USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Town annual report of Weymouth 1905 > Part 16
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. The way to get the best value from teachers is by giving them opportunity and appreciation. The town or city that does the most for its teachers is the one which has the best schools. More people have failed in this world from lack of appreciation than of any one thing. Every teacher worthy the name ought to be given one year off in every seven for study, rest and travel. Any town adopting such a plan would be able to retain good teachers much longer in its service and the efficiency of the schools would be increased thereby a hundred fold.
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SALARIES OF TEACHERS.
If the town expects to retain the best teachers possible, long in its employ then it must increase the salaries. The town may feel that it is not in a financial condition that would warrant such action, but can it afford not to do so? I think it is not a question of dollars and cents but what is best for the boys and girls, what is best for the schools. I would recommend that the following salary schedule be adopted to go into effect next September :
High School Principal a minimum salary of $1,400, with a maximum of $1,800. Submaster, a minimum salary of $800, with a maximum of $1,000. Science, a minimum salary of $800, with a maximum of $1,000. Assistants, a minimum salary of $600, with a maximum of $800. Grammar School Principals, a minimum salary of $900, with a maximum of $1,000. Grades one to eight inclusive, a minimum salary of $400, with a maxi- mum of $550.
The adoption of such a schedule would do more to improve the schools of Weymouth than any other one thing that conld be done.
THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
It seems to me that a saving of time and money could be se- cured if the whole school system were made a twelve instead of a thirteen years course. By making the kindergarten a part of the system, by allowing the child to enter the first grade only after he or she had reached the age of six years, and by cutting out the ninth grade the change could be easily brought about. I would do away with the grammar school graduation and diploma and so help the pupils and parents feel that there was no break or stop- ping place till the end of the High School course is reached. This plan would mean a great saving of money for the town as well as for the pupils. It would also give that time for growth and development that is now spent in the ninth grade in the pre- paration for graduation, and bring more pupils into the High School thus increasing the efficiency of the citizens.
I think that most of the towns and cities in the state have only eight years below the High School whether they have the kinder- garten or not. I have suggested the kindergarten as it is in line with the best educational thought of the day. If it is not pos- sible to have that adjunct at present let us make the change to
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eight grades below the High School and then prefix the kinder- garten when there is a demand for it on the part of the citizens.
COURSE OF STUDY.
At the close of the schools in June the teachers expressed a wish for a new " course of study" I felt the need should be sup- plied if we were to accomplish the best results. So after much deliberation and study during the summer vacation, a "course " was planned. Typewritten copies of this were placed in the hands of every teacher at the first teachers' meeting held in Sep- tember. This " course " is being followed as closely as it is con- sistent for the good of the school. The best interest of the pupil is the thing sought. Changes are being made from time to time as the conditions and ability of the pupils require so that at the end of this school year we ought to have a " course of study " well adapted to the needs of the Weymouth Schools. This should be printed during the summer together with the revised " course " for the high school.
TEXT BOOKS.
Owing to the worn out and soiled condition of many of the textbooks we have been obliged to have many new books. Ex- changes have been made in language books, spelling books and arithmetics so that in these three branches we have new books.
Quite a number of new reading books have been purchased and many more will be needed next year if we expect to make our pupils good intelligent readers.
Algebra is being studied in the ninth grade this year for the first time which will tend to help the pupils to secure a better understanding of their arithmetic and also save them much valua- ble time after they reach the high school.
In the use of supplies we are practising economy in every way possible so that I think we can reduce our expenditures in that direction a good deal another year.
The teachers are making every effort to keep the textbooks in a clean wholesome condition. To assist in this work each school has been supplied with paper towels and soap so that the pupils may have clean hands and faces while in the school rooms. There is one other thing that might be done to keep the books clean and that is to purchase the Holden Book Covers for all the
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pupils' books and then at the end of each year the old cover can be replaced with a new one. These covers cost about two cents each and I think they save more than that in the increased service of the book.
MUSIC.
Music is one of the branches of the school work that is often neglected because so many of us fail to see the importance attached thereto. What use will it ever do to my boy or girl is the question so often asked. It does more to promote happiness and bring out the best there is in us than any other study. Too many children have been excused from singing here in Weymouth for the past six or eight years for us to be securing satisfactory: results. Every one is supposed to sing now and we predict that with the adoption of the Weaver System of instruction a great gain will be made in this important study. The underlying: principal of the Weaver System is individual independence in sight singing. Instruction in staff notation with individual! sight reading is begun in the first grade and continued until the- child reaches the high school. While individual series is intro- duced only as fast as grades are ready for it, individual work is constantly going on, so that the pupil soon becomes as accus- tomed to sing alone as to read alone, and in many cases considers it a special privilege. Special attention is given to rote songs and the greatest care is taken that the child is kept alive to the aesthetic as well as to the technical side of the music. This system is being used in one or two of the grades this year and next year I trust that it will be inade the basic principle of all the work in music.
There is plenty of material in our high school to develop a first class chorus, glee club, and orchestra which would not only be a delight and an inspiration to the students there, but it would inspire the boys and the girls in the grades to do their best, so that when they become members of the high school they might secure a place in the glee club or orchestra.
The report of the supervisor, Mr. Sidelinger, will be found in the appendix which will bear your careful reading.
DRAWING.
Drawing is one of the most important branches of the school curriculum and Weymouth has good reason to be proud of the
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work being done by the pupils of the public schools. In the public contests this year our pupils have had their share of awards. It is with deep regret on the part of all concerned that Miss Hackett, who has had charge of the drawing for the past two years, has decided to accept a more lucrative position elsewhere. What is Weymouth's loss is Boston's gain. It has been due to Miss Hackett's personality and inspiration that the pupils and regular teachers have been able to accomplish such splendid work. For a more detailed account of this subject I refer you to the report of the supervisor which is found in the appendix.
I trust that the day is not far distant when all the children of Weymouth may receive instruction in some form of Industrial Work, of which drawing is the foundation, and thus this line of development be carried to completion.
Weaving, rafia work, basketry, sewing, bench work, and gar- dening are are as essential to the all round development of our boys and girls as geography and arithmetic. I am very glad the children in wards four and five are receiving instruction along some of these lines at the present time. Our beartiest thanks are due those parties who are making it possible for this work to be carried on in those schools there.
HIGH SCHOOL.
The town has a right to be proud of its High School and the work being done there. The school is in a very satisfactory con- dition and with two or three changes in the curriculm excellent results can be secured and boys and girls may be as well fitted for college or for life work as any where in the state. I think that more time should be given to the study of English and that more studies be required each year leaving fewer elective studies. If the Commercial Course is to serve the best interests of the town the old Manhattan typewriters in use there snould be exchanged for some modern machines.
The old machines are giving much trouble and thus interfering with the efficiency of the work. The High School is the peoples college and should be made to serve the interests of all rather than the few who go to college, hence the " course of study " should be a general one with enough electives to enable the boy and girl going to college to secure the best fit possible. With the few changes suggested we shall have such a " course."
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For a more comprehensive account of the conduct of the school during the past year you are referred to the report of the Prin cipal, Mr. Sampson.
SCHOOL ROOM DECORATION.
Most of our school rooms are destitute of good pictures and those things that go to make the place look cheerful and attract- ive. For the purpose of developing a greater public interest in school room decoration and art and incidentally to secure pictures and statuary for the decoration of the school rooms, the Horace K. Turner Art Exhibit will be held, in the High School Hall, May 16-19 under the auspices of the Weymouth Public Schools.
The High School has received from the late Y. M. C. A. about $400 worth of pictures and statuary for the decoration of the Assembly Hall which is an excellent addition to the work aleady begun. A plan has been made for the complete artistic decora- tion of the whole building so whatever is done in the future may be done in harmony with what is to follow. Any one wishing to give pictures or statuary may be assisted in deciding what to give by consulting this plan.
The town is unfortunate in having so many small school houses when six or seven large ones would serve the purposes so much better in every way. If there were, besides the high school, one large building in each ward so much better results might be secured and at the same time it would be a great financial saving to the town. While that is the ideal and not to be realized for many years perhaps, yet we should work with that in view and in the mean time make the present conditions as nearly ideal as pos- sible. Only three or four of the present buildings are properly lighted or ventilated nor are they supplied with suitable toilet rooms. All these things are a menace to the moral and physicali well being of the child. They tend to tear down faster than we' can build up in the moral and ethical world of the pupils. So much depends upon the surroundings and environment of the. child whether at school or at home,
Without doubt, more school room will be required next Sep- tember, in ward two. There is no available room and a new building or addition to one of the old ones is the only solution of the problem if the children are to have suitable conditions for their proper growth and development. The Jefferson can be
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easily changed into a six room building but that will not relieve the crowded condition at the Washington where the congestion is the greatest.
It seems best for the present as well as for the future that an eight or a twelve room building be erected where the Franklin now stands or in that vicinity, and then the fifth grades from the Jefferson and Washington also the sixth grades in the Bicknell could all be accommodated in the new building and the Bicknell house and lot sold. This would be a step towards the ideal and in the following years, as soon as possible, the Bates and Hunt should be replaced with modern ten or twelve room buildiags and the other buildings in those wards disposed of. If some such plan could be adopted and every one in town work for it the whole thing might be accomplished in a few years without a great burden resting on any one.
I also recommend that the River School be closed, the children transported to the Athens and the old house and lot sold.
I would also recommend that the Pratt and Holbrook schools be closed and the children transported to Ward Five, if the new building there, mentioned above, could be built at once. This is exceedingly necessary if those pupils are to receive the best edu- cation possible. If this plan cannot be carried out then the next best thing would be to build a four room building near Lovell's Corner, which would provide for eight grades with two grades to a room.
As the grades would be very small for some time, probably, the conditions would be very favorable for good results. Much better than at present, to say the least.
We must not expect any teacher to do her best work unless we give her the best conditions possible to work under. Now no teacher can secure the best results when she has more than thirty- six pupils in a poorly lighted and poorly ventilated room and it is especially true when those thirty-six pupils are composed of more than two grades.
JANITORS.
There is no more important phase of the school work than that of the Janitor's service. To keep the school rooms in a properly heated condition, well swept and dusted is no small task. As a whole our Janitors work hard and faithfully in the performance of
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their duties and as a result most of the rooms have been kept in splendid shape. Only in one or two instances has the work been so poorly done that the matter has been called to my notice. Many compliments have reached me in regard to the splendid care at the High School, Athens and Washington, and I think that you will always find those buildings ready for inspection.
THE PUBLIC SCHOOL ASSOCIATION.
I am very glad that this town can boast of a Public School Association. It is something that every town ought to have, about which all the forces in the town might rally to support every cause that tends to promote better schools and a better civic pride. This Association is now giving its attention to assisting the School Committee in making our school yards more artistic and beautiful. Every citizen in town should become a member of this Association and help push the good work along. In union there is strength. Medical inspection of the schools by means of a physician or res- idence nurse is a good problem for this Association to solve and make practical for Weymouth. This would save much sickness and prevent the spread of any disease so that there would never arise the necessity of closing a school on account of contagion.
CONCLUSION.
In conclusion I wish to thank the citizens for their interest shown in the welfare of the schools, the teachers for their hearty co-operation, and the School Committee for its loyal and unani- mous support.
Respectfully submitted,
ABNER A. BADGER.
East Weymouth, Massachusetts, December 31, 1905.
APPENDIX.
WEYMOUTH, Dec. 31, 1905.
To the Superintendent and School Committee :
I herewith submit to you a report of the conduct of the High School for the past year, the same being my second as Principal.
From the time of my last report to the close of the school year the routine work was continued without notewerthy incident. On June 22 a class of thirty-nine pupils was graduated. At the present writing most of these have found employment in store or- office or are pursuing their studies elsewhere, represenatives. of the class being enrolled at Dartmouth, Amherst, Tufts, Boston. University, Mount Holyoke, Mass. Institute of Technology,. Bridgewater Normal School and the various business colleges in. Boston.
The registration during the present year has reached 236, divided as follows : Seniors, 46, Juniors 46, Sophomores 53, Freshmen 91.
The present Freshman class seems to possess much better stay- ing powers than did its predecessor as 83 of the 91 who entered in September are still enrolled and two, who were obliged to leave, are intending to re-enter next Sept.
If all the seniors at present enrolled maintain the required standard in scholarship, the class which graduates in June will be, I think, the largest in the history of the school.
With the graduation of this class the study of Greek will pass. from the school. Personally, I regret to see this as the classical course is, it seems to me, a valuable one both for disciplinary purposes and as a medium for entrance to college. The demands of the college increase so considerably that it is becoming difficult, under a widely elective system, to furnish the modern language equivalent without doing an injustice to the far greater number who desire a more varied course.
I wish to call the attention of the parents to the tendency on the part of pupils under an elective system to choose a course
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requiring the minimum of effort, to the detriment of their mental development.
In this connection I quote a few lines from a recent report of the State Board of Education :
" It is generally agreed that a well ordered elective system in college is desirable but if it is to be extended to the high school it should be carefully guarded. It is liable to become the means of avoiding education rather than obtaining it.
"The beginnings of all subjects are easy. It should never be possible for a pupil to drop a study before he has met and strug- gled with its difficulties.
"No pupil should be deprived of the opportunity to secure that toughness of mental fibre which is the result of prolonged and strenuous effort."
If I seem to pupils and parents to be unjust in this matter it is because I believe that the above is sound doctrine.
There were but two changes in teachers during the vacation, . and as the school suffered no disadvantage in either case and as an additional teacher was furnished this year, the school runs more smoothly and efficiently than at the corresponding time last year.
The community seems to be manifesting a lively interest in our school room environment just at present and pupils and teachers are grateful for the recent donations which have been made and for the prospects of the gradual filling out of a systematic plan for school room decoration and the Improvement of the grounds about the building. The members of the recently disbanded Young Men's Christian Association deserve especial mention for their gift of pictures and statuary which now adorn our assembly hall.
In concluding this report, I desire to thank the citizens for their confidence, the pupils for their co-operation, the teachers for their loyalty and willingness and the superintendent and com- mittee for the hearty support accorded me on all occasions.
Respectfully submitted,
EDWIN R. SAMPSON,
Principal.
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Mr. A. A. Badger, Superintent of Schools :
DEAR SIR: In compliance with your request I submit my report for the year 1905, as director of music of the schools of Weymouth.
It is our aim to secure for the boys and girls in our school three things :
1. A love and appreciation of good music.
2. A sweet, natural voice.
3. The ability to read music.
This should be begun and carried on in the elementary grades. A systematized plan for the development of the child's voice is given to each teacher, and good results are more apparent when teachers follow the plan.
We feel that it is not too much to say that all of these results are secured in a large measure. I think it must be observed by all who are in close contact with our schools that the children are learning to read music very readily. This is the verdict of those who watch our children in the schools as well as of those who prepare them for any public singing.
With this ability to sing, great care must be exercised in train- ing and developing the voices. Our method of voice building is of such a nature that it can be put into practice with the every day drill. Children have very small yet very sweet singing voices if used as nature intended they should be.
This year more time is being given to individual singing. We have introduced the Weaver slips, each pupil from the 2nd to the 6th grade is required to stand and sing a short exercise alone. This has not been tried long enough as yet to report results.
· While I believe in individual singing I think more time should be given to oral and written dictation and melody writing, this also answers the purpose of reaching the individual. Previous to this year a plan or outline for the lesson was given out for the entire year. This year, lessons are planned two months in advance, giving each class a chance to advance according to its ability.
The work in the High School this year is nearly up to the standard. While the boys' voices are not quite as strong as in previous years, yet we feel sure that they will develop very fast with good practice.
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The High School furnished a mixed chorus of 40 voices to sing for the Grand Army on Memorial Day ; their singing was highly commended by several of our leading musicians.
We have a Glee Club of 70 volunteers who are studying Lahee's Cantata, The Building of the Ship.
There are many things that might be said, but time and space will not permit.
In closing I wish to heartily thank the Superintendent, School Committee, and the faithful teachers for their united support.
Respectfully submiited,
A. J. SIDELINGER,
Supervisor of Music.
Mr. Abner A. Badger,
Superintendent of Schools :
Herewith is presented the annual report of the work in drawing in the Weymouth schools for the year 1905.
The time given to the different departments of the work has been as follows :
September, October, November - Nature drawing and paint- ing, the study of autumn flowers, fruits and vegetables, the study of trees and landscape composition.
December, January, February - Constructive drawing, includ- ing measurements, geometric figures, working drawing, printing, and constructive design applied to practical objects.
March, April - Object drawing for the study of foreshortening and perspective principles ; animal drawing and pose drawing for the study of action and proportion.
May, June - Design from abstract units for the study of principles of rhythm, balance and harmony ; drawing and paint- ing of Spring flowers and their application to designs of practical objects.
The many different departments of the course in drawing help to make it of general benefit to every pupil as a means of culture. We do not try to educate artists only, but those who shall be trained to know that "Art consists in doing each right thing well", who can execute neatly, observe carefully, who have good taste, a desire for the beautiful, and the ability to represent it and to make beautiful objects.
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In June, 1905, an exhibition of the work of grades one to nine was given in Tufts library, Weymouth, and an exhibit of the High school work was given at the time of graduation.
The present encouraging condition of the drawing in the Weymouth schools is due to the excellence of the Weymouth teachers, and the kindness and co-operation of Superintendent, School Committee, and Citizens. I wish to express appreciation of this helpfulness, and to thank teachers and pupils for their valuable assistance and earnest and faithful work.
Respectfully, GRACE E. HACKETT.
Changes of Teachers.
RESIGNATIONS.
Month.
Name.
School and Grade.
February .
Albert Copeland .
Franklin, IX Washington, IV
March ·
Nellie L. Hollis .
.
Howe, V
March
Mabel B. Estes .
Pratt, V-VII
March
Pauline Buckminster
Bates, VIII High
June
·
Maude L. Winchester .
June
·
Marion C. Small .
June
W. C. Twieg
Rosella A. Barton ·
Grace K. Blackburn Jefferson, I
.
Florence G. Clapp
Jefferson, IV-V
George W. Chamberlain
Hunt, IX Pratt, I-IV Jefferson, II
June
Pearl Grant ·
June
M. Carrie Hart .
Tufts, I
Dec.
Grace E. Hackett .
Drawing
TRANSFERRED. Name.
Month.
School and Grade.
April
Stella L. Tirrell .
Martha J. Hawes
April June June
·
·
Ethel E. Foster
June
·
June
.
A. Loretta Cronin Mary L. Sheehy . .
Athens, VII High Athens, V-VI
June June June June June
·
·
.
Ruth E. Parkhurst
·
Pearl Grant
. Howe III-IV to Howe V . Jefferson I to Wash. IV . Athens II to Jefferson II . Athens IV to Athens VIII Jeff. I-II to Jeff. IV-V Hunt VIII to High ·
February .
Mary L. Kempton .
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APPOINTMENTS.
Month. February .
Name. Frank C. Heald .
April
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