USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Town annual report of Weymouth 1963 > Part 26
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The behavior of a child is his reaction to experiences and stressing situations. To deal with behavior is but to treat symptoms. To get to the cause of the behavior is all important and is not a simple procedure. It often involves intensive, long-range treatment in a clinical situation. In such cases, the counselor assists the family in making the necessary arrange- ments and then co-operates with the agency of clinic which accepts the child and his problem.
To assist the guidance counselor, principals, and teachers in a better understanding of problem behavior, we have had from the South Shore Mental Health Center the services of two mental health consultants one day a week. The South Shore Mental Health Center has kept the counselor informed of the status of children who have been referred for treatment. The counselor serves as a means of communication between the school and clinic.
Special Classes
The school psychologist is responsible for the testing, screening and placement of those children recommended and found eligible for special education.
Trainable Classes
Thirteen children are enrolled in each of the two classes located in the Pingree and Nash Schools. Seven of these children were newly enrolled in September. Four had attended the nursery school for retarded children sponsored by the mental health center. One had attended a local parochial school, one had been enrolled in a Weymouth school and one came as a trans- fer from Boston. To fulfill the state requirement that these children be eval- uated every second year, individual testing was done.
Educable Classes
Sixty-five children have been enrolled in the classes now housed in the newly renovated building at the rear of the East Junior High School. Twenty- two were new entrants in September. Two are transfers from St. Coletta's in Braintree, six from Boston, one each from Hingham and Brockton. Trans- ferred from regular classes in the Weymouth Public Schools are three from Grade 6, one from Grade 3, three from Grade 2, two from Grade 1 and three from Trainapie Classes. Conferences were held with the parents of these children prior to placement in these special classes. During the school year twelve children left the class because of change in residence or to go to work.
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To fulfill state regulations pertaining to Special Class Education, indi- vidual mental ability tests, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, were administered. Achievement tests were given to the children in small groups and individually to those children who were unable to work effectively in a group setting.
A reorganization of the program for the young children was made possible this year with the change in housing and with the availability of better transpor- tation. Until this year, children truly eligible for the Educable Classes were maintained in the regular classroom until they became capable of traveling on the bus with the high school children to the high school where the special classes were located. The purchase of the two carry-alls and the provisions of a class- room equipped to meet the needs of younger children have enabled us to place in the special classes at an earlier age those children who, through no fault of their own, are unable to meet with satisfaction the demands of the regular classroom. The children who make up this beginning class are children who are functioning at a readiness level or achieving at Grade 1 level.
Census of Emotionally Upset Children
The Division of Special Education requires an annual census of those children who are considered to be moderately to severely emotionally dis- turbed as established by competent psychiatric evaluation. Some of these children are in attendance in regular classes and modifications have been made in their programs. Others are taught at home by the home teacher. Some are taught part-time in school and part-time in the home. Others are receiving their education in a residential school placement equipped to meet their needs. All are receiving treatment.
Testing Program
The guidance counselor is responsible for the elementary testing program -- its administration and interpretation.
I Group Mental Ability administered in 1963
January 1963
1
Pintner Cunningham
1016
113
February 1963
1
Otis Alpha
925
107
February 1963
2
Otis Alpha
818
106
February 1963
3
Otis Alpha
814
104
February 1963
4
Otis Beta
829
109
February 1963
5
Otis Beta
889
111
February 1963
6
Otis Beta
777
112
February 1963
7 Otis Beta
831
110
February 1963
8
Otis Beta
827
109
The Otis Tests were administered by the classroom teachers as part of the equating program described in the report of the Director of Instruction.
II Individual Mental Ability Tests
Individual tests were given to:
a. determine eligibility for special class placement
b. re-evaluate children enrolled in special class
c. secure additional information on those children who score low in group tests
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d. obtain diagnostic information on children presenting learning or emotional difficulties
e. determine ability of those children new to the school system and for whom there was little or no transfer information
III Group Achievement Tests
In April 1963 the Stanford Achievement Test was administered by the classroom teachers to all children in Grades 1-8. Because the results of these tests were to be used in an equating program, no further report has been made on the scores attained.
In May and June the Iowa Test of Basic Skills was administered in Grades 3-6.
Grade III: Actual Grade Level 3. 8 (eighth month of third grade). Number tested 930. Median Score 4. 5, (viz., middle of 4th grade)
Grade IV: Iowa Basic Skills, number tested 926. Actual Grade Level 4. 8. Median Score 5. 3 (5 months above norm)
Grade V: Iowa Basic Skills, number tested 914. Actual Grade Level 5.8. Median Score 7. 0 (1 year and 2 months above norm)
Grade VI: Iowa Test of Basic Skills, number tested 852. Actual Grade Level 6. 8. Median Score 7. 7 (9 months above norm)
Readiness Tests
All children of the same chronological age are not equally ready or equally mature at the same time for the same learning experiences. Each child has his own rate of growth and pattern of growth. He may not be equally mature in all aspects of growth -- he may be mature in motor skills and immature in language skills. The more closely the school experiences relate to the readiness and maturity of the child the greater the satisfaction and success he experiences and the faster the learning will take place.
Readiness is essential at all levels but is of the utmost importance during the initial experiences. Children entering Grade 1 differ greatly in the degree of readiness for school. Some child en come with rich experien- tial backgrounds, secure in the skills and abilities necessary for success in school. Others come less well-prepared and are in need of a development- al readiness program.
The Metropolitan Reading Readiness Test was administered early in September 1963 to all children in Grade 1. This test measures those factors considered to be essential for success in the first learning experiences; the results were as follows:
Number tested: 997
Readiness status: Superior 72, High Average 280, Average 405, Low Average 208, Poor Risk 32.
Superior: well prepared to begin school work
High Average: good risk for Grade 1 provided other indications such as health, emotional factors are consistent
Average: likely to succeed in Grade 1. Study should be made
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of strength and weaknesses and instruction planned accordingly
Low Normal: likely to have difficulty in first grade work. Should be given much individual help
Poor Risk: chances of failure are high. Individualized work is essential. Experience background needs to be enriched.
The thirty-two children in the Poor Risk group are being measured in- dividually to determine whether their minimum degree of readiness is due to lack of ability, lack of experience, delayed emotional or delayed neurological development. Revisions in curriculum and teaching techniques are being ex- plored by the Director and Assistant Director of Instruction to adequately meet the needs of these children, to provide for them at their level of maturity, to encourage them and give them opportunities for success at their level.
6. ADJUSTMENT COUNSELOR
Fifty-four children were referred for adjustment counseling during the year. Of this number, nineteen were referred and received or are receiving help through services outside of school. These services include South Shore Mental Health Center, Quincy Division of Boston Family Service, Protestant Social Service Bureau, New England Home for Little Wanderers, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Massachusetts Welfare Department Division of Child Guardianship.
Thirty-five children were seen at varying intervals, throughout the year by the counselor and home visits were made in all cases. Consultations with teachers and principals were also held at frequent intervals. Weekly group discussion meetings, with a total of eleven mothers, were conducted through June of 1963. Success in varying degrees was noted in all of their children. Several mothers wished to continue through the school year of 1964, finding that mutual discussion of common problems was helpful. A limited number of meetings are to be arranged with new members added for the present year.
The emphasis in Weymouth on early detection of children with problems inhibiting natural growth and development in school has been markedly success- ful. Alert teachers, principals and other school personnel have shown initiative and understanding in distinguishing between children who need special help and those presenting momentary lapses in adjustment to school.
Identifying these children, however, has far exceeded existing services to help them. Many of them will swell the already large number of school drop-outs or add their names to the long list of court cases. During the year January through December 1963, seventy-seven Weymouth children were in Quincy District Court on charges of drunkenness, assault, larceny, breaking and entering and others. Traditional community services, already taxed be- yond their capacity, are of little help to these children and their families. Handicapped by disorganized home lives, they are in no less need of special school service than children with other infirmities. Their need continues to be one of direct, personal and - most important - continuing professional re- lationship by trained workers who understand their problems in school.
In June 1963, Mr. John Johnston successfully completed his field work training in Weymouth as a partial requirement toward his Master's Degree
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from the Boston University School of Social Work. His thesis, a comparative study of Weymouth and Newton Counseling programs, won honors in his class. In September 1963, the Boston College School of Social Work selected Weymouth schools as a field placement for graduate study. A second year graduate student, Miss Cynthia Searles, has been assigned nine cases for her three days a week field work. Weekly supervision by the adjustment counselor and two semester progress reports on field work are required for her degree in social work.
The counselor has been active throughout the year with programs sponsored by Boston University School of Social Work, with the executive committee of the School Social Work Section, National Association of Social Work and as chairman of an institute "Mental Health Programs in School Settings" at the 1963 Massachusetts Conference on Social Welfare. Much current thinking in the help- ing professions deals with interventions at moments of crisis, helping the culturally deprived, and consultation with key people in the community by trained Mental Health Consultants. The counselor has attended weekly seminars at the Harvard School of Public Health where "Principles of Preventative Psychiatry" have been presented by Dr. Gerald Caplan, Psychiatrist and Director of the Community Health Program at Harvard. His "Model for Primary Prevention" is producing much interest in the professions of psychiatry, psychology and social work. These and other techniques to help children and families are of particular significance for any school counseling programs.
7. AUDIO-VISUAL INSTRUCTION
The Department of Audio-visual Instruction of the Weymouth Public Schools has completed the first full year in its new location in the new Weymouth High School building. This first year has been the most challenging, rewarding, and frustrating period in the department's seventeen years of existence.
Why Challenging ? In addition to almost daily visitation by outside people, the center has been deluged by requests for instructional materials from teachers and pupils far in excess of the most optimistic expectations. Meeting these demands creates a most stimulating and challenging experience in the operation of the center.
Why Rewarding? The new Instructional Materials Center has exceeded an- ticipated results in nearly every respect. The center has been the object of admiration by visiting educators from all areas of New England, the general public, local teachers and students. The new facilities have provided impetus for a greater variety of requests from teachers and students alike which could never have been possible in our previous quarters. It has proven to be all that we expected-and then some!
Why Frustrating? Even without the use of our closed-circuit television studio (except in a very limited way as indicated later in this report), demands on the center have already exceeded the ability of the current personnel to satisfactorily meet them. For example, the encouraging recent trend toward regular classroom use of the overhead projector has brought along the equally discouraging problem of creating and producing large amounts of transparent slide materials. The amount of this type of "new" activity has so increased that even with our additional full-time assistant we are barely able to meet current needs. There is frustratingly little time available to devote to broader aspect of the audio-visual program which are essential to continued successful educational growth.
399
The National Defense Educational Act of 1958 has continued to be a major factor in the strengthening of mathematics, science and foreign languages through the acquisition and use of the newer media of communications. The administrators of the Act delivered public education a serious blow when they ruled this year that educational television equipment did not qualify for reimbursement as had been anticipated.
Constant evaluations are being made of such rapidly developing areas as programmed learning, educational television, both open- and closed-circuit, multi-size group instruction and team-teaching. These "newer" trends offer much to the future educational pattern and the best of each area is being in- corporated into the Weymouth educational program as its value becomes apparent.
As the audio-visual program concludes its seventeenth year of providing instructional services to the pupils and teachers of the Weymouth Public Schools, the following highlights should be noted:
1. Central sound-film and filmstrip libraries have been expanded to 270 and 2,950 separate titles, respectively, with an additional 600 duplicate film- strip titles available. Of the 50 new film titles added this year, 40 have been purchased as the start of a co-operative film library with the Braintree Public Schools. Also, Weymouth has continued to be selected as a permanent-loan repository for more than 185 outstanding sound-films from industry. The In- structional Materials Center makes available to all teachers more than 500 records and pre-recorded tapes. The records are of such a nature as to pre- clude their being required on an individual building basis. Expansion of these facilities is enabling the department to better meet the requirements of all good teaching: "The right material, at the right place, at the right time. "
2. A sound-film catalog supplement was issued to each teacher at the elementary and secondary levels. However, this area continues to require extensive revision and curriculum correlation on a scale that suggests the need for a summer workshop project.
3. In-service training was conducted on a continuing basis both with school audio-visual co-ordinators, individual teachers, and groups of teachers as the need was indicated or requested. With the opening of the new Instructional Materials Center intensive in-service training programs on the use of the new facilities were also conducted for all departments in the high school and vocational school.
4. Student training was continued this year with the qualifying and li- censing of nearly three hundred students to operate sound projectors and other audio-visual tools. In addition, the department has worked closely with the Tufts Library and other outside agencies in a training and ad- visory capacity.
5. Educational television via the 21-INCH CLASSROOM, WGBH-TV Channel 2, was continued for the sixth year. In grades 1 through 6 an ex- panded program provided enrichment experiences in the following areas: SCIENCE-ALL ABOUT YOU, Grade 1; PHONICS-SOUNDS TO SAY, Grade 2; SCIENCE-NEIGHBORHOOD EXPLORERS, Grade 2; FOLK MUSIC AND DANCE, Grade 2; LITERATURE, Grade 3; SCIENCE-LAND AND SEA, Grade 3; SCIENCE-SPACE AROUND US, Grade 4; WONDER OF WORDS, Grades 3 and 4; PARLONS FRANCAIS, French for Grades 5 and 6;
400
EXPLORING NATURE, Grade 5; PHYSICAL SCIENCE, Grade 6; and MATH- EMATICS for elementary teachers; at the junior high-senior high level the following programs were available for use: ACCENT ON MUSIC, SCIENCE SPECIALS, SCIENCE-SURVIVAL IN THE SEA, FOCUS (World Affairs), THE HUMANITIES (English, Grade 11), ACTION AT LAW, PRACTICAL POLITICS AND SHAKESPEARE.
Effectiveness of these programs is maintained by regular submission of teacher evaluations and critical suggestions to the television studio. Im- proved quality of both the T-V lesson and the detailed lesson plans supplied each teacher have assured a bright future for this powerful educational medium. Parents are offered an opportunity to observe, study, and work with their children in each televised area since all programs thus far are "open"-channel and available to all who may wish to view them. Above all, television continues to demonstrate that it may cure at least two common ills of education: the lack of sufficient numbers of truly outstanding teachers and the lack of an adequate supply of instructional materials.
6. Closed-circuit television facilities have been built into the new Weymouth High School but the television studio and control room have not yet been equipped because of insufficient funds. The resultant delay in op- eration of the television studio has had a serious effect on the educational potential of the new school. All plans for use this year have been scrapped or postponed to the 1964-65 school year. However, using inadequate, make- shift equipment a new closed-circuit television station was created on Tues- day, October 22, 1963, when WNSH-TV, Channel 13, went "on the air" for three experimental periods of film showing. Despite inferior quality of production, classroom teachers were enthusiastic about the present results and future prospects. Since this initial program, WNSH-TV has produced twelve programs of which ten have been film and two have been "live. " The following summary of the station's activity indicates the potential value of such a communication medium even when it is considered in this present, very limited use :
Program
No. Periods
No. Teachers
No. Students
Science (Live)
2
6
130
Science (Sound-FS)
2
2
42
Soc. Studies (Film)
38
27
3,403
42
35
3,575
The success of this initial use has helped to dispel any question con- cerning the value and need for closed-circuit television, but it is equally ap- parent that adequate equipment is essential to the continued effective use of the facility. Of the productions listed above, four were performed experi- mentally. All others were produced via our present inadequate television station only because this was the sole means by which all of the classes could have studied the films requested.
7. Weymouth High School's two language laboratories have continued to function in the dual role of successful learning areas and the focal point of many visitors from other school systems where laboratories were to be installed. Weymouth now has a total of sixty positions in the two laboratories, eighteen of which are "all-purpose" booths in that they allow for both
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listen-respond and record-playback activities. After the fourth full year of operation, language teachers continue to be encouraged in student attitudes and achievement. Reports from students now enrolled in college rarely fail to specifically mention the valuable help of the laboratory in their language preparation.
8. The Instructional Materials Center has continued to preview and evaluate programmed learning materials (also commonly called teaching machines or automated teaching) in such fields as: English (elementary and junior high), arithmetic, algebra, plane geometry, solid geometry, trigonom- etry, music and basic science. Some of these areas show promise of effec- tive results using this medium. However, more study and experimentation is strongly urged before any major change to automated teaching is undertaken as the prime method of instruction.
9. The Instructional Materials Center has been particularly active in the development of a pilot program in connection with first grade arithmetic and the use of the overhead projector. Completed sets of transparencies for each of five elementary schools are being produced from the basic text which will then become supplementary to the transparencies themselves. Early indications from this experiment lead to the conclusion that all first grades should be supplied with this material for the next school year.
10. On October 30, Weymouth was host to the Fifth Annual State Audio-Visual Conference. Over 250 superintendents, principals, audio- visual directors, co-ordinators and teachers enjoyed a tour of Weymouth High School and four inspirational addresses on the theme, "The Challenge of Change in Education. 11
11. As in the past two years, The Instructional Materials Center has been operating unofficially on an eleven-month basis. This year a portion of the office was also used as headquarters for the summer school.
12. Once again, note should be taken of the fact that Weymouth can point with pride to the completion of the light control program. This means that each of our classrooms may now function as a completely individual learning area for whatever type of teaching may be most effective.
13. During the year the Director participated in many state-wide and regional conferences and served as chairman of two standing committees on standards and school building facilities which have been of particular significance to Weymouth and the total effectiveness of the audio-visual services offered. He also served as President of the Massachusetts Film Library Co-operative and as a member of the Massachusetts Audio-visual Advisory Committee.
These are some of the major developments in the seventeenth year of operation of the Department of Audio-visual Instruction in its endeavor to provide the best services to the most teachers and pupils for their greatest possible success. The Director is most appreciative of the new quarters and possibilities provided in the new high school building and wishes to thank all teachers, co-ordinators, principals and administrators who con- tributed so much of their time and talent toward making them effective.
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8. HANDWRITING
The excellent handwriting product that has been forthcoming in Weymouth schools is due to a number of factors:
1. Teachers and pupils have been supplied with the necessary instruction- al and motivational materials.
2. All new teachers in the system are carefully trained in the basic philosophy of teaching handwriting.
3. The handwriting of the pupils is carefully diagnosed at regular in- tervals and a report is sent to each teacher for remedial purposes.
4. Motivational devices are used as needed to indicate the median hand- writing score in each room in order to keep the pupils and teachers informed of the degree of achievement that has been attained.
The program as it currently operates makes it possible to have careful direction of the program in addition to the necessary instructional materials. This is provided at a fraction of the cost of employing a full time handwriting supervisor and then purchasing the necessary instructional materials.
At the close of the last school year records indicate that 87% of the pupils scored excellent, 5% scored good, 8% were fair and no% were poor on the formal handwriting test. It was found in checking the informal handwriting that there had been excellent transfer in handwriting quality to spelling, arithmetic, English composition, etc.
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