USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Somerville, past and present : an illustrated historical souvenir commemorative of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the city government of Somerville, Massachusetts > Part 12
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In the first report submitted the school board, Superintendent Meleney emphasized the advantages of larger buildings with a view to economy and effectiveness, and urged for the high school "increased facilities for labora- tory methods." He advised the "consideration of some plan by which greater inducement could be offered to our own teachers and to those whom it may be advisable to secure to fill vacancies."
He recommended that only candidates "eminently fitted for the ser- vice " be considered in filling vacancies in the corps of teachers. He says : " Some portion of the kindergarten material, much of the kindergarten method, and a complete infusion of the kindergarten spirit should charac- terize the elementary school." He advised that less time be devoted to arithmetic ; that a "slight change " in the course in geography be made, to render it " a science study, and not so much memory work." Additions were made to the list of supplementary reading books, which were divided into three classes, - elementary science, history and biography, literature.
In general language he says : "Our school system should begin with the kindergarten and end with the manual training school and the high school, and the intervening grades should represent the steps upon which the pupils ascend from the one to the other. In adopting such a system, we would be following the lead of the most progressive cities in our own State and in others."
Among the new teachers added this year (1888) were Miss L. A. Her- rick, teacher of drawing ; Mrs. C. M. Coffin, and Miss Mary L. Boyd, of sewing.
On February 25, the board voted that sewing be continued in the
198
SOMERVILLE, PAST AND PRESENT.
grammar schools as during the past year; that a room be fitted up for wood-work for boys of the high school and some grammar grades, and that the sum of $2,000, to be expended for manual training, be included in the estimates for the fiscal year.
Under the head of " School Accommodations," Mr. Meleney says : " We are beginning to realize, as never before, that Somerville is a city in every sense of the word. The situation, unsurpassed for its availability, its pros- pect, and its sanitary and healthy conditions, the administration of its affairs, its reputation for temperance and morality, and its advantages for the education of our children, have attracted, in large numbers, people seeking new homes."
" It becomes a wise people to so administer affairs as to meet the con ditions incident to rapid and permanent growth." ... " In planning for the erection of new school buildings, the needs of the whole city should be taken into account. . . . Such a scheme might be laid out as would settle the whole question of schoolhouses for many years to come, and each year's work would simply be a part of the general plan. ... In establishing the proposed general plan, it will be necessary to decide upon new centres and to consolidate the isolated schools." He declared that fifteen or sixteen different buildings would be preferable to the twenty-eight then in use. "The establishment of an English high school," he said, "seems to be only a matter of time."
In regard to the grammar and primary schools, he states that "the rooms are too large "; that instead of seats for fifty-six pupils, " there should not be over forty-two."
Timely suggestions are made in reference to " Manual Work for Boys," "Sloyd," " Kindergarten," "Training of Teachers," and " Physical Cul- ture."
To introduce a system in the last named subject, he recommends that " an expert " be employed as early as possible to prepare the teachers in all grades to give the needed instruction to their classes and supervise the work.
This somewhat full account of the administration of the schools for 1888 and 1889, and the rather copious quotations from Mr. Meleney's report for that year, exhibit the spirit and tendency of leaders in educational thought in Somerville at that time, and equally the general trend of public sentiment along certain lines of advancement, toward the introduction of new subjects and new methods of instruction into the public schools in New England and elsewhere.
In 1890, a course in mechanical drawing and construction for boys in grammar schools was adopted by the board, and introduced in September in all the various schools.
An exhibition of work in sewing and drawing was shown in Bow street hall, which the superintendent declares " attracted much attention and re- flected great credit upon the teachers."
The committee on drawing and penmanship reported that there had
FRED. C. BALDWIN.
FREDERICK W. SHATTUCK.
201
SOMMERVILLE, PAST AND PRESENT.
been "marked improvement " in the drawing " since the appointment of a special instructor." On March 31, the superintendent was authorized to engage Miss C. I. Livingstone as director of physical training.
Mr. Horatio D. Newton resigned his office as principal of the Morse school, to accept a position in Boston, and Miss Mina J. Wendell was pro- moted to the head of the school. Mr. Herbert L. Morse, having been elect- ed to a Boston school, was succeeded by Mr. Fred W. Shattuck. Mr. Harry N. Andrews was elected to take charge of the O. S. Knapp school. Pre- liminary outlines for teaching elementary science were prepared by the superintendent, to aid in making a beginning "upon which a permanent course may be laid in the future."
Under the authority of the board, a training class was organized by the superintendent, and he declares the experiment a success in many ways, and asks for the establishment of a training class, with a definitely pre- scribed course of study and practice covering at least a year.
IN THE REPORT FOR 1891 is recorded the following, concerning school accommodations : -
" The city has been doing grand work in the erection of new buildings, and the enlargement of old ones; but we must not forget that the city is growing very fast, and that something must be done each year." " The city must not expect to pause in the building of schoolhouses." ... "New buildings in all the school districts will be imperatively demanded within a few years."
" Immediate steps towards the erection of a new high school " are de- clared necessary, and cogent reasons are urged therefor. The loss of the city by the resignation of Miss C. I. Livingstone is recorded, as is also that incurred by the resignation of Miss E. A. Herrick, whose work is highly commended by the committee on drawing and penmanship.
THE YEAR 1892. - " The new board organized with a new mayor in the chair, William H. Hodgkins, who had been a member twelve years ago by virtue of being the president of the common council. He greeted here sev- eral who had been his former associates on the school board, either having been in continuous membership or former members. His words of hearty sympathy with the work of education and his earnest determination to exert all possible effort for the schools were an inspiration."
In February the following report concerning the English high school was adopted :-
"That we renew and reinforce the report of the committee of 1891, as follows: 'That the city government be requested to erect immediately a schoolhouse, suitably arranged and furnished, for an English high school, provided also with accommodations for the department of industrial educa- tion, together with a hall sufficiently large for graduating exercises, etc.'"
A School Exhibit was held on June 17 and 18 in the high school building, which formed an interesting feature of the Semi-Centennial Cele- bration. As director of music for the first four grades, Mrs. Gish Garwood was elected in May. In January, Miss Augusta L. Balch was chosen direc-
202
SOMMERVILLE, PAST AND PRESENT.
tor of drawing, Miss Herrick having resigned (in June, 1891), to accept a position in the New York College for Training Teachers. The superinten- dent mentions the enlargement of the Edgerly school, and states that "six years ago there were one hundred and twelve classrooms in twenty-one buildings; now we have one hundred and forty-seven (occupied) rooms in twenty-two buildings," and some districts are still " cramped for room."
" As compared with the erection of school buildings, the city has devel- oped much faster in the construction of dwellings and in population."
In 1886, in the primary and grammar schools there were 44.7 pupils to a teacher on the average, and now there are 47. Several pages of the re- port are devoted to an exhaustive presentation of the necessity for a new English high school, and the advantages that would result from such a school. Regarding sanitation and building, the work done during the year is reviewed, and the importance of continuing the " good work so suc- cessfully begun," is emphasized.
The superintendent expresses his pleasure in reporting that the teachers and friends of the Lincoln school " had formed an association to raise funds for the purpose of ornamenting the schoolrooms with works of art." He also mentions the fact that a "large sum of money had been donated by Hon. Edward Glines, for the purchase of pictures for the Glines school."
CHAPTER XVII.
HISTORY OF THE SCHOOLS (Concluded).
SUPERINTENDENCY OF GORDON A. SOUTHWORTH.
THE SCHOOL BOARD OF 1893, organized with three new members, F. W. Gilbert, president of the common council, George S. Poole of ward one, and Herbert A. Chapin of ward two. The committee renewed the recommenda- tion of previous boards for a new high school, and increased accommoda- tions for various sections of the city.
On April 24, the mayor announced the death of ex-mayor Charles G. Pope, and, on motion of Col. Bingham, suitable resolutions were adopted. On May 29, Superintendent Meleney announced his election to the Teachers' College of New York, and the principalship of the Horace Mann School of Observation and Practice, and placed his resignation in the hands of the board, to take effect October 1. Later a vote was passed allowing the resignation to go into effect September 1.
On June 26, Gordon A. Southworth was unanimously elected super- intendent.
On October 30, the board adopted unanimously a vote of recognition and commendation of the valuable service rendered the city of Somer- ville by Mr. Meleney.
On June 26, a vote commending the work of John S. Hayes as prin- cipal of the Forster school for a period of fifteen years was unanimously passed.
MINA J. WENDELL.
S. HENRY HADLEY.
205
SOMERVILLE, PAST AND PRESENT.
On August 28, resolutions appreciative of Mr. Southworth's twenty years' service as principal of the Prescott school were unanimously adopted by the board.
A review of the work done for the schools, while Superintendent Mel- eney was at the helm, is presented in Mr. Southworth's report for 1893, a portion of which is herewith presented. It is entitled
" A FIVE YEARS' RETROSPECT."
"In their report for 1888, the committee say, 'With the report of super- intendent Joshua H. Davis for 1887, we appropriately close the first volume of our school history as a city.' Possibly the recent change in the superin- tendency of our schools may not inappropriately be said to mark the close of the second volume. At any rate it is the end of a chapter ..
" The rapid growth of our population, the increase of our schools, and the efforts of our city to supply educational facilities equal to the demand, will best be seen by comparing the numbers in the two columns below :-
1888.
1893.
Per cent of Increase.
No. of children between 5 and 15 years of age
5,959
7,191
21
Average number belonging to the schools .
5,488
7,217
32
No. of schoolrooms, grammar and primary
112
152
36
No. of teachers employed .
139
184
32
High-school pupils in December
41I
618
50
High-school teachers
IO
1 5
50
High-school rooms
10
IO
0
Grammar-school graduates
243
399
64
High-school graduates .
59
82
39
Amount spent for support of schools .
$103,552
$150,10I
45
Cost per pupil .
18.87
20.80
IO
Estimated value of school property
$428,554
$636,725
49
Valuation of the city
28,765,400
41,820,700
45
" A comparison of the numbers in the preceding table shows that during the last five years the increase of school accommodations, with the note- worthy exception of the high school, has just about kept pace with the increase of children. Forty modern schoolrooms, well ventilated, well lighted, and well adapted to use, have been added by the construction of the Knapp, Glines, and Pope schoolhouses, and by the enlargement of the Morse, Highland, and Edgerly buildings. Four rented rooms occupied in 1888 have been abandoned, the Brastow schoolhouse has been converted into an engine-house, and the Union school building has been sold, making a net gain in the five years of thirty-seven schoolrooms, containing sittings for 1,946 pupils. The increase in the number of pupils has been 1,729.
"This comparison also shows that the rate of increase in the value of school property slightly exceeds the increase in the assessors' valuation of property in the city, while the expense of supporting the schools has in-
206
SOMERVILLE, PAST AND PRESENT.
creased in exactly the same ratio as the city's ability to pay as indicated by the value of real and personal property in the city. We observe further- more, that the gain in the number of graduates of the high school is greater than the gain in school population, and this too notwithstanding all the disadvantages of its crowded condition."
" The school board of Somerville, . .. with the wise and prudent con- servatism that refuses to accept the new simply because it is new, . .. under the leadership of a courageous and enthusiastic educator, gradually intro- duced into our schools during five years that we are reviewing, new forms and methods of development and training fully in accord with the general trend of education in these latter days.
" The first movement in advance was the adoption of a system of in- dustrial drawing that experience has proved to be based on sound educa- tional principles. To train teachers and to direct the work, a skilled super- visor of drawing was employed. Under this expert direction, seconded by the enthusiastic co-operation of teachers and the growing interest of pupils, the system in all its details has become firmly established in our schools. . . . Following this came the introduction of manual training for girls, in the form of sewing. . . . Two teachers of sewing were employed and a systematic method of instruction adopted, which has since become widely known as the 'Somerville system,' and which competent judges declared to be the best exhibited at the World's Fair."
In 1889, the miscellaneous calisthenic exercises given in some schools were replaced by the form of Swedish gymnastics known as the "Ling system," which was regularly introduced into all grades. A competent supervisor was employed to direct the work and instruct the teachers.
"The introduction of the normal system of music into the primary schools, and the employment of a special director to supervise the work in them, marked an important advance in musical instruction in our city. . . . It has since been extended to the fourth and fifth grades." "Another modification of our school work that helps to put Somerville in step with other municipalities is the introduction, to a limited extent, of nature study." Though no special teacher for this work has been employed, he declares that " an excellent beginning has been made."
" One other improvement has characterized the period we are consider- ing. It is the extension and systematizing of supplementary reading. . . . Our school reading now runs definitely along four lines, extending and sup- plementing the work in history, geography, science and literature."
" A statement of what has been accomplished during these five years would be incomplete without some allusion to the efforts that have been made to secure additional accommodations for pupils that wish to pursue a high school course. . . . Suffice it to say, that at last all these labors have been crowned with success."
" Not to prolong this retrospect, mention only is made of the formation of historical class-libraries, which raise the study of history above the plane of merely memoriter exercises, and of the extension of history study down-
T.
PROSPECT HILL SCHOOL. POPE SCHOOL. CUMMINGS SCHOOL.
HARVARD SCHOOL. KNAPP SCHOOL. BEECH STREET SCHOOL. LUTHER V. BELL SCHOOL.
LINCOLN SCHOOL. HIGHLAND SCHOOL.
HODGKINS SCHOOL. BINGHAM SCHOOL.
DURELL SCHOOL. BURNS SCHOOL.
209
SOMERVILLE, PAST AND PRESENT.
wards into lower grades; of changes in methods of teaching geography, which require less time and compel observation and thought and secure expression in its various forms- words, maps and drawings ; of attempts to co-ordinate language-study with work in geography, history, science, and literature ; and of the complete revision of the course of study, adapting it to the new lines of work."
Concerning the teachers of the city, the Superintendent says : " Of the 170 regular teachers, 104, or 60 per cent, have been appointed within five years. . .. The average term of service for our entire corps of regular teachers is six years." ... "Thirty-six per cent of all our teachers have had the professional training given by normal schools ; nine per cent are college graduates; six per cent have had a year in some training school ; forty-eight per cent, about one-half of them, entered upon the work of teach- ing with the education which an ordinary high school gives - some of the latter came to us after considerable experience elsewhere."
" The changed condition and constantly increasing requirements in our schools demand in teachers wider culture, broader knowledge, and profes- sional education." ... " Teaching is now everywhere recognized as a pro- fession." ... "The conversion of one of our largest schools into a training school seems to be a necessity forced upon us by the situation." . . . "These teachers in training would be excellent substitutes." . . . " Other cities have such schools, and their success is multiplying their numbers."
" This portion of the report cannot be closed without bearing witness to the character of the teachers now employed by the city. In the main they are well equipped either by training or experience or both. They are conscientious, hard-working, enthusiastic, faithful. Their lot is not an easy one, notwithstanding the popular impression. They are expected to make the school. They have heard ten thousand times, 'The teacher is the school.' They know that the plastic material will forever bear the impress of their own characters. They must be what their pupils should become. . .. Teachers are assured that their fidelity and labor are appreciated, not only by school officials, but by the public, who realize their indebtedness to them, the most useful members in any community."
" Prominent among the questions now agitating the pedagogical world is the one that has reference to changes in the grammar school curriculum. Extended college courses have led to increased demands upon fitting schools, and they, in turn, are inquiring whether some of the work done by them may not be done in grammar grades. Discussions upon the true educational value of different studies have given expression to widely dif- ferent opinions. . . . Experiments are making with a view to the evolution of what is best. Educational empiricists are advocating the introduction into the grammar schools of Latin, French, German, algebra, geometry, physics, chemistry, botany, zoology, geology, etc. The incoming of the new involves the exclusion of the old, for no one advocates lengthening the time by either daily or annual increase. Indeed, there are some that, with all the so-called enrichment, clamor for a reduction of the time spent in
210
SOMERVILLE, PAST AND PRESENT.
education. The various exercises of the schools are being tested to ascer- tain their relative educational and practical value, - their value in strength. ening and training the intellectual faculties as distinguished from their value in informing and equipping the student for some specific employment in the future."
"The great majority of children do not go through our schools, but drop out all along the way." ... "More than one-half our children are in the four lower grades, while but one-twelfth of them are in the high school. and one sixty-sixth in the highest, or graduating class." ... "Our pupils leave school to engage in commercial or findustrial pursuits, and what we do for the great majority of them must be done below high-school grade."
Concerning School Exhibits, the superintendent says : "Since our last report two exhibitions have been called for, one at the high school, June 17, 1892, where each pupil was represented by a garment of her own making, and one for the World's Fair at Chicago." In concluding his report, which is replete with important recommendations and suggestions, the superin- tendent says : " The most pressing need is so to increase our school ac- commodations that every child of school age in Somerville may have a com- fortable seat five hours in every day in an uncrowded schoolroom whose air and light and heat shall be the best that modern science affords. This need supplied, the number of pupils assigned to a single instructor should be reduced to a teachable limit." ... "Upon the schools, more than upon all other agencies combined, depend our future welfare and prosperity."
As the successor of Mr. Hayes in the Forster school, Mr. Fred C. Baldwin, of Manchester, N. H., was chosen.
THE YEAR 1894 was marked by the addition of four rooms to the Knapp school, four to the Bingham, and the erection of a new four-room building at the corner of Beacon and Kent streets, which was named the "George W. Durell School," "in honor of an esteemed citizen, for eleven years a member of the committee, ... one whose life and character furnish an inspiration and an example for the youth who shall in coming years share the advantages of the school bearing his name."
The superintendent reported that there had been a gain of 450 children of school age, and made specific recommendations concerning additional accommodations.
"THE YEAR 1895," says Superintendent Southworth, " has been a pros- perous one in the school history of Somerville."
In regard to the expense of the school department, he says :-
"While the amount spent for the maintenance of our schools seems large, it will be noticed . . . that among the thirty cities of the State we stood seventeenth in the percentage of taxable property paid for the support of public schools in 1894."
Attention is called to the fact that "there are 542 more children in Somerville to-day than there were a year ago."
"Of the 209 teachers in the employ of the city, three are in training
FRANCIS H. RAYMOND.
GEORGE W. PERKINS.
213
SOMERVILLE, PAST AND PRESENT.
without pay ; forty-one have been newly elected during the year, 17 of these to positions in the English high school."
Supt. Southworth says : "The long-talked of training school for Som- erville must soon become a reality."
UNDER THE HEAD OF PATRIOTIC INSTRUCTION the superintendent mentions, as prominent among the acts of the Legislature of 1895 affecting schools, the law requiring the uninterrupted display of the U. S. flag upon or within schoolhouses while schools are in session, and says an attempt has been made to conform to this requirement. The most of our school buildings have been provided with flags by the generosity of public-spirited and patriotic citizens or the contributions of equally patriotic children.
Miss Mary L. Patrick was chosen supervisor of drawing, and Miss Sarah I. Stanton teacher of sewing.
CARE OF SCHOOLHOUSES.
" When the last revision of the city ordinances was made, the janitors of schoolhouses were placed under the election and control of the Committee on Public Property. Previously they had been responsible to the School Board, as is the case in most towns and cities. The change has not been advantageous to the schools. The efficiency of the service has not been increased. The local School Committee are in constant communication with teachers and with schools, and to them the janitors should be respon- sible. Any needed criticism now reaches the ultimate authority in a very roundabout way, and reforms and changes are often slow in coming and unsatisfactory in character."
The following tables are taken from the superintendent's report for 1895 :-
ANNUAL COST OF MAINTAINING THE SCHOOLS
FOR A SERIES OF YEARS.
Amounts are given to the nearest dollar and include what has been paid for maintaining day and evening schools of all grades.
YEAR.
Average Member- ship.
Instruction and Supervision.
Water and Light.
Heating.
Janitors.
School Supplies.
Total.
1885
4,904
$ 79,506
$ 728
$ 4,965
$ 4,000
$ 8,449
$ 97,648
1886
4,985
83,542
624
4,929
4,194
6,676
99,865
1887
5,198
86,713
765
6,475
5,084
7,526
106,563
1888
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