USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1888 > Part 8
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I take the liberty of directing your attention to the last report of my esteemed predecessor, in which he set forth the necessity of increasing the accommodations in the High School, and of establishing another grammar school centre. He so thoroughly knew the condition and needs of the school districts that his opinion must be more valuable than mine, and better entitled to your consideration. My experience enables me to reinforce his suggestions and wishes, and I sincerely hope that what he has recommended and anticipated so many years may soon be accom- plished.
Two plans by which the High School might be relieved have been considered : one, to build a wing on the present building ; the other, to erect a new building and organize an English High School. Of these two plans, I do not feel called upon to judge. I have not had time to master the conditions in the High School and prefer to become fully acquainted with the institution before advising any change in its organization. I am, however, well aware that there is not room enough at present for the needs of the school. There should be improved and increased facilities for instruction by laboratory methods. This would necessitate additional room and apparatus. As a temporary expedient, the High School Hall has been divided into two class-rooms ; but no additions have been made to the apparatus.
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In giving my views on these points, I have only considered what seems to me necessary and have not estimated the cost of the needed changes. It is for the Board to decide whether the the finances would bear the expenditures.
TEACHERS.
There have been more than the usual number of changes during the year. The Superintendent and Committees have consumed much valuable time finding suitable candidates to fill vacancies. Twelve teachers have resigned, three of whom have taken other positions considered, by them, more desirable. Three have been granted leave of absence for the year. Two were omitted from the list because of failing health. Twenty new teachers have been elected, and five have had appointments temporarily. In addition to this number, several have been assigned as assistants in large schools.
RESIGNATIONS.
East Somerville District :
Miss Frank P. Hudson, principal of the Edgerly School.
Miss Fannie F. Fuller, teacher in the Edgerly School.
Mrs. Hattie M. Peirce, teacher in the Edgerly School.
Prospect Hill District :
Miss Hattie E. Adams, teacher in the L. V. Bell School. Miss Alice M. Wight, teacher in the L. V. Bell School. Miss Lillian M. Walton, teacher in the L. V. Bell School. Miss Lucy E. Clark, teacher in the Prospect Hill School. Miss Helen M. Dodge, teacher in the Brastow School.
Winter Hill District :
Mrs. Alice W. Emerson, principal of the Bingham School.
Spring Hill District :
Miss Bertha L. Emerson, teacher in the Beech Street School. West Somerville District :
Miss Florence N. Robbins, teacher in the Highland School. Miss Mary E. Emerson, teacher in the Highland School.
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REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
The following teachers have been granted leave of absence : Miss Emma F. Schuh, teacher in the L. V. Bell School. Miss Eliza L. Schuh, teacher in the L. V. Bell School. Miss Hallie M. Hood, teacher in the Burns School.
APPOINTMENTS.
East Somerville District :
Mr. Edgar L. Raub, principal of the Edgerly School. Miss Carrie E. Cunningham, teacher in the Edgerly School. Miss Gertrude L. Gardner, Edgerly School.
Prospect Hill District :
Miss Abbie A. Hayward, teacher in the Bell School. Miss Gertrude E. Robbins, teacher in the Bell School. Miss Rubie M. Stetson, teacher in the Bell School. Miss Mary A. Bradford, teacher in the Bell School. Miss Abbie A. Gurney, teacher in the Bell School. Miss Joanna A. Barry, teacher in the Bell School. Miss Lillian C. Albee, teacher in the Brastow School. Miss Ida F. Fillebrown, teacher in the Cummings School. Miss Florence O. Bean, teacher in the Bennett School. Miss Nellie F. Sheridan, teacher in the Webster School.
Spring Hill District :
Miss Ella P. McLeod, teacher in the Spring Hill School. West Somerville District :
Miss Jennie M. Horner, teacher in the Highland School. Miss Mary Winslow, teacher in the Elm Street School.
Miss Lucretia C. Sanborn, teacher in the Elm Street School.
SPECIAL APPOINTMENTS.
Miss L. A. Herrick, teacher of Drawing. Mrs. C. M. Coffin, teacher of Sewing.
Miss Mary L. Boyd, teacher of Sewing.
Mrs. J. S. Soper, Kindergartner in Spring Hill District. Miss Alma L. Greene, Kindergartner in Spring Hill District. Miss Sarah E. Kilmer, Kindergartner in Spring Hill District. Miss Alice E. Warner, Kindergartner in Prospect Hill District.
Mr. Raub is a graduate of the Lock Haven State Normal School, in Pennsylvania, and has had valuable experience as a
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
teacher in two of the best normal schools in his native State, and as principal of a public school in Paterson, N. J.
Miss Herrick is a graduate of the Massachusetts Normal Art School ; has taught the drawing in the Salem Normal School during the last five years; and has, at the same time, taught and directed the drawing in the schools of Watertown. In parting with her, Superintendent Dwelley wrote me as follows : " Miss Herrick was paid by Watertown, $500, and, simultane- ously, by the Salem Normal School, $600; so that the salary of our drawing teacher, measured by the full time standard, was $1100. Nothing less than $1200 could have taken her from us, and you are fortunate in having a committee intelligent enough, and an appropriation large enough, to warrant your employment of her at your figures."
Mrs. Coffin was for many years a teacher in our schools, and, with a practical knowledge of needle-work, and a tact in teach- ing, is well adapted to her new work.
Miss Boyd, with a practical knowledge of sewing, a natural talent for teaching, unbounded enthusiasm as a worker, has proved the wisdom. of her appointment. Both have given much study to the systems employed in Boston, Springfield, Philadel- phia, and other cities, and together give promise of marked success in their work.
I cannot emphasize too positively the importance of appoint- ing the best talent to our teaching force. The policy held so tenaciously by the Board, and so strongly advocated by my predecessor in his final recommendation, should be maintained. None but those eminently fitted for the service should be con- sidered as candidates. The delay in filling vacancies this year has been occasioned by the strict adherence to this principle, and the various committees have realized the difficulties in finding candidates of the standard here established. In my report to the Board in November, I advised the consideration of some plan by which greater inducements could be offered to our own teachers, and to those whom it may be advisable to secure to fill , vacancies. I believe that our present schedule of teachers' salaries should be remodelled. The most difficult positions we have to fill are the vacancies in primary classes. The work of the primary teacher is as taxing and arduous as that of any. It
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REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
requires equal tact, as careful preparation for daily work, as thorough professional training, as wide study of methods, which are constantly varying, as much stamina, endurance, and uniform patience to teach the first class as any in the system. It has long been recognized and acknowledged that the teacher of the youngest pupils earns as much salary as any other, and, in many places, the salary is the same, or larger than those of higher grades, when the experience is equal. Very often the first class is the largest : there are more little faces to remember, more little minds to study, more little hands to train and keep busy, more little coats to button up and rubbers to put on, more new names to keep record of, and parents to interview. The at- tendance is more irregular, and the results are less satisfactory. All these and other considerations should guage the compensa- tion. In looking for new teachers, I found that many towns and cities either pay salaries equal to ours, or are willing to increase the pay of their best teachers rather than lose them. I would respectfully recommend that the salaries of the primary teachers be increased.
The great awakening in the teaching profession throughout the country, which has been so marked during the last few years, is also experienced by our teachers. I find them alive to the importance of conducting their work on scientific principles, of keeping abreast of the times, and of making a study of educa- tion in all its aspects. To ascertain the professional character of our teaching force, I sent a circular to all the schools soon after assuming the duties of the office, which, among other subjects, inquired as follows :
" Where were you educated ? (a.) High School, Seminary, or College ? (b.) Normal or Training School ? (c.) Special School, Summer Institute, etc. ?
" What periodicals do you subscribe for or read ? What works on education have you in your library ? Or, what works have you read ?
" Would you like to have me recommend educational reading ?
" What do you think of drawing as a factor in education ?
" What do you think of the introduction of sewing or other features of industrial or manual training into the schools ?"
The circular was replied to and returned by every teacher in
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the city, and revealed, much to my satisfaction, that a large majority had received professional training, owned libraries con- taining the best works on education, subscribe for and read the current professional literature, and hold sound views upon the most progressive movements and features of existing systems. Among the books composing these teachers' libraries were mentioned Compayre's, Painter's, and Hailman's Histories of Education, Quick's "Educational Reformers," Sully's " Psychol- ogy," Payne's " Science and Art of Education," Bain's " Education as a Science," Spencer's " Education," Rosencranz's " Philosophy of Education," Tate's "Philosophy of Education," White's " Ele- ments of Pedagogy," Fitch's, Page's, Parker's, Prince's, Currie's Johonnot's, Swett's, Calkins', and Sheldon's works, and many others, all standard and valuable books. Beside professional works, there were also many of a general character. I am in favor of general reading in connection with professional reading, and in this we have the endorsement of some of the best authorities. Dr. Harris says that much of the teacher's reading should be such " as will secure general culture and furnish new inspiration in the task of instruction." He emphasizes the fact of the teacher's humanity, and says : "By how much the more they cultivate and broaden it, by so much do they increase the value and efficiency of their teaching powers."
Some of the schools are organizing libraries containing the best authorities on the history, science, and methods of teaching, and some sustain magazine clubs. All this indicates a live interest in professional progress.
With the same ends in view, we have recently organized a city Teacher's Association, which promises to be very helpful in our work. The constitution contains the following statement of ob- jects and principles :
OBJECTS.
The objects of this Association shall be to unite all teachers of Somerville into one organized body of professional workers for the welfare and progress of the public schools, to consider the aspects of education, to study its prin- ciples, to improve its methods, and to advance teaching as a profession.
PRINCIPLES.
This Association holds :
1. That the highest end of education is the formation of character.
2. That this end is to be attained through the complete and harmonious
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REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
development of the human being in his three-fold nature,-physical, intel- lectual, and moral.
3. That intellectual development depends upon the conscious self-activity of the individual in the exercise of all the faculties of perception, thought, and expression.
4. That a system of education should furnish such instruction and training as shall stimulate all the energies of the child in their natural order and at the proper time, by means of appliances, material, and subjects of instruction adapted to the powers of the pupils.
5. That each grade of school should provide for the acquisition of knowl- edge, the development of thought power, and the use of expression in all its appropriate modes, whether by construction, drawing, or language.
6. That the child is of more importance than the school; that the natural growth of the child in his three-fold character should never be subordi- nated to the maintenance of an organization or machine.
7. That no system of classification, examinations, or promotions should interfere with individual progress and growth; that no series of text-books, apparatus, or contrivances should hamper instruction, or stand in the way of the discovery and investigation of truth; and that no effort should be made to attain excellence in any subject of instruction for its own sake, to the detriment of the progress of the child in the process of character- building.
8. That to fully comprehend the importance of our calling, and to accom- plish the purposes of an education, we, as teachers, should aspire to the highest professional standard attainable, to the mastery of principles, to the emancipation from stereotyped methods.
9. And that we all, being members of one body, and realizing the impor- tance of each and every one to the whole system, hold it to be our duty to give to each other all the sympathy, aid, and cooperation in our power, and, so far as the opportunities may permit, undertake to familiarize ourselves with the aims, the principles, and the methods of the several departments, in so far as such knowledge may contribute to the general welfare and progress, and render our individual work more harmonious and more effective.
OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
Our primary schools admit children of five years of age. The course covers the usual work of a primary school, reading, spelling, writing, numbers, etc. The "etc." embraces a good deal of what the teachers call busy work, more or less essential in so far as it satisfies a need felt by every progressive teacher, and more or less effective in proportion to the wisdom and discretion of the teacher, and the system employed in the use of the material. A mere statement that the usual primary course is poorly adapted to the natural development of a little child when he enters school,
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
might not be accepted unchallenged. I had occasion, a few years ago, by means of circular letters, to collect the opinions of leading educators in all parts of the country upon the ability of children to receive the ordinary primary school instruction, and the conclusions drawn from the replies show that the instruction is inappropriate, not only as intellectual training, but as a means of physical and moral growth of the child.
Children at five years of age come to school in physical health from the enjoyment of freedom in the open air, with that activity which is so essential to the growth of the body, and a knowledge of things which has come to them by the natural exercise of their faculties. It is important that we should put them under condi- tions favorable to natural growth, and employ methods that will promote the development of all their powers of body and mind along the lines in which their activity has been exercised.
Activity is necessary for the natural growth of the child, and care should be taken that the requirements of the school shall not interfere with, but rather foster, his inclination, and render it a means of proper training. In first bringing the child in contact with what is to be learned, it is necessary to further develop those senses by which he has acquired his present knowledge, and teach him to see correctly, listen attentively, and handle carefully.
The steps already taken in modifying the instruction of the first grade, by the introduction of the study of form, is a step in the right direction, because it brings the child in contact with things and material. The introduction of kindergarten work, in some of our districts, as a feature of the primary course, is the establishment of systematic training that meets every want of the child. The next step to be taken is the establishment of the kindergarten as an essential feature of the school system. This would open the door to little ones at least four years of age, at which time they are capable of taking up the work of that department. It seems hardly necessary to present arguments in favor of establishing kindergartens in every primary school in the city, when so many cities on every hand have recognized their importance, and voted appropriations for their maintenance. In most places the school authorities have adopted the kinder- garten system only after their necessity has been demonstrated
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REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
by private parties and charitable associations. Would it not be better to institute this feature of a complete system in recogni- tion of the pedagogical principles upon which it is based, and on purely educational grounds ?
Without going into a detailed explanation of the kindergarten system, I will simply make a brief statement of what educators claim for it. It cannot be gainsaid :
That the kindergarten system is based upon the principles of education.
That the kindergarten system aims mainly at the formation of character, by developing the three-fold nature of the child.
That the exercises are adapted to the abilities of the children.
That they satisfy the child's desire to do, and furnish proper occasions for his natural activity.
That the faculties of the child are developed by the healthy exercise of his powers.
That knowledge is primarily to be acquired through the senses by studying and handling things.
That ideas should grow in the mind, and not be implanted by means of words.
That self-activity, which finds expression in play, can be directed to useful occupations.
That the development of the child's social nature fits him to occupy his proper place in a community.
That it is the most natural course of training for children in their first year or two of school experience, and that it should be established as the foundation of every school system.
All the elementary grades should include work that will de- velop the two sets of faculties by which a child learns, viz .: faculties of acquisition and faculties of expression. Some por- tion of the kindergarten material, much of the kindergarten method, and a complete infusion of the kindergarten spirit should characterize the elementary school. Drawing, paper-cutting, modelling, sewing, etc., should occupy a fair proportion of time. It has been found that five hours a day are too much for the intellectual labor of a child; the afternoon of school work is of very small importance in the primary school unless devoted to light occupations. The ordinary studies of the elementary school
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may be used to develop power, provided they are used according to the true principles of education.
Modifications of our present work could easily be made to pro- vide greater facilities for the development of power in the child. The methods of teaching should result in making the child able to teach himself. As the course progresses, children should become students, and the effort of the teacher should be directed to teaching how to study, how to make use of knowledge, and how to exercise power. By this means, greater accuracy will be obtained, definite knowledge will crystallize in the mind, and it will be easier to hold pupils to definite results.
What I may say in regard to the various subjects of grammar school work will more definitely convey my meaning.
I need not dwell upon the established work of our schools, which is so well and thoroughly done. The results are such as you might well be proud of. Modifications are being made from time to time, as occasion demands, as new conditions arise, and as new experience and new light enters the school-room.
We have made some slight changes in our course and in the methods of teaching, but very little need be done, and the modifications should be those that develop from natural, healthy growth.
ARITHMETIC.
Too much time is devoted to this subject, and too many cases are studied. In making the new time schedule, some of the time has been given to other studies, and the Principals have been directed to abbreviate the work. During the coming year, I hope to re-arrange the course and submit to the Committee an outline of what, in my judgment, can and ought to be done.
LANGUAGE.
Language and kindred subjects and Music receive the same attention, and are taught by the same methods as heretofore.
GEOGRAPHY.
At the beginning of the year, a slight change was made in the course in Geography. Instead of teaching the first lessons from the elementary text-book, the instruction now partakes of obser-
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vation and oral lessons accompanied by reading from elementary geographical readers. The design is to have the children well grounded in the elementary ideas and facts of natural geography. It is important to form perfect concepts, before the imagination can picture any distant facts. A valuable feature of the instruc- tion should be the making and drawing of the elementary facts and the simple maps that represent the countries taught. It is expected thus to lighten the work and give it more reality. All the modifications in the grammar work, in this subject, are intended to make the work more real, and consequently more practical. At no period in the history of education, has this branch of instruction received so much of the attention due its importance as at the present time. Valuable books on methods have been issued, and the teachers are coming to realize the true value and place of the study. The change also involves the substitution of the elementary book for the larger one in the sixth grade, and completing the subject in the middle of the last grammar year. It is intended to dwell less upon the technical facts, and to enquire into causes and effects, to make geography a science study, and not so much memory work. It thus becomes a foundation for other elementary sciences, for out of the structure are developed geology and mineralogy, the study of vegetable products and all phases of life, giving us botany, zoology, etc. The physical conditions determine the location of peoples, tribes, and nations, thus affording the foundation for sociology and history. The study of geography is not only valuable for the facts that are taught, but also for the training of the faculties, which will result from proper methods. The habit of study, the bent of the mind, the inquiring intelligence, are the results that ought to be looked for. No text-book can be depended upon to impart the knowledge of matter or method that should be attained. The teacher must be able to do it by guid- ing the pupil in his researches by her own inspiration and enthusiasm. We expect to accomplish this by giving the teacher latitude and throwing her on her own resources. We should encourage and assist her by all the helps and suggestions that can be furnished.
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
HISTORY.
Before the summer vacation the Principals and Superintendent met to consider changes in the work in History. A plan was outlined, and each one was to report before the opening of the schools in September. As a result of these deliberations, a course was reported to the Board at the August meeting, which pro- posed commencing history by reading in the sixth year of the course. This reading is to cover two years. In the eighth, a text- book is to be supplied for study, and in the ninth, the subjects are to be worked up from miscellaneous books, histories, biographies, encyclopedias, etc., which shall constitute class libraries. The Board appointed a special committee to consider the proposed changes, and gave power to authorize the new course, if, upon close examination, it should be found feasible. The special committee approved the plan in the main, and at the opening of the schools it was put in operation. The selection of the class libraries was the next consideration. The superintendent made a collection of all the best school histories and historical readers that could be had, and put them into the hands of the principals for examination. After a time, all reported upon the books, and the list, with sample copies, was examined by the special committee, to whom the Board had given power to select the books. Most of the books originally selected were purchased and the others returned. By this method each child has a book different from those used by most of the class. The facts he finds under his topic may differ from those found by others, but they are his. The comparison of facts and opinions thus obtained stimulates the spirit of inquiry, and cultivates a true method of investigation and research. The plan is experi- mental so far as we are concerned, but has been long tried else- where, and has been advocated by some of our principals for many years. It is expected that the results will be gratifying to all interested in the schools. It is not possible this year to prove the merits of the system, because much depends upon the begin- nings. The ninth classes may not do as well as we expect, be- cause they have not had the benefit of previous years' work, and the results in the sixth and seventh classes may not be entirely satisfactory for want of the books from which the stories are to
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