USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lincoln > Town Report on Lincoln 1910-1915 > Part 14
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Wilbur, Sibyl. Life of Mary Baker Eddy *631.12
144
HISTORY
Adams, Charles Francis. Studies: Military and diplomatic. Contents: Military Studies: Battle of Bunker Hill; Battle of Long Island; Washington and Cavalry; Revolutionary campaign of 1777; Battle of New Orleans; Ethics of suc- cession; Some phases of the Civil War; Lee's Centennial; Diplomatic Studies; An historical residum; Queen Victoria and the Civil War *1532.21
Fletcher, Charles Robert Leslie and Kipling, Rudyard. History of England 366.7
Hudson, Alfred Sereno. History of Concord, Mass. Colonial
Concord. Vol. 1. *325.13
TRAVEL AND DESCRIPTION
Bingham, Hiram. Across South America: An account of a journey from Buenos Aires to Lima by way of Potosi; with notes on Brazil, Chili, and Peru, with eighty illustrations and maps .
446.20
Bisland, Elizabeth Editor. Japanese letters of Lafacadio Hearn 442.22
Collier, Price. The West in the East
446.19
French, George. New England: What it is and what it is to be Hart, Albert Bushnell. The obvious Orient .
446.18
Hittell, Theodore H. Adventures of James Capen Adams. Mountaineer and grizzly bear hunter of California 437.11
437.2
Ross, Edward Alsworth. The changing Chinese: The conflict of Oriental and western cultures in China 431.14
Winter, William. Over the border 431.12
Woodberry, George E. Editor. European years
*431.13
SCIENCE. USEFUL ARTS
Erskine, John and Helen. Written English: A guide to the rules of composition . 138.4
Harris, H. F. Health on the farm: A manual of rural sanitation and hygiene 214.6
Kelly, Edmond Twentieth Century socialism; What it is not;
what it is; how it may come . 147.25
Lougheed, Victor. Vehicles of the air: A popular exposition of modern aeronautics with working drawings 131.17
Plumb, Charles S. Types and breeds of farm animals 214.5
Soyer, Nicolas. Soyer's paper-bag cookery 123.18
Taylor, Frederick Winslow. Principles of scientific management 141.19
!
145
RELIGION. PHILOSOPHY
Hodges, George. Training of children in religion . 1124.21
Brown, Charles Reynolds. Faith and health 1132.10
Brent, Charles H. The sixth sense: Its cultivation and its use . 1124.22
FICTION
Abbott, Eleanor Hallowell. Molly Make Believe
757.24
Sick-a-bed lady; and other stories 754.6
Audoux, M. Marie-Claire 755.15
Bacheller, Irving. Keeping up with Lizzie
755.10
Bacon, Josephine Daskam. While Caroline was growing
757.20
Bennet, Arnold. Buried alive: A tale of these days
757.23
Clayhanger
756.16
Denry the audacious
756.20
Benson, E. F. Margery
754.3
Brown, Alice. John Winterbourne's family
755.11
Brown, Frederick Walworth. Dan McLean's adventures 755.6
755.16
Calthrop, Dion Clayton. Perpetua: or the way to treat a woman Carleton, William. One way out : A middle class New Englander emigrates to America 757.21
Chesterton, G. K. Innocence of Father Brown
754.7
Codman, Mrs. Russell. An ardent American
754.4
Conrad, Joseph. Lord Jim
755.12
Corner of Harley Street: Being some familiar correspondence of Peter Harding, M.D. 755.8
Coulevain, De Pierre. Unknown isle.
754.2
Deland, Margaret. The Iron woman
755.14
Farnol, Jeffrey. The broad highway
756.17
Fuller, Anna. Later Pratt portraits
756.21
Harrison, Henry Sydnor. Queed
755.20
Jacobs, W. W. Ship's company
754.9
Kester, Vaughn. The prodigal judge
756.22
The woman haters
755.5
Locke, William J. Glory of Clementina
755.18
Lucas, E. V. Mr. Ingleside
757.22
Marks, Jeannette. End of a song .
755.7
Mitchell, S. Weir. John Sherwood: Iron Master
755.2
Mitchell, John Ames. Pandora's box
754.5
Montgomery, L. M. The story girl
755.4
Morris, Kathleen. Mother: A story
754.14
Pier, Arthur Stanwood. Jester of St. Timothy's .
754.12
Silberrad, Una L. The good comrade .
755.21
Smith, F. Hopkinson. Kennedy Square
755.19
Buckrose, J. E. Down our street
754.15
Lincoln, Joseph C. "Old home house"
755 9
146
Tallentyre, S. G. Basset : A village Chronicle 756.15
Van Dyke, Henry. The sad shepard
754.13
Waller, Mary E. My ragpicker
754.16
Ward, Mrs. Humphrey. Case of Richard Meynell
754.1
Watts, Mary S. The legacy
755.3
Wemyss, Mary C People of Popham The professional aunt
756.18
Whitechurch, Victor L. Off the main road: A village comedy
754.11
Wiggin, Kate Douglas. Mother Carey's chickens Kate Douglas and others. Robinetta
756.19
Wister, Owen. Members of the family . 755.1 Padre Ignacio 754.17
Wright, Harold Bell. Winning of Barbara Worth
755.13
Wright, Mabel Osgood. Love that lives
754.10
JUVENILE
Barrie, J. M. Peter and Wendy 841.19
Adams, Andy, Wells brothers: Young cattle kings 847.7
Bacon, Dolores. Operas that every child should know; description of the text and music of the most famous masterpieces
841.5
Baker, Etta Anthony. Frolics at Fairmount
847.6
Brown, Alice. One footed fairy : and other stories
841.18
Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The secret garden
847.5
Byron, May. Cecil Alden's happy family : Being the adventures of hungry Peter, the pig; Rufus, the cat; Humpty and
Dumpty, the rabbits; Rags, the dog; Master Quack, the duckling, and Forager, the puppy. Illustrated
841.16
Cabot, Ella Lyman. Ethics for children
841.15
Children's hour. Tappan, Eva March, comp. 10 vols. 842.14 Folk stories and fables. Vol. 1.
Myths from many lands. Vol. 2.
Stories from the classics. Vol. 3.
Stories of legendary heroes. Vol. 4.
Stories from seven old favorites. Vol. 5.
Old fashioned stories and poems. Vol. 6.
Out-of-door book. Vol. 7.
Adventures and achievements.
Vol. 8.
Poems and rhymes. Vol. 9
Modern Stories. Vol. 10.
Eggleston, George Cary. What happened to Quasi; the story of a Carolina cruise 841.4
Grey, Zane. The young pitcher
847.4
Hardy, Albertus S. At the home plate . 847.10
Holland, Rupert, Sargent. Boy Scouts of Birch Bark Island 841.2
Job, Herbert K. Blue goose chase; a camera-hunting adven- ture in Louisiana 841.3
755.17
754.18
147
Johnston, Annie Fellows. Little Colonel's Christmas vacation 847.15
Little Colonel's holidays 847.14
Little Colonel's house party 847.12
Little Colonel stories 847.11
Mary Ware: the little Colonel's chum
847.16
Mary Ware in Texas
847.13
Macleod, Mary. Stories from the Faerie Queene 1211.21
Major, Charles. The little King; a story of the childhood of Louis XIV; King of France 847.8
Paine, Ralph D. The wrecking master
847.9
Rolt-Wheeler, Francis. The boy with the U. S. foresters 847.2
Seton, Ernest Thompson. Boy Scouts of America: A handbook of woodcraft, scouting, and lifecraft Rolf in the woods 841.1
847.1
Tappan, Eva March. When Knights were bold
841,17
Tomlinson, Everett T. Light horse Harry's legion
847.3
White, Eliza Orne. The enchanted mountain 1
841.20
Young folks library. Vocations. William De Witt Hyde, Editor- in-Chief. 10 Vols.
The Mechanic Arts. Maclaurin, R. C., Editor. Vol. 1. 841.6
Home making. Harland, Marion, Editor. Vol. 2 841.7
Farm and forest. Bailey, L. H., Editor. Vol. 3. 841.8
Business. Carnegie, A., Editor. Vol. 4. 841.9
The professions. Fuller, M. W., Editor. Vol. 5. 841.21
Public service. Garfield, J. R., Editor. Vol. 6 841.10
Education. Wooley, Mary Emma., Editor. Vol. 7 841.11
Literature. Van Dyke, Henry, Editor. Vol. 8. 841.12
Music and drama. Parker Horatio, Editor. Vol. 9. 841.13
Fine Arts. Cox, K., Editor. Vol. 10. 841.14
MISCELLANEOUS
Autobiography of an elderly woman 1337.11
Bennett, Arnold. How to live on twenty-four hours a day 1532.15
The human machine 1337.9
Mental efficiency ; and other hints to men and women 1536.16
Briggs, Le Baron Russell. Girls and education 1536.15
Bruce, H. Addington. Romance of American expansion
1532.22
Dawson, W. F. Book of courage. . 1536.14
Eastmen, Charles Alexander. Soul of the Indian 1532.16
Fillebrown, C. B. A. B. C. of taxation *1537.4
Grenfell, W. T. Down to the sea . 1532.18
Husband, Joseph. Year in a coal mine . 1532.19
148
James, William. Memories and studies. Contents :- Louis Agassiz; Address at the Emerson Centenary in Concord; Robert Gould Shaw; Francis Boolt; Thomas .Davidson; A Knight errant of the intellectual life; Herbert Spencer's autobiography : Final impressions of a pschical researcher; Some mental effects of the earthqake; The energies of man: Moral equivalent of war; Remarks at the Peace Banquet; Social value of the College bred; The University and the individual; A pluralistic mystic
Lyman, Edna. Story telling; what to tell and how to tell it 1337.10 Rogers, Anna A. Why American marriages fail; and other papers *1537.5 Steiner, Edward A. Against the current; simple chapters from a complex life 1537.8
Stern, R. B. Neighborhood entertainments
1537.7
Tarbell, Ida M. The tariff in our times 1536.17
Tracy, Susan E. Studies in invalid occupation: A manual for nurses and attendants . 1532.17
White, Stewart Edward. The cabin 1537.6
POETRY. DRAMA.
Baker, George Pierce. Development of Shakespeare as a drama- tist 1436.12
Maeterlinck. Maurice. The blue bird : A fairy play in six acts . 1436.14 VanDyke, Henry. Poems: Now first collected and revised with many hitherto unpublished 1436.13
PERIODICALS. PAMPHLETS
Atlantic Monthly. 4 vols. 1909-1910.
Century Magazine. Vols. 79, 80. 1910.
Harper's Motnhly Magazine. Vols 120, 121. 1909-1910.
National Geographic Magazine. * Vols. 20,21. 1909-1910.
St. Nicholas. Vols. 361, 362, 371, 372. 1908-1909-1910.
The Panama Canal Zone. An epochal event in sanitation.
By Charles F. Adams. (Pamphlet ) *P. B. 6, 10
*Indicates the book was a gift.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
TOWN OF LINCOLN
FOR THE
SCHOOL YEAR 1911
150
SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
EDWARD E. BRADLEY, Chairman, Term expires 1912 . EDWARD R. FARRAR, Secretary, 1914
HENRY E. WARNER, 66 1913
Superintendent of Schools. C. S. LYMAN.
Supervisor of Drawing and Manual Training. WALTER F. BRACKET.
Supervisor of Cooking and Sewing. MRS. IRVING SMITH. Supervisor of Music. MRS. HARRIET J. BARTLETT.
Teachers. Lincoln Grammar Grades VII-VIII. CARRIE B. CHAPIN.
Lincoln Grammar Grades V-VI. DOROTHY H. HAVILAND.
Lincoln Primary Grades III-IV. ANNIE L. F. EDWARDS.
Lincoln Primary Grades I-II. HATTIE B. HEATH.
South Primary Grades I-II-III. GERTRUDE E. BROOKS.
Special Teacher. ELIZABETH CUSHING.
Truant Officer. JAMES T. LAIRD.
Janitors. Lincoln. EDWARD BANNON.
South. EDMUND R. DAVIS.
151
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE 1911-1912.
The number of pupils at the Centre School is 137. This is a considerable increase and has caused fuller class rooms, so that the teacher has not only more pupils to teach but the general management of the class room requires more of her attention. It is obvious that the opportunity for special attention to backward pupils and to those who are temporarily in need of extra atten- tion is reduced. Children have their ups and downs and it is a common thing for most children to have times when they are less® receptive, or have temporary difficulty in keeping up with the class. At such times it is desirable to give special attention to such children, not only on their own account, but in order that the regular progress of the class shall not be retarded, as must be the case if any part is lagging behind.
It is of course necessary to divide the pupils into grades or classes, and it is not possible to arrange that all in a grade shall have the same aptitude and proficiency. Then, too, there come times when a child seems temporar- ily to have difficulty with some subject. Such cases commonly can be helped by special attention, and the child can be specially drilled, or helped over the hard places, so that, not only is the particular child enabled to go on with its work properly, but the whole class bene- fits. It is obvious that the regular teachers cannot give much time to such special cases except at the expense of the other pupils. The committee has therefore thought it advisable to employ a special teacher, who has no class room under her charge, and whose work it is to give special instruction to those who for any reason are less
152
efficient in their work than the rest of the classes. This is accomplished, not by withdrawing such pupils from their regular work with the class, but by supplementing that work by special instruction, or drill, given to such scholars, either in groups, or individually. We believe that the work of the special teacher will prove to be a benefit to the school as a whole, as well as to those pupils who directly receive her assistance.
What is the proper length of time for a child to be kept at mental work is a subject which today receives much more attention than formerly. Experiments have been made, both here and in Europe, and some pretty definite conclusions are established as to the time to be given to any one subject, the variation of work, the fre- quency of recesses and the length of the school session. In several places in Massachusetts it has been thought beneficial to the scholars, and to the quality of their work, to reduce the length of the session. Heretofore our session at the Centre School, except for the two lower grades has begun at 9 A.M., and has not closed until 2.30 P.M., a total of five and a half hours a day for five days in the week, making a total of twenty-seven and one-half hours a week. Of this time three-quarters of an hour a day, or three and three-quarters hours a week, were used for recesses, leaving twenty-three and three- quarters actual working time. In order to make this schedule, many children had to leave home by eight o'clock, or shortly after, and could not reach home again till after three o'clock in the aftrenoon, and most of them could have no regular mid-day meal. The efficiency of the child for work is much less toward the end of the day, and it is a well recognized fact that the hour at the end of the school session is not worth as much as that at the beginning.
In a special report of a commission of physicians ap- pointed to report on the Boston Schools, in speaking of
153
the afternoon session, it is said "During the first hour the children are active and attentive, but noticeably less so than in the morning session. Yet this hour, the teachers feel, is of value. In this first hour the children are attentive, and show little evidence of fatigue. The last hour is different. In all the grades the pupils become restless, inattentive, and show unmistakable signs of distress."
In Chelsea, after the fire, the lack of school accom- modations necessitated using the same school houses for two schools on the same day, one school using the house in the morning, the other in the afternoon, and to do this the school session was reduced to four hours. Yet it was found that the school work did not suffer, and some of the teachers found that they got better results from the shorter session than formerly with more time. There is a time beyond which children cannot be kept at work advantageously, and it is certainly inadvisable to keep them after that time. It is not only bad for their health, but it is also bad for their work. Children should be taught to economize time. A shorter period of concentrated effort is worth more than a longer time of dawdling, dull or listless work. They should be taught to work with a high degree of effort while they are work- ing and thus not only accomplish the work to be done, but acquire habits of concentration and efficiency. When the capacity for work at its best is exhausted, it is better to stop altogether, than to dawdle along, dull, listless and with an increasing stupidity. The child ought not to be worked till it is tired out. To do so not only injures the child, but it creates a distaste for school and what is taught there, instead of a pleasure and en- thusiasm which the school ought to try to create.
The difficulty is to determine the proper time under such conditions as we have in Lincoln. After consider- ing such information on the subject as was available, we
154
decided to make a trial of shorter hours on three days in the week. At present the school session on Monday, Tuesday and Friday begins at 8.45 A.M. and ends at 1.15 P.M. with two recesses each of 15 minutes. On Wednesday and Thursday, when the work is varied by Manual Training, the session continues till 2.15 P.M. with one recess of one-quarter of an hour and another recess of three-quarters of an hour. This makes the total school sessions for the week amount to twenty-four and one-half hours, with a total of three and one-half hours' recesses, or twenty-one hours' actual working time. While it is too soon to reach definite conclusions as to the effect of this change, and further experience may make it desirable to make some further modifica- tions, we already find indications of improved results.
The question of transportation of pupils is as trouble- some as ever, and has become more expensive. We have been obliged to raise the compensation of the two horse barges from $12 to $15 a week, and it has also been nec- essary to put on an additional one horse barge from the South at $10 a week. In our former reports we have re- peatedly pointed out the inadequacy and injustice of the transportation arrangements, as well as the very great proportion of school money expended upon it. The difficulties are not likely to decrease, while the ex- pense is increasing.
Inasmuch as no way has been found to carry all the children, and the present arrangement is so unsatis- factory and expensive, it may well be questioned whether it would not be better to give it up altogether, and leave it to the parents to take the repsonsibility of getting their children to and from school, perhaps giving the committee discretion to pay for transportation in special cases, where the age of the scholar, the distance from school, and the circumstances of the parents, would otherwise prevent attendance. The question is one which concerns the Town at large, and which it is proper
155
for the Town to decide. Without making any recom- mendation, the committee suggests that the Town give the matter consideration.
Believing that for some scholars the opportunities offered at the Waltham High School might be greater than at Concord, we have made arrangements for Lin- coln pupils to attend there and the choice between the Waltham and the Concord High Schools is now allowed, subject to the approval of the committee. This year we have five pupils in the Waltham High School, and seven- teen in the Concord High School, and both schools report that the Lincoln scholars are progressing creditably.
In order that the children may not be wholly without some hot food on the two days when the session lasts till 2.15 P.M., we have arranged that on those days hot cocoa shall be served free to all the pupils at the noon recess. It is prepared in the school building under the direction of the cooking teacher. The estimated ex- pense is about ten cents a month. While we have not wished to make a charge to the scholars for this cocoa, we think the expense properly should be met by the parents, and we have therefore requested the parents to contribute to meet it, having arranged for the present to meet any deficit by other private subscription. Should experiment prove that the parents think it not of su- ficient benefit to trouble to pay for it, it will probably be better to discontinue it than to continue it as a private charity. We take this opportunity to urge on all parents the importance of seeing that children are properly sup- plied with food for a mid-day lunch. No matter how simple the food may be each child should be provided with some lunch. We also wish to discourage the prac- tice, which is too frequent, of giving a child a small sum of money for luncheon which is usually spent for candy.
HENRY E. WARNER, EDWARD R. FARRAR.
156
MINORITY REPORT.
My object in presenting a Minority Report for the School Committee is to express my dissent from the action of the Committee in the matter of the change in the school session on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, and to give the reasons why I disapprove of the plan that has been adopted.
My first objection to a school session that begins at 8.45 A.M. and continues until 1.15 P.M. with two fifteen minute recesses is not that it is too long or too short, but that it is not adapted to secure the bests interest of the pupils in respect either to their health or their efficiency in their work. The second of the two recesses that comes from 11.45 to 12.00 o'clock is devoted by some pupils to eating their lunch and by others to play. Those who eat their lunch properly, as they do on those days when a special time is set apart for this purpose, must go with- out the exercise and relaxation gained in play; and those who spend the recess in play must go without a proper lunch. Now neither the pupil who has gone without some physical activity and mental diversion nor the pupil who has gone without food since an early breakfast is in fit condition to return to the school room and do good work for another hour and a quarter. The in- evitable fatigue that comes with the progress of the day's work, and it comes more quickly with children than with adults, the plan of session above outlined seems to me to help induce rather than to relieve. This plan requires pupils to remain in school for four hours and a half without providing sufficient change and relaxation to enable them to work to the best advantage to the end of the school day.
My second objection to this plan is that it shortens the actual working time of the pupils to twenty-one hours a week, which I believe to be too short a time in
157
which to do the work that pupils ought to do while in our schools. I believe as much as any one in teaching children to work while they work, and play while they play. I believe that the most valuable thing that we can do for our pupils is to teach them right methods of study and habits of concentration. The Committee are unani- mous in their feeling on this matter, and to improve con- ditions in this respect is, as I understand it, one of the strongest reasons urged for the adoption of the shorter school day. But on the other hand, it needs to be re- membered that in the instruction of young pupils there must always be large dependence upon drill and upon freuqent reviews and tests. These require time. There are short cuts through special promotions. I believe that these are sometimes desirable and should be offered to ambitious pupils; but even the ambitious pupil who skips the drill work in any subject is bound to miss some- thing, and this lack is sure to show later on; while for the average pupil a large amount of drill is indispensable.
Furthermore, a teacher may often be able to add greatly to the interest and profit of a recitation by a few moments' digression suggested by some topic in the lesson, bringing to the class facts not in the text book or giving her interpretaion of the meaning of facts that are before their minds, and time ought to be provided during the lesson period not only for the teacher to hear what the pupils have learned but also for some further direct in- struction from the teacher's own lips. Of course it is true that the work of instruction can be cut down to any number of prescribed hours per week, but I feel strongly that cutting down the working time during the week to the present limits has been done at the expense of the best interests of our pupils.
When manual training and cooking and sewing were added to our curriculum I felt that owing to the nature of these subjects the length of the sessions on the days when
158
these subjects were taught might reasonably be somewhat increased, as they brought a change from their other work and required a certain amount of physical activity. But as these subjects are taught only to the upper grades this question, as so many questions have been, was com- plicated by the barge system that requires all pupils to come and go at the same time, with the result that the time devoted to these subjects was taken out of the regu- lar school session as then in force. Under our present schedule the time given to these subjects together with drawing by the seventh and eighth grades is three hours a week. Subtracting this from the total working time of the week leaves eighteen hours for the text book studies of these grades, and while our course of study is so ar- ranged as to require work at home upon the part of these pupils I believe that this is cutting down their time for text book instruction altogether too much.
My objections to the plan of the Committee would be removed by adopting for every day in the week the ar- rangement of session now in operation on Wednesday and Thursday. The session begins at 8.45 A. M. and closes at 2.15 P.M. with a recess of fifteen minutes at 10.15 and one of forty-five minutes at 12.00, an arrange- ment that divides the school days into three periods of one hour and a half each. The first practical benefit of this arrangement would be the more adequate provision it would make for play and for lunch on all the days of the week instead of on two as now. At the end of the first period of an hour and a half a recess of fifteen min- utes as on other days offers sufficient opportunity for relaxation if properly used; at the present time the pupils use it as they will, some getting much benefit from it and some getting little. At the close of the second hour and a half period the pupils require a larger measure of relaxa- tion, and the use that is made of this forty-five minutes goes far toward meeting this need. It allows those
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