USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1899 > Part 13
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Evening Schools. There is nothing but the old story to be told in regard to the evening schools. At the beginning, crowds of those who sorely feel their deficiencies, but are without strength of purpose to make the effort required to remedy them; long before the end, less than half the original number, plodding dili- gently along to secure what misfortune or neglect have lost them. There is no compulsion as to evening school attendance, except in the case of illiterates. The present law places responsibility upon the employer, who must satisfy himself by daily inspection of evening school cards that every person in his employ under the age of twenty-one who cannot read and write the English lan- guage regularly attends evening school during its entire term. As heavy penalties are imposed for non-compliance, the prompt discharge of the employee follows dereliction on his part. The attendance of this class has been larger than usual, and progress in many cases has been marked.
In the evening school, as elsewhere, the teacher is the school. Skilled experience, sympathy, patience, and enthusiasm cannot be secured for a dollar an evening. Many teachers, however, find a higher reward not measured by monetary standards in the prog- ress and gratitude of those they teach. Individual instruction is the rule, classification the exception. Improvement of this class of schools lies in the direction of concentration of pupils in some central place, a more systematic organization, better-paid teach- ers, compulsory attendance, and a longer term.
During the season of 1898 and 1899 the drawing school in both freehand and mechanical departments, as well as three ele- mentary schools, were in session. At the drawing school there were 6,174 hours of actual attendance by eighty-six different pupils. The expense, inclusive of heat and light, was $1,551.88, a per capita cost of twenty-five cents an hour. At the same rate our high schools would have cost us nearly $200,000 for the year. The actual attendance in the elementary schools was 16,105 hours by 175 different pupils. The total cost was $1,971.92, an average of twelve cents per hour per pupil. At the same rate our gram-
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mar and primary schools would have cost the city about $1,000,- 000 for the year 1899.
Ethical Instruction. In March last a communication was re- ceived by the board from a religious organization in the city ques- tioning whether the statute regarding the reading of the Scrip- tures in the schools was being observed. Careful inquiry re- vealed the fact that substantially every teacher in the city either read, or had her class repeat, some Scripture selection each morn- ing. In the majority of cases this was followed by the Lord's Prayer, offered in unison. In some schools the singing of a morning hymn was a regular feature.
To emphasize the duty of teachers in this connection, the fol- lowing circular was issued by the Superintendent :-
To Teachers: Your especial attention is called to the Rules and Regulations as found in Section 80, page 20; Section 32, page 42; Section 105, page 26; Section 1, page 49; Section 15, page 41; as well as to pages 49, 50, 92, and 93 of the Course of Study.
To make right motives, right feeling, right thinking, right action habitual in all pupils is the true teacher's supreme aim. Every exercise in a well-ordered school helps in its attainment. The teacher's "follow me" is most effective. Specific moral lessons, however, should be given. Opportunities and illustrations abound. Because all public and private morality is based on its precepts, the reading of the Bible is required. "The book should be so used as vividly and influentially to present its great. moral lessons. If whatever is sectarian or objectionable to any sect rep- resented is avoided, an inexhaustible supply will remain. The greatest advantage does not accrue from the unvarying repetition of a brief selec- tion requiring spiritual insight to be appreciated. To memorize selec- tions of the right kind in requisite variety is foreign to school work. 'Choice extracts may be memorized, however, as from other literature.
Praver is not required as a feature of opening exercises, but if any teachers wish to pray, either alone or with their pupils joining, no one can rightfully object. Pains should be taken not to offend any, and it should be remembered that the perfunctory repetition of the words of prayer without its spirit is a mockery.
Brief, pointed stories may be read or told, "gems" may be recited, and songs whose music and sentiment are uplifting may be sung. Wisely used, the morning hour is the teacher's golden opportunity to sow good seed.
At this season of the year constant emphasis should be laid on the rights of property as to lawns, flower beds, fences, and curbstones; on street manners and the rights of pedestrians; on what children may do towards keeping streets and public places neat and free from litter; on the use of profane and vulgar language; on the growing habit of tobacco- using by boys.
In temperance-physiology instruction great wisdom is needed to pre- sent the different phases of the subject at the right time. The pathology of the subject should be postponed until the pupil is old enough to com- prehend it. In all grades the moral and economic aspects of the question should be duly emphasized.
The foregoing suggestions are made not because neglect is sus- pected, but to call attention to that side of our work that is never in danger of being made too prominent.
The custom of the daily reading of the Bible in school has come down to us from a time when there was substantial
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unanimity of belief. It is still so strongly intrenched in the sen- timent and conviction of the people of Massachusetts that it will be long before the requirement is repealed. The statute contem- plates its reading by pupils, as is still the case in some schools. Hereabout, however, only the teacher reads it. However fortu- nate may be the selection, and however impressively it may be read "without note or comment," the influence upon the pupils will be less than could be desired. Whatever, then, the teacher can do by the wise and reverent use of the Book to inspire respect for its precepts and obedience to its teachings should certainly be done.
Little will be accomplished, however, by any teacher who de- ยท pends solely on this means of ethical instruction. So closely are religion and morality allied, and such is their interdependence, that some teachers hesitate for fear of encroaching on forbidden ground. An earnest purpose and great wisdom are needed to develop in the child those moral qualities which are at the basis of character, and to establish which the school is often the sole or principal agent. Home influences are to be supplemented, and sometimes supplanted, by teachers. They need not preach, but they may and should give direct and indirect ethical training. The whole trend of their school management should be in the right direction. Their high duty may be best discharged by tak- ing advantage of opportunities that constantly arise to impress lessons of morality, duty, truth, patriotism, virtue; by the pres- entation of high standards and right motives; by dealing with exact and impartial justice ; by the formation of habits of order, courtesy, industry, punctuality, fidelity, thrift, obedience, respect for authority; by influencing the choice of books and compan- ions ; by developing the power of self-control and self-denial ; and, above all, by the silent influence of personal character and example.
School Aesthetics. Much attention is everywhere being paid' to art instruction in the schools, to the development of the aesthetic side of the child. The aim is not so much the produc- tion of what is beautiful as its appreciation, the awakening of artistic feeling rather than artistic skill. Children are, of course, taught to use the pencil and the brush, and much of their work is commendable, some of it remarkable. But, besides this, time is given to the study of pictures, the masterpieces of great artists. Some knowledge is gained of the life of artists and their principal works in much the same way as the lives and productions of great writers are studied. This is not exactly the bread-and-butter side of education, although many of our graduates are now gaining a. livelihood in artistic pursuits by the exercise of talents awakened and developed in our schools. But life is something more than meat, and the refinement of the taste and the power to appreciate the beautiful in nature and in art are worthy of attainment.
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The widespreading movement in schoolroom decoration has the accomplishment of the same objects in view. The day of blank and dingy schoolroom walls and cobwebby corners is pass- ing. Pleasing tints and beautiful pictures, with their silent, but uplifting, influence, now greet the children's eyes. Reproductions of the best pictures of all times, photographs of the works of na- ture and of man the world over, abound and are within compara- tively easy reach. Teachers and pupils are interested in adorn- ing the rooms where so much of their time is spent. Several of our newer buildings, notably the Carr, Perry, Hanscom, Hodg- kins, Burns, Glines, Bingham, Knapp, and Pope, have been the recipients of generous gifts from the gentlemen whose honored names they bear. The Latin School and the master's room in the larger grammar school buildings have been beautified by the generosity of their graduates. The English School will soon be hung with a thousand dollars' worth of works of art, the outcome of the musical skill and efforts of its pupils and their enthusiastic and gifted director.
In the Forster School the pupils have secured by contribu- tions and lectures upwards of $400 during the year for the deco- ration of their building.
As an indication of the popular interest in this movement, and in recognition of its value, we are glad to notice the discus- sion in a leading woman's club in the city of a proposition to con- tribute annually a small sum, at least, for the decoration of school- houses. Along this line ample opportunity may be found for the gratification of the desire frequently expressed by women in the community to aid in the improvement of the schools. They have shown much interest in the cleanliness and purification of school- rooms. Let this good work be followed by their adornment. An inviting field may be found in those school buildings which pupils and parents are least able to decorate.
If the good women of the city will also lend their influence to lead the city fathers to improve the surroundings of some of our schoolhouses by providing curbing along the street front and grassing the yards, they will do much to give an appearance of neatness, completeness, and thrift, which is sorely lacking.
Parents and Teachers. And in connection with women's work and interest in education, it is pleasant to note the efforts that are making on the part of both mothers and teachers to bring themselves into closer touch and heartier co-operation with each other. Kindergartners hold monthly meetings for mothers. The custom is extending to primary schools. It should reach to all the grades. Mothers and teachers are natural allies, engaged in the noblest work permitted to human hands,-the training of children and the developing within them of pure and noble char- acters. Between them there should exist the fullest confidence, sympathy, forbearance, and co-operation. Distrust and an- tagonism should be unknown. When ideal relations exist be-
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tween teacher and mother the future welfare of the child is as- sured.
In connection with the general subject of the relation of teacher and parent, the following words, born of long experience and sound judgment, are so timely and appropriate that we ven- ture to quote them at length :-
The teacher's authority has its source in that of the parent. As she respects her own position, she will respect that of the child's father and mother, and whatever she can do to increase the appreciation of parental care and guidance will help her to maintain her own authority. The in- telligent parent and the intelligent teacher knows that words or actions tending to lessen the other's authority, or lowering it in the esteem of the child, would tend to lessen and lower his own. It is ill-advised for the parent to speak derogatorily of the teacher in the presence of the child; it is a professional error for the teacher not to manifest good will and re- spect for the parent at every opportunity.
There is no relation in the whole range of social life where the pre- supposition and the need of co-operation is more natural and more im- perative than in the case of the parent and teacher. Both make the wel- fare of the child their highest law; their reputation and well-being in life is largely dependent on the success of the education of the child, with which they are in common engaged. It is gratifying to know that in every schoolroom in the land intimate and willing co-operation between parent and teacher is the rule, and the opposite course the exception.
The work of education is carried on jointly and simultaneously in family and school, and this makes the co-operation of parent and teacher not a matter of choice, but a necessity. School is not a substitute for, but the complement of, family education; the fact that a child has at- tained school age does not relieve the parent of his educational duties; it simply means that henceforth the teacher will assume charge of a dele- gated and well-defined part of the child's training. That a teacher should assist a parent in his educational efforts, and, in turn, the parent the teacher, are well established educational maxims; without such mutual support, either side of the educational work may suffer and become un- necessarily difficult, or even unfruitful. It is clearly one of the profes- sional duties of the teacher to strive to win the good will of the parent, and to remain in harmony and friendly touch with the pupil's home. Teacher and parent impair their educational efforts by failing to maintain good terms and touch with each other.
While co-operation between school and home is desirable, no unneces- sary demand for assistance should be made upon the latter, and the legiti- mate share of the work must be borne by the teacher without worrying and nagging the parent with constant complaints about petty matters which belong to the legitimate duties of the school, and which a competent teacher should be able to set right without troubling others unnecessarily for assistance. As a rule, there are very few matters in the school with which a self-reliant teacher cannot deal without having recourse to other powers.
There is no parent who will not appreciate the faithful efforts of a teacher in behalf of his child. A teacher who understands how to make her room popular, not hy granting unwarranted requests in favor of one child which would be unjust to others, but by good schoolroom work, by devotion to the children, and good nature in dealing with parents, renders a service to the whole great system of schools and the cause of public edu- cation. A teacher may, perhaps, get into trouble with a parent by simply Going her duty and firmly maintaining a rule required in the interests of every child in the school. In such action every school officer and, in fact, the whole community will stand by her. But a teacher who gets into trouble with parents habitually and establishes a general reputation of un-
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friendliness had better indulge in a process of self-examination and re- form.
It is the teacher's duty to deepen the respect which the child should have for his parent, not to lessen it directly or indirectly. No matter what the provocation is. the teacher has no right to speak of the parent in the presence of the child in any other than a courteous and friendly way. There is no necessity for the teacher to answer unfriendly mes- sages from parents in the same spirit. Every teacher knows the cause is usually some petty misunderstanding which a friendly, courteous explana- tion might dispel. Most of the disagreements come about by hearsay re- ports of what was done in school or said at home.
Children mean to be honest and truthful, but theirs is the poetic period of life, in which fanciful exaggeration is still a characteristic of mental evolution, and allowance must be made by teacher or parent in receiving reports. Neither the child nor the adult is a good judge in his own case, and the parent makes a mistake if he judges the teacher in his own mind, and, without a hearing, convicts and condemns on the ex parte testimony of the child.
An even temper, patience, and courtesy in the intercourse with the parent, especially when disagreeable messages happen to be received from a child's home, are just as much professional duties of the teacher as patience with the children themselves. It is rare that a businesslike, kindly-worded reply, consisting of a polite explanation of the circum- stances which the teacher wishes to place before the parent, and which wisely and entirely omits the element of perhaps justifiable personal re- sentment, will be received in any but a courteous and appreciative way. ""A soft answer turneth away wrath." No teacher should forget that a parent's life is as full of trials as her own, and that the experience with a troublesome child is likely to be as irritating at home as it is in school.
F. LOUIS SOLDAN.
The following on a cognate theme is so well and truthfully said by the saine eminent authority that we cannot refrain from presenting it :-
The Principal's Relation to the Community. The popularity of the school should be one of the great aims of every principal. If his school is looked upon with favor by the people of his district, he helps the public school cause: his own work and that of his teachers will be more successful and less burdensome. The control of the children will be easy and efficient, for the popularity of a school means the hearty co-operation of the parents with the measures adopted for its conduct. The patrons believe in him, and they are ready to believe in what he does. It means the very desirable active support of the system of public schools by the citizens in the district.
Every principal can help the Board of Education by endeavoring to make his school a favorite with the people, which is the natural position for any public school to occupy. Our people believe in public education and cherish it. Where a school is not popular, the probable reason is usually some mistake of omission or commission in its management.
The best and most direct way to make a school popular is to make it -efficient in instruction and discipline. Efforts in this direction are sure to find their reward in public appreciation. If, in addition to this, a prin- cipal makes good use of those opportunities of forming the acquaintance of the citizens of his district, which his daily vocation offers, and thus "keeps in friendly touch with the people, if he makes it the rule of his own and the teachers' management to cultivate, studiously and systematically, pleasant relations with parents, it will certainly lead to that kind of popu- larity which is desirable. By this treatment of parents the principal can make friends not only for himself, but for the Board of Education and the public school system of the city. It is neither necessary nor possible for
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him to comply with every demand that is made on him, but even a re- fusal can be put in such a form that it appeals to the good will of the peti- tioner. Every parent must be made to feel absolutely sure of a courteous and respectful hearing when he calls at a public school, and even an angry parent should be received with good-natured patience and forbearance. Every visitor should leave with the impression that the school is officered by serious-minded men and women, who have the interest of the children at heart.
Principal and teachers should make it their aim to please the parents. This does not at all mean that the principal should allow his school to- become lax in discipline, or that he should be irresolute in dealing with refractory pupils, or should be accommodating and time-serving when un- reasonable demands are made on him; politic weakness is sure to result. in loss of public confidence and respect. A weak man or woman cannot be an efficient principal. Our community does not wish that bad boys. should grow up uncorrected. What is required of the principal is strict attention to his business, a certain kindliness of disposition towards chil- dren and parents, and the manifest wish to satisfy just demands.
Past School Boards. On subsequent pages of this report will be found the names of ninety-one citizens, to whom, under our first charter, has been entrusted the grave responsibility of ad- ministering the educational affairs of Somerville for the last twenty-eight years. Thirty-seven of them have been ex-officio members of the board. Ten mayors, serving, on the average, two and four-fifths years each, and twenty-eight presidents of the- Common Council, only one of whom served more than one year.
Oi the remaining sixty-two who were elected members of the board, ten have been chosen by Ward 1, the average term of service being eight and two-fifths years; one woman and eight- een men have represented Ward 2, the period of service being- four and two-fifths years; seventeen men and one woman have been elected from Ward 3, each serving, on the average, four and two-thirds years; and the representatives of Ward 4 include twelve men and three women, five and three-fifths years being the- average length of service. Twenty-one, one-third of the entire number, served less than a single term, sixteen others had less. than two terms of service, ten were in office two terms, and the remaining fifteen served the city from seven years to twenty years each. Of the fifty-seven men, thirty have been chosen from the professions, twelve physicians, ten lawyers, six ministers, two. teachers.
This list is published, not to gratify idle curiosity, but to pre- serve in permanent form the names of citizens to whom the pres- ent and the future must alike acknowledge their indebtedness for- the schools, which are at once a source and an index of the city's. prosperity.
There is too little recognition in the community of the obli -- gations we are under to citizens who render gratuitous and ex- acting service in the public interest. It is easier to criticise than to approve. Results are accepted as a matter of course, while the thought, the time, the labor expended in securing them are little- realized. The task of managing a complex school system, with
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all the momentous interests involved in it, is one demanding the. best efforts of unselfish men. The city has no more sacred trust to commit to official hands. The state has guarded this trust by conferring unusual powers and wide discretion. The best men- everywhere and always, irrespective of partisan preference, should be chosen to administer it. That this principle has been carefully observed by the citizens of Somerville the list of names to which reference has been made gives ample proof. It is indicative of an intelligent appreciation of what is right and proper that our schools have thus far been kept free from political and sectarian influences, and that their management has been committed to. men of sound judgment, clear knowledge of our educational needs and the best means to secure them, independent and wise in the discharge of their duties, ready and willing to give liber- ally of their time and labor in loyal fidelity to the vital interests- entrusted to them.
Well shall it be for our city if, in this respect, the past shall be prophetic of the future. If only men of integrity, official purity, and unswerving loyalty to the public good are charged with the responsibilities of government; if citizens shall confide their highest interests only to faithful and competent men; if these men shall commit the education of our youth only to trained, sympathetic, discreet, enthusiastic, aspiring teachers,. who not only point upward, but lead the way ; if the public purse and the public heart shall always be open to furnish the material and moral support essential to success ; and if there shall be vital union and hearty co-operation between the schools and the home, the church, the press, and whatever else makes for right thinking and right living ; then, indeed, shall our city continue to be the abode of an intelligent, virtuous, and prosperous people.
In conclusion, the Superintendent wishes publicly to recog- nize the zeal and fidelity with which supervisors, principals, and teachers have labored in the discharge of their exacting duties, and to extend his thanks to the members of the board for the kind forbearance and hearty support accorded him during another year- of service.
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