USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Town annual report of Weymouth 1868 > Part 3
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Stillborn,
Pembroke.
-
1
40
19, 7, 7, 7, 15,
Jennie F. Clapp, Carrie L. Hollis, . John Ahern,
4
11
22
1
Heart Disease,
Ireland.
·
74
-
Cancer,
Weymouth.
8,
Consumption,
Cancer, Typhoid Pneumonia,
Ireland. Weymouth. 66
Ireland. Braintree. Weymouth. 66
Weymouth. 66
4
10
22
Braintree. Weymouth.
Quincy. Weymouthı.
Weymouth. Quincy.
37
Deaths registered in the Town of Weymouth-Concluded.
AGE.
Date ( f
Name of Deceased.
Years.
Mos.
Days.
Disease or Cause of Deatlı.
Place of Birth.
Nov. 2,
Mary L. (Stoddard) Vining,
85
2
Pneumonia,
1,
Aliee Cushing,
7
23
10,
Joseph D. Thomas,
48
44
4
25
Scarlet Fever, Inflammat. of Bowels, Apoplexy, General Debility, :
Dec.
2,
Catherine McCarthy, Mary H. Thayer, Mary L. Burrell,
3
4
14
7,
Rachel F. Lynch, . .
1
2
7
Measles,
11,
2
10
1
12,
William B. Coolidge,
61
3
13
13,
Ellen McCarthy,
.
3
11
-
13.
Ellen (Lynes) Ford, ·
63
1
1
17,
Thomas E. Riley, ·
·
3
1
25
Searlet Fever,
18,
Edward M. Loud, .
.
79
10
51
9
7
6
Diphtheria,
24,
Lueia (Randall) Keen,
80
11
17
Pneumonia,
Kingston.
25,
Eveline (Bates) King- man,
67
8
1 Pneumonia,
27, 30,
Abigail (Joslyn) Shaw, 79
8
22
Old Age,
Caroline F.(Whitmarsh) Bailey, . .
34
7
3
Congestion of Lungs,
31, 7,
Eva F. Lovell,
15
9
12
21,
Addie L. Reed,
.
1
9
-
Consumption, Lung Fever,
Quincy.
A true copy of record.
Attest :
FRANCIS AMBLER, Town Clerk.
BIRTHS IN 1868.
Whole number of births registered in Weymouth,
212 Number of births where both parents were natives of the United States,
Number of births where fathers were natives of the United States and mothers foreign, .
9
Number of births where mothers were natives of the United States and fathers foreign, 8
Number of births where both parents were foreign, 77 Number of births where parents' nativity was unknown, 4
- - 212
Number of births where both parents were natives of Weymouth, . · 30
Excess of births over deaths,
·
64
Attest :
FRANCIS AMBLER, Town Clerk.
Hingham. Weymouth.
24,
Thomas A. Kingman, Asa Dyer,
72
3
2
2
-
Searlet Fever, Scarlet Fever,
11
3
13
1
-
16
Cholera Infantum, Croup,
Gloucester. Weymouth. Braintree. Weymouth. Ireland. Weymouth.
19,
Edward Blanchard,
13 Old Age, .
20,
Eliphalet Beleher, . Luey A. Bailey,
4
10
24
Searlet Fever,
21 Typhoid Pneumonia,
Weymouth. Pembroke. Weymouth.
Diphtheria,
Joseph B. Osgood,
2
17
·
-
6.
7,
8. 9, Charles Thomas Brown, Ella F. Pope, .
.
General Debility, Searlet Fever, Paralysis,
21,
114
Death.
REPORTS
OF THE
School Committee and Superintendent,
FOR THE YEAR
1868-9.
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SCHOOL COMMITTEE'S REPORT.
The School Committee of Weymouth respectfully submit the following Report :---
On the afternoon of the day of the annual meeting of the town in March last, the Committee organized their Board by the choice of Chairman and Secretary, and proceeded to consider what school arrangements were necessary for the ensuing year.
By the following vote of the town, the Committee were some- what restricted in their action, and so far, are not responsible for the results :-
"Voted, That the town raise by taxation, for the support of schools the ensuing year, the sum of fourteen thousand dollars; and that the money shall be appropriated in the same manner as it was last year, as follows, viz. : that twelve hundred and fifty dollars be appropriated for a High School in the north part of the town, and the same amount for one in the south part of the town, which shall cover the whole expense of said schools, including rents, fuel, care of rooms, and all incidental expenses, and that the balance of the money be appropriated by the school committee for common schools."
Accordingly, a sub-committee was appointed for each part of the town, to superintend the expenditure of the appropriation for the High Schools. The services of the former teacher, Mr. Gamwell, were secured for the school at the south part of the town, although it required some addition to the amount appropri- ated, which was supplied by individuals interested in the school.
The school in the north part of the town was tendered to Mr. Alfred Bunker, who had been its teacher during the last two and one-quarter months of the previous year, on the following terms, viz. : that we pay him twelve hundred and fifty dollars per year, he to pay all incidental expenses.
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On the nineteenth of March, he wrote, " I am unable to tell you positively whether I will accept your offer, as I purpose applying as per enclosed advertisement, though I am very desir- ous of continuing in your school, and would do so but for the smallness of the salary. If successful on Saturday, I cannot come ; if unsuccessful, I will come."
On the twenty-fourth of March, he wrote, "The examination on Saturday was had, but the result will not immediately be known. I will therefore be at the school-house for duty on Friday, and will commence on Monday next, as you desire."
This the Committee understood as virtually accepting their proposal ; but after he commenced the school, it was found that he was making exertions, not only to get the position in that school, viz., the Lawrence Grammar School, but in one of several others. Having failed in his efforts, he wrote on the twenty- ninth of May as follows: "As the Boston matter is decided, and against me, I will now say that I accept your proposition to pay all expenses of the school and be paid twelve hundred and fifty dollars per year, and have already paid some incidental expenses with that intent." The contract was now regarded as finished and unequivocal.
On the sixteenth of July, at the close of the first term, the Committee received the following communication from Mr. Bunker :-
" Gent. of the School Committee :- Having been elected Sub- Master of the Comins School in Boston, and feeling compelled by the much greater salary to accept that position, I hereby regret- fully tender to you my resignation of the position which I now occupy in your employ."
It will be seen by the above, that Mr. Bunker did not ask to be relieved from his contract, but simply resigned, as he claimed he had a right to do. He said, morcover, that a school com- mittee, always having the legal right to dismiss a teacher at any moment, could not make a contract that would bind the teacher to stay longer than he desired to. Besides, if such power existed, it had not been used in this case.
In a letter of September eighteenth, he wrote, "As to my contract to teach the school for any definite period, one week,
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one month, or one year, I can only repeat that your idea is a wholly mistaken one, totally unauthorized by anything I have ever said or written."
To these views, the Committee decidedly objected. The Com- mittee voted to release Mr. Bunker only on condition that he procure, or allow the Committee to procure, a satisfactory substitute, at a price not exceeding that of his own contract, and at his expense ; which he consented at last to do, and Mr. George W. Shaw was presented as his substitute, and accepted by the Committee.
We have stated this case thus fully, because so much com- plaint has been made to and about the Committee for allowing teachers to resign ; but as in this case, it often occurs that the teacher has engaged to go to another place before the Committee have any knowledge of his desire to leave, and has made up his mind to go at all hazards ; so that there is no such thing as retaining him, and the question of damage is all that remains to be settled.
After considerable consultation and debate as to the wants of the different parts of the town, the Committee decided to estab- lish one Grammar School (at East Weymouth,) to be taught by a male teacher at a salary of sixty-five dollars per month ; seven Grammar Schools, to be taught by females, at thirty-six dollars per month ; fourteen Intermediate Schools, at thirty-two dollars per month ; and eleven Primary Schools, at twenty-eight dollars per month ; making an aggregate of thirty-five schools in the town, each school to be kept for the term of forty weeks.
Being instructed by vote of the town to employ a Superintend- ent, the Committee contracted with Mr. Francis M. Dodge, the successful Superintendent of the two previous years, for that position, at a salary of thirteen hundred and fifty dollars per year. From our personal acquaintance with him, and our knowledge of his eminent success in our schools, from his increased experience and familiarity with them, we were led to anticipate brilliant results ; and we cheerfully testify to his industry and faithfulness. He has in all respects met our expec- tations, and fully sustained his former reputation.
It being impracticable for him to examine each school at its close, he has, assisted by the Committee, examined all of them except the High Schools, as near the close as he could, and his
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report of the different schools is based upon this examination, and not upon the public exhibition at the close of the term.
The Committee recommend the continuance of Mr. Dodge as Superintendent of our schools.
We also advise the continuance of the two High Schools, believing as we do, that the number of those benefited by them would be reduced to about one-half the present number, should only one school be sustained.
The Committee have exchanged during the past year, a large portion of the books used in our schools, viz. : The Readers, 2,436 in number ; Spellers, 1,494 ; Arithmetics, 985; and Geog- raphies, 899; making a total of 5,814 books, the amount of which, at wholesale prices, is $3,192.79, thereby securing uni- formity throughout all our schools, and as we believe, books far superior to those displaced.
And this we have done on favorable terms, so that we think there has been a profit to the town in having new books instead of those on an average half worn out, of not less than fifteen hundred dollars. In regard to the excellence of the books introduced, the Committee agree substantially with the views expressed by the Superintendent in his report.
Two vacancies have occurred in the Board during the year.
One was caused by the failing health of the Rev. James P. Terry, rendering it unadvisable for him to continue to perform the duties of his position, and, as he thought, making it clearly his duty to resign. The Committee exceedingly regretted this necessity, as they know how deep an interest he has ever mani- fested in our schools, and the earnestness and fidelity with which he has ever discharged the duties of his office. We sym- pathize with him, his family and friends in this affliction, and hope that he may soon be restored to health and resume his labors with us and the people of his charge. Dr. C. C. Tower was elected to fill the vacancy.
The other was caused by the resignation of Josiah H. Pratt, who could not attend to the duties, and the vacancy was filled by the choice of James Humphrey, Esq.
The Committee would state their conviction, that should the district system be completely abolished, it would be an advan- tage to the town ; that while practically, to a very great extent, our schools are conducted on the town system, yet so far as the
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district system has effect, it is not for good. It would be strange indeed, in a town like ours, requiring thirty-five schools, if a school committee could not better locate, grade and provide for the schools, and at less expense, having the whole subject- matter in their own hands, than when restricted by ancient, arbitrary, territorial district lines.
For information in detail in regard to the schools, individually and as a whole, the Committee refer to the report of the Super- intendent.
In behalf of the Committee,
JOHN W. LOUD, Chairman.
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SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
To the School Committee of Weymouth:
GENTLEMEN, - In conformity with your requirements, the following Report of the public schools for the year just closed, is respectfully submitted.
Reverently acknowledging the Divine favor during the year, it is the part of wisdom to scrutinize the past and to profit by the retrospect. If such a scrutiny of the past presents evi- dences of the existence of false theories, or a policy of even doubtful tendencies, the welfare of society and the promptings of a generous, manly and progressive nature alike demand a careful and radical "reconstruction." If, on the contrary, our observations and experiences have taught us that reasonable progress and success have resulted from the employment of the various instrumentalities devised by the Board of Committee, and the corps of teachers, a regard for the interests of this com- munity, present and prospective, demands their continuance. While a spirit of improvement or of restlessness suggests abrupt changes, it is often manifest that such changes may be- come so frequent as to render progress utterly impossible, from an absence of fixedness of purpose. Hasty and injudicious ef- forts to remove acknowledged evils, may be attended by even greater inconveniences and disastrous results. All radical im- provements are ordinarily produced by persistant efforts, long and judiciously applied. This principle needs no better illus- tration than the school system of our beloved Commonwealth, -a noble superstructure, developed and cherished by the great and good of the present and past generations, reared on the corner-stone and foundation walls so wisely laid by our revered fathers, and cemented by as pure blood as ever flowed in patriot veins. They established our system and crected the church edifice among the first acts of devotion to soul-liberty, justly
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regarding these as the bulwarks of freedom. If we, their descendants, have made any progress in our educational sys- tem, that progress has been based on the same great principles, and animated by the same spirit. If our own society is ele- vated, as compared with more remote sections of our country ; if our institutions, our system of people-government, our chari- table associations arc indications of progress, if our labor is more skilled, our citizens more industrious, temperate and en- terprising, if there is much to excite a laudable pride, we may justly refer all to the education of the masses, to a system of mental and moral training that reaches the humblest resident, making him a citizen of a great republic.
The public school is an initiatory institution to the State-its exercises preparatory to the performance of the great duties de- manded of the citizens of a republic; the school-room is the vestibule of the vast edifice of our rapidly developing govern- ment, from which the prospective citizen emerges into the arena of public life. Here home influences are reflected as from a mirror, the reflex influence reaching the home, indicating the character of the teacher and the tendencies of school exer- cises, all of which outcrop in society. In view of this intimate relation of the home and the State, made still more intimate by the transition stage-the school-we would say to every par- ent, that the education of the young is a matter of vast con- cern. Would you have your children become respectable and useful citizens, educate them. Would you leave them a legacy more valuable than the profits of a lifetime of toil, educate them ; watch over them with all of the solicitude which the weakness of childhood demands ; urge them to be prompt and constant in attendance, yea, insist that they do their duty in this respect, and visit them in the school-room. Remember that they need and have a right to expect your sympathy and encouragement.
Upon a careful review of the condition of the schools during the past year, there is cause for congratulation. There has been good progress in most of them, while in some there have been valuable and decided improvements. It is not to be supposed that thirty-five teachers would have made the same progress, that all would labor with the same zeal and fidelity, presenting at the close of the year the same evidences of success, in gov-
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erning and in instructing. All have not the same experience, ability and tact. There has been a commendable yet gener- ous spirit of rivalry among the teachers, a wish to excel, result- ing in elevating the general standard of acquirements, yet per- fection has not been attained. Obstacles to the desired success have existed in the past and will still exist,- obstacles which must be resolutely encountered. Difficulty after difficulty will necessarily arise, yet they must be met and removed if possible, -embarrassments which render the duty of supervising the schools one involving a very delicate and important responsibil- ity. The schools must be kept in good working condition. Im- portant changes are often an absolute necessity-changes, the importance and necessity of which those only can appreciate who have the charge of these schools ; the almost numberless objections to these must be met, 'rendering your office, gentle- men, no sinecure. Some of these obstacles have been already removed, while others remain, demanding your serious atten- tion and prompt action.
NON-ATTENDANCE.
As citizens of Massachusetts, we are proud of our system of public schools, the characteristic feature of which, its crowning glory, is that it furnishes the means of education to all classes, to the children of its most honored citizen, its wealthiest men, and those living in comparative obscurity and destitution-all alike sharing the ennobling and elevating influences of mental culture. This is based on the supposition that those who bear the burdens of government, who shoulder the musket in its de- fense, have a bona fide claim for its favors, that, in the language of the wise law-giver of ancient times, "the children are less the property of their parents than the State." It is also a well- established principle that "prevention is better and easier than cure." These children will be educated somewhere-in the school- room, in well-ordered and virtuous families-or in the streets, in the dram-shops and similar places of resort. They will be taught in the school-room, cherished and sustained by the fos- tering care of the State, intellectually fod from the public treas- ury, or sustained and restrained in the various places of con- finement and punishment, at a far greater expenditure than in our common schools. The State assumes the attitude of self-
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defense, demanding that all of her sons and daughters shall be placed in our schools, and there receive instruction,-mental and moral-intended not only to call into activity the more en- nobling intellectual faculties, increasing mental and moral pow- ers, but to bring the lower nature into subjection to the higher. This it has a right to do as the guardian of society. Accord- ingly it enacts restraining laws, affixes penalties, appoints tru- ant officers, etc., on the supposition that there is an intimate relation between the education of the masses and public morals. As a general principle, the educated are enterprising and self-supporting, while the ignorant descend to their level in the almshouse, the prison, and similar institutions, most of which have been established as a consequence of defective early education.
Again, society suffers, not only from the absence of the pro- ductiveness of its ignorant citizens, but from their influence over others, by the power of example, while truants and ab- sentees necessarily restrain others from enjoying the advan- tages of free school by a like power of example, thus abridging the rights of their associates, creating a dislike for school la- bors and disciplinary restraints. The attention of the Board is therefore directed to the fact, that there is a lamentable irregu- larity of attendance, and worse, that there are many who seldom or never attend our schools. The whole number of children between the ages of five and fifteen years, as returned to the Board of Assessors, May 1, 1868, was 1,868, while the number in our public schools was 1,688, with 65 attending private schools. It is a matter of the utmost importance to know where the remaining 115 children are, and what are the influ- ences to which they are subjected. As the guardians of the young, the Board has a right to know why these children are not in our schools. It is believed that they are detained, a part or all of the time, either from the absence of interest in them, or from an inability of their parents to compel attendance. Prac- tically it matters but little which. If kept from school that they may be a source of gain, it is bad economy, since the ac- cumulation of one dollar in this manner necessitates the loss of a larger sum in the future. It is evident that far too many in our midst are thus deprived of their rights as prospective citizens, whose education is being obtained at the street corners
49
and in still worse places, exposed to temptation, who are in danger of becoming adepts in every species of crime. Igno- rance is allied to crime ; and as the statistics of our penitentia- ries show, " criminal manhood is neglected childhood." Such neglect virtually frustrates, in some measure, the great object of our system - the education of the masses. The tax-payers and those who have property to be protected, may well demand as a correlative right, that the universality of the application of our system of schools and the comprehensiveness of its provis- ions should not be annulled by such flagrant neglect or culpable indifference. While our laws demand that the parent shall give to his child the opportunity for mental improvement, shall edu- cate him somewhere, in the public schools or by private instruc- tion, it becomes the manifest duty, the imperative duty, of the guardians of the young to see that this requirement is com- plied with faithfully. The demand of the State in this regard is imperative, and while the parent has the right to elect where his child shall be educated, whether in a public or private school, he has no right to elect between IGNORANCE and EDUCA- TION.
It is believed that the appointment. of judicious truant officers would do much to remove this giant evil, and that such officials should receive the sanction and encouragement of every order- loving and law-abiding citizen. Let the truant law, like all necessary ones, be enforced, fearlessly and judiciously, yet ENFORCED. Of course, stringent measures should be preceded by persuasive efforts,-every rational means of interesting both parents and children in the cause of education ; but if such means shall prove unavailing, as they may in some instances, let all feel that the law must be honored, and the offenders brought to justice, not as a personal infliction, but for the pro- motion of the general good. In this, the good, the order-loving will coincide. The object sought is worthy of serious thought and prompt action. It contemplates, in the first place, the reformation of truants and other idle children ; and in the next place, the bringing back to a more constant attendance pupils really belonging to the schools, but attending very irregularly on account of detention by their parents at home, or from otlier causes.
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TEXT-BOOKS.
A change of books is ordinarily attended with some incon- venience and no small amount of censure ; yet such changes are sometimes necessary as a means of keeping pace with the progress of the age. The successful mechanic, artisan, man- ufacturer, laborer, &c., are all compelled to have regard to a progressive spirit, adopting " modern improvements." The lumbering coach becomes antiquated by the introduction of steam ; cumbrous and unwieldy implements of husbandry are supplanted by improved and more valuable ones, materially increasing the productiveness of labor, enhancing the resources of the state, and promoting the happiness and elevation of the masses. This the shrewd business man understands, well knowing that success is largely based upon adopting improved methods and implements.
The same principles apply with equal force in the school- room. Science is ever progressive. The text-books of the past, or some of them, are sadly deficient in many particulars ; often too diffuse, sometimes erroneous in statement of princi- ples, or deficient in arrangement. Under such circumstances, a due regard to economy demands a change, that labor in the school-room may be made more productive.
At the commencement of the year, this subject received the attention of the committee, who were convinced that some changes were not only advisable, but absolutely necessary, and they were made, after careful examination and comparison of various authors. Such an examination involved no small amount of labor and discrimination, so great is the variety and so diverse are the influences employed by wily agents and shrewd venders, making the selection of text-books a per- plexing duty.
The adoption of Guyot's geographies has proved to have been highly judicious, the books being admirably adapted to the wants of both teachers and pupils. The definitions are definitions, clear and definite; the descriptive is attractive, chaste and forcible in style ; the embellishments beautiful and instructive, while the maps excel in distinctness of outline and coloring. By a system of map-drawing, prominent in this series, definite ideas of the various countries are secured. The Pri- mary, having recently been improved by the addition of ques-
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