USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Duxbury > Town annual report for the town of Duxbury for the year ending 1901-1910 > Part 67
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November 25. At Duxbury, Claude C. Cushing and Clara A. Freeman, both of Duxbury, by Rev. L. J. Thomas.
November 26. At Duxbury, Herbert F. Nightengale and Ada M. Deamone, both of Duxbury, by George H. Stearns, Jus- tice of the peace.
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December 2. At Plymouth, Charles M. Snow of Duxbury and Ellen Sampson of Kingston, by Rev. Nathaniel M. Davis. December 9. At Duxbury, David L. Anderson of Winchester, Mass., and Elsie M. Tillson of Duxbury, by Rev. Harrison L. Packard.
December 23. At Duxbury, Alpha M. Paulding of Marshfield and Mabel V. Hunt of Duxbury, by Rev. Frederick H. Kid- der.
December 28. At Kingston, Arthur G. Sukeforth and Bessie V. Wade, both of Duxbury, by Rev. Harrison L. Packard.
GEORGE H. STEARNS,
Toun Clerk.
5
.
-
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
School Committee
OF THE
Town of Duxbury
FOR THE
Year ending December 31,
1908
Duxbury 5
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Albert M. Goulding, term expires
1909
William J. Alden, term expires
1910
Nathaniel K. Noyes, term expires
1911
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS. John E. DeMeyer, Egypt.
TEACHERS FOR 1908-1909.
Name, School and Post Office Address.
Herbert E. Walker, Partridge Academy, Millbrook.
Eva W. Eldridge, Partridge Academy, Millbrook.
Alton H. Hartford, Partridge Academy, Millbrook.
Ellen W. Downey, Principal, Village Grammar, Kingston.
Marian I. Hatch, Assistant, Village Grammar, Duxbury.
Mrs. Ida M. Raymond, Principal, Tarkiln Grammar, Kingston.
Annie M. Nobbs, Assistant, Tarkiln Grammar, Bryantville, Box 30.
Elizabeth A. Hastings, South Duxbury, Duxbury.
Grace M. Peterson, Island Creek, Millbrook.
Mabel C. Sampson, Ashdod, West Duxbury.
Blanche W. Simmons, North Duxbury, Millbrook.
Sadie E. Paulding, Millbrook, Duxbury.
Mrs. Mary L. Devereux, Point, Duxbury.
Mrs. Lillian C. Stoddard, special teacher of music, North Scit- uate.
Harriet J. Ford, special teacher of drawing, Millbrook.
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
The school committee of the town of Duxbury herewith sub- mit their annual report, together with the reports of the Super- intendent of Schools and the Supervisors of Music and Drawing, for the year ending December 31, 1908.
At a joint meeting of the committees of Duxbury, Marshfield and Scituate, held April 24, Mr. John E. DeMeyer was unani- mously re-elected Superintendent of Schools for the ensuing year. In his annual report, which follows that of the School Committee, nearly all matters pertaining to the welfare of the schools are discussed, and we trust that all tax payers will take pains to read the same carefully.
A few matters it seems wise for the Committee to mention in this place.
The appropriation made at the last annual town meeting for the purpose of establishing a grammar school at Tarkiln, by the erecting of a new building or by making additions to the one in existence, has been used in building an entirely new structure, which the Committee have placed on the lot adjoining the old building. The appropriation of $2500, which was thought at the town meeting to be ample for that purpose, was found to be not quite sufficient, and, as those who read the report care- fully will see, was overdrawn $425. This was chiefly on ac- count of the extra expense which the state laws require in heat- ing new school houses.
In the matter of transportation the Committee haxe em- ployed Mr. Freeman L. R. Randall of West Duxbury to transport the pupils in the upper grades from North Duxbury and Ash- dod to the grammar school, and also some of the lower grade pupils who live at High Street and formerly attended school in Pembroke.
The schools at Tarkiln have been very large and very well at- tended and the Committee feel well satisfied that the need of the new school has been well demonstrated.
Contrary to the opinion expressed by a number of voters at
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the last town meeting, the other schools in the western part of the town have been well attended and the teachers have been able to do very much better work because they were relieved of the care of the higher grades.
It has been found necessary to transport a few children who live at a considerable distance, to the village grammar school. This has been arranged by allowing the children to ride on the cars between Island Creek and South Duxbury or between Green Harbor station or Duxbury station and South Duxbury, and by the Committee refunding to the parent such sums as were ac- tually spent for railroad fare.
The transportation problem being an entirely new one, has been the cause of some misunderstanding and annoyance, but the Committee feel sure that, everything considered, the present arrangement is the best that could be made, and that in time all the annoyance now existing will be relieved so far as possible.
The high school, not having received any addition this year, by promotion from the grammar school, has consequently a smaller number of pupils than usual, but this will undoubtedly be corrected in due course of time. After considerable consulta- tion on the part of the Committee and the Trustees, and some communication with the State Board of Education, the Super- intendent and the Principal of the academy have settled on a revised course of study, which we feel will be a very great help in raising the standard of the work done at the academy. This new course of study will be found following the Superinten- dent's report, and we hope that every parent whose children at- tend, or are likely in the near future to attend, the high school, will carefully study that report. Every boy or girl who enters the academy should on entering decide what course of study he or she prefers to follow, and we feel sure that something in this course can be found which will be profitable for every boy or girl who gains admission to the high school to pursue during the full four years' course. One of the difficulties which the Committee have tried to remedy for a number of years is the fact that a considerable number of the boys who have in the past entered the academy have withdrawn their membership at the close of one or two years' attendance. We hope that the greater attention which will now have to be paid to the scientific and commercial courses in the high school will make it not only possible but desirable for every boy who is able to gain admis- sion to the high school to remain there until graduation.
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As has been referred to in previous reports, there are two or three school houses which, on account of changes that have oc- curred in the population, are now at a considerable distance from the center of the pupils who are obliged to attend them, and the Committee feel that at some time in the near future some change should be made in the location of these buildings. This we believe could be done by relocating and removing the present buildings to new sites which would serve the population and the pupils in attendance very much better than is the case at present. As a considerable sum of money was expended in establishing the new building at Tarkiln this year, the Commit- tee do not feel like urging this matter at present; but wish to remind the voters that the need still exists and that some time in the near future will be pressed for action.
The truant officers for the present year are William J. Turner, Thaddeus W. Chandler, Warren E. Peterson, Warren E. Prince and the Superintendent.
As the itemized account of the uses made of the Massachusetts school fund received from the State Treasurer does not appear elsewhere, it is herewith appended.
ORDERS DRAWN BY THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE. From the Massachusetts School Fund in the year 1908 for the Support of Schools.
Paid-
Treasurer of Partridge Academy, rent, $320 00
SCHOOL INCIDENTALS.
Ginn & Company, $ 20 36
Edward E. Babb & Company, 237 91
Freeman L. R. Randall, for transportation, 216 00 A. G. Balavance, for transportation, 1 85
Total expenditures,-
$476 12 $"96 12
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STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT OF MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL FUND FOR THE YEAR 1908.
Unexpended January 1, 1908,
$265 79
Received State Treasurer, dividend Mass. School
fund, January 26, 1908, 708 00
Total,
$973 79
Expended for support of schools,
796 12
Unexpended,
$177 67
The Committee would make the following recommendations for the ensuing year :
Support of schools,
$7,000 00
School incidentals and repairs of school houses,
1,000 00
Salary of Superintendent,
500 00
NATHANIEL K. NOYES, ALBERT M. GOULDING, WILLIAM J. ALDEN, School Committee.
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
To the Duxbury School Committee:
I respectfully submit my third annual report, in which I shall discuss certain changes that have been made, and make such suggestions concerning the future policy of the schools as I deem advisable.
Statistics Concerning the Schools.
Population of Duxbury (census 1905), 2,028
Number of boys between the ages of 5 and 15 years (census 1907), 117
Number of girls between ages of 5 and 15 years (census 1907), 122
Number of boys between ages of 7 and 14 years (census 1907), 82
Number of girls between ages of 7 and 14 years (census 1907), 91
Total membership for the year ending June 30, 1908, 279
Number attending school during year under five years of age, 8
Number attending school during year over 15 years of age, 20
Number attending school during year between ages of 7 and 14 years,
168
Average membership,
252.45
Average attendance,
229.42
Percentage of attendance to membership,
90.8
Number of schools,
9
Number of regular teachers,
12
Number of different pupils in the academy during the year, 67
Number of pupils admitted to the freshman class, September 1908,
11
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The following table will show the distribution of pupils at the time of this report.
GRADES
NAME
|1 | 2 4 9
34|5|6 |7 |8|9|10|11|12
South Duxbury,
Village
11|18 14 18
Point
Millbrook
North Duxbury
2
4
4 | 1
Ashdod
3
2
2
5
Tarkiln
Island Creek
4
0 4
4
11 10 6 |7
THE TABLE OF ATTENDANCE (1907-'08).
Name
Average Membership
Average Attendance
Per Cent of Att. to Mem.
Academy
55.07
50.26
92.21
Tarkiln
32.9
29.2
89.2
Village Primary
27.6
25.5
92.3
Village Grammar
36.126
29.743
91.829
Island Creek
13.8
13.6
98.
Point
20.42
18.4
87.
South Duxbury
16.27
15.
91.39
North Duxbury
16.
15.
93.58
Millbrook
21.
19.
90.
Ashdod
14.25
13.22
92.22
EYE AND EAR TEST.
Whole number pupils tested,
247
Number found defective in eyesight,
48
Number found defective in hearing,
4
Number of parents notified,
46
3
5
9
5
3
1
:
8
1
12 |10|
7 |8 |15
Academy
00 00 00 00 00 10
4 !8!
TEACHERS.
There have been several changes in the personel of the teach- ing force during the past year. During the summer vacation Miss Mary A. Perry resigned as assistant at the Academy, and she was succeeded by Mr. Alton Hartford, B. U. '06. Miss Mary
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Kauffinann resigned from the grammar and Miss Ellen W. Downey was transferred from the South Duxbury to the Gram- mar. Miss Elizabeth A. Hastings was transferred from Ash- dod to the South Duxbury school. Miss Mabel Samp- son was elected to succeed Miss Hastings at Ashdod. Miss Florence Chaffin resigned from the village primary room to accept a more lucrative position elsewhere, and Miss Marion Hatch, Bridgewater Normal '08, was elected to that position. Mrs. Ida Raymond was transferred from the old Tarkiln school to the new grammar, and Miss Annie Nobbs of Abington was elected to the Tarkiln primary.
ORGANIZATION.
At the last annual meeting the town very generously appro- priated money to build a grammar building at Tarkiln, and to meet the necessary additional expense for the maintainance of a grammar school and the transportation of such pupils as it would be necessary to transport. That action, on the part of the town, has made it possible to remedy many of the existing defects and to place the whole system on a much sounder basis. It has relieved the old Tarkiln, Island Creek, Ashdod and North Duxbury schools of two grades each, leaving grades one to five inclusive. The eighth grade has been removed from the academy and divided between the two grammar schools. The village primary school has been abolished and its pupils divided between the Point and South Duxbury schools. In the room previously occupied by the village primary we have placed the fifth and sixth grades, and in the room hitherto occupied by grades six and seven we now have grades seven and eight.
These changes place Duxbury on a par with other towns of similar means and enables the scholars to do their work much more efficiently than ever before. The grammar pupils are now under grammar instructors and the teachers at the academy . are relieved of the double duty of teaching both grammar and high school subjects.
Sustained efforts have been made in the past to raise the standard of the work done in the grades, but the results have been far from satisfactory, owing to the number of classes in each school. Duxbury has, on the whole, some very efficient teachers, yet it has been impossible to do the work required for
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admission to high school unless the pupils were held back from year to year, because the different grades couldn't have the re- quired amount of the teachers' time. Holding back pupils when the fault is due to lack of personal attention is unjust. It dis- couraged many and caused them to drop out of school as soon as they had reached the age limit, and in some other cases the work of the second year was of poorer quality than that of the first year in the grade.
It will take time for things to adjust themselves and for the schools to attain the standard we expect, but under present con- ditions it is possible. The teachers are taking hold of the new order with a heartiness and enthusiasm that is highly commend- able, and already much has been accomplished. They under- stand the conditions and are straining every nerve to aleviate the difficulties.
TRANSPORTATION.
The one great drawback to consolidation of schools is the ques- tion of transportation. At best it is unsatisfactory- at its worst it is abominable. It is, however, the only solution in widely scattered communities, but should be handled with con- summate skill and absolute impartiality. One of the worst fea- tures is the fact that as soon as one pupil is transported in a town, every parent thinks his child should have the same privi- ledge of riding, even when the physical exercise of walking to and from school would do the child good and would prove a valuable part of his education, inasmuch as it would give him a robust and healthy body.
The question on the part of the parent should not be how much can I compel the community to do for me; but rather, first, what can I do for myself and what can my children do for themselves without injury to either them or me. Parents should realize that the burden of education is a heavy one at best and should not add more than is necessary to that burden. Very few parents pay anything like the cost of educating their children, and yet the community is glad to do it for them, but unreasonable demands should not be allowed. Through lack of consideration for public welfare it is entirely possible to make transportation a serious burden to the tax payers of this town, while on the other hand, if each parent will use discretion and
ask for transportation only when it is reasonable and just, the bill will not become a very serious burden. Since transportation has begun, demands, that are unreasonable, have been made, and such demands should never be allowed. Such demands eminate from purely selfish motives and the Committee should be judges of their justice and they should spend the town's money as they would spend their own under similar circumstances.
PARTRIDGE ACADEMY.
The changes, made in the distribution of pupils during the past year, have greatly improved conditions at the academy. The removal of the eighth grade from the academy has made it possible to enrich the course and at the same time to make it more practical. This year is one of transition and it will take time to get things on a good working basis, but already much has been done to raise the standard of the work.
A commercial course has been added. The object of this course is not to give a short cut to business methods. It is in no sense patterned after the ordinary business college, but its object is to give a good general knowledge of those subjects which are necessary for an intelligent comprehension of the problems of life, together with a thorough understanding of business methods and principles. It has not been planned for an escape for the indifferent or indolent pupil, but rather for those who are earnest in their desire to acquire a practical know- ledge of commercial work.
The numbers at the academy are small as the result of the change, but in the natural order of things there will be the usual number in the school another year.
In an appendix to this report I shall cause the course of study for the academy, adopted January, 1909, to be printed in order that the public may have a definite idea regard- ing the work there. We have planned three courses : the classi- cal, scientific, and the commercial. In that course there is a great freedom in electives, as it is possible to give with the num- ber of teachers in our high school. It will provide for pupils who care to prepare for college, normal or technical schools, and at the same time provide liberal and practical education for those who cannot go on to higher institutions.
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THE TUITION OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
There is now, and has been for a long time, a great deal of discussion regarding what the public has a right to expect of the school. Perhaps it would be hardly true to say that the public expects too much, but it is true that it often expects more than is warranted by existing conditions. The duty of the public school is to train children for future citizens in the truest sense of the word, and it seems to me that the functions of the school are three-fold, namely: mental, moral and physical. Furthermore, that training must be practical, it must be of such a nature that it assists the boy or girl to grapple successfully with the problems of life. The state of modern society is such that the public schools must do a large part of the work for- merly done by the parent.
The founders of our public schools intended that the school should furnish the cultural element and the home the practical element of the boy's education. To-day the public school must assume practically the whole burden. This condition is not due to indifference on the part of the parents, but is an out- growth of modern civilization. The schools must meet these in- creased demands or accepted the verdict of inefficiency. Like all other reforms, this transition from the old ideas to the new has not come about as rapidly as the demands, but is, nevertheless, making rapid progress. The public has a right to expect and to demand that the public schools meet the needs peculiar to the community in which they are located .. The schools of Duxbury are in process of transition and in another part of this re- port I have explained at some length some of the measures that have been taken to place them on a more practical basis.
What the schools have a right to expect of the community.
While we are considering what the community has a right to expect of the schools, we might well say a few words regarding what the schools have a right to expect of the community.
The public school should be an institution dear to the hearts fo every American citizen. We frequently hear the expression, "I have no children to send. consequently I am not interested." That fact does not release anyone of responsibility. Man does not live alone, neither can he. We are, one and all, dependent upon our fellow-men and upon the community at large, and it devolves upon us to see that the community in which we live reaches as high a standard as possible. The higher that stand-
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ard, the safer are personal liberties and the right to acquire and hold property, two things dearer to the hearts of every true man and woman than any others. But have we advanced in these re- spects to our highest ideals of perfection ? If so, such upheavals as we have witnessed in the political and financial world for the past year are not only unnecessary but are decidedly undigni- fied. If on the other hand we have not arrived to that state of perfection in the life of our community that we aspire to, we should look with an anxious eve to the future. The question then comes, what is the solution? It lies in the education of the masses to a higher plane of citizenship, in other words, to a higher moral and intellectual plane. The man who attempts to assume none of the responsibilities involved, by saying he has no children to educate, is either deluding himself or attempting to delude the public.
Again parents say, "we have experts to look after our chil- dren's education," and they seem to think that, the end of their responsibility. Those same parents would not place their busi- ness in the hands of an expert accountant and leave the man- agement to him year after year. They would work with him and make him acquainted with all the different influences likely to effect that business. Is our business more important than the welfare of our children? Oftentimes injustice is done by a teacher or superintendent because he does not know, nor cannot know, all the conditions relating to that child. After the harm is done the parent is ready to take the matter up with those in au- thority, but the evil is already done and any attempt to undo it cannot remove the fact that the child has been dealt with unjustly. That injustice tends to embitter the child, and even if justice is done in the end, he has learned his first lesson and its influence lingers, perhaps unconsciously, in his mind. The school has a right to expect, not merely an inactive or moral assent to its work, but rather a hearty and active co-operation in all its de- partments. The kind of co-operation that comes from sincere good-fellowship and a common cause worthy of our best efforts.
I hear parents say, "I wish teachers would have parents' day oftener," and I feel like asking if every day isn't a parents' day. It should not be necessary for the teachers to issue an invita- tion and then prepare a program for their entertainment in order to induce parents to come and see what their children are doing. In fact that is precisely what they don't see, for, in
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order to induce the parents to come, it becomes necessary to provide a special entertainment for them, a sort of reception, in other words, and receptions are not among the functions of the public school.
Again, have we a right to hold the school responsible for the moral training of the children unless we, as citizens, see that their surroundings are morally clean when outside? I find boys from ten to fourteen years of age smoking cigarettes. How do they get them? There is a law in the commonwealth prohib- iting their sale to boys under a certain age, and vet the boys get them. The teacher can't stop those things, neither can he very effectively combat their influence. It is just as much our business as citizens to see that others obey the laws as that we do so ourselves. We cannot expect boys to respect law and order if in direct opposition to his school training he sees his elders break laws daily and the offenders not only go unpunished but actually profit by the offence.
CONCLUSION.
In conclusion I would call attention to the reports of the special teachers and would take this occasion to thank all with whom I have been associated for their hearty support and co- operation.
Respectfully submitted, JOHN E. DEMEYER
CONDITIONS OF GRADUATION.
No pupil is entitled to a high school diploma until he has re- ceived credit for 12 periods of work.
By permission of the principal, a pupil may elect more than the average of 12 hours of work. But no pupil at any time may carry more than 26 or less than 14 hours.
No pupil may enter the sophomore class until he has re- ceived credit for at least 12 periods of work and has removed all eighth grade conditions.
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No pupil may enter the junior closs until he has received credit for 28 periods of work and removed all conditions in re- quired sophomore work.
Pupils who at the end of the school year have failed in one or more courses will be given opportunity to remove their con- ditions during the first week of the next fall term. A pupil who is deficient in any subject must repeat the work with the class then beginning the subject, if it is a required study in the course he is taking. If it is an elective this repetition of the course will be the only means of receiving credit for it. If before the end of the school year the work of the pupil shows that he is prepared for an examination on the subject, by special arrange- ment with the teacher he may be given such an examination. If he passes it he will be given credit for the course.
REPORT OF THE MUSIC TEACHER.
To the Superintendent of Schools :-
It is difficult to speak of the music in the schools of Duxbury, as everything about it is so varied. The one thing that is com- mon to nearly all the schools is a certain faculty in the teachers to get very good results from the children in their charge.
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