USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lincoln > Town Report on Lincoln 1902-1906 > Part 18
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The light in the small hall used for the primary grade in the Center is the most serious drawback, as it is hardly ade- quate, and lacks cheerfulness and sunshine, which are so es- sential to child life. Could this defect be eliminated and an ample play ground secured, which is quite probable as sug- gested above, the schools of Lincoln would be fairly well pro- vided for.
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With all the drawbacks, we have some occasion to be en- couraged by the results of our grammar school system. When so large a proportion of our graduates are fitted for and dis- posed to enter the high school, we think it an unusual per- centage, and must divide the credit between the conscientious training accorded the puplis by our home teachers, the at- tractions of the Concord High School, and their own intelli- gence. That such a school should be attractive is no un- reasonable conclusion; that the results should be satisfactory is easily accounted for when we consider its splendid equip- ment and the enthusiasm which can only be aroused by com- petition and the contact with numbers. Observation plays a large part in developing the adult mind, and we should hardly accord our youth fair treatment if we were to place a limit on their ability for improvement on account of the dis- parity in years.
The average number of pupils throughout the state who enter the high school after graduation from the grammar will not exceed twenty-five per cent. Be it to the credit of our Lincoln pupils, the average for the last few years has been seventy-five per cent. The number attending at the present time is nearly one-quarter of the school enrollment of the town.
The members of the present senior class are: Miss Edith Biggs, Miss Bertha W. Bent, Miss Katharine L. Dempsey, Miss Winifred M. Dempsey, Miss Margaret A. McHugh, Miss Georgia V. Sherman, Mr. Herman T. Wheeler, Mr. George P. Cook, Mr. Henry N. Bean. Post-graduates: Miss Harriet L. Boyce and Mr. Lossie E. Laird.
We refer to these unusual records as a matter of informa- tion, and by way of encouragement to the parents and all others interested in the progress of the schools. Could this percentage be reached in the public schools throughout the state, the criminal record would receive a set-back that it would not recover from; as without a question ignorance is the basis of a large part of the wrong-doing. The mental and moral training receive their most substantial grounding during the age of transition from youth to manhood. No
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boy can mingle four years with mates, the larger part of whom are working hard for their intellectual improvement, without imbibing something of the spirit of manliness that actuates them. A desire for an honorable place among his fellows will be the inevitable result of such contact during these impres- sionable years.
The saying attributed to one of the brightest minds of mod- ern times, "Send your boy to college and the fellows will edu- cate him," is exemplified in a comparative way in the pre- paratory school. Boys hold to the traditions which have been handed down for generations, with a tenacity which cannot but enlist our admiration. Be it to their credit that in practically all schools and in most colleges, honor is ac- corded where honor is due, and the question of origin is a secondary one. This spirit of patriotic devotion to his school and fair treatment to his mates, is perhaps most fully exem- plified in the athletic contests which have become an inter- esting factor of the school life of to-day. It is no unusual occurrence that a boy will sacrifice his own personal ambition for the good of his class or school or share his opportunity with some less fortunate fellow student.
While the public schools have always been an institution born of the spirit of freedom and equality, which actuated the signers of the famous Declaration, the aggregation of numbers representing so many classes and conditions where manliness and good scholarship settles in so marked a degree the question of rank, must have a tendency to break down the narrow prejudices which formerly existed under the old system of small schools. A broader and more charitable view of life, which is the basis of good citizenship, must follow as a natural result. The large school may be termed a modern institution, and is the outcome of an investigation on the part of earnest workers, who have made a careful study of its psy- chological results.
The high school has no doubt a salutary influence on the intermediate school, especially when practically every pupil has in mind its attainment.
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In reply to a pertinent question, a great commander is credited with having made the following answer: "The three things of most importance needed in the successful management of a great campaign are,-first, money; second, more money; and third, still more money." As we hope for a campaign of peace and not of war, the second and third items may be omitted. The first, however, is absolutely essential to the continuance of peace by destroying the arch enemy, ignorance, and a sum equivalent to that of last year, $6,500.00, is respectfully recommended.
For matters of detail pertaining to teachers, the teaching system and the results obtained, your committee would res- pectfully refer to the reports of superintendent, William L. Eaton of Concord, our own superintendent and the super- visors of the different departments.
JULIUS E. EVELETH, EDWARD R. FARRAR, EDWARD E. BRADLEY,
Committee.
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Report of Superintendent of Schools.
To the School Committee:
GENTLEMEN :- I herewith submit my fourth annual report as superintendent of schools.
In the school reports from year to year it is our wish to fur- nish the public with all information that is desired in regard to the schools of the town. It is difficult, however, to select the facts that would prove of most general interest and the space at our disposal prevents us from entering into all the minor details of the work, even if it were desirable to do so. We can only select such facts as, in our judgment, show most clearly the condition of the schools, and any facts omitted in the report are always at the disposal of the citizens of the town, and can be obtained for the asking.
The facts of interest in regard to the schools may be grouped under the three heads,-School Attendance, School Equip- ment and School Work.
School Attendance .- Reference to the attendance table at the close of this report shows that our total membership was nineteen less than that of the preceding year. The decrease was confined largely to the Center district, the South practi- cally holding its own. The census of 1903 shows the same number of pupils of school age that there were in 1902, so the gradual decrease that we have noted for the past few years may have ceased. It is to be hoped that it has, for were our numbers much more reduced we should feel obliged to dis- continue one of our schools, and that would necessitate the placing of more classes in two of the rooms,-an arrangement which would not be conducive to good teaching. We would
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be glad to have from twenty-five to thirty pupils in a room, and increasing our enrollment to that extent would not in- crease the expense of the schools appreciably. I hope, then, that our enrollment may have reached its lowest point, and that from now on, we shall gain rather than lose.
In regularity of attendance our last year's record is an im- provement over that of previous years. Our percentage of attendance was .9253, a very good record for a town like ours, and two and one-half per cent. better than we did the year before. We should not, however, rest content with that record, but should try to make it still better. It is probable that the amount of really necessary absence from school is very small, and that if every pupil came to school every day that he was able to attend, our per cent. of attendance would be .96 or more.
In the matter of tardiness, last year's record is gratifying. The total number of instances has been reduced from 151 the previous year, to sixty; a gain of ninety-one. It may seem a small matter, but to my mind it is an important one, for punctuality is one of the cardinal business virtues. There is no habit better worth diligent cultivation than that of being on time. It should be a home lesson and a school lesson until the habit is firmly fixed. There are occasions when it is neces- sary and right that a child should be tardy; we make no com- plaint in such cases, but there is no excuse for it when it be- comes a shiftless habit.
School Equipment .- A good teacher is the indispensable requisite for a good school; and though by equipment we gen- erally understand buildings, apparatus, etc., yet in a sense the teacher is a part of the equipment of a school; and in this connection I wish to refer briefly to our teaching force.
With a single exception we have retained the same teachers that we had last year. At the close of the spring term Miss Flint resigned to accept a position in a neighboring city; and Miss Farnsworth was chosen as her successor. We lost a good teacher in Miss Flint and secured a good one in Miss Farns- worth, so that in the matter of teachers we are just about as
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well off as we were last year. I have taken occasion before to say that I thought our corps of teachers was a good one, and I need scarcely repeat it here. They have worked faith- fully to promote the interests of their pupils, and their efforts have met with a reasonable degree of success.
In the matter of school accommodations, we are fairly well off; but our school rooms will never be above criticism while we continue to occupy the room in the Town Hall Building for a primary school. The room is dark and ill-ventilated and has none of the cheerful, sunshiny effect which a primary room, above all others, should have. However, as it is the only available room for our primary school, we shall have to make the best of it and be thankful that it is no worse, until such time as it may seem to the town, expedient to build a school building that will accommodate all the schools at the Center.
The school rooms at the South and Center buildings are in good condition except that the blackboards at the Center need attention. I would suggest that when any repairs are made, the old boards be replaced with slate. It is cheaper in the end and there is much less annoyance from chalk-dust where slate boards are used.
We have added some much-needed furniture to the various rooms,-comfortable chairs for teachers and visitors, and have supplied some of our schools with globes for the pupils' use. No changes in text-books have been made during the year. We now have a reasonably good book list, and there seems to be no immediate need of further changes.
School Work .- Nothing strictly new in school work has been undertaken during the year. We have simply followed along the lines previously laid down, endeavoring to strengthen our work wherever it was possible to do so. It is perhaps un- necessary to speak of all the work in detail, but as our work in reading and arithmetic has been a little out of the beaten track, perhaps a few words in regard to it may not be amiss.
Some time ago we began the systematic teaching of phonics in the lower grades, with the idea of mastering the mechanical
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difficulties of reading early in the school course, believing that by so doing we would be able to secure clearer, more expressive reading in the grammar grades. Up to a certain point the experiment has been successfully conducted. The pupils in our lowest grades have made a decided gain in their reading; but we have stopped just short of complete success. Theo- retically, the work should be completed in the first three grades but as a matter of fact we have not completed it. Our fourth grade pupils have not yet learned to read with the ease and fluency that we desire. To stop just short of success would be folly. Obviously the thing to do is to carry on this work until the pupils have mastered the mechanics of reading and can apply their knowledge with promptness and precision, whether it takes one or two years more. We have already secured tangible results; carrying on the work until it is com- plete will yield us still larger returns.
The complaint has been general for a number of years that pupils in the public schools do not think. Their work in arithmetic is usually taken as an illustration of this state- ment, and it must be confessed that the illustration is happily chosen, for much of the work in arithmetic is as free from evidence of thinking power as could be desired. The pupils often show considerable mechanical dexterity in their use of figures, they are often accurate in their computations, but they do not think. If they are confronted with a problem whose conditions vary in the slightest degree from the routine of the book, they are all at sea, and don't know what to do . with it. The text-books that we have been using for the past two years were written with this deficiency of the pupils in mind. The author has endeavored to make the figures that he uses mean something to the pupil, so that when a number occurs or an operation is indicated, it will suggest a definite magnitude or the relation existing between magnitudes which are already imaged in the child's mind. We are endeavoring to give more reality to our number work in this way, and with some measure of success; but I believe that we still employ written arithmetic too much; that a large part of the work
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in arithmetic in all grades should be oral work. In written work the mind of the pupil seems to be almost wholly ab- sorbed in the process; and the reason for what he is doing re- ceives but scant consideration from him. When the work is oral, the numbers are necessarily simpler, and the why be- comes more important than the how, and the thinking process must be employed.
The work in music and drawing has been in charge of the same teachers as last year, and as far as I am able to judge, about the same quality of work has been secured as we have had before. The interest of the pupils is maintained, and good results are obtained in both branches. The only change to be noted is the introduction of mechanical drawing in the higher grades. Perhaps we should not have neglected this branch of the subject so long; but, however that may be, in view of the work that many of the pupils are now doing or are likely to do in manual training, it seemed almost necessary that we should teach it.
The Lincoln pupils in the Concord High School have done a very satisfactory year's work. Most of them have shown a disposition to improve the advantages which the school af- fords, and in general their standing is creditable.
The number has slightly increased over that of last year, and though we do not look for any increase the coming year, it is probable that the number will remain about the same as it is now. Although it involves a large expense to educate so many high school pupils, yet it should be a source of gratifica- tion to the town that so many of the graduates of our grammar . school are ambitious to avail themselves of the advantages of a good high school course. Our number indicates that practically all of our pupils who are promoted from the grammar school, enter the high school; and that nearly all of them go with the intention of completing the course.
When we consider the cost per pupil of our schools, it will be observed that it is high in comparison with the cost in most other towns; but it must be remembered that we have an unusually large percentage of high school pupils. Twenty-
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two and one-seventh per cent. of all our pupils are enrolled in the Concord High School. It is expensive to send them there, undoubtedly, but I believe that it is a good investment. Most people admit the high school education pays,-pays the pupil, and pays the community. It is desirable, then, that as many as possible should pursue a high school course. Prac- tically all of our pupils who are physically and mentally able to do so enter the high school. It is improbable that we could hold any such number in a high school established here in town. Many advantages which they now enjoy, we could not provide except at an unreasonable expense, and there are many interests in connection with the large school, attractive to the pupil, which the small school can not supply at any price.
The question seems to me to be about this: Is it better to send all our pupils, who are qualified, to an outside high school, at a considerable expense, or to educate about one-half of them at home in a high school of our own at about the same cost?
We are glad to note that nearly all of the Lincoln pupils have done passable work in the Concord High School, many have done excellent work. It is incumbent upon the grade schools to keep up the standard. We have felt that we ought not to send our pupils to the high school unless there was a reasonable probability that they would do acceptable work there. We have endeavored to be careful in making our pro- motions, and it will still be our rule not to promote pupils to the high school until they have proved their ability to profit by high school instruction and have earned the right to ad- vance by doing faithful work in the grammar school. By ad- hering strictly to this rule, I believe that we shall best serve the interests of both schools and pupils. A strict standard is no more irksome than an easy one, and it is much easier to live up to it.
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The usual special reports and statistical tables are appended Respectfully submitted,
W. N. CRAGIN, Superintendent of Schools.
Lincoln, Mass., Feb. 5, 1904.
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Report of Director of Drawing.
To the Superintendent of Schools:
The work in drawing during the past year has been con- tinued on the same general lines as in previous years. The tendency of the study throughout the state is toward more practical work and manual training.
Not only are designs made, but where practical they are executed in appropriate material. A beginning was made in the spring by designs for doilies, turn-over cuffs and collars. Many of these were embroidered by the children.
This year mechanical drawing has been studied in a very simple way. In the grammar school drawing kits have been provided that accurate work may be done. It is hoped that this study will balance the freehand drawing and also give a better preparation for high school work.
The hearty co-operation that has been received has been greatly appreciated.
Very respectfully,
EMILY LOUISE HAINES.
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Report of Director of Music.
To the School Committee of the Town of Lincoln:
In reviewing the music work of the past year, there is little need of extended detail. We find the same gains and losses here as in all matters where results depend upon the mental conception of both teacher and pupils.
The true teacher, one who sees the value of the subject to be presented, and who knows how to present it so that the pupil's mind is stimulated; such an one will have good results in music or any subject in hand. Even if not naturally gifted in music, she need feel no reluctance in presenting the matter, if she has the necessary training and power that a real teacher must have.
Some of the best teaching is done by those who cannot sing a note; not because of this lack, but in spite of it they are successful. No doubt, such strive all the harder, and were they musical, what surprising results would follow!
The work the past year indicates better interest on the part of the pupils, therefore improvement in all branches of the study; better reading, better intonation, finer conception of the whole subject.
A few words in regard to the "boy-voice" seem in order. All who have had any experience know it is quite a problem in the upper grades to secure a hearty response from the boys, as a whole, when the music study period arrives. This seeming reluctance for the work has a cause, and when discovered, a remedy surely can be found. I think the problem is partly solved if the teachers in the lower grades insist upon all the pupils singing, and all singing on pitch. I mean, of course, allowing the monotone to be an unknown quantity. To-day this is felt to be possible, with very rare exceptions. Then in-
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sist upon soft tones, and the use of the upper quality, bringing that down and applying it to the lower tones, instead of taking the heavier speaking quality and carrying that up. If this were insisted upon through the grades, the boys could more easily sing during their changing period, and when this is over, settle down upon their lower plane, never having lost time or courage. The average boy will sing if he can. Give him the power, and this seeming reluctance will disappear. The tone deaf are rare; many so called simply need stimulation. But this must be done during the formative period, before it is too late, to develop the sense of hearing.
The average person loves to do what he can do well. So give the boys the power to do, and love and interest follow, the result being progress onward and upward.
I appreciate much the hearty co-operation of Committee, Superintendent and Teachers, and hope much for the new year, trusting it may be made memorable for the high excel- lence of the music work.
Respectfully submitted,
ANNIE M. BARNES, Director of Music.
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.
Report of the Principal of the Concord High School.
MR. W. N. CRAGIN, Supt. of Schools, Lincoln, Mass .: -
DEAR SIR :- I have the honor to submit the following brief inadequate account of the high school which so many of the Lincoln youth attend. The organization of the school has changed but little during the past two years. There are in attendance this fall and winter 290 pupils. Ten regular teachers instruct them every school day in the week. The teacher of drawing is in attendance four days, and the teacher of music meets the whole school for an hour every Thursday. The sloyd school is open to the pupils at various periods throughout the week. Pupils are expected to be regular in attendance, punctual, and in general to comply willingly with all regulations made for the common good. Studies aggre- gating at least fifteen recitations per week are prescribed for all whose health permits. Nearly all the pupils exceed this minimum limit, and many ought to do so. The school day is divided into five recitation periods, beginning at 9.00, and ending at 1.25. School opens, however, through the winter at 8.50. The train due to arrive from Lincoln at 8.40 often is so late that the Lincoln pupils lose the opening exercises ; but seldom so late that they lose any part of the first recita- tion period. At 11.30 there is a "recess," in which pupils should eat a light, plain lunch. This is so important a matter that parents should insist that their children take a lunch to school to eat at recess.
The pupils from Lincoln have been reasonably studious, faithful, punctual and orderly. They seldom incur any seri- ous censure for misconduct in school, or for serious failure to improve their school opportunities Among them there are some exceptionally promising scholars, and but few of those
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whom a clever writer recently characterized as the pupils whom teachers "view with alarm." The Lincoln pupils par- ticipate in all the activities of the school, and with consider- able success.
A modern high school is an exceedingly complex commu- nity, and an exceedingly interesting one. The Concord school is becoming better equipped each year for the work it under- takes. The citizens of Lincoln, whether directly interested through their children or not, are cordially invited to visit it.
Respectfully submitted,
WM. L. EATON.
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Roll of Honor.
The following pupils have been neither absent nor tardy for the time designated:
FOR SEVEN YEARS AND TWO TERMS.
Sumner Smith.
FOR TWO YEARS. Louise B. Chapin. FOR ONE YEAR.
Arthur F. Chapin.
Josephine Dempsey.
Frederick A. Rocks.
Esther Dempsey. Ellen Connors. Ida Tyler. Thomas Martin.
FOR TWO TERMS.
Ronald C. Shepard.
Charles L. Rocks.
Francis B. Sargent.
Ethel F. Bent.
Ruth E. Sherman.
Ula A. Hapgood.
Katie Connors.
Robert J. Clapp.
Russell E. Davis. Olive L. Stone.
Edith Clark.
FOR ONE TERM.
Robert W. Baker.
Mary M. Dougherty.
Dennis Dougherty.
Margaret Dempsey:
Katie F. Voorneveld.
James E. Lahey.
Charles Flemming. Louis Laird. Ashley B. Cousins.
M. Evelyn Corrigan. Charles N. Bamforth. John F. Giles.
Blanche Tyler.
Grace L. Bamforth.
Rose Martin.
William P. Corrigan. James Ryan.
Joseph E. Jurada.
Forrest E. Clapp. Edward Fitzgerald.
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School Calendar for 1904.
Winter term began January 4, ends March 25; twelve weeks. Spring term begins April 4, ends June 17; eleven weeks. Fall term begins September 12, ends December 23; fifteen weeks.
Recess from the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to the Mon- day following.
*
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Statistics.
Number of children in town between the ages of five and
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