USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1915 > Part 8
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1916-B or IVa Class 22
1917-A or IIIb Class 10
1917-B or IIIa Class 28
1918-A or IIb Class 18
1918-B or Ila Class 25
1919-A or Ib Class .... 27
1919-B or Ia Class. 37 .
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117
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
The Commercial Course has two divisions-the four year course and the two year course. The four year course gives a general commercial training with special emphasis on office practice or stenography as the pupil may elect. There are in this course 966 pupils, as follows :-
Graduate Students 6
Class of 1916-A or IVb Class 47
1916-B or IVa Class. 115
1917-A or IlIb Class. 49
1917-B or IIIa Class 129
1918-A or Ilb Class 57
1918-B o Ila Class. 179
1919-A or Ib Class. 104
1919-B or Ia Class
280
The two year course gives a brief course in the rudiments of business practice. This course comprises eighty-seven pupils, with the following division by classes :-
Class of 1918-A or IIb Class 15
1918-B or IIa Class. 25
1919-A or Ib Class 17
1919-B or Ia Class. 30
The Manual Arts Course is divided into two groups-the Manual Training Course for boys and the Household Arts Course for girls. The courses are not designed to teach spe- cial trades, but to aid in general training along trade or wage- earning lines, at the same time to offer opportunity for spe- cialization. The pupil obtains a knowledge of, and a certain power in the work in which he will probably engage. It is the aim to teach the fundamental principles of industry and household activities. This course comprises eighty-five pupils divided as follows :-
Class of 1916-B or IVa Class
6
1917-B or IIIa Class.
13
191S-B or Ila Class
26
1919-A or Ib Class
8
1919-B or la Class.
32
The work of the entire school is distributed by subjects as follows :-
Subject.
No. of Teachers.
No. of Pupils. 2114
Number Last Year.
Increase.
English
14
1902
212
History and Civics
13
1620
1422
198
Mathematics
9
943
1058
-115
Elocution
1
657
563
94
Chemistry
3
282
188
94
Physics
2
102
102
General
Science.
1
47
76
-29
Biology
1
57
47
10
Physical Geography.
1
23
19
4
Physiology
1
55
86
-31
Latin
8
541
498
43
118
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Subject.
No. of Teachers.
No. of Pupils.
Number Last Year.
Increase
Greek
2
25
33
-8
French
7
684
593
91
German
6
420
450
-30
Spanish
5
295
260
35
Manual Training
3
250
207
43
Mechanical Drawing
2
406
253
153
Freehand Drawing.
2
327
279
48
Cooking
2
78
77
1
Dressmaking
1
107
177
-70
Bookkeeping
10
674
378
296
Arithmetic
8
400
534
.134
Penmanship
9
851
650
201
Commercial Law.
1
59
84
-25
Stenography
4
397
473
-76
Typewriting
2
452
546
-94
Commerce and Industry.
...
3
243
112
131
P
STATEMENT CONCERNING THE FORSTER INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL.
This school is established in the Forster School district and occupies the whole of a school building. It was estab- lished in September, 1914, in place of the regular seventh, eighth and ninth grade grammar school work. It has a capacity of 300 pupils.
Aim.
To permit and to assist each pupil :-
1. To determine the general line of work or study for which he is best fitted.
2. To form those habits of thought and action necessary to his largest success.
Organization.
Grades. Seventh, eighth and ninth.
Sessions. Two. 9.00 to 11.45 and 1.30 to 3.30.
Courses. Four, each including all the usual grammar school subjects, with cooking and sewing for girls, and car- pentry and printing for boys. In addition each course con- tains a special subject as follows: Preparatory, Latin ; com- mercial, bookkeeping and typewriting; household arts for girls and manual arts for boys, the manual subjects. Satis- factory completion of any course admits to the high school or the vocational schools.
Choice of Course. Not controlled in any degree by the teacher. If the first choice proves unwise after a faithful trial for one semester, a change is permitted.
Program. A. M. Recitations and teaching exercises in arithmetic, composition or grammar, history or geography, spelling or penmanship, and literature. Preparatory and com- mercial pupils have one forenoon weekly for the manual sub- jects, boys and girls of a given class on different days.
P. M. Latin. bookkeeping. drawing, music, hygiene, and independent study. Household arts and manual arts course pupils spend one hour upon those subjects.
Program periods : 30 minutes.
Special Subjects. Latin, bookkeeping and typewriting are taught by high school methods and with same books as used in the high school. Typewriting is taught by the touch sys- tem. The commercial pupils conduct the Forster School Sav- ings Bank, handling nearly $2,000 a year. Practical cooking and sewing are taught. Carpentry consists of model making for training in the use of tools, and furniture making for school and for home use. Painting and repairing are inci- dental to the various jobs. The print shop supplies much of the printed matter used by the School Department.
120
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Study. Provision for supervised but not directed study each afternoon prepares for high school responsibility.
Teachers. Seventh grades form a two-teacher depart- mental unit, and the eighth and ninth grades a four-teacher nnit in the usual grammar school studies, thus preparing for the high school plan of organization.
Credits. Credit is given on entrance to the High School for one year's work in Latin or bookkeeping and typewriting, and the pupils enter second year classes in these subjects.
Promotion. By subjects, giving fullest recognition to in- dividual pupil's strength or weakness.
Not a Trade School. The several manual subjects are taught not as trades, but to determine whether a pupil is more likely to be successful in an occupation that emphasizes manual skill. The subjects are taught as a means rather than as an end.
Place in School System. A combination of the elementary and the high school in methods and subjects; it recognizes the changing interests of the adolescent period and points the pupil to the high or to the vocational schools.
A Few Results. A conspicuous increase of interest, self respect, personal responsibility, and industry ; a loss of less than one per cent. of pupils for reasons other than graduation or change of residence ; a great decrease in retardation; the continuing in school of every graduate.
STATEMENT CONCERNING THE ORGANIZATION, EQUIP- MENT, AND COURSES OF INSTRUCTION OF THE SOMERVILLE VOCATIONAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS.
State Aided.
The school occupies a two-story building situated on Tufts street. The entire building is devoted to the work; two rooms for wood work, two rooms for machine work, and one classroom.
Sixty-six boys can be accommodated, the maximum capacity of the school. These boys are drawn largely from the eighth and ninth grades of this city, and adjoining towns and cities.
The faculty consists of a director, two instructors in machine work, one in cabinet work, one in house carpentry, one classroom teacher, and one clerical assistant.
The school hours are from 8.30 A. M. to 4.00 P. M. with one hour's recess at noon.
The aim of the school is to train for a specific trade and to give to boys of fourteen years of age and over a two years' training in machine shop work, cabinet work, and house car- pentry such as will enable them to find employment as ap- prentices in the lines for which they have been trained.
In addition to the industrial work, physical welfare, citi- zenship, and a small amount of direct cultural education are given.
Each instructor in the school is expert in the trade he teaches and has spent several years working at his trade in large shops and factories.
As near as possible actual shop conditions are met with. The shops are equipped with the necessary machines for metal and woodworking. Commercial work of all kinds is handled in an educational manner, giving the boys an exceptional op- portunity for practical training.
General Plan of Course of Study.
Trade Department 12 Technical Subjects 78 %
1 Shop Practice
3 Related Subjects
General Subjects
4 General Vocational Subjects ( 22 %
Non-Vocational Subjects
The amount of time given to the different subjects is carried out in all departments. The trade and general related subjects are taught on specific industrial lines and through information and experience regarding each industry pursued.
ANNUAL REPORTS.
General Outline of Work in All Departments. (4 Days in the Shop, 2 Days in the Classroom.)
SHOP PRACTICE
40%
Trade Dept. Industrial Education
Technical Trade Subjects
Trade English Trade Literature Trade Materials Trade History Trade Hygiene Trade Science Trade Mathematics Shop Management Shop Drawing
?
>Shop Lectures
30%
General Applied Mechanics
Related Applied Mathematics Subjects Applied English
.8 %
Department General
Industrial History Industrial Geography Social Science
of General Subjects
Vocational Subjects
General English General Drawing
7%
Civics Ethics
General Non- General Hygiene
Vocational General Mathematics
Exercises and
Subjects
Physical Training / Outdoor Sports
15 %
Machine. The shop work in the different departments is as follows : General work, helping and tool room, bench work, work on speed lathe, drill press, sensitive drill, shaper, planer, milling machine, shop kinks, installation, inspection, super- vision, science, hardening and tempering, forging, sketching and drawing, mathematics and written work.
Cabinet. Work in hard and soft woods, wood finishing, glue work, pattern work, furniture making, work on band saw, circular saw, jointer, lathe, sketching and drawing, mathe- matics and written work.
Carpentry. Framing, rough construction, floor work, house carpentry, remodelling, preparing stock, glue work, finishing, joinery, band sawing, work on circular saw and planer, sketching and drawing, and written work.
The content of the technical trade subjects given by lec- tures and individual instruction is applicable to each phase of the industry followed by the pupil.
123
ŚĆHÓÓŁ DEPARTMENT.
Trade English. Terms of expression used in the trade, written and oral work on the operations performed.
Trade Literature. The reading of trade journals, hand books and catalogues on machine work and construction.
Trade Materials. Study and reading in connection with the particular materials used on the job.
Trade History. A short history, talk, or summary of the trade and processes. Difference between past and present day methods. Improvement in machines and tools, comparison of cost systems.
. Trade Hygiene. Subjects which relate to the physical well-being of the worker, danger points on machines, proper protection of the eyes, attention to proper clothing, safety study, a knowledge of occupational dangers and the right of the worker as to physical protection, proper ventilation and sanitary conditions.
Trade Science. The use of machines, the analysis of the job into operations, selection of proper stock, finishing, ac- curacy, etc. The composition of metals and woods, treatment of metals. hardening and tempering, proper care of machines, strength of materials, effects of temperature on glue and re- sults. lubrication, elementary laws of mechanics.
Shop Management. Methods of routing, checking and handling jobs, selection of equipment, inspection and check- ing work, looking after waste material, care of machines and belts, division of responsibility between superintendent, fore- man and workmen. How wages are paid, day, piece work and premium systems.
Shop Drawing. Based on the definition that a working drawing should be so drawn and dimensioned as will give all the information necessary in construction of machines, or parts of machines, freehand sketching of objects made, read- ing and working from simple to fairly complicated drawings. The use of blue-prints and properly prepared mechanical drawings.
Applied English. Written and oral work describing detail and processes, and finally complete work. Visits to shops and buildings for observation. and written themes on the visits.
Trade Mathematics. The use of arithmetic in connection with the carrying out of the work, study of the graduations on the scale, value of fractions and decimal equivalents, changing decimals to nearest fractional value, changing frac- tions to decimals. Figuring tap sizes, change of gears, gear cutting, taper work, angles, pulley speeds, milling machine indexing, cost of materials and production, figuring stock lists and quantities.
Trade Mechanics. Study of the simple forms of mechan- isms. The application of the principles of pulleys, cams,
124
ANNUAL REPORTS.
levers and screws. The study of the machines as a combina- tion of mechanisms, each of which may be doing a different kind of work, but the whole combination of mechanisms working together accomplishing some desired result. Study of structures, foundations suitable to carry loads. Function of floors, framework, walls and roofs.
Academic Department.
General Related Subjects.
APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND MECHANICS, 30 PER CENT.
Problems taken from the shop; from the project routing cards; from suggestions made by the principal and shop in- structor. Problems taken from textbooks on shop mathema- tics. Board measure; house building ; general constructions ; height of trees and other measurements ; pattern making and foundry work; speeds of pulleys, shafts and gears; cutting speeds and feeds. Thread proportions; gearing for screw cutting ; indexing. Gear proportions and spirals ; wheel and axle. The universal grinder and the gas engine. Levers.
APPLIED ENGLISH, 35 PER CENT.
The written word; based on jobs performed in the shop. Descriptions, narrations, expositions of jobs and particular operations entailed in jobs, tools, machines, etc. Themes relative to visits; to subjects in hygiene and civics; letter writing.
General Vocational Subjects. .
f. E INDUSTRIAL GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY, 5 PER CENT.
General geography as an introduction to the study of in- dustrial geography ; study of various metals and woods, and their uses. Trade history ; study of labor organization ; study of guilds; of the organization of labor in France under Louis XIV. History of inventions and development of machinery.
SOCIAL SCIENCE, 5 PER CENT.
Problems of transportation; problems of food supply ; problems of water supply; problems of fire protection ; problems in safety study.
DRAWING, 5 PER CENT.
Correct methods of reading and making working draw- ings, standard lettering, line representation, symbols, tech- nique, finished drawings, tracings and blue printing. Methods of preparing drawings in advance of the work.
125
4
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
General Non-Vocational Subjects.
CIVICS, 5 PER CENT.
Man a social animal; the forming of communities ; gov- ernment; its purpose ; the government for man, not man for the government ; a study of the Declaration of Independence as a fundamental for study of government in the United States; the study of early government in early Massachu- setts ; the articles of confederation ; the constitution. Citizen- ship,-who are citizens ; rights and duties of citizens in public and private ; taxation ; the three departments of government. National government, state government; county government ; town government. This study is to be supplemented, when possible, by visits to the various places wherein civil govern- ment is carried on. Civics and ethics intimately related.
ETHICS, 5 PER CENT.
Rights and duties in regard to government. Rights and duties in regard to home. Rights and duties in regard to society. Love of manhood; right understanding and appre- ciation of it ; courtesy and politeness.
HYGIENE, 5 PER CENT.
Hygiene distinguished from physiology; general notions of physiology as an introduction to the study of hygiene ; personal hygiene secured by means of talks and inspections. Study of sanitation in home and factory; study of infectious diseases. Study of laws of hygiene as a means of long life, useful and complete life, and a trade asset. Study of causes and hygienic treatment of the common infectious diseases.
GENERAL MATHEMATICS, 5 PER CENT.
Fractions ; percentage ; averages ; square root ; cube root ; ratio and proportion ; mensuration ; formulae; short methods. Graphic representation of statistics.
PHYSICAL TRAINING.
Setting up drills ; proper breathing exercises; outdoor sports and games at recess.
STATEMENT CONCERNING THE VOCATIONAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS.
This school is a state-aided vocational day school for girls specializing in homemaking. It is located in a double frame building of two and one-half stories at 41 Atherton street. It was opened in October, 1911, and has a capacity of seventy- five pupils. Its teaching corps consists of one director, eight teachers and one clerical assistant. Following is a statement of the aims of the school and of the means being employed to attain them.
The aim of the school is, first, to train for homemaking, and to offer the homemaking subjects of household manage- ment, cooking, dressmaking and millinery that can be taught under the present conditions; second, to present these sub- jects in such a way that they meet the highest trade standard, and enable the young girl, if she must be a wage earner, to take her place among skilled workers. This trade standard is most important in a school from which a girl may go, tem- porarily at least, into a trade shop.
Following trade requirements does not in any way inter- fere with the main idea of the school,-homemaking,-but rather emphasizes the standardization of all phases of women's work. In order to give girls every opportunity for finding out for what they are best fitted, a general course embracing all the above mentioned subjects has been planned, by which the students are fitted for several vocations having a common basis.
Broadly speaking, the homemaking subjects taught cover the preparation, care and purchase of foods; the placing of housekeeping upon a scientific basis; the planning and mak- ing of clothing, the intelligent buying of equipment, and the repair of household materials.
The course covers three phases of work. First, where all the academic studies are closely related to one specific problem in a major subject; second, where the academic studies are related to the major subject as a whole; and third, where these studies become strictly cultural, bearing upon the practical culture a woman needs in her own home and social environment, or in business, and not the culture of the college trained woman. The three phases are carried out in the following way, according to the requirements of the State Board of Education.
First Year.
SHOP PRACTICE, 50 PER CENT.
Cooking. Preparation of entire meals served in the voca- tional school; preparing soups, vegetables, meats, fish,
127
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
scalloped dishes, salads, salad dressings, sauces, cakes and breads, hot and cold desserts, ices.
Home Economics. Care of house and equipment, food principles, laundry work, table service, waitress service.
Dressmaking. Making cooking apron, cap, sewing apron, two cotton dresses, tailored woolen skirt, silk waist, woolen dress, trimmings. Pattern reading, cutting by bought pat- tern. Simple trade work for practice on power machines, as pillow slips, sheets, hospital gowns, nurses' aprons.
Millinery. Millinery stitches, bands, linings, folds; mak- ing wire frames, blocked frames, sectional hats, dolls' hats. Wiring and bow making, cleansing and renovating; steaming and coloring; feathers and flowers. Making and covering large hats.
RELATED STUDIES, 30 PER CENT.
English. Spelling; oral and written work relating to major subjects; correct language forms. Reading from magazines, articles relating to home and trade subjects.
Business and Arithmetic. Use of tape measure, fractions, discount, percentage, arithmetic problems in dressmaking and cooking; personal and household accounts ; bills, money orders, checks; business correspondence; insurance, invest- ments ; fundamental principles of business.
Textiles. Analysis of fabrics for fibre structure ; chemical tests for adulterations, color and shrinkage. Mounting and study of all kinds of textile fabrics used in the home, for weave, quality, price and desirability as a purchase. Chemis- try of dyestuffs; dyeing different fabrics for effect on fibres. History of growth of fibres; where raised, by whom manu- factured and consumed.
Art Appreciation. Study of costume from the standpoint of choosing fabric, color and style suitable for the different types of complexion and figure of the individual students.
CULTURAL STUDIES, 20 PER CENT.
English. Reading of poems and short stories, with the lives of the writers. Reading of newspapers, "Current Events," and discussion of important articles. Discussion of magazine articles and books. Suggestion of reading list of books, visits to library, instruction in the use of library sys- tems. Aim, to inculcate in the student a love for good books, and a power of selection in every day reading matter.
Hygiene and Civics. Laws governing the health of a city, and those affecting the employment of women. Health laws in shop and factory. Laws for the production of materials under better conditions, Pure food laws, Inspection of food shops,
128
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Art Appreciation. for textile exhibit.
Talks on decoration, visits to museum
Physical Training. Games and dancing.
Second Year.
SHOP PRACTICE, 50 PER CENT.
Cooking. Preserving, candy making, fancy salads, pastry and puff paste, invalid cooking. First year problems re- peated in preparing food for the High School lunch room, and the teachers' dining room. Waitress service for those students specializing in accommodator work. Food cooked to order by individual student. Uses of fireless cooker.
Home Economics. The home: its care, decoration, fur- nishing. What to choose in renting, what to consider from the sanitary and economic standpoint. Daily schedules for household tasks. Household conveniences, labor saving de- vices. Review of foods for nutrition, and for caloric values. Plans of menus; study of costs and food values. Formal and informal table service. Marketing. Household accounts, family budgets. Emergencies.
Dressmaking. Making patterns and paper models; boned linings; draped models; net guimpes, tailored shirtwaist. cloth dress, silk or lingerie dress. Underwear: night gown, combination, princess slip, or petticoat and corset cover. Household mending: table and bed linens; darning woolen materials, patching flannels, and cotton garments; darning and footing stockings; mending gloves; hemstitching and marking linens. Custom order work done only in the second year.
Millinery. Problems and processes in the making of hats are repeated, and hats made for custom order work ac- cording to season.
RELATED STUDIES, 30 PER CENT.
English. Carried out along the lines of first year's work.
Textiles. Includes everyday chemistry used in the house- hold. Analysis of silk and woolen materials as in first year's work with cotton. Industrial history, as it relates to the history of commercial products used in the home. The woman movement in industry. Visits made to factories, mills, and department stores in connection with the textile study.
Art Appreciation. Study of home furnishing with regard to cost, selection and arrangement of furniture, wall and floor coverings; draperies, pictures, and ornamental aç- cessories,
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT. 129
CULTURAL STUDIES, 20 PER CENT.
English. Social usages and correspondence .. Ethics. Class work carried out along the lines of first year's work. Art Appreciation. Talks on pictures and their selection. Visits made to the art museum, and galleries.
Physical Training. Games and dancing. Outdoor work in season.
Home Projects. Ten hours a week are required for work in the home, that the student may gain speed and manipula- tive skill under her own home conditions. The problems are planned with the student and her mother as to her individual needs, are directed by the teacher, and are based on class- room work. Records are kept and credits given.
This program is arranged in a series of cycles, to meet the condition of the school's product, and those governing the placement of students at either part or full time work. There are three cycles in each year's work. The first from Sep- tember to December; the second from December to March; and the third from March to the end of the school year. Each cycle carries a definite amount of work to be accomplished in all branches of the school's training, and when this has been met, with the necessary standard of workmanship, the student is advanced through each cycle to the graduating class. While the school does not find it possible to place all students who are taking the course in skilled trades, there is a constant demand for those who can be recommended, and they are placed in positions the season following graduation. A student in the intermediate class with an average of less than B, and an attendance below 80%, is not admitted to the graduating class.
Certain entrance requirements are observed. First, that the pupil's physical and mental condition are such that she can reach the standard called for in her chosen vocation. Second, that she shows a decided aptitude for this special kind of training. Third, that, if possible, she is a grammar school graduate.
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