Town Annual Report of the Officers of the Town of Palmer, Massachusetts 1910, Part 6

Author:
Publication date: 1910
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 146


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ACCOUNTS


Appropriated


Expended


Unexpended


Salaries, Supt. and Teachers


$21,000.00 $20,921.22


$78.78


Janitors.


2,400.00


2,317.12


82.88


Music and Drawing .


1,000.00


977-49


22.51


Text Books and Supplies.


1,500.00


1,496.39


3.61


Fuel and Light .


2,500.00


2,500.00


Transportation.


1,800.00


1,558.28


241.72


Repairs.


500.00


500.00


Insurance.


500.00


500.00


Contingencies


$500.00


.


Tuition. .


. 795.22


Dog Tax


644.52


Merrick Fund


. 34.34


1,974.08


1,740.40


233.68


Commercial Account


2,000.00


1,947.75


52.25


Manual Training Account


1,000.00


991.65


8.35


Medical Inspection.


200.00


200.00


Special Appropriation .


300.00


300.00


Balance Unexpended.


723.78


$36,674.08 $36,674.08


.


Report of Superintendent of Schools.


To the School Committee of the Town of Palmer :


Gentlemen : - I herewith present my fourth annual report as Superintendent of the schools of Palmer. This is the eighteenth in the series of reports issued by the superintendents of the schools of the town.


In this report the statistics in regard to attendance refer to the school year from September, 1909, to June, 1910, those in regard to expenditures to the year from March 1, 1910, to March 1, 1911.


STATISTICS.


I. - POPULATION.


Census of 1910,


8,610


School population Sept. 1, 1909, 5 to 15 years of age,


1,526


School population Sept. 1, 1910, 5 to 15 years of age, 1,471


Illiterate minors,


265


II. - PUPILS.


Number of children in town September 1, as taken from the school census and registers :


1908-9


1909-10


Between ages of 7 and 14,


1.069


1,051


Aggregate eurollment, Sept. to June,


1,383


1,337


Average daily attendance,


1,130.3


1,157.35


Average number belonging,


1,193.56


1.243.38


Per cent of attendance,


94.7


95.


Average number of pupils to each teacher, In high school,


23


25.


In other schools,


35.23


38.2


118


COMPARISON FOR TEN YEARS.


YEAR.


1901-2


1902-3


1903-4 1904-5


1905-6


1906-7


1907-8


1908-9


'09-'IO


Av. Membership Av. Attendance Percent Attenda'ce


1051.9 977.12 92.89


955.61 891.65 93.35


978.82 1031.64 901.82 92.14


964.83 93.58


II07.9I 1045.92 94.4


1084.67 1040.47 95.4


1039.24 1151.19 982. 94.49


1094.03 95.


1193.56 II30.3 94.7


II57.35 95.


ATTENDANCE BY SCHOOL.


SCHOOLS.


Average Membership.


Average Attendance.


Per Cent of Attendance.


Enroll- ment.


High. .


113.27


109.58


96.63


125


Palmer Grammar .. .. .


384.22


351.78


94.22


414


Thorndike Grammar ...


189.54


178.14


94.02


205


Three Rivers Grammar.


260.72


235.81


93.37


275


Bondsville Grammar .. .


203.74


194.69


95.54


217


DISTRICTS-


Wire Mill


44.16


41.89


94.86


46


Forest Lake


21.10


19.69


93.35


26


Center


18.01


17.22


95.58


20


Shorley


8.62


8.55


97.24


9


TABLE OF COST.


1905-6


1906-7


1907-8


1908-9


1909-IO


Salaries ..


$17,231.23


$16,673.25


$17,032.10


$18,734.56


$19,542.34


$20,921.22


Music and Drawing ..


1,048.0I


985.57


948.47


936.67


927.82


977.49


Janitors .


1,650.50


1,744.21


1,722.54


1,832.78


2,091.38


2,317.12


Contingencies


1,324.92


1,100.35


1,573.00


889.41


1,225.39


1,740.40


Text Books and Sup- plies. .


1,401.03


1,598.70


1,479.59


1,385.48


1,504.09


1,496.39


Repairs.


1,009.92


382.45


339.56


439.37


977.34


500.00


Fuel and Light.


2,106.37


2,148.36


2,598.08


2,886.07


2,450.70


2,500.00


Transportation .


1,247.50


1,719.03


1,808.70


1,641.70


1,576.00


1,558.28


Medical Inspection ?


200.00


Commercial Acct.


1,947.75


Manual Training.


991.65


Special Appropriation


300.00


$27,019.64


$26,351.92


$27,702.44


$28,946.04


$30,495.06


$35,950.30


Av. Membership.


. .


1,107.9I


1,084.67


1,039.24 982.


1,151.19


1,193.56


1,243.38


Av. Attendance ..


1,045.92


1,040.47


1,094.03


1,130.3


1,157.35


Cost per pupil, based on average member- ship. ....


24.38


24.29


26.65


25.14


25.55


28.91


Cost per pupil, based


on average attend- ance. ..


25.83


25.32


28.21


26.45


26.98


31.06


Insurance


$551.25


$243.00


$98.63


$400.50


$67.87


$500.00


200.00


200,00


200.00


I243.38


119


ATTENDANCE.


The per cent of school attendance from September 1909 to June 1910 was ninety-five (95). In the High School the high rate of 96.63 per cent was reached, and that is the best record ever made by the school in this particular.


To attain a higher record of attendance as a necessary means to the accomplishment of our educational aims will require more diligence on the part of parents, teachers, school committee and superintendent. There are the other five per cent who must be regular attendants in order for the school to serve them as they need. The absent treatment is very ineffective as a cure.


Such a uniformly good record of attendance is for the best interests of the pupils and for the welfare of the schools ; it means that the school system is doing a creditable work; and that the citizens of the town are getting an equitable economic return on their investment other things being equal.


But here is the rub. Other things not always are equal, and that only emphasizes the fact that constant attendance at school is justifiable and beneficial only when the school supplies what its members need.


Whether a school system supplies the needs of those whom it serves depends upon the curriculum together with the character and application of its componet parts.


The popular criterion of the value of a school system is whether it gives to its pupils those things which are necessary to the ordinary intelligent American citizen. The popular demand is not so much cultural as practical. Its least requirement of every graduate of the elementary school is a practical knowledge of reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, history, geography-a knowledge that can be and is applied to the every day problems of life. Hence in the elementary school the curriculum is built around the three R's.


Education is progressive. There is no point of satisfaction on the part of a real teacher. There is an ambition to have her pupils do better and accomplish more. The satisfied teacher is a dead teacher. New text-books and new methods are the accompaniments of progressiveness in education and gives us "A to-day that is better than yesterday." Therefore when a superintendent discloses facts bearing on reading, writing, arithmetic and recommends that reading


e


120


be systematized, that silent reading be encouraged for the sake of better oral reading later, and that the self-expression of the pupils be developed for the purpose of enabling the pupil to have expression later ; when in regard to writing he recommends the elimination of copy books, the use of the muscular movement with its application to all school work and the employment of an expert to instruct the teachers in a system involving these features, or when in arithmetic he recommends the adoption of a new text-book, more oral work, and more problems ; this is done in the spirit of progressiveness.


It is not done because the schools have not been doing their work nor is it done because our schools are on a lower plane than those of other towns and cities. No, it is done because education is a growing thing ; because of the inherent human ambition that to- morrow shall be better than to-day ; and progressiveness means econ- omy of time, concentration of effort, and the conservation of pupil's resources. It is done in the spirit of construction, not of destruc- tion ; in the spirit of strength, not of weakness.


A pupil should accomplish definite things in each grade and at each milestone the question may arise as to what they do know or whether they know what they ought and need to know.


In any grade a pupil should be able to read silently or orally, and intelligently, anything within his comprehension the scope of which should be constantly enlarging. To read well silently means to be able to express clearly the thoughts of the author in the words of the reader. To read orally and with intelligence means to ex- press the thoughts of the author in the words of the author with such clear enunciation and articulation and comprehension that a hearer or hearers without the book will readily understand the thought of the author.


In our schools this test is well met. While the lower grades are naturally stronger in silent reading yet their oral reading of subject matter within their experience is of a high order and will compare favorably with that done anywhere.


In writing a ninth grade pupil should be able to write rapidly, legibly and easily, his downward strokes conforming to the standard slant of sixty-five degrees.


The elementary school should give the pupil this facility and legibility of writing and I believe that our schools are on the way to do this successfully.


121


Progress along this line has been hindered by the changes that have taken place in respect to writing in our schools. Many of our teachers were brought up on vertical writing and never knew any other system until the medial slant was introduced four years ago. It has been hard for them to forget the vertical and to acquire the medial slant, and that difficulty has been increased by the necessity of teaching it.


Many of our pupils, too, had the vertical writing during all or a part of their elementary school course and have therefore been obliged to drop the old for the new.


This change for both teachers and pupils has resulted in a lack of uniformity and a confusion which was inevitable but it will be followed by handwriting that will be characterized by its uniformity, legibility and speed.


In arithmetic the elementary school should supply its pupils with a thorough knowledge of the four fundamental operations which can be accurately and rapidly applied in the transactions of every day life. It should supply him a thorough knowledge of fractions and make him accurate and rapid in their use. Of decimals, denominate numbers (excluding problems involving troy weight and Apothecaries' weight), percentage and its application, and square root every graduate of our elementary school should have a good working knowledge which will enable him to apply them with accuracy and speed. That is the least arithmetic with which he should be equipped when he leaves the grammar school.


Our school system furnishes that knowledge and a large majority of our pupils would acqrit themselves well in a test as they have done. The arithmetic work done in our schools to-day is good. It can, however, be better and it is my purpose in recommending a change in text-books to secure a book that leads from the concrete to the abstract, that is logical and pedagogical, and that will equip a pupil who leaves our seventh grade with that fundamental knowledge of arithmetic the items of which have been given above.


A receipt for delaying progress in our schools would be for the Superintendent and teachers to conceal their knowledge about any opportunity for improvement for fear of creating in the popular mind an impression of doubt as to the efficiency of the school in all the other particulars.


122


The scope and character of the work done in history and geography has undergone no change except that in history the method of dealing with certain periods of the history of the United States and certain features of its government has been improved.


In the use of the English language a decided improvement has resulted from a movement started about three years ago in favor of a larger proportion of oral work and more attention to technical grammar in the upper grades. The construction of the language is better understood and its illogical features have become a part of the useful knowledge with which the child should be furnished by the elementary school.


In this discussion I have endeavored to show that in reading, English, history and geography the work done by our elementary schools has improved and is to-day of a high order. That does not mean that the Superintendent or any teacher is satisfied but that what has been done is the highest attainment so far, and that the future will afford the opportunity for still further accomplishment along those lines ; that in writing and arithmetic I have recom- mended changes in method that will be justified by the better attain- ments of the pupils who leave our school either during the course or at its completion ; that these recommendations are not made because of glaring faults or weaknesses in our system, but because education is a growth and because we want our schools to do more and better than they have done.


RETARDATION.


For the educational im ortance of tables showing the retardation and elimination of pupils in our schools you are referred to the school report of last year.


123


Table I. Showing age and grade distribution, September, 1909.


GRADE.


Age


I


2


3


4


5


6


7


8


9


Total


4


5


5


5


77


4


81


6


77


49


3


129


7


35


73


30


4


142


8


8


39


45


23


7


122


9


4


24


40


35


I5


2


I20


IO


3


6


24


31


34


27


2


127


II


3


2


7


IO


27


38


19


3


109


I2


4


I2


18


26


34


32


8


I34


13


I


I


3


4


12


25


I8


25


I5


IO4


I4


I


3


7


9


I8


29


67


IS


I


12


I6


I


7


Total Above normal age


213


198


I57


120


II6


125


82


79


69


II59


33


39


27


33


32


9


I


6


199


Per Cent 1 above normal age


8.9


16.6 24.8 22.5 28.4


25.6 10.9 1.2


8.6


17.2


6


124


Table II. Showing the age and grade distribution, September, 1910.


GRADE.


Age


I


2


3


4


5


6


7


8


9


Total


4


4


4


5


80


3


83


6


8g


59


4


152


7


44


51


35


I


131


8


I7


30


65


21


I33


9


I


I7


35


56


25


2


I36


IO


3


4


31


44


42


24


I


149


II


4


5


8


I4


22


24


20


6


I


I13


J2


3


2


4


7


I4


31


35


20


5


I2I


I3


3


I


2


ó


IO


19


28


25


32


I26


14


T


I


6


2


IO


I3


22


55


15


I


2


I


I


6


II


22


I6


I


I


2


248


175


184


150


I2I


IO3


105


70


71


I227


31


32


45


28


32


22


12


6


O


208


Per Cent )


above normal age


12.5


18.3 24.4 18.6 26.4


21.3 11.4


8.6


|17.68


By a comparison of Table II with Table 1 you will notice that in grade one there were thirty-one retarded pupils in September, 1910, against nineteen in September. 1909, and that the per cent of those above normal age has increased from 17.2 to 17.68.


The principal reason for these increases is the late entrance of foreigners who are unable to read and write English into the first grade.


While the total number retarded is 208, an increase of nine over the preceding year, yet the showing is really an improvement because of the thirty-one in the first grade who began at abnormal ages.


This table substracts from 178 the number beginning each grade in September. 1910. and divides the remainder in each in- stance by 178, showing the tendency toward eliminatiou in our schools during a period of two years.


The tendency is toward the retention of more pupils through the ninth grade and the High School.


Total Above normal age


125


When these tables of elimination shall have been computed for the next eleven years then it can be accurately stated just what number and per cent of one hundred and seventy-eight who began the first grade in September, 1909, have been carried through the High School. Until then only the tendency can be noted.


ELIMINATION.


Table III, showing elimination and rate of same in each grade September, 1909.


Grade


Beginning


Elimination


Per Cent


1


178


2


198


3


157


21


11.7


4


120


58


32.5


5


116


62


34.2


6


125


53


29.7


7


82


96


53.9


8


79


99


55.6


9


69


109


61.2


High School


I


54


124


69.6


II


25


153


65.9


III


23


155


87.00


IV


21


157


88.2


Table IV. Showing elimination and rate of same in each grade September, 1910.


Grade


Beginning


Elimination


Per Cent


1


174


2


150


28


15.7


3


168


30


15.1


4


141


16


10.1


5


117


3


2.5


6


97


19


16.3


7


100


25


20


8


70


12


14.6


9


71


8


10.1


High School


I


51


18


26


II


37


17


31.5


III


14


11


44


IV


24


126


This table shows the number of those beginning the first grade in September, 1909, who began the second grade in September, 1910, those beginning the second grade in 1909, who began the third grade in 1910 and so on.


It is a comparative table and the conclusions are more favorable than were those drawn from Table III last year.


Table V. Showing elimination and rate of same in each grade September, 1910. based on 178. the number who began the first . grade in September, 1909.


Grade


Beginning


Elimination


Per Cent


1


174


2


150


28


15.7


3


168


10


5.6


4


141


37


20.7


5


117


61


34.2


6


97


81


45.5


7


100


78


43.2


8


70


108


60.7


9


71


107


60.1


High School


I


51


127


71.3


II


37


141


80.3


III


14


164


91.7


IV


24


154


87.6


COMMERCIAL COURSE.


A three years' commercial course was established in the High School in September with Mr. S. Ed McConnell as teacher.


Mr. McConnell is a graduate of Mount Union College, Ohio, and has had three years of successful teaching experience. For two years he was the head of the commercial department of the West Springfield High School, and for one year had charge of the commercial department in the High School at Wakefield, Massachu- setts. He resigned this position to take up the work at Palmer.


Under Mr. McConnell the work has started very auspiciously and we anticipateja successful course.


127


The commercial course is now arranged as follows :


First Year. Second Year.


Third Year.


· English I


English II


English III


Algebra I


Bookkeeping II


English History


Commercial Arithmetic


Stenography


Typewriting


Bookkeeping


Typewriting


Stenography Spelling


Penmanship


Penmanship


Commercial Geography ( Commercial Law


Spelling


Spelling


and Correspond- ence Penmanship


This course provides for three years' work in English, one year of mathematics, including commercial arithmetic. two years of stenography, one year and a half of bookkeeping, three years of spelling, three years of penmanship, commercial law and office practice.


We aim to equip our students with such a knowledge of the above subject as to make them really worth something to their employers.


We intend that our stenographers shall know stenography so well that they will be both accurate and rapid in taking notes, and in reading them without frequently asking what was said at such and such a place. By means of drill and practice during two years those who devote themselves to the work and follow the directions of the instructor will become efficient stenographers.


In typewriting we are teaching the touch system by which the operator strikes the keys without seeing them.


Accuracy and speed are the aims in typewriting, and we believe that two years' work in this subject with daily practice will develop accurate and rapid operators.


Office practice will consist of instruction in and practice with filing systems, telephone etiquette, and other features that help to make up the regular routine of office work.


By means of instruction in business English and spelling, to- gether with penmanship, we aim to fit our students to properly contruct business letters, to exercise intelligence in regard to corre- spondence, to conform to business usage, to spell correctly, and to write legibly and rapidly.


The aim of this commercial course is to enable the students to


128


earn a living by doing well and acceptably what the world wants done in this line. It will be correlated, however, to a considerable degree with the businesses of the town in order that the graduates may be able to supply the local needs.


The school, however, cannot insure an education to any one. It can furnish the opportunity, the facilities, but whether or not an education is obtained rests with the young man or the young woman, and to a very great degree with the parents.


An education can neither be bought nor stolen. There is no short cut to it. Good, earnest. honest work is the only way by which it can be obtained. The degree of education, therefore, is measured by the effort that is put into it.


The size of one's pocket book will determine the kind of clothes he can buy but it will not procure for him an education.


Education cannot be given in exchange for money. Effort is the one thing that can be exchanged for it.


No school therefore can do any more for a student than he and his parents will give in effort to meet the school. All that the school does is contingent on the cooperation of its students and their parents.


To carry on the work of the commercial department and properly serve the increased number that will enroll in the course next year will require an assistant teacher the cost of which will not exceed seven hundred dollars per year.


MANUAL TRAINING.


Woodworking for the boys and sewing for the girls in the eighth and ninth grades and the High School commenced in September, but the work was interrupted by the resignation of Miss Florence Tarbell, the supervisor of Drawing and teacher of Manual Training.


We were fortunate in securing the services of Miss Anna D. McAuliffe, a graduate of the Normal Art School of Boston, who took up the work in October and has carried it on with excellent success.


Simple things. such as hat racks, coat hangers, sleeve-boards, clothes-sticks, book-racks, pen trays and plant stands have been made by the boys to accustom them to the use of tools, but the method followed has been this : first, each boy has made a scaled


129


drawing of a hat-rack, for example, and then has worked out in wood with tools that drawing.


A more intimate acquaintance with the various tools will in- crease the facility and accuracy of their use by the boys, and more advanced work will then be done.


The boys of the eighth and ninth grades are much interested in this work, and some who have difficulty with the expression of ideas in their regular text-book work readily and accurately express their thoughts in wood. They in particular are served by manual training.


The course in sewing has met with liberal patronage on the part of the girls, who have shown much interest and have attained good results.


Dust-cloths, towels, sewing-bags, dust-caps, white aprons, work aprons and corset covers have been made by them. Patches they have learned to make. Samplers, or the various kinds of stitches, have also been a part of the work.


They have learned to cut and use patterns in making these articles. The work, therefore, has been of a practical nature.


TEACHERS' SALARIES.


Table 1, showing the comparative population and valuation of eighteen towns in Massachusetts based on census of 1910 :


Town.


Population.


Valuation.


Amherst,


5,112


$3,877,639


Athol,


8,536


4,643,701


Braintree,


8,066


6,265,880


Danvers,


9,407


6,470,425


Fasthampton,


8,524


5,961,261


Great Barrington,


5,926


6.030,715


Greenfield,


10,427


10,130,132


Methuen,


11,448


7,198,034


Monson,


4,758


1,888,815


Montague,


6,866.


4,222,955


North Attleboro,


9,562


7,732,240


Northbridge,


8,807


4,594,600


Orange,


5,282


3,704,710


PALMER,


8,610


4,364.687


Saugus,


8,047


5,510,516


Ware,


8,774


4,814,775


West Springfield,


16,044


7,319,159


Whitman,


7,292


4,994,721


130


Table II, showing maximum salary paid to teachers of each grade and to grammar school principals by each of eighteen towns :


GRADE.


TOWN.


I


2


3


4


5


6


7


8


9


Prin.


Amherst,


$432


$432


$432


$432


$468


$468


$468


$468


$475 $500


Athol,


456


456


456


456


456


456


456


456


600


1000


Braintree,


500


500


500


500


450


540


600


I200 750 500 500


1500


G. Barrington,


456


456


456


456


475


475


494


456 49 600


574 600


Soo


Methuen,


500


500


500


500


500


500 437


500 418


418


532


Montague,


500


500


500


500


500


500


525


525


700


55


N. Attleboro,


55


550


550


550


550


550


600


600


750


I200


Northbridge,


650


650


650


650


650


650


650


650 486


650


1000


Orange,


450


450


450


450


450


450


450


650


PALMER,


456


456


456


456


456


456


456


456


456


608


Saugus,


500


500


500


500


500 600


600


650


750


1000


W. Springfield,


470


470


470


470


520


520


520


520


520


900


Whitman,


600


60


600


600


600


600


600


600


600


1000


456


456


456


456


500 456


500 456


500


456


45€


700


Greenfield,


500


500


500


500


500


550


550


55


750


750


Monson,


456


456


437


437


437


500


500


500


700


700


Ware,


500


500


500


500


The purpose of getting the information contained in these tables was to learn the position of Palmer in regard to the question of teachers' salaries as compared with other towns in the state similar in size and valuation.


By observing tables I and II it will be seen that in population Palmer stands eighth ; in valuation fourteenth ; in maximum salary paid to grade teachers seventeenth.


The ability to pay a maximum salary of thirteen dollars per week to the grade teachers would give to each teacher $494 per year for her services and would equalize the comparative position of Palmer with the other seventeen towns in the above tables.


That salary would mean less than ten dollars per week during the entire year of fifty-two weeks - approximately one dollar and a half per day, less than the wage of the average unskilled laborer.


VISITATION OF SCHOOLS BY PARENTS.


There are many reasons why parents should visit schools some of which are : to encourage the pupils ; to encourage the teachers ;


Danvers,


500


500


500


500


Easthampton,


700


131


10 become informed in regard to the work of the schools ; to get into a closer relation with the teachers and the pupils and thereby be able to cooperate with them in the work of the schools ; to stimulate and maintain an active interest in the schools.


There is very little visitation of our schools by parents and this applies particularly to the High School. By this fact a valuable stimulus to good work is removed.


Teachers and pupils need encouragement. and nothing gives it as does the manifestation of active interest in the schools by the visits of parents.


Helpful suggestions may often be made to teachers and pupils by means of visits because of the first hand knowledge thus obtained.




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