USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Braintree > Town annual report of Braintree, Massachusetts for the year 1879-1880 > Part 4
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If, instead of such an arbitrary division of the money, it was all controlled by one responsible head, and expended in whatever por- tion of the town it was most needed, a portion at least of every annual appropriation might and should be set apart and devoted to making some improvement of a permanent nature. If this course should be adopted for a number of years in succession, or should be made the regular system to be followed, we should soon see gradually, but surely, an improved condition of our roads.
Another defect which is necessarily inherent in our present sys- tem, is the practice of mending or attempting to mend the roads by throwing the material which the rains have washed into the side ditches, back into the centre of the road. Absurd as this practice appears, it is quite too common, and is in many cases apparently made necessary by lack of other and better material. The conse- quence is, that the first rain converts this loose material, better far for a top dressing for grass than for the surface of a road, into a perfect slough of mud, and a hard rain washes it back into the ditch. In a dry season this material becomes a perfect bed of
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dust, annoying to travellers, destructive to vehicles, and almost as bad as the mud itself. Too much cannot be said in condemnation of this bad practice, and it would be better economy for the town to throw the money into the ditch and let it lie there. And yet, although we see this done year after year, the surveyor is not always to blame. The fault is not his, it is in the system. In a majority of cases he, does this, because with the limited means at his command he can do nothing else. It is the best and all he can do.
The present manner of supervision is also open to criticism and is susceptible of improvement. By the By-Laws of the town, as well as by vote and also by statute law, the surveyors are placed under the direction of the selectmen.
This results in a division, and consequently a weakening of responsibility. It is unjust to the selectmen, inasmuch as it makes them responsible for the acts of others, over whom they have no efficient control. It is irritating and disagreeable to the surveyors, subjecting them, as it may do, to the annoyance of unnecessary and uncalled-for interference with their labors.
As the best way to obviate this difficulty, the committee recom- mend that the town should choose, instead of three surveyors, a Board of Road Commissioners, under the provisions of the statute, which has been already accepted by the town.
It is also recommended that some certain portion of the annual appropriation for the repairs of highways be set apart for their permanent improvement.
Another difficulty which presents itself, and which is yearly growing more prominent, is the lack of a proper quality of gravel. It is well known that there is a great scarcity of this material, especially in certain sections of the town.
The result of this is, that material utterly unsuitable for the purpose must be used, or that good gravel must be obtained and hauled a long distance, and at a great expense.
In view of these considerations, the question presents itself, What other method can the town adopt, which is within its means, instead of the extravagant, unsatisfactory, and inefficient one now in vogue? Would it not be better economy for the town to invest a moderate sum of money in a good machine for crushing the stones, of which we have an abundant supply, than to any longer persist in using so much poor material ?
It may be said that we cannot afford the expense. It is true it involves a considerable outlay at first; but would it not be the truest and most far-sighted economy in the end ?
If it is true, as is stated by one of our present surveyors, that fully one half of the money expended annually is thrown away and wasted, then the saving in one year would almost pay for the necessary machinery.
Nothing is more certain, nothing is better established by the
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experience of engineers and of practical men, than that a solid and unyielding foundation is the first requisite for a good road. And it is no less certain that with our present method, we can- not make a solid road-bed. If we provide ourselves with the means to crush the rocks which are scattered all over our territory, we can in a few years have roads which will be a credit to the town, and which can be kept in repair with a comparatively small annual outlay.
A good crusher will cost at the present time $750 ; an engine of fifteen horse power will cost $800 more. A machine of this size and power will crush one hundred tons per day. It will cost to run it, including the wages of the men required to prepare and remove the stones, and allowing largely for contingencies, about twenty dollars per day. This will make the cost of the crushed stone, all prepared for use, about twenty cents per ton. A suita- ble roller can be procured for about $300, making the outlay for the necessary machinery, if contracted for at the present time, $1,850. If we allow $150 for unforeseen expenses, it will be seen that the cost need not exceed the sum of $2,000.
We have endeavored in this report to place before the town the facts in the case, as we find them. It is now for the town to con- sider the matter, and to take such action as in its wisdom it shall deem best. The question is simply one of cost. There can be no doubt that broken stone is the very best material for making and mending roads that can be obtained, and it is for the town to decide whether they are prepared to incur this present expense, in the hope and reasonable expectation of having better roads at a reduced cost in the future.
JOHN CAVANAGH,
for the Committee.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
TOWN OF BRAINTREE,
FOR THE
SCHOOL YEAR 1879-80.
REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE OF THE TOWN OF BRAINTREE.
So long as pure intellect is crowned as regal, men will not be coaxed or frightened into the adoption of any new theories of instruction for the education of their children.
Those theories which have produced men like Shakespeare or Bacon, and in our town of Braintree, a Lemuel Shaw, may safely challenge any which are now presented.
Common-sense as well as judgment, based upon the results of more modern methods, justify us in adhering to ways tried and approved by experience.
Our schools of Braintree, in the judgment of your committee, compare with those of sister towns, and in many instances to the advantage of our own. To adopt a new system simply on the ground of novelty is neither wise, safe, nor prudent.
That which is the outgrowth of proper training at the home or in the schools is not, so far as human society is concerned, to be made a sport of imaginative reformers or would-be philanthropic educators. The old-fashioned, hard-headed, matter-of-fact fathers of our Massachusetts school system were bred in a school of prac- tical affairs that taught them the fact that velocity added to weight, either as applied to mind or to matter. Nature says both are needed for the greatest effect, also that character is twin sister to intellect, and the development of one at the expense of the other was ruinous to both.
The ancient laws of 1642-June 14-provide, " that, foras- much as the good education of children is of singular behoofe and benefit to any Commonwealth, and whereas many Parents and Masters are too indulgent and negligent of their duty in that kind,
56
it is ordered," etc. (see Report of State Board of Education for 1873-1874), - recognizing thereby the truth, that the highest morality, as well as highest culture, are to be combined in the education of our children.
A saddening fact one member of your committee had revealed to him, from a brief experience in teaching (the same has been told by our regular teachers) ; that was, an evil habit of untruth- fulness possessed by many of the pupils. Parents must know of this, or they will not have the opportunity to correct the habit before it becomes confirmed. Our Yankee ideas of smartness must not be fostered at the expense of any of the virtues we are bound to uphold.
Our conveniences for a full and complete education of our chil- dren are excellent. Our High School, under its present manage- ment, is the admiration of all who are careful and capable judges. Our Grammar schools are equal to any of the same grade in other country towns. In some exercises we think we are above the average. Our scholars, at the same age of those of other town schools, excel in penmanship. This, allied with perfect reading and spelling, is an important acquirement. Many neglect the reader and the spelling book, and take up other studies, more with an idea of embellishment ; not thinking it may be, that the harder and more practical pursuits of life are to be the lot of most of our children in future life. While being sensible of the fact that roses flourish among the rocks, the latter are the foundation and archi- tecture of cities ; the former, an emblem only of beauty and of sweet- ness, - both of God's appointment. One of the essentials in the constant progress of scholars in their work is a constant attendance upon all sessions of the school, and to the end of the session. The loss of a single lesson is a missing link in the chain of the perfect whole which our studies are designed to be. One step is to follow another till the summit is attained.
Excuses for an " after-recess " dismissal is one of the many evils which the conscientious teacher feels is working injury to her pupil, and which dire necessity alone should compel the parent to grant his boy or girl. Habits of order are also destroyed by con- tinued absence, impairing the discipline of the school.
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Control of a school is not always the government of it. Physical force can control a school. Moral influence, and that superior knowledge which every intelligent child is quick to detect in the teacher fitted to his or her work, alone can govern it. Parents are not all perfect ; and a word here about speaking in the presence of a child as to any particular method or any act of the teacher in enforcing proper discipline : a questioning the wisdom, or con- demning the act of a teacher, is most sure to crop out in fruits of resistance or rebellion. Prompt obedience, and a cheerful sub- mission to the authority of the teacher, should be impressed by the parent upon the mind of the child. No school can be successful without it. While the scholar is in school the teacher takes the place of the parent, and is morally responsible for the proper care of the child. If the teacher is unfitted, or is unfaithful, the remedy is in the hands of the committee. The statutes of Massachusetts require "every teacher shall have competent ability and good morals."
Every citizen has interest and an influence, and it is his duty to exert it on the side of good order and sustain and co-operate with the teacher in promoting the general welfare.
It is not difficult to see the effect of home training in the school- room. The boy taught at home that he was born to be President, whether he honestly earn the title or no, is likely to begin the exercise of his domineering over his mates, and will soon question the authority of his teacher, who, in order to counteract the evil, is compelled to resort to a method of persuasion lying latent in his ferule.
The age of admission to our school was wisely changed from four to five years. Better had it been changed to six or seven. The more the scholar would know and the better qualified to learn at ten, provided proper home influence and training were given him. The idea of making our school-room a hospital for the relief of mothers from the burdens of care incident to an excess or superfluity of children is a subversion of the system. The sub- primary, or the Kindergarten system, is the proper one for this class of children, where healthful exercise, together with some object-teaching, is producing the best of results; it seems to be
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Nature's way for the normal development of perfect men and women at this initial period of their life. But to confine these tender ones to the stricter discipline suited to older pupils is an injury to them, physically as well as mentally.
The town have been very generous in their appropriation for schooling, also for much-needed and necessary repairs to the buildings.
In the east part of the town, children have always, till the present, been dependent upon the neighbors for their supply of water ; now a good well and pump are in the yard. The building has been greatly improved in its conveniences and its architecture.
The tabulated report is herewith annexed.
E. A. NEWTON,
for the Committee.
STATISTICAL TABLE OF THE SCHOOLS.
SCHOOLS.
Whole Number
of Scholars.
Average Num- ber belonging.
Average Attendance.
Number under
5 years.
Number over
15 years.
Number be- tween 8 & 14.
Length of School in Months.
Wages per Month.
High
56
52
49$
0
31
8
10
1
45
Pond Grammar
55
48&
100
0
0
42
42
4028
100
Pond Primary . . .
95
607
49.91
0
0
30
10
32
Union Grammar
37
36-
334
0
2
35
10
42
Union Intermediate
44
40%
36.
0
0
44
10
32
Union Primary . .
78
00
415
3
0
27
10
42
Iron Works Grammar.
44
371
324
0
1
44
10
29 av.
Iron Works Intermediate
42
100
502
0
0
20
10
32
Iron Works Primary .
84
6011
2059
0
0
28
10
42
East Grammar.
261
1
23
10
29 av.
East Primary
34
27.1
242
0
0
22
10
32
Middle .
37
3133
2787
0
0
27
10
29
Southeast
47
3333
273
1
2
28
10
32
South
40
22 3.
1
10
2
1
10
10
28
20
164
131
West ..
. .
.
. .
. .
.
.
..
. .
32-7
0
0
30
10
.
. .
. ...
. .
32
25.3.
10
32
Southwest ..
. .
28
22 81
,100
100
52
34.1
40
36 93
43 29
0
6
49
10
42
10
32
36 88
Pond Intermediate
32
130
100
100
16
$125
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