USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Braintree > Town annual report of Braintree, Massachusetts for the year 1869-1879 > Part 43
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Richard L. Arnold,
George H. Arnold,
Franklin E. Arnold,
J. Frederic Allen, Patrick B. Anglim,
Arza B. Keith,
David H. Bates,
Alva S. Morrison,
Elisha A. Belcher,
Benjamin L. Morrison,
William P. Bird,
Charles Pratt,
Gilbert W. Bowditch,
Marcus A. Perkins,
John M. Beals,
Nehemiah R. Proctor,
Samuel A. Bates,
William H. Cobb,
William R. Penniman, Charles L. Perry,
Simeon P. Cushing,
Henry W. Simonds,
F. Henry Crane, Luther O. Crocker,
Joel F. Sheppard, James R. Smith,
Constant S. Chandler,
George A. Sproul,
Charles T. Crane,
Samuel L. Dyer, Albion C. Drinkwater,
Martin V. B. Shaw, Charles W. Smith, Eben B. Tower,
Charles A. French,
N. Eugene Hollis, Joseph H. Hobart, C. Byron Hunt,
William Hill,
J. Parker Hayward, Nathaniel F. Hunt,
Nathaniel H. Hunt, Charles L. Hayden, Horace A. Jones, Samuel W. Jennings,
E. F. E. Thayer, Granville Thompson, Henry S. Thayer, Thomas B. Vinton, Henry M. White, George D. Willis,
Gilman D. Whitaker.
44
MARRIAGES.
1878.
AGE. RESIDENCE.
BIRTHPLACE.
Jan. 1. Edgar Hayden, Ella A. Orcutt,
27
Braintree.
Braintree.
24 Weymouth.
21 Braintree.
Weymouth. Weymouth. Quincy.
6. George S. Parker, Mary L. Arnold,
19
Braintree.
Braintree.
Feb. 13. John Kelly, Mary J. Lawson,
22
Braintree.
Andover.
March 3. Thomas Donahue, 24 Charlotte F. McIntosh, 20
28
Braintree.
Maine.
12. Charles E. Roberts, Sophia Lehman,
32
Braintree.
Maine.
April 2.
Thomas D. Colbert, Addie A. French,
22
Braintree.
Braintree.
3. William A. McClary, Lavinia Stark,
25
Boston.
Nova Scotia.
6. Alfred K. Durling, Margaret A. Buchanan, 16
27
Braintree.
Nova Scotia.
May 12. Isaac P. Bent, 25
Dora G. King, 19
Braintree.
Braintree.
21. Frederic H. Seabury, Mary A. Thayer, 21
25
Brockton.
East Dennis.
22. Joseph D. Bradford, Lizzie M. Hall,
20
Boston.
Boston.
23. Marshall Stetson, 22 Mary E. Cudworth, 18
24
Braintree.
Kingston.
28. William A. Tupper, Lydia A. Thayer,
30
Braintree.
Braintree.
June 4. Nathan T. Dyer, Hattie Mann, 23
26
Braintree.
Braintree.
Franklin.
Franklin.
13. Alden P. Loring, Alice M. Mason,
32
Braintree.
Dorchester.
23
Braintree.
Braintree.
16. James H. Finegan,
28
Braintree.
Braintree.
Mary E. Curran, 28
Boston.
Boston.
July
3. Benjamin L. M. Tower, 30 Eliza C. Kneeland,
25
Cohasset.
Boston.
3. Thomas Taylor, Sarah E. Gott,
27
Braintree.
England.
10. William O. Faxon, Susie R. Wales,
24
Braintree.
Stoughton.
24
Stoughton.
Stoughton.
Aug. 18.
Arthur H. Long,
21
Braintree.
Belgium.
Mary C. McMahon,
20
Braintree.
Weymouth.
25. Albert E. Bradford,
23
Braintree.
Braintree.
Louise H. Lothrop, 23
Braintree.
Maine.
8. Frank O. Whitmarsh, Annie Glover,
22
Quincy.
Quincy.
22
Quincy.
Ireland.
Braintree.
Braintree.
Weymouth.
Weymouth.
21 Braintree.
Braintree.
24
Braintree.
Canada. .
Braintree.
Nova Scotia.
Quincy.
Quincy.
Brockton.
Hanson.
25
Braintree.
Braintree.
So. Abington.
Hanson.
Weymouth.
Weymouth.
Braintree.
Boston.
25
Braintree.
Boston.
22 Braintree.
45
Aug. 27. Amos M. Litchfield, Lois L. Dyer,
48
Quincy.
Scituate.
Oct.
4. James S. Baker,
Josephine B. Mansfield,22
Braintree.
5. William A. Carver, Sarah L. Huff,
21
Braintree.
Braintree.
18
Braintree.
Braintree.
13. William E. Frame, Almira L. Bump,
. 24
Randolph.
Randolph.
16. Michael O'Brien, Josie Lee,
22
Braintree.
Ireland.
30. Charles G. Batson, Helen B. Hollis,
19
Braintree.
Braintree.
Nov. 2.
Joseph Huff, Sarah Moore,
67
Wayland.
Brookline.
24. Henry Holton, Eliza J. Besse,
23
Braintree.
Wareham.
28. Thomas Lynch,
22
Weymouth.
Ireland.
Mary Hennessey,
22
Braintree.
Weymouth.
29. Charles R. Greeley, Susan M. Loud,
22
Weymouth.
Weymouth.
Dec.
4. Ezra H. Waite, Mary D. Thompson,
21
Braintree.
Weymouth.
12. Charles R. Pooler, Mary H. Baker,
21
Weymouth.
Weymouth.
15. Edward M. Wight, Adriana Johnson,
22
Quincy.
Quincy.
25. Joseph Q. Hawes, Jennie F. Glover,
21
Gloucester. "
1 Gloucester.
31. George E. Bullard, Susie E. Daniels, Alliston F. Dyer, Lizzie Reed,
21
. Braintree.
Braintree.
20 Braintree.
Braintree.
19 Weymouth.
Weymouth.
BIRTHS.
1877.
Feb. 1.
William Hamilton McGaw,
June 15. Grace Elizabeth Eastwood,
July 26. George Bridges,
Sept. 27. Charles Samuel Belcher,
Dec. 27. Roscoe Green Holbrook,
Alexander and Sarah J. John E. and Margaret. William and Eliza. S. Wilson and Sarah L. Moses D. and Abbie F.
1878.
Jan. 3. Fannie Elizabeth Shechan, 5. Willie Donahue,
18. Rhoda Adeline Warren,
19. Isabel Sullivan,
24. Caroline Disloovere, 25. Nellie O'Brien, 30. Lillian Francella Dustin,
23
Braintree.
Newburyport.
27
Braintree.
Ireland.
22
Rockland.
Plymouth.
67
Braintree.
Maine.
31
Braintree.
England.
25
Braintree.
Maine.
28
Braintree.
Braintree.
20
Braintree.
Maine.
32
Quincy.
Braintree.
26
Braintree.
Roxbury.
25
Braintree.
Southboro'.
48
Braintree.
36 Braintree.
Braintree. So. Carolina. Braintree.
John and Hannah. Peter and Margaret T. Clark and Katie F. Thomas O. and Hannah. Louis and Catherine. John and Margaret. Eugene A. and Elizabeth T.
46
Feb. 5. Bennie Franklin Hayden,
8. Mary Jane Higgins,
12. Arthur Merrill Young,
14. Marian Ethel Wood,
19. Walter Irving Glover,
19. Herbert Morales,
20. Thomas McLaughlin,
March 1.
21. Sarah Moulton Kelley, Ethel Alice Perkins,
2. Wallace Winfred Dana,
2. Eugene Bearce Jordan,
4. Susan Gertrude Dorety,
13. Albert Warren Carney,
14. Bertie Francis Buker,
George E. and Ella A.
17. Lussander Badger,
23. Clarence Everett David,
26. - - Keene,
April
5. Mary Beatrice Ahlf,
6. Ida Emma French,
8. John Arthur Gorman,
12. Fletcher Francis Stoddard,
21. Katie Ellen Jordan,
25. Percy Warren Holbrook,
25. Nellie Florence Harrington,
29. John Ahearn,
May
2. Harrison Parker Hobart,
C. Harrison and Abbie F.
4. Thomas Armand Mischler,
Conrade and Bridget.
9. Charles Patrick Carroll,
Patrick and Louisa.
20. Alice Southworth Morrison,
Alva S. and Rebecca H.
22. Fannie Jane Hollingshead,
John and Fannie. George and Mary E.
25. Grace Tower Whitmarsh,
26.
John Thomas Kelley,
June 1. John Andrew Mooney,
Peter and Mary. Francis W. and Sarah E.
. 20. Edith Young,
22. Mary Elizabeth Richards,
Horace J. and Hattie R.
23. Elizabeth Alice Dee,
Robert H. and Mary J.
25. Samuel Thayer Willis,
30. Grace Caroline Page,
July
6. Eva May Crane,
7. Bertha Rebecca Tenney,
7. Bertie William Tenney,
14. Jane Dugan,
21. Charles Herbert Gage,
31. Hattie Elizabeth Colbert,
Thomas D. and Addie A.
Aug.
1. Edwin Franklin Trufant,
Edgar H. and Jane I.
Warren H. and S. Maria.
.
4. Helen - Foss,
Franklin W. and Ida A. James and Rose.
J. Wallace and Amelia A. William H. and N. Annie. Winfield S. and L. Alice. Leonardo and Agnes. Patrick and Mary A. Hiram H. and Mary H. Salmon W. and Ellen F. Horace and Sarah E.
Calvin C. and Clara E. John W. and Annie L. George and Margaret.
Napoleon and Sarah.
Solon and H. Agnes. Joseph A. and Lillian I. Celia.
Claus and Christina.
Charles A., 2d, and Jennie.
Francis and Catherine E.
Edward G. and Mary J.
Patrick and Eliza.
Walter and Sarah F. Eliza Jane.
Daniel and Ann.
23. George Thomas Dee,
Frank O. and Annie. John and Mary J.
S. Arnold and Clara E. Harvey S. and Florence E.
Charles F. and Julia E.
Michael and Nellie. Michael and Nellie.
Henry and Maria. William L. and Mary E.
26. Mary Ellen Maguire,
47
Aug. 4. O'Rourke,
5. Ernest Linwood Pratt,
5. Harry Alvine Dyer,
9. Robert Elisha Belcher,
10. Clara Baylies Connell,
13. Ethel Brown Delano,
15. Jane Elizabeth Starr,
18. Roland Hill McFarland,
22. Alice Edna Ryerson,
28. Emily Arnold Parker,
Sept.
5. John Edward Fitzgerald, 13. Everett Howard Cain,
25. Mary Elizabeth White,
27. Alice Gertrude White,
Oct. 7. Olive Birchard Smith,
7. Flora Ellen Spear,
8. George Gaston Mansfield,
9. Elizabeth Hamilton Thayer,
Edmund G. and Florence.
9. Mary Ann McDonald,
10. Eva Gibson Chambers,
14. Charles Francis Pierce,
William S. and Sarah A.
15. William John Preston,
16. Clarence Edward South worth,
17. - - Learned,
18. Aimee Florence Kirby,
Nov.
1. Hannora Dolan,
3. Arthur Channing Thayer,
15. Potter,
15. Oliver Alexis Tellier,
22. Alice Maria Condrick,
23. Michael Clark,
24. Florence Wales,
George O. and Abbie F. P.
27. Annie Lillian Hollis,
27. Touffet Greenwood,
Dec.
1. Mabel Jeannette Dexheimer,
7. Charles Benson Lund,
10. Mary White Thayer,
15.
- - McGaw,
Alexander and Sarah J. Robert M. and Sarah E.
15. Mabel Ellen Loring,
20. Grace Binney Crane,
Nathan J. and Martha A.
22. Frank George Rossiter,
23. Lewis Marshall Parks,
27. Mary Ella Hayden,
Peter and Theresa. Phineas and Desire. Allston F. and Lizzie. E. Alden and Mary F. Walter T. and Mary E. John J. and Priscilla B. Terence and Charlotte. James and Mary. Wallace and Alice E. George S. and Mary E.
John C. and Mary A. Daniel E. and Ellen G.
James and Ellen.
T. Freeman and Mary E. Charles W. and Sarah L.
Benjamin F. and Caroline C.
Charles W., 2d, and Eliza M.
James and Eliza. James and Eliza.
Michael and Margaret.
Alfred and Lucy M. Henry O. and Frances E. John H. and Annie.
19. Eva May Snow,
Henry H. and Mary E. Martin and Johanna.
Elwyn H. and Annie. Daniel and Marina L.
Napoleon and Ann E. William F. and Katie.
James W. and Mary.
George E. and Loella A. John and Frances.
Jacob, jun., and Jeannette. Charles A. and Clara F. Elias M. and Ellen M.
Frank G. and Katie E.
Albert F. and Addie M.
Caleb H. and Emma F.
48
DEATHS.
1877.
Aug. 25.
Mary E. Baker,
26. Mary Finegan,
85
4 16 Consumption. Old Age.
Sept. 6. Grace E. Simmons,
10
10 Spinal Meningitis.
1878.
Jan.
4. Elias Hayward,
72
Consumption.
9. Alpheus Hunt,
73
0
5 General Debility. Still-born.
11.
Clinton,
78
0 24 Heart Disease.
29.
Caroline Disloovere,
5 Infantile.
30. Margaret A. Ahearn,
25
10
6 Phthisis Pulmonalis.
Feb.
3. Mary E. Clary,
30
2
24
Phthisis Pulmonalis.
20.
Emeline Pratt,
69
7
16 Anæmia.
25.
William H. McGregor,
4
17
Erysipelas.
March 16.
Clara E. Jordan,
20
0
25
Puerperal Fever.
19. Lussander Badger,
2 Jaundice.
22.
Rhoda K. Perkins,
88
1
6 Heart Disease.
27.
Ann McDowell,
58
8
27 Bright's Dis. of Kidneys.
28.
Keene,
2 Infantile.
April
1. Rebecca Hill,
88
1
17 Pneumonia. Still-born.
S.
Robert Dickey,
70
11 23 Paralysis.
8. Elizabeth A. Penniman,
81
6. 25
Heart Disease.
15. George H. Tower,
28
17. Harriet A. Hammond,
34
26.
Alice B. Hamilton,
7
11
21
Consumption. Typhoid Fever.
May
1.
Rowena L. Ryan,
76
5 26 Rheumatism of Heart.
2. Frank E. Hayden,
1
2 16 Congestion of Lungs.
4. Frederic J. Drinkwater, 10
8
17 Accidental.
6. Mabelle F. Snow,
9
29 Diphtheria.
7. William Maxwell,
87
9
Heart Disease.
8. Ralph Arnold,
65
6
2 Dropsy.
14. Sarah C. Berry,
42
6
8 Heart Disease.
16. William C. Stoddard,
52
0 19 Bright's Dis. of Kidneys.
June
2. Hiram Wild,
71
10 23 Consumption.
8. William Thomas,
56
1
8 Heart Disease.
20. Augustus E. Hayden,
12
0
7
Consumption.
29. Edith M. Damon,
1
9
9 Brain Disease.
July
5. Mary E. Willis,
24
3 28 Consumption.
10. Patrick Sheehan,
22
4 Phthisis Pulmonalis.
10. Alice R. Gibbs,
13
11 11 Peritonitis.
12.
William H. Mansfield,
26
9 27 Consumption.
6. Hayden,
2 15 Typhoid Fever. Pneumonia.
30. Robert Carrigan,
23
25. James S. Thayer,
76
11 13 Dropsy.
11. Abijah Penniman,
Yrs. M. D. 28
49
July
1877 12. George W. Nutter,
61
6 19
Œdema of Lungs.
20. William Dyer,
63
8
2 Intemp. and Heat of Sun.
24. Abbie T. Daniels,
49 3 17 Cerebral Apoplexy.
25. Phyle Bowditch,
86
9 12 Old Age.
Aug. 5. Florence M. Allen,
3
1 14 Drowning.
6. - O'Rourke,
2 Infantile.
12. Mary White,
102
5 18 Pneumonia.
17. Henry I. Madden,
8
17
18. Mary E. Arnold,
2
5
Cholera Infantum. Cerebral Dropsy.
24. Clarence E. David,
5
1 Cholera Infantum.
26. John A. Mooney,
2
25
Cholera Infantum.
Sept. 8. Elizabeth Thayer,
80
6
11
Old Age.
10. Catherine M. Flood,
23
5 27
Phthisis Pulmonalis.
29. E. Warner Dailey,
59
8
12 Cancer.
Oct. 2. Minnie F. Miller,
1
2 19 Cholera Morbus. Pneumonia.
4. Mark F. Duncklee,
53
9
25 Drowning.
11. Jonathan Holbrook,
75
2
Pneumonia.
15. Jolın F. Clary,
5
3
12 Atrophy of Liver.
27. Ernest L. Pratt,
2 22
Cholera Infantum.
28.
Margaret E. Clinton,
2
7
17 Diphtheria.
29.
Thomas Jordan,
72
5
5 Dropsy.
2. Joanna W. Penniman,
44
0
8 Stone in the Gall.
5. William A. Robbins,
4
4
5 Diphtheria. Stillborn.
8. Freddie J. Valiquet,
2
2
4 Spinal Meningitis.
23.
Nathaniel Belcher,
85
10
20
Chronic Gastritis.
24. Mary B. Alılf,
7
18 Acute Bronchitis.
28. Florence Wales,
4 Engorgement of Lungs.
Dec.
8. Henry J. Holbrook,
83
7
27 Pneumonia.
11. Edward Friel,
35
4
Fracture of Spine.
18. George D. Newcomb,
50
5 15 General Debility.
19. Marcus W. Nickerson,
33
8 12 Phthisis Pulmonalis.
31. Rebecca Arnold,
68
6 29 Softening of Brain.
3. John Preston,
38
Nov.
7. Branley,
The Town Clerk requests that he may be notified of all errors or omis- sións.
Yrs. M. D.
1
1
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
TOWN OF BRAINTREE,
FOR THE
SCHOOL YEAR 1877-78.
1
BOSTON : FRANKLIN PRESS: RAND, AVERY, & CO. 1879.
REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE OF THE TOWN OF BRAINTREE.
THE importance and value of the public-school system of education, especially under a free government, and its direct, vital bearing upon the well-being of the nation, are threadbare truths, - so trite as to be often overlooked.
Upon the character of our schools depends the char- acter of our people ; for to our common schools is the great body of our people indebted, not merely for their intellectual training, but for their moral culture as well. And teachers cannot be too strongly impressed with the necessity of inculcating a high moral tone in those intrusted to their care.
Our fathers recognized this, embodying the idea in our constitutional and statutory law. In the laws re- lating to public schools they provided that " it shall be the duty of all instructors of youth to exert their best endeavors to impress on the minds of children and youth committed to their care and instruction, the principles of piety and justice, and a sacred regard to truth ; love of their country, humanity, and universal benevolence ; sobriety, industry, and frugality ; chastity, moderation, and temperance; and those other virtues
54
which are the ornament of human society and the basis upon which a republican constitution is founded." To such education as this we owe the preservation of our National Government; to its absence the French nation owed, in large measure, its terrible revolution.
A town can have no greater interest to foster within its borders ; no object upon which it can and should expend its means with greater liberality.
As individuals, we undergo constant toil and self- sacrifice to provide for the future of our children; as bodies politic and corporate, we are too often strangely reluctant to expend our money in the same direction. 1
METHODS AND SUGGESTIONS ..
Within the last few years the system of public educa- tion has made rapid strides. The old landmarks are swept away, and new theories are everywhere rampant.
With the ample means at their command, our cities and large towns are making important changes in methods, - some already assured successes, others still experimental, or of doubtful expediency. Your Com- mittee, adhering to the conservative traditions of the town, have preferred to proceed with caution, making such changes only as are no longer of doubtful value, and these by a very gradual method. But in view of the recent improvements in methods elsewhere, and of the establishment among us of the Thayer Academy, of which we shall speak presently, certain changes have become a necessity.
REVISION OF STUDIES.
A sub-committee was appointed the past fall to revise the studies of the schools, with especial view to the more
55
accurate grading of the Grammar and Intermediate Schools, and the establishment of a uniform course of study to be required for admission to the High School. Embodied in their report were suggestions, which, among others, we desire here to bring to the special attention of our teachers. The Committee have had the benefit of the excellent revision of studies and suggestions to teachers recently prepared and adopted by the Boston School Board; though, from their being adapted to a system at once the most elaborate and most lavish in expenditure of any in this country, their availability with us is somewhat limited.
TEXT-BOOKS AND ORAL INSTRUCTION.
It is a matter of common observation, that frequent changes in text-books are detrimental to progress, and that it is generally inexpedient to make such changes, unless rendered necessary by new courses of study, which should be introduced only with classes entering upon a study for the first time. All needless expense to parents is thus avoided.
The slavery of the text-book has been in the past, and is still, a marked evil in our schools. We would strongly recommend that our teachers make wider use of oral instruction, confining themselves less closely to text-books, from which lessons should be selected with regard to the needs and aptitudes of the. scholar, rather than to the sequence of pages.
While we would not discard the spelling-book, there is no doubt that it too often proves a hindrance rather than a help ; and we would recommend the frequent use of the reading and other text books, combined with occasional oral and written exercises improvised by the teacher, in partial substitution therefor.
56
The evil of close adherence to text books is nowhere so apparent as in the study of history. As its result, whatever is acquired is purely a matter of memory, - isolated facts connected in the scholar's mind only with the page on which they are stated. To petty details equal importance is attached as to great epochs ; and the pupil's time is so wasted, that the colonial and revolu- tionary history of this country is all that is generally taught, even thus imperfectly.
The memory should not be burdened with minor details, which may well be omitted, that the Grammar School graduate may at least possess some degree of familiarity with the history of his own country to the present time, and may better comprehend the connec- tion of events and historical causes and results.
The marked benefits of this method of instruction were made apparent at the recent mid-winter examina- tion of the Union Grammar-School. A connected ac- count of the main events of the American Revolution was given by the scholars (called upon at random), gen- . erally in their own language; and questions thrown in by the Committee were answered with a commendable degree of promptness and intelligence : and this was accomplished by the usual number of lessons during only one term. The benefits of this method are also perceptible in other schools.
Mathematics is the purest form of abstract reasoning, and problems should be worked out in accordance with principles, not rules. Time spent in geometry is wasted if the pupil is allowed to commit the problems to mem- ory ; and arithmetic is not properly taught when undue prominence is given to memorizing and repeating rules. Clearness of thought and clearness of expression are
57
acquired when the theory, the rationale of the process is held as important as the practice.
One of the most important changes recently intro- duced in the schools of Boston, as well as of other places, and one of unquestioned value, is the increased attention paid to the study of English literature.
If our schools give nothing else, they should impart a love for reading.
The main object of school education is not to store the mind with facts, but to acquire those habits of con- centration and thought that will enable the pupil to master any subject to which he may apply his mind. Not what is studied, but how it is studied, is the impor- tant thing; and that school is the successful one which best implants in the scholar a love for study.
School-work must be made interesting, or it is a failure : this is the central truth' from which have sprung, and about which cluster, the theories upon which our best educators are at work to-day. And there is no greater aid to this end than the writings of our best authors. The benefits of such reading reach in every direction. A pure, healthy tone, intellectually. and morally, is imparted ; a taste for the best reading is implanted, that will reject the poorer literature of the day, much of which is so detrimental to mind and character. Again, there is no surer means of acquiring a pure and correct style of expression in speech and writing. The pupil takes little or no interest in the fragmentary selections found in the readers now in use. One complete story, poem, history, or book of travels, would be not only of inestimably greater interest, but a most valuable adjunct to the text-books in other stud- ies, especially in history.
58
The value of the supplementary courses of reading in the Boston schools of all grades cannot be over-esti- mated.
The following books have been introduced as such supplementary reading-matter in those schools : -
In the Primary Schools, the monthly magazine called " The Nursery."
In the Grammar Schools, Higginson's " History of the United States ;" Hawthorne's " Wonder-Book " and " Tan- glewood Tales;" Miss Martineau's "Crofton Boys ;" Tom Hughes' "Tom Brown's School-Days at Rugby;" Dana's " Two Years before the Mast ; " De Foe's " Robinson Crusoe ;" Irving's " Sketch-Book."
In the High Schools, the English Classics, so called.
It will be said at once, We cannot afford this. True, but we can do something in this direction. The town should supply each school with a few of these books, to be kept on the teacher's desk for occasional exercises ; two copies of each book would be sufficient, - one for the teacher, and the other for the scholar reciting. The exercise thus becomes extemporaneous, and close atten- tion as well as constant interest on the part of the other scholars is secured.
The result would certainly justify the effort.
Two other important changes introduced in several places in the State are, first ; - in the method of teaching grammar without a text-book, by oral and written exer- cises, rather than by memorizing : and, secondly ; - in teaching children to read without the alphabet.
With the former we are not entirely in sympathy, believing the idea of throwing away the text-book may be carried too far in the effort to find a royal road to learning, and that a judicious and partial use of the
59
text-book is essential. The new method is perhaps largely a reaction from the complications of parsing and analysis and the refined subtleties of terminology that have found place in too many school systems.
The method of learning to read before acquiring the alphabet is now in practice, in whole or in part, in some of our Primary Schools, and is certainly successful in the hands of the teachers who have adopted it. This method is now in general use throughout the United States.
TEACHERS.
These, and other changes which we have not space to discuss in detail, involving the laying aside of the text- book, depend however for their success upon trained teachers. To meet this want, training-schools have been established in various places.
As the Committee of the Norfolk County Convention recently said ; - " If our smaller towns cannot afford trained teachers, we must train the teachers we have ; " and much can be done by suggestions, and by inciting them to a higher standard.
We do not wish to be understood as advocating any system of close restraint with teachers. It is the cus- tom in many places to prepare tabular views, prescrib- ing so many hours each day to particular studies. We do not approve of this, believing that it is the duty of committees, to see that the schools are kept properly graded, to outline the instruction to be given, and, by suggestion, to keep the teachers well informed as to the best methods ; but in all the details of teaching, to trust their aspirations, and allow them so broad a scope and such a sense of freedom as not to cramp their individu- alities.
In deference to the supposed wishes of the people
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in different sections, a practice had sprung up in the past to refer the appointment of teachers in each section to its own sub-committee. Although it is believed that such sub-committees have always endeavored to perform this duty faithfully and impartially ; yet in order to avoid any possible suspicion, from any quarter, of favoritism, it was voted, some time since, that all examinations of candidates thereafter should be before the Board as a whole.
MONTHLY REPORTS.
To aid the Committee in the supervision of the schools, as well as to incite the pupil to greater effort, monthly-report cards, to be sent to the parents of each scholar, have been introduced into the Grammar and Intermediate schools. They are in the following form :-
GRAMMAR SCHOOL, BRAINTREE.
Monthly Report of
Div. of Class
EXAMINATIONS.
187 MONTH.
Times present.
Times absent.
Times tardy.
DEPORTMENT.
RECITATIONS.
Pupils in Class.
Rank in Class.
Arith.
Geog.
Gram.
Hist.
Spell.
Av. p. ct.
Feb.
Mar.
April
May
June
PARENT'S SIGNATURE.
" Deportment" and " Reeitation " are marked Excellent, Good, Fair, or Bad. Parents cannot expect their children to be regularly advanced from one elass to another unless they are constant in their attendance at school.
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