USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1899 > Part 12
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The school now contains 700 pupils and twenty-eight teachers, an average of twenty-five pupils to a teacher. When the school was established in September, 1895, the entering class. numbered 192. Twenty-two per cent. fell out the first year, fif- teen per cent. the second, twelve per cent. the third, and six per cent. the last year, leaving eighty-six to graduate in June last,. forty-five per cent. of the original number. Of this number, fif- teen have entered technical schools.
The following shows the number of students in each depart- ment :- -
English
700
German 72
History
561
Drawing
414
Mathematics
531
Manual Training
127
Science
316
Commercial
123
Latin
149
Stenography 154
French
264
Elocution
700
There is a general recognition throughout the country of the claims of commercial life to a training as broad and complete as that given to those who are to engage in professional or scientific. . pursuits.
The business world is demanding from our schools young: men and women with something more than a mere technical. knowledge of bookkeeping or stenography. The qualities re- quired are, first of all, integrity, fidelity, industry, high purpose,. thrift, and afterwards intelligence, a broader knowledge, good judgment, alertness of intellect, the ability to comprehend quickly- and execute promptly. To secure these essentials, at least a. four years' course of high school training is requisite and a col -- lege course desirable.
To this end, high schools everywhere are establishing or- strengthening their business courses, independent commercial high schools are being opened, and even college authorities are advocating commercial departments in their institutions that shall cover every phase of public and private business life in the broad- est way.
The business course in the English High School covers four years. The aim is to develop the moral qualities, without which
140
ANNUAL REPORTS.
life in business or anywhere else is a failure; to extend and strengthen the foundation of a good English education; to broaden knowledge and stimulate intellectual activity; and to give technical skill in the forms, usages, and laws of mercantile and business life.
Were it not for time limitations, the technical work might be extended. The suggestion that the study of Spanish might be introduced is not favored. Our new possessions are rapidly be- ing Americanized, and English will very soon be everywhere the language of trade.
The growth and success of the English School may be largely attributed to the introduction into its curriculum of studies that have not only an educational and culture value, but are also closely connected with the probable future lifework of its stu- dents. The manifest trend of education is in the direction of training that shall fit for some definite calling. We question in vain the propriety of doing this at public expense. The demand is imperative, and must be met. So long as our public high schools shall so well meet the needs of their patrons and so wisely train their pupils for the labors and responsibilities of life, just so long will our citizens contribute generously and gratefully to their support.
"Table Showing Losses of Classes in English High School Each Year Since Its Organization.
MEMBERSHIP.
Class of 1899.
Class of 1900.
Class of 1901.
Class of 1902.
Class of 1903.
Decrease. 1st year
192
228
211
217
299
2nd
149
163
153
162
...
3rd
121
119
125
. . .
...
4th
98
97
. .
. . .
.. .
Graduates
86
. .
...
.. .
...
Loss per cent.
1st year .
22.4
24.1
27.5
25.3
...
2nd
18.7
27.0
18.0
·
.
. .
3rd
19 0
18.5
..
...
...
4th
12.2
. . .
. .
...
Total
55.2
. .
.
.. .
..
Grammar Schools. In June last 468 pupils were graduated from our eleven grammar schools, 345 of whom, or seventy-four per cent., entered the high schools,-286 the English and 59 the Latin. The gradual decrease in the number of the class from 1894, when it constituted the fourth grade, down to the time of graduation, is shown below :-
1412
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
Loss.
Loss Per Cent,
In Fourth Grade
821
In Fifth Grade
757
64
7.8
In Sixth Grade
684
73
9.6
In Seventh Grade
553
131
18.3
In Eighth Grade
495
58
10.5
At Graduation
468
27
5.5
This shows the number of the class that were either left behind to repeat the work or dropped out of school. . The great- est apparent loss was between the seventh and eighth grades, the- time when many scholars pass beyond the compulsory school age and go to work.
We occasionally hear expressions of regret that there should. be such great variety of studies in the grammar schools. These regrets are based on misinformation. Somerville has been much more conservative than many of her neighbors in the introduc- tion of what some are pleased to call educational fads or frills. Drawing and music may be more strongly emphasized now than they were twenty years ago, but they are given no more school time. Sewing and nature study are the only new features intro- duced into the curriculum of the elementary schools during the . last twenty-five years, if we except the fact that rather more at- tention is given to physical training than formerly. Sewing, which commends itself for its practical utility to even the most rigid economist, requires from the girls but two hours out of every hundred in the course. Nature study is given eighty min- utes each week,-about one-twentieth of the time. During this. time the teacher gives such instruction in temperance physiology and hygiene as the law requires. The remainder is devoted to nature study. What is nature study? Let others answer.
It is seeing the things which one looks at, and the drawing of proper conclusions from what one sees. Nature study is not the study of a science, as of botany, entomology, geology, and the like. That is, it takes the things at hand and endeavors to understand them, without reference to the systematic order or relationships of the objects. It is wholly in- formal and unsystematic, the same as the objects are which one sees. It is entirely divorced from definitions or from explanations in books. It is- therefore supremely natural. It simply trains the eye and the mind to see and to comprehend the common things of life; and the result is not di- rectly the acquirement of science, but the establishment of a living sym- pathy with everything that is.
The proper objects of nature study are the things which one oftenest meets. To-day it is a stone, to-morrow it is a twig, a bird, an insect, a leaf, a flower. The child, or even the high school pupil, is first inter- ested in things which do not need to be analyzed or changed into unusual forms or problems. Therefore, problems of chemistry and of physics are, for the most part, unsuited to early lessons in nature study. Moving things, as birds, insects, and mammals, interest children most, and there- fore seem to be the proper subjects for nature study; but it is often diffi- cult to secure specimens when wanted, especially in liberal quantity, and
142
ANNUAL REPORTS.
still more difficult to see the objects in perfectly natural conditions. Plants are more easily had, and are therefore more practicable for the purpose, although animals and minerals should by no means be excluded. L. H. BAILEY,
Cornell University.
Nature is a theme on which the child may try his tools,-it gives him something to talk, write, read, or think about; something to count, measure, weigh, draw, watch, or otherwise test; something to stir him up and draw him out, and tax him on all sides. And so knowledge comes from the study, and often, with scholarly and tactful teaching, in ways that are pat. But how finely the study fits into the spirit and aptitude of the unspoiled child, widening his mind as it widens his horizon, and kind- ling his soul as it opens up new prospects to his delighted vision! And what capital foundations in a wakened interest and a longing for more may be laid for the later years when nature is more clearly seen as many worlds in one, and there come into sharper view the sciences of animals and of plants, of matter and its combinations, of force and its transforma- tions, of the interrelations of all these things, and how they have come up through the long ages from their nebulous beginnings!
FRANK A. HILL,
Secretary State Board of Education.
Primary Schools. In September 1,083 children were ad- mitted to the first grade of the primary schools, 136 of whom were under five years of age. A fourth of last year's class was left behind to repeat the work. The present number is 4,053, averag- ing forty-seven to a teacher. This number is altogether too large for a single teacher. We employ a teacher to every twenty-five pupils in the kindergarten and high schools, and first-grade chil- dren require as much individual atttention, and must be taught in even smaller groups. Whenever a first grade teacher has more than forty pupils she is required to do more than any ordinary woman can do well.
The work we require of these little children is, in some re- spects, wholly unsuited to their undeveloped powers. No psy- chological principle is more generally recognized than that at- tempts to force children beyond their natural growth arrests de- velopment and produces lasting injury. Attempts to teach num- bers to children under six years of age are a waste of time and energy, and, in most cases, are harmful. Indeed, many edu- cators claim that numbers should not be formally taught to any child under seven years of age. Then, too, efforts to teach these children to write or to do any fine manual work are emphatically condemned, on the ground that the muscles which make these more delicate movements are developed much later. Some radi- . cal change in our custom in these directions is demanded. The feeling is too prevalent that from fifty to sixty children just from the nursery or the loving care of a mother, entirely without school habits, needing tender sympathy and direction, faculties of body and mind just budding, and demanding the most intelli- gent and scientific training, may be huddled together five hours a day under the care of a high school girl with no practical knowledge of children or experience in handling them, and yet
143
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
be properly educated. The beginnings of education are most im- portant, and surely if small classes are anywhere advisable, if thoroughly trained, broadly educated, sympathetic, and mature teachers are anywhere needed, if a knowledge of the human mind and body and the order and process of their natural development is anywhere demanded, it is during the earliest years of a child's school life.
Kindergartens. It was found necessary to close the Hodg- kins Kindergarten in June, to make room for grammar pupils. Another was opened October 1, however, in the Carr School, so that there are now five in operation in the city. The following shows how many favored ones enjoy these privileges :-
Hanscom.
Jackson.
Prospect
Hill.
Glines.
Carr.
Total.
Enrollment .
100
99
106
101
47
453
Average Membership .
47
47
46
43
48
231
Average Attendance .
42
37
36
34
41
190
Per cent. Attendance .
88.3
78.5
77.7
78.5
85.8
82.5
Age
4 -- 6
4-3
4 -- 6
4-7.5
4-5
4-5
These kindergartens have cost the city $4,892 for instruction and $238 for supplies, a total of $5,130, or $22.21 per pupil. There are 172 children in the first grade that have had at least one year of kindergarten training. In only two primary classes in the city are there enough of these children to affect in any wise the instruction.
Without stopping to discuss the principles and methods of the kindergarten, or its value as an integral part of a school sys- tem, it may be remarked that, like all new things, it has its advo- cates and its opponents. Among the former may be found lead- ing educational authorities and experts both at home and abroad. Among the latter are a few who question its utility, and more who oppose it on economical grounds. Between these two are a multitude who are uninformed concerning it, and who either wisely suspend judgment or foolishly denounce it as a senseless extravagance. In most communities not what is best in educa- tion, but what is possible and expedient, controls decisions and practice. The wealthy can afford what they want, the poor must be satisfied with the necessities of life. For Somerville to give all its children the kindergarten advantages which now only a few enjoy would require an annual outlay of $25,000 and twenty-
144
ANNUAL REPORTS.
five additional schoolrooms. This is out of the question, and yet there may be found a way to secure what we wish at an expendi- ture that we can afford.
By way of contrast, if not example, let us look at what is be- ing done in a city where ideal kindergarten conditions prevail .. The city of St. Louis has one of the best educational systems in the country, largely developed by Commissioner William T. Harris, who, by unanimous consent, stands at the head of Ameri- can educators. In this city the first public. kindergarten in this. country was opened. To-day it contains 102 kindergartens, with 281 teachers and 9,150 pupils, a larger number than is found in its first grade. The rooms are used for two sessions, with differ- ent children, but the same teachers. Every large school has its. kindergarten. Every kindergarten child is six years old or over,. and no pupil is admitted to the first primary grade until he is seven years of age, excepting in some smaller schools without a kindergarten, where children six years old are allowed to attend school one-half of the day only. The elementary course covers eight years, and is practically the same as that of Eastern cities. with nine-year courses. The difference between four and six- year-old kindergarten children and between five and seven-year- old first-graders and what they can accomplish is too obvious to- require comment.
Two statements seem difficult to disprove: First, if kinder- garten training is valuable, if it develops the child's faculties so that he more readily apprehends and executes, if it gives mind and body bent and skill not otherwise attained, it is our duty to place its advantages within the optional reach of all, or even so to incorporate its work into our courses that it shall be the gate through which, by compulsion, all children shall enter upon their primary school life. Second, if the kindergarten does for its graduates what is outlined above, the result should appear in the ease and rapidity with which subsequent work is done, so that a shorter time, say, eight years, might be found sufficient for pri- mary and grammar courses. If, then, we admit that the pres- sure upon first-grade children is too great through present ill- advised requirements, that the number assigned to a single teacher is too large, that it is very desirable to give uniform kin- dergarten advantages to all parts of the city, and that all we wish may be done within the limit of nine years, instead of ten, may not some such plan as the following be worthy of consideration :---
Close the present kindergartens. Admit no child under five years of age to school privileges at any time. Assign eighty first-grade children to a schoolroom, one-half to the forenoon, the rest to the afternoon. Place two competent teachers in charge, one of whom shall be fully trained in kindergarten principles and methods. Eliminate from the first-grade course what is un- suited to age and development, and substitute therefor such kin- dergarten work as is best adapted to the conditions. This plan
1
145
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
will release at least a dozen rooms for higher grade purposes. It will require no more teachers and cost no more money. It wiił shorten the time children spend in the schoolroom, but it will give each child more direct instruction at the hands of the teacher, and give to all the best the kindergarten has to offer. Fewer children will need to repeat the year's work, and the second-grade teachers will receive classes fully as well prepared to advance as at present. And all this will prove a decided gain.
Brief Mention. On the twenty-fifth day of September Frank H. Hardison, who was serving his fifth year as a member of the board, resigned his office on account of removal from the city.
The board adopted resolutions of appreciation and regret, and on the eleventh of October met in joint convention with the City Council and elected William P. Jones his successor.
Somerville schools are to be represented at the Paris Expo- sition of 1900 by photographs, composed of exterior and interior views of the Latin and English High schools, and of the Hodg- kins, Pope, and Hanscom buildings. Specimens of the work of pupils in every department of the English School and of the work in language as correlated with history, geography, science, art, and literature in grammar and primary schools were also sent. In addition to representative sheets of drawing selected from the state exhibit of drawing by the state director, a typical represen- tation of what is done in freehand and mechanical drawing in the English School was furnished. The limited space assigned to the educational exhibit of the United States at the Exposition ren- dered contributions from all departments of work impossible. In this connection mention should be made of the receipt from the Lafayette Memorial Commission of a certificate in recognition of the gift of $175 from the school children of Somerville towards the erection of a suitable monument in memory of Lafayette.
Penmanship. No subject presents greater difficulties both to learner and teacher than writing. It has no educational value. It is simply a means to an end. It seems simple enough in theory, the making of fifty-two conventional characters, either singly or in groups, but in practice it bristles with difficulties. Correct position of body and hand, ease and celerity of motion, legibility and beauty of form,-any one of these might be secured singly, but to get them all in happy combination seems next to impossible. It is difficult, if not impossible, for little children with undeveloped muscles to do much in the way of what is called movement writing. They do well to make correct letter forms in any way. For several years we attempted to secure both movement and form from middle-grade children. The result was crude movement and letter-forms without a single redeeming fea- ture. A change was made to vertical writing. This has issued in a reversal of results,-distinct forms produced without any freedom of movement. The seven lower grades are now writing
146
ANNUAL REPORTS.
a vertical hand. The product has the two qualities that make this style of writing so popular,-uniformity and legibility. The process, however, has thus far been slow, and characterized by cramped positions that give no promise of future ease or rapidity. There. may be a few exceptions to this rule. In a recent copying exercise given to seventh and eighth grades throughout the city the rate of the vertical writers was four words in a minute, and that of the slant writers ten words a minute. No attempt what- ever was made to secure speed, and mention is made of the ex- periment simply to show existing conditions. In our schools vertical writing has not yet passed the experimental stage, nor has the experiment been made under conditions most favorable to success. First, there should be a uniformity of system throughout the city. There was an interchange by removal and transfer of 1,600 pupils among the schools last year. This of necessity throws pupils together who have been practicing dif- ferent systems, and compels a change in one direction or the other, which involves loss of progress. Second, such position of hand, arm, and body should be established as will give a reason- able expectation of increased rapidity in the future. Third, in the interests of safety to the eyes of children, which are now en- dangered by the necessity of a constant change of focus from desk to blackboard where now all their correct letter-forms are to be found distorted and obscured by varying angles of vision or guessed at by the near-sighted, correct letter-forms for imitation should be provided for desk use. Certainly whatever will facili- tate in any way this difficult task of learning to write should be cheerfully furnished.
Manual Training. The Legislature of 1898, in revising the school laws, made instruction in manual training obligatory upon every city of 20,000 inhabitants. School committees have no more option concerning the matter than they have regarding evening schools or any other legal requirement. True, no pen- alty is imposed for violation of this law nor of any other school law. It is assumed that good citizens will always cheerfully com- ply with all laws made for the common weal, whether penalties are imposed or not. The remedy for unwise legislation is in re- peal, not in disobedience. In loyal compliance with this legisla- tion, the School Board voted early in the year that manual training should be taught to the boys and cooking to the girls of the ninth grade, and requested the city government to provide and furnish rooms for this purpose in the Franklin schoolhouse and in the Forster-school annex. Rooms are being provided in the Forster enlargement that will be available for the purpose. Un- less the board is ready to recede from its position and place itself in the attitude of ignoring the law, some action should be taken to secure suitable accommodations for other parts of the city. In the construction of new buildings this need should be recognized.
1
147
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
As a succinct statement of the value of this form of education, the following quotation from a competent judge is presented :-
The most colossal improvement which recent years have seen in sec- ondary education lies in the introduction of the manual training schools; not because they will give us a people more handy and practical ·for do- mestic life, and better skilled in trades, but because they will give us citi- zens with an entirely different intellectual fibre. Laboratory work and shop work engender a habit of observation, a knowledge of the difference between accuracy and vagueness, and an insight into nature's complexity and into the inadequacy of all abstract verbal accounts of real phenomena, which, once wrought into the mind, remain there as lifelong possessions. They confer precision; because, if you are doing a thing, you must do it definitely right or definitely wrong. They give honesty; for when you ex- press yourself by making things, and not by using words, it becomes im- possible to dissimulate your vagueness or ignorance by ambiguity. They beget a habit of self-reliance; they keep the interest and attention always cheerfully engaged, and reduce the teacher's disciplinary function to a minimum.
The Public Library and Schools. In mentioning the great moral and educational forces in the community, the home, the school, the church, come naturally foremost. We make a serious omission, however, if we fail to add, in these modern days, the press, a powerful factor, certainly, in moulding opinion, in creating taste, and in shaping character. Newspapers whiten the land. Magazines of art, science, history, literature, marvels of typographical and artistic excellence, abound within the reach of all; and books in infinite number and variety are freely furnished for the asking. Many a successful man declares with tearful eyes that all that he is he owes to a mother's influence ; others attribute their success to some faithful, unselfish, inspiring teacher who turned their thoughts and steps in the right direction ; and others still point with gratitude to books that have made them what they are. Books place us in touch with the great souls that have up- lifted the race. Their thoughts, their example, their spirit inspire and elevate, and unconsciously become a part of our life. Who can tell how much of the strength and nobility of Lincoln's thought and character came from the three books which were the sole literary treasure-house of his youth. We can much more easily point in sadness to young men whose minds and hearts have been corrupted, and whose lives have been made unprofit- able, and even wretched, by the subtle influence of pernicious lit- erature. He who teaches a child to read opens before him two paths, one leading upward to delight and blessing, the other downward to debasement and sorrow. How great the responsi- bility of leaving his choice to chance or misdirection !
Parents and teachers have no more important function than the control of the reading of children committed to their care. Among the well-recognized and most welcome duties and privi- leges of teachers in these days, none outranks that of cultivating a liking for good books and making them easily accessible to their pupils. In this good work the public library is in hearty
-
148
ANNUAL REPORTS.
sympathy and active co-operation. During the year eighty-six circulating libraries, containing 2,204 books adapted to younger children, and largely selected by their teachers, have been placed. in different school buildings. Besides this, there have been 7,387 volumes circulated through the upper grades of the schools. Every facility has been accorded to teachers at the library. A children's reading room has been opened. High school pupils have not only been welcomed to the reference room, but thou- sands of volumes have been loaned for use in school and at home. We voice the sentiment of the public and of school authorities when we extend hearty recognition and thanks to the genial and enthusiastic custodian of the public library for his interest and help in a work second to none done by our city for its people.
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