USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Braintree > Town annual report of Braintree, Massachusetts for the year 1884-1885 > Part 5
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bloom. . . . Ventilation is generally deficient, and effected on wrong principles.
" An incredible disregard of obvious and customary sanitary pre- cautions in the disposition of latrines exists, even in large cities. The lighting and desk arrangements are faulty, and the floor and cubic space allotted to each scholar are insufficient. The diseases reported as directly resulting from this state of things are catarrh, dyspepsia, debility, diarrhœa, dysentery, and zymotic disease, to which may be added eye troubles, particularly near-sightedness, due to the bad air and dim light of crowded rooms."
The health of children attending the public schools is a matter of great importance to parents, and they should co-operate with the Committee in procuring such changes in regard to light, ventila- tion, etc., as may be necessary for the welfare of the pupils.
TEACHERS.
The excellence of a school depends almost entirely upon the qualifications of the teacher. It should, then, be distinctly under- stood both by parents and teachers, that whenever the Committee consider a teacher incompetent or indifferent to the required work, he or she will be removed at once, without regard to personal con- siderations, and one having the requisite skill and ability secured.
The teachers should follow, so far as it is in their power, under the direction of the Committee, the course of study as laid down.
Ambitious teachers often try to accomplish much more than is required of them, under an erroneous impression that it is advan- tageous to their pupils to cover as much ground as possible ; when this is undertaken it is always detrimental to the school as a whole, since the brightest scholars generally derive all the benefit, and the dull pupils are robbed of time they are rightfully entitled to.
There should be no misunderstanding or unsettled questions as to the interpretation of the course of study ; and the work required to be done by each teacher and each class should be distinctly known.
EXAMINATIONS.
It is still a much-mooted question whether an examination should be wholly written or wholly oral. Mr. Seaver says, " The examination should be both written and oral, the latter being used
70
to promote a memory of mere words from passing as a knowledge of things. . . .
" The art of examination is not second in importance to the art of teaching. Neither art has yet reached perfection. The two arts are intimately connected : they act and react upon one another powerfully. Good teaching cannot flourish under bad methods of examination, and bad methods of teaching make it difficult to apply good methods of examination."
It has been our custom, heretofore, to examine the pupils orally, but this method is not quite satisfactory to the Committee, and in future we may arrange matters, so that the examination shall be partly written and partly oral.
TEXT-BOOKS AND SUPPLIES.
The law passed last year by the Legislature entitled "An Act to provide for the furnishing of free text-books and school supplies to the pupils. of the public schools," Acts' and Resolves 1884, Chap. 103, rendered it necessary for the Committee to purchase, at the expense of the town, all the text-books and other school supplies used in the public schools ; and said text-books and sup- plies are loaned to pupils in public schools free of charge.
This law has added greatly to the expense of maintaining our schools ; and so long as it remains in force, there will be a necessity for a separate appropriation on this account.
ABSENTEES.
It will be seen by examining the foregoing statistics that there are a number of children in town of school age who attend no school. In some cases the efforts of the truant officers to enforce the attendance of these children have been unavailing, for the rea- son given by parents, that their children are ill-clothed, and therefore unwilling to present themselves at school. If this is true, it is to be deplored that children in the town of Braintree should grow up illiterate, because they have no clothes to wear.
The town should take some action upon this matter (since the Committee are powerless), and see to it that such children who are in absolute need and destitution are properly clothed.
SCHOOLS.
The results accomplished in our schools during the past year
71
have been very satisfactory ; of course, our school system has not yet arrived at perfection, but much is being done year by year to encourage better methods of instruction and to facilitate the acqui- sition of useful knowledge:
It has been observed that certain pupils attending the High School are unwilling to work with sufficient energy to enable them to maintain the proper standard. To all who are thus negligent and disregardful of their opportunities, the Committee give fair warning that, unless they show a decided improvement and obtain at least an average of fifty per cent, they will be dropped to the class below.
Our corps of teachers remains the same as last year, with the following exceptions : -
HIGH SCHOOL.
Miss Martha Reed, assistant teacher, was obliged to give up her position on account of ill health. Miss Reed has been a very faith- ful and efficient teacher for the past eight years. It is to be hoped that she will speedily recover. Miss Jennie Dow supplied for a few weeks and then resigned. Miss Lydia C. Nye succeeded Miss Dow, and is now acting as assistant teacher.
POND SCHOOL SECOND PRIMARY.
Miss Susie M. Reed, a most excellent and much-respected teacher, resigned in June.
At the beginning of school in September, Miss Adla F. Car- michal, one of the graduates of the High School, was placed in charge ; but her sudden death cut short her labors, for which she had already begun to show a decided adaptability.
Miss Sarah L. Arnold is now filling the place thus left vacant.
UNION INTERMEDIATE.
Miss Helen A. Nevers resigned, and Miss Sara A. Carter, of Quincy, was appointed to fill the vacancy.
UNION SECOND PRIMARY.
Miss Fannie M. Dugey resigned. Miss Ida W. Beal is the present incumbent.
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WEST SCHOOL. Mr. Warren B. Keith taught for the first two months of the year, and was succeeded by Miss Susan O. Lane.
MORAL EDUCATION.
Moral education should receive more consideration in our schools. Teachers should endeavor, both by precept and example, to inculcate in the minds and hearts of their pupils a love of honesty, fidelity, justice, truthfulness, charity, and temperance ; and, above all, a love of country and a desire to become good and reliable citizens. "Let the teacher, therefore, train his pupils to use agreeable tones of the voice, and to make a careful selection of words in conversation ; to exhibit a keen sense of propriety in avoiding all vulgarity and in choosing the most approved style of address ; and to show a proper respect to age, rank, position, and merit. The teacher should be with his pupils from the time they leave their homes in the morning until they return home again at night. He should be with them by his visible presence while they are in school or on the play-ground, and by his spiritual presence while they are on their way to and from the school.
" He is not to interfere so as to improperly check the spontaneous activity of their young natures as they engage in their youthful sports ; nor is he at any time to deprive them of the full and free enjoyment of one of their natural rights. . . . He is to prevent the use of impure words, and the exhibition of any vicious conduct. . He is to lead them to freedom by teaching them how to learn, and by training them to self-control." (See Secretary's Report, Board of Education, 1882-3.)
In this good work the teachers must have the co-operation of the parents themselves, otherwise their best attempts will fail.
ALBERT E. AVERY,
For the Committee.
STATISTICAL TABLE OF THE SCHOOLS.
Average Membership. Average Attendance.
Average Per Cent.
Under Five.
Over Fifteen.
Monthly Wages of Teachers.
High . .
64.2
62.55
97+
0
42
45 00 f'm'le
Pond Grammar. .
41
38.1
93+
0
5
60 00
66
Intermediate.
28.925
24.677
85+
0
0
32 00
1st Primary . .
27.375
23.5
86-
0
0
32 00
36.525
35.6
77-
0
2d Primary .
32.68
30.34
93-
0
3
60 00
Union Grammar. .
34.85
30.22
87-
0
0
32 00
Intermediate.
32.885
28.075
85+
0
0
32 00
1st Primary .
40
30.9
77+
2
0
32 00
2d Primary . .
24.75
22.826
90++
0
0
60 00
Ironworks Grammar. .
42.125
37.717
90-
0
0
32 00
66
Intermediate
51.75
49.367
90+
0
0
32 00
66
Primary
26.5
24.9
$0-
0
3
45 00
East Grammar.
30.85
· 24.817
80+
0
0
32 00
Primary . . .
31.4
27.66
91++
0
1
32 00
Middle Street.
13.825
11.8
85+
0
0
24 00
Southeast
35.6
25.457
71+
0
0
32 00
South ..
16.43
14.552
89-
0
0
28 00
Southwest
15.3
12.1
79++
0
0
24 00
West . .
$140 00 male.
30 40
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RULES FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOLS.
The school year shall consist of forty-three weeks, including three vacations, viz., one' week at Thanksgiving, one week at Christmas, and one week at Fast; and shall commence the first Monday in September.
The schools are to be kept on the first five secular days of each week, and at no other time.
Teachers must be at their school-rooms fifteen minutes before the time of opening the school in the morning, and commence and close the school at the prescribed hour, the record of attendance to be made at the time of opening.
The morning exercises in all the schools shall commence with the reading of the English Bible by the teacher, without comment.
School hours shall be from nine to twelve o'clock in the morning, all the year ; from one to four in the afternoon, between the first of November and the first of April, and from half past one to half past four the remaining time of the year, unless otherwise ordered by the Committee.
Teachers shall not suspend their schools, nor change the school hours, except by permission of the Committee ; nor must any recess exceed fifteen minutes ; neither shall any scholar be deprived of a recess as a punishment.
Teachers shall require scholars, when dismissed, to leave the schoolhouse and grounds immediately, and proceed to their homes ; unless otherwise ordered by their parents or guardians.
No teacher is permitted to perform any work not belonging to the duties of the school in school hours.
Teachers shall see that their rooms, grounds, and all that per- tains to the school premises are kept neat and in good order, during term time.
Whenever any school taught by a male teacher is in the same building with other schools, said teacher shall be regarded as the principal of said schools for the purpose of having general over- sight of the buildings and grounds, and the other teachers shall be regarded as assistants.
For violent or gross opposition to authority, or when the con- duct of a pupil either in or about the building is such that his ex- ample is injurious to the other pupils, the teacher may suspend
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such pupil ; but the case must be reported forthwith to the Commit- tee for advice and direction, and at the same time notice must be given to the parent or guardian.
No substitute shall be placed in a school by a teacher without the approval of the subcommittee.
Teachers must use such means as they have for ventilating the rooms.
Four times a year, in the last month of each half term, all the classes in all the schools above the grade of primary shall have written examinations by the teachers, and the examination papers shall be kept on file for the inspection of the Committee, or parents of scholars above primary grade.
Daily records of recitations in arithmetic, grammar, history, and geography shall be kept by the teacher.
No child shall be admitted to our schools under five years of age.
All scholars must attend the schools to which they are assigned, unless otherwise directed by the Committee.
Whenever any scholar shall unnecessarily be absent from the examination of his or her school, such scholar shall not be permit- ted to re-enter any school in town except by consent of the sub- committee.
Any damage done to a schoolhouse, the furniture, or any part of the premises, must be paid for by the parent or guardian of the child or children doing the damage.
No scholar shall be degraded or put into a lower class without consent of the Committee.
Scholars may be promoted at the commencement of any term, provided the parents are willing, and the scholars are able to recite in the lower class, also, till the lessons which were passed over in the promotion be made up. But each case must be decided by tbe Committee.
In extremely inclement weather the schools may have but one session, yet, if possible, the teacher must consult the Committee.
No books or papers are allowed in the schools but those pre- scribed or assented to by the Committee.
Whenever any parent or guardian shall feel aggrieved by the conduct of any teacher, the cause of grievance must either be re- moved by a private interview with the teacher or be reported to the Committee.
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Any violation of these rules by a teacher shall be considered sufficient cause for dismissal.
The janitor's duties shall consist in keeping the school-room well heated, swept and dusted twice each week, the out-buildings in a clean condition, the cellars and yards free from rubbish, and the snow promptly removed from all walks and steps. He shall immediately report any damage to schoolhouse or out-buildings to the subcommittee, and shall receive such compensation as may be agreed upon.
COURSE OF STUDIES.
SECOND PRIMARY SCHOOL.
FIRST YEAR. September to Feburary.
Words, letters, and numbers on the board and slates. Com- mence Primer, Drawing on slates, objects and colors.
February to July.
Primer, Spelling, Drawing, and Writing letters, words, and num- bers on slates and on the board ; colors and objects.
SECOND YEAR.
First Reader, Spelling ; Write sentences and Drawing on slates and boards ; learn numbers, punctuation marks, chapters, objects, and colors; Supplementary Reading ; Singing a daily exercise ; Desk-book on miscellaneous objects.
FIRST PRIMARY SCHOOL.
FIRST YEAR.
Second Reader, Supplementary Reading, Spelling ; commence Primary Arithmetic, and Writing Books ; Drawing on board, partly in colors ; Write long sentences weekly ; Desk book on misecllaneous subjects.
SECOND YEAR.
Continue last year's work ; take Third Reader, Geography ; Intellectual Arithmetic, Supplementary Reading ; Singing and Gymnastics general exercises through the year; Desk-book on miscellaneous subjects ; short Compositions monthly.
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INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL.
FIRST YEAR.
Third Reader, Spelling ( from Speller and Reader) . Supplementary Reading, Writing, Intermediate Arithmetic, Geography, Language (Swinton's Primer). and Drawing. Abbreviations, Composition, Mental Arithmetic, and Gymnastics as general exercises through this and the next year. Desk-book on miscellaneous subjects.
SECOND YEAR.
Continue and complete studies of last year. Fourth Reader, Supplementary Reading, Large Geography, Desk-book on miscel- laneous subjects ; Writing three times a week. Written examin :- tion once a term. Drawing twice a week through this and the following two years. Written abstracts twice a year.
GRAMMAR SCHOOL.
FIRST YEAR, - FIRST TERM.
Reading, Spelling, Arithmetic, Grammar, Geography, Supple- mentary Reading ; and Writing three times a week.
SECOND TERM.
Previous studies continued. Add United States History, Com- position monthly.
SECOND YEAR.
Studies of last term of last year continued ; Arithmetic to cube root, finish Grammar and Geography; Mental Arithmetic and Gymnastics, general exercises for both years ; Desk-book on mis- cellaneous subjects ; Language upon the boards weekly or oftener.
GRAMMAR SCHOOL.
EXTRA YEAR. September to December.
Complete studies of previous year, and take Bookkeeping and General History. Drawing through the year.
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December to February.
Bookkeeping continued; Commercial Arithmetic and Corre- spondence, General History, Physiology and Hygiene.
February to April.
Continue studies of last half-term, except Physiology and Hy- giene ; take Physics.
April to June.
Continue studies of last half-term, except General History and Physics. Take Astronomy, Geology, Select Readings, Writing, Language, Spelling, and Mental Arithmetic weekly for the year ; Desk-hook on miscellaneous subjects.
Grant diploma.
MIXED SCHOOLS.
The course of study in these schools will be the same as in the graded, except the extra-year studies in the grammar schools.
HIGH SCHOOL.
FIRST YEAR, - FIRST TERM.
Language and Algebra ; Writing and Drawing, weekly class exercises through the year; Written and Mental Arithmetic, Reading and Spelling, weekly general exercises through the year.
SECOND TERM.
Algebra, General History, and Language.
SECOND YEAR, - FIRST TERM.
General History, Natural Philosophy, and Civil Government.
SECOND TERM.
Geometry. Astronomy, and Chemistry.
Weekly class and general exercises as last year.
THIRD YEAR, - FIRST TERM.
Trigonometry, Physiology and Hygiene, and Geology.
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SECOND TERM.
Bockkeeping, Botany, Political Economy, Morals and Manners. Composition and Declamation monthly for three years. Physical Geography, for the first year, elective.
Latin for three years, elective.
French for two years, elective.
TEXT-BOOKS OF THE BRAINTREE SCHOOLS, AUTHOR- IZED BY THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
HIGH SCHOOL.
Walton's Arithmetic, Robinson's Algebra, Davies' Geometry, Davies' Trigonometry, Swinton's History, Bardeen's Rhetoric, Warren's Physical Geography, Meserve's Bookkeeping, Wood's Botany, Steele's Chemistry, Geology, Philosophy, Physiology and Hygiene and Astronomy ; Martin's Civil Government, Smith's Drawing, Payson's D. and S. Writing, Keetel's French Grammar ; Robinson Crusoe, Contes Merveilleux ; Harkness's Latin Grammar ; Latin Reader, Cæsar, Virgil ; Worcester's Dictionary, Lippincott's Pronouncing Gazetteer of the World, Thomas's Pronouncing Dic- tionary of Biography and Mythology.
GRAMMAR, INTERMEDIATE AND PRIMARY SCHOOLS.
Swinton's Spellers, Raub's Normal Readers, Franklin Arithme- tics, Reed and Kellogg's Grammar, Swinton's Language Primer, Harper's Geographies, Scudder's History of United States, Smith's Drawing, Payson, D. and S. Writing-books, Desk-books and Supplementary Reading of various kinds and grades, Worcester's Dictionary.
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