USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1912 > Part 13
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Four girls were engaged as accommodators at Thanks- giving and Christmas, and ten dollars was earned by them on those days. One girl is acting as waitress at noon at a boarding house near the school, and four have worked for a time in a department store for the necessary experience to be gained by an insight in store routine. Some girls have been placed permanently. One is in a restaurant for women on full time work, and is doing very well. Several have gone out to work with dressmakers; one has been given a permanent position in the millinery department of a department store.
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
In the spring several of the girls from the dressmaking and millinery classes will be placed in permanent positions, and some, who need additional school work, will be placed at part time.
The work of the Vocational Counselor has been of the greatest importance as connecting the school, the home, and the work shop. All the homes are visited, and a better under- standing of the school and its aims has been the result. The schools are visited and the children told of this new form of education and what it will mean to them. The workshops are visited and records kept of each one, the kinds of work offered, sanitary conditions, wages, and opportunities for advancement. When the time comes to place the girl the Vocational Counselor endeavors to find the right place for each girl-following her placement to see that there is satisfaction for both the employer and employee. The Vocational Counselor also investigates opportunities open to girls other than the needle trades, and as occasion arises girls are recommended to these positions.
A physical examination has been given to each girl by a woman physician, and as a result of this examination one girl was referred to an alienist, three were found to have heart trouble that meant avoiding violent exercise, two were referred to the Massachusetts General Hospital for special advice, one of these being compelled to leave school and take special corrective exercises there, and girls with eye and teeth troubles were sent to the special oculists or clinics.
Arrangements were made with the dentist at the Public School Dental Dispensary to have one morning every other week set aside at his office for the girls of the school who had no regular dentist, and this work for them has been most satisfactory.
The Students' Aid Fund was founded this year, its object being to help, by a temporary loan, any student needing medical advice or treatment. This fund was started by a small percent- age being taken from the money earned by the girls during school hours, and with their consent, and it has been added to since by the teachers. As there is no other money to be drawn on for this purpose it is hoped that interested persons will help keep this fund available.
At the noon recess there are three teams to play captain ball, and there are other games for those who cannot make the team. To make the team the pupils must stand well in all their work. There is a breathing space midway of the morning and afternoon periods, when all the girls play briskly for a few minutes.
This year classes in practical arts were started in the
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SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
evening at the Industrial School and Clark Bennett School. These courses in dressmaking, millinery, and cooking offer opportunity for the girl working at her trade during the day to take up advanced work along these same lines in the evening, and so advance more rapidly in her business. To the woman living at home these classes are also open, and it has been very gratifying to see the numbers increase to the full capacity of the school. These classes have been in session from October to March.
Respectfully submitted, MARY HENLEIGH BROWN,
. December, 1912.
Principal.
178
ANNUAL REPORTS.
REPORT OF THE SOMERVILLE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS, 1912-1913
Mr. Charles S. Clark,
Superintendent of Schools.
Dear Sir: The Industrial School for Boys, in the Davis School building on the corner of Tufts and Glen streets, East Somerville, is a part of the system of Somerville Public Schools.
One half the cost of maintaining this school is borne by the State of Massachusetts. This fact recommends the school as being well up to the standard established by the State for schools of this type, and taken together with the value of the products of the school itself, at market prices, makes the cost, to the city, of this more expensive education, compare favor- ably with that of other schools.
The aim of this school is vocational guidance for boys from fourteen to sixteen years of age. This aim includes the keeping up of the study of the "three R's" and other subjects essential to good citizenship. The school seeks not to imitate, but to express genuine conditions of life that call for the use of information in the subjects taught. Like the "quality of mercy" the essence of instruction also is not strained. Nothing is presented apart from its clearly reasonable and practical application.
Two trades are taught at present-the machinist trade and cabinetmaking. In either trade the boy, in accordance with his taste, may develop into a worker in heavy or light materials, or in coarse or fine products. He may become a builder of typewriters or of locomotives, a fine cabinetmaker or a house carpenter. Also, he may remain at the bench or become an engineer or an architect. Or he may decide to forsake the industries for the professions. All these possi- bilities are fully presented to the boys, and the individual boy is encouraged to investigate his own natural preferences.
Not the least important part of each day is the fifteen- minute parliament in the morning. All matters pertaining to the school, including improveinents and repairs, government of school, annual exhibitions, and athletics, are considered and disposed of in an efficient manner. Questions of politics, of capital and labor, of social propriety, in short, the spontaneous interest of actual emergencies in affairs, are freely discussed as they occur in the progress of "business."
The first graduating class (June, 1912,) numbered 13. Eight of these are engaged at trades begun in the school, and the others are working in industrial positions at an advantage due to their course in the school.
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SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
The school is now full, and has a waiting list. The limited capacity of the school prevents its growth, so that no great advance has been made in the membership since the first year. During the first year (1910-11) 67 boys enrolled, and 40, or 60 per cent., were on the roll in June. In the second year (1911-12), 77 enrolled, and 49, or 63.6 per cent., remained until the close of the year. This year 85 have enrolled, and the present membership is 56, or 64.7 per cent. of the enroll- ment. The average membership for this year to date has been 55.75.
It will be seen at once that many boys leave the school before the close of the course. It is fair to say that 75 per cent. of the total enrollment is made up of those who are unsettled as to their immediate future. They have for various reasons become dissatisfied with the long-established schools, and come to this school in the hope, but not with the certainty of finding what they need. The two lines of activity offered, though consisting of the two great trades, naturally do not meet the aptitudes and temperaments of all who apply for admission, nor is it possible for them or for the school to decide in many cases until after a trial, whether or not they are adapted to these pursuits. Characters and destiny are at best matters of conjecture at the age of fourteen.
Also, the school is as yet in its infancy, and so is not convincing to many who depend upon wide popularity and prestige for their guidance. Each year brings greater con- fidence, and the school is steadily gaining a representative constituency throughout the city.
It will be of interest to note the reasons why boys have left the school this year. Ten have been compelled to go to work to support themselves or parents. At least five of these are working at their own or kindred trades. The parents in several cases have noted marked development of mechanical ability, and have not been willing to wait for graduation before putting their boys to work. Two have moved away, and one of these is working at his trade in Waltham. Four have left to enter more advanced courses, or other lines of training. One of these is in Wentworth Institute, Boston. Another entered the Lynn apprentice school, but is now working in a market in Boston. Another withdrew to enter a technical school in Cambridge. These boys were at least sixteen years of age. Four others were consistently indolent, or totally indifferent after thorough trial. These were advised to find employment. Three of these did not prove their unfitness for this school until the second year. Some of our best boys have come into their own during their second year. It is hard to say who should remain and who go. Two were continuously
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
or frequently ill, and unsuited to inside work. A considerable number have little attention at home.
The nature of the work done in this school is shown by the kind and variety of the product. During the year the wood department has turned out cabinets of various kinds, book- cases, drawing boards, chairs, tables, umbrella stands, office desks, roll tops, a revolving bookcase, many and intricate wooden patterns. Interior alterations have been made in the building so as to completely transform the appearance and arrangement.
The machine department has about completed the work of rebuilding an automobile. It has a new drill press well under way. It has built two emery grinders, several grind- stone machines, and the wood shop transmission. It has done all its own repairing on machinery besides turning out much work for concerns in exchange for castings from our patterns.
The following simple statement shows the value at market prices of the commercially marketable labor which the boys have performed during the calendar year of 1912 (i.e., January 1, 1912, to January 1, 1913). In other words the articles upon which this labor was put were either ordered by patrons or by the city, or required for use in the school, and would have been bought in the open market if not made by the boys, so that the cost to the city was reduced by the amount of the difference between what it actually did pay for raw materials and what it would have paid for the finished articles. Private patrons paid their part of this difference, amounting for the year to $26.93, which money is used for purchasing more materials.
For the
Wood Department, 1912 $854 09
Machine Department, 1912 . 727 09
$1,581 18 Respectfully submitted,
E. MINOR MORSE, Principal.
December, 1912.
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SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
REPORT OF THE PRINCIPAL OF THE ATYPICAL CLASS.
Mr. Charles S. Clark, Superintendent of Schools,
Somerville, Mass.
Dear Sir: The class for atypical children which is held in the Bell School has its full membership of fifteen, five being new pupils. The ages of the children range from eight to fifteen years.
Progress in the regular studies is in many cases extremely slow, but under the individual teaching made possible by a small class each one progresses as fast as he is able. These children vary greatly in ability, from those who might easily pass for normal children down to those whose mentality is plainly below normal. In some of these cases, to attempt to teach the regular studies is manifestly a waste of time, since the little that has been so painfully won will inevitably slip away as soon as school days are over, leaving the child nothing to show for his time and labor, whereas if the same amount of time had been spent in industrial training he might have learned to do many useful things. Every child in the class has made progress along industrial lines, some of them gaining so steadily and surely as to give earnest of becoming capable of self-support when they reach maturity.
Examples Illustrating the Nature of the Work.
This is R. L.'s third year in the class. He is fifteen, with the mental capacity of a child of eight according to the Binet test. When he entered he could add a little, and knew parts of the multiplication table, but could neither substract, multiply, nor divide. He has now overcome all difficulties in subtraction, can multiply by three figures, and is doing and proving examples in long division. He could not or would not read, but now reads one or more paragraphs every day, with help. Can take dictation, a word at a time, if I let him spell each word orally. It is something new for him to be willing to attempt this. As he gains confidence in his power to accomplish he has fewer fits of temper, and more courage to attempt new things. He is less sullen and resentful in appearance, and sometimes is bright and cheerful. The teacher in whose class he was, three years ago, visited us the other day, and noticed the change in the boy. She spoke of his evident ability to occupy himself in his work, and was surprised to see him try to overcome for himself the difficulties that he met.
D. F. is a bright appearing boy of thirteen who entered "the class last September. His waywardness had caused his teachers and principal much annoyance. He could add, sub-
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
tract, and multiply examples of third grade A, with difficulty, but could not read or spell. He had little power of voluntary attention, so that he could not set himself to a task that was difficult and uninteresting. I let him begin long division to encourage him, and the thought that he is making progress helps him to hold his wavering attention to the point he is at work upon. He can now do and prove an easy example and frequently reminds me, when I praise him for it, that this is the first time he ever tried to do long division. He is trying hard (for him) to learn to read, and to write from dictation. Ile is so bright a boy in many ways that it is hard to think of his being handicapped through life by inability to read and write, but only time will tell whether it is really possible for him to learn or not. I do not yet see much improvement. He does excellent work in basketry and woodwork. He is ready, resourceful, and cheerful.
A. B., eleven, was at about the same point in his studies as D. F. when he entered the class two weeks later. His improvement has been more marked, both in arithmetic and reading. His gain in ability to make out words for himself is gratifying, and I have great hopes of teaching him to read. Although he had never done long division, he is now dividing by three figures, and seldom needs help on an example.
S. W., a little girl of eight, could not read a word, and could not combine numbers at all although she could count to ten when she entered in September. She was so nervous and rest- less that she could not fix her attention upon a word long enough to see how it really looked. Nothing that I gave her for occupation held her interest longer than a few seconds, except stringing beads and making paper chains, which she had learned to do in kindergarten. She was very noisy, often making guttural noises, humming or whistling, apparently unconscious of making any disturbance. Some days she has been so noisy and uncontrolled that I have sent her out to run around the building. She has gradually quieted down, and now enjoys doing the work given her. Sometimes it is tracing, Montessori fashion, a sand paper letter, then marking around a cardboard pattern of the same letter, filling ait in with colored crayon, then cutting it out to "take home to mamma." She has learned to do spool knitting, to weave a mat, and is learn- ing to outline. She takes about four stitches now correctly, then gets the work in a hopeless snarl, but even this shows progress in her case. She can combine numbers to five, and has learned to recognize ten words at sight. I expect to see great improvement in her by the end of the year.
A most interesting case is that of F. J., a boy of eleven, with a mentality of six years. For a year and a half he has had almost daily drill in the rudiments of reading and writing,
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SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
and has received much individual attention. He showed ap- parent progress last year when he became able to name twelve of the first grade words that were written on the blackboard, but it proved to be merely mechanical memory, as he was unable to tell a single word out of its regular order. He can write the words can, see, me, also his name. He has learned, with infinite patience on his part, to write his name without a copy (muscular memory), but if I ask him to write can he is just as likely to write see, and vice versa, since he cannot recognize these words by their printed or written forms. If I spell either of these two words for him he knows what it is, from having heard me spell it out probably some fifty times while guiding his hand in writing it. This is plainly one of those cases of which Dr. Goddard says: "When the part of the brain where word memories are located is injured the child cannot learn to read."
Great progress has been made in recent years in localizing our faculties in their corresponding brain areas. Dr. William Hanna Thompson gives some interesting examples of this in his book, "Brain and Personality," citing, for instance, the case of a patient of his who suddenly lost her ability to read, although her eyesight was unimpaired. A tiny blood clot clogged the artery that nourished that part of the brain, and from that time until her death, two years later, she was unable to read a word.
In the case of this boy who cannot recognize the simplest word at sight, after a year and a half of patient effort to learn, it is evident that the brain centre where word images are located is defective. Then is it not manifestly a waste of time to continue trying to teach him to read? He can do useful hand work in weaving, basketry, and chair-caning. He has some constructive ability, and is happy with hammer, nails, and wood, working out his ideas. Plainly, what this boy needs is training along concrete lines, in which alone he is capable of development.
Respectfully submitted, MARY A. HOLT,
Teacher of Atypical Class, Bell School.
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
REPORT OF THE SUPERVISOR OF MANUAL ARTS.
Mr. Charles S. Clark, Superintendent of Schools, Somerville :-
Dear Sir: The following is a brief description of the aims, work, and results accomplished in Manual Arts.
In February, 1911, the drawing and manual training were combined under the name of Manual Arts. After investigat- ing existing conditions, a course for the grades was adopted to suit the needs of the present school system. The course of study comprises a detailed outline for the nine grades with suggestions and illustrated data for the teachers. The aim of the course is to impart a general knowledge of the arts which will be of practical service to the pupils after they leave school, and at the same time assist them in the development of culture, refinement, and taste.
In the lower grades, correlation is emphasized, the draw- ing and constructive work being utilized as a help in other studies. "Centre work" is a strong feature of the course in the lower grades. This centre plan may be briefly described as follows: It provides certain topics in each of the grades, around which the work of the class is developed as long as the topic remains of interest.
In the upper grades the drawing is correlated with the different lines of handwork. The knife work of the boys in the sixth and seventh grades has been continued with a few changes, and much initiative work is beginning to show itself.
Classes for teachers in grade drawing and design and knife work have been held with good results. This work ought to be continued.
Three manual training centres are now in operation, a new course has been adopted, and the correlation of constructive drawing, language, arithmetic, geography, and spelling is now possible.
To obtain desired results the correlating of all classroom work with the boy's activities in the shops should be carried out as far as possible.
Special handwork, as basketry, weaving, booklet making, knife work, and cardboard construction, is carried on in certain grades below the sixth.
I believe handwork of many kinds could be carried along successfully through all the grades. This would necessitate a special teacher. Right here I wish to commend the teachers for their interest and co-operation in this new work.
In the High School several new courses have been adopted.
The Manual Arts for boys and the Household Arts for girls are briefly explained as follows :-
Work is planned for a four-years' course for boys and for girls with room and equipment for but two years.
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT. 185
In the Manual Arts for boys consideration is given to two important facts :-
1. The majority of high school graduates enter upon the work of some wage earning occupation.
2. Few, if any of those who enter high school know at the time of entrance what their future work is to be.
Therefore the work of the first two years is both cultural and industrial in character, and represents as many fundamental mechanical activities as our limited equipment affords. Hun- dreds of boys in the past have been unable to continue any form of handwork owing to the lack of facilities in the high school.
The work of the last two years should be specifically in- dustrial in character and should serve particularly the needs of those who will enter the industries.
The general aim of the Household Arts course is :-
1. To prepare the girl for practical home-keeping.
2. To develop efficiency through practice.
3. To show the girl how she may gain best results with the least expenditure of material, time, and money.
4. To teach the value of different foods, and to get the full value for money expended.
5. To raise the general standard of home-making by help- ing the girl to realize her part in the home life, her responsi- bility for the comfort and health of the immediate family, and thus, in a broader sense, of the community at large.
At present, a limited equipment of two years' work only is furnished.
With adequate equipment all the girls in the High School may pursue a short course in cookery and sewing.
At present our High School is mainly academic and voca- tional in but a small way. I believe there should be a voca- tional tendency in all branches.
If one is to receive a profitable return he must prepare particularly to do what is required of those engaged in that occupation. Inasmuch as a majority of those at any time en- rolled in the public schools must find a livelihood early in life, it is imperative that the public schools, even in the lower grades, offer an opportunity for vocational work.
Respectfully yours,
HARRY L. JONES.
December, 1912.
1
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ANNUAL REPORTS. -
STATEMENT CONCERNING THE CONDUCT OF SUMMER PLAY- GROUNDS, SEASON OF 1912.
The playground season for 1912 opened on Monday, July 8, with the following seven grounds in operation : Boys,- Lincoln Park, Kent street, City Field, Hodgkins School yard, Fellsway East, Joy street, and Glen street. Girls,-Perry School yard, Kent street, City Field, Hodgkins School yard, Broadway park, Davis School yard, Bennett School yard, and Central Hill Park. The playgrounds at the Prospect Hill School yard and the Morse School yard were not opened.
The Central Hill, Bennett School yard, and Kent street, for girls, Fellsway East, Kent street, and Joy street, for boys, were new grounds.
After a season of eight weeks the work of the playgrounds was brought to a close with an athletic meet for boys on Lincoln Park and with a playground festival for girls. The boys' athletic meet included contests between baseball teams representing the several field and track events in which in- dividual representatives from the several grounds took part.
The playground festival was held on Central Hill on Wednesday, August 28. More than 1,000 children from the various playgrounds took part in the games and dances. Music was furnished by Teel's band. A new feature of the playgrounds activities this year was the operation of shower baths in the Clark Bennett schoolhouse.
The following table shows the receipts and expenditures for the conduct of the playgrounds work during 1912.
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SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
Receipts and Expenditures, 1912.
Amount appropriated by City Government
$2,500 00
Revenue from baths
Paid for salaries of supervisors and in- structors
$1,390 00
Paid for equipment :- - Teeters, swings, giant strides, etc., including material used for installing
$385 45
Trees
16 00
Teaming
32 53
Labor
31 86
465 84
Athletic supplies :-
Baseballs, bats, basket balls,
volley balls, indoor base- balls, etc.
$170 68
Medals, etc. .
15 65
186 33
Band for Festival
70 40
Baths :-
Salaries of bath attendants .
$133 92
Supplies, including launder- ing
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