USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1950 > Part 9
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An experiment is being conducted in the French classes in each junior high school whereby French is being taught ac- cording to the Basic Language Method under the supervision of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
In addition to the regular program of group testing for mental disability which has been conducted in the junior high school for several years, one junior high school has used very successfully the Metropolitan Achievement Test, Advanced Battery, Partial Form. It is hoped that among other uses the scores of this test will identify at the earliest possible time the gifted children who can profit from additional stimulation and also those others whose achievements lag seriously behind their abilities.
During the past year a plan was set up by the Board of Free Public Library Commissioners of Massachusetts whereby li- brarians who met certain specific educational and experience requirements could qualify for a state certificate on the basis of the position held on August 14, 1948. The junior high
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school librarians as well as the high school librarians have complied with these conditions, and have been granted state certificates which indicate that they have the qualifications required for the satisfactory practice of library work. This is a step forward in the direction of further professionalization of their work.
Plans are under way to move the Art Room in the North- eastern Junior High School from the third floor to the second floor. This change will allow more storage space, a more ac- cessible water supply, and also provide a unit of two rooms for art.
For a period of about twelve years the inside communica- tions system at the Northeastern Junior High School has been out of order. This means that during that period the principal has been without any means of communicating directly with any of the thirty-two classrooms, the janitor's room, the cafe- teria, the central heating plant, or any other unit of the build- ing. This unfortunate situation should be corrected.
There is a real need for considerable new classroom furni- ture for replacement purposes in each of the three junior high schools, due to the fact that no replacements have been made for a considerable period of time.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
The major purpose of elementary education is to insure opportunities for all children to develop those fundamental understandings, skills, habits, attitudes, ideals, and apprecia- tions necessary for living in a democratic society. Elementary school pupils study reading, writing, and arithmetic, but they also study art, music, geography, spelling, United States his- tory, civics, practical arts, health, safety, physical education, and science. These subjects are taught by improved methods designed to develop meaning and understanding.
The child learns to read because he wants to read, he needs to read, and he enjoys reading. He has a variety of attractive primers, readers, and other instructional materials written by experts and based on experiences that the child knows and enjoys reading about. These materials provide the practice he needs to obtain meaning from reading so that he can better understand. Spurred on by real purpose, the typical Somerville child quickly becomes an able reader.
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In arithmetic, the children not only add, subtract, multi- ply and divide, but they also learn to think and solve problems useful within their experience as children and useful in adult life. In the present day spelling, children are taught to spell words that have been selected to fulfill the writing needs of both children and adults, graded according to the level of their actual usage by children and learned by methods based upon principles of educational psychology. In addition to improve- ment in the traditional methods of instruction, children now have available to them the most modern mediums of learn- ing, such as audio-visual aids.
The Kiwanis Club of Somerville for a period of seven years sponsored during the summers a six-week remedial reading class for elementary school children. The purpose of this class was to assist those children who had normal or better than normal intelligence and who were not working up to their grade level in reading. The Somerville School Committee rec- ognized the worthwhile benefits of this program and author- ized the organization of an experimental class in remedial reading at the Proctor School during the school year of 1950- 51. Tests were administered to a number of children in grades four through six who were recommended by their teachers as having a reading disability. The Pintner General Ability Tests -Non Language Series were given to obtain their I. Q.'s and the Durell-Sullivan Capacity and Achievement Tests were given to measure reading ability and achievement.
From the results of these tests were selected those child- ren who had the highest I. Q.'s and whose reading achievement showed that they were working below their grade capacity and grade level. These selectees were then given complete phys- ical examinations to make sure that there were no physical hindrances to learning. Only a limited number of children could be accepted and any child who took advantage of this opportunity was temporarily enrolled as a pupil of the Proctor School, with the understanding that when he had satisfactorily met the reading requirements for his grade he would resume attendance in his original school.
Manuscript writing in the primary grades has been the subject of study over the past few years. The results of two nation-wide surveys of handwriting methods are noteworthy. One, in 1945, was a questionnaire survey of 727 school sys- tems, including all the larger ones and many smaller ones. It was found that 84.3 per cent of these school systems used manuscript writing. The large majority employ it in grades
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one and two. The advantages offered by the manuscript style are noted chiefly as ease of learning and as an aid to learning both reading and spelling. The second survey, also completed in 1945, involved 182 school systems, mostly larger size (over 100,000 population) private schools, and laboratory schools, and indicated that 89.3 per cent of these systems used manu- script writing for beginners and that there was a strong shift to cursive style in grade 3.
During the last school year manuscript writing was tried by five first grade classes in Somerville. These experimental classes demonstrated that manuscript writing was easier to learn than cursive writing, that it helped in learning to read, and also that it helped the spelling. This experiment is being continued during the present school year in all first grades and in the five second grade classes which had manuscript writing in grade one. It is the opinion of the Supervisor of Penmanship at this time that this method of writing should not be con- tinued beyond the second grade and that during the latter half of the second grade the transition from manuscript writing to cursive writing should begin.
Spring registration for kindergarten and first grade was initiated during the year and an interesting and informative pamphet entitled "Getting Ready for School", prepared by a committee of elementary masters, was distributed to all homes. Because of the enthusiastic response by the parents, it is planned to make it an annual affair.
The kindergarten course of study is being revised, and as in all other subjects and grades the work is being performed by a teacher committee advised by a member of the adminis- trative staff. The committee hopes to have the work finished within this school year. The course of study in social studies for the primary grades is being printed and will be ready for distribution in a few months.
VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS
The Vocational High School, now in its eighth year of operation, since its necessary inception during the early part of World War II, is now firmly established on the High School academic level with the trade courses at their always high level of standards and accomplishments.
The Automobile Department, with a large enrollment, has continued its high type program, with the result that its place-
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ment of graduates has been unusually good. The increased demand in this field for good motor-tune-up mechancis makes it necessary to give consideration to the purchase of some ad- ditional equipment, now found in all modern service stations, like motor and distributor testers.
The Auto Body Department is functioning exceptionally well in spite of its limited quarters. There is constantly in- creasing demand for mechanics trained in this field, but the inadequate space prevents many students, particularly vet- erans, from being accepted. Such a situation requires addi- tional space for body work so that the Vocational School may keep pace with the demands of industry and vocational educa- tion. The cost of this enlargement would be small, because only a roof and two side walls are necessary since two walls of the present building will be utilized.
The Electrical Department has had a very encouraging and successful year. Among the projects accomplished during the year were the maintenance and servicing of the electrical equipment of the school, and the installation through the building of emergency lights. These lights are required by law for the protection of the occupants of a building in case of a power failure. Such work as is required by these projects, such as running conduits and wiring, makes the accomplish- ment of this department practical.
The Machine Shop, in addition to the routine instructional work, cooperates with all the other departments in repairing all the machinery involved not only in the Vocational School but in the High and Junior High Schools as well, in addition to a considerable amount of work done for the Department of Public Buildings. Industry calls on this department frequently for assistance which is greatly appreciated by Industry and re- acts to the benefit of the School through the good public rela- tions resulting, enabling the school to anticipate a bright fu- ture for its students.
The Painting and Decorating Department has developed an outstanding program. Following the policy of adequately fitting the students for profitable employment, the placement service was recognized in a substantial way this year by In- dustry. The boys who graduated in June and were employed by various contractors were given a testimonial dinner in No- vember by the Painting and Decorating Contractors of Massa- chusetts, at which time they were awarded full apprenticeship certificates, granted in conjunction with the Massachusetts
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State Department of Education. Somerville should be proud of the accomplishment of this notable achievement.
The Printing Department and the Carpentry Department have continued the unusually good work of previous years and have saved the City much money by the increasing amount of practical work done for the various municipal departments. Many letters of congratulation on the standards of work main- tained and appreciation of the service rendered have been re- ceived and manifest the high degree of efficiency being de- veloped in these departments.
The Junior Vocational School, Boys Division, for pupils of the 14-16 year-old age group, who have completed the sixth grade, in addition to a seventh and eighth grade academic course offers the youth basic courses in Woodwork, Machine, and Sheet Metal. The pupils are instructed in the care and use of the tools and machines used in these grades and pursue a course of study including actual construction, mechanical drawing, and the mathematics involved in interesting projects. Actual trade training is provided by the many outside projects performed, and contact with Industry is made possible through supervised visits to plants and shops in the City. The interest of the student is directed toward the offerings of the Voca- tional School, where he may choose his course and fit himself for his place in industry.
SPECIAL ACTIVITIES
Special Classes
The one hundred and eighty-five mentally retarded girls and boys that participated in the Cooperative Part-Time Educa- tion Program, which served as a medium for organized indus- trial training, over the seven year period from 1942-49 were exposed to the various jobs in a given industry and were even- tually classified by the employer. Such activity resulted in the worker's being prepared for future responsibilities and im- provement in his standards of workmanship.
Early in 1949 the enactment into law of an amendment to the labor laws, that prohibited the employment of minors un- der sixteen years of age in certain occupations, forced the discontinuance of a proven program of industrial training. Faced with the undeniable fact that the socio-economic con- ditions of the present era legislated against mentally retarded youth, those charged with the responsibility for their educa- tion had to meet a new challenge. The challenge was to de-
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vise ways and means of providing adolescent boys with a prac- tical type of industrial education and training program within the schools.
It must be remembered that vocational or trade school training, where a youth is required to meet certain minimum academic requirements in order to be eligible for admission, has always been out of the reach of mentally retarded youth. Special provisions of state and federal aid to vocational schools has literally blocked the entrance of mentally retarded boys, and if manual arts or industrial training were offered these pupils, it had to be under special conditions within the special class organization. The question which had to be answered was: "How can training in work experiences be given to men- tally retarded adolescents so that as post-adolescents and adults they will be able to compete on an economic competi- tive basis with the nonhandicapped worker?"
Over a period of several months this question and many others were carefully studied. Such matters as the type of special educational facility required for the proposed program, specific demands and requirements related to teaching per- sonnel, community approval of the proposed program on the part of business and labor, and administrative and organiza- tion procedure, had to be cleared before the program under consideration could even be organized.
The applied mechanical arts program was placed in oper- ation in September 1949 through the medium of a "Fix-It- Shop." This program correlates shop activity with true work experiences brought to the shop from outside sources. Dur- ing the past school year, job operations have included such practical work as furniture repair and refinishing, repair and replacement work on electrical household appliances, repair and construction of building equipment, such as window screens, screen porch enclosures, glazing of storm and regu- lar window sash, construction of playground equipment, and many other true work experiences. This program has served to stimulate the timid, uncertain pupil who has found a means of expression and a sense of personal satisfaction at being able to compete in a manual activity with boys of greater academic achievement. The satisfaction of taking part in a manual ac- tivity that "belongs" to the total picture of mechancial arts has served as an excitant to the youth, who has a sense of in- adequacy in academic subjects.
The success of this program has been due in a large meas- ure to the wide range of mechanical art and skill of the shop
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instructor, and to the high degree of cooperation of the aca- demic teachers in the matter of coordinating academic work with work experiences. Special class educators realize that the coordination of academic work with work experiences proves it to be of immediate worth and a motivation most ap- pealing to the adolescent.
Practical educators now recognize the fact that one of the most important functions of educational administration and supervision is to evaluate continuously and revise curriculums to meet the ever-changing social and individual needs. There will always be a need in special education for adjustment, changes from standard procedures, and the application of new techniques to meet the situations as presented by the child's condition. The basic causes at the root of all the difficulties that mentally retarded youth have, need to be known, and the most effective means of eliminating these causes need to be discovered. Careful research is needed in order that the work of educating these young people may be of maximum worth.
The long established policy of constant research with re- spect to desired academic and manual arts achievements in the work with mentally retarded youth is being continued by the special class teachers, for the purpose of improving present procedures and techniques. Particular emphasis is being given to reading texts and supplementary reading material that has a low vocabulary level with a high interest level. The manual arts program as presently established is to be the subject of a special study with consideration being given to graduated lev- els of instruction. It is hoped that in the light of actual data compiled in these studies, a true evaluation of our present de- sired achievements in academic work and manual arts will be obtained.
Thrift
The thrift program during the past year has been charac- terized by concentration on the development of the procedures utilized by the School Savings System under a new banking process. The first year of full operation has proved to be high- ly successful from three points of view. First, considered from the purely procedural angle, the smoothly functioning routine which has been established has made the banking process in the schools both efficient and effective. Throughout the entire school system, from the first grade through the Senior High School, the regular weekly banking day procedures have been carried out in a most creditable manner by teachers, by teach-
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ers and pupils, and, in other instances, wholly by pupils under a building teacher supervisor. The procedures lend themselves to handling within a unit according to conditions and circum- stances.
In the second place, viewed from the educational benefit to be derived from the work involved under the new process, the High School Bank, as the nerve center, so to speak, of the School Savings System, is furnishing exceptionally vital train- ing opportunities to those pupils who are privileged to be members of the Bank Corps. The one hundred and eight pu- pils, enrolled as bank workers, charged with the task and re- sponsibility of keeping the records of the actual school sav- ings accounts of the depositors in all the schools of the city, are receiving a drill and a discipline in work, in methods, and in general accuracy in basic operations which will serve them well. No substitute can take the place of the old-time virtues of drill and discipline in the training process which pupils re- ceive during their school life. Thus, by the very nature of the work in the High School Bank, in its reality, it becomes one of the best sort of training grounds for skills and qualities needed in any field of endeavor. In addition, the benefit accruing to the large group of pupils who are serving as Homeroom Treas- urers in those units where the banking details are handled en- tirely by pupils within the rooms must be recognized. The fundamental lessons of accuracy, attention to detail, and sense of responsibility are being impressed upon them through prac- tical experience with live material.
Thirdly, there is the statistical record of deposits and de- positors, indicating the widespread participation in the School Savings System. During the last school year, an impressive total of 8704 accounts were opened, while the grand total of deposits for the year amounted to $60,614.85. These figures show that the thrift habit is translating itself into concrete terms among the boys and girls. The teaching personnel may well feel that they are not failing in their duty as educators when they see that the thrift is taking root in their pu- pils through their encouragement and efforts.
Because of the excellent cooperation which masters and teachers, realizing its worth, have given to the banking sys- tem, together with the support and assistance of the depos- itory, the Somerville Savings Bank, the School Savings Sys- tem has been enabled to serve as a decided instrument for good, forming an integral part of Somerville's educational sys- tem.
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Americanization
Only a few short years ago the work of the Americaniza- tion Classes consisted of teaching English for Citizenship to non-English speaking persons, most of whom came to Amer- ica from Italy, Greece, and Portugal to make their homes. In recent years a much broader field is represented, for the stu- dents have come from sixteen countries practically encircling the globe. While the earlier students were eager to assimilate the American ideals and the language, it seems that the more recent arrivals are even more anxious, keener, more earnest, and more desirous of learning the American ways, customs, and the new language. They frequently have been well ed- ucated in their own countries. However, those who have been educated are very keen to learn the new and study earnestly side by side with others not so well informed, so that those from all walks of life and varying degrees of literacy are eager- ly devoting themselves to the task of becoming American cit- izens.
A displaced person from Poland in one of the Somerville classes, who in World War II saw several years of service in the Polish Army, suffered imprisonment for eight months in a German Concentration camp, and after being freed by the American troops served in the Polish Underground for two years, was recently inducted into the United States Army. He expressed his appreciation of the advantages offered through the Americanization classes, saying, "I want to go into the Army. I like the American way of living. I like football, tele- vision, and the way people here express themselves."
It can well be recorded that this division of the school sys- tem is doing a splendid piece of work and Somerville can be proud of its outstanding accomplishment.
Music
During the year 1950 considerable progress has been man- ifest at all levels in the music program of the public schools, which involves practically all the students in the schools from the kindergarten classes through the senior class in the High School.
At the elementary school level emphasis is placed upon vocal work, which has progressed very well. As an example of the proficiency attained in this field, it is noted that the Cutler School boys' choir has been invited to sing at Boston
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University at the Christmas Convocation, at which President Daniel Marsh will make his final address before retiring. The same group has also been invited to present a Christmas pro- gram at the Boston Rotary Club.
The efforts of the service club which recently sponsored the violin project in the elementary schools, wherein the vio- lins purchased by the Kiwanis Club were loaned to pupils who had interest in learning to play stringed instruments but couldn't obtain the instruments, were rewarded during this year by the fact that considerable advance has been noted in the development of these young violinists. A public program in the spring by forty-two of these children, including group and solo numbers, was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience. This project has been so successful that it is hoped that similar work with trumpets and clarinets can be started soon at the elementary level.
In the junior high schools the after-school instrumental group classes in clarinet and trumpet have proven so success- ful that the improvement and better balance of the junior high band has been quite noticeable. Again this year a brass en- semble from the group will assist the community carol sing- ing program sponsored by the Somerville Lodge of Elks on Christmas Eve. Due to the interest in music at this level, mu- sical shows are being arranged as in former years.
The popularity of the many music groups in the High School is very rapidly increasing, and in consequence the en- rollment in the various groups is becoming so large that it will soon be necessary to limit the numbers or make provision for more classes and more teachers. The theory classes have been aided materially by making excellent use of the lending library of records from the Somerville Public Library. The Glee Clubs have increased in members sufficient to make necessary the establishment of a new Girls' Glee Club of Sophomores, and also a Boys' Choir. These High School groups are appearing at many public performances, both at the school and at other places such as Veterans Hospitals, Homes for the Aged, Parent-Teacher Association meetings, and have earned much favorable comment and credit to the school, as well as occasionally receiving help for their scholar- ship fund.
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