USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wakefield > Town annual report of the officers of Wakefield Massachusetts : including the vital statistics for the year 1903-1905 > Part 56
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Report of Superintendent of Schools.
MEMBERS OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE :
I hereby submit to you my first report, it being the thir- teenth in the series of reports by the Superintendent of . Schools for this town. In submitting this report I can say but little concerning the work accomplished, as my acquaint- ance with the schools covers only a period of a few months. My time thus far has been consumed in becoming acquainted with the conditions of the schools, the work of the teachers, and forming plans for future work. Permit me to say in this connection that I found the schools and surroundings in a condition which reflects much credit upon the teachers, the committee, and the good judgment of my predecessor in the conduct of the work of the schools and in the selec- tion of teachers.
This report can deal only with the condition of the schools -the work within, the general equipment and environment, and some recommendations for the future.
A system of schools cannot be carried on year after year in the same way; this means stagnation, and stagnation in a system of schools is expensive at any price. Expenditure of money for school purposes carefully planned, which will produce good results-intelligent, moral and upright citi- zens-is not extravagance, although the amount spent is large in comparison with the whole municipal expenditure of a single town or city. This is a growing town and the increasing population necessarily increases the school population. To increase the school population, of course, there must follow an increase in school accommodations, equipment and teaching force. This brings to our attention
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SCHOOL ACCOMMODATION AND EQUIPMENT.
On the whole the general condition of our school build- ings is good. There may be one or two exceptions, and some changes might well be made. At the Hamilton build- ing there should be connection made with the sewer, in order to dispense with the unsanitary closets as now exist. This building, in such close proximity to the factory located on the next lot, is at best in a poor position for good sanita- tion. Therefore it is quite wise to take every precaution to produce satisfactory sanitary conditions.
The Prospect street building and the building at Montrose are yet provided with stoves for heating purposes. In both cases better results as to heating and ventilating might be obtained if the stoves were jacketed. This could be done at a small cost, and both teachers and pupils benefitted there- by. Another method, of course, would be to place a furnace in each building and put in a system of modern ventilation. The latter plan is the better but more expensive ; however, one or the other should be done to get rid of foul air without subjecting the children to cold drafts. Over-heated rooms especially those heated by stoves, are more than injurious to the children. It is impossible to ventilate these rooms without opening doors or windows. By this method some of the children are cold and necessarily in a draft, while others may be too warm. Whatever the teacher may do she cannot distribute the heat evenly in the room and at the same time have good ventilation. This matter needs your attention.
I would also call your attention to the crowded condition of the Lincoln school. At present every room is full and three or four are overcrowded. It will be a question at the opening of schools next September how to accommodate the pupils in the lower grades of this building. At present there are :
1st grades 71 2d . 66 58
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3d grades 58
4th
75
5th
67
6th 66 50
The numbers here given are all the building can seat com- fortably, and at the same time give accommodations to the 7th, 8th and 9th grades. It will be seen that in the regular order of promotions we shall have no room large enough to seat the pupils who will necessarily become members of the 6th grade. The grades below will be no smaller. The only alternative is to fit up a certain room on the second floor which is not very well adapted for school work, owing to the poor light. At best this will accommodate but a small number. Making this arrangement gives accommodation, poor though it may be, for one year only. It certainly will be necessary to enlarge the building, or build anew for the following year.
At the opening of school in September last it was neces- sary to transfer several pupils from grade 5 at the H. M. Warren School to the Hamilton, owing to the overflow. Another room has been furnished in the Warren building to care for extra pupils next year in this part of the town.
At the High School our building is tested to its fullest capacity. Every available space is now utilized, although some of the rooms are anything but suitable for recitation purposes. It is only a question of a few years when larger quarters must be provided. The entering class for next year will number about 125; this number is not likely to decrease, but rather to increase from year to year. En- couragement in the upper grades, bringing the High School and grammar school closer together, and broadening the High School courses have contributed to the increased at- tendance in our high schools, and has therefore given oppor- tunity to many who would never have taken it; it has come to be realized by the masses that the High School is as
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much a part of the public school system as is the grammar school, and therefore the legitimate end of a public school course ; consequently, more and more it is demanded by employers that those whom they would employ must have had at least the High School training. We must therefore, soon look to the building of a new High School in order to meet this demand.
A law was enacted during last session of the legislature which states that no schooling certificate shall be approved by any person for a minor under 16 years of age who in- tends to be employed in any factory, workshop or mercan- tile establishment, unless the said minor can read at sight and can write simple sentences in the English language and every such child under sixteen years of age who cannot read at sight and write simple sentences in the English lan- guage shall attend some public day school in the city or town in which he resides during the entire time the public day schools are in session. This law took effect Jan. 1, 1906. It was found that eight persons in Wakefield were affected; in order to give them every advantage to learn the English language as required by law, a room was provided and a teacher assigned who gives her whole time to this class. The progress made by these pupils justifies the plan.
During the fall about December 1st, Miss Jessie E. West teacher of grades 1, 2 and 3 at the Montrose School re- signed to accept a position in Chelsea at a much larger sal- ary. The Committee concluded, owing to the small nun- ber in each room, to close one room, send the seven child- ren of 6th grade to the Centre, and place the remaining grades under one teacher. This plan, while it may be less expensive, may not accomplish for the pupils all that we desire. In my opinion it would be wise to open both rooms next September. There will be about fifty pupils in the first eight grades from this section of the town at the open- ing of school next year. Arranging the pupils so that four
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grades may be in each room, and securing a strong teacher for the upper grades, the pupils in this section would re- ceive satisfactory instruction, and none be required to walk a great distance as at present. It would be preferable for the ninth grade pupils to attend the Lincoln, owing to the extra opportunity offered as a preparation for the High School. I recommend that this arrangement be considered.
STAMP SAVINGS SOCIETY.
The Stamp Savings Society established in our schools April 12, 1902, continues to show good results, and has justified the wisdom of its introduction. There can be no doubt that it has exerted an influence for saving that is in- deed valuable. Not only does the school savings bank teach habits of saving, but also the habit of judicious expenditure of money. It is a pleasure to record the spirit and conscien- tious care with which the teachers have served as cashiers. Below is given the amounts collected and deposited :
REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING
*July 1, '03, July 1, '04, July 1, '05.
Number of cards redeemed, 1,405 1,032 988
Amount of same, $1,136.19 $925.39 $1,239.76
Number of cards deposited in Savings Bank, 221 319
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Amount of same, $391.59 $513.05 $337.24
*The data of this column includes the months of May and June in the year 1902.
MEDICAL INSPECTION.
The question of medical inspection in the schools has been brought to your attention by my predecessor in the last two reports, and the necessity of such a system quite fully set forth. I can heartily endorse all that has been said, and again make the recommendation for your consideration. A number of the cities and towns in the Commonwealth have
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already adopted such a system ; the state of Connecticut has passed a law requiring that the examination be made for de- fective eyesight and hearing. There are many cases on rec- ord where the discovery of defective eyesight or hearing has resulted in giving such relief that the pupils who, once thought to be dull or deficient, have shown capabilities equal to any in the class. But medical inspection should go further than the test for defective eyesight and hearing, although this is of inestimable value. Many parents are slow to per- ceive the abnormal condition of their children; others are slow to act, although the condition is apparent ; the medical examination reveals the ailment and the child is started to the physician or a specialist in the discovered disease. Furthermore, medical inspection checks the spread of conta- gious diseases and reduces the mortality among school chil- dren. A school room as generally exists is a medium espec- ially adapted to the diffusion of diseases. Unless the great- est care is used a disease originating in one family may spread through all the rooms of a building. It is not ex- pected that teachers are expert enough to detect the first symptoms of a disease that attacks the children, while a medical inspector properly clothed with authority, by promptly isolating all children who show symptoms of a contagious disease can do much in the way of keeping the schools free from these diseases. Not only would such a course save the lives of many but also do valuable service in increasing the regularity of attendance and of course en- hance the rapid advancement of pupils. In Marlborough a city but little larger than the town of Wakefield where medi- cal inspection has been adopted, I quote from last year's report of the Supt., showing the good effects of the system : "At each visit the inspector has examined those children who have been referred to him by the teachers, and his ad- vice has been given to both the teachers and the children's parents ; and if any child has shown symptoms of a conta-
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gious disease, he and all other members of his family have been promptly excluded from school under the rules of the Board of Health.
Soon after the beginning of the work of the Medical In- spector, the teachers were requested to refer to him for his examination all children who were suspected of having de- fective eyesight. Seventy-nine such cases were examined, and nineteen of these children have been provided with glasses by their parents. Children have been examined for other diseases as follows : For diseases of the ear, seven ; of the throat, thirty-one; of the nose, four ; of the skin, sixteen ; persistent headache, three ; with reference to vacci- nation, thirty-four; various other diseases, forty-eight ; found in good health, twelve. This makes a total of two hundred and thirty-four cases examined in the nine school months beginning in February." While we can not estab- lish an elaborate system of medical inspection as is followed in large cities, it is possible for us to give the matter serious consideration and at least have a visitation of the schools twice a week by an inspector to examine all cases reported by the teachers. I recommend that such a course be pur- sued ; also that measures be adopted for detecting defective eyesight and hearing.
In this connection I would recommend in the interest of the health of the children that occasionally all books in use be disinfected ; also to make it possible that the school rooms be swept and mopped more often than they now are.
EVENING SCHOOLS.
Laws of 1898, Chap. 496, Sec. 5.
"Any town may, and every city or town of ten thousand or more inhabitants shall, maintain annually evening schools for the instruction of persons over fourteen years of age in orthography, reading, writing, the English language and grammar, geography, arithmetic, industrial drawing, both
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free hand and mechanical, the history of the United States, physiology and hygiene, and good behavior. Such other subjects may be taught in such schools as the school com- mittee consider expedient."
According to the last census we are reminded that Wake- field comes under the above law. It will be necessary therefore for the town to make some provisions toward car- rying out this requirement. The law further provides, Chap. 183, Acts of 1902, that all illiterate minors over 16 shall not be employed in any factory, workshop or mercantile estab- lishment unless they are regular attendants at the evening school. It is thus seen that we shall be required to make some provision for "evening schools. The amount of money necessary will depend upon the number of illiterates now employed, and the number of nights determined upon that the school shall be held. It is customary to make the ses- sion 60 nights, holding the school 3 nights per week, and opening the same about October 1st. The number of teach- ers averages one for every 10 or 12 pupils. Regular attend- ance is interpreted by the state authorities to mean, every night the school is in session.
TEACHERS.
It is desired in this connection to speak of the excellent work being done by our corps of teachers. The faithful- ness with which they have performed their duties is com- mendable indeed. Teaching is a business, and the fact that the teacher bears a certain vital relation to her pupils has come to be realized more and more by the profession ; that these pupils are human beings with aspirations and emo- tions ; that they are not a hopeless set ; that each has possi- bilities and must be given inspiration and ideals-all these are realized more and more each year. The teacher is not a taskmaster, should not be an antagonist to the buoyant spirit of the pupil, but a helper, a guide, a real being filled with a desire to lift up and to inspire her pupils with eager-
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ness for knowledge. The teacher's profession does not stop at her desk, or end with the book ; she is not simply the drillmaster, placed before her class to show her superior knowledge ; she is the one who develops the whole child, helps him to develop his power, and makes him better able to grapple with the real problems of life. Real teaching is no different today than formerly, yet there is today a broader conception of the real meaning of the term, and consequently broader and more comprehensive work is done in the schools. The teacher who is willing to study not only subject matter of class work, but also the pupils that she may present the subject to the class in such a manner that the dullest as well as the brightest pupils may understand, has caught the true spirit. This is the individual who is found ready to accept criticism and suggestion. To teach a child is the most sacred calling on earth, and unless we as teachers fully realize this and bend every energy to make ourselves in some measure equal to the task we should not attempt the work.
MORAL INSTRUCTION.
The pupils in our schools are to become the men and wo- men of the future. The every day life of the teacher, her conduct in the school and out, her personal contact with the boys and girls whom she would instruct mean more than is often realized. Moral instruction, then, does not come from long lectures upon principles of ethics. The attitude toward daily requirements, the habit of allowing an inaccurate or poorly learned lesson to pass by unnoticed, the inability to hold pupils to a full responsibility for their work whatever it may be; habits of carelessness in manner on the part of pupils both as to their relation to the teacher and to other pupils ; permitting extravagance and carelessness with books and other public property. All these tend to lower the standard of morals. Pupils who go from our schools with these habits of carelessness and extravagance as well as dis-
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respect for authority and for the rights of others have not by any means a proper sense of their moral obligations to society.
CHANGES AND SALARIES.
Some teachers place too little consideration on their obli- gations to the school by continually changing. This not only works injury to the school but also to the teacher her- self. The one who will change at a moment's notice estab- lishes a reputation for inefficient service. While this is true and teachers have their reputations to sustain, still they are not wholly to blame for repeated changes so long as a greater remuneration for services is secured by a change of place. The laborer is worthy of his hire, and when communities fully realize the importance of this fact fewer changes will occur. Teachers ought to be able to live as their position demands. We demand that they shall have certain qualifi- cations educationally, also professional training and experi- ence as well as culture and refinement-these demands are none too great, but it should then follow that their services be given ample consideration. The teacher should be able to secure good board, suitable clothing, necessary books and other helps, she should attend an occasional concert or other entertainment, able to spend a season in summer school, or travel during the long vacation for pleasure and profit,-all these will better fit her for work and give to the schools a service that would be highly appreciated. This is not a philanthropic idea, but simple justice. The average salary with us is about $475 or less per year of 10 months. De- duct from this the price for board and other necessary ex- penses for the ten months and we find considerably less than $75 for expenses during two months when she is earning nothing. A full realization of this on the part of every community would place teaching on a higher plane and would render greater service to the schools and, without question, better the community.
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SCHOOLS IN GENERAL.
The crowded condition of the first primary at the Lin- coln School demanded immediate relief at the beginning of the school year. The grade was therefore separated into. two divisions A and B; the B division assembles at open- ing of the morning session and remains until 10.15; at this time the A division comes and remains until noon. The teachers therefore have the opportunity to concentrate all their efforts upon a few at each period and give instruction in Reading and Language with busy work. At the opening of the afternoon session the whole grade assembles, number- ing 71, and remains one hour. During this session general work, such as drawing, writing, etc., is the order. There have been no complaints from patrons in regard to the prog- ress of the children, and it is found that quite as much has been accomplished and can be, as under the plan of a longer session for all. It seems to be conclusive evidence that shorter sessions, with concentration of effort, and a longer period during the day for the children to be out of doors and at play will accomplish quite enough, and the measure of progress will be as great if not greater than it is with a long session.
In the same building it was found necessary to relieve the pressure in some way in grades 5, 6 and 7 owing to the increased registration. Instead of forming new schools, one extra teacher was provided whose duties are to assist back- ward pupils in each of the three grades. This is a system of individual instruction. The regular teacher devotes the greater part of her time to class teaching, noting the differ- ent pupils who need special help in the different subjects- especially in Arithmetic, English, Geography or Reading. These pupils are helped by the extra teacher either at their seats or in groups of three or four at the desk, while the regular teacher is continuing her work with another division. No confusion is noticed, and much good has been accom-
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plished. Pupils, thought to be at first dull, have shown a marked improvement, and interest in their work is increas- ing. They are showing that this individual help, is just the thing needed to bring them up to grade. I am convinced that more individual instruction is needed in our system that every program should be arranged so that one period at least is set apart to give pupils individual help.
In the Greenwood School, the 8th and 9th grades are in the same room, and in charge of the Principal. Owing to the increased attendance in these grades it was impossible for the Principal to conduct the work and still assume the duties of Principal of the building. The Committee there- fore secured a teacher who is responsible for certain classes, which relieves the strain upon the Principal. Careful con- sideration of the matter evolved the plan of allowing this teacher to be responsible also for certain classes in the Franklin School. This plan gives full time to the teacher, and divides the work between the two buildings ; also gives to the Principal of each building an opportunity to perform some of the legitimate duties of the position. Every Prin- cipal of a building of eight rooms or more should have opportunity to supervise the work of the building. The duties of a Principal do not stop or should not stop with supervision of grounds and building and the general discipline.
READING.
It has been thought wise to place the system of reading on a different basis. This arrangement establishes one or two series of readers which is carried throughout the grades ; to this is added a list of supplementary reading for every grade. The plan, however, prescribes the list which shall be read ; in each room of the same grade and opportunity will be given to read at least five books during the year. The supplementary reading will be arranged so as to sup- plement the English work continued in the High School. The variety of the reading matter is intended to give inter-
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est to the subject, according to the grade. The Committee has voted to adopt the plan, and already the work has been arranged for the 6th to the 9th inclusive, and the remaining grades will be arranged for as rapidly as possible.
HIGH SCHOOL.
This department of our public school system is in a most healthy condition. Under the management of our efficient Principal, Mr. Howe, the school has attained a standing among others in the state of which we may justly feel proud. The present enrollment is 320, and in a community of less than 12000 inhabitants this is indeed remarkable. It shows that the people are awake to the fact that a higher educational training is demanded. Nearly 3 per cent of the population are to be found in the High School, and nearly 16 per cent of the present school enrollment. One reason for this large attendance, and it is none too large, is the fact that our High School is aiming to fit the work to the needs of the pupils. In the former high school the pupil was made to fit the school, which tendency stunted the growth intellectually of a majority of those who entered, conse- quently many fell by the wayside and the school became merely a fitting school for the few. The High School is recognized today as the natural goal for all who enter the public schools. It therefore should be so arranged that no boy or girl will feel that he has done his duty to himself and to the Commonwealth until he has at least completed a High School course. Every course offered in this department then should be of such a nature as to give the pupil that educational training and development which will fit him to continue his education in some higher institution of learning, and at the same time should he be compelled to stop at any point, his education will be such that he can easily adapt himself to his environment and become a useful citizen. No system of education fulfills its true mission unless there is a natural easy step from the grammar school into the
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High School, and from the High School into the higher in- stitutions of learning. The present condition of the trades and professions demands stronger intellectual training than in by gone days, therefore our high schools must be equal to the demands. Encouragement and opportunity then should be given to all. Furthermore it seems to me that a high school the size of ours needs the constant care of the Principal. His duties should be largely that of supervision and direct consultation with pupils regarding their needs, and in this his services are of untold value. His person- ality must be felt in every part of the school, therefore, but a small part of his time should be given over to teach- ing ; if this be the order he is able to attend to the needs of many pupils, who otherwise would suffer. While it is proper and wise for him to do some teaching, still for the best interests of the school he should not be responsible for more than one period a day in the class room. His close contact with the school throughout, an immediate and direct knowledge of each teacher's work, a personal acquaintance with parents and pupils-these are worth much more to the community than it is for him to give his whole time to teaching.
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