USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1916 > Part 7
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In the last report of the School Committee an account was given of the work being carried on in the elementary schools to promote the health of pupils and to develop their physical powers. To that account can now be added the statement that the same plan has been followed this year with increased benefit to the pupils. It may be confidently ex- pected that the physical training thus begun in the elementary schools will be continued and expanded as ways and means for doing so may be available.
This year another step, nearly as important, has been taken. Physical exercises for all pupils were made a part of the daily program of the High School by an order of the School Committee which went into effect at the opening of the school in October. A period of fifteen minutes daily is devoted to this work. During this time pupils are re-grouped in classrooms so as to permit boys and girls to exercise in separate places. Windows are thrown wide open and pupils go through a program of setting-up exercises with zest and vigor. Classmates chosen for the purpose by vote act as leaders, while teachers by their presence give sanction and official oversight to the work. The director of physical educa- tion has charge of the enterprise. He selects the exercises, drills the leaders, oversees the execution of the general plan and provides expert advice in matters involving the relation of physical training to health. Some of the benefits which are
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sought by means of this work are the following: Relaxation from and dissipation of mental strain, change from sedentary postures, stimulation of respiration and circulation, correc- tion of stooping and slanting carriage of the body, promotion of habitual correct carriage of the body ; and training in such intellectual habits as co-operation, prompt obedience, alert- ness, subordination to chosen leaders, and other ideas which may grow out of the conduct of this undertaking.
While this plan has been in operation too short a time to give indisputable evidence of its worth, it has nevertheless been started successfully and has created enthusiasm and aroused interest among the students. The strong advantages of this plan are the following: It reaches all pupils ; it occurs daily ; it provides well-balanced exercise of the whole mus- cular system; it affects the physiological efficiency of vital organs and is fundamental and economical; and finally it can be carried on in spite of the fact that the school has no gym- nasium. So far as it goes this provision is fundamental and would be desirable even if it were possible to add to it other important features, such as special work in a gymnasium. It forms a good basis for athletic sports and it will undoubtedly lead many pupils to take part in out-door sports who other- wise would have become victims of sedentary and indoor habits. A second step intended beneficially to affect the health and physical development of High School pupils was taken when the School Committee assumed control of High School athletics. The importance of this step is found in two considerations : First, it recognizes sports as an integral part of High School activities; and second. it commits the School Committee to a supervision and promotion of such sports as it deems to be advantageous to the conduct of the High School. Inasmuch as athletic contests are a means of physical exertion natural and attractive to youth of High School age, it is a wise action on the part of the School Committee to take control of the whole matter to the end that the best good to the greatest number of students may be brought out of it.
Already beneficial results have come from this action. Among these is the re-organization of the High School Ath- letic Association with a new constitution which provides a program for developing sports for many, rather than for few students as a means of wholesome outdoor recreation and enjoyment. This association while exercising immediate con- trol of sports will be under the supervision of the School Committee and subject to its authority. By this union of forces the School Committee will define general policies and will support them and the Athletic Association will carry them into effect by actively managing the various athletic activities of the school.
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
While these policies were being developed a sentiment in favor of the introduction of military drill in the High School found expression in the community. In other parts of the state the same sentiment appeared. This sentiment became associated with the demand for greater national military pre- paredness. Two questions then naturally arose :-
1. What ought to be done to improve the condition of High School pupils for the sake of physical efficiency ?
2. What ought to be done to improve the condition of High School pupils for the sake of preparedness? There be- ing no recognized court of appeal for the determination of these matters the General Court in 1915 passed a resolve au- thorizing the appointment of a special board to report upon the practicability of providing military education. for boys and for creating a militia reserve. It provided for the ap- pointment by the Governor of "three officers of the militia of the rank of captain or higher rank, and six persons not imembers of the militia." This board was required to inquire into and report upon the following matters :-
1. "The practicability of providing military education for boys between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one for the purpose of securing a proper military training and discipline for the youths of this commonwealth and improving their physical, moral and mental qualities and for providing for the commonwealth an adequate basis for a citizen soldiery.
2. "The practicability of providing military training for youths in the public high schools."
In June, 1915, Governor Walsh appointed as members of the commission, one lawyer, one newspaper editor, one city mayor, one member Boston Printing Pressmen's Union, two college presidents, two major-generals, and one brigadier- general, M. V. M., retired.
In December, 1915, the report of this commission was made public. Because of its official nature and because of the representative character of the commission which made it, this report has great significance in any consideration of the introduction of military drill in high schools in this state. For this reason I quote in full the section of the report bear- ing upon Military Training in the Schools.
"'Military training' in the schools, as the words are used by different persons, may mean one or more of several things.
"First, military drill, in the sense of training with a mus- ket, manual of arms and close order formation. In a word, an imitation of the sort of training which a young man re- ceives at the armory when he goes into the militia.
"Second, physical exercises and physical training which will develop not only the body but the attention and mind of the boy receiving it,
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"Third, the teaching of true military history, personal hygiene, and camp sanitation.
"Fourth, the teaching of love of country and willingness to serve it.
"The overwhelming weight of opinion from school teach- ers, military experts, officers of both the regular army and the militia, and the general public is against military drill as de- fined in the first clause above. It is generally agreed that the military drill which a boy receives in school is of little or no advantage to him from the point of view of practical soldier- ing. As far as available evidence goes, drill in the schools has had no beneficial effect in promoting enlistments in the militia except in a few isolated localities. For various reasons, it has seemed to create a dislike for soldiering. Military drill in the schools is objected to by many on the ground that boys of school age have not attained sufficient mental maturity to appreciate what war and fighting mean, and are therefore un- able to digest ideas which military drill presents to them in concrete form. It is worth noting that military drill as such is given in the schools of no countries of the world except Australia and Japan.
"The commission does not recommend military drill in the schools but is opposed to it.
"Physical training which tends to make a boy strong, physically well set up and mentally alert, is the proper prep- aration for the real intensive training necessary to make a soldier, as it is also the proper preparation for civil life. The overwhelming weight of public opinion favors the greater de- velopnient of physical training in the schools and the stand- ardization and inspection of such training by some central authority.
"The commission recommends the adoption of a sys- tematic plan of physical training in the schools and has drafted legislation providing for that purpose. It believes that the basis of such training should be the system of calisthenics used for many years at West Point under the supervision of Captain Herman J. Koehler, not because that system is par- ticularly military. but because, according to the consensus of expert opinion, it is the best system which can now be adopted.
"The commission also recommends the teaching of per- sonal hygiene, camp sanitation, and the truth about our mili- tary history, in the schools.
"The commission also recommends the establishment of training camps for school boys during one month of the sum- mers preceding or following their last year in High or Latin Schools. Attendance at such camps should be voluntary and they should be conducted under the joint supervision of the State Board of Education and the Adjutant-General.
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"The teaching of patriotism or love of country in the schools is something which can hardly be standardized or provided for by legislation. Nevertheless, the commission feels warranted in expressing the hope that teachers through- out the commonwealth will feel that it is their duty to incul- cate these ideals in the minds of the boys under their charge as a real part of the school life.
"The most frequent criticism as to American boys is that they seem to lack a sense of responsibility or of loyalty and duty to something beyond themselves. A spirit of devotion to his country is the finest spirit which a boy can acquire. That spirit is not at all incompatible with the teaching that every endeavor must be made to maintain peace. The mili- taristic spirit which means blind faith in the doctrine of force is perhaps the most vicious idea which could be instilled in a boy's mind. The military spirit which means a willingness to serve and fight for his country in time of need, which recognizes as abhorrent the point of view which relies on others to perform the service and do the fighting, is a fine and unseifish sentiment which can not be too early instilled into the youthful mind.
"There is no need to use the word military in this con- nection. It is offensive to many, and unquestionably means very different things to different people. What the boy should be taught is that nothing can ever make other than glorious and holy the death of one who dies for his country, and that no boy can shift to the shoulders of others a duty to the nation any more than he can a duty to his family or friends." Among the definite recommendations for affirmative action are the following :-
"Development of physical training in the public schools according to a prescribed standard.
"Teaching of military history, personal hygiene and camp sanitation in the public schools." The sections quoted have the approval of all the commissioners as well as the expressed endorsement of Charles H. Cole, Adjutant-General Chief of Staff.
In May, 1916, the General Court passed the following resolve . "Resolved, That three persons, to be appointed by the Governor, shall constitute a board to investigate the sub- ject of physical training for boys and girls in the public schools, and to define and recommend a system which will improve their physical, moral and mental qualities and pro- vide the commonwealth with an adequate basis for a citizen soldiery, with special reference to the following subjects :-
(a) Physical and disciplinary training.
(b) Military history.
(c) Personal hygiene and sanitation.
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"The members of this board shall serve without pay but shall be allowed for clerical assistance and for necessary ex- penses, such a sum, not exceeding $1,000, as shall be approved by the Governor and Council.
"The board is authorized in its discretion to consider any related matter, whether or not the same is particularly men- tioned in this resolve. The board shall report the result of its investigations to the General Court on or before the second Wednesday in January in the year nineteen hundred and seventeen, and shall accompany its report with such recom- mendations for legislation as the board may deem advisable."
The report of this board soon to be made will doubtless recommend a policy to be followed by the schools of this state in the matter of physical and disciplinary training.
Meanwhile, it appears from this survey that the School Committee has acted in harmony with the recommendations of the commission appointed by Governor Walsh, both in establishing physical training in the High School and in re- fraining from introducing military drill.
High School.
The High School at this time is in a better condition than at the close of last year. This improvement has been due in part to the rearrangements which were made as a result of the reducing of the number of pupils in the school caused by the opening of Junior High Schools. Even the few rooms thus made available for new uses helped to relieve crowding and to give better opportunities for work to some departments. There is, however, today much loss of efficiency because there are not rooms enough in the school for the various activities which ought to be carried on there. A modern High School seeking to do the work which this day demands needs rooms of varying sizes in addition to the num- ber of classrooms required to accommodate the teaching units into which the school is divided. Such additional rooms can- not be had, however, until the whole freshman class is with- drawn as a result of the opening of four Junior High Schools. The earlier this withdrawal can be made the sooner will the High School be able to do well the work for which teachers have been provided.
Boys' Vocational School.
The Boys' Vocational School has had a successful year. It became necessary to reduce the number of pupils in the machine shop because of the rules of the State Board of Edu- cation concerning the number of pupils allowed for the equip-
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ment provided. There are now fifty-three pupils enrolled in the school. An appropriation for a new building forty by ninety feet has been made and work upon it has been begun. When completed it will provide accommodations for fifteen boys in the machine shop and fifteen boys in an automobile repair shop. Besides these accommodations there will be two classrooms and a washroom and lockers. The main building is to be built by contract labor, but the boys of the carpentry class will work on the outside finish and on all of the interior finish such as floors, partitions and sheathings. Two ma- chines have been ordered for the wood-working department and ten new machines have been selected for the machine department.
The State Board of Education has made new rules which affect the teaching force of all vocational schools. After September, 1916, all new instructors employed shall do some approved professional improvement work during the first year of employment and during each year thereafter. All instructors in service shall do some approved professional im- provement work each year.
Girls' Vocational School.
The Girls' Vocational School has placed a number of its seniors this year in positions as managers of lunch rooms in high schools and colleges, as teachers of sewing, as assist- ants and managers of food shops and tea rooms, as accom- modators in places where the service would vary from pre- paring the whole dinner to serving a dinner, as dressmakers, and as mothers' helpers. The Snding of these opportunities for graduates and members of the senior class has had an effect upon the plans of instruction in the school. While the principal business of the school is to train girls in home-mak- ing, it is also a recognized aim to provide a training which will enable the girls to be self-supporting after leaving the school. Hence it is deemed necessary to shape instruction so as to give the girls efficiencies which can be immediately used upon leaving school. It is found that some breadth of training as well as technical proficiency is desirable. Consequently em- phasis is laid upon general training and upon the development of the sense of responsibility. In the future there will be a continuance of the practical instruction which has been given in the past and an effort will be made to increase the skill of the pupils in the technical side of their education. Reports from graduates of the school who are engaged in home-mak- ing either in homes of their own or in homes of their parents are such as to give proof of the value of the instruction which they received in the school,
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Teachers' Salaries.
As the year draws to a close teachers of Somerville are generally asking for an increase of salary. For all, this request is dictated by a sense of the shrinkage in pur- chasing power of the salaries which they have been re- ceiving. Contrasted with the cost of living salaries have a much lower value than was the case even a few years ago. Having no other way to meet these changed conditions the teachers ask for an increase of pay. In the case of some teachers there is added to this general condition the further one that an increase is justifiable because the present rate in their cases is unsatisfactory in relation to the other items of the salary schedule. These requests for increases of salary should be considered carefully before the estimate for next year is made up. It is fair to our teachers to say in this con- nection that the movement for an increase of salary for teachers is general throughout the state. For purposes of comparison salary schedules of other communities are today of small value unless they have been adopted within a year or two. Teachers are insisting on their right to a suitable return for their services. They maintain that such services have an intrinsic value; that this inherent value is not deter- inined by the relative ability of the community to pay but by the service itself. They ask that recognition be given to the worth of the service as measured by the cost of living or by the 1 eturns which are given in other walks of life where the same grade of service is required. While it is true that teachers everywhere have to plead their own cause strenuously in order to get recognition, it is also true that Somerville has always been liberal in its dealings with its teachers. There- fore I feel certain that these petitions, respectfully made, will be given the attention which they deserve.
Semi-Annual Promotions.
After a trial of several years, the School Committee in November decided to give up the plan of mid-year promo- tions. This action was taken after a consideration of the question extending over several months, and after a hearing upon the matter had been given to the public and to the prin- cipals and teachers of the schools. To bring about the change to yearly promotions the committee ordered that admission of beginners to the first grade in February be discontinued, and that mid-year promotions be gradually abolished. As a consequence of this determination no admission to the first grade will be made next February and changes in the organi- zation of the February classes will be made to return to the
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annual formation in such manner and at such times as the committee shall approve.
Recommendations.
My conviction is that the first place in importance among the needs of the schools is held by the building program which has been outlined in this report. Progress in the develop- ment of policies for the benefit of all parts of the educational undertaking is conditioned upon the furnishing within a short time of the additional accommodations and equipment which that program includes. Therefore. I confine my recommen- dations for the immediate consideration and action of the School Committee to the following :--
1. That a schoolhouse for use as a Junior High School be built upon the Vinal avenue lot and be made ready for oc- cupancy in September, 1917.
2. That land be secured as the site for a ten-room ele- mentary school in the vicinity of the Winter Hill Junior High School.
3. That plans be made for such a building and steps be taken to have it ready for occupancy not later than Septem- ber, 1918, in order that the whole of the Forster Schoolhouse and its annex may be used as a Junior High School.
While these additional buildings will not meet fully the present needs of the schools they will relieve conditions of overcrowding which are a source of complaint among the patrons of the schools and will give an opportunity for carry- ing on effectively the work which is now being done under serious restrictions.
Conclusion.
In conclusion I express again my obligation to the School Committee for its encouragement and assistance. I acknowl- edge the fidelity, willingness and cordiality of all the teachers, and I express the hope that these factors combined have pro- duced results that are worthy of the efforts made.
Respectfully submitted, CHARLES S. CLARK, Superintendent of Schools.
December 29, 1916.
REPORT OF THE HEAD MASTER OF THE HIGH SCHOOL.
Mr. Charles S. Clark,
Superintendent of Schools,
Somerville, Mass.
Dear Sir: In 1911 the Somerville Latin School and the Somerville English High School were united. As this step was a radical one the wisdom of which was somewhat ques- tioned by many interested people, I ask your permission at this time to review briefly the past five years of the school's history with a view of showing how conditions have been met and what has been done in the line of progress.
The objections raised at that time were those which naturally arise at such a time in all large schools. "The school would be too large; its organization would be cum- bersome ; pupils would lose in individual attention because of the numbers, and the teaching body would be disintegrated."
What has been the result?
1. Organization. I will admit that the increase in size of a school calls for a more carefully worked-out system just as a large business calls for more complicated administrative methods. The large business to run smoothly must advance new methods ; so in the large school. Many duties performed in a small school by the principal must be assigned to others thoroughly capable. To secure this in our school a Board of Administration was organized consisting of three mas- ters; one, assigned charge of the West building; another, of the East building, and a third, the vice headmaster, was given general supervision. As a board they have assisted the head master in formulating rules and plans of organization and in the control of routine discipline. In addition, a man teacher was placed in charge of each floor in both buildings (seven in all) for the purpose of general supervision and the securing of uniformity. In this way the work has been efficiently divided without undue strain on any one person.
2. Curriculum. After careful consideration I feel justi- fied in stating that the curriculum of the school has been ap- preciably improved and enriched and has received wise and capable supervision. The Board of Supervision (four mas- ters) have had this department of the school in charge. The Preparatory Course, for which the greatest apprehension was manifested, has increased in numbers and efficiency. New teachers have been added, weak places strengthened, and thorough supervision secured.
The Somerville High School has been in existence sixty- three years and during those years has sent many boys and girls to higher institutions.
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From 1880 to 1895, number of graduates. 959
Number entering higher institutions 312
Per cent. entering higher institutions 32.6%
From 1896 to 1905, number of graduates 1,523
Number entering higher institutions. 529
Per cent. entering higher institutions 34.7%
From 1906 to 1910, number of graduates 1,198
Number entering higher institutions 393
Per cent. entering higher institutions 32.8%
From 1911 to 1915, number of graduates. 1,476
Number entering higher institutions 436
Per cent. entering higher institutions 29.5%
Before comparing these figures and drawing conclusions therefrom, let me give a brief sketch of the history of the High School. Up to 1895 the Somerville High School was to a large extent a preparatory school for college with permis- sion granted some pupils to take a general course which really meant a college course with certain subjects omitted. There were practically no commercial, manual or household subjects taught. In 1895 the Latin and English High Schools were established. The Latin School was a preparatory school for college exclusively. The English School fitted for Technical and Normal Schools and had also an extensive Commercial Course. In 1911 these schools were reunited into the Som- erville High School, -- in organization and scope of work, how- ever, a very different school from the original school. The demands of the age and the ever forward movement in educa- tion required a much more varied and a broader course. The Preparatory Course grew steadily and naturally; the Com- mercial Course increased enormously and the Manual Arts Course has had a small and slowly increasing growth. These courses had the following enrollments for the year 1915- 1916 :-
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