USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1892 > Part 10
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The science was represented by collections of leaves, grasses, pressed flowers, twigs, bark, grains, seeds, and other vegetable products ; by minerals, illustrating various strata of the earth's crust, various soils, gravel, sand, rock, minerals, and metals; by animal products, cases of insects in their various stages of development, - a beautiful moth was hatched during the exhibition; and by drawings and written work on plants, animals, human physiology, physical. geography, astronomy, and natural philosophy. There were also
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some pieces of home-made apparatus, illustrating machines and mechanical forces, etc. The exhibits were taken from a number of schools from all parts of the city, and covered work done in all grades, from the primary to the High School. Collections were arranged in boxes on the desks and tables, specimens and draw- ings were mounted on charts, and much of the written work and drawing was bound. Mr. Andrews was chairman of the committee.
The geography, history, and language work were arranged in three rows of mounted sheets on the wall, the geography in the highest row, the language at the bottom. So far as possible, this was graded from left to right on two sides of the largest room.
Packages of composition work and other language exercises were to be seen on the tables. Every grade of the schools and every feature of the instruction and drill was exemplified.
There was a good graded exhibit of penmanship illustrating the drill and the instruction in each of the grades.
The maps made of wood, paper pulp, putty, cards, and cloth, and the map drawing, both in geography and history, were varied to represent the processes of instruction. Mr. Southworth was chair- man of the language committee; Miss Wendell, of the history committee; Mr. Brainard, of the geography committee.
The drawing was arranged by grades, in three rows of mounts ; one section contained working drawings, pictorial or object drawing, and historical ornament; another a series of graded home drawings, done according to the children's own ideas ; another a graded set of sheets illustrating the course in mechanical drawing. The work was very creditable, and showed a marked degree of progress in this sub- ject. One section of small space was occupied by an exhibit of work in color, showing the course of color instruction and the designs made by pupils in colored paper. In connection with the draw- ing was a collection of articles made of paper, cards, wood, etc., from the drawings, indicating a feature of manual training which is suggested and inspired by the drawing course. Most of the things were made by the pupils at home, of their own free will. It indicates the natural bent and inclination of children to work with tools and construct things, a tendency that should always be taken advantage of in any system of schools.
The kindergarten work included sewing, paper folding and cut- ting, and mat weaving, the colors being all of the standards used in
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the primary schools. This occupied a section of wall space. The clay work from the kindergarten and primary classes was arranged in sections, corresponding to the grades of drawing. All this work was, of course, organized and arranged by Miss Balch, our director of draw- ing, who deserves generous praise for her admirable work, for her artistic taste and judgment, and for her organizing ability.
One corner was occupied by photographs of school buildings, classrooms, pupils at work, teachers and graduating classes, and classes in gymnastic exercises. This feature of the exhibit indicates the possibility of preserving for future reference features of public school education that it might be desirable to perpetuate. Mr. Shattuck had charge of this department.
There were three long tables of the products of the cooking class, including bread, cake, vegetables, meats, jellies, etc. The members of the class have taken a year's instruction at the North Bennett-street Industrial School, through the generosity of the board of managers. One lesson of two hours was given each week. The pupils were from the eighth grade of several schools. I regret to state that this opportunity could not have been given to us this year.
The sewing exhibit occupied a room by itself, and was an exemplification of our course, which covers the six grammar grades. Beside the mounted work there were large numbers of articles displayed on tables, which were the school and home work of the pupils of the several grades.
It is gratifying to report that this course in sewing, which I need not here again describe, is practically our own, though developed from the work in Philadelphia, modified, graded, and amplified by our own teachers, and has been copied and adopted by several cities in our own State, which have introduced sewing into the schools since we began; several cities which have had sewing a great many years have abandoned their old courses and adopted ours. I say this in no boastful spirit, but in justice to our teachers, who have been untiring in their service.
The exhibit of the High School work was very creditable. It included collections of pressed flowers by the botany class, geometric drawing, historic ornament to illustrate the study of history, drawings done in connection with study of physics, chemistry, and physiology. There was a very fine collection of language work, souvenir calendars, and other interesting and artistic specimens of pen work and amateur
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photography, mostly done at home and in the fields, at the pupils' own suggestion.
While this description of the exhibit does not fully review the work done in the schools, in these particular features it will doubt- less suffice, inasmuch as I have more fully expressed my views and. described our instruction in former reports.
In drawing I shall depend upon the report of Miss Balch. In regard to physical training, I can only say that, so far as I have- observed, the work is being done very creditably, and in some in- stances admirably. In some schools, particularly where there are new teachers, we have not kept up to the standard set us by Miss Living- stone. I am as confident of the success of our system, and as hope. ful of the best results, as when I made my last report ; but I see that it is impossible to do in the whole city what ought to be done, and get the results that the system is capable of producing, without a director. I recommend that some one well trained in the system be employed to hold teachers' meetings, and, if possible, supervise the schools. ' An occasional visit by one full of enthusiasm, as. our first teacher was, and as helpful and suggestive, would make a wonderful difference in our schools. I hope the committee which has the department in charge will consider the matter at an early date.
In reading we have not yet reached the results we hope some time to accomplish. The matter is under consideration, and has been. presented to the teachers recently in an address by Superintendent Aldrich, of the State board of education. I need not repeat what I have said in former reports on this important subject, but will simply refer you to my report of 1890, on the subject of literature and read- ing. After treating of the educational value of reading and literature, I explained a system of circulating the reading matter already pro- vided, and recommended the addition of valuable books in literature, A scheme of circulation has been put into operation, but is unsatis- factory for want of a few more sets to complete the circuits, and the scant supply of books of literature, which is the most important sup- plementary reading matter. I believe nothing has been added to the list of supplementary reading this year, and no new sets have been purchased to facilitate circulation. In this connection I wish briefly to restate my earnest desire that more time be spent in reading history and biography. By far the most cultivating, enriching, and inspiring studies are the humanities, language, literature, history,
LUTHER V. BELL SCHOOL.
T
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and biography. Philosophers regard these as of the highest educa- tional value, and yet, except in the High School, the provision made in our curriculum for these studies is extremely limited. By means of a small appropriation each year, this department in the grammar schools might be well equipped for this important work. Some time ago I outlined for the committee on text-books a plan by which the schools might in time be furnished with libraries of choice reading, to be used in instruction, and as a means of silent culture through individual reading. I hope to have this important feature of the schools established at no distant day. My advocacy in former reports of class libraries is one I will not repeat, except to say that other cities are making a great advance in this particular.
The call for a large supply of supplementary reading which we have been making for four or five years, and the necessity and plea for class libraries, is in harmony with the present widespread move- ment now felt in our neighboring cities for " enriching and enlarging the grammar school course of study." Though a progressive city educationally, our limited appropriations for supplies during the last two years has made it impossible for the committees to further this movement for better literature.
Several cities in Massachusetts are experimenting with an ex- tended course of study for grammar schools. Much that is being done is in the right direction, some is empirical. Our conservatism will doubtless prevent a headlong plunge into anything not guaran- teed by the best authority and by successful experience; there is no reason, however, to prevent a consideration of these questions, and a careful examination of the experiments now going on. It is a nota- ble fact that conferences of educators, councils of education, repre- sentative college professors, teachers of secondary schools, principals and teachers of elementary schools, are busily investigating and con- sidering these questions. I will not now take your time to discuss this matter, because I have already presented some phases of it in former reports. The question of educational values of studies, how- ever, is a highly important one, which it is our duty to carefully estimate.
Looking forward to a gradual modification of our curriculum, some of the principals have been testing the practicability of depart- mental teaching in the grammar classes. This is not a new idea, nor an untried experiment. Many successes have been made on this plan. Under certain conditions very efficient results may be accom-
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plished, but it is yet too early to report or to draw conclusions. We are feeling our way, and may have something to report in future. Another experiment that should be noted, but of which much cannot yet be said, is the organization of classes composed of pupils of sev- eral grades who are prepared, or who ought, to do special individual work between grades or beyond the grade. This gives evidence of great promise. Another important step in the right direction is the appointment of supernumerary teachers in schools where the classes are very large to give special instruction to individual pupils or sections. In former years part of this has been done by the principals. The value of such work cannot be over-estimated, and is worthy of careful attention. It need not be confined, as of late, to the primary classes, but under wise management may be very effective in the grammar grades as well. What I recommended last year in this matter may at an early day be tried.
RELIEF FOR THE GRAMMAR SCHOOLS.
The crowding of our grammar schools is becoming a very serious problem. The new buildings recently opened have helped very much to provide for the large classes, but never before has the work been so heavy in the grammar department. One mode of relief has been mentioned, but something more permanent and efficient needs to be done. I am thoroughly convinced that many of the pupils spend more time in the grammar classes than need be. For those who are qualified and inclined to take long years of study in higher institu- tions some provision should be made to shorten the grammar school course. None of these great educational questions can be considered without a thought of the High School. The relief of the grammar classes, the enlargement and enrichment of the grammar-school course, the introduction of special work, all depend upon the advantages offered in the High School and the room provided for High School pupils.
All educational progress, as it now seems to me, is at a stand- still for the want of better facilities for a high-school education. The arguments put forward time and again by members of the board and others included the idea of making the High School an outlet for the crowded grammar schools. The present fourth class in the
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High School contains a number of pupils from the eighth grade of the Highland School. It is a notable fact that all who applied passed the examination successfully and have taken creditable rank in the High School. There are pupils in the other grammar schools who could have done the same and saved a year in fitting for college. The practice could not be made general for lack of room, but if we had an English and a classical school, pupils might enter from the eighth and even the seventh grades, as is done in other cities.
A very important and hopeful experiment is in progress in a neighboring city by which the large grammar schools have each two plans of organization and classification: at one pupils take the grammar school course in the usual manner in six years, and at the other in four years ; in other words, the instruction is divided in one case into six portions, as it were, one-sixth to be done each year, and in the other the same amount of work is divided into four portions, one- fourth to be done each year. It is claimed that the same training and development is afforded in both courses, because the pupils who cover a certain amount of ground in four years are capable of higher culture and more rapid development. The experiment is one of great importance,and if after a careful trial it proves efficient, it will also prove what we have claimed for some time, that many pupils are kept too long on the grammar course. There have always been pupils in our schools who have completed the grammar course in less than six years ; but by our method of annual promotions and distinct grades a year apart, it has been necessary for pupils frequently to skip an entire year's work in order to go over the whole in less than six years. There is no question that some system should be devised whereby the entire course may be completed without any breaks and skips in less than six years, if there are pupils capable of doing it. The ex- periment of ungraded classes which we have inaugurated is one way of solving this problem.
Another method is also being tried, that of organizing a district in grades six months instead of a year apart. This is done in large schools by having two classes of a grade, one six months ahead of the other, and in small schools by having two sections of a grade in one room. This is not an untried experiment, having been used success- fully in many places. Never has there been more thought put upon the problems of how best to make the schools meet the wants of the children. The day is passing when the child has to be made to con-
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form to the machine. This is no age in which everything must bend to traditional systems, when individuality must be sacrificed to rou- tine and organization, when all the pupils of a grade must be either brought up or brought down to the average; the progressive, the studious, the ambitious, the faithful pupils losing valuable hours, days, months, and years for the sake of classification, while the teachers drag up the slow and plodding pupils, who must be kept up to grade.
THE AGE OF GRAMMAR-SCHOOL PUPILS.
A committee of the New England Superintendents' Association has spent much time collecting data in regard to the time children take in passing through the grammar schools, and their ages at gradua- tion. Statistics were collected from all cities and towns in New Eng- land that have superintendents of schools. The returns from 104 places have been formulated. The average age of the graduates of the grammar schools this year in thirty-eight cities of New England having a nine years' course of study was fifteen years, two months. That of our graduates was fifteen years, four months. In these thirty-eight cities, eighteen per cent. of the graduates were over six- teen years of age, fifteen per cent. were under fourteen, three per cent. completed the course of nine years in six years, six per cent. in seven years, nineteen per cent. in eight years, thirty-five per cent. in nine years, twenty-seven per cent. in ten years, and ten per cent. in more than ten years. In Somerville twenty-nine per cent. were over sixteen years of age at graduation from the grammar schools, eight and nine-tenths per cent. were under fourteen years. As to how many years each graduate took to complete the course, it was im- possible to report definitely, because many came from other places, though we know that two per cent. took six years in our schools, seven per cent. took seven years, nine per cent. took eight years, twenty-three per cent. took nine years, twenty per cent. took ten years, and the rest came from other places and cannot be classified. This shows that about eighteen per cent. of our pupils complete the primary and grammar grades in less than nine years, and twenty- three per cent. take nine years. If pupils are longer than nine years in passing through the grades below the High School, the reason should be investigated ; some causes are easily explained, but these do not answer all cases. The committee is pursuing inquiries further,
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and will doubtless be able to throw some light on this important subject.
The statistics thus far collected relate to the graduates of the grammar schools. We must remember that the ninth class numbers about six per cent. of the whole number of pupils in the nine grades, and that these average as high in scholarship as any. Last December the average age of the pupils in the ninth classes was fourteen years, ten and one-half months, but the average age of the lower classes is each proportionately higher ; for instance, the average age of the fourth class was ten years, three and one-half months, and that of the seventh class was thirteen years, two months. By this it is plain that pupils lose time in the lower grades of the schools. To ascertain the exact state of the case, I have collected reports from all the teachers of the ages of their pupils December 1, -that is, how many are five years old, how many six, seven, eight, etc., up to eigh- teen, - sothat I know just where the old pupils are. This summary will be found in the appendix with other statistics. My next problem is to ascertain why these individual pupils are in classes at an age when we might expect them to be further advanced. I have known for several years that our classes contain very many old pupils, and have determined the causes in many cases. Some of the reasons which I am prepared to report are these : --
1. Late in entering school. People have an erroneous idea that the schools are not adapted to children five years of age, and so keep them out till they are six, seven, and sometimes eight years old,
2. Some lose much by absences from sickness and other causes. some of it due to poverty and lack of nourishment and care at home. This cause I hope to investigate more thoroughly, and will refer to it in another connection further on.
3. Some lose by transfer from other places where the course of study differs materially from our own. This cause should not exist. There should be sufficient uniformity to enable pupils to enter corre- sponding grades in neighboring cities.
4. Many fail of promotion because they have not been taught ; several causes may operate to explain this more fully, -one is that there are too many pupils assigned to a teacher. Children waste precious time either doing nothing in school, or in doing what some call " busy work," but which leads to nothing ; has no educational or
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disciplinary value. It is commonly supposed that a good teacher can manage and teach fifty-six primary children. This is a delusion. No one can teach more than a small group at one time, and it is a mis- take to allow the other portion of the class to remain unemployed or without suitable direction in their work. To be sure, there are occu- pations that keep the little ones out of mischief while working by themselves; yet there is a great deal of time wasted, no matter how skilful the teacher. I believe a teacher can accomplish more with sixty pupils in a year by having thirty for three hours in the morning and the other thirty for three hours in the afternoon than by hav- ing them all for five hours each day. I also believe that with thirty- five or forty, five hours daily, she can do immeasurably more than she can with fifty all day. Every class contains quite a percentage of dull or slow pupils, who have to be neglected while the teacher is occupied with the bright ones. I believe there is no time or expense saved by giving teachers large classes. It simply takes more years to do the work, or it is not done at all. For instance, if a man can do a piece of work represented by forty in eight days, it will take him ten days to do similar work represented by fifty, or it will take more men to do it in the same time. Therefore, if we give to one teacher more pupils than she can teach, it will take more years to do it, and there will be no saving in the long run ; whereas, if we give a teacher just as many as she can teach, they will get through school sooner, and we shall save the expense of instruction for the time gained. That is, the saving in time will be a saving of salaries, which may be paid to a larger number of teachers and the work will be done.
5. Another explanation of the fact that there are many pupils in the several grades about the average age is that there has been no adequate provision for the pupils who are not prepared for promo- tion or who are promoted on trial, which you understand to mean being advanced to classes where they do not belong. This system clogs the wheels of progress and operates against the prepared as well as the unprepared. The remedy is to organize intermediate grades, where pupils may find their place. We are making progress in this direction, and I hope to see the day when it may be said that every child is in the class where he belongs and is doing just the work that his abilities enable him to do. To accomplish this requires more teachers and more elasticity in the work of the schools; but it will pay
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in the long run. I here recall to your attention my report of last year on this subject.
NEGLECTED CHILDREN.
I have instituted inquiry into the home conditions of our poor children. Every one who enters upon investigations of this kind, even in a small and well-to-do city like ours, finds conditions that are revelations, to say the least. We find that much of the poor scholarship, irregular attendance, and bad behavior is due almost entirely to home life, or, rather, to neglect and abuse at home; pov- erty, ignorance, and bad morals, in addition to poor blood, as some call the child's inheritance of brains, is a large part of the explanation. Two classes of children fall under this inquiry: one, the teachable, who come under our instruction most of the time for several years; and second, the vicious, the truant, the neglected, and incorrigible. For the first class much more can be done at the public schools. They need the best schools and teachers we can give them for the regular school year, and they need vacation schools, which I have in former reports advocated, and which I believe would be a great sav- ing to the city. I will not weary you with a repetition of this argu- ment, as I have discussed it before.
The second class need what the city of Boston, after years of deliberation and consideration, has decided to establish, viz., a parental school, where children may be taken and cared for and edu- cated. You have doubtless read the plan of such a school and its purpose. A proper care of these children would save later poverty and crime, with its attendant expense. I am not prepared to say that it is the duty of a city like Somerville to establish such a school, but I believe it at least the duty of the county or the State to provide adequate protection from abuse and poverty to the little helpless, innocent children, who are really the wards of the State. It would be economical for the State to make ample provision for these neg- lected children, and thus save the larger expense of crime, and the maintenance of courts and criminal institutions, to which these in- evitably grow up; besides, the community would be the gainer from the fruits of honest toil to which the children might be reared. There is a time when the State has the right to take from the parent his neglected child, and fit him for a life of usefulness. It is also the duty of the State to protect itself from the invasion of ignorance and
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