USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Saugus > Town annual report of Saugus 1864-1888 > Part 6
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the care of one teacher, especially when the number must be divided into several classes. Experience alone can de- termine what number will afford the best results. There should be no fear that decreasing the number of scholars will diminish the incentives to industry which are from emulation. There is not often rivalry with the many, but with the few who are on the same level. The scholar at the head of his class feels no emulation with him who graces the foot, while the latter is seldom if ever initiated into exertion by the example of the former. The keenest emulation would be found among a few scholars of almost equal attainments, animated with the enthusiasm of a teacher who knew how to call out the best efforts of each pupil. The direction, however, in which we are to look for the greatest improvement is to the employment of a still more highly educated class of teachers. Horace Mann said : "As is the teacher, so is the school." The teacher is the centre around which the school gathers. The influence which determines the character of the school radiates from him. This is recognized to some extent, but it is still a common impression that almost any person is qualified to teach a common school, especially in the lower grades. Graduates of High and Normal Schools are thought to be amply qualified for such work. To many it appears to be a convenient method of acquiring support until a more lucrative or agreeable occupation is found. It is hardly looked upon as worthy of being made a profession for life. This state of things reacts upon the welfare of public schools, and deteriorates the value of the education they give. There should be a wider recognition of the impor- tance and dignity of a teacher's position. The profession of a teacher does not afford opportunities for brilliant dis- plays and striking effects, which is so congenial to the public taste, but the influence which it exerts over the wel- fare of the community is very great. Brought into contact with minds when they are most pliant and impressible, the
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teacher may exert an influence over the character of his pupils which shall effect for good or evil their whole sub- sequent life. It is, therefore, extremely important that such positions should be filled with persons of the right type of character. Children are instinctively keen judges of character, and are peculiarly susceptible to the influ- ence of noble and sympathetic natures. Contact with such natures, through a whole course of education, would tend to develop corresponding nobility of feeling and purpose. Those types of character where simplicity, genialty and large-heartedness attract almost irresistibly all classes of children, are the only types which are suited to the position of a teacher. Characters which are cold, unsympathetic, which repel the natural expression of confidence by young minds, raise barriers which prevent all healthful contact between the mind of the teacher and that of the pupil. It should be recognized that certain types of character are adapted to the duties of a teacher, and persons so gifted should be highly esteemed as peculiarly adapted to fill one of the most important positions of influence in the whole community, and should be encouraged to devote them- selves to teaching as a life profession.
A demand for wider culture and a higher education among teachers would not be unreasonable. While it is true that great scholars are not always fine teachers, yet, other things being equal, the advantage is with the teach- ers of the most liberal culture. New England is justly proud of her common schools, but she must yield the palm to the higher standard of the German schools. The reason for the superiority of the latter is to be attributed to the more liberal education which the German government demands as a qualification in the teacher. There teachers are required to pass government examinations in two or three modern languages, and in some studies of which perhaps some of our teachers know only the name. Some- times it is only after two or three attempts that candidates
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succeed in passing these examinations, and between two successive attempts two years must elapse. It is evident that the German teacher brings to the work of the school- room a power of illustrating, an acquaintance with the sub- jects to be taught, and an ability to awaken enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge by wide glances into the field of study, which is generally wanting in our public school teachers. To one who understands the delicacy and intricacy of a skilfully conducted education, it will not appear extrava- gant to assert that hardly any range of knowledge is too large to qualify a teacher for his important work.
It is in the lower grades, rather than the higher, that the most skilful teaching is needed. Here the minds are more impressible, the processes need more delicate adjustment, the faculties more careful dealing, and an injury which is done is more hard to overcome than one incurred in later years. As scholars advance, they should be taught to rely more upon their own efforts, upon their own judgment and perseverance, that they may be gradually emancipated from all need of instruction.
To secure the advantages mentioned above, it is obvious that a larger expenditure than at present would be needed. High education, wide culture, choice combination of char- acter, like all other rare and valuable things, can be obtained only by paying the worth of them. If these, however, are indispensable to valuable results in education, they should be secured. If it be deemed impracticable to do this, let us not be surprised or disappointed if we do not secure the results which they alone can afford. If schools are already a burden to the community, and it be felt that the burden cannot be increased, there should be no complaint if the standard of intelligence and culture in the community rises no higher than the source from which it flows. But if education does tend to prevent crime, by making men more provident, more capable of self-control, more industrious, more capable of adapting themselves to to the varying de-
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mands of society, and less liable to commit crime, because less exposed to the temptation to it, why should it not be deemed expedient to increase the burden of school expend- iture, and thus finally decrease largely the expense of penal and reformatory institutions? Not only would one of the darkest blots on our modern civilization be removed, but there would be a positive gain in prosperity through an increase of intelligent members of society.
But too frequently economy, or rather retrenchment, begins with the school. That source of expenditure is obvious ; it can easily be cut off. The evils of such a course do not show themselves immediately, and ignorance is always jealous of expenditure to remove itself. It implies no small amount of intelligence and self-control in a com- munity not to have recourse first of all to this method of curtailing expenses. Strict economy should govern all public expenditure, but it is not economy to cripple the efficiency of the instrument which sustains the intelligence of the community. There should be a disposition to guard jealously the interests of so important an agency of the public welfare, and to afford it the fullest opportunities con- sistent with public interests to perform its appointed work. The greater facilities afforded by compact towns and cities should make the average amount of each child's education larger in the country than in the city. But this disadvan- tage should be cheerfully met. The city affords many influences for developing mental activity which the country does not afford, and it should be thought all the more necessary to give a full and thorough school education. Each generation also should lay broader foundations for the work of the succeeding generation than it itself enjoyed. In no other way can the progressive advance of society be kept up. The public school is the great instrument in promoting this advance, and it is the duty and privilege of each generation to make it a more efficient instrument.
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READING.
Perhaps in no exercise is there required more care and watchfulness from a teacher than in conducting a reading lesson. The pureness and naturalness of tone, the exact pronunciation, just emphasis and faithful expression, in which the charm of good reading consists, can be acquired only at the expense of careful study and constant practice. But it is so easy for a person to fall into wrong habits in these respects, and, in an exercise so frequently repeated, the temptation is so great to pass over slight inaccuracies, that great care against this danger must be exercised. It is far easier to form correct than to reform incorrect habits. The cultivation of these should begin from the very first, and especial attention, therefore, should be given to these points in the Primary Schools.
The first requisite for true expression in reading is a complete understanding of the meaning to be expressed. Hence selections should not be beyond the capacity of the classes to which they are given. Teachers should also, by questioning their classes, make themselves sure that the author's meaning has been comprehended. Unless this be the case, all attempts at expression is hopeless, and the instruction will be adopted by the pupil without understand- ing the reason for it. Here, as elsewhere, the endeavor should be to impart principles, and not particular applica- tions of those principles.
This exercise might be made extremely beneficial by insisting more upon the definition of words. Were each class required to be prepared to give plainly the meaning of every important word in each reading lesson, this course would assist very much in the attempt to express the au- thor's meaning, and would also speedily increase the avail- able vocabulary of each pupil. This might make the progress of classes through their books less speedy, but it would increase very much their power to grasp the mean-
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ing of a writer, and, therefore, their power of expressing his meaning.
It might be found useful for the higher classes to make use, at times, of some other than the regular text-books. This would lend interest and variety to the exercise, and might have some influence in the development of a more ยท elevated taste in reading.
SPELLING.
Correct spelling is one of the most common tests of the extent of a person's education. It is, therefore, important that it should be acquired by all persons who make preten- sions of being at all well educated. But unless the ability to spell correctly be acquired in early life, the probability is that it will not be acquired at all, or only at the expense of much labor. By the time, therefore, scholars leave school, they should be able to spell correctly the words in frequent use. The ability to do this is not so common as it might be supposed. In many cases familiar English words do not indicate by their pronunciation their spelling, as do most of the words of Greek and Latin derivation. One of the reasons of the inability to spell them arises from the use of spelling books where we find so many lists of long words which most persons use very seldom. More attention should be given to the spelling of the common words, and it would be advisable to use the spelling book rules, or else select from it this class of words. It might be profita- ble, also, to revive the old custom of dictation. By reading a selection, and requiring scholars to write it, very many of the smaller words, which seem too easy to give out in a regular spelling lesson, will become familiar in their written form.
ARITHMETIC.
The important relation in which this study stands to practical life, naturally gives it a prominent place in the
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course of study in public schools. The knowledge of this subject acquired by most scholars is very imperfect. The reason is probably found in the insufficient attention given to fundamental principles. The work in this department is too mechanical. Scholars are too much accustomed to learn rules and work problems by them, without under- standing the principles upon which the rules rest. The teacher should hold the attention of his pupils to these prin- ciples, and by illustration and continued repetition fix them firmly in their minds.
Too much assistance should not be given to scholars in the solution of problems. These test the knowledge of the principle which they are designed to illustrate. In no other study is there so great an opportunity for developing the ingenuity, perseverance and self-reliance of scholars as in arithmetic. The application of general principles to vary- ing conditions in special cases, furnishes in miniature a copy of real life. If a scholar learns in arithmetic to apply gen- eral rules to special cases, he learns to do what is required in wider spheres in actual life. It is desirable, therefore, that the student should be thrown as much as possible on his own resources, after he has once thoroughly compre- hended the principles upon which a rule is based. A wise teacher will aim to give just that amount of help which will enable a scholar to exert to the utmost his own powers. Any further help is not a benefit, but an injury to the pupil.
HISTORY.
In a country in which the sovereign power is vested in the people, it is of great importance that the people gener- ally should have some knowledge of the history of the country, and of the principles upon which its government rests. If possible the historical knowledge should be ex- tended to the history and governments of other countries. that the peculiar advantage of our own government, and
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the lesson of its history should inspire a reasonable patriot- ism, and an intelligent performance of those duties which devolve upon each citizen.
The study of History would seem to be one of the most interesting in the course of public school instruction. To make it thus interesting, and also profitable, requires much interest and care in a teacher. Scholars are very much accustomed to memorize the words of the text-book without obtaining very definite ideas about events and their signifi- cance. Examinations show the traces of this custom. Unless the words of the text-book can be recalled, the facts have generally escaped the memory also. In this study much explanation is demanded from a teacher, and a full mind can here be used very serviceably. If possible, scholars should be encouraged to read books outside of the text-books, which are generally quite meagre in their details. An interest might thus be excited which would lead to a purer taste in reading among the young, and they would become also more intelligent in discharging their duties as citizens.
GEOGRAPHY.
This is a study in which the teacher's judgment must be continually exercised. Our text-books are still full of much that may be profitably omitted. It should be the aim to teach only what is important and useful. While, therefore, a general knowledge of other continents and countries is desirable, particular attention should be given to our own country. By the close of the Grammar School course, pupils should be thoroughly acquainted with all the leading features of the country, and the character of business and products of each particular section.
It would be found advantageous to require more fre- quently the drawing of maps. This is an excellent way to fix in the memory the general outline of a country. Having vividly before the mind an idea of the general
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features, it would be much easier to locate more particular points and the less important places. This exercise would also contribute, by the practice it would afford, to profi- ciency in free hand drawing.
If it were possible to have some books of travel available for the use of scholars, some important advantages would result. If, while studying with the map, a country, schol- ars could be induced to read some books of travel bearing on it, their interest would be deepened and their knowledge fixed more firmly in their minds. This kind of reading is very profitable when care is taken to follow on the map the course of travel. The descriptions are frequently so vivid, and the mind is called to dwell so long on the general fea- tures of the country, that almost without effort some useful and interesting knowledge is retained.
WRITING.
Unless one begins with writing well, he is not apt to become a fine writer. The hurry of active life is not con- ducive to elegant penmanship. A clear, legible hand is very desirable, and the purpose of this department of in- struction in schools is to produce it. But there is not that improvement in writing, as a scholar advances through the school, which there ought to be. To write well requires much patient application and attention to matters of detail, which scholars in general are not very willing to give. There should be more personal supervision by the teacher while the exercise is in progress. Care should be taken to point out why a scholar's writing is defective, in what points it is thus defective, and how the difficulty can be removed. If necessary, scholars should be required to practice par- ticularly those points in which they fail. It should be a rule that no written exercise, except written examinations, will be received from a scholar in which the penmanship is inferior to the best that he can do. Scholars often look on
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their writing books as designed to furnish for inspection, by the committee or other visitors, specimens of what may be done by the school, but there is not thought to be any need of so much care in other cases. The best should be required in every case where writing is required, and noth- ing but that accepted.
MUSIC.
The School Committee could wish that the community had a higher appreciation of the importance of vocal music as a branch of instruction in our public schools. Under present circumstances very little can be done in comparison with what might be accomplished, could the committee feel at liberty to procure the services of a special teacher in this department. This exercise is one in which children always take an interest. It is something entirely different from the other branches of study ; it affords a pleasing relief from the weariness of silent study, and always seems to brighten up a school and give new enthusiasm for study. Experience has shown that the number of persons who cannot learn to sing, if they are taught at a sufficiently early age, is very small indeed, generally not more than one or two in a hundred. The rudiments of vocal music are easily acquired by young persons, and it is possible to give in the course of a common school education a very fair knowledge of music. We do not know in what direc- tion a slight increase of expenditure would promise larger and more desirable results.
DRAWING.
The law of the State requires that Drawing should be taught in all public schools. The advantages of such a course of instruction are numerous. Many of the pupils in these schools will find employment in mechanical pur- suits, where it is of great use to be able to draw designs
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and work from plans. To those who manifest a special aptitude in this department, there is open a wide field in drawing designs and patterns for manufacturers. And. even to those who may not need to make such knowledge the source of their support, the training of the hand and eye, which is one of the most sure results of this study, is in itself an advantage. It cultivates a taste for graceful and pleasing forms, and contributes to the development of a purer taste for works of art.
The subject does not receive the attention which it de- serves. The bearing of the study upon superiority in some departments of manufactures is so well understood in some European countries, that a large proportion of the public school education is devoted to this study. The time which is devoted to it in our own schools is very small, and should be increased. Another hindrance to advancement in drawing is that, being comparatively a new branch of study, some of the older teachers have not had the benefit of a course of training in this department.
FREE TEXT-BOOKS.
In our last annual School Report the attention of our citizens was called to the importance of the towns providing free text-books for our schools. The Committee, after further consideration of the subject, are still of the opinion that the books for the use of the public schools should be owned by the town. At first the expense would seem to be large, but in the end it would be cheaper, and certainly much better. The children of the rich and poor would here be on a common level, and merit in deportment and study is all that makes any distinction. The schools once properly supplied, would afford to all alike the equal privi- lege now already provided in every other respect. The money of the town provides instruction, suitable furniture, and comfortable school buildings to all. We regard this
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as a very important step, and we sincerely hope the public will give the subject due consideration, and adopt some plan to carry out the suggestions of the Committee.
The city of Bath, Me., was the first place in New Eng- land to furnish free text-books to all the children in the public schools. Supt. Tash, who introduced the system in 1871, says: "Some of the advantages resulting from the supply of free text-books are found to be these : Previously much time had been lost to the scholars, and much incon- venience felt by teachers, especially at the beginning of the year, by delays in procuring the proper books. Parents having large families dependent on their daily support, often find their slender income taxed to the utmost in sup- plying their children with the requisite text-books for schools, and this is felt the more keenly when, by a change of residence, the last supply used in some other place, though in good condition, has to be thrown aside as useless, not being the ones suited to our schools. Such children have often been kept weeks without the proper books, if not kept from school altogether."
Several instances of this kind have come to the notice of the Committee during the past year in our own town; for this reason we have entered into a discus- sion of the subject somewhat more lengthy than we other- wise should.
Supt. Tash further says, "Text books furnished by the town would be kept more carefully than when owned by the children. At first this would seem not to be so, but wherever it has been fairly tested, it has uniformly been found to be true, there being four parties interested in the preservation of these books, - school officers, teachers, parents and children. Those used in the primary schools will wear out and will want replacing, but the larger and more costly books, used in the higher grades of schools, will be used in successive classes for a series of years."
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"The free supply of books increases school time by quite a large per cent., the number of pupils entering school, and the length of the time on the average they remain there. Children not having to wait for books enter school more promptly in all the grades, and they remain longer, es- pecially in the High School, where premature withdrawal from school has been largely due to the inability to meet the expenses of the costlier text books. How much school time is gained in all these directions, together with the prompt beginning of study and recitation on entering, can- not be precisely estimated, but certainly, as all our teachers say, a large portion."
Some of the cities, and a considerable number of the towns in this state, have already adopted this plan, and many others are agitating the subject. Experience, in other places, has demonstrated that this plan is the cheap- est for the inhabitants of any town, in the end. The School Committee or agent could purchase the books at the lowest terms, label them as property belonging to the Town, number and charge them to the several teachers when given out, teachers to deliver them to the scholars when needed, and keep a record of their delivery in a book kept for that object. At the close of the term, all books could be accounted for to the teachers, and those not wanted for use by the scholars during vacation, could be deposited in some safe place in the school room, provided expressly for that purpose.
EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN IN FACTORIES.
The attention of employers and parents is called to the following amendment of the law relating to the employment of children in factories, which was passed by the Legisla- ture of the last year :
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CHAP. 52. ACTS OF 1876.
An Act relating to the Employment of Children, and reg- ulations respecting them.
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