USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Ipswich > Town annual report of Ipswich 1903 > Part 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
It is felt that the people of Ipswich have reason to congratulate themselves upon the general excellence of their public schools. There can be no question that they will compare favorably with those of other towns of like size and and circumstances, and it is believed that they will not suf- fer greatly in comparison with those of many of the smaller cities. Visitors from other places, who are competent judges of educational work, often think and speak more highly of our schools than do we ourselves; and it is generally the case that our teachers return from visits to schools in other places better satisfied with conditions existing at home. In speaking with special reference to the High school, a suc- cessful educator, whose experience has been sufficiently wide and varied as to make of her a competent critic, expressed to the writer the opinion that our school is fully equal to the majority of those of its kind, and said she considered it a credit to the place. It is with confidence that the commit- tee urge the people of the town to visit frequently at the schools, knowing that their true condition will substantiate all that has been said.
It should be understood that the excellent state of our schools has not been attained in a brief space of time or by any master-stroke of educational policy. Wise principles
10
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT.
adhered to through a succession of years, have been the causes of which our good schools are the effect. The graded system was introduced about eight years ago, and since that time the advancement has been gradual and steady, each year showing an improvement upon its predecessor. At first, there were many who looked upon this system with disfavor; but today, there are few who are not ready to ad- mit the wisdom of its adoption. Its worth has been clearly
demonstrated, and it should not be overthrown or seriously impaired by any experiments concerning which grave doubts exist as to their expediency. Teachers, especially in the
Grammar schools, ought not to be compelled to teach two grades. It divides the time and attention, and makes it ex- ceedingly difficult for the teacher to do justice to both. As the graded system is the proper thing, if more room is required for its effectual working, there is no doubt that the town will supply the needed accommodations.
But, creditable as most certainly is the condition of our schools, it is not the intention of the committee to con- vey the impression that a state of perfection has been reached or even very closely approximated. Perfection, in its absoluteness, does not appertain to any system of culture or ethics of human origin, however good or meritorious. It is frankly admitted that there have been, and still are, de- fects of a nature more or less serious in our schools; that there are weak places which need strengthening; and that changes here and there are required to assist in their more
effectual conduct. While holding fast to present attain- ments, it has ever been the policy of the committee to look forward to higher and better things, and thus to keep step with the march of progress in educational matters. Im- provement has been made wherever and whenever circum- stances have permitted, but it is evident that time is required for the solution of every intricate problem, and there are none who better understand the difficulties with which work- ers in the school department are confronted than the workers themselves. It is one thing to complain, but quite another
11
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT.
to devise and apply the remedy. It is only just to say that our teachers have been most willing and constant aids in every forward movement, and the tax-payers of the town generous to a large degree in supplying the financial needs of the schools.
THE HIGH SCHOOL.
The work in the High school has gone steadily for- ward during the year, and the earnest and conscientious ef- forts of the principal and his assistants have met with uni- form success. The course of study as outlined in the report of last year, has been subiected to a slight revision, so as to meet the ever-increasing demands of the colleges. The Manning High school has never failed to fit its graduates for college, and was never better prepared to perform this important work than at present. Some additions have been made to the commercial course. of which Miss Thacher is the teacher, and the work should now be prosecuted with increasing results. It is desired to give the pupils who elect this course a business training as thorough and com- plete as possible. The one-session plan is working to the advantage of the school, and the wisdom of its adoption is becoming more apparent cach month. Diligent home-study on the part of the pupils is the one thing needful to com- plete its success.
The number of pupils is 121-the largest in the his- tory of the school. 104 reside in Ipswich, 15 in Rowley, and 2 in Hamilton. Each year the entering class is larger than the graduating class, and the constantly increasing numbers have had the inevitable result of creating congestion. The
12
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT.
deduction is that increased accommodations are needed. To make this requirement more apparent, it is stated that Mr. Marston and his assistants, Miss Gardner and Miss Potter, are overburdened with work, and it will soon be necessary to employ another teacher. This will cause a division to be made in several of the classes, which, in turn, will neces- sitate an increase in the number of classrooms. A labora- tory, properly equipped with chemical and physical appara- tus, is another need of the school; and to still further in- dicate the difficulties under which the teachers labor, Miss Ratsey, the drawing instructor, is compelled to pursue her work in very unsuitable quarters.
As the trustees do not see their way clear to convert the hall into classrooms, the committee are at loss to under- stand how the much-needed accommodations are to be so- cured, unless the Grammar school be removed from the build- ing. This is the repetition of a former suggestion. The comments upon the High school are concluded with an ear- nest plea for the better heating of the rooms.
The Twenty-Ninth Annual Commencement was held 'at Manning Hall, Thursday, June 25, 1903. The organiza- tion and membership of the Class of 1903, with the gradua- ting exercises and class ode, will follow:
ORGANIZATION.
Pres., George A. Clarke Vice-Pres., Edessa E. Abell Treas., Arthur H. Tozer Sec., Katherine M. Clarke
MEMBERSHIP.
CLASSICAL COURSE.
Katherine M. Clarke
Arthur H. Tozer
Ethel G. Shepard Arthur R. Lord
George A. Clarke.
13
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT.
ENGLISH COURSE.
Edessa E. Abell Fanny G. Jewett
Mary A. Jewett Augustus J. Barton, Jr. Annie C. Young
PROGRAM OF GRADUATION EXERCISES.
March
Invocation
..
. Rev. W. H. Rogers
Music
Salutatory · Katherine M. Clarke "Blind in the Midst of Beauty"
Recitation
. Fanny G. Jewett "One Niche-The Highest"
Music
Class History George A. Clarke
Address to Graduates : Mr. Edwin D. Meade "The Larger Patriotism"
Valedictory Arthur R. Lord "Ad Astra, Per Aspera"
Awarding of Diplomas
Class Ode.
Class of '03
Benediction
Rev. W. H. Rogers
Music
14
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT.
CLASS ODE.
ETHEL G. SHEPARD.
How sad midst all the happy scenes Of classics, science, art,
To think that now it only means That we at last must part.
May those who fill our places here Take courage, pure and strong-
Do well their part from year to year- The time then won't seem long.
And that the happy years we've spent In dear old Manning school.
Will bring love, iov and sweet content To live the golden rule.
The crucial word is not vet said: It won't take long to tell;
For in our faces see it read- Friends, teachers, all, farewell.
MANNING GRAMMAR.
In the Grammar grades located in the Manning build- ing, the committee are assured that there has been no retro- grade movement during the year. As usual, Miss Arthur and Miss Sullivan, the teachers in these grades, have
.
15
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT.
prosecuted their work with vigor, and the board can express only satisfaction with the progress made. The language work in grade IX. is worthy of special mention. The class has finished the Lady of the Lake and Snow Bound, the De- serted Village is nearly completed, and it is the purpose of the teacher, if time permits, to conclude the year with a se- lection from Shakespeare, perhans Julius Caesar. These poems are memorized and recited by the pupils, the object being to cultivate a taste for high-class literature, poetry in particular, and to store the mind with the best thought and expression of the language. Time is limited, and in dealing with these subjects there is little opportunity for critical analysis: but the pupils. nevertheless, receive a fairly good preparation for the study of English literature in the High school.
In grade VIII., commercial geographyis illustrated by samples of the various products of the United States. The teacher has secured specimens of cotton in all its stages of manufacture; needles, in neat frame, from the O. N. T. Co., showing twenty-two forms of developement, from the crude wire to the delicately finished instrument in its paper recep- tacle. The collection also contains cocoa beans, shells, nibbs and pods, and it is the purpose of the teacher to add indef- initely to her store of product samples. Lessons which might otherwise be tedious and dull to the pupil, by this means are made of absorbing interest and are indellibly im- pressed upon the memory.
These grades are still crowded into one classroom and a small recitation room, where the ventilation is- defective and there is insufficient room for proper physical exercises. It is true that the health of the pupils has been preserved, but a teacher less resourceful than Miss Sullivan might have found her scholars subjected to an epidemic of cough and and colds and croup that would have greatly depleted the school. Here might possibly be found further argument in favor of the removal of the Manning grammar school to an- other building
16
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT.
GRAMMAR SCHOOL GRADUATION EXERCISES.
Piano Solo
. "Fond Hearts Must Part" . Blanche Duckworth
Invocation
Rev. Temple Cutler
Singing
"Anchored".
School
Salutatory and Recitation Elsie Chisholm Composition
"The Flower Festivals of Japan". Amy Stanford
Singing
"Night"
School
Recitation
"Briar Rose"
Frances Hardy
Composition
"George Bruce Cortelyou"
. Warren Horton
Duet
"Friendship".
May Bamford and Marion Hills
Recitation
"The Treasure Diggers" Leslie Clark
Composition
"Daniel Dennison" Blanche Fewkes
Recitation
"Old Ipswich Town".
· Eva Surette
Singing
"The Torrent"
School
Composition
"The Isle of Man" · Jessie Campbell Recitation
"Sue Waters' Housekeeping" Caroline Tenney Singing
"The Hunting Song". School
17
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT.
Recitation
"Annie Laurie"
Marion Hills
Composition
"The Louisiana Purchase". Stephen Green
Singing
"Voices of the Woods" Recitation
· School
"The Tramp Musician" Helen Perley
Composition and Valedictory
"A Child's Story". Alma Reilley Presentation of Diplomas Singing of Class Hymn
Benediction · Rev. Temple Cutler
MEMBERSHIP-CLASS OF 1903.
Hazel Amazeen
Ida Atherley
Willie Black
May Bamford
Jessie Campbell
Charles Canney
Elsie Chisholm
Leslie Clark
George Comcau
Albert Dodge
Clifton Dodge
Blanche Duckworth
Arza Eastman
Blanche Fewkes
Charles Garrette
Frances Hardy
Marion Hills
Parker Hills Warren Horton
Mabel Howe
May Lowe
Joseph Marcorelle
Nellie Marriott
Everet McIntyre
Robert Moylan
Carrie Perley
Helen Perley
Harry Pickard
Alma Reilley
Eva Surette
18
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT.
Zervia Safford
Arthur Scahill
Chester Smith
Leland Tucker
Caroline Tenney Amy Stanford
Bessie Wiley
Stephen Green
WINTHROP GRAMMAR.
-
The work in the Winthrop grammar school is yearly attended with difficulties which make the school-teaching problem a matter of very serious import.
All of the Primary and most of the Ungraded schools, in the advancement of their pupils. send them to this build- ing; and here must take place a process of assimilation which shall convert the various elements into one body and trans* form a heterogeneous collection of youthful humanity into that of a homogeneous nature. This work is exceedingly. difficult, and yet it is performed with a degree of tact and skill which insures success.
The work of assimilation once accomplished, then must be found the pupil's true position or location in the school, and he should be advanced as fast and as far as his ability and habits of studiousness will permit. Here is the opportunity for the display of a wise intuition which shall result in the pupil's highest and best good. The lower grades are generally overcrowded, while the upper grades frequently fall below the required number, and a careful system of promotion must be followed in order to relieve the one and to supply the needs of the other.
One of the discouragements under which the commit- tee, the superintendent and the principal labor, is that from
19
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT.
10 to 15 per cent. of the pupils who reach grade VII. drop out during that year or at its close. Several reasons are res- ponsible for this loss. In some instances, where families are large, the parents feel compelled to take their children out of school as soon as they have passed the compulsory age, and many pupils arrive at their fourteenth year while passing through this grade. Losses for the above reason, we are sorry to say, are unavoidable. It is not the school but the pupil who suffers, and it is for his sake that we lament. All that can be done is to impress upon the minds of the parents the inestimable value of an education, and urge them to allow their children to remain at school as long as possibilities will permit. Another reason that is in part accountable for this loss, is that some parents, who do not desire that their children shall enter upon the High school course, think that the common school education ends with grade VII., and the child is taken from school at the end of the year in this grade. In the endeavor to avoid as far as possible the lapses from this cause, it is impressed that the High school course does not begin with entrance to the Manning building, and the common school education is not completed in grade VII. in the Winthrop building, but in grade IX. which is located in the Manning schoolhouse. No parent should desire for his child anything less than the full common school course. Still another, and perhaps stronger, reason for the large percentage of losses, is found in the fact that many pupils, under any circumstance, will drop out wherever the gap is met. Considerable numbers become restive under the disciplinary restraint of the schools, are lacking in ambition to acquire knowledge, and are ever watchful for the opportunity to lapse. The gap appears to furnish the opportunity, for many are lost in the transition from one school building to another. If all the grammar grades were gathered under one roof, it is believed that many pupils could be encouraged to pursue their studies until they had finished the common school course in grade IX. and had received an honorable and helpful diploma of graduation.
20
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT.
·
This suggestion is in line with that contained in the report of last year, viz: to add two rooms to the Winthrop building for the accommodation of grades VIII. and IX. The committee propose this plan because they can conceive of nothing better, and yet they would welcome any sugges- tion which might appear to be more feasible. It should be understood that the committee simply indicate the needs of the grammar school, but do not recommend at the present time the raising by taxation of the amount required to make such addition. If some of our school funds cannot be legal- ly drawn upon for this purpose, there is nothing to be done except to wait in hopefulness for the time to come when the financial condition of the town shall make the enlargement of the Winthrop building a possibility.
In conclusion, it is the privilege of the committee to make favorable mention of the work of the principal of this school, Miss Adams, and her corps of assistants, Miss Willis, Miss Willcomb and Miss Baker. Space forbids criticism of the work in detail.
PRIMARY SCHOOLS.
-
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the work in the Primary grades. A little time and space can be profitably employed, we think, in dwelling upon this sub- ject.
In planning for the erection of a building, no archi- tect worthy the name and profession will overlook the im- portance of the foundation, for upon its strength and solid- ity depends the stability of the superstructure. It is essen- tially necessary that the foundation be properly laid. This
21
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT.
idea may be enlarged upon indefinitely, as it applies with equal force throughout the realm of materialism and psy- chology. It serves the present purpose of the committee to impress the reader with a sense of the importance of a right beginning in educational matters, and to raise to a higher level the dignity of the position of teacher in the Primary school.
It is here that the foundation of an education is laid, and it is contended that the laving of the same is quite as important as the work of building upon it at any subse- quent period. Consequently, skilled workmen or women are wanted in this department-women of superior qualities of heart and mind-women who are fitted by natural abilities and inclination and by thorough training to perform the great work of the mental and moral instruction of the little ones. The teaching of the children their "letters" is little more than a mere mechanical performance, and com- prises but a very small and comparatively unimportant part of the work of the first and second grades. The little ones are to be taught not only to study, but ""how" to study, so that no time may be wasted in the elementary stages and the advancement may be steady and rapid. Memorizing and reciting is good here, as in the advanced grades, but this alone is merely superficial.
"The child should be so taught as to have a mental grasp of the principles under- lying his studies. Thus will the mind be broadened, real knowledge acquired, true progress made, and the teacher's work be eminently satisfactory. The moral instruction of the young is also a question of serious consideration. It is in many respects more important than that of mental in- struction. If "knowledge is power"-and who can question the saying ?- the character of the possessor of such power is a matter of tremendous import. In the hands of the vicious, this instrument can be wielded with great detriment to so- ciety; but when employed by the virtuous for the good of mankind, who can estimate the value of the benefits which are conferred upon the community ? It is therefore essential
22
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT.
that mental and moral instruction in our public schools go hand in hand, and the place where such instruction should begin is unquestionably in the lower grades. The young mind is easily impressed and the youthful conscience gener- ally quick and tender, and at this period the teacher exerts a great influence upon the pupil. It is necessary that that influence shall be right, and that the teacher, by example as well as precept, shall inculcate high and noble principles of virtue, truth, justice, honesty, and in so doing shall lay, broad, deep and indestructible, the foundation of the pupil's moral character. Another requisite in the teacher in the Primary school is that she possess what may be called the "mother quality." For the first five years or more of its life the little one has been wholly under the care and guidance of the mother, who has watched over it with ten- derness and love and has ever been earnestly solicitous for its well-being. But now it is going out of the home-life into that of the school, and the care of the child for a con- siderable portion of the day will devolve upon the teacher. At this time, mother is very anxious to know what is the at- mosphere of the school-life, that she may determine as to its probable influence, whether salutary or otherwise. She also desires to know something in regard to the teach- er-her qualities of heart, her love of children, her pa- tience in bearing with their failures, her wisdom and self- control in the administration of discipline, and her care- ful regard for the health of her pupils. In a word, what is wanted is the assurance that the teacher possesses a large measure of what we have denominated the mother quali- ty, and exhibits in her daily conduct of the school a spir- it of motherliness which shall win the hearts of the chil- dren and bind them to her with cords of love, and shall enable her to lead their feet in pleasant paths of knowl- edge and virtue. Her personal contact with the children is by far the most potent factor in their training. To re- apitulate, the truly successful teacher in the Primary school must be capable of laying the foundation of a mental and
23
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT.
moral education in a thoroughly efficient manner, and must be capable of caring for the little ones with much of the tenderness and wisdom of the mother. It is therefore a po- sition of great responsibility, and on the part of educational authorities and parents of young children there is a growing appreciation of its importance. The time when "almost anybody" would do to teach these schools has become past history, and in the future teachers will be selected for the Primary grades because of thorough fitness for the work and not because they desire to earn a little "pin money" or want to "start low (?) and work upward." These senti- ments are not to be considered as criticisms of our teachers, who will doubtless compare favorably with those of other places; but the object for which they are expressed is, as before stated, to raise to a higher level the dignity of the position of teacher in the Primary school, and to banish any feeling of humiliation or embarrassment that she may expe- rience in the presence of other members of our corps of in- structors.
From the importance of the work we naturally pass to the question of salaries. Inregard to this matter, the opinion of the committee is. and has been, that the Primary teachers do not receive a fair compensation for their labors, that the pay is entirely disproportionate to the importance of the work. In considering the question of salaries, we would further extend the architectural idea or figure, and would ask why, in the erection of the mental and moral structure, our masons should not receive as good wages as our carpenters? In the first and second grades the pay is $320. per year, which is but little better than a starvation wage, admitting virtually of nothing beyond the bare neces- sities of life. While of luxuries there can be but few, if any, the opportunities for self-culture and the development of the faculties upon which successful teaching depends are limited indeed. From a salary of $320. per year, let the reader de- duct the cost of boarding and clothing himself, and if he is able to find a remainder he is entitled to be ranked among
24
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT.
the leading financiers of the day. The mind of the teacher should be broadened through travel in at least her own country and its power increased by the reading of books and magazines devoted to the subject of school-teaching. But these means of enriching her experience and enlarging · her knowledge, so as to enhance her value as a teacher, are denied, because she cannot expend what she does not possess and is unable to earn. An ordinary house-girl, wages and boarding included, receives as much as many of our teach- ers. Not that we would underestimate the services of the domestic, but would value those of the public educator more. Says an eminent authority: "No teacher in Massa- chusetts in full charge of a school, and rendering, after rea- sonable probation, satisfactory service, should receive less than $10. per week." A teacher in our Primaries may be specially adapted to the work in those grades, and may pre- fer it to any other position in the schools; but through stress of circumstances and by reason of inadequate compen- sation, she must aspire to position in a higher grade in or- der to increase her slender income-she is forced from her natural element, is compelled to abandon the field of her best labors. While the work of teacher, as well as that of minister, should be a calling in at least some remote sense of Divine appointment and ordination, and not simply a pro- fession or means of obtaining a livelihood, the workers in both fields are nevertheless entitled to a "living;" and if it be considered that "the laborer is worthy of his hire," he should certainly be provided with comfortable support, and as this is not afforded some of our teachers, it would seem as if there were a dereliction in what might be termed our religious duty. If thoroughly competent instructors are to be secured for, and retained in, the Primary schools, there must be a revision of the schedule of salaries. The commit- tee have not advanced these salaries because the generally increasing demands of the schools in other respects have yearly exhausted the appropriation, and they have hesitated to ask for larger appropriations for this purpose. But it is
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.