USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Milford > Town Annual Report of the Officers of the Town of Milford, Massachusetts 1883 > Part 4
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When we send out from our schools children filled with a love of jus- tice, truthfulness, honesty, benevolence, obedience, fidelity to every trust, and a high sense of patriotism, we have accomplished a result of greater importance than simple intellectual development, and of greater good to them and to society.
INSTRUCTION.
The instruction on the part of a greater portion of the teachers, has been earnest and ably conducted. There has been but slight variation in the course of study from that of the preceding year. Changes, how- ever, Will be made in the details of the school work when occasion de- mands. In reviewing what has been done in our schools the past few years, there is just cause for gratification ; but much still remains to be accomplished, which will require time, patience and laborious, thought- ful study.
READING.
Your Superintendent has heard reading by nearly every class in the schools, and has tested the work in different ways. Most of the teach - ers have excellent ideas of the best methods of instructing in reading. and handle their classes with skill. productive of good results. This is especially true of the Primary grades. The reading of the Grammar schools, as a rule, does not exhibit that progress that we would expect from the proficiency attained in the lower grades. A loss in natural -
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ness of expression and distinctness of utterance is noticeable, nor does there seem evinced that clear comprehension of the thought in- volved, without which reading is a mere mechanical expression of sound.
Teachers should be ever mindful that good reading means good oral expression, and an intelligent comprehension of each individual idea, and its relation to the other ideas involved-that pupils should be drill- ed in silent as well as oral reading. Silent reading is that employed almost entirely in after-life, and is therefore of the utmost importance.
I would suggest that, in connection with the reading exercises, the attention of the pupils be directed to suitable books for home reading. Let lists of books be prepared adapted to the acquirements of pupils in the different grades. These lists are to be approved by the Superin- tendent and Board. Books from the lists should be assigned at stated intervals to the class, who should be encouraged in any way to read them. After the lapse of sufficient time for a thorough perusal on the part of the pupils of the books assigned-teachers to ascertain how many had been able to procure and read them-discuss the works with the class, and by careful, pointed questions learn to what extent the readers had profited. By this plan pupils may be made acquainted with the best literature, be instructed how to read for the greatest profit, their taste for good reading cultivated, and the pernicious effects of this educational trash that is corrupting the minds of our youth of to-day, in a great measure counteracted.
LANGUAGE.
In language, one of the most essential branches, good work is being done. Beginning with the construction of the simplest sentences in the Primary rooms, the study is systematically carried on until the fourth grade Grammar room is reached. The pupil then begins the use of Swinton's Language Primer. New Language Lessons are begun in Number Three and finished in Number Four grade. Technical gram- mar is left to the last year in the Grammar schools, its proper sphere, if it has one below the High school, which I seriously doubt.
The aim of instruction in this branch should be a cultivation in the pupilof the art of expressing themselves in correct, forcible and idiomatic English. All exercises should be a means to this end. That much is being accomplished in the study of language in the schools, is shown by the character of the written exercises and the good taste and correctness displayed by the-pupils in oral expression.
ARITHMETIC.
A change in Aritlunetics has been made the past year. A text-book constructed to meet the demands of modern methods of instruction, essentially practical in its make-up, and unburdened with useless mat- ter, has been adopted. With the new book a greater interest has been given to the instruction in this branch, which cannot fail to be pro- ductive of good results. The importance of the study of arithmetic is second to none. The first few years of the pupil's school life are to be given to the study of numbers. By constant drill, repetition after rep- etition, he is to become thoroughly versed in all the simple combina- tions, and be able to apply them to practical examples. He is to learn early the use of the slate and pencil in expressing arithmetical opera- tions. As he advances, the power of memory, observation, imagina- tion, invention and reason are to be developed and disciplined. Arriv- ing at fractional and compound numbers, the same methods of instruc-
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tion are to be employed as in the integral. The units of weight, time and measure are to be brought into the presence of pupils and put into actual use by them in finding the data for their problems.
Such has been the general plan pursued in teaching this study in the schools. A large amount and great variety of concrete work is given; rote work is fast disappearing. It yet remains for your Board to equip the schools with such necessary apparatus as will complete the plan of instruction and render the efforts of the teachers of the highest good.
PENMANSHIP.
The same general criticism can be made as to the instruction in pen- manship in the schools as was made in relation to reading. The hand- writing of the pupils in the Grammar grades does not meet the expec- tions that their proficiency in the lower grades would warrant. The slate pencil is placed in the child's hand the first day of school life. Be- fore lie leaves the Primary grade, he writes a fair round hand with the lead pencil. Upon entering the Grammar schools, he takes pen and ink, and by the time that he has completed the second year, a clear, legible hand should be acquired. After the ability is once gained, the habit of constantly doing good work must supplement it, or deteiora- tion may be expected. Let the pupils be held daily to a strict account for the neat and legible appearance of all their written exercises, and give this branch due weight in respect to promotion, and better results may be expected.
GEOGRAPHY.
Oral instruction is given in this branch, in the Primary grade. The form and size of the earth ; the divisions of its surface into land and water; distance, direction, position ; the cardinal points of the horizon, and a variety of elementary knowledge, is presented by the teachers in familiar talks with their pupils. A text-bock is taken in the Fourth Grade Grammar, and its use continued for four years.
The methods of instruction in greography are the least satisfactory of any in the schools. Rote work is the characteristic. The question and answer method is followed almost entirely in the treatment of every subject. Scholars' minds are burdened each day with a mass of facts to be as soon forgotten. Topics are not treated systematically and with profit. Your Superintendent has found pupil after pupil floundering and stumbling through the text, attempting to give the words of the books without the faintest comprehension of the terms that they were using or the object for which the lessons were assigned. Map-drawing is an unknown quantity. These are plain truths, but truths that cannot be ignored or palliated. Teachers are not wholly to blame for this state of things. Several causes may be ascribed. First: map-drawing has not been introduced, without which the study of geography is almost a farce. Second: the text-books in use are not constructed after a model to best supplement the efforts of the teachers. The Higher Geography is burdened with a mass of non-essential matter, and in plan and construction is not fitted to the work of the preceding book. Thirdly: the schools are utterly destitute of suitable maps and globes with which to illustrate and fasten the topics discussed. This last and important need should be supplied at once, and if neces- sary by special appropriation.
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HISTORY.
The study of History is now confined to the highest Grammar grade . Profitable work might be done in an elementary way in the second grade. The principal events in the different periods of our country's history, could there be presented to pupils through geographies, biogra- phies and elementary histories, and talks with the class by the teachers.
Geography and history are intimately connected, and, as far as prac- ticable, instruction in them should go hand in hand. The study of his- tory should be by topics. These should be assigned the class, and each pupil in recitation should give all that he knows of the topic assigned him, without being questioned by the teacher. After the pupil has given all that he knows, and in good language, questions should then be put to correct errors and call attention to omissions. Maps should be constructed of the place in which the principal historical events occurred. These maps should be drawn and used in recitations. Re- view schemes of the principal battles, etc., should be placed upon the blackboard. These reviews should be frequent. A course of reading should be mapped out, and scholars directed to the sources of informa- tion relating to the study. It is to be hoped that an increased interest may be awakened in this branch, and a fuller and more comprehensive knowledge be acquired than heretofore.
EXAMINATIONS AND PROMOTIONS.
The committee acted favorably on the suggestion that all promotions in the schools, above the second-grade Primary, be based upon exami- nations and the daily recitations of the year.
One oral examination is given by the teacher in mid-term week; one written examination, from printed questions, is given by the Superin- tendent at the close of each term. These, with the daily recitations of the pupils for the year, determine promotions. An average in all studies of 70 per cent. must be attained, to entitle a pupil to be promot- ed. Special examinations may be accorded pupils, when occasion de- mands. A standing must be reached of 75 per cent. in such cases. The papers of the pupils in the written examinations are corrected by the teachers, and placed on file in the Superintendent's office for inspec- tion and approval. This regulation has been in effect one term, and has already produced good results. The responsibility rests with the teachers whether it shall work the object for which it is intended. Im - partial, uniform, accurate ranking must be done by each and every teacher, that no injustice be wrought upon the scholars, and no good ground given to parents for complaint.
HIGH SCHOOL.
The High School is the outgrowth of our public school system, and its success must depend in a great measure on the amount and quality of the work done in the lower grades. The progress of the class enter- ing the High School is retarded, when any amount of preparatory work is necessary which should have been done in the graded schools.
The crowded condition of our High School furnishes us food for reflection. A careful comparison made by your principal at the begin- ning of the fall term, with the High Schools of a number of neigh bor- ing towns and cities, seems to prove that its growth and condition is abnormal.
Eighty-three passed the required examinations of last June, and w ere admitted. This was a gain of ten on the class of '81, and the class of
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'81 was the largest known in the history of the school. This gain can- not be accounted for by increase of school population : for the number of children in the town between the ages of five and fifteen, as reported by the assessors for the year 1882. was 109 less than in the year 1881. That this constant increase is due to the fact that the quality of the work done in the lower schools at the present time, in comparison with that done in the High School, is so superior as to send scholars there . several years younger than formerly, and equally well fitted to meet its requirements, is scarcely to be admitted. To grant this, would be to acknowledge that the High School had failed to advance with the other schools. An examination of the course of study and the number of cases reported of pupils in the two lower classes in the High School who have been unable to perform the required duties and maintain the standing in their respective classes, seems to reveal other causes. Hereto- fore, admissions to the High School have been by a single examination held in June of each year. A single examination is not a fair test of the ability or knowledge of any scholar. A change in the method of admission was proposed to your Board last fall, and accepted by them. The single examination is virtually abolished, and the work done the last year in the Grammar grade is to be the test. An average stand of 70 per cent. for the whole year based upon three things, namely : one oral examination given cach term by the teachers, one written each term by the Superintendent and the daily averages, is to be attained to secure promotion. It is to be hoped that the mistakes in admitting scholars to the High School will be fewer and the results more satis- factory.
Notwithstanding the increased accommodations furnished by the en- largement of the school building, if the next class of candidates is as large as the two previous years the seating capacity will be insufficient without throwing one recitation room into the main hall.
Most excellent instruction characterizes the school; efficiency and thoroughness mark each department. The instructors are scholarly and enthusiastic, and to their fidelity to duty is due in great measure the progressive work of the school. One resignation has occurred in the year. Miss Anna M. Bancroft, a lady of culture, a teacher of rare ability and enthusiasm, withdrew, and Miss Alice T. Hall, a graduate of Wellesley college, was chosen to fill the vacancy.
The average attendance for the whole year has been 176, and for the fall term 193. "Each teacher now has an average of 48 pupils to instruct. Teachers in a high school cannot do themselves or their pu- pils justice with such large classes. The amount of preparatory work that devolves upon the teachers in this department is necessarily greater than in lower grades, and the extra out-of-school work that our high school teachers are compelled to do is detrimental alike to the highest good of pupils and instructors, and calls for relief. It may be well to state here that the average number of pupils to each teacher in high schools throughout the state is thirty. In accordance with a vote of the Board, which went into effect Jan. 2, 1882, pupils in the High School are required to maintain a general average in all studies of 60 per cent .. and in each study at least 50 per cent. Failing in this, they are not to be promoted. The standard is sufficiently low, and any pupil who does not reach it should be unhesitatingly dropped.
The graduating exercises were similar to those of the preceding year. The class were assigned no parts, but continued in their regular studies until the last day of the term. The following programme was carried out :
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1. PIANO VOLUNTARY.
MISS JENNIE S. TUFTS.
2. CHORUS BY THE SCHOOL, High School March. . . . . . . . . . . . Geo. Veazie, Jr. MISS TUFTS, ACCOMPANIST.
3. STATISTICS OF THE GRADUATING CLASS.
REV. J. T. CANAVAN.
4. SONG - " O Loving Heart Trust on,".
.... Gottschalk
WM. WILLIS CLARK.
5. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS,
GEO. W. JOHNSON, CHAIRMAN SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
6. ADDRESS - GOV. JOHN D. LONG.
7. SONG - Proverbs § a. When Poverty Knocks, {
... . Roeckel
WM. WILLIS CLARK.
8. PRESENTATION OF DIPLOMAS.
9. CHORUS BY SCHOOL - " Far Away the Camp Fires Burn". Mercadante
COURSES: (E.) ENGLISH; (F.) FRENCH; (L.) LATIN; (C.) CLASSICAL.
FOUR YEARS.
Names. Courses.
Names.
Courses.
Thomas Francis Conniff. E. F. Alice Minnie Aylward, E. F. L.
Timothy James Dempsey,
E. C. t Sarah Priscilla Chapin, E. F:
Charles Henry Fisher,
E. F. Ella Thayer Chilson, E. L.
Richard Augustine Gilfoyle,
E. F. L. #
Mary Frances De Sautell, E. F. L.
William Elijah Knights,
Jennie Louise Devine,
E. L.
Edmund Francis Murphy,
E. Mary Anna Hannan,
Jerry Thomas Murphy,
E.
F. Lillian Jennette Haven, E. F.
Frank Clifford Phillips, Percival Shea,
E.
F. Annie Elizabeth Heath, E.
E. Effie Anna Holmes,
F. E. E. F. L.
Irving Warren Sweet, 1
E. Mary Olivia Sumner,
E. F. L. t
Henry Johnson Wood,
C. Jennie Sophia Tufts, Nellie Augusta Warfield, E.
Anna Augusta Woodbury,
E.
L. F.
TWO YEARS.
Names.
Courses. Names. Courses.
Michael James Ahern,
C. ± Harry Willard Haven,
E. L. t
William Henry Aylward,
C. ± Harry Granville Krum,
E.
Ernest Lincoln Cook,
E. Arthur Whitmore Vant, C.
Abbie Loumira Flagg, E.
# Partial Course.
Partial means a change of course, and hence incomplete.
The subject of High School graduations has received much attention, and been the theme of discussion for several years past. A few towns and cities have taken the "new departure." Your Superintendent has failed to become a convert to the theory.
Some needed improvements have been made in the laboratory, and the facilities for better work increased. Sufficient physical and chem- ical apparatus is still wanting, and if possible should be supplied. The library of suitable reference-books is small, and does not meet the re- quirements. An opportunity is here presented for some public-spirited
E. F. L.
Charles Henry Morrill,
K. F. C. Susan Geneva Gallagher,
E. F. L. F
John Vincent Sweeney,
E. C. t Catherine Ellen O'Callaghan,
E. F.
b. A Bird in Hand,
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citizen of ample means to confer a lasting benefit upon the school by equipping it with a library adapted to its needs.
The attacks upon the high school system, so prevalent a few years since, have spent their force. It is too firmly engrafted into the tree of national life to fear the opposition of fanatics and demagogues. Each year adds to its strength, and its future is inseparable from the healthy growth and prosperity of the country.
EVENING SCHOOL.
The evening school began October 23, and holds its sessions four nights each week, as heretoforc. Joseph H. Wood, Esq., who taught the school last year with such marked success, was elected principal, and Miss Annie F. Keating, assistant. Owing to the complaints of pu- pils and teachers of the unfitness and inconveniences of the old quar- ters in the town hall, the Board decided to transfer the school to two unoccupied rooms in the Claflin building. Here, with no extra expense, the school is quartered in two well-heated, well-ventilated apartments, undisturbed by the obnoxious noises that frequently interrupted the exercises of the school in previous years.
As a guarantee of regular attendance, and to free the school from idlers, a deposit of one dollar was required of each pupil on entering, to be refunded at the close of the term, provided the pupil is in regular standing at that time. This plan, which has worked well in other places, has proven equally efficacious here in keeping away such as come out of curiosity alone and not for work.
Irregular attendance is the bane of evening schools. It is hard for young persons who have worked hard all day, to shut themselves in a school-room all the evening; and it is not to be wondered at that out- side attractions prove often too alluring to be resisted.
The ratio of attendance to the total membership, as shown in the subjoined table, is very satisfactory. Absentees have been subjected to the closest scrutiny, and good reasons required for non-attendance. The discipline has been excellent. I was much pleased, in my visits to the school, with the gentlemanly bearing of the older pupils, and particularly those who attended the school last winter. The interest manifested, and the earnest application to their duties, showed clearly that the pupils attending this school were there for a purpose.
The common English branches, including book-keeping, are taught. The instruction is thorough and practical, and it is to be regretted that none of our young ladies avail themselves of its advantages. The evening school is an important factor in our scheme of modern educa- tion. That which was begun here five years since as an experiment, has proven a success. It is worthy the generous support of our citi- zens, and I am confident that it will receive it in the future as in the past.
Total membership, 39; average attendance, 33.3; per cent. attend- ance, 86 ; average age, 15.4 years ; number scholars over fifteen, 15.
TEACHERS.
Our corps of teachers has been materially weakened the past year by the loss of several of its most efficient and experienced members. One was forced to resign on account of ill-health, one was called to a more lucrative field, and three others withdrew for various causes .. By the withdrawal of these teachers, long and intimately identified with the
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best interests of the schools, the town has suffered a material loss, and the effect upon the schools has been apparent.
Teaching is rapidly approaching the dignity of a profession, and the demands now made to meet the requirements of an enlightened public sentiment, call for such length of time for preparation, such training and thorough knowledge, that persons who enter it for a make-shift are found less frequently to-day in the ranks of the teachers of our graded schools.
-
The idea that any one who is fit for nothing else, is capable of teach- ing school, has prevailed to a certain extent in the past, and is still prev- valent among a certain class. The elements necessary to make a suc- cessful teacher are many. He should possess good health and charac- ter, sound judgment, a kind heart, tact and enthusiasm for the work. These must be supplemented by thorough and accurate scholarship, good training, a love of children and common-sense. A noble Quaker once said: "There are three things necessary to a person's success in this life-good health, religion and common-sense, and the most impor- tant of these is common-sense." It is a sentiment worthy every teach- er's thought.
Many of the teachers of Milford are thoroughly fitted for the position that they occupy. As graduates of College or Normal School, they have come to their work thoroughly equipped, and by constant study and observation have kept pace with the progressive ideas of the day, and rank well with teachers in more favored localities. Would that this could be said of all. No amount of money, no supervision will or can accomplish much without good teachers. With them must rest, to a great extent, the responsibility of the success or failure of our schools. Those who fail to accomplish that which is demanded of them, after a fair and impartial trial, should not be retained from year to year to work injuries that are not in the power of man to repair. To dismiss such teachers is the hardest duty that devolves upon Superintendent or Committee. Nor do I think that teachers should be removed for slight reasons. . As long as they perform their duties faithfully and success- fully, their tenure of office should be secure. But when the necessity arises, when there is no reasonable doubt that the welfare of the schools demands a change, there should be no hesitation or delay in the matter, but the removal should be made at once.
Many of our most efficient and experienced teachers are found in the Primary grades. They have taught for years, and with marked suc- cess. They complain, and I think with justice, of the small salaries. As long as they remain in the Primary grades, there is no present hope of increase, while in the Grammar grades there is that hope. If they are promoted, the foundation is weakened, and the stability of the structure destroyed. And more, educators are united in the opinion that it requires rare ability to instruct successfuly a Primary school ; and in recognition of this fact in towns most noted for progress in edu- cational matters, the salaries of Primary teachers are equal to or higher than in Grammar grades below the first. Salaries should be scaled for each grade, based upon the experience and success of the teacher. The salaries in all your graded schools, are small. The highest salaries will command the greatest talent. With a slight increase in salaries, a thor- ough examination of all candidates for positions in the schools, an im- partial and discriminating judgment in making appointments, we may reasonably expect in a short time to find in the schools only such teach- ers as are thoroughly competent to fill the high and noble duties of their calling.
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SCHOOL SESSIONS.
In the grades below the High School, the regular hours of session are from 9 to 12 A. M. from April to November, 1:30 to4:30 p. M., and from November to April from 1:15 to 4:15.
In the "good old times" when the village schoolmaster reigned su- preme with his birchen rod, "school kept" six hours each day, and ev- ery other Saturday was thought sufficient holiday. This may have, been well when the school year was of three to five months duration, and the old methods of instruction were in vogue. But with the longer school year, and the changes that have taken place as to the means of imparting knowledge, the "old idea" has been abandoned long since by progressive educators, and medical authorities are agreed that so long hours in the school room is neither conducive to the health or best prog- ress of children. It would be difficult to find a city or a town in New England with the best schools, where children are confined to the school room more than five hours each day. Health should be the paramount consideration in the arrangement of our school houses. Give children more hours of out-door recreation, and such hours as are most benefic- ial for them to be in the open air.
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