USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1920 > Part 13
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Prof. George A. Mirick - Lecturer on Elementary Educa- tion at Harvard.
"So far as one can judge it will not be many years before the junior high school will have replaced the seventh, eighth, and ninth grade organizations generally in this country, not only in cities and towns but in rural sections. I cannot con- ceive that Somerville will undo the fine piece of work she has done in her junior high schools. She might as well think of going back to horse-cars, and wells in the back yards."
Cost - The per capita cost of schools in Somerville for the school year 1919 was $44.82. Although in the number of pu-
189
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
pils in the average membership Somerville was the seventh city in the Commonwealth, in per capita expenditure it was 13th among the 14 largest cities, only one of them having a lower per capita expenditure. Among the 354 cities and towns in the State it was 238th in per capita expenditure. This means that 237 communities expended more upon each pupil in its average, membership. Of the first fourteen cities of the State, Worces- ter, Fall River, New Bedford, Cambridge, Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill and Malden spend more for education per child than Somerville, although they do not as yet maintain junior high schools, while Somerville does. This fact shows conclusively that the presence of the junior high school system in Somer- ville has not raised the cost of education here to the level of . other cities of its class. On the other hand, Boston and Spring- field both have junior high schools, and both spend more than Somerville.
Contrasting the expenditure per capita in 1909 with that of 1919 we find a decrease in expenditure per pupil as com- pared with the expenditures in other cities and towns of the State. In 1909 the expenditure per pupil was $29.71 and Som- erville was 93d among the communities of the State in the ·amount which it expended for each child in its average mem- bership. In 1919 Somerville expended $44.82 per child but was only 238th among the 354 communities of the State. From this comparison it is evident that although the amount spent by Somerville upon each pupil has increased in the last ten years, yet in those years 144 communities have passed Somer- ville in the amount expended per child, giving to Somerville a rank in 1919 of 238 in place of 93 in 1909.
Again Somerville's expenditures for education have not increased proportionately to its increase in wealth. In 1909 Somerville had a valuation of $5,165 for each pupil in the aver- age membership of the schools. In 1919 it had a valuation of $6,722 per pupil. There was expended for school support dur- ing the school year ending June 30, 1909, $5.75 on each thous- and dollars of valuation, which gave Somerville a rank in ex- penditure per thousand dollars of valuation in 1909 of 121 among the 354 communities of the State. In the school year ending June 30, 1919, there was expended for school support $6.68 on each thousand dollars of valuation. Somerville's rank for expenditure on each thousand dollars of valuation in 1919 was 163 among the 354 communities of the State. In other words, while in 1909 120 communities appropriated more per thousand dollars of valuation for education than Somerville, in 1919 162 cities and towns expended more. These facts show that during the last ten years Somerville's valuation per pupil has increased over thirty per cent., and its expenditure only
190
ANNUAL REPORTS.
sixteen per cent. These facts show also that education in Som -- erville is not so expensive today compared to that in other- cities and towns as it was in 1909.
These conclusions hold despite the fact that during this. period the change to the junior high school system has been effected, that junior high schools now have been in operation several years, and that these years of operation have been the- most expensive years because of initial cost of installation of equipment.
Buildings - In a statement prepared for the board of al- dermen and by them used as an exhibit, it is asserted that there" are 317 rooms and 17,117 sittings. Reports submitted to the school committee by principals of the schools showed 272 rooms. and 14,881 sittings. This is a decrease of 45 rooms and 2,236. sittings.
What appears, even then, superficially considered, to be a. surplus of sittings in the city has no effect whatever upon the validity of the claim of overcrowding which resulted in the re -. quest for additional school accommodations. The vacant seats are found principally in Wards 2 and 6; serious overcrowding exists in East Somerville and at Winter Hill. In both of these latter sections relief has been sought through transfers of pu- pils to more distant schools and has been met, almost without exception, with protest on the part of parents. It is evident that no more relief can be obtained in this way.
Moreover, in reporting the maximum capacity of the sev- eral buildings, principals reckoned upon 48 or 49 seats per- room. If the children of our city are to have educational op- portunities equal to those of other places, this number of pupils. per class should be reduced at least 8 pupils. Such reduction covering the entire elementary school system would of itself reduce the number of vacant sittings by about 1,600. The School Committee believes that the parents will endorse its position that the interests of the children rather than the num- ber of desks that can be gotten into a room, should determine· the size of the classes. Large classes increase failures of pro- motion. Every failure of promotion increases the cost of in- struction. The reduction of the size of classes is, therefore, not only in the interest of the children themselves but also in the interest of economy.
It is well known to persons who are acquainted with man- agement of schools that rooms must be provided for a variety of purposes. There are regular classrooms in which pupils sit to study and recite. There are rooms which are used only for recitation purposes ; there are laboratories and shops ; there. should be assembly rooms in large school buildings. In the. enumeration of rooms and sittings made by principals, regular
19L
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
«classrooms alone are counted in the seating capacity of the schools. Carpenter shops, kitchens, chemical and physical laboratories, sewing rooms, etc., are not counted as suitable for home rooms. Rooms now used for manual training and house- hold arts cannot be diverted from that use to home rooms for academic use inasmuch as the teaching of household arts and manual arts is required by law in both elementary and high schools.
An illustration of the application of this general dis- tinction in the use of rooms is shown in the erroneous report submitted to the board of aldermen for the Folsom building. This is a six-room building and was used as a primary school until 1914. Its class rooms would provide 291 sittings, 48 or 49 in a room. There were two rooms in the basement used as storerooms and an unfinished attic. There was also a small room on the second floor used chiefly as a storeroom. In the Fall of 1914 this building was taken for the intermediate school work. During that year a floor was laid in the attic by the pupils and later beaver board partitions were set, making four rooms unventilated and insufficiently heated. These rooms are used as cooking, sewing, typewriting and recitation rooms. None of them can be used properly as a home room. The two rooms in the basement are shops. The room on the second floor is used for recitations for small classes. These rooms also are unfit for home room purposes. Yet, all of these rooms have been treated as suitable for sittings for home rooms in the re- port submitted by the board of aldermen. The total number of sittings for the school building is given as 459, whereas it should have been only 291 at the most.
In the Southern Junior High School building basement rooms used as manual training and typewriting rooms have been counted as furnishing seating space. Besides being base- ment rooms, in other respects they are wholly unfit to be used as home rooms. In the Bell Schoolhouse the wardroom, which has been divided to furnish space for recitations, is counted as two home rooms. These two rooms are unsuitable for their present use, being insufficiently lighted, heated and ventilated, and would not be tolerated as places for seating classes for home room purposes.
In the Southworth building a basement room now used for assembly and physical exercises has been rated as a space suitable for permanent sittings. Besides being a basement room, this room is insufficiently lighted for regular classroom use. In fact, basement rooms are being put to their largest possible educational use now as shops, cooking rooms, sew- ing rooms, etc. In a few instances where such work is done in regular classrooms, it is done of necessity. Inasmuch as manu-
+
192
ANNUAL REPORTS.
al training and household arts instruction must by law be given. to children in the elementary and high schools, rooms must be provided for their use. Such rooms cannot be properly used .. also as classrooms for study and recitation purposes. In jun- ior high schools space has been taken for these classes, in most cases, which would not otherwise be applied to any other educa- tional use. However, all these rooms appear to have been counted as home rooms in the report of the board of aldermen.
The building program submitted to the board of aldermen in May, 1919, was intended to present in a comprehensive way a plan that would be sufficient for these schools through 1925 at least. It was intended to include accommodations which the . committee believed to be necessary for the children to have in the years that are to come. It recognized that certain school buildings have long since outlived their adaptability to present day educational needs. This building program set forth the additional accommodations which are needed to complete the plans for the junior high schools which were adopted in 1916. It was then foreseen that the junior high schools when com- pleted should contain auditoriums, gymnasiums, and seating capacity sufficient for all of the pupils, and it was proposed at that time to add units periodically until the whole plan was. completed in each center. The plan adopted in 1916 was ap- proved by the mayor and board of aldermen of that year and was still further endorsed by them in an appropriation for a new building on Holland street. It was further approved by the mayor and the board of aldermen in 1916 in the purchase of land on Vinal avenue and an appropriation in 1917 for the erection of an addition to the Bell School. The building pro- gram also contained a request for a gymnasium for the high school. This is a need which has been conceded by public opin- ion for many years. In these days in which additional empha- sis is laid upon health instruction, the need for a gymnasium for the high school is more. urgent than ever before. The · tendency of the times is now to provide facilities to furnish a broader educational experience for pupils. An assembly room, gymnasium, science laboratory, cooking and manual training- rooms are among the indispensable features which modern schoolhouses for higher elementary and high school purposes should possess.
It should be noted that while the furnishing of these provisions at one time would afford a means of treating all parts of the city alike and would make immediately available" for pupils concerned the advantages which this program would give, still it is capable of division, in point of time, whereby part can be furnished at one time and part at another.
As a summary of these various considerations it is main --
193
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
tained that the provisions of the junior high school are'in ac- cordance with the best and most competent educational thought; that the junior high school presents an educational program looking to the future and adaptable to the demands which the future may make upon the schools for the educa- tion of the youth of twelve to sixteen years of age. At a time when a decision had to be made to meet a condition of general overcrowding, Somerville decided to establish junior high schools. Those schools have been organized, successfully con- ducted, and have met the high approval of educators not alone from Massachusetts and New England, but from more distant points.
Among the latter was Superintendent Broome and a mem- ber of the school committee of East Orange, New Jersey, which is confronted by a situation similar to that which existed in the high school and the upper grammar grades in Somerville in 1916. They spent a forenoon here in two of the junior high. schools six weeks ago. In the Journal of Education of May, 25, 1920, Dr. A. E. Winship, Editor, who is recognized as one who knows more about school conditions throughout the coun- try than any other person, in speaking of East Orange says : "Superintendent E. C. Broome has presented a comprehensive plan providing three junior high school buildings to accommo- date all children of the seventh and eighth grades and the ninth or lower high school class. Mr. Broome's vision will make East Orange as distinct a city as any in the country. Mr. Broome's vision is as clearly outlined professionally as it is administra- tively. His plans for East Orange's educational future are as definite as is his building planning."
When one considers the aims and ideals of the junior high school system, the enthusiastic and unanimous approval of its plan by the leading educational experts of the State and the Nation, and its successful working in practice everywhere it has been adopted, and notably in our own city, it seems incon- ceivable that any public official in Somerville should advocate its abandonment.
The subject is too large, too vital to be debated or decided on narrow lines. It affects too deeply the present and future lives of thousands of the school children of Somerville on whom we must rely, as the coming citizens, for the stability and per- manence of all we hold dear in our republican institutions.
The issue then is between a plan which looks towards the future and one which faces the past ; between a plan which asks for the children of the future, school accommodations suited to their needs and adapted to the most approved educational processes of the day and a plan which contemplates filling existing school rooms to their maximum capacity and using at-
194
ANNUAL REPORTS.
tics and basements for classrooms ; between a plan which, while meeting the needs of the future wholly, can yet be provided in installments, if necessary, and a plan which says that existing accommodations meet all the needs of the present and the future.
Upon this issue the school committee stands firmly com- mitted to the plan which promises better schoolhouses in the future for the school children of Somerville, and to that end cordially invites the co-operation of the public and of the board of aldermen.
Respectfully submitted,
(Signed) H. M. STOODLEY, Chairman Finance
OSCAR W. CODDING, Chairman School Accommodations
CHRISTOPHER J. MULDOON,
Chairman Text Books and Courses of Study EDWARD I. TRIPP, Chairman Industrial Education Committee
195
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
QUESTIONNAIRE ON STUDY OF MUSIC
In the Spring of 1920 a questionnaire was circulated among the pupils of the High and Junior High Schools in order 19 ascertain facts on which to base a plan for giving school credits for the outside study of music. These replies show the musical inclinations of the pupils and to what extent pupils are making a serious study of music.
Following is a summary of the questionnaire :
1,470 questionnaires were taken in the Senior High School and 2,417 in the Junior High Schools, making a total of 3,887.
Of the whole number 2,330 or 59.9% have had musical training and 1,307 or 33.6% were studying music outside of school at that time.
Of the 1,470 Senior High School pupils 954 or 64.8% had had training and 436 or 29.6% of the whole number or 45.7% of those trained were then studying.
Of the 2,417 Junior High School pupils 1,376 or 56.9% had had training and 871 or 36% of the whole or 63.2% of those trained were still studying. 98 had given up their musical study on account of school work.
Of the 2,417 Junior High School pupils 1,564 or 65% ex- pressed a wish to study music. Of the 1,564 or 65% who wished to study 1,315 or 54.4% of the whole number would like credit for their musical study, and 187 or 7.7% of the whole number stated that they did not wish credit. Not all of those then studying music wished to do so though the number who were dissatisfied was far less than those who were not studying but wished to.
There was shown a wide preference as to the line of study, the detail of which is set forth by schools in the following table :
Aspiration
Northern Southern
Eastern
Western
Total
Number of Question-
naires
505
703
409
800
2417
Wish to Study Music .
331
453
242
538
1564
Voice
44
63
31
85
223
Piano or Organ
226
248
140
367
981
Violin
.
47
79
57
74
257
Other Strings
1
1
0
6
8
Flute, Clarinet or Saxo- phone .
2
9
3
3
17
Cornet
9
14
8
25
56
Other Brass
3
4
3
5
15
Banjo, Mandolin, etc.
8
7
4
12
31
Fife
2
0
0
0
2
Drum
5
9
2
12
28
Other Instruments
1
2
1
0
4
No Preference
·
3
9
0
1
13
.
·
196
ANNUAL REPORTS.
By schools the percentage of those wishing to study music is : Western 67%, Northern 65.5%, Southern 63%, East- ern 59 % .
The number of pupils in the Senior High School trained or studying, and the instrument are shown in the following ta- ble. The number is greater than the number of children, some being counted twice as they were trained upon or were study- ing more than one instrument. In this connection the voice is considered as an instrument.
Training
Senior
Northern Southern
Eastern
Western
Total
Number of Ques-
tionnaires
. 1470
505
703
409
800
3887
Training
·
954
293
364
200
519
2330
No Training
516
212
339
209
281
1557
Voice
88
20
23
11
48
190
Piano or Organ .
750
230
266
144
415
1805
Violin
135
41
57
30
57
320
Other Strings
8
0
1
0
5
14
Flute, Clarinet or
Saxophone
2
0
4
2
0
8
Cornet
13
5
2
3
9
32
Other Brass
11
3
2
0
2
19
Banjo, Mandolin, etc.
18
5
3
4
6
36
Fife
29
0
0
0
0
29
Drum
·
45
0
3
3
2
53
Other Instruments
0
2
3
0
5
10
Harmony
2
0
0
0
2
4
2,330 or 59.9% of the whole number answering questionnaires have had training.
Studying, 1,307 or 33.6% of the whole.
Senior High School
(trained 954 or 64.8% of the whole
(studying 436 or 29.6% of the whole or 45.7% of (those trained.
Junior High Schools
(trained 1,376 or 56.9% of the whole
(studying 871 or 36% of the whole or (63.2% of those trained
(98 gave up studying on account of school work. (1,315 or 54.4% of the whole wish credit for music (187 or 7.7% of the whole do not wish credit for (music.
COURSES OF STUDY IN JUNIOR AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS 1921
Grade VII
Periods per week
English
·
3
Arithmetic
3
History and Geography
3
Hygiene
1
Music
·
.
1
·
·
·
·
Required :
.
·
.
197
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
Spelling
.
Writing
·
Drawing
1
Cooking and Sewing or
2
Shop work for boys
2
Physical Training
Elective: (choose one)
Latin
4
French
4
Spanish
4
German
4
Special Household Arts
4
Special Manual Arts
4
Typewriting and Commercial Principles
4
Elementary Subjects (Special)
4
Grade VIII
Required :
English
3
Arithmetic
3
History and Geography
3
Hygiene
1
Music
1
Spelling
1
Writing
1
Drawing
1
Cooking and Sewing or
2
Shop Work for boys
2
Physical Training
Elective: (choose one)
Latin
4
French
4
Spanish
4
German
4
Special Household Arts
4
Special Manual Arts
4
Typewriting and Commercial Principles
4
Elementary Subjects (Special) .
4
Grade IX
Required :
Periods per week
English
5
Community Civics
1
Music
1
Physical Training
Elective: (choose one group)
College:
Latin
5
Algebra
5
Ancient History
3
Scientific:
Algebra
5
Ancient History
3
Mechanical Drawing
.
.
1
Latin or Manual Training
.
.
.
5
Normal:
.
Periods per week
1
1
198
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Algebra
5
Ancient History
3
Freehand Drawing
1
Latin or French
5
Manual Arts:
Algebra
5
Mechanical Drawing
1
Manual Arts
.
7
Household Arts: -
Algebra
5
Freehand Drawing
1
Household Arts
7
Commercial: -
Bookkeeping
5
Typewriting
2
Penmanship
1
Spanish or French or German or Manual Arts or Household Arts 5
(Scientific group omits music. Normal has English four periods in- stead of five.)
Shop Work for Boys
Carpentry (including project work, construction and repairs) in all schools. In addition a second occupation is provided in the several schools as follows: Eastern, Bookbinding; Northern, Printing; South- ern and Western, Metal Working.
COLLEGE COURSE
Grade X
Recitations
Points
English
4
4
Geometry
5
5
Latin (2) .
5
5
Anc. History (2)
21/2
21/2
Electives (Take one)
Greek (1) .
5
5
French (1)
5
5
Grade XI
English
4
4
Latin (3)
.
5
5
Algebra (2)
21/2
21/2
Electives (Take two)
Greek (2)
5
5
French (2)
5
5
Chemistry
5
5
Eng. History
4
4
Spanish (1)
5
5
German (1)
5
5
A science must be taken either second or third year.
199
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
Grade XII ·
English
.
4
4
Latin (4) .
5
5
Geometry (2)
21/2
21/2
Algebra (3)
21/2
21/2
Electives (Take two)
Physics
6
5
Greek (3)
5
5
French (3)
5
5
U. S. History and Civics Spanish (2)
4
4
*Review Chemistry German (2)
.
.
5
5
* Only for pupils offering Chemistry for Examination at Harvard, Rad- cliffe, Wellesley, Smith, Mt. Holyoke.
SCIENTIFIC COURSE
Grade X
Recitations
Points
English
4
4
Geometry
.
·
5
5
Anc. History (2)
21/2
21/2
Mec. Drawing (2)
21/2
1
French (1)
5
5
Electives (Take one)
Latin (2) .
5
5
Man. Training (2)
6
4
Grade XI
English
4
4
Algebra (2)
1.
.
.
21/2
21%
Geometry (2)
21/2
21/2
Mec. Drawing (3)
21/2
1
French (2)
5
5
Chemistry (1) .
5
5
Electives:
U. S. History and Civivs
4
4
Spanish (1)
5
5
German (1)
5
5
Grade XII
English
4
4
Algebra (3)
21/2
21/2
Geometry (3) Solid
21/2
212
Physics
6
5
Mec. Drawing (4)
21/2
1
French (3)
5
5
Trigonometry
21/2
21/2
Electives :
Spanish (2)
5
5
German (2)
5
5
.
5
5
2
2
200
ANNUAL REPORTS.
NORMAL COURSE Grade X
Recitations
Points
English
.
4
4
Geometry
.
5
5
Biology
5
5
Freehand Drawing (2)
2
1
Elocution
1
1
Anc. History
.
21/2
21/2
Electives (Take one)
Latin (2)
5
5
French (2)
5
5
Normal Art students must take extra drawing periods each year.
HOUSEHOLD ARTS COURSE
Grade X
Recitations
Points
English
4
4
Elocution
1
1
Dressmaking
2
Cooking
2
Millinery
2
Food Study
2
9
Design (Garments)
2
Textiles
1
Hygiene (Personal)
2
Commerce and Industry
21/2
Elective
Foreign Language
5
5
English
4
4
English History
4
4
Chemistry
5
5
Freehand Drawing (3)
2
1
Elocution (2)
1
1
Electives (Take one)
Latin (3) .
5
5
French (3)
5
5
Spanish (1)
5
5
German (1)
5
5
English
4
4
U. S. Hist. and Civ. .
4
4
Freehand Drawing (4)
2
1
Elocution {(3)
1
1
Physiology
4
4
Electives (Take one)
Physics
5
5
Latin (4) .
5
5
Spanish (2)
5
5
German (2)
5
5
Algebra (2)
21/2
21%
Geometry (2)
21/2
21/2
.
·
·
1
1
Grade XI
Grade XII
201
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
1
Grade XI
English
4
4
U. S. History
4
4
Elocution .
1
1
Dressmaking
2
Cooking
2
Millinery
2
Food Study
1
9 1/2
Design (Home)
3
Hygiene
2
Arithmetic (Household)
21/2
Elective
Foreign language
5
5
Grade XII
English
4
4
Chemistry
5
5
Elocution .
1
1
Dressmaking
2
Cooking
2
Design (Interior decoration)
4
8
Hygiene (Community)
2
Household Management
1
Chemistry (Household )
2 1/2
Elective
Foreign language
5
5
GENERAL COURSE Grade X
Recitations
Points
English
4
4
Eur. History
4
4
Elocution .
1
1
Electives
Latin (2) .
5
5
French (2)
5
5
Spanish (2)
5
5
German (1)
5
5
Physics
5
5
Biology
5
5
Man. Training (2) & .
6
4
Mec. Drawing (2)
21/2
1
Cooking (2)
4
2
Dressmaking (2)
4
2
Geometry
5
5
Commerce and Industry
21/2
21/2
Optional
Freehand Drawing
21/2
1
Mec. Drawing
21/2
1
Penmanship
21/2
1
-
1
202
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Grade XI
English
4
4
Mod. Eur. History
4
4
Physiology
1
1
Electives
Latin (3) .
5
5
French (3)
5
5
Spanish (3)
5
5
Geometry (2)
2 1/2
21/2
Chemistry
5
5
Bookkeeping (1) &
5
5
Penmanship (1)
21/2
1
Stenography (1) &
5
5
Typewriting (1)
5
21/2
Man. Training (3) &
6
4
Mec. Drawing (3)
21/2
1
Cooking (3)
4
2
Dressmaking (3)
4
2
Optional
Freehand Drawing
2 1/2
1
English
4
4
U. S. History & Civ. .
4
6
4
Electives
Latin (4)
5
5
French (4)
5
5
Spanish (4)
5
5
German (3)
5
5
Physics (2)
5
5
Chemistry (2)
5
5
Astronomy and Geology
5
5
Stenography (2)
&
5
5
Typewriting
5
2 1/2
Bookkeeping (2) &
5
5
Penmanship (2)
21/2
1
Man. Training (4) &
6
4
Mec. Drawing (4)
21/2
1
Cooking (4)
4
2
Dressmaking (4)
4
2
Optional
Freehand Drawing
21/2
1
COMMERCIAL COURSE
Grade
Recitations
Points
English
4
4
Elocution .
1
1
Penmanship (2)
21/2
1
Commerce and Industry
.
21/2
21/2
.
.
.
·
·
·
Grade XII
1 .
203
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
Electives
Bookkeeping (2) or . .
·
5
5
Stenography (1) &
·
·
5
5
Typewriting (1)
5
21/2
Spanish (2)
5
5
French (2)
5
5
German (1)
5
5
Physics
5
5
Man. Training (2) &
6
4
Mec. Drawing (2)
21/2
1
Optional
Com. Drawing (2)
21/2
1
Bookkeeping or Stenography and Typewriting must be included in the electives chosen by each pupil.
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