USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Ipswich > Town annual report of Ipswich 1899 > Part 6
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Up to the time of graduation the student has been filling her mental treasury and in her receptive attitude has absorbed a greater or less amount of miscellaneous knowledge. As a teacher she must give from ont her store and all her relations are changed. How to impart her material will be a problem as great as the dealing with the immature mind of the child. Many an old teacher can testify to the anxious struggles of her early experience, when she has longed for some kind of figurative Gatling gun with which to lodge the volley of her knowledge in the brain of some dull child. Every citizen of Ipswich has a right to demand that the teacher of his children shall be as properly equipped for her profession as the physician upon whom he calls to meet their bodily needs. At the risk of repetition the committee would again urge the importance of special training.
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SCHOOL REPORT.
SUMMARY.
During the past year there has been no notable departure from the general aim and policy of the school work. Excellence and defect in administration, in discipline, and in teaching, certainly exist in our schools ; nevertheless the defects, in the main, are less glaring than in former years and the general result is satisfactory.
Besides inculcating habits of promptness and punctuality, our schools have recognized and maintained the practical value of a com- mon school education which Horace Mann once said, "is capital to the poor man and interest to the rich man." They have aimed to train the pupils in distinct reading, in accurate spelling, in legible penman- ship, in readiness and accuracy in number work; and to make them familiar with the history and government of our people. Through drawing and coloring they have developed the constructive and artistic elements in the pupils ; and through vocal music have provided a means of future enjoyment.
An attempt has been made to inculcate a wholesome respect for our mother tongue and to train the pupils in the use of correct Eng- lish. The improvement, however, is more apparent in the written than in the oral work. Children still lapse, in speaking, into the old idioms and incorrect phrases which they hear on the street, in the home, and sometimes in the school-room.
Vertical writing finds increasing favor and evidently has come to stay. The improvement in penmanship especially in grades below the high, is very marked. This may be because in the primary grades the children have nothing to unlearn. Rapidity and legibility are the chief recommendations of the system : its principal fault, that it ex- presses no individuality.
The introduction of physical exercises which has been made in some of the grades is to be commended. They prove not only a relaxation from mental work but also help towards the con-
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SCHOOL REPORT.
trol of the body and towards grace and ease. Fifteen min- utes each day should be given to this work. Although faults of position in standing or sitting, persisted in for three hundred minutes cannot be cured in fifteen, some little improvement will be made. To be sure muscular exercise develops brain power, but its chief aim should be the promotion of health, strength and physical improvement. While the committee would not deem it wise to provide a special in- structor for these exercises they would suggest that each teacher can do something in her own room. It has been aptly said that "school life should not merely prevent the impairment of health, it should improve health. To develop the intellect at the expense of bodily health is a meagre and injurious form of education."
With all the improvement along the lines mentioned, there yet is . "one fly in the honey," one branch, and that, one of the most impor- tant, which will bear still greater stress of work on the part of both pupil and teacher, and this is the reading. Improvement has been made but still greater progress is hoped for. Intelligent reading is one of the fine arts.
As a corps our teachers merit commendation for high char- acter and strong personality ; for excellent scholarship and teaching ability ; for zeal and faithfulness; and among the majority, for a gracious manner, towards pupils, parents and one another, which Sidney attributes to "High thoughts seated in the heart of courtesy." and courtesy should have a large place in the manner of the teacher.
The moral training and its results can be placed in no report. It is the warp and woof of the pupil's being that has come through the direct teaching of some tactful teacher, whose consistent life in con- tact with the child's impressionable nature, has become an uplift and an inspiration. It is this influence for good or ill which makes the office of the teacher one requiring the finest attributes of human nature.
For the first time in three years the schools have carried on their year's work uninterrupted by change of teachers or epidemic of illness among the scholars. Few changes in the corps of teachers have been needful.
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SCHOOL REPORT.
At the beginning of the school year, it was evident that Miss Elma Smith needed a longer respite from her work and leave of absence until January, 1900, was granted. Miss Sullivan was retained as sub- stitute teacher in the seventh grade, at the Manning Grammar school. At the close of the year, Miss Smith's health still unfitting her for teaching she withdrew altogether from the ranks, and Miss Sullivan was confirmed in her present position.
Miss Smith's withdrawal is a distinct loss to the school. For a long term of years she has taught with marked success ; her kindly, sympathetic nature and enthusiasm for her work, helping to carry her scholars over many rough places in the school road. Such teachers "not only point but lead the way." The committee regret not only the withdrawal but also the cause which seemed to make it necessary. Head, heart, and hand were given to her work which even now is bear- ing fruit in the lives of those who came under her charge.
Miss Decatur's leave of absence also was extended until January and Miss Isabel G. Brown was transferred from the Village school to the Payne Primary, to carry on the faithful, conscientious work inau- gurated by Miss Decatur. Miss Augsuta N. Appleton, who graduated from the High school in June, was elected to fill Miss Brown's place. Miss Decatur not being able to go back to her work in January, the present arrangement will continue until June.
Miss Harriet D. Condon. special teacher in drawing, resigned her position in December, to take up her work in a larger and more influ- ential sphere, and after careful deliberation, Miss Ethel W. Ratsey, of Auburndale was elected as drawing teacher. From personal knowl- edge of Miss Ratsey and observation of her work, the committee feels that no mistake has been made in the selection.
The discipline throughout the year has been free from undue harshness. In order to govern well a teacher must have a strong will- power and a keen sense of justice. Few cases of injustice have been reported this year. A whole school should not be punished for the faults of a few. Better that ninety-nine who are guilty should escape than that one innocent pupil should be punished. The trial of patience when dealing with dull scholars is a very fruitful occasion for the inju- dicious use of the tongue, which sometimes is as "unruly a member" in
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SCHOOL REPORT.
the teacher as in the pupil. Sarcasm has no place in the school room. No case of actual insubordination has been reported this year and in general, good order has prevailed.
The committee regret also the loss from their board of the Rev. M. II. Gates, whose removal from town necessitated his resignation. Mr. Gates brought to his work sound judgment, original ideas, careful thought, and a clever faculty for adapting means to ends. Ilis pres- ence is missed both in the school and committee room.
PRIMARY SCHOOLS.
GRADES I, II, AND III.
WHOLE NUMBER. 327.
These grades occupy seven rooms. Except in rare cases, entrance to the lowest grade is permitted only in September, the beginning of the school year, as it is impossible to give each child personal attention after classes once are formed. There has been an unusually large num- ber of pupils in these grades although, with the exception of the Payne school, none have been actually overcrowded. At the Cogswell school there have been at times during the year more scholars than the seats would accommodate. Something should be done at once to relieve the congestion at the Payne school. No teacher can do justice, either to herself or to her pupils, where two recitations have to be conducted simultaneously in the same room. The building of the second stair- way required by law, took away the recitation room formerly used. While it might serve in a disciplinary way to put a child under the stairs for a time, it is hardly possible to stand the teacher and fifty scholars there for a recitation. It would be a matter of small expense to bring a school building from one of the out-districts to the Payne School grounds, and make an annex for the first grade pupils. Another plan proposed is to locate one of these buildings on Estes street, which
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SCHOOL REPORT.
would draw the surplus scholars not only from the Payne but also from the Deunison and Cogswell schools.
During the past year there has been a greater degree of unity than heretofore in the work of the primary teachers, and while each one works in her own individual way, as each one should do, there has been greater harmony in result. It is conceded by all that, to the primary teacher falls the most important step in educational work. Looking at things from a child's point of view is by no means easy ; but this the true teacher must do. Liberal qualifications, not only of scholar- ship but of patience and good temper, and a fresh, abundant, lovable personality, are needed. Little children must be led not driven, and they are acted upon to more advantage and in a better way, than "through the muscular integuments by the application of a birch rod." Many children entering the primary schools today cannot speak a word of English, and it is to the credit both of pupil and teacher that rapid progress is made. The work of the past year can be character- ized as faithful, conscientious and generally creditable.
GRAMMAR SCHOOLS.
WINTHROP, GRADES IV, V, VI.
MANNING, GRADES VII, VIII AND IN. WHOLE NUMBER, 304.
The same harmonious work has existed in the Grammar Grades as in the primary. Each teacher has striven to fit her work to that of the grades above and below her, so that the whole may make a "seamless garment" of preparation, not alone for the work of the High school but for the work of life. Many of the children leave school, even before they have completed the grammar school course, and therefore go out into the world with a very meagre share of the mental, moral and even physical equipment, our schools are designed to give. The best, and
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SCHOOL REPORT.
most numerous advantages possible should be given, therefore, in the first eight grades. This is the attempt made in our grammar schools. Realizing its importance the teachers, by unremitted efforts, have re- duced inexcusable absence and tardiness to the minimum. A new in- terest in reading has been awakened. History in the seventh grade has proved a successful study. The treatment of literary, historical, and biographical topics in the eighth and ninth grades,-in which the public library has been a valuable aid,-shows diligent research and is to be commended. This and the large number of problems in Arithme- tic, however, have called for too much home work, and parents very properly have objected. "Do nothing too much" was the inscription sometimes placed over the entrance to Grecian academies, which might be supplemented by the homely phrase, "A pint measure never yet held a quart." Whatever error there may have been, has arisen from an enthusiastic zeal on the part of the teachers to induce their pupils to make the most of themselves.
The exhibit of the special work in drawing, made at the close of the school year, surpassed all former attainment in this direction. Several scores of drawings from these schools were placed in the State exhibi- tion in Boston, and a large number was retained to send to the Paris Exposition. This fact speaks well for teachers and pupils, and proves that the special and regular instructors must have worked in perfect accord. No change in the corps of teachers has occurred during the year, a fact which has helped in bringing about gratifying results.
Of the thirty scholars who graduated in June 1899, twenty three entered the High school in September: two entered the Salem Com- mercial school ; one entered the Salem High school : four discontinued their studies. Graduating exercises were held on Wednesday Jime 28, when the following scholars were presented with diplomas by Mr. Bamford :
Charles Landry Paul Hebert Arthur Sherburne Lord George Franklin Waters Katherine May Clarke Sarah Small Leet
Ottie Winifred Saunders May Belle Graffum Arthur Harold Tozer Bessie Ahna Black Lawrence Manning Horton Arthur Russell Lord
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SCHOOL REPORT.
Alice Maude Senior Ethel Gertrude Sheppard Alice Wyman Bartlett Chester Garfield Perley - Eva Treadwell Sanborn Maude Louise Smith Nellie Gertrude Moren Ada Lincoln Newman Ira Francis Coggshall
William Herbert Kimball Mabel Alice Perley Flora Mabel Smith George Augustine Clarke Frederick William Denningham Emma Safford Freeman Alexander Thibedeau
Joseph Foster Claxton Marion Gage Forbes
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SCHOOL REPORT.
PROGRAMME.
JUNE 28, 1899.
"Military Galop" Invocation
PIANO DUET,
Misses Sanborn and Graffum Rev. F. J. MeConnell
"The King's Champion"
School
"Sympathy"
RECITATION,
"Character of the Happy Warrior"
Herbert W. Kimball
"Trees and their Uses"
Charles Landry
Ira F. Coggeshall "Our Whippings"
SINGING,
"O Skylark, for Thy Wing" . Chorus
"Opportunities"
RECITATION,
"The Bell of Atri"
Katherine Clarke
"Our Navy"
RECITATION.
Bessie A. Black SINGING,
"The Banner of Freedom" . Class
"Henry Hudson's Visit to New York in 1899" Lawrence M. Horton
RECITATION,
"The Two Little Skeezucks"
Mando L. Smith
George A. Clarke "The Dreyfus Case"
SINGING,
"The Woodman"
"A Bit of College Lore" Class Prophecy
RECITATION,
Nellie G. Moren Arthur S. Lord
"Two English Kings" Presentation of Diplomas
COMPOSITION AND VALEDICTORY,
George F. Waters
Benediction
SINGING OF CLASS HAMN.
Rey. F. JJ. McConnell
SINGING,
COMPOSITION AND SALUTATORY,
Flora M. Smith
COMPOSITION,
RECITATION,
COMPOSITION.
Arthur II. Tozer
COMPOSITION,
Paul Hebert
"The Old Man and Jim"
COMPOSITION,
COMPOSITION,
School
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SCHOOL REPORT.
HIGH SCHOOL.
WHOLE NUMBER, 62.
The year in the High school has been on the whole, one of quiet, earnest and commendable work. At the beginning of the year a grat- ifying increase was noticed in the membership of the school, but several have "grown aweary" and have dropped out by the way. The value and importance of a High school education is being recognized today as never before. An examination into the courses of study will show at once, that the dividing line between the grammar and high schools is very faint. The studies of the ninth grade merge harmoni- ously into the High school courses, and the latter sepa- rate into special courses which are elective, and in which the growing minds of the pupils are met by the broader knowledge of the specially trained teacher. It sometimes has been thought that our Iligh school paid too much attention to the few scholars who intend entering college, and exercised too little care for those who are not to prosecute their studies farther. While it is natural and proper to lay emphasis upon the college preparatory work of this school, it must be borne in mind that the training given to all, in the classics, mathe- matics and science, affords the opportunity for exceptional intelligence and mental strength. A High school, however, supported as it is by all classes of citizens, fails in its duty if it does not provide its pupils with such an education, as will best prepare them for the various walks in life which they are to follow. Pupils not preparing for college should be well grounded in the studies and the principles which will assist them in earning an honest livelihood. A purely English course in which practical bookkeeping, banking, stenography and typewriting may be taught, should be introduced into our High school curriculum. This the committee are unable to do until some pecuniary provision can be made for the needful appliances. There is no more perplexing problem that confronts a committee than the financial one. To com-
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SCHOOL REPORT.
ply with all statute requirements, or to provide for the school all things desirable, would necessitate greater expenditures than we are war- ranted in making, so that a distinction has been made between the really needful and the desirable. In several of our neighboring towns and cities the commercial course, to which reference has been made, has been introduced with pronounced success.
Several of the present graduating class will enter college in the autumn.
The High school has suffered from no interruption during the year. and the teachers have worked together for the best good of the school. Of the fifteen pupils who graduated in June one entered the Boston University in September, and one will enter the Boston school of Tech- nology in September, 1900.
Graduation exercises were held on Thursday, June 29, when an admirable address to the graduating class was made by Rev. Charles M. Southgate, of Auburndale. An invitation to deliver the Graduation Day address on June 27, 1900, has been accepted by Prof. George N. Cross, of Exeter, N. II., whose former work as principal of the High school is pleasantly remembered. The class of '99 included the follow- ing pupils :
FOUR YEARS FRENCH AND LATIN COURSE.
Augusta Newell Appleton
Charles Rogers Lord
Elsie May Daniels
Frederick Waters Horton
Bertha May Morse Frederick Saunders Witham
Edith Alice Lavalette
THREE YEARS ENGLISH COURSE.
Ethelyn Sprague Adams John Arthur Herlihy
Adrian George Barker
Daniel Earl Measures
Helene Barrett Clarke
Eva Louise Spiller
Florian Lathrop Weld Coggshall
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SCHOOL REPORT.
GRADUATION DAY EXERCISES.
June 29, 1899.
PROGRAMME.
MARCH.
INVOCATION,
Rev. A. II. Gordon
MUSIC.
SALUTATORY,
Augusta N. Appleton "American Ideals" MUSIC.
ADDRESS TO GRADUATES, Rev. Charles M. Southgate "The Finest of All Fine Arts" MUSIC.
VALEDICTORY, Elsie M. Daniels "Survival of the Fittest in Literature"
AWAARDING OF DIPLOMAS, Chairman of School Committee CLASS ODE, ('lass of '99 . BENEDICTION, . ยท .
Rev. A. II. Gordon MUSIC.
CLASS ODE.
(Musie-ST. BOTOLPIL. )
These short years of happy school-life All too soon have glided by, Like sweet dreams of fleeting pleasures, And today we say, "Good-bye." Pleasant memories of dear class-mates And of teachers true and kind. We shall carry with us alway,- Sweeter joys we ne'er shall find.
SCHOOL REPORT.
Tho' we feel a thrill of sadness,
As we think we now must part,
Yet there are some rays of gladness, That still linger in each heart. Ever fond the recollection Of our happy High School days, They will be to us like sunshine, Shedding light along our ways.
Soon the tie that binds us-class-mates. Tho' it seem so firm today,
Will be severed. In life's battle, Each will go his separate way. We are standing on the threshold Of a new and unseen life,
We must follow after Duty, She will guide ns through the strife.
-EDITH A. LAVALETTE.
DRAWING.
That the work in music and drawing has been so satisfactory dur- ing the past year has been due in part, as already intimated, to the pleasant relations existing in nearly all the schools, between the special and regular teachers. Where this has not been the case the less favor- able results have been found. The children have been especially inter- ested in brush work, for which both ink and colors are used. Not all the colors of the spectrum are provided as this would necessitate too great an outlay. Several children, however, provide color boxes of their own in order to get greater variety.
Both mechanical and free hand drawing have been taught, and the work also has been made to bear a direct relation to the nature studies of the spring term. For the majority of the scholars the free-hand is conceded to be of the greater importance. Models, objects and posing from life have been utilized. Mechanical drawing has been confined
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SCHOOL REPORT.
chiefly to the higher grades and the High school. Design, and its application to articles of utility, or conventional design, has been taken up. Many of the pupils have displayed genuine, inventive abil- ity, and have been encouraged to make the most of a talent which, later in life, may be of practical benefit. The enrichment of their designs with color, teaches them to discriminate between that which is harmonious, and that which is offensive to the color sense. In order to stimulate the pupils in this creative faculty, Miss ('ondon offered last year a special prize, for the best original design for a book or program cover. The designs were submitted to the State Supervisor, who selected that of Miss Emma Safford of the Grammar school and Ellis W. Morton of the High school as most worthy of commendation. These designs were used for decorating the programs of the graduat- ing exercises of the respective schools, Grammar and High.
In June, an exhibit of the drawings made in the several Grammar grades brought several hundred people together and the work met with great favor.
During the year, the effort to obtain good pictures for school room decoration has continued, and careful judgment has been exercised by the teachers who have purchased pictures for their school rooms. While it is not expected to make artists of all the children, drawing has a distinctive value in training each child's faculties of observation and general accuracy.
In the High school, drawing is elective and the class is small.
In December, Miss Condon resigned the position she has held for eight years, to take up the work elsewhere. It is to her unreserved devotion and skill in imparting instruction, that the Ipswich schools have been brought into the foremost ranks of excellence in drawing. Her success is a matter for congratulation, and the best wishes of this Board and of her associate teachers attend her in the new field upon which she has entered.
There was no lack of candidates for the vacancy. AAfter thorough inquiry and due deliberation, Miss Ratsey was elected. Her special preparation for public school work added to her experience, seemed to fit her to take up the work where Miss Condon left it. We are pleased with the good quality of the beginning of her work.
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SCHOOL REPORT.
MUSIC.
Miss Hubbard has supervised another year's work in music and has brought it to a satisfactory conclusion. Classes have made steady advance in all grades and more tuneful singing than usual has character- ized the work. The upper grades are visited every week and the lower grades once in two weeks. The co-operation of the regular teachers has been hearty and helpful, and with such teaching our children should go out of school with the ability to sing at sight new music without the aid of an instrument. Miss Hubbard has worked diligent- ly throughout the year. In some respects the best results are obtained below the High school grades, and the singing of the smaller children is more pleasing. This is due to the lack of interest on the part of the older pupils and is not the fault of the teacher. The general spirit per- vading the schools is of a pleasant nature.
TRUANCY.
TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
GENTLEMEN :
During the past year we have investigated 72 cases of truancy. Much of this evil is due to the weakness or indifference of parents. In some cities in our commonwealth delinquent parents have been fined, accord- ing to chap. 498, Acts of 1894 of the Public Statutes. It has been our endeavor to investigate all complaints promptly and thoroughly, and to deal with the exigencies of the business carefully. Many cases were those of habitual truancy. In nearly all cases parents made excuses for the boys or girls, who are thus encouraged in becoming not only an annoyance to teachers, but a menace to good government and a crying evil in the problem of school attendance.
Respectfully submitted, FRANK B. PAGE, W. II. BROCKLEBANK.
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SCHOOL REPORT.
UNGRADED SCHOOLS.
1
These "heirlooms" are now five in number, and each is going on "in the good, old way," which of necessity must be followed in schools of this kind. The teachers are faithful and work zealously, and the wonder is, not that they accomplish so little, but that they do so much, limited as they are as to numbers and facilities.
While the centralization plan naturally helps the children to larger ideas, more enthusiastic study, and a wider ambition, there is an indi- viduality about our ungraded schools that is refreshing. This is espec- ially true of Linebrook which has the largest number of pupils. Three scholars from this school entered the High school in September. In the other schools the children are younger and fewer in number, and the patient perseverance of the teachers under many difficulties merits the approval of all. The discontinuance of two of the schools has worked well so far, but the plan has not been found feasible for the re- maining districts.
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