USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Palmer > Town Annual Report of the Officers of the Town of Palmer, Massachusetts 1914 > Part 7
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1911 Rose A. Duffy, Grade I, 494.00
Thorndike Grammar School.
1891 Katharine M. Twiss, Prin., Grades VIII-IX, $650.00
1911 Florence I. Sampson, Grades VI 'and VII, 494.00
1910 Bridget Griffin, Grade V, 532.00
1890 Cora B. Clark, Grade IV, 532.00
1912 Mary I. Hartnett, Grade III, 456.00
1914 Florence I. Allen, Grade II, 418.00
1874 Mary E. Murdock, Grade I, 532.00
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Three Rivers Grammar School.
1890 Annie E. O'Connor, Prin., Grades VIII-IX, $650.00
1910 Luna A. Whitlock, Grade VII, 532.00
1910 Nellie L. Twiss, Grade VI, 532.00
1912 Grace A. Walsh, Grade V, 456.00
1914 Katharine B. Denlinger, Grade IV, 532.00
1896 Lucy B. Twiss, Grade III, 532.00
1911 Mae C. Fitzgerald, Grade II, 494.00
1909 Flora L. Morey, Grade I, 532.00
1912 Elizabeth A. Shea, Grades I and II, 456.00
Bondsville Grammar School.
1894 *Jennie C. Twiss, Prin., Grades VIII and IX, $650.00
1908 Lucy P. Fitzgerald, Acting Principal, 650.00
1914 Mary F. Smith, Grades VI and VII, 418.00
1908 Lucy C. Fitzgerald, Grades VI and VII, 532.00
1913 Helen M. Grace, Grade V, 418.00
1913 Mary G. Hartnett, Grade IV, 418.00
1912 Zilpha L. Sturtevant, Grade III, 456.00
1911 Mary E. Quirk, Grade II, 494.00
1914 Bessie King, Grade I,
418.00
1913 Anna C. Bothwell, Grade I, 418.00
*Leave of Absence.
Palmer Center School.
1901 May E. Mahoney, Grades I to V, $532.00
Shorley District School.
1909 Maude V. Foley, Grades I to VI, $532.00
Wire Mill School.
1913 Agnes E. Sullivan, Grades III and IV, $418.00
1914 Gladys L. Webber, Grades I and II, $418.00
Drawing and Manual Training.
Helen H. Leland, $800.00 1913
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Music.
1897 Joanna V. Cantwell, $550.00
G. GRADUATES, 1914.
I. PALMER HIGH SCHOOL. Four Years' Course.
Marion Fisher Andrews, . Robert Ware Bodfish, Sarah Jessie Bothwell, Mary Lillian Brown, William Thomas Brown, Ruth Sarah Buffington, Chester Walton Burgess, Walter Leslie Cameron, Mary Cavanaugh, Frances Hoyt Chandler, William Henry Collins,
Emily Charlotte Fauteux, James Clifford Geer, Muriel Sanders Greene, John Daniel Hartnett,
May Louise Johnson,
Robert Lovett McDonald,
William Forbes Mckenzie, Alice Winifred Perry,
Vera Hazel Smith, Dorothy Stimson,
Horace Pottle Stimson,
Marjory Stimson,
Honora Dillon Sullivan,
Mary Sullivan, George Dole Summers,
Edwin Huckle Swann,
Mabel Grace Swann,
Alice Annetta Turkington, Joseph Winer.
Commercial Course.
Carlos Henry Bradley, Martin Michael Brosnan, Ruth Catherine Dryden, Clifford Francis Foster, Parker Benjamin Freeman, Willard Scott French, Anna Caroline Johnson,
Henry Nathaniel Johnson, Edith Elba Lindquist, Mootla Vertene Marsan, Edna Ruth Mason,
Pearl Vera Shaw,
Florence Hildegarde Ross, Teresa Mae Sullivan.
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II. GRAMMAR SCHOOL GRADUATES.
Palmer.
*Luella May Barrett, *Joseph Edwin Bates,
*Charles Albert Burgess, Jr.,
*Anna Hopkins Burns,
*Gladys Gilchrist Crosby,
*Mildred May Edmonds, *Bertha Gold,
*Una Maud Greene,
*Philip Holmes Holden,
*Oscar Kennerson Jones,
*Helen Madeline Keefe,
Charles Everette Kingdon, *Albert Augustus Lavalle, *Morris Ritner F. Livezly, Flora Emma Mayor,
*William James Osborn,
*Ernest Raymond Ross,
*Waverly Otto Smith, Christine Stimson,
*Lillian Idela Trumble,
*Myrtle Blanche Whitcomb,
*Bradley Woodgate.
Thorndike.
*Fred Waterman Davis, *John Francis Luman,
*Rose Stella Fortier, *David Hamilton Mckenzie,
*James Giles Hughes, *Mary Anna Romaniak,
*\Villiam Timothy Keefe, *Henrietta Heaton Wallace,
*Mary Adelaide® Wallace.
Bondsville.
*Catherine Rose Austin, *Agnes Frances Hanifin,
*James Austin Cannon, *James Maurice Moriarty,
*Catherine Agnes Donahue, *Michael Shea,
*Ernest Philip Fauteux, *Mary Catherine Sullivan, *John Howard White.
Three Rivers.
*Mabel Barker, *Minnie Cole,
*Pearl Arvilla Barker, *Louise White Miller,
William Albert Brown, *Mary Margerie Motyka,
*Elton Kinney Chamberlin, * Laurence Sullivan,
*Samuel Herbert Turkington.
*Those whose names are starred entered the High School.
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"NO-SCHOOL" SIGNAL.
The signal is given by direction of the Superintendent of Schools.
The School Committee has adopted the following regu- lations respecting the "no-school" signals :
The "no-school" signal, when given at 8 o'clock a. m., indicates that there will be no morning session in grades 1, 2 and 3.
When given at 8.30 a. m. indicates that there will be no school in all grades.
When given at 11.15 indicates that there will be no afternoon session for grades 1, 2 and 3.
When given at 11.45 indicates that there will be no afternoon session for all grades.
The "no-school" signal in Precinct A will be given on the fire alarm by three strokes of the bell twice re- peated, making nine strokes in all, thus: *** *** ***
In Precinct D, or Bondsville, the "no-school" signal will be sounded upon the steam chime whistle at the mill of T. D. Potter.
In other precincts the "no-school" signal will be given by three blasts on the steam chime whistles, each from 3 to 5 seconds' duration, a pause between each blast of from 3 to 5 seconds, thus : It will also be sounded by the chime whistle of the Wright Wire Company.
The "no-school" signal does not affect the High School ; sessions are held there every day.
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MEDICAL INSPECTION. The present method of deal- ing with this phase of school work is not satisfactory to the Superintendent. The work of our inspectors is good and is faithfully performed. I have no criticism to make of them. Our work is run on too narrow a gauge. It deals only, or practically so, with the prevention side. This is highly important work. In fact, the need of it was responsible for the introduction of medical inspection in the schools. But as the work has been con- tinued year after year, the possibilities, of further need and wider extension have become apparent.
We all recognize that we have social obligations. The day of the individual-apart from everyone else, with obli- gations to none-has long since gone past. The welfare of all is our concern.
The public school is a public organization run on purely social lines. It is deeply concerned with the wel- fare-physical as well as mental and moral-of every pupil enrolled therein. The need of the physical examination of every pupil at least once a year is absolutely imperative. Such an examination should be for the purpose of dis- covering the following infirmities :- Defective nasal breath- ing ; hypertrophied tonsils ; cervical lymphnodes ; pulmon- ary disease ; skin disease ; orthopedic defects ; mulnutrition ; rickets; defective teeth, palate, hearing, and sight. Some may assert that it is the duty of the home to discover these. We will not argue that it is not. We will assert, nevertheless, that such discovery is not made oftentimes, unless it is made in the schools. Surely every boy and girl ought to have the best possible chance to make good in this world. Can he do so with such physical defects left undiscovered and uncured? Is he responsible for possess- ing such impedimenta? Should he not be placed in the best condition possible? If an affirmative answer can be given to these questions in all sincerity and truth, we are placing faulty argument before you ; if not, our contention is good, and definite action should be taken to rectify matters.
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How can this rectification be made? It can be done, in part at least, very simply. The Town should pay its medical inspectors sufficient money to allow the doing of such work. At present we pay four doctors two hundred (200) dollars. If we paid each inspector one hundred (100) dollars per building for each large school and the same amount for the combined districts, it would cost us six hundred (600) dollars. Surely this is not an excessive amount to be paid for such a necessary work! I sincerely hope that this suggestion will bear fruit.
The four main objects of medical inspection of school children are :
(1). The identification of all pupils requiring medical care.
(2). Prompt exclusion from school of all pupils suf- fering from communicable diseases.
(3). Detection of ailments and diseases other than communicable diseases which may or may not have a bearing upon the scholarship of a pupil.
(4). The detection of defects of sight or hearing or other disability injurious to pupils.
Lack of funds only prevents us from carrying out these four ends.
TWO NEEDS. Good physical equipment is not the main requisite for good schools. The main requirement is good teaching. Yet, a sufficient phy- sical equipment often makes good schools better. If this is not true, every city in the country is insane in its furnish- ing of school accommodations. Our schools are suffering seriously at the present time because of the lack of two things-an assembly hall and a gymnasium in either the Palmer High School or the Palmer Grammar School.
The lack of an assembly hall is constantly forced upon us. With our new line of work in English-debating, pre- pared and extemporaneous speaking, monthly assemblies, etc .- , we are forced to work under great disadvantages. The social needs of high school pupils-and they have just
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as urgent social as mental needs -- can not be properly met under existing conditions. These handicaps may not seem heavy from your point of view, because you do not realize that they are but two of the many that weigh us down. We have many limitations forced upon us because of the lack of funds. We are striving to supply every educational need of our pupils. It is hard to do this with limited means. When we start, we know that our lack of the "wherewithal" makes the complete attainment of our am- bition an utter impossibility. We are not complaining ; we are simply stating facts. We could spend double our present yearly appropriation and not do a greater variety of work; we would not do more, but much better work.
The Town, as well as the schools, is badly in need of® a gymnasium. Much for the physical betterment of our pupils could be done that must now be left undone. Few schools are erected nowadays without both an assembly hall and a gymnasium. When a new school is erected in Palmer, these two needs should be supplied. This could be done if, when the next building is erected, it is a new high school. The more study I give to the question of a building in the village of Palmer, the more I am inclined to believe that the best and ultimately less expensive solution of our overcrowded school conditions would be the building of a new high school. If we continue to grow, we shall soon be too large for the present high school facilities. The present building is well-adapted for grammar school pur- poses and could be utilized to take care of our growing elementary school population. Although the initial ex- penditure would be larger than necessary to meet present needs, nevertheless, I believe that a period of fifteen years will be sufficient to prove its economy. Whatever pro- vision is made, kindly bear this prediction in mind. Time will prove or disprove its wisdom.
It is not within my province or desire to endeavor to influence anyone against his best judgment about the best way to meet our present lack of school housing. Because
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of my opportunity to see and know conditions, I feel duty- bound to offer my opinion. I recognize Palmer's present financial troubles as well as anyone; yet, in spite of these, the erection of a new high school building appeals to me as the wisest, sanest, and most economical move that Palmer can make.
*LATITUDE. "If you would have a thing ,well done, select the right person to do it, keep your hands off, and require results." This principle of functional management has been one of the basic principles laid down for successful scientific management by F. W. Taylor, the father of scientific management in America, the original efficiency engineer. It is usually applied in business ; it is often misapplied in school business. If you want to place responsibility upon the doer, don't give minute directions for every detail. Allow for the doer's initiative. Other- wise, he will rightly refuse to accept the responsibility ; he will allow his genius for originality to become deadened.
The man at the head of a school or school system, a principal or superintendent, is supposed to be an expert ; if he is not, he is misplaced and should be replaced by one who is. If his opinions are sane and his conclusions well founded, they ought to be accepted by those above him in authority, be they superintendent or school board. The superintendent who continually hampers his principal or the school com- mittee that does likewise with its superintendent by meddling in affairs that belong to him, is one of the most discouraging hindrances to educational progress. A super- intendent's relation to his principal is that of an agent to his sub-agent. The committee's relation to its executive head should be similar to that of a board of directors of a corporation to its general manager.
Dr. Taylor, in a lecture before the Harvard School of Business Administration, said :--
"The proper functions of a board of directors would be, for instance, to select, after having proper evidence
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presented to it, the broad and general type of management to be introduced in the establishment After having done this, and after having broadly stated the policy of the company, as to payment of wages and salaries, they should not mess into the detail of personnel-by ordering the president to employ this man, or discharge that man, or promote another man. Nor should they vote a reduction of wages or an increase of wages contrary to the leadership of their president.
"Other functions of the board of directors should be, for example, dictating the broad policy to be followed in the sales department ; namely, whether the sales are mainly to be conducted through agencies or traveling salesmen, and the extent and kind of advertising to be used. Again however, the details of the executive work should be left under the direction of the president. The general financial policy of the company should also be one of the functions of the board of directors, as well as the broad lines along which progress is to be made. That is, the decision as to the type of the new product to be manufactured and sold, and the volume of business which is to be prepared for.
"The president should lead his board of directors rather than be a tool to be guided by them in detail; and when it becomes impossible for the president to lead in the carrying out of the general policy of the board, another man should be selected for the head of the business who is in harmony with the board's wishes and competent to lead them.
"The world's experience in all directions has demon- strated the utter impracticability of doing successfully executive work under the management of a body of men either large or small. An executive committee of one is the best committee to have in charge of executive work. The president should be free to have as many advisers around him as he wants, and these men can be called an executive committee as well as by any other name; but their duties should be those of advisers. In all executive
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acts they should be under the orders of the president and they should not be allowed to control his acts by a majority vote. He should in principle occupy the same position as the President of the United States. He should be free, practically, to select his own cabinet, and then should be in complete command of his men. The men under him should be free to advise him in the most emphatic man- ner, but the final decision in all matters should rest with him, and the board of directors should not entertain nor act upon appeals made to them from the cabinet officers beneath the president."
If schools are to be wisely and ably conducted, men of the right calibre must be attracted to the profession. School teaching is no longer in the ministerial class where pure idealism is sufficient incentive. Business to-day is alluring many of the men of superior education and ad- ministrative ability. A good schoolman must have a good education, strong moral sense, enthusiasm for social service, good executive ability ; he must be able to meet people well, judge human nature keenly, and present his views clearly and convincingly. These qualifications command large money and freedom in the business world. He must serve in many public capacities. . On top of this, he is often carpingly criticized and interfered with to an extent that he either becomes a petty schemer with his mind fixed on petty affairs or is driven in disgust from the profession. Business demands the best obtainable business ability in positions that compare in size and expenditure with large schools or school systems. It is willing to pay for it and to allow enough freedom to develop individual ideas. When such liberality and latitude are allowed school executives, the public may rightfully demand the largest possible social return from the expenditure of its money.
*This treatise of freedom of action is an adaptation. from Prof. Monroe's "Principles of Secondary Education."
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HIGH SCHOOL. Mr. Lee T. Gray, Principal of our High School for the past eight years, left us this fall to go to Bangor, Maine. Our school stead- ily grew under Mr. Gray, the enrollment increasing and the course of study being greatly enlarged. The vacancy in the Principalship was filled by the selection of Mr. John E. Hurley, a Palmer product, who taught Science in this school last year. Mr. Hurley was selected because of his high moral character, his tenacity and persistency of pur- pose, his fondness for work, and his excellent mental equip- ment. He has filled his office so completely during his in- cumbency that he has more than fulfilled our expectations. His choice was most apt. Under his guidance, Palmer High School will continue to grow as a strong, efficient, progressive institution.
Although contrary to local procedure, I give below the full report upon the High School as handed to me by Mr. Hurley, feeling that this is one of the best ways of acquainting you with him and his purposes as Principal :
Mr. C. H. Hobson, Superintendent of Schools :-
In compliance with your request,I am submitting the following report of the High School. As you perhaps realize, it must be somewhat limited in scope, owing to the short time I have been in office. However, there are some points which can be covered to advantage.
In June, 1914, a class of forty-eight was graduated, this being the largest in the history of the school. Of this number, thirty were classical graduates, and eighteen were commercial graduates. Seventeen of the four year grad- uates have gone to higher educational institutions :- J. Clifford Geer, William Brown, and William F. Mackenzie are studying Chemistry at Tufts; William H. Collins has entered Brown to pursue a similar course; John D. Hart- nett is enrolled as a student at the Mass. College of Pharm- acy ; while Horace P. Stimson and W. Leslie Cameron are students at Amherst and Amherst Agricultural College, respectively, the former choosing the regular academic
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course, while Mr. Cameron intends making Landscape Gardening his vocation. Robert Bodfish is at Clark, and Raymond Wilder of the 1913 Class, who took a post grad- uate course last year, has entered Brown to study Civil Engineering. Of the young women, Miss Turkington and the Misses Stimson have entered Smith; Miss Chandler is at Mt. Holyoke; Miss Brown is attending The Springfield Civil Service School; and the Misses Bothwell, Green, Perry, and Cavanaugh have chosen Westfield Normal. All but two of the graduates from the Commercial Department have been placed in good positions.
When school opened in September, there were two changes in the faculty. Mr. Gray, the former principal, had resigned to accept the submastership of the Bangor, Me., High School, while Miss Fish, teacher of Stenography and . Typewriting, had tendered her resignation, to become head of the Commercial Department in the Swampscott, Mass., High School.
One hundred seventy-two students were enrolled on the opening day. By classes, these were distributed as follows :-- Seniors, thirty-nine; Juniors, forty-six; Sopho- mores, twenty-two; and Freshmen, fifty-two. In addition to these, there were eight post graduates, and five specials. The number of post graduates this year has been larger than ever before. The entering class was evenly divided between the two departments, twenty-six choosing each course. This fact, I think, is demonstrative of the popularity and efficiency of our Commercial Department.
The work in the various departments has been pro- gressing very favorably. The teachers have shown fine spirit, and it would be extremely difficult to find in any school a group of instructors who are more deeply in- terested in their work, or in the welfare of the school. In the Commercial Department, Mr. Eastman still continues to maintain the same high standard, and to produce the same excellent results which have characterized his work since he assumed charge.
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A new adding machine and twenty-two new type- writers have been added to the equipment in this depart- ment. The former is kept in almost constant use, and even at this early date many of the students are becoming expert in its manipulation.
An unusually large second year class necessitated the installation of new typewriters. We have thirty-two all told, and there are very few towns in the state, none in our immediate vicinity, which can boast of such a number in use, or which can boast of a better equipped department. Every effort has been made to perfect it.
The resignation of Miss Fish was a severe blow, not only to this department, but to the whole school. Her ex- traordinary qualifications as a teacher, combined with a fine personality, keen foresight, and a strict adherence to high ideals; the active and enthusiastic manner in which she entered into every movement which involved the wel- fare of the school -- all made her loss a source of the keenest regret. However, the school has been very fortunate in being able to secure the services of such a capable in- structor as Miss Georgietta MacIntire, who succeeded Miss
Fish. Miss MacIntire is a graduate of Lynn Business Institute, and is well fitted by both training and experience for the position which she now holds. Her work thus far has been eminently satisfactory.
The work of Miss Melius in Mathematics and that of Miss Clark in Latin have been productive of such excellent results that the same need no further comment.
A very high standard is maintained in English. The regular recitations are supplemented by five minute speeches and weekly assemblies held in the classroom. Then there are the public assemblies held monthly in Me- morial Hall. The purpose of these latter is to familiarize the student in the art of public speaking. the benefits of which can hardly be overestimated. Further along these lines, an innovation has been introduced this year in the form of a debating society. Membership is compulsory
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upon Seniors and Juniors. For the present, it is planned to hold most of the debates in the school. Three, how- ever, will be public, the last of which will be a competitive interclass debate, Seniors opposed to Juniors, in which the victors are to receive a purse of ten dollars in gold. Thus, there is an incentive for students to display their talents. As this movement is only in its infancy, not much more can be said upon it here. The reader, however, is most re- spectfully referred to the recent issue of "The Palmer" wherein appears an article written by Lawyer Dillon, '91, setting forth very fully the great advantages to be derived from this practice. With all the foregoing advantages at their disposal, students can be now sent forth from our High School thoroughly well prepared in English. The boy or girl who enters college on certificate is well equipped for almost any occasion. Those who take up their life's work, upon leaving high school, are not devoid of that knowledge of expression, which is so essential to successful careers.
Changes have taken place this year in the Modern Language and Science Departments. Miss Toolin, who has taught French and German so successfully for the past five years, obtained a year's leave of absence, and sailed for Italy on November 6th. While there she will pursue higher courses of study. Her successor is Miss Helen G. Nicholas, Cornell.'14. Miss Nicholas came very highly recommend- ed, and her work to date has justified the recommendation in every particular.
The Science work is at present under the supervision of M. Marcus Kiley, Clark University, '14. Mr. Kiley has brought a fine personality and a thoroughly wholesome working spirit to his new duties. His unquestionable knowledge of the subject matter and the very systematic methods which he employs cannot fail of excellent results. We are extremely fortunate in securing a teacher of his calibre.
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It is a generally conceded fact in all circles of endeavor that every change in administration brings with it a number of corresponding changes or modifications. The High School this year has been no exception to this rule, although the changes have not been numerous.
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