USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Town annual report of Weymouth 1903 > Part 15
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48,885,235
July.
30
175
20
5 50
320,998
11,234,930
156
96%
6,550
27,505
34,055
3,480
330
408
42,894,035
53,091,308
August ......
29
155
00
5 21
287,419
10,059,665
158
93º
5,860
26,630
32,490
3,168
309
377
40,779,630
49,752,926
September ...
19
96
00
5 03
180,596
6,320,860
147
94º
3,550
15,195 19,470
18,745 27,090
3,074
294
410
37,084,596 51,598,445
October .....
30
125
40
4 40
228,107
7,983,745
151
95°
7,620
November ..
December ...
31
115 40
3 41
218,547
7,649,145
151
92°
7,960
17,810
17,810
2,520
296
429
37,363,251 | 54,092,093
Totals and averages.
195
934
40
4 52
1,732,841
60,649,435
153
96°
45,635
155,725
201,360
20,579
301
389
38,405,542
49,658,799
per 100 lbs. Coal while
Pumping.
per Month.
ing.
Coal.
Lbs.
Average Temperature of
Lbs. of Wood.
COAL CONSUMED.
MONTHS.
5
29,578,114 40,910,255
271
2,100
337
416
41,330,332 51,003,388
-
EAST WEYMOUTH, Oct. 15, 1903.
At a meeting of the Water Commissioners of the town of Weymouth, held this evening, action was taken on the death. of Frank H. Mason, and the following resolutions were presented and passed :
WHEREAS, Death has removed from our midst our late chair- man and fellow member, Frank H. Mason; and
WHEREAS, We desire to express our appreciation of his charac- ter as manifested in his dealings with us; therefore
RESOLVED, That in his death we keenly feel the loss of one who has endeared himself to us by his honest and upright manner and the sterling qualities exhibited by him at all of our meetings.
RESOLVED, That the town has lost a public-spirited citizen, an energetic and faithful servant.
RESOLVED, That realizing the solemn fact that each heart must bear its own sorrows, we desire to soften the bitterness of that grief by our tenderest sympathy, and while we mingle our tears with those of the stricken family of our departed friend, will still feel that "God's time is the best time," and that the Infinite Father doeth all things well.
RESOLVED, That a copy of these resolutions be spread upon our records and a copy be tendered to the bereaved family.
-
FRANK H. MASON.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
TOWN OF WEYMOUTH.
1903.
WEYMOUTH, MASS. : GAZETTE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 1904.
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE FOR 1903.
Term Expires.
Ward 1, Wm. A. Drake, M. D.
Mar., 1906
Ward 2, T. J. Evans
Mar., 1905
Ward 3, H. Franklin Perry .
·
Mar., 1904
Ward 4, Frank E. Loud . .
Mar., 1906
Ward 5, Geo. L. Wentworth
.
Mar., 1904
At large, Mrs. Mary E. Holbrooke
Mar., 1905
STANDING COMMITTEES.
Teachers .- Mrs. Holbrooke, Messrs. Perry and Evans.
Fuel .- Messrs. Loud and Wentworth.
Repairs .- Messrs. Evans and Wentworth.
Text-books .- Messrs. Loud, Drake and Evans.
Finance .- Mr. Wentworth and Mrs. Holbrooke.
Supplies .- Messrs. Drake, Evans and Perry.
CHAIRMAN. T. J. Evans.
SECRETARY. Elmer E. Sherman.
SUPERINTENDENT.
Elmer E. Sherman. Address, East Weymouth. Office hours : At the close of school, Monday, Athens building ; Tues- day, Jefferson building ; Wednesday, Howe building ; Thursday, Hunt building.
Regular meetings of the Committee, first Tuesday evening of each month, at office, High School building.
To the Citizens of the Town of Weymouth :
The School Committee respectfully present their report for the year ending December 31, 1903 :
·
4
The report of the Superintendent is full and complete as apply- ing to the educational system in the schools. It has been accepted by your school committee and is incorporated as part of their report to you. The Town Accountant presents the financial state- ment correctly and intelligently.
In addition to the foregoing we desire to make a brief report applying to appropriation and expenditures.
At the last Annual Town Meeting the appropriation for schools was
One-half dog license fees
$50,000 00 500 66
Received from State Treasurer for tui-
tion of non-residents
67 50
Total
$50,568 16
The appropriation was divided as follows :
Salaries of teachers, including Superin-
intendent, Music and Drawing
. $34,600 00
Salaries of Janitors
3,500 00
Repairs
. 3,000 00
Supplies . . 3,400 00
Fuel . · .
3,800 00
Incidental expenses
300 00
Miscellaneous
500 00
$49,100 00
The expenditures are as follows :-
Salaries of teachers including Superin-
tendent, Drawing and Music
.
$34,542 47
Salaries of janitors
3,613 39
Repairs
2,211 61
Supplies
4,574 68
Fuel ·
4,675 68
Incidental expenses
280 00
Miscellaneous
423 01
Total
$50,320 84
Salaries of Teachers evening school
206 70
$50,527 54
5
From statement as submitted it will be seen we have exceeded appropriation.
Janitors .
$113 39
Supplies
.
·
1,174 68
Fuel
875 68
.
And have expended for repairs less
than appropriated
788 39
The increase for supplies was made necessary for several rea- sons.
1. The establishment of a business course of study at High school which necessitated the purchase of additional typewriters, and supply of stationery, etc., wholly different from general use.
2. The advancement in drawing required more costly supplies than used previously.
3. Contagious diseases which obliged the committee to destroy books, etc., and in some instances all books, papers, etc., in school rooms.
4. The establishment of uniform text-books for reading and spelling in all grades, the miscellaneous character of the books in use being detrimental to best results.
5. The establishment of evening school made necessary an increased demand from stock of general supplies which are includ- ed in amount reported as expended under this item.
FUEL.
The increase for fuel is caused partly on account of modern school buildings and partly by reason of the increase in the cost of coal, and also the severe winter.
REPAIRS .
In regard to repairs, we endeavored to be economical, partic- ularly from the fact that no provision was made by the town for the deficit reported last year, but we believe this to be question- able policy, as many of the buildings have been built many years and constant repairs are needed.
DEFICIT.
In our report last year we reported an estimated deficit of $2,500. As the report of the committee covered the period from
.
.
6
December 31, 1901, to December 31, 1902, and as the appropria- tion applies until April 1st, it can be seen readily that any amount unexpended or a deficit must be estimated. We made as liberal allowance as possible, but the extremely high price of coal during January, February and March, 1903, necessarily increased the amount of deficit, and instead of $2,500 it was $3,534.57.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR APPROPRIATION, 1904.
We respectfully recommend and request the following appro- priation ($50,000), viz. :
Salaries of teachers, including Superin-
tendent, Drawing and Music ·
$3,500 00
Salaries of janitors
.
.
3,600 00
Repairs
·
3,000 00
Supplies
3,500 00
Fuel
. .
3,500 00
Incidental expenses
300 00
Miscellaneous
500 00
$49,400 00
This amount if appropriated will allow opening evening school, as required by law.
For transportation of scholars $1,500 00
We also request an appropriation of $3,500 to cover deficit as per foregoing statement.
Respectfully submitted, T. J. EVANS,
MARY E. HOLBROOKE, WILLIAM A. DRAKE, H. FRANKLIN PERRY, GEORGE L. WENTWORTH, FRANK E. LOUD,
School Committee.
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
To the School Committee of Weymouth :
In accordance with the rules of your Board, I respectfully sub mit to you and to the citizens of Weymouth my annual report of the schools.
First, I wish to touch briefly upon some of the ideals and achievements along the four main lines of school work, viz. : Language, Mathematics, Science and History-Literature. These groups may be sub-divided as follows :
LANGUAGE .- 1. English, spoken and written, including reading, composition, spelling, penmanship, grammar and rhetoric.
2. Ancient and modern foreign languages.
3. Stenography and type- writing.
4. Drawing.
5. Music.
6. Manual training.
MATHEMATICS .- 1. Arithmetic.
2. Algebra.
3. Geometry and advanced mathematics.
SCIENCE .- 1. Nature study.
2. Geography.
3. Physiology.
4. Physics.
5. Chemistry.
6. Physiography, etc.
HISTORY-LITERATURE .- 1. Myths and fables. .
2. Gems of poetry and prose.
3. United States history.
4. English history.
5. Ancient history.
6. General history.
7. American and English literature.
8
While courses in these subjects are distinctly outlined, in the . actual teaching they are so interdependent that each helps the others, and the student is lead to a realization of the correlation of all subjects of knowledge.
It may be well to discuss the matter in the three stages of primary, grammar and high school work.
PRIMARY WORK.
During the first years of school life thought is expressed largely by doing and speaking, the written expression coming later.
The child is encouraged to express himself about matters and things in which he is interested. The teacher teaches mainly by imitation. She talks with the child, using simple English correct in construction, grammar and pronunciation. She helps him, lit- tle by little, to do the same. She tells him stories of the nature- life about him, reads or tells him myths of the ancient world, the beginnings of history in the childhood of civilization. These he retells in his simple language. He draws, expressing thoughts he cannot write. He makes things by means of scissors and thread and paste, and so learns definite facts of form and color. He sings rote songs of childlife and of nature. He is led to ob- serve the simple phenomena of nature that he may early form habits of observation. He plays games involving a regard for the rights of others, physical training, number, music, form and color. This work occupies the first year of the five year-old. When he is about six years of age he is ready to add to his ac- tivities by learning to read and to do simple. work in numbers.
The method of learning to read is as follows : His attention is called to some common objects and their names written for him upon the black-board. He learns to recognize the words and to speak them. He learns the sounds represented by the letters of the alphabet and by combinations of letters. He learns short sentences made from the words he knows. Then he is given a book containing similar words and sentences. He reads several such books the first year. The last of the year he learns the alphabet ; learns to spell his words ; learns to write them upon the board and later to draw them in large hand upon paper. By the end of the fourth year he reads and writes readily.
He takes up mathematics ; practices counting in various ways ; learns to measure quantity, to construct, compare, separate and
9
estimate ; learns by the end of the fourth year the facts and processes of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Thus in the first four years of school a foundation is laid upon which the later structure may be reared. That this foundation should be well laid without haste or waste is very important. The successful accomplishment of these aims implies a high degree of culture, training and skill on the part of the teacher. A high school teacher may bungle in method without the far reaching re- sults which would follow from a similar blunder in the primary school. The public is coming to demand teachers of culture and training in the primary grades and is willing to pay for them.
I found the first and second year classes in this town in advance of similar grades in many other towns, in reading and number, while the intermediate grades were in many cases below the usual standard. Our intermediate grades teachers are on the whole as good as the primary teachers, and the cause for the poor grade of intermediate work must be sought for elsewhere. There is a tend- ency to hurry the children in the first year or two. They are put immediately upon entering school at five years of age, or un- der, upon the intensive study of reading and arithmetic to the neglect of the development of their powers of observation, imag- ination and expression. The result of this haste, or wrong order of instruction, is seen later on in the arrested progress of the in- termediate grades. When I consulted the primary teachers con- cerning a change in the course, they replied that, unless the usual ground were covere , parents would think their children were not learning anything. This is another illustration of the fact that the schools of a community are what the people demand.
According to the regulations of the Board, children are first admitted to school at the age of four years, eight months. Many are sent at this tender age. The first grade work of the course of study is designed for children of six years of age, consequently in most of the first-year rooms there is a sub-primary division, to which work suitable for these little ones is given. In some buildings there are enough of these small people to fill a room.
GRAMMAR WORK.
The work of the primary grades well done, the pupil readily grasps the requirements of the grammar school. In the early years of the grammar school he continues his language study and
10
follows the oral with the written expression of thought. In pen- manship he has learned the correct forms of the letters and is ready to acquire the freedom of the arm and muscular movements. The drill of the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth years should pro- duce rapid, legible penmanship. He writes short compositions and friendly and business letters ; drills upon spelling, oral and written ; enlarges his knowledge of literature and memorizes choice selections ; drills upon expression in oral delivery ; learns facts of geography and history, and drills upon mathematical processes for accuracy and facility. In the upper grammar grades he begins to see the relations of words, to reason more clearly in mathematics, to look for cause and effect in science and history, to feel the spirit in literature and to see the beautiful in nature and in art.
Are we achieving these ideals in the grammar grades ? It must be confessed that in many things we fall short of our possibilities. Our grammar school graduates often fail in accuracy and facility in arithmetic, in the ability to spell and to express themselves in simple, correct English. Many have not acquired a taste for good reading; they have no methods of research when they desire information, and too few have realized those two important factors in any person's success in life, the habit of hard work and sturdy integrity of character.
It is quite possible to strengthen these weak places, and next year's report may note improvement in this direction.
HIGH SCHOOL WORK.
In Weymouth a comparatively large percentage of the students are found in the high school. The State average is between eight and nine per cent. of the total enrollment. In September 1903, our high school contained over eleven per cent. ; the grammar grades, fifth to ninth years inclusive, over forty-two per cent. ; and the primary grades over forty-six per cent. of our total en- rollment.
The high school student's work is a continuation of his previous study, ever enlarging in scope and deepening in content, thus demanding closer application and increased mental power. Pre- vious to this time his work in any one year has been mainly under the direction of a single teacher ; now he recites to several
11
each day. He is thrown more upon his own resources in the pre- paration of his lessons. The ninth year has prepared him in some measure for this, while the tenth year teachers realize that he is not yet able to work with the independence of a later year.
In the high school the student is called upon to select his work from a list of possible subjects.
Tastes, ability and plans for the future should be the guide in this selection of courses. If possible he should decide upon what he would like to do after graduation from the high school, whether it is to be home, business, college, technical or normal school, and if one of the higher institutions of learning, which one. If this is settled at the outset, he can bend his energies toward a definite preparation, and so save time.
WEYMOUTH HIGH SCHOOL-PLAN OF WORK.
GRADE X, 'FIRST YEAR.
GRADE XI, SECOND YEAR.
GRADE XII, THIRD YEAR
GRADE XIII, FOURTH YEAR.
English required. Elect three additional courses.
English required. Elect three additional courses.
English required. Elect three additional courses.
English required. Elect three additional courses. 1. Mathemat- § Trigonometry. ics IV. \SolidGeometry.
1. Mathemat-
ics I.
Algebra, ele. 1. Mathematics II. Geometry. 1. Mathematics III. Review.
2. Science I. Physics, ele.
2.
Science II.
Chemistry, ele.
2.
Science
Physiology
2.
Science § Advance Chemis-
IVa.
try and Physics.
III. Botany.
3. History I. Ancient.
3.
History II. Mediæval.
3. History III. English.
3. Science IVb. Physiography. United States. 12
---
{ Commercial
Arithmetic.
Commercial
4.
Business II.
Bookkeeping.
4. Business y Stenography. 4. History IV. Civil Goverment.
III. Typewriting.
5. English III.
6.
Latin III.
6.
English IVb. College.
7. Latin IV.
8. French III.
9. German II.
Banking.
10. Business IV. Stenography. Typewriting.
6. Latin I.
6.
Latin II.
7. French I.
7. French II.
8. German I.
5. English IVa. Literature.
5.
English I.
Geography. 5. English II.
4.
Business I.
13
The preceding plan of high school work was adopted during the past year .
It is largely elective. A student may make his own selection of the required amount within the limits of the daily program and subject to the approval of the principal. Courses in stenography, typewriting and German have been introduced. The business subjects are so arranged that in four years the student may grad- uate well grounded in general business principles, with the power to express himself in good English and with a working knowledge of French or German. German and French are both required for entrance to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At present there are sixteen Greek students in the high school, in three classes, requiring over half the time of one teacher to in- struct. The colleges now offer beginners' Greek, and it would seem better for the few desiring that study to begin it in college and relieve the high school of an expensive task.
No claim is advanced that the above course is perfect. Im- provements will be made as the need for them appears. The great merit of an elective course is that it gives the students the oppor- tunity to get from the school what they need, or, in other words, such a course aims to make the school of more service to the in- dividual student. An elective course offers an excellent oppor- tunity for special work. A number of pupils have come in during the year for special work, and one for post graduate work.
The New England College Entrance Certificate Board has given our high school the privilege of granting entrance certificates to Amherst, Bowdoin, Dartmouth, Tufts, Mount Holyoke, Smith and Wellesley colleges, and to Brown, Wesleyan and Boston Universities. A special certificate privilege has been received from Vassar College.
Weymouth High School graduates to the number of forty-eight are now students in higher institutions of learning, distributed as follows : Boston University 10, Tufts 7, Massachusetts Insti- tute of Technology 6, Dartmouth 5, Bridgewater Normal 5, Mt. Holyoke 3, Harvard 2, Brown 2, Simmons 2, Colorado College 1, Vassar 1, Wellesley 1, Wesleyan 1, Boston Normal 1, Wheel- ock's Kindergarten Training 1.
Weymouth alumni who have graduated from college or techni- cal school are not included in the above enumeration.
.
14
HIGH SCHOOL STATISTICS.
SCHOOL.
Graduated from Grammar School June, 1903.
Entered High School Sept., 1903.
Total Graduated.
Total Entered.
Athens
7
17
6
12
24
18
Bates
12
4
8
3
16
11
Franklin
21
15
17
11
36
28
Hunt
9
19
6
13
28
19
Pratt
6
4
6
4
Shaw
5
3
4
3
8
7
Not inc'd in above
3
4
7
118
94
Average age of class entering the High School Sept., 1903,
SUMMARY OF ENROLLMENT FOR PAST SIX YEARS.
YEAR.
First Year Class.
Fourth Year Class.
Total Enrollment.
1898-1899
92
36
267
1899-1900
91
44
247
1900-1901
77
36
228
1901-1902
101
39
239
1902-1903
103
33
252
1903-1904
94
36
254
The school, with the approval of the teachers, has adopted the following regulations governing the membership of athletic teams :
ARTICLE I. Any marked breach of discipline may, in the judgment of the teachers, be sufficient cause for removing one's name from the list of eligible players.
Boys.
Girls.
Boys.
Girls.
15
ART. II. No pupil in the school shall be deprived of his mem- bership on any school team previous to the first bi-monthly report, except under Article I.
ART. III. A failure to maintain a general scholarship of 70 % for any month, beginning October 1, shall remove one's name from the list of eligible players.
ART. IV. Any pupil's name once removed from the list for failure to maintain an average of 70% may be re-entered upon the list of eligible players at the end of the first month during which he has attained such a rank.
ART. V. By a special vote of the teachers a condition may be removed before the end of the month.
Other regulations provide that the manager and treasurer shall . be selected from among the teachers.
While the high school bends its energies towards fitting the students for higher institutions, it should not neglect the primary object of all schools supported at public expense, that of training its charge in good citizenship. From the fourteenth to the eighteenth year inclusive is a period of radical change in the mental and physical attributes of the individual. The people with whom he has most to do, those to whom he looks for instruc- tion and inspiration, have it in their power to determine which sort of the youth's latent instincts, the evil or the good, shall come to the fore, and so give the bent to his whole future career. It is pre-eminently the opportunity of the high school to mould man- ners and to develop character. How very important, then, that the high school teachers should be men and women of broad sympathies, true refinement, high ideals and liberal culture.
This brief outline of school work will serve to give a birdseye view of what the schools are attempting to do. Every normal child should complete the grammar course and every child of av- erage ability should graduate from the high school. Boys espe- cially, in these days of progress in trade and industry, and when broad citizenship is more than ever demanded by the Republic, should obtain, at least, a high school education.
In addition to what has already been said of the general work, a few words in regard to music and drawing may be of interest.
16
MUSIC.
Our system of music is one of the latest published. It is used in Boston, Worcester, Brockton, Holyoke, Lynn, Newton, Quincy and a hundred other of the towns and cities of Massachusetts. In the lower grades the work seems to be moving smoothly, but above the sixth grade the results are disappointing. One of the causes for this condition in the grammar grades is the fact that the pupils' voices are changing and their uncertainty of tone ren- ders them timid in expression. In the high school only one lesson a week, and that devoted wholly to chorus practice, is insufficient to keep the voices in training, not to mention any advance in musical kmowledge.
* DRAWING AND MANUAL TRAINING.
The supervisor of drawing, Miss Annie A. Robinson, gives two days each week to the work in Weymouth. Two lessons are given in the high school, including mechanical and free-hand drawing. These classes number about fifty pupils. The fifty rooms below the high school eachi receive a lesson from Miss Rob- inson about once in three weeks. In addition, the regular teacher gives two lessons a week. Miss Robinson holds a meeting each week after school for the instruction of the teachers, one in each section of the town each month.
The results in drawing are very satisfactory. This is especial- ly true in those rooms where the regular teacher has had training in drawing herself, or lacking that, is willing to prepare herself to carry out the supervisor's instructions.
The object of teaching drawing is not to make artists any more than the aim in teaching reading and writing is to produce writers of books. If a child gets the power of observation, the ability to express his thought by a drawing, he has gained a 'new language and increased his brain capacity: Drawing enters into all the trades. A man is a better bricklayer or carpenter if he can sketch a plan of what he has in his head. Some people earn a living by drawing, and if a child finds through the work in school that he has a talent for drawing, so much the better. How much richer is a human soul if he can appreciate the beauty which the Creator
* The cover design of the school report is by Eva L. Dunbar of the high school.
17
has lavished upon the earth ! It helps him to be happy, and to be happy makes for righteousness and content and good citizenship.
Drawing is a kind of manual training. It is believed by wise people that any country to be a leader among the nations of the earth during the twentieth century must excel in industrial and commercial pursuits.
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