USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Palmer > Town Annual Report of the Officers of the Town of Palmer, Massachusetts 1923 > Part 7
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boxes, broom holders, towel dryers, towel rollers, bird houses, book racks, marble towel holders, sleeve boards, smoking stands, shoe shine boxes, waste baskets, caned chairs, toy carts; Boys' Special-Toy animals, automo- biles, carts, etc. (movable and stationary), cake spoons, knife, fork and spoon boxes, necktie racks, whisk broom holders, small chairs.
In the beginning there was a strong re-action against attendance of children in these classes upon the part of many parents. This was due entirely to a misunder- standing of the purpose of these classes. The reason for this re-action against it is due entirely to the failure of parents to get the right slant upon this kind of work. Many parents feel, when their child is first sent to these classes, that it is something in the nature of a social disgrace-a reflection upon the family. This is not true. It is no reflection. Parents should face such situa- tions with courage and with intelligence. If their child can- not do the regular academic school work well, they ought to welcome an opportunity to have him placed in a class which is designed by those who know to fit his special needs and talents. The sole purpose of the class is to best fit this type of child for life. The more one sees of the work, the more one appreciates the psychology and the good intention back of it.
The results secured last year did much to overcome this feeling upon the part of parents. When they see that their child is actually doing things and doing them well, they are apt to become reconciled to the effort being made for his social and educational betterment.
Further examinations under the direction of Dr. Hodskins of the Monson State Hospital are in progress and more children will be sent to these classes. Every time it becomes necessary to do this, it means much un- pleasantness for the Superintendent, because of the atti- tude assumed by some parents. Believing in the work,
128
knowing its purpose, and being compelled by law to en- force such attendance, the Superintendent insists in each case that those recommended shall attend. It is hoped that much of the antipathy which has been displayed by some parents in the past will not be displayed by others in the future.
MORE LAND AT NEW HIGH SCHOOL
A big mistake, in the opinion of your Superinten- dent, has been made by the failure of the Town to acquire the complete acreage in the plot of ground on the flat where the new high school is located. The building is surrounded by very little land. There is no opportunity for any kind of work along athletic or playground lines. It seems folly to locate such a building upon such a small tract when all throughout the country schools are being located upon spacious grounds, primarily for the purpose of allowing play, athletics, etc., to be indulged in.
. Nearly everyone of our citizens who has looked over our new high school has expressed the thought that the Town should acquire all of the land, approximately twelve and one-half (1212) acres, on the flat. Few, if any, have expressed an opinion to the contrary.
The land could be well utilized now for an athletic field for the high school and for the entire town. A base- ball field, a football field, tennis courts, etc., could be laid out at little expense. These all could be utilized, not only by the pupils in school, but also by the townspeople as well. During the summer, it would make an ideal place for children to play. Tennis courts would be constantly used by the grown-ups. The land is a necessity now.
In a few years, if the Town of Palmer grows, as every sane citizen hopes, an enlargement of the present plant will be necessary. When the time for expansion comes, if the expansion is of any size, more land will have to be acquired. If, in the meantime, the remaining land
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not owned by the Town is developed, and if houses are erected thereon, the acquirement of additional land will be a still more expensive proposition. Houses cannot be torn down without very liberal reimbursement to the owners. It would seem to me that wisdom and foresight should dictate that the only policy of economy to be pur- sued by the Town is that of immediate acquirement of the remaining land. I feel certain that a complete poll of the citizens of the Town would show a large majority in favor of such acquirement.
It may not seem wisdom upon my part to say this at this time, when the price determined by the Superior Court upon what was taken is of such recent knowledge. Whether wise or not, I have said it because I believe it is a duty incumbent upon me to tell frankly the citizens of the Town what, in my judgment, is for their best inter- ests concerning my own department of town activities. This I say with no feeling, with no bitterness, with no enmity, with no lack of sportsmanship, and with no per- sonal intent of affronting. It is merely an honest opinion, frankly and freely expressed.
"Horse Sense"
It is so seldom that someone outside of school work speaks in highly commendatory language of the necessity of schools-the work they do and the sort of insurance they are against calamities in the future-that, when it is done, the public ought to know it. Dr. Frank Crane, who, admittedly, writes in a somewhat sensational, exag- gerated way, has daily articles in many of our papers and monthly articles in many of our magazines. He is a keen- witted, highly intelligent, very observant, and well-in- formed gentleman. Recently, he expressed himself as follows:
"Japan is supposed to have a system of education that com- pares favorably with that of any other nation. Japanese youth
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are eager to go to school. The high schools, however, are totally inadequate to accommodate the number of applicants.
"Every year, therefore, a certain number of young people who can't find a place in the crowded schools commit suicide.
"I know few facts in the world so tragically appalling as this. "It is not an indictment of Japan, but of mankind.
"No nation in the world spends enough on its schools, or makes an effort intelligent enough to improve and maintain education.
"No other fact so reveals the low degree of our evolution as our neglect of education.
"We go on spending nine dollars out of every ten of our rev- enue for wars, past, present and to come. And war is the price we pay for that stupid provincialism that makes us refuse to enter into world government. Only a few cents of the remaining one dollar out of every ten do we spend for the most important thing in the whole world, Education.
"It is not a matter for theoretical discussion, but of life and death. As Mr. Wells said, modern civilization is a race between education and disaster.
"We madly build huger steamships and taller office buildings, form larger corporations and stronger banks, lay out finer parks and museums, and decorate them with more statuary, improve our trains de luxe, automobiles and flying machines, write books ever more clever and cynical, heighten our luxuries and intensify our sophistication, and think we are going on. We are not. We are going round and round like dancing dervishes, and meanwhile the keen-eyed chemists and the bat-eyed politicians are preparing for the next war which shall bring chaos.
. "We still dream of bringing about reforms by ramming them down the throats of adults, instead of the only sure way, teaching them to the coming generation.
"Fat-headed mayors and fat-bellied aldermen still solemnly pass resolutions to improve the town, by which they mean paving the streets, hiring more policemen and otherwise spending money for "practical" purposes. All the while there are not enough schoolrooms for the children to sit in and not enough teachers to instruct them. The teacher who should be looking after six chil- dren is compelled to look after 60, to the neglect of them all.
"We talk about national preparedness, by which we mean train- ing people to fight or to make money to pay for the fighter's keep. But the only real preparedness is in training people to THINK.
"No nation was ever destroyed except by one thing, Ignorance, the inability to think clearly.
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"We are like a father who is spending all his money on a fine house to live in, an expensive automobile to ride in, servants to wait upon him, fine clothes to adorn him, and lavish entertainment for his friends, and has no time to teach his children how to live, and no money to spare to hire other people to do it for him.
"We speak of the great problems of 30 years from now. Those who will have to meet those problems and settle them are the chil- dren that are playing in the streets today. To give serious atten- tion to those problems, and to neglect those people who will have to deal with them is most perfectly to act the fool."
If the above, making due allowance for the peculiar manner of expression, is not "horse sense" and is not worthy of a place in every school report in the country, I will frankly admit that my judgment in such matters is woefully weak.
RECOMMENDATIONS
I make but two recommendations. I limit them to two, so that they shall not be lost sight of among many. They are too important. They must stand forth in bold nakedness. They are:
(1.) That the Town immediately acquire the remain- ing acreage in the flat upon which the new high school is located.
(2.) That a gradual extension-not a curtailment- cf the new activities made possible by the new high school be made.
CONCLUSION
This report is not lengthy. Purposefully, it has been made brief, with the hope that what has been written will be thoroughly digested.
The same interest, the same conscientiousness, the same honesty, the same frankness, the same fairness, actuate us now as formerly. Though we err often, our intent is good.
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I wish to herewith express my appreciation to the following :- The School Committee, for its liberal support and its latitude; the teachers for their loyal support and active co-operation; the public for its fairness and patience.
Respectfully submitted, CLIFTON H. HOBSON, Superintendent of Schools.
Palmer, Mass., January 7, 1924.
Appendix
A. GENERAL STATISTICS
I. Population
Census of 1920,
9,896
School Population, April 1, 1922, 5 to 16 years of age,
2,762
School Population, April 1, 1923, 5 to 16 years of age,
2,753
II. Pupils
Number of Children in Town, April 1, between:
1921-1922
1922-1923
Ages 5 and 7,
631
590
Ages 7 and 14,
1,705
1,727
Ages 14 and 16,
426
436
2,762
2,753
Aggregate Enrolment, September to June, 2,227
2,134
Average Daily Attendance,
1,933.39
1,848.68
Average Number Belonging,
2,016.37
1,933.71
Per Cent. of Attendance,
95.89
95.60
Average Number of Pupils per Teacher:
In High School,
20.27
25.54
In Other Schools,
30.92
33.92
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B. ATTENDANCE STATISTICS Attendance by Schools, 1922-1923
Average
Membership
Average
Attendance
Per Cent. of
Attendance
Enrolment
Tardiness
High,
250.36
241.35
96.35
52
281
Palmer Grammar,
637.35
602.47
94.66
176
700
Three Rivers Grammar,
188.26
182.75
96.99
17
213
Wenimisset,
115.12
110.08
95.62
35
126
Thorndike Grammar,
231.40
224.98
97.23
24
245
Bondsville Grammar,
356.38
340.10
95.43
18
394
Wire Mill,
107.76
102.77
95.39
33
119
Palmer Center,
21.86
21.25
97.20
7
24
Forest Lake,
25.22
22.93
90.00
5
32
Total,
1,933.71
1,848.68
95.60
367
2,134
C. FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR YEAR 1923
Account
Appropriation Expended
Balance
General Expenses,
$9,185.00
$9,152.81
$32.19
Teachers' Salaries,
83,185.00
79,233.46
3,951.54
Textbooks and Supplies,
6,500.00
7,014.25
-514.25
Transportation,
6,700.00
6,862.85
-162.85
Janitors' Services,
7,525.00
6.667.32
857.68
Fuel & Light,
8,950.00
13,347.73
-4,397.73
Maintenance of Buildings and Grounds,
2,500.00
2,253.79
246.21
Repairs,
3,000.00
2,823.70
176.30
Music, Manual Training and Drawing,
3,900.00
3,885.22
14.78
Commercial,
9,240.00
9,098.95
141.05
Furniture and Furnishings,
2,000.00
2,365.85
-365.85
Other Expenses,
10,175.00
11,340.92
-1,165.92
Continuation,
6,650.00
6,119.92
530.08
Americanization,
2,500.00
1,511.19
988.81
Special Heating,
5,000.00
5,551.52
-551.52
$167,010.00
$167,229.48
-$219.48
*227.04
*227.04
$167,002.44
$7.56
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*This $227.04 is a Federal grant from the Smith-Hughes Fund, which cannot be turned into the Town Treasury, but must be added to the regular school appropriation and expended for Continuation School salaries. We have, therefore, to make our accounts bal- ance, deducted this from amount "Expended" and added it to "Bal- ance," so that instead of there being a Deficit of $219.48, there is a Balance of $7.56.
D. BILLS PAYABLE AND RECEIVABLE
Bills Payable: None.
Bills Receivable : None.
E. TABLE OF COSTS-EIGHT YEARS COMPARED
General Expenses,
$3,140.73
26,996.07
29,193.71
1918 $3,796.43 32,668.48
1919 $4,264.67 42,830.68
1920 $5,810.64 57,474.37
1921 $7,223.33 72,072.06
1922 $8,670.89 77,859.29 5,951.94
1923 $9,152.81 79,233.46
Textbooks and Supplies,
2,338.14
2,441.52
3.485.86
4,075.97
5,356.89
5,889 20
7,014.25
Transportation,
2,723.63
3,156.00
3,478.46
4,341.01
4,925.60
5,708.00
5,997.30
6,862.85
Janitors' Services,
2,579.01
2,615.50
3,196.00
3,708.08
4,424.34
5,566 86
5,618.82
6,667.32
Fuel and Light,
4,113.00
4,784.96
6,567.72
5,131.47
7,274 27
9,516.71
7,579.23
13,347.73
Maintenance Buildings and Grounds,
922.05
1,646.04
2,122.82
2,381.11
2,103.05
2,475.11
2,340.37
2,253.79
Repairs,
1,627.78
982.53
1,551.09
1,574.07
1,352.58
2,582.29
2,174.94
2,823.70
Music, Man'l Training, Drawing
1.971.94
2,230.05
1,500.75
2,163.97
3,532.61
3,561.13
3,838.61
3,885.22
Other Expenses,
910.16
1.198.37
1.836 26
2,452.72
2,547.73
3,612.41
4,637.93
11,340.92
Furniture and Furnishings,
5,596.73
654.14
474.10
777.19
1,929.80
1,374.97
1,970.72
2,365.85
Rent,
175.00
810.00
75.00
308.00
245.00
Commercial.
3,577.48
3,418.02
3,720.97
4,312.31
5,537.94
7,271.74
9,062.99
9,098.95
Special Heating,
791.28
2,100.77
5,551.52
Bills Payable,
3,506.94
2,846.65
Special Alterations at Palmer, Grammar School,
1,895.00
Improvement of Wenimisset Grounds,
20.00
Total,
$53,671.77
$55,716.33
$65,208.94
$78,088.25
$103,369.10
$132,709.52
$140,464.68
$159,598.37
1916
1917 $3,395.49
Teachers' Salaries,
,
1
Americanization,
1,349.45
788.93 61.75
237.38
3,320.33
658.05
1,511.19
Vacation School,
94.07
3,501.88
Playgrounds, Continuation School,
2,359.27
6,612.68
6,119.92
$55,115.29
$56,505.26
$65,270.69
$78,088.25
$103,606.48
$141,900.00
$147,735.41
$167,229.48
Average Membership,
1,719.17
1,791.77
1,868.41
1,972.98
2,144.93
2,169.90
1,984.11
1,945.65
Average Attendance,
1,650.00
1,717.09
1,702.31
1,886.54
2,044.19
2,104.23
1,899.62
1,867.78
Cost per Pupil Based on Average Membership,
$30.06
$31.10
-$34.90
$39,53
$48.19
$61.16
$70.79
$82.03
Average Attendance,
$31.31
$32.45
$38.31
$41.39
$50.57
$63.07
$73.94
$85.45
Cost per Pupil Based on
1
F. COST PER SCHOOL
Gen'l Expenses
High $129.19 12,888.50
Palmer Three Rivers Wenim't $69.36 $35.41 6.462.23 695.00 20,326.47 1,074.48
Thorndike $47.33 9,869.90
Bondsville $42.85 14,560.67 582.03 78.50 1,103.00
District $33.01 6,678.22 263.45
Office $8,755.05
Total $9,152.81
T'books & Sup.
3,737.93
7,014.25
Transportation
2,771.60
2,570.75
759.75
121.00
488.00
6,862.85
Janitors' Ser.
1,795.41
1,797.75
673.39
267.10
803.92
226.75
6,667.32
Fuel & Light
3,127.41
2,057.30
2,015.33
1,474.44
1,714.84 134.67
2,248.74 262.24
150.67
2,253.79
633.39
709.26
160.57
202.99
Repairs
131.34
1,291.70
300.04
1.72
611.84
385.66
41.40
2,823.70
Mu., Man. Tr'g & Draw'g
513.34
924.66
437.21
291.92
Commercial
9,098.95
9,098.95
Furn. & Furn.
1,466.81
569.03
275.05
12.50
2,365.85
Other Exp.
2,383.12
2,956.32
1,253.82
1,077.26
1,187.46
1,271.97
11,340.92
Sp. Heating
5,551.52
5,551.52
Day School,
$38,676.99
$39,898.60
$14,087.50
$11,280.32
$15,453.87
$21,235.58
$10,210.46
$8,755.05
$159,598.37
Americanization,
1,511.19
Continuation,
6,119.92
Total,
$167,229.48
Aver. M'ship
249.44
612.57
180.64
111.98
236.28
366.72
158.02
1,945.65
1,945.65
Cost per pupil based
on Av. M'ship
$155.05
$62.09
$77.98
$100.74
$65.40
$57.91
$64.61
$4.49
$82.03
709.67
13,347.73
M'ntenance Bldg. & Grounds
648.28
699.92
369.86
3,885.22
38.46 1,210.97
Teachers' Sal.
79,233.46
$40.61 8,477.47 346.73 73.25
314.63
139
G. INSURANCE
I. Total Estimated Value of Buildings and Contents
School
Total
Palmer High,
Building $188,750.00
Contents $44,100.00
$232,850.00
Thorndike Street Grammar,
54,540.00
6,550.00
61,090.00
Park Street Grammar,
60,460.00
6,178.00
66,638.00
Thorndike Grammar,
49,388.00
5,423.00
54,811.00
Three Rivers Grammar,
48,384.00
4,662.00
53,046.00
Bondsville Grammar,
55,955.00
6,919.00
62,874.00
Wenimisset,
50,000.00
4,169.00
54,169.00
Wire Mill,
5,500.00
1,131.00
6,631.00
Palmer Center,
1,675.00
487.00
2,162.00
Forest Lake,
1,550.00
381.00
1,931.00
Total,
$516,202.00
$80,000.00
$596,202.00
II. Insurance Upon School Buildings
Palmer High,
$151,000.00
Thorndike Street Grammar,
43,550 00
Park Street Grammar,
43,400.00
Thorndike Grammar,
39,500.00
Three Rivers Grammar,
38,750.00
Bondsville Grammar,
44,800.00
Wenimisset,
40,000.00
Wire Mill,
4,400 00
Palmer Center,
1,350.00
Forest Lake,
1,250.00
Total on Buildings,
$413,000.00
Insurance on Contents,
72,000.00
Total Insurance,
$485,000.00
Amount of Insurance,
$485,000.00
Rate-Five Years,
1.72%
Premium,
$8,342.00
Average Yearly Premium,
$1,668.40
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