USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of Plymouth, MA 1943 > Part 12
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the various types of service in the armed forces are con- ducted for both boys and girls by Principal Mongan, Mrs. Raymond, and Mr. Steeves.
2. Registration for Rationing
The schools conducted two registrations for rationing during the year 1943, the principals serving as site ad- ministrators and the teachers as registrars. The pupils of the Junior-Senior High School distributed the neces- sary information and application blanks among the homes throughout the town. A summary of the results of these registrations is given below :
War Book Three War Book Four
School Site
Feb. 22-26
Oct. 27-29
High School
7,614
7,508
Hedge School
4,011
3,929
Manomet School
692
758
Totals
12,317
12,195
3. War Savings-Bonds and Stamps
Pupils and teachers have continued their support of the war effort through the purchase of war bonds and stamps. Pupil purchases in 1943 amounted to $15,515.31. Teach- ers and other members of the school staff made purchases of $7,973.63 through payroll deductions and $1,568.75 additional during the third war loan drive. The total re- corded investments by pupils and staff members in 1943 amounted to $25,057.69. Members of the Junior and Senior High Schools rendered valuable assistance in dis- tributing throughout the town the literature relating to the various war bond campaigns and the salvage collec- tions.
4. Coins Turned into Circulation
On account of the shortage of metals, the United States Treasury appealed to school pupils for assistance in turning into circulation metal coins now being hoarded. The request applied particularly to pennies and nickels. Plymouth pupils were active in the drive and were instru-
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mental in turning into circulation coins amounting to $2,697.76. The Hedge School pupils are to be credited with more than one-half of the total amount.
5. Contributions
Teachers and other school employees contributed $207.50 to the general war fund drive and $285.79 to the Red Cross. All pupils are members of the Junior Red Cross and contributed $280.48 to that purpose, bringing the total amount of the Junior Red Cross funds to $530.22. A donation of $100 from this fund was made to the Ply- mouth Chapter for the filling of 100 kit bags to be sent to the armed forces. A group of about twenty-five senior high school girls working under the general supervision of Mrs. Harrison Chamberlain completed approximately 60,000 surgical dressings. Junior Red Cross members from the Hedge School made many gay Christmas tray decorations as well as candy-and-nut baskets which were sent to the station hospital at Camp Edwards. The pupils of all schools contributed approximately one ton of used clothing to "Save the Children Federation."
6. Building Facilities Made Available
It has been the policy of the school department to allow the use of school facilities without cost by service- men's groups and organizations engaged in the war effort.
The high school gymnasium has been made available to the men at the South Street camp, to the naval airmen formerly stationed here, to the soldiers at Rocky .Point, to the local auxiliary police, and to the Coast Guard Reserves.
The facilities of the domestic science department of the High School have been used by the Foods Production Committee for canning garden produce during two weeks in the summer, also by the county extension bureau for demonstrations on food preservation and by the canteen classes of the Women's Civilian Defense.
The Plymouth High School has served also as a regional center for the holding of examinations of candidates for
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the various officers' training courses given in the colleges.
The auditorium at the Hedge School has been open to the use of the Women's Defense Corps.
7. Emergency Assistance in Harvesting Cranberries
In the face of the anticipated shortage of labor and in view of the governor's request that the services of high school students be offered whenever necessary for saving the crops, the Plymouth School officials held a conference with representatives of the cranberry growers to work out a plan which would enable students to give emergency help and at the same time keep in touch with their school work.
Only pupils in good standing were allowed to take part in the harvesting. It was arranged that the pupils should attend school for the first period in the morning and should leave for harvesting immediately after on days when cranberries could be gathered.
Although a supply of labor arrived from the South to help the larger growers, a considerable number of junior and senior high school boys assisted the smaller growers.
SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAM
Several measures have been taken during the past year to improve our school health program, the most important step being the restoration of the position of physical edu- cation supervisor in the elementary grades. Miss Carolyn E. Parren of Franklin was appointed to this responsible position. Miss Parren was trained at the Posse-Nisson School of Physical Education and Boston University. She came to Plymouth after several years of experience at Franklin, Massachusetts and Peterboro, N. H. Miss Par- ren has instituted a well-rounded program which includes formal training, organized games, and attention to pos- ture development.
Our dental service also has been given special consid-
1
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eration and a mid-year check-up on needed remedial work has been added to the fall examination.
The new Massachusetts Vision Test is being introduced this year. The equipment recently purchased has been developed by the State Department of Public Health after several years of research and experimentation in various public schools of Massachusetts. The chief ad- vantage of the new test as compared with the Snellen Test so long in use lies in the fact that the new test screens out cases of far-sightedness and muscle imbal- ance as well as cases of near-sightedness. The Snellen Test was of use mainly in testing visual acuity. Another advantage of the new test lies in the fact that lighting conditions under which the test is conducted are prop- erly standardized.
Another advance step in the health program has been taken through the purchase of an audiometer. Formerly we were dependent upon renting an instrument of this type from the Plymouth County Health Association. The new testing device now in our possession enables us to give a standardized test of hearing to groups of thirty or more children and to do so at times that are most con- venient for the nurse and teachers. About three-fourths of the money required for the purchase of this instrument came from private funds received and raised for health purposes.
The improvements in testing sight and hearing of pupils will result in better health only as parents cooper- ate by acting upon the advice of the school physician and nurse, which henceforth will be given in the light of con- ditions found by the improved methods of testing.
STANDARDIZED TESTS IN GRADES ONE TO EIGHT
The revised Stanford Achievement Tests were given in the spring to pupils in grades two to eight and the Metropolitan Achievement Test to pupils in grade one.
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These tests are standardized in the sense that the stand- ards of achievement represent the actual results attained by large numbers of children in different communities and of varying grades and ages. The numbers of chil- dren used in the process of standardizing are such that the standards established may be considered representa- tive of the achievement of children of the various grades and ages in typical public school systems in this country.
It should be held in mind that the standards used in these tests were established prior to the present war period and, therefore, do not reflect the adverse effects of greater change in teaching personnel and the loss of school time due to rationing that have occurred in our schools during the past two years. Notwithstanding this circumstance, it is gratifying to be able to report that the tests in Plymouth showed five of the eight grades to be slightly above standard in the combined results in all subjects. One grade was at exact test-standard and two grades were slightly below standard, i. e. by less than two months. The total results were, therefore, very sat- isfactory. The ratings on the individual subject tests were most helpful in showing teachers and the superin- tendent at what points more emphasis is needed.
PLYMOUTH SCHOOL COSTS NOT HIGH RELATIVELY
A study of school costs in the 25 Massachusetts towns nearest the size of Plymouth and having the same type of school organization, namely, elementary schools of six grades, junior high schools of three grades, and senior high schools of three grades, reveals that our school costs are lower than the average of these towns and lower also than the state average. Our school tax rate is likewise lower than the average, whereas our valuation per pupil is slightly above the average for the 25 towns and for the state. A condensed table giving a statistical summary of this study follows.
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COMPARATIVE SCHOOL COSTS
(From latest Statistical Report, State Department of Education, 1942)
25 Towns* Plymouth
State
(average)
Population
(average) 14,555
13,100
Valuation per Pupil
$9,606.00
$10,160.00
$9,950.00
Municipal Tax Rate
$32.37
$32.40
School Tax Rate
$11.18
$8.99
$10.15
Expenditure per Pupil
$106.87
$99.38
$112.48
: 25 Massachusetts towns having the 6-3-3 school organi- zations, i. e., six elementary grades, three junior high grades, and three senior high grades. These include Plymouth, the twelve larger towns nearest Plymouth's population, and the twelve smaller towns nearest Ply- mouth's population.
1. Watertown 9. Wellesley 17. Andover
2. Belmont 10. Natick
18. Reading
3. Framingham 11. Lexington
19. Marblehead
4. Milton 12. Webster 20. Stoneham
5. West Springfield 13. PLYMOUTH 21. Swampscott
6. Winthrop 14. Adams
22. Northbridge
7. Greenfield 15. Needham
23. Bridgewater
24. Barnstable
8. Norwood 16. Athol
25. Ludlow
CIVIC RESPONSIBILITIES-BASIC
Though new courses have been introduced in the High School for the purpose of conditioning boys for the requirements of the war situation it is generally recog- nized that this new emphasis is not indicative of a changed viewpoint with reference to the fundamental purpose of education. Now that war-time adjustments have been made and ultimate victory assured for the united nations, our teachers are again giving special consideration to the preeminence of the citizenship motive
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in education. Curriculum committees in the social studies on the various grade levels have been formed and are at work analyzing our present offerings and determining how better to condition our boys and girls, young men and women, for living happily, understandingly, and con- structively. These objectives in public education seem never to have been so difficult as now because of the kaleidoscopic changes that are taking place and will take place in our social and economic environment both on the home front and in the numerous other countries with whom we in the United States are bound to establish close ties. Herein lies the great challenge which faces our schools today.
It is indeed a source of personal satisfaction to work with interested school officials, principals, supervisors, and teachers in the attempt to focus our attention upon the all-important goal of worthy citizenship in an Amer- ica with constantly expanding interests and in the at- tempt to coordinate our efforts toward the attainment of this basic objective of public education.
Respectfully yours,
BURR F. JONES, Superintendent of Schools.
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REPORT OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
To translate knowledge into action is to test education ; to develop the ability to translate knowledge into action is one of the aims of education; to devise new ways of organizing and presenting knowledge so that it may the more rapidly be assimilated and translated into action is the constant problem of education.
Since the essence of war is action, education is being tested today as never before. It is necessary to evaluate this testing and what it seems to indicate as to the virtues and defects of our modern educational system, its pro- cesses and its product, if education and its outcomes are to be improved by present experiences. But a thorough evaluation must await the day when a complete study of this war period can be made, when a dispassionate analysis of the factors at present influencing training techniques and the development of teaching tools can be carried out, when, with the perspective of time, the rela- tive proportions and the true dimensions of our present problems become clear. We are at present so close to our problem that, like a man who shelters behind a wall and finds the wall assaulted by forces from without and in danger of collapsing and engulfing him and his hopes, we can only, within the limited field of our action, spring to support whatever section of the wall seems to be giv- ing away; to stop up whatever breach may have been made; to prepare whatever materials may be at hand, in whatever way fear, imagination, prudence, or experience dictates, for whatever emergency may assail us. We have to meet our problem piece-meal while attempting to com- prehend it in its entirety. Only when the danger passes can we stand back from this wall to see how long it is, how high it is, the materials of which it is made, the places at which it gave way, the nature of its weaknesses, the efficacy of the repairs, new methods of construction, the men who defended it, their leaders, their ideals-the
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whole problem in all its complexity and confusion. Only when peace comes can this be done.
But in the meantime those who hold the wall must pass judgment on their own efforts if they are to improve and make firm the defense while the assault is in progress. Of necessity these judgments must be based on empirical procedures for the most part and dictated by almost com- pletely pragmatic considerations.
How well we have trained our pupils to translate knowl- edge into action can be judged by the showing made in the V-12, A-12 examinations given last April to forty- three boys, members or former members of our school. These examinations designed by the College Entrance Examination Board were given to determine the fitness of our boys for college training under the auspices of the Army or Navy. In a bulletin issued about a week after the examinations were given the Naval Aviation Cadet Selection Board had this to say :
"As you know, the V-12 (A-12) examination was highly competitive and designed to eliminate in the vicinity of eighty per cent of the high school young- ters taking the test."
Accordingly this high school should have qualified or expected to qualify eight of the boys who took the test. Instead, we qualified twenty-one of our boys by June, and information has since come in that other boys who took the test have since been notified of their success. The record looks brighter when it is remembered that the competition did not cover the whole country (in which case New England boys because of the educational advan- tages of this section would be expected to excel) but was limited to the 1st Corps Area (substantially the New England States) where the competition would naturally be more severe.
Moreover, five members of the Senior class, boys sev- enteen years of age, met the severe physical and mental
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standards required for admission to Naval Aviation as officer candidates. Other boys qualified for the Army Air Force as Flying Cadets and wore the wings of those awaiting call to active duty when they became eighteen.
In further support of the successful record of our stu- dents in the war effort it may be said that scarcely a day goes by that some soldier or sailor does not come in and tell us of his advancement or his excellent record, or write in to pass the same kind of news along. The files of our local paper confirm this.
In sum, judged by the performance of our former pupils, we seem to have been reasonably successful in developing in them the power to translate thought into action effectively.
As for meeting our constant problem; there, too, we seem to measure up reasonably well. Again using the war pressures as our guide and standard, and judging by comparison with other schools and by the work-efficiency of our product, we find satisfaction in our achievement and promise in our future.
The army and navy, faced by the necessity of getting men into combat as quickly as possible, turned to the schools and asked if part of the training job could be handled by them. The result is the "Pre-Induction" courses, courses designed to enable a man to fit certain basic military needs almost as soon as he puts on a uni- form, and to serve as a foundation for "technician" train- ing. The first of these courses, "Fundamentals of Aero- nautics," was introduced in September, 1942, to be fol- lowed in February, 1943, by courses in Fundamentals of Radio, Fundamentals of Machines, and Fundamentals of Automotive Mechanics. In September, 1943, a course ill Basic Mathematics was added, and all the courses inte- grated so that a progression could be maintained-some- thing not possible at their inception. The important thing, however, about all this is that in February-June, 1943, 70% of all boys were taking courses directly recom-
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mended by the military authorities, and by September, 1943, all boys were taking such courses, or courses intro- ductory to them. The school had adapted itself to war needs and was endeavoring to present knowledge in the form which could most easily be translated into action- into immediate military efficiency. Already reports from boys who had one or more of these courses and are now in the service have been received, and testify to their worth. Statistics are not available, but Plymouth seems to have provided the army and navy with a fair share of non-com- missioned officers. It will be interesting to learn just to what extent the "Pre-Induction" courses may be respon- sible for this.
The school has also kept abreast of the guidance prob- lem created by the war, but this has not always been easy. An outsider listening to teachers and pupils discussing V-1, V-7, A-12, A.S.T.P., V-12, A.A.F., Armed Forces In- stitute, would be bewildered; to add the greater complex- ity of the regulations governing age, physical and mental requirements, educational record, would leave him des- perate; the further refinements due to changes in these regulations caused by shifting service needs might even induce coma. But despite all this the boys were kept reasonably well-informed as to the opportunities existing for them in the service, what they must do in preparation to qualify, and the likelihood or unlikelihood of their being successful. Group conferences and individual con- ferences were held, and every boy who left school to enter the service while school was in session had at least one personal interview before leaving. Even during the sum- mer many boys who were drafted had a final interview during the vacation period.
The experience gained from what has been outlined above is now reduced to compact form in a bulletin and will soon be in the hands of every boy of seventeen years or older. Supplies of pamphlets are kept on hand, to give him authoritative information directly from the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps. Representatives of
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these services visit the schools as they are available, and the boys are free at any time to ask questions or seek conferences about any of their problems.
The girls, too, receive their full share of attention in this program. Pamphlets on the Army, and Navy, Nurs- ing Corps, on the Nursing Cadets, on the Wacs, Waves, Spars, and Marines, are made available as received. Con- ferences are arranged and problems discussed. And the traditional academic activities receive the close attention they must still be accorded. Many girls are now taking over the kind of job heretofore considered open only to men-and that guidance problem is being met. The girls are not neglected.
The teacher problem, however, is one to arouse serious misgivings if not alarm. So far we have been fortunate, much more fortunate than most schools of our size, for we have been able to find well-prepared, experienced teachers among our townspeople. But this supply is lim- ited, and does not exist within certain subject-matter fields that are most critical. Should vacancies occur on the staff in those fields the probability is that courses of importance would have to be abandoned. The outlook is depressing when one knows there are no reserves. Bigger, wealthier systems may prove more attractive as stringen- cies develop. There is no supply of trained, experienced teachers available in the Pre-Induction subjects.
A final word about the spirit of the school, both pupils' and teachers'. Despite the excitements and stresses of a war-world, the problems one might expect, and which have shown themselves elsewhere, do not seem to have arisen here. If they do exist in some form they have not as yet begun to undermine the morale of the school or destroy the feeling of mutual confidence that exists be- tween faculty and student body. There is such a sense of unity, such an air of co-operation and helpfulness, such a feeling of sharing a common job and common respon- sibilities, that serious problems of a disciplinary nature
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affecting any considerable segment of the student body seem impossible. This is not to imply that all the chil- dren have wings and all the teachers are saints or philoso- phers; the school is an aggregation of quite ordinary people, serious about doing as good a job as they can in days of national need.
EDGAR J. MONGAN,
Principal.
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REPORT OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
This year there is a smaller enrollment than usual in the Junior High School.
Boys
Girls Total (Dec. 30, 1943)
Grade 9
85
89
174
Grade 8
93
74
167
Grade 7
94
66
160
Junior Practical Arts 17
11
28
289
240
529
Of these, 10 are from Plympton, 17 from Carver.
Because there is one less ninth grade, one teaching position has been eliminated. Election of ninth grade subjects were made in a way that cancelled part of a sec- ond teaching position, so another reduction in the faculty was made-an arrangement which will not be advisable, and probably not possible, another year.
It seems certain that steadily increasing interest in general science will result in a larger number of classes in that field.
The state-aided vocational arts work in grade nine was omitted this year because there were too few enrollees to warrant formation of a group.
The junior practical arts class has included thirty at one time, a group much too large to be in one class where the work is so individualized, and the grades and ranges of ability so different. The state regulations call for two teachers under these conditions, and an assistant is rec- ommended.
The program in visual education has been developed satisfactorily. A series correlating with ninth grade science is a weekly classroom feature; films pertinent to shop work are shown to the woodworking classes ; histori-
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cal films are presented in the assembly, as well as a series of Latin-American pictures as an aid in promoting a sym- pathetic understanding of our neighbors in South and Central America.
A literature period has been included in the eighth- grade curriculum. One hundred twenty-five new volumes have been added to the library this year. The circulation averages 450 books per month.
With the termination of the dim-out, the social program has been resumed. Dances are held periodically on Fri- day evenings from 7:30 until 10:30. They help satisfy a need for social activity in the young adolescents, and are well-supervised by teachers, safety patrol, and parents who serve as patronesses.
The school, as usual, has participated in local and patriotic drives, showing interest in all undertakings and contributing generously clothing, food, and money. Bank- ing is programmed three times a month; the purchase of war savings stamps, once. Bonds are purchased when- ever a child has saved the necessary amount. During the special drives a very large number of bonds have been purchased by and for these pupils.
There has been a minimum of change in the faculty this year, and replacements were most fortunate. A very good corps of substitutes is ready to come in on brief notice for short periods. With the excellent regular staff, including the "military substitutes," the school is most fortunate indeed. The medical staff, ever alert to the physical welfare of children, cannot be commended too highly.
Respectfully submitted,
MARY M. DOLAN, Principal.
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REPORT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Today educators are beginning to build school programs more with the idea not only of working to win the war but of finding ways of organizing and keeping the peace to follow. The schools are confronted with the responsi- bility of building a body of citizens prepared to keep this peace, and meet the problems constantly arising in a changing world.
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