USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Quincy > Town annual report of Quincy 1878 > Part 6
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Amount expended for each scholar of the average of scholars. number in daily attendance.
1875
$30,170.60 1,544
$19.54
1,363
$22.13
1,30I
$23.19
1876
30,605.62 1,784
17.15
1,40I
. 21.84
1,335
22.92
1877
31,293.92 1,868
16.75
1,436
21.94
1,373
22.79
* This includes salaries, fuel, repairs of an ordinary character, and every- thing except additions to buildings or furniture.
+ This includes all the scholars who have attended the schools during the year, irrespective of the length of attendance. The name of no scholar is registered twice.
# The average number of scholars is obtained by dividing the aggregate number of days' membership of all the scholars by the number of school days.
€
No. 2.
HIGH SCHOOL.
ADAMS SCHOOL.
CODDINGTON SGHOOL.
QUINCY SCHOOL.
WASHINGTON SCHOOL.
WILLARD SCHOOL.
WOLLASTON SCHOOL.
Year.
Amount spent.
Scholars enrolled.
Cost per pupil.
Amount spent.
Number of pupils.
Cost per pupil.
Amount spent.
Number of pupils.
Cost per pupil.
Amount spent.
Number of pupils.
Cost per pupil.
Amount spent.
Number of pupils.
Cost per pupil.
Amount spent.
Number of pupils.
Cost per pupil.
Amount spent.
Number of pupils.
Cost per pupil.
1875
$2,963 69 2,649 9-
63
$47.03
$5,975 00
377
$15.85
$4,877 25
207
$23.56 20.56
$3,285 35 3,741 52
165 198
$19.91 18.89
$5,232 96 4,480 42
230
$22.75 18.36
$6,222 98 6,158 21
485
12.69
2,337 50
126
18.55
1877
2,740 23
II2
24.43
6,005 15 439
5,015 43
247
20.30
3,453 57
210
16.45
4,758 42
264
18.00
6,633 25
499
13.29
2,787 56
148
18.83
$2,481 08
100
$24.81
1876
77
34 41
6,098 63
421
14.48 13.67
5,057 65
246
244
402
$15.72
(IZI)
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From these tables it appears that in 1875-6 the average annual cost to the town of educating each child who entered the public schools was $19.54. Since then the number of those enrolled has increased 324. Had the cost of education increased pro- portionally, the estimates for the year just entered upon would be more than $6000 larger than those for 1875-6. In fact they are less than $600 larger, the appropriations for that year, inclu- ding the superintendent's salary, having been $30,225, without extras, and those asked for the same purposes this year being $30,800 ; the additional $700 above that amount being required to supply new furniture to accommodate the large increase of scholars at the Willard School. In other words, the com- mittee have been able through their economies to educate 324 more enrolled children than in 1875-6 with hardly any increase of cost. It will be noticed that the average cost to the town of each child enrolled in the public schools was in 1876 less by $2 40, and in 1877 less by $2.79 than in 1875, when the system now in use was introduced. It will also be noticed that the average cost decreases exactly in proportion as the children are brought together and carefully graded. By abandoning, there- fore, the old system of local outlying ungraded schools at the Railway, at the Neck and at Germantown, we get far better re- sults at materially less cost. The cost of teaching each child accordingly varies greatly according to locality. It is least in the West district (Willard) where nearly 500 children are taught together in one building and under 9 teachers, and it is more in the North district (Quincy and Wollaston) where the town has furnished two separate school-houses and sets of teachers for about 350 children. The cost per child is, indeed, $17.43 per annum in the North district to $13.29 in the West, or 31 per cent. more. Next to the West in number of pupils and thor- oughness of grading is the South district (Adams), and the annual cost of educating each child there ($13.67) is correspond- ingly low. On the other hand, in the Centre district (Codding- ton) the number of scholars is less than in any other, and the cost per scholar is the largest. This, however, is wholly due to the fact that the annual average ($20.30) is materially increased
123
by the amount ($557.00 per year, or $2.25 per scholar) paid for bringing the Germantown children to the school. This, how- ever, is less than would be the cost of another ungraded school at that place.
We have asked this year, however, only sufficient funds to en- able us to go on without serious detriment to the gain we have already secured. In conclusion, it may be proper to say that if we should find in practice that it is really not possible for us to maintain the standard we have established, and which we think ought to be maintained, under the diminished scale of pay which we have settled in the report annexed, we shall frankly say so to the people of the town, and ask them for such additional as- sistance as we may find practically indispensable.
It is perhaps unnecessary for us to repeat our thanks and ac- knowledginents to the Superintendent for the invaluable assist- ance which his skill and energy have afforded us. Indeed, the peculiar advantage we are enjoying results primarily from the reforms which he has introduced and carried through our whole theory and practice of teaching. He has been most skillfully, patiently and faithfully seconded by an admirable corps of teach- ers, who have toiled incessantly to insure the success of his plans.
To his report, which we submit with our own, we ask the care- ful attention of every one who wishes to learn in detail the pres- ent condition and future prospects of the common schools of the inhabitants of Quincy.
After a careful scrutiny of our actual needs for the coming year, we shall ask the town to allow us the sum of thirty-one thousand five hundred dollars for the following purposes : -
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For teachers, fuel, and care of rooms, $25,000
Incidental expenses, repairs, and transporta- tion of scholars, 4,200
Purchase of books and stationery,
300
Superintendent of Schools,
2,000
$31,500
J. Q. ADAMS,
C. F. ADAMS, JR., C. L. BADGER, JAS. H. SLADE,
JASON G. WITHAM, EDWIN W. MARSH.
I25
REPORT OF A SUB-COMMITTEE.
The sub-committee to which was referred the question of readjustment of salaries and general reduction of expenses con- nected with the Quincy School system, report as follows : -
It is quite apparent that a general and well-grounded desire exists that all public expenditures should at this time be reduced to the lowest reasonble point. The annual amount expended on the schools of Quincy is the largest item by far in the appro- priations of the town. Under these circumstances, we are of opinion that a readjustment and decided reduction of salaries, &c., should be effected, if it can be made without injustice to the teachers and without injury to the schools. We think
that it can be made. Such a reduction, however, should be a gradual one. Our present corps of teachers is satisfactory, and has labored very faithfully. The scale of salaries paid in Quincy has been increased less than in many other towns of the same description, and has, all things considered, never been unduly high ; hardly, indeed, high enough to enable the town to keep its most valuable teachers. To reduce salaries not unreasonably large seems a very questionable way of re- warding long and faithful service, and such really energetic efforts as our teachers, almost without exception, have made during the last three years. They have during that time done good work, and greatly improved our schools, and we think they fairly merit liberal treatment from the town in return.
The readjustment and reduction of salaries we are about to recommend is not, therefore, intended to apply to the teachers heretofore appointed. Their salaries it is proposed to leave as they now are. Experience, however, has shown that the changes among our teachers are frequent, and that the whole body of them is renewed on an average every four or five years. We propose, therefore, to introduce economies gradually, and only as changes take place. The salaries are fixed for the future on a new scale herewith submitted, which scale will take effect as
I 26
fast as new appointments are made. In this way, while no in- justice will be done to the old teachers, very decided economies, which it is thought will amount to not less than fifteen per cent, of the school appropriation, will ultimately be effected.
We recommend, therefore, that in the case of all teachers ap- pointed after the adoption of this report, until otherwise ordered, salaries be paid as follows : -
Principal of High School, $ 1 200 00
Assistant of High School, 600 00
Principal of Grammar Schools (male), 1000 00
Principal of Wollaston School (female), 600 00
Assistants in Grammar Schools (B Grammar), 450 00 All other female teachers except as herein- after otherwise provided,
First year, 350 00
Second year,
375 00
Third year, 400 00
Fourth and each subsequent year, 425 00
We would further recommend the recognition of a new grade of teachers, already practically in use, to be called assistants. These are specially intended to obviate an inconvenience which has of late made itself seriously felt. The number of very young children in the lowest grades of the primary schools is entirely out of proportion to those in the more advanced grades. Accordingly certain of the primaries have to be divided up under separate teachers of different degrees of capacity. This does not work well. It is much better for children of that age who are to go forward together, that they should be started under at least the same general instruction. In such cases, therefore, it is best to employ as principal one superior teacher, .and to provide her with the necessary assistants to teach under her eye. If this course is to be pursued, however, superior qualifications are necessary, and must be paid for. But it is cheaper, as well as better, to pay for these than to have wholly separate schools. We would, therefore, recommend that a regu-
I27
lar provision be made for the over-crowded, or, as we would term them, double primary schools. When these consist of over 50 and less than 75 scholars, a principal teacher and one assistant shall be employed, if the sub-committtee decides it to be necessa- ry ; when they consist of over 75 scholars, a principal teacher and two assistants may be employed. The assistants, it is supposed, will be young girls, recently graduated from the High School, who are seeking positions as teachers. They are probationists, as it were, and if not occupied in this way, learning their busi- ness, they would be wholly unoccupied waiting for a vacancy. Their compensation would accordingly be comparatively small, that of untried beginners. In the case of these double prima- ries, therefore, we would recommend that the pay of the teachers and assistants be fixed as follows : --
Principal teacher, Assistant,
$500 per annum. $5 per week.
The above salaries we would recommend should be fixed and invariable, no cases of deviation from the schedule in favor of or against individuals should be allowed. Cases, however, do from time to time arise when it is for the public interest that teachers qualified to do exceptional work should be engaged. It may be desirable to introduce changes, or to secure certain persons for some peculiarly difficult task. Some provision ought to exist for these contingencies. We would, therefore, recommend that, though under no circumstances shall any teachers be engaged or paid any salary except as specified in the schedule, yet the committee adopt and recognize the excep- tional practice of paying for teachers, engaged under a special contract and by special vote of the committee, an additional bounty or gratuity, which shall appear on their annual printed accounts, not as salary, but as " gratuity as per contract," which shall never in any single case exceed the sum of $150.00 per annum.
I28
SCHEDULE.
Present salary. $1400
Proposed salary. $1200
Principal of High School, per annum,
Assistant of High School, “
650
600
Principal of Grammar School (males),
I200
1000
Principal of Wollaston Grammar (female),
800 -
600
Assistants of Grammar Schools (B. Gr.)
475
450
Teachers of lower grade Grammar Schools,
first year,
475
350
Second year,
475
375
Third year,
475
400
Fourth and subsequent years,
475
425
Teachers of Primary Schools,
First year,
450
350
Second year,
450
375
Third year,
450
400
Fourth and subsequent years,
450
425
Principals of double primaries,
450
500
Assistant teachers, double primaries, (per week),
7 50
5
In addition to above, in exceptional cases and by special votes, contract gratuities may be paid, not exceeding $150 per annum to any one person.
CHARLES F. ADAMS, JR., EDWIN W. MARSH.
-
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT.
To the School Committee of Quincy : -
I respectfully submit the following as my Third Annual Re- port.
During the three years that I have had the honor to superin- tend the Quincy Schools, I have kept steadily in view the great motives of common school education : the development and moulding of characters that are the foundations of useful lives ; training the eye to see, the hand to do, the mind to think ; the acquirement of knowledge, and the ability and desire to gain more. To give you, with any attempt at detail, a sketch of our progress and present condition, of our successes and failures, is not an easy task. Of the general result you and others con- versant with the schools can judge ; my complete identification with the work renders me no longer an impartial critic. I will endeavor briefly to place before you, in outline, the present as- pects of progress, the means and methods used, and the necessi- ties of future advancement. I consider the struggle for good attendance * ended. Very little effort except that of good teach- ing and wholesome training is now needed to bring to school regularly nearly all the children in Quincy. There are a number compelled by poverty to forego the benefits of education, afford- ing an excellent field for the benevolence of our citizens. There are other and older children who cannot overcome the dislike and discouragement of former bad treatment in school. I am quite sure that the little folks whom we now have under our care are acquiring such a great love for school and learning that they will remain, when possible, steadily to the end of the course.
* See table, page 152.
(129)
12
1 30
Contagious diseases have cut down the average attendance to a great extent. Great care has been taken of the health and com- fort of the children, by the teachers generally.
ORDER.
We endeavor in school order to bring the energy and activity of pupils to bear directly upon the work in hand, to limit atten- tion to, and fix it upon study and recitation, - shutting out all that is not legitimate and proper in the school-room. We hold that order to be the best in which the largest amount of good work is done. The power of self-control and self-government is to us the highest aim in the cultivation of good order. The school should be made a miniature and model democracy. That school is the best goverened which needs the least governing. This ideal has not been attained, but I take great satisfaction in feeling that we have taken a decided step towards it. The repressive order that imposes the cruel restraint of continual fear is nearly as bad as complete anarchy, for it only smothers activities, which will ruinously break forth at the first opportu- nity. Continual punishment of any kind is the sign of great weakness in teaching power : it betrays a lack of tact, skill, and interesting instruction. The proper way to banish all punish- ment from the school-room is to appoint and educate teachers who will not need such supports. I confidently expect to report next year that punishment has been practically abolished by the strong influence of good training and teaching.
TRAINING AND TEACHING.
A great writer and thinker has said that seven-eighths of all that is learned in our common schools soon fades from the mind ; that so much of the pains and toil has been useless and indeed worse than useless, for it cultivates stupidity. We have stead- fastly endeavored to teach the children that which will do them the most good, - to dispense with the useless and put in its place the most useful. In this we have been partially successful, - final
I3I
success depends upon the discrimination of thoughtful teachers ; for neither Committee nor Superintendent have put anything in the way of an accomplishment so desirable.
I divide, for the sake of illustration, the teacher's work into teaching and training. These divisions are arbitrary, as they blend in reality one in the other. Training leads to the forma- tion of correct and skillful habits of mechanical execution ; to the reproduction of all the forms of language, writing, phonic analysis, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and syntax, to accurate and rapid calculation in arithmetic, &c. In this work I can safely report excellent progress. Spelling is made a branch of language-teaching ; those words are learned that are in actual and continual usc, while no time is given to words which pupils will rarely if ever use in writing. The same is true of all other forms of language ; pupils of the B Primary grade can write a page with a fair degree of accuracy. We look forward to the day in the near future when writing as a special exercise will be finished in the first term of the sixth year. These products of training are secondary and subordinate aims of school work, most of them are simply means to an end, means of learning well more important things. Teaching may be de- fined as leading the mind out and up to the power of grasping thought and comprehending knowledge ; it is developing all the faculties harmoniously, - the senses, reason, imagination, will, &c. It is the bringing out and building up those powers of the mind which are the most useful and the most highly prized by man. The great mass of teachers train but do not teach, -- indeed, teaching in this sense is rarely to be found : it necessi- tates a thorough comprehension of the subjects taught and their immediate adaptation to the minds to be taught. A suc- cessful teacher must be an earnest and thoughtful student at least of that which is to be taught. There are many school- keepers all over the land who seem to have closed and balanced their accounts with learning, and who neither receive nor pay out any more than their original meagre stock. They lie like a dreadful incubus upon all progress in education. Teachers who are not eager and thirsting for knowledge should cease teaching
132
altogether. The very intellectual glow that is imparted by teach- ers who are earnest students inspires children to like efforts. Our progress in teaching does not equal by far that in training ; we have in fact just begun to teach. Even this small beginning, I am happy to say, is the best result of three years' effort. It has been extremely difficult for me and my fellow-teachers to throw off the fetters of old habits of learning and teaching, the ancient deeply-rooted belief that words in themselves have some mys- terious power of creating ideas ; that memorized rules, defini- tions, paragraphs, constitute so much real knowledge ; that the solution of problems by patterns (formulas) develops the reason- ing faculties ; that a great mass of disconnected facts is useful learning. It has been difficult for us to learn that subjects must be taught, without regard to the pages of a text-book, until they become a part of the child's mind ; that in teaching, words play a minor though an important part, that they are the servants, not the masters. These great obstacles are being slowly overcome ; teachers are beginning to appreciate the kind of mental food that is indispensable to true mental growth. The senses are trained by proper exercise ; original observation and investiga- tion are stimulated, thus leading up to thought and reasoning. Problems are solved by bringing the mind to bear upon objects directly, or vividly recalling them. Continents are built by the imagination, and expression, both oral and written, receives the constant stimulus of tangible things. Instead of putting object- , teaching outside of regular teaching as an exercise to relieve the utter dreariness and monotony of mere memorizing, we are striving to make object and objective teaching the very warp and woof of all teaching. We try also to keep steadily in view the important fact that the mind grows entirely by its own activities ; that explanations and lectures not assimilated by pupils are fully as bad as the old text-book methods. Another obstacle we meet, which is perhaps the most difficult of all, is that many pupils who have been previously stupefied and disgusted by poor school- keeping cannot be easily awakened and interested by the best instruction ; indeed it often seems an utter impossibility. It is wonderful how near to the verge of mental inanition, in school,
I33
the common plan of reciting, studying and order drives many children ; it is more wonderful, perhaps, that so many survive the cruel process. Our little folks who are being properly taught and trained will never know of the awful dullness and tedious- ness that fell to the lot of their predecessors. The immense im- portance of saving and using everything essential that has been acquired, - the uniting and binding together all the parts of a science, - must be ever borne in mind, if we are to find treasures of knowledge and real mental growth at the end of the course. My fellow-teachers have bravely and resolutely met these diffi- culties. They are striving with me to build up a school system upon an enduring foundation. Jealousy, mistrust and undue rivalry have been sunken out of sight before the ennobling duty of helping the little ones to noble lives.
1
The schools of this Commonwealth will take one great step forward when the vast difference between good teaching and mere school-keeping is fully understood and appreciated by a majority of its people. When teachers who study and apply principles - who, filled with a great love for their work, strive to bring out and develop all the possibilities for good that lie in children - are placed by public opinion high up in the pro- fession, and " school-keepers" are lowered to their true position among all other quacks. A growing appreciation of painting and sculpture is now bringing out and developing talent and genius in that direction in this country ; so will a higher popu- lar appreciation of the teacher's art lead men and women of culture to devote their lives to the moulding and making good and beautiful the minds of the future citizens of this Republic.
COURSE OF STUDY.
An elaborate course of study, when not thoroughly understood by teachers, and especially adapted to their teaching ability, leads to mechanical and superficial work ; it is a burden rather than a help ; therefore I have hitherto refrained from putting anything into their hands except the simplest directions and a mere out- line of a course of study. The time, I am glad to say, has now
I 34
come when a carefully prepared course full of details and sug- gestions can be profitably used. Such a course I am now pre- paring, under your direction, which will serve both as a guide and manual. We are now able to teach geography in a scientific manner. The parts (natural divisions) of continents are care- fully studied by observing the forms around us, by moulding them in sand, by pictures, and by drawing them ; they are then combined into a clear, distinct picture of the structure of a continent, upon which the future up building in political and physical geography in history and science is founded.
We do precisely what the skillful novelist and historian do, when they present vivid pictures of the terrain upon which their characters, either real or mimic, are to act. Facts that would be otherwise isolated are bound together and fixed in this frame- work of the memory. Locating every place about which anything is said or read is another means we use extensively in teaching this branch. It is proposed to prepare a course in history cover- ing the four grammar school years ; the first two to be devoted to short, interesting biographies of eminent men, and to general reading ; the last two, to a careful study of the whole of United States history, together with distinguished men and important events of contemporaneous history. The objects in teaching his- tory are, first, to cultivate a lively interest in reading history ; the second, to give them a well-defined, distinct outline that will serve as a frame-work to contain and fix historical facts that may be acquired in all future reading. Our advancement in language warrants a still greater step in that direction, a more systematic study of that important branch.
The plan in arithmetic I proposed last year met with your approval, and is now being slowly carried out. I give below the principles upon which the course is founded, and the directions for teachers.
PRINCIPLES AND DIRECTIONS.
The two motives of arithmetical teaching are, -
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