USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of Plymouth, MA 1945 > Part 14
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In October the School Committee accepted with regret the resignation of its office secretary, Mrs. Ruth F. Trask. Mrs. Trask has been in the service of the Plymouth schools as secretary for the past seventeen years, having served one year at the High School office and the past sixteen years at the School Department office.
Appointments
To the position of supervisor of vocal music vacated by Mrs. Beatrice Iams, the Committee appointed Eleanor Anifantis of Arlington. Miss Anifantis is a graduate of Lowell Teacher's College, Department of Music, and has had several years' experience as supervisor of music in Harwich, Chatham, Orleans, and Eastham.
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To the position in grade one at the Hedge School caused by the resignation of Dorice Knowles, the Committee appointed Dorothy Morton of this town. Miss Morton graduated from Bridgewater in 1945 with high standing.
To the fifth grade at the Hedge School formerly taught by Mrs. Mary Guidoboni, the Committee appointed Marion Radcliffe of this town. Miss Radcliffe was a grad- uate in high standing of the class of 1945 at Bridgewater.
Mrs. Mabel Woodward Mitchell of Plymouth who for twelve years was teacher at Cedarville and Manomet was appointed war-time substitute in grade four at the Mount Pleasant School.
Mrs. Eleanor Testoni White of Plymouth was appointed war-time substitute in grades three and four at the Oak Street School. Mrs. White taught in Plymouth from 1932 to 1942 when she resigned to be married. Since 1942 she has been teaching in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
To the vacancy in grades one and two at Manomet, the Committee appointed Mrs. Emma Raymond Anderson as war-time substitute. Mrs. Anderson was graduated from Framingham Normal School in 1927 and subsequently taught seven years in the primary grades of various Plymouth schools including the Knapp, Hedge, and Wel- lingsley.
Mrs. Lucy E. Rae of Plymouth was appointed in Octo- ber as war-time substitute in grades 3 and 4 at Manomet, taking the place of Mrs. O'Neill. Mrs. Rae is a graduate of the Farmington, Maine, Normal School, and was teacher of the primary grades in the Knapp School, Plymouth, from 1923 to 1930.
Mrs. Helena C. Girard of this town, who was substitute during the spring and summer months in elementary science in place of Bella Madow who resigned, was appointed military substitute in this position for Louis Cappannari on leave with the armed forces. Mrs. Girard is a graduate of Bridgewater and has had 6 years of teaching experience in the Wareham public schools.
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Mrs. Marion W. Haggerty of 115 Court Street was appointed substitute for Mrs. Evans, on leave, and served as teacher of grade 4 at the Hedge School during the fall term.
To the vacancy in the position of office secretary, occa- sioned by the resignation of Mrs. Trask, the Committee appointed Elinor Sanderson of Billington Street, a grad- uate of the Plymouth High School in the class of 1936. For the past seven years Miss Sanderson has been em- ployed on the office staff of the Puritan Mills.
Following the retirement of Principal Whitney of the Hedge School, it was decided to add this school to those under the principalship of Franklyn White of the Cornish-Burton District and to provide an office clerk for each of the two districts. Gloria Botieri, a graduate of Plymouth High School in 1945, was appointed for the Hedge office work, and Marie Southwell, a graduate in the same class, was appointed for the Cornish district.
In June the Cornish School Lunch, accommodating about 145 pupils, closed two years of most satisfactory service with Mrs. Herbert Lanman, Mrs. Kendall Holmes, and Mrs. Barbara Bartlett as its staff. Because of the pressure of other duties, all three members of the staff felt obliged to give up the school work at the end of the year. Mrs. Sylvia Smiley, Mrs. Charles Rose, and Mrs. James Hogan were employed for these positions.
EDUCATION FOR VETERANS
It is, indeed, a privilege to do all that we can for re- turning veterans in helping many of them to complete their high school courses and prepare definitely for higher education. Those veterans who can attend school full- time are welcomed back to High School. Most of them, however, do not re-enter High School because of employ- ment. On the part of some there is the feeling that they cannot successfully adapt themselves to the types of work being given to much younger pupils.
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Anticipating this situation, the State Department of Education has established regional high schools for vet- erans with centers at the State Teachers Colleges. Here veterans take either day or evening courses leading to the high school diploma.
When veterans are located at a distance from a Teach- ers College, towns and cities in which they live may be authorized to established regional high schools at the expense of the State. Nine veterans in and around Plym- outh have already asked that such educational oppor- tunities be made available to them at the local High School. The veterans have already registered and the work will begin on a schedule of two hours for two evenings a week as soon as final approval is given by the State authorities.
VOCATIONAL SCHOOL
The years immediately ahead will be years when the need for a vocational school promises to be even greater than heretofore. Boys who are graduates from general courses in high school or who leave high school before graduation will find it increasingly difficult to secure employment. The desirable positions in workshops, fac- tories, and stores will be filled by returned veterans or by experienced and trained workers. Only the least desirable opportunities will be opened to the unskilled. This situation will mean, also, that there will be little outlet for those boys who are deriving small benefit from the more advanced academic courses of the Senior High School, and who would be old enough to leave school if there were suitable opportunities for employment. A vocational school would not only keep such boys profit- ably occupied, but would provide them with saleable skills. Such a school would also be of assistance to vet- erans who, for various reasons, may not be able to pursue their education in higher schools away from home under the provisions of the G.I. Bill of Rights.
Guaranteed State aid for the maintenance of a voca- tional school, together with the possibilities of substan-
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tial aid from the federal government toward the re- modelling of the former High School building, should be borne in mind in this connection. For the first two years of the existence of the vocational school the State pays the full salaries of the instructors. State assistance decreases gradually after the first two years until the fifth year, when such assistance becomes one-half of the cost and continues at that figure. In addition to the salary aid, the State reimburses one-half the general mainte- nance costs.
There are now several bills before the Congress with a view to granting financial aid toward construction of public buildings. One is the so-called Public Works Bill which would match the local community in meeting the cost of construction of post-war projects. Another bill would provide a 40 per cent grant for the construction or remodelling of school buildings. Still another would pro- vide substantial federal aid for equipping a vocational school. Aid by the federal government for local school- house construction was strongly endorsed in a recent presidential message. There are few, if any, educational projects that give promise of receiving more financial assistance from governmental sources than a vocational school. The time seems to have arrived when the town should be in a position to take advantage of such assistance.
WAR-TIME SERVICES
Bonds and Stamps
The schools have been faithful to their obligations in forwarding the war effort. During 1945 the pupils pur- chased a total of $21,546.75 in war bonds and stamps and the teachers purchased $7,971.75, making a total of $29,518.50. Since the federal government first began offering for sale government bonds and stamps through the schools in the effort to increase revenues needed for the promotion of World War II, our school pupils and school employees in Plymouth have invested a total of $125,584.33 in such bonds and stamps.
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Clothing Collection for Children
In October the pupils made the second annual collec- tion of clothing for children in war-torn countries. This effort was under the auspices of the Save the Children Federation, Inc. Pupils in all schools were eager to assist in this important work, and a total of 1915 pounds of clothing was shipped.
Junior Red Cross
Pupils in the schools, under the Junior Red Cross, are making their contributions toward community, national, and international needs.
The Junior Red Cross is under the general direction of the chairman, Mary B. Cingolani of the Junior High staff. Miss Cingolani is assisted by a teacher-sponsor in each school. The 1945 program was carried on with the aid of the following school departments: art, practical arts, woodworking, and physical education.
The following list summarizes the accomplishments of the past year: (1) One hundred and seventy kit bags were filled for members of the armed forces. (2) One dozen sweaters for the armed forces were knit by Senior High School girls. (3) A large number of mem- bers attended the life-saving classes at Stephens Field and Nelson Street during the summer vacation. (4) Over two hundred comic books were collected for the reading rooms at Camp Edwards. (5) Ten recreational chests were made by the Junior High, Mt. Pleasant, and Cornish Schools. (6) One hundred and sixty articles were made by knitting, sewing, and woodworking groups. Some of these were sent to the distribution center in New York and others were sent to nearby military camps. (7) One thousand four hundred and fifty-five articles were made by art classes in all schools and given to the camp and hospital council, which in turn distributed these articles to nearby station hospitals. (8) One hundred and twelve ยท dollars were donated for a dayroom at Edwards. (9) A group of girls aided the Community Nurse in caring for three children one afternoon. (10) Five hundred invita-
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tions to families of servicemen were addressed by Junior High pupils. (11) A group of girls assisted the office at the Red Cross headquarters. (12) During the enrollment period, the total dues collected from pupils of all schools amounted to $284.00.
STANDING OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN THREE R'S
Many aspects of child development to which the public schools contribute cannot be measured with any degree of exactness. Progress in the mastery of the "three r's," however, is susceptible to measurement by making a comparison of the achievement of Plymouth pupils with the average achievement of thousands of pupils in other towns and cities of the country when given the same examinations with the same time allowances.
The tests used in Plymouth in May, 1945, were the Metropolitan Achievement Tests in grade 1 and the Re- vised Stanford Tests in grades 2 to 6. The pupils in Plym- outh, grade 1, were found to be, on the average, above standard in both reading and number. Our grade 2 was at standard in these two subjects but one month below in spelling. Grades 3 and 4 were above standard in read- ing and numbers and at standard in spelling. Grade 5 was three months above standard in reading and arith- metic, four months above in spelling, and a full year above in language usage. Grade 6 was slightly above standard in reading, a half year above in spelling, and approximately a year above in language usage and arith- metic. The foregoing results are a clear indication of the faithful and effective work being accomplished by teachers and pupils of the elementary grades in the tool subjects of the curriculum. While the results of the tests given above are expressed in terms of averages and indi- cate the general standing of the various grades, the re- sults of each pupil's work on these tests show both teacher and pupil wherein he excels and wherein he should make better progress. The administering of these standardized tests regularly once a year appears to be well warranted in the light of the valuable results shown.
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VISION AND HEARING TESTS
With the improved means of testing sight and hearing that are now in our possession, more valuable results are being secured. The new Massachusetts Vision Test re- veals not only near sightedness, as did the long used Snellen Test, but it also uncovers cases of far sightedness, and of muscular imbalance. The new test, however, is a screening test as was the older test. Failure to pass the Massachusetts Vision Test is not a guarantee that the child should wear glasses, but is a strong indication that the child has a vision defect or abnormality important enough to call for an examination by a person profes- sionally trained to diagnose vision defects and to pre- scribe any needed treatment.
During the last school year 1678 pupils in' grades one to nine and grade eleven were given the Massachusetts Vision Test with results shown in the table below.
MASSACHUSETTS VISION TEST RESULTS 1944-1945
No.
School
Grade
No. Tested
No. Passed
No. Failed
No. Obtaining Glasses after Failing
Wearing Glasses before Test
High
11, (10,12) *
126
102
24
17
48
Junior High 7, 8, 9
465
402
63
22
130
Hedge
1-6
320
262
58
17
42
Cornish
1-6
373
321
52
18
30
Cold Spring
1-4
61
53
8
2
3
Oak Street
1-4
60
49
11
4
4
Mt. Pleasant
1-6
193
159
34
10
23
Manomet
1-6
80
72
8
3
4
1678
1420
258
93
284
* In grades 10 and 12 only the pupils judged defective by the teacher were tested.
From the table above it is interesting to note that 36 per cent of those who failed the test obtained glasses as a result of the examination; whereas, 64 per cent did not. About 22 per cent of the school membership exclusive of grades 10 and 12 are now wearing glasses.
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With the help of the new Audiometer, from 30 to 40 children can be given hearing tests at one time. Two years ago 1588 Plymouth school children were tested by this method. There were found to be 48 children having a hearing loss of 9 to 12 sensation units. Last year all pupils new to the Plymouth system, as well as all pupils in grades 3 to 12 who had scarlet fever, were tested. Of 350 pupils concerned in these tests, 29 were found defec- tive. Parents of these children were advised that the hearing defects were sufficiently serious to warrant con- sultation with the family physician. Teachers are advised that pupils with defective hearing should be seated in the front center of their classrooms in order to be in an advantageous position for hearing both the teacher's instructions and the class discussion. One third-grade pupil is wearing a hearing aid.
POST-WAR CHALLENGE-GREATER
During the early months of the war many new duties of an urgent nature developed upon the schools. It was necessary to make safety preparations against possible air attack, to instruct our teachers in first aid, to in- troduce pre-induction courses in the High School and intensify our physical education work for the special benefit of older boys. Methods of encouraging pupils to buy war bonds and stamps at school were everywhere in use. Junior and Senior High School pupils regularly canvassed the homes of the community with notices of salvage collections. Many pupils gave much time to the numerous activities of the Junior Red Cross. Collections of children's clothing were made for war-stricken peoples. Milk weed floss for life preservers and certain types of coins yielding needed metals were gathered and turned over to the Government. The entire teaching staff was often occupied for several whole school days at a time in registration for rationing, and pupils were dismissed during these periods. The earnest desire for victory in the world's struggle for survival and the ambition to have a personal part in that victory furnished the urge
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for enthusiastic participation in all these war-time activ- ities, and seemed to provide a new and powerful moti- vation for doing successful school work, even though our usual plans and procedures for conducting schools were interrupted. Those were years requiring rapid adjust- ment of education to a war economy.
Now we are entering upon the period of readjustment. So far as fighting goes the war has now been won. The peace has not. Clearly, the schools have a more impor- tant role in winning the peace than in winning the war. On the schools rests the responsibility of conditioning generations of citizens for dealing effectively with far larger problems than have confronted us in America here- tofore. Though we cannot forecast the specific problems which our young people will be called upon to solve, we know that an elementary understanding of our social, economic, and political life in America, as well as an acquaintance with our world neighbors, is a fundamental requirement. The schools must assume responsibility for laying these foundations and for helping each young citizen to a realization of his individual responsibility in public affairs. The order is a large one.
With a view to accomplishing this major objective, our teachers are stressing the social studies from grade one to grade twelve. Each grade makes its contribution to the pupil's social development. In the three primary years he gets an elementary understanding of home, school, and community relations. In the middle grades his community enlarges to his country and the world. In the junior high grades he gets an overview of life in America through his study of geography, and of how life in America came to be as it is through his study of his- tory. He also gets a view of America's place in the world of commerce and industry. Added to this is an elemen- tary understanding of the American way of life and how we provide for self-government in town, city, and nation. In the Senior High years, our pupils get a more mature understanding of European, South American, and
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Oriental civilizations as well as a more comprehensive view of our world as one world through their study of global geography. This continuous series of courses in the social studies is capped by a full year's consideration of the most outstanding problems of democracy and of possible methods of solving them. All pupils from grade 2 through Senior High School give some time each school week to a discussion of current events.
This guided study of social relations, as outlined above, is directed toward the ultimate aim of helping our pupils develop into citizens who are not only capable of living together happily and usefully and strongly desire so to do, but into citizens who will become increasingly suc- cessful in orienting themselves in the fast growing com- munity of world interests and relationships.
To share with you and our teaching staff in helping the boys and girls of Plymouth to acquire the under- standings, attitudes, and ideals necessary for good citizen- ship in the critical days ahead is both a large responsi- bility and a source of much satisfaction.
Respectfully yours,
BURR F. JONES
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REPORT OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
The planning that goes into the administration of a high school in these times must take into account so many factors of such a variable nature that it is often difficult to foresee the end results in terms of subject-matter offerings, teacher requirements, plant or equipment changes.
Yet, from the time the war began and the military services requested the institution of the pre-induction training courses, every step in the evolution of our pro- gram of studies has been taken with the end of the war kept clearly in mind, and the peace-time needs of our boys and girls paramount.
Now the war is over, though peace is not yet attained but has still to be struggled for, a measure of normalcy returns to our work. Yet since the war has in many ways changed the world, and, perforce, our relations to it, certain adjustments must be made; some indeed already have been made or set in train.
For instance: The pre-induction training courses, though designed primarily to meet war needs, have a sound core of knowledge which is of general educational value. We have progressively modified these courses as circumstances allowed, thinking always to enhance their value as instruments of general education adapted to the needs of those pupils whose talents do not admit of ready development in the traditional subject-matter fields. A high degree of pupil interest has been created with an attendant rise in scholastic achievement. The acquisition of new equipment and a change in the allocation of class- room space, if it can be done without prejudice to other course, of value, will probably yield further good results.
The return of our former instructors from the Navy will occasion certain changes in the content of some of these courses, but these will be minor, and the change- over to our old staff should cause no disruption of the work.
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In the social sciences still other changes of a more sweeping nature have already been begun and may take as long as two years to effect completely. The global war has brought home to us as never before the sheer neces- sity for providing all our pupils with a wider knowledge about the peoples of the world, the lands they live in, their national aspirations, economic needs, and their con- tributions to world culture, business, and science. Too, we must emphasize more strongly than ever the duty of every responsible citizen to take his part in the form- ing of public opinion, and, through it, national policy. To these ends we have established a new course in Global Geography and a revised and strengthened course in Problems of Democracy. Further development of this .1
course in Problems of Democracy may ultimately see it presented as compulsory for all seniors. Until it is tried out in its new form, however, such a decision must wait.
To accommodate these necessary changes, and also be- cause of the reasons given at the beginning of the above paragraph, it becomes necessary to modify still further our usual history offerings. In keeping with the best thought in this field, as evidenced by the writings of the eminent Dr. John Mahoney and other students of history and civic science, an all-embracing course in world his- tory is essential in these days. Then, since state law re- quires that all students be given a course in U. S. History it appears advisable to give this in the Junior rather than the Senior year in order that Problems of Demo- cracy (the practical application of our knowledge of government to the problems of our day), shall be given just before the pupil leaves us to go out into the world.
It is probably well to comment here on the conditions our graduates will find confronting them in their efforts to continue formal education beyond high school. For the past two years the women's colleges have had so many applicants for admission that qualifications to enter have been raised to a degree never before attained. The subject-matter requirements have not been materially
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changed-except for the lessening of restrictions, in some instances-but the level of scholastic achievement, as evidenced by the scores on Scholastic Aptitude Tests which are now rather generally demanded of all candi- dates for admission, has by reason of the competition of other applicants gone up and up until the more highly regarded girls' schools are, in effect, taking only "the cream of the crop." This means that many girls who are very worthy but have less than superior mental attain- ments must content themselves with their second, or even third, choices of a college.
The boys, because of the return of veterans to scho- lastic ranks, and because of the policy of most of the colleges to give preference to an application from a vet- eran, will often find it impossible to get into the school of their choice because enrollments have been filled. This means that they should apply for admission to several institutions to insure as far as possible admission to one.
In expanding our guidance program we felt it wise this past year to introduce a course in "Beginning Psychol- ogy." The practical values of a course of this kind are becoming more generally recognized and are of par- ticular value in helping a pupil to analyze himself objec- tively and come to a reasonable evaluation of his own mental traits and personality traits. With the objective data supplied by the Boston University tests to serve as the basis for discussion and evaluation, a guidance con- ference becomes of increasing practical interest to the pupil when he has had this course in Beginning Psy- chology.
A final paragraph in appreciation of all that our sub- stitute teachers have done for us and our children these last few years: No one not closely connected with the management of our schools can assess their contribution at its full, true value. They have worked hard and faithfully. They have been loyal, patient and understand- ing. They have shouldered responsibilities not properly assignable to them because there was no one else to
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