of our city, we assume in large measure parental responsibilities, and become the custodians of whatever pertains to the well-being of those committed to our care.
153
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
In our solicitude to promote the intellectual advancement of our pupils, we should never forget that an education obtained at the cost of impaired health and an enfeebled constitution, is pur- chased at too costly a sacrifice. We should earnestly endeavor to preserve and promote the health of our pupils and secure to them, if possible, the priceless treasure of a sound, vigorous body as well as a highly cultivated and liberally endowed mind. " A sound mind depends greatly upon a sound body." Rosseau says : " Make your pupil robust and healthy in order to make him rea- sonable and wise."
Under the most favorable circumstances there are unavoidable conditions, incident to school-life, that are prejudical to the main- tenance of sound health : as confinement and unnatural quiet, for several hours daily, in dusty and imperfectly ventilated school- rooms ; exposure to cold draughts of air and sudden changes of temperature ; constrained positions of the body ; severe and pro- tracted use of the eyes, often under trying circumstances ; contin- uous mental effort accompanied not infrequently by undue anxiety ; increased liability to contagious diseases.
To mitigate these conditions, and to counteract their influence, by all available means, should be our earnest and constant en- deavor. We will briefly consider the conditions specified.
ATMOSPHERIC CHANGES .- An ample supply of pure air, and an agreeable, equable temperature, are indispensable conditions of health and comfort. To maintain these with imperfect and inade- quate means of heating and ventilating, and in the variable cli- mate of this region,-which has been aptly styled " the perpetual battle-ground of the Torrid and Arctic, where they alternately prevail,"- requires incessant vigilance, and imposes duties, the neglect of which, may result in fatal consequences.
Pure air contains twenty-one per cent. of oxygen which is its life-sustaining element, seventy-eight per cent. of nitrogen, and one per cent. of carbonic acid. At each respiration about five per cent. of the oxygen disappears and an equal quantity of carbonic acid and other deleterious substances supply its place. Since the average number of respirations is twenty per minute, and the average quantity of air inspired at each respiration is thirty cubic inches, it is apparent that the vitality of the air, in crowded apartments, is rapidly diminished, and that its frequent and com- plete renovation is an imperative necessity.
154
ANNUAL REPORTS.
To maintain a healthy condition of the atmosphere, it is esti- mated that, at least, four cubic feet of fresh air should be supplied to each individual every minute ; hence a school-room containing fifty pupils should be furnished, each hour, with twelve thousand cubic feet, a quantity equal in capacity to that of an ordinary school-room. To accomplish this result, doors and windows must be resorted to frequently, for the admission of pure air and the exclusion of that which has lost its vitality. To do this, and not endanger the health of pupils, is a problem by which teachers are constantly confronted.
VENTILATION. - Concerning ventilation we have yet much to learn ; but the item of expense prevents, in large degree, an application of the knowledge already acquired. The great de- sideratum is ample provision, by means of suitable heating appar- atus, for the introduction into school-rooms of large volumes of pure air at the proper temperature for health and comfort, instead of, as at present, small quantities at a high temperature, and, also, for the exclusion of equal volumes of vitiated air through venti- ducts well distributed and sufficiently heated to produce an active current. Under such circumstances, a proper balance would be maintained between the air admitted and the air excluded ; the supply would always equal the demand; the air would be pure and healthful at all times ; and pupils would not be exposed to cold currents and sudden changes of temperature.
For the exclusion of impure air, the ventilating registers should be kept open both at the top and bottom of the room, except when it is desirable to economize heat; then they should be opened at the bottom only. Whenever it is necessary to change the air while the school is present, the windows should be opened for a few minutes, and the pupils should engage in brisk physical exercises. If any are in delicate health they should occupy posi- tions least exposed to the incoming air, and protect themselves, if necessary, by outer garments. Immediately after the close of each session of the schools, and during the time of the recesses, all the doors and windows should be thrown wide open, that the air in the school-rooms may be thoroughly renovated.
CAUTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS .- Under no circumstances should pupils be exposed to currents of cold air when they are not in motion. We would strongly emphasize this caution, for we re- gard such exposure a more fruitful source of colds and their
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attendant dangerous consequences, than all other causes, incident to school-life, combined. Occasion for adverse criticism in this regard should be avoided. An eminent physician has said : " Though foul air is a slow poison, we must not forget that a blast of cold air may slay like a sword."
The temperature of the air in the school-rooms should be kept as equable as possible, and should not deviate materially from 68°. As sensation is not a reliable criterion, the thermometer should be consulted frequently and at stated periods.
Except in stormy weather, all pupils should be required to spend the entire recess in the open air, and should be encouraged to en- gage in vigorous, healthful sports.
Pupils should never be allowed to sit in school with wet feet or damp clothing. If the means for drying them in the school-room are insufficient, they should be sent immediately to their homes.
We commend the practice, so generally pursued, of requiring pupils, in inclement weather, to put on their outer garments before they leave their respective buildings for recess or to return to their homes.
By the Regulations of the School Board, teachers are required to be present and to open their school-rooms for the reception of pupils, both morning and afternoon, fifteen minutes at least before the time for school to begin.
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