USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1907 > Part 15
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At the present time our manual training follows a two- years' course, to which are devoted six periods each week, or, in - actual time, four hours, twelve minutes, with an additional three periods, or two hours, six minutes, for mechanical drawing, this drawing being compulsory for pupils electing this course.
The time during these two years is divided between the sev- eral subjects as follows :-
190
ANNUAL REPORTS.
FIRST YEAR.
Weeks.
SECOND YEAR. Weeks.
Joinery
27
Wood turning
19
Clay modeling
4
Pattern making.
17
Wood carving
9
Foundry practice 4
First Year Course. Although the term "joinery" is used to describe our first year wood work, it does not begin to explain the number or nature of processes which have to be worked out by the individual pupil. Beginning with the study of simple measuring and marking, he works his way through the following steps : sawing, planing, boring, laying out of curves, construc- tion of different kinds of joints, such as the halved, mortise and tenon, dovetail and glue joints, and lastly, the construction of some project requiring the assembling of several parts,-such as a chair or table.
Clay modeling as done in connection with the other work in this department acts as an aid to the carving, in that it trains the eyes and fingers to recognize form and relief. It is one of the strongest factors in connection with a manual training course in that it develops to a greater extent than any other sub- ject the artistic as well as the manual sense. In this course each pupil makes a model of a cube of conventional and natural leaves, and an original tile from which he makes a plaster mould and cast.
After modeling with clay, the pupil turns to modeling in wood; i. e., wood carving. This is started in the simplest form by chip carving, and after that the different styles of carving follow.
Second Year Course. The second year starts with a very dif- ferent line of work, in that it gives the pupil his first insight into the use of machinery, for in wood turning he must use the lathe. This work is begun by first giving a careful explanation of the lathe and then requiring full explanatory notes and drawings from the pupil. After this preliminary knowledge, the pupil proceeds with the course prescribed, cutting straight and taper cylinders, making oblique, concave, and convex cuts, and demon- strating the use of the skew chisel, gouge, and parting tool. Screw chuck and face plate work are also given, taking the form of a finished exercise, such as the candlestick, which is completed even to its polishing on the lathe.
The next division of the course, pattern making, brings the pupil nearer to the industrial idea than any one of the subjects thus far treated, and the training in accuracy, craftsmanship, and clear thought is of the very highest order. At the beginning, the pupil is taught an appreciation for labor by a thorough ex- planation of what the term "pattern maker" means, and led to see the accurate knowledge of drawing, geometry, and advanced mathematics which such a trade requires.
Lathe
Heard Stock
LiveCenter
Dead Copter
Tarl Stor X.
Rest
Head Stocks
Bearin Come Pulley Spindle. Rive Center Face Plate. Screw Chuck
Rest.
(Slide Jool Rest Clamp Handle.
Parts of the Lathe
Spindle Screw Jail Stock& Crank Clamping dever, Dead Center [Cup center Cone center
Bed, Shears. Bed.
The lathe is driven by a belt from the counter- shaft and the counter shaft by a belt from the main shaft. The speed of the battle for smal work should be at least 2000 revolutions por mim
SECOND YEAR NOTE BOOK.
191
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
The course itself includes the making of different styles of patterns, such as the two-part pattern, and patterns that require core prints or wired pieces, with special thought regarding the draft, shrinkage, and finish of the castings made from such pat- terns.
Accompanying this pattern work is a course in foundry practice. This gives the pupil an opportunity, first to under- stand the use and value of a pattern and to realize the importance of draft, and second, to teach the practical side of the work in the actual making of metal castings. During the work on moulds the use of the flask, rammer, sprue, slickers, gate cutter, and trowel are all taught in their proper places, together with the use of green sand and baked cores.
This outlines the course as it exists at present. We could do vastly more for our pupils, however, if a four-years' course could be established to include forging and machine tool work for the boys and domestic science for the girls. What we need in this city is not a separate industrial school, but such ac- commodations and extension of this department as will enable us to cover thoroughly the subjects ordinarily taught in a school of this size.
FREDERICK O. SMITH.
Head of Manual Training Department, English High S.hocl.
1
1
ANNUAL REPORTS.
192
AMENDMENTS TO THE RULES OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE. MADE SINCE THE PRINTING OF THE LAST EDITION OF THE RULES.
Regulations for Licensing Minors Under Fourteen Years of Age.
SECTION 167. No minor under the age of fourteen years shall, in any street or public place of the city of Somerville, work as a bootblack, or sell or expose for sale any books, newspapers, pamphlets, fuel, fruits, provisions, ice, live animals, brooms, agricultural implements, hand tools used in making boots and shoes, agricultural products of the United States, or the products of their own labor or the labor of their families, unless he has a minor's license issued to him by the superintendent of schools of said city, for so working or for so selling said articles, nor un- less he complies with the terms of said license.
SECT. 168. The principal of the school in which a minor under the age of fourteen years is a pupil shall receive the ap- plication, in duplicate, of the parent or guardian of such minor, or next of kin, for a license for such minor to work as a boot- black, or to sell any or all the articles enumerated in the preced- ing section, and shall forward the same to the Superintendent of Schools, accompanied by the certificate of the teacher in whose class said minor may be, and of the said principal, that such minor is an attendant at such school and that they approve of the granting of a license to said minor. When the Superin- tendent authorizes the issue of a license, he shall return to said principal one of said duplicate applications, for filing, retaining the other, and shall issue said license to such minor authorizing said minor to go about from place to place in the city of Somer- ville and on the sidewalks in said city to sell newspapers, or to work as a bootblack, or in the streets and other public places in said city to sell any or all of the other articles enumerated in the preceding section, and shall provide such minor with a suitable badge, for which a charge of twenty cents shall be made. Every such license shall be issued and accepted on the condition that the minor shall comply with the conditions of his license as con- tained in the following section, and said section shall be printed in the license.
SECT. 169. The minor shall conform to the statutes and the Regulations of the School Committee of Somerville; shall, so long as he continues under the age of fourteen years, attend, during every session thereof, one of the public schools, or some regularly established school in the city of Somerville : shall sur- render his license and badge when notified that his license has been revoked, to the principal aforesaid, who shall return the same immediately to the Superintendent; shall not transfer or
·
193
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
lend his license or badge, nor furnish any unlicensed minor with newspapers or other articles to sell; shall not sell newspapers in or on any part of the street other than the sidewalk; shall not sell newspapers in or on a street car, nor, except on the days of national, state, or city elections, after 8 o'clock in the even- ing; shall not work as a bootblack, or sell newspapers, unless he is over eleven years of age; shall not sell any other article than newspapers, unless he is over twelve years of age; shall not at any time, while engaged in working as a bootblack, or selling articles in public places, congregate with other persons, nor make any unnecessary noise, nor in any way disturb or annoy persons as they pass, nor cry their papers on Sunday, nor occupy any stand with any other person, nor allow any unlicensed minor to assist or accompany him, nor allow idle persons to assemble or congregate around him, or around any stand occupied by him, nor so work or sell in any place other than that specified in his license, when a place is so specified, nor at any time, while so working or selling, fail to wear conspicuously in sight the badge furnished to him by said Superintendent, nor fail to exhibit his license to any police or other officer of said city if requested by him to do so. The Superintendent may suspend or revoke said license upon the violation of any of the conditions thereof, and the minor shall surrender his badge and will be subject to a fine.
AMENDMENTS CONCERNING THE EMPLOYMENT OF CADET TEACHERS ADOPTED DECEMBER, 1906.
SECTION 170. Before the opening of the schools in Septem- ber of each year the Committee on Text-Books and Courses of Study shall nominate for election by the Board not more than twelve women who shall be designated as cadet teachers, to serve for one year following their appointment, at a salary not to exceed $200 per year each.
To be eligible for the position of cadet teacher, the candidate must be a graduate of one of the Somerville high schools, and also a graduate either of some state normal school or of some college having pedagogical courses, one or more of which courses the candidate must have taken.
SECT. 171. The cadet teachers shall be assigned by the Superintendent to an equal number of elementary schools, and the assignments shall be changed at the end of each term of thir- teen weeks, so that by the close of the school year each cadet teacher will have practiced under the direction and observation of three different principals in three different school buildings.
Cadet teachers shall receive guidance, instruction, and criti- cism from the principals of the schools in which they serve, ren- der assistance to class teachers or to individual pupils, and when-
194
1
ANNUAL REPORTS.
ever possible act as substitutes in the absence of regular teachers. They shall receive no increase of pay when acting as substitutes.
SECT. 172. Such of these cadet teachers as secure the rec- ommendation of three out of four of the following officials: the three principals under whom they have served during their cadet year and the Superintendent of Schools, shall be eligible as grade teachers.
The following amendments to the Rules were adopted De- cember, 1906 :-
On page 6, insert as the twenty-first standing committee "(21) On Medical Inspection."
On page 12, add as Section 32b the following :-
SECTION 32b. The Committee on Medical Inspection of the schools shall advise and co-operate with the Board of Health in all matters pertaining to the medical inspection of the schools. They shall see that all orders and requests of said Board are properly executed by teachers. The annual test of the sight and hearing of pupils required by Statute shall be made by teachers under direction of this committee.
The following sentence was added to Section 80 of the Rules :-
They shall see that fire drills are practiced in their respective buildings at least once in every two weeks, provided that the weather conditions are suitable.
Section 44 of the Rules was amended by making the first sentence of the second paragraph to read as follows. Adopted April, 1907 :-
He shall annually publish and send to each member of the Board a complete list of all books, charts, maps, and globes with the number of each kind belonging to the city.
195
SCHEDULE OF SALARIES AS ESTABLISHED JANUARY 1, 1908.
.
YEAR.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Head Master.
$2,300
$2,400
$2,500
$2,600
$2,700
$2,800
$2,900
$3,00€
....
1,800
1,850
1,900
1,950
2,000
Sub-Masters.
1,000
1,200
1,300
1,400
1,500
1,600
1,700
Junior Sub-Masters ..
1,000
1,050
1,100
1,150
1,200
1,250
1,300
....
...
n First Assistants ..
1,000
1,050
1,100
1,150
1,200
Second Assistants.
900
950
1,000
·
....
....
...
....
Third Assistants ..
650
700
750
800 by vote.
....
....
....
.. .
....
TEACHERS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
Masters . . ..
$1,500
$1,550
$1,600
$1,650
$1,700
$1,750
$1,800
.$1,850
$1,900
Masters' Assistants.
700
725
750
775
. . ..
. .
..
.....
. .
..
. .
200
275
350
425
..
... .
..
..
Principals, 12-room buildings ...
800
850
900
950
1,000
Principals, 10-room buildings ..
750
800
850
900
950
Principals, 8-room buildings.
750
800
850
900
....
....
..
..
675
725
775
...
....
....
..
.
Teachers of Music in high school and upper grammar grades ..
$1,200
$1,300
$1,400 900
$1,500
$1,600
$1,700
Supervisor of Music in lower grades.
700
800
800
900
550
900 1,000 600
1,100 650
.... 1,200 700
1,300
$1,400
$1,500
Sewing Teachers. ..
H Manual Training Teachers ..
1,100
...
....
....
. .
....
....
MISCELLANEOUS.
Temporary Substitutes in grades below the ninth ..
Temporary Substitutes in high schools, ninth grades, or for principals.
Substitutes for Masters or Sub-Masters ..
First Truant Officer. ..
800
900
1,000
....
..
..
.... $2,700
$2,800
$2,900
$3,000
Superintendent's Clerk.
600
650
700
.... 2,500 750
$2,600
...
. .
..
. .
..
...
.
....
. .
Fourth Assistants ..
As may
be determined
675
700
725
Head Kindergartners ..
300
375
450
525
600
....
700
First eight grades ..
300
375
450
525
600
650
Ninth grade
..
...
..
. .
..
.
$1.50
to
$2.50
....
.. .
....
....
3.00
per day. per day. per day. 1,100
. ..
.
....
Second Truant Officer.
50
Superintendent of Schools.
2,200
2,300
2,400
1,000
Supervisor of Drawing. ..
700
Supervisor of Penmanship ..
800
500
775
825
Principals, 6 room buildings ..
725
Principals, 4-room buildings.
SPECIAL
TEACHERS.
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
TEACHERS IN HIGH SCHOOLS.
Master
..
.. .
...
....
....
.. .
850
900
....
... .
.
625
650
Assistants not in charge of room ..
....
....
....
...
....
..
.
...
..
5.00
196
ANNUAL REPORTS.
ORGANIZATION OF SOMERVILLE SCHOOLS.
Information concerning our schools is frequently sought by citizens or by educators in other localities. Following are the principal facts concerning them :-
Kindergartens. The city supports four kindergartens, in the Hanscom, Bennett, Baxter, and Glines Schools. Vaccinated children between four and five years of age are admitted to the kindergarten nearest their residence during the months of Sep- tember and April, and may remain until the July following their fifth birthday. Sessions from 9 to 11.45.
Head kindergartners receive $600. One trained assistant is allowed when the number exceeds thirty, at a salary of $275, $350, or $425, according to experience. Kindergarten teachers give five hours daily to their work, the afternoon being employed in visitation, preparation, mothers' meetings, and the like.
Primary Schools. Our elementary school course covers nine years, the first three of which are spent in primary schools. We have one exclusively primary school building, the ninety-three primary classes being distributed among twenty-three school- houses.
Vaccinated children five years of age, or who will reach that age on or before the first day of October, are admitted during the month of September only, provided they have never attended school before. Children able to enter existing classes will be ad- mitted at any time. Applications for admission should be made to the principal of the school.
Only trained or experienced teachers are employed, the sala- ries being $300, $375, $450, $525, $600, $650, or $700, according to length of service. Normal training is equivalent to a year's experience, and experience in other places may be counted in determining salary.
Teachers of any grade, with classes numbering fifty, are al- lowed an assistant at the option of District Committees, who is paid $200, $275, $350, or $425, according to years of service.
Grammar Schools. The grammar grades are found chiefly in twelve large buildings, of twelve or more rooms each. The course covers six years, and includes only those studies which the statute requires, with the addition of music, sewing, elemen- tary science, and sloyd manual training in the two upper grades.
The salaries of grammar school teachers are the same as those of primary teachers. Masters are paid $1,900, and their assistants $775. Other ninth-grade teachers are paid $725. Principals of smaller schools receive $775, $825, $900, $950, or $1,000.
Promotions. Promotions in all grades, from the first to the thirteenth, are made in June by the regular teacher and the prin-
197
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
cipal, with the approval of the Superintendent and district com- mittee. They are based on the estimate of the pupil's daily work made by the teacher and recorded bi-monthly. . An occasional brief, unannounced, written test is a factor in this estimate.
Where there is reasonable doubt of a student's fitness, he may be promoted on a trial of three months. In such cases the parent is notified and kept informed of his child's progress. At the end of this probationary period he may be returned to his former grade, provided it seems for his interests. In 1907 eleven per cent. of those promoted on trial fell back.
Children capable of more rapid advancement may be pro- moted one or more grades at any time. Forty-nine were thus promoted in 1907.
Fitness for graduation or for admission to the high schools is determined in precisely the same way. Diplomas are given in grammar and high schools to those who have satisfactorily com- pleted full courses.
Latin High School. In September, 1895, in the forty-third year of its existence, the Somerville High School was divided, the classical, or college preparatory, departments remaining in the old building, erected in 1872, and the English departments occupying a new building, erected in 1894-'95.
Some facts concerning the Latin School are presented in the following table :-
School Year.
Average Number Belonging.
Number Entering.
Gradu- ates.
Cost of Instruction.
Per Capita Cost.
Teachers.
Pupils to Teacher.
1895-6
257
69
50
$11,702
$45.57
9
28.6
1896-7
262
81
51
11,840
45.19
9
29.1
1897-8
273
86
55
11,921
43.67
9
30.3
1898-9
264
78
51
11,935
45.21
9
29.3
1899-0
245
65
48
12,491
50.98
9
27.2
1900-1
271
104
56
12,676
46.74
9
30.0
1901-2
314
114
56
12,583
40.13
10
31.4
1902-3
358
125
46
14,170
39.58
11
32.5
1903-4
398
122
73
16,104
40.46
13
30.6
1904-5
411
138
76
16,566
40.31
13
31.6
1905-6
431
135
81
16,991
39.42
14
30.8
1906-7
425
122
75
19,243
45.20
15
28.5
The object of the school is, primarily, to furnish a suitable preparation for those pupils who desire to pursue either a regu- lar or a special course of study at higher institutions of learning, but the school is open to all pupils who wish to take the courses of study offered.
198
ANNUAL REPORTS.
The regular time for completing the course is four years. Pupils, at the request of their parents, can make the work of each year easier by taking five years for the course. Those who are capable, and have good reason for shortening the time of prepa- ration, are allowed to complete the course in as short a time as their ability will permit.
Graduates of grammar schools are admitted to either high school on presenting a certificate of qualification signed by a inaster. All other pupils are admitted by an examination in grammar school studies, given usually on the day preceding the opening of the schools in September.
The tuition for non-residents is the per capita cost for the year, payable in advance. The sessions of the school are from 8.30 to 1.30. The salaries paid high school teachers range from $900 to $1,200 for women and from $1,000 to $3,000 for men.
COURSE OF STUDY IN THE LATIN HIGH SCHOOL.
FIRST YEAR .- CLASS I.
Lalin .- First lessons, with translation of easy Latin prose, and introduction to Caesar. Mathematics .- Elementary algebra through quadratic equations. History .- Ancient history, with historical geography.
English .- Introduction to English literature, with special study of works of American authors. Rhetoric and Eng- lish composition.
Elective Drawing.
SECOND YEAR .- CLASS II.
Latin .- Easy Latin prose, with four books or less of Caesar's Gallic War. Latin prose composition.
Mathematics .- Plane geometry.
English .- English literature, including part of the works pre- scribed in the requirements for admission to college. Rhetoric and English composition.
One of the three following languages :-
1. Greek .- First lessons, with translation of easy Greek prose and introduction to Anabasis.
2. German .- First lessons, with translation of easy German. German conversation and written composition.
3. French .- First lessons, with translation of easy French. French conversation and written composition.
One of these languages may also be elective. Elective Drawing.
THIRD YEAR .- CLASS III.
Latin .- Selections from Sallust, Nepos, Caesar, and Ovid. Aeneid, four books. Cicero, three orations.
Mathematics .- Algebra reviewed and completed to satisfy the re- quirements for admission to college.
1
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
199
History .- History of Greece and Rome. Ancient geography. English .- English literature, including part of the works pre- scribed in the requirements for admission to college. Rhetoric and English composition.
Elective Physics .- Elementary principles, with experiments and a course of laboratory exercises Friday afternoons dur- ing the year.
One of the three following languages :-
1. Greek .- Selections from Anabasis, Hellenica, and other Greek prose. Greek prose composition.
2. German .- Translation of German prose and poetry, with con- versation and written composition. Grammar.
3. French .- Translation of French prose and poetry, with con- versation and written composition. Grammar.
One of these languages may also be elective. Elective Chemistry.
Elective Drawing.
FOURTH YEAR .- CLASS IV.
Latin .- Aeneid, five books. Ovid, 2,000 lines. Cicero, six ora- tions. Latin prose composition.
Mathematics .- Review of plane geometry, with original demon- strations and solutions of problems. Elective solid geometry.
English .- English literature, including the remainder of the works prescribed in the requirements for admission to college. Rhetoric and English composition. Two of the three following languages :-
1. Greek .- Seven books of Iliad and Odyssey. Selections from more difficult Greek prose. Greek prose composi- tion.
2. German .- Elementary German for beginners. Advanced German for those who have studied the language earlier in the course.
3. French .- Elementary for beginners. Translation of simple prose and poetry, with conversation and written com- position as a preparation for translation at sight of easy French into English and English into French. Grammar. Advanced French for those who have studied the language earlier in the course.
Elective Chemistry.
Elective Drawing.
There is practice in sight reading in all the languages each year.
Advanced French, advanced German, advanced mathe- matics, and chemistry may be substituted for a part of the Latin, a part or a whole of the Greek.
There are exercises in debate during the whole course in English.
200
ANNUAL REPORTS.
In each language there are five recitations a week during the year.
Special courses are marked out to meet the wants of those pupils who desire special preparation for special courses in col- lege or professional schools.
English High School. This school was organized in Septem- ber, 1895. Information concerning it is found in the following table :-
School Year.
Average Number Belonging.
Number Entering.
Gradu- ates.
Cost of Instruction.
Per Capita Cost.
Teachers.
Pupils to a Teacher.
1895-6
456
213
67
$20,102
$44.13
21
21.7
1896-7
531
235
70
23,010
43.33
21
25.3
1897-8
535
224
75
24,843
46.44
22
24.3
1898-9
575
231
86
26,159
45.49
23
25.0
1899-0
669
316
83
31,322
46.82
27
24.8
1900-1
691
249
97
32,739
47.35
30
23.0
1901-2
738
294
108
35,989
48.74
34
21.7
1902-3
747
264
135
36,843
49.32
33
22.6
1903-4
72
264
106
36,426
50.04
33
22.1
1904-5
784
339
135
39,634
50.56
33
23.8
1905-6
893
378
127
39,823
44.60
35
25.5
1906-7
994
402
148
42,862
43.12
39
25.5
The course of study covers four years. Graduates are ad- mitted to special courses when the conditions are favorable. Candidates for technical and normal schools take specific pre- paratory work.
-
1
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
201
COURSE OF STUDY, ENGLISH HIGH SCHOOL.
FIRST YEAR.
SECOND YEAR.
REQUIRED STUDIES.
POINTS.
REQUIRED STUDIES.
POINTS,
English Ancient History Algebra Elocution Freehand Drawing
Ethics Music Science
. .
. .
Ethics (2) Music (2)
ELECTIVE STUDIES.
ELECTIVE STUDIES.
French
5
French (2)
German Latin
5
German (2) Latin (2)
Botany 1 Biology
5 Manual Training (2)
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