USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wakefield > Town annual report of the officers of Wakefield Massachusetts : including the vital statistics for the year 1916 > Part 8
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R. D. Arnold, French, to go to Hartford, Conn.
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
109
GRADES
Persis Richardson from Lincoln 1 to Somerville.
Mary F. Wade, Lincoln 1 to Attleboro.
Lillian Edmands, Lincoln Assistant, to be married. Mildred Munsey, Warren Assistant, to be married.
Florence Arnold, Franklin VIII, to take another line of work. Mabelle Bartlett, Hurd I and II, to be married.
Hattie Blanchard, Greenwood VI, to be married.
TRANSFERS
Anna Hurley, Woodville III-IV, to assistant in Lincoln. Lila McCormick, Greenwood VII to Greenwood VI. Helen Prescott, Montrose V-VII to Greenwood VII. Eliza Coburn, Franklin VII to Franklin VIII.
Ruth Hickey, Woodville I-II to Woodville III-IV.
ELECTIONS
HIGH SCHOOL
Norman Mansur from Wilton, N. H. to succeed R. D. Arnold,
French
Isabelle Hirst from Uxbridge to succeed Amy Butterfield.
Genevieve I. Elmer from Poultney, Vt., an extra teacher.
GRADES
Catherina Slaiger from N'rth Adams N'rmal to Grade I, Lincoln. Blanche Meserve from Jackson, N. H. to grade I, Lincoln. Mabel Whittaker from Central Falls, R. I. to Assistant Warren. Lydia Sullivan from Pepperell to grade I-II, Hurd. Edith Fish from Marion, Mass., to grade VII, Franklin. Elsie Smith from Attleboro to Grade V-VII, Montrose. Josephine Rourke from Vermont to grade I-II, Woodville.
COST OF THE SCHOOLS
Wakefield spends a large amount of money for its schools and does it willingly. I think perhaps some figures, compared with the averages of the State at large may be interesting to the citizens. The State Board of Education has recently sent out a pre-print of its annual report. This gives data for the school year 1915-1916, for all the cities and towns of the State and it is from this that I obtain the following:
110
TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
State
Wakefield
Valuation per pupil in the Average Membership
$8686.00
$5246.00
Per cent of attendance based on average membership
93
94.6
Per cent of attendance based on total enrollment
84
90.0
General control, including salaries and expenses of School Committee and Superintendent:
Cost of pupil, av. membership .... Salaries of principals, teachers and supervisors :
1.86
1.65
Cost per pupil in av. membership. .
29.11
22.15
Text books, stationery, supplies :
2.31
2.01
Operation of School Plant, including janitor service and fuel :
Cost per pupil in av. membership. .
5.23
4.19
Repairs, replacement and up-keep:
1.98
.85
Cost per pupil in av. membership. . Total for support, including ordin- ary repairs :
Cost per pupil in av. membership ..
42.55
32.69
New school houses, alterations, and permanent repairs :
Cost per pupil in av. membership ..
7.24
1.34
Total for Support and outlay :
49.79
32.69
Cost per pupil in av. membership. . HIGH SCHOOL
Expenditures for support, exclusive of general control:
Cost per pupil in av. membership. .
67.27
51.02
Number of cities and towns in State,
353
Wakefield
Rank in State
Valuation per pupil in average membership
$5246.00
196
Cost per pupil in average member- ship from local taxation . Cost per pupil in average member- ship for expenditures from all sources
32.69
184
Expenditures per $1000 valuation for school support from local taxation
6.23
129
Rate of local tax per $1000 valua- tion, 1915
33.45
287
25.20
6
Cost per pupil in av. membership ..
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
111
CONCLUSION
I wish to take this opportunity to publicly thank the School Committee for their hearty sympathy with the work, the principals and teachers for their loyal support and the townspeople for their interest and support.
Respectfully submitted, Willard B. Atwell
REPORT OF ATTENDANCE OFFICER
Mr. W. B. Atwell, Superintendent of Schools.
Dear Sir :-
I hereby submit the following report for the school year ending June 30, 1916.
I have investigated 581 cases as reported to me and found the pupils absent for the reasons given below :-
Sickness 135
Truancy
99
Lack of shoes, clothing, etc.
36
Kept out by parents
194
Found on street and taken to school
8
Left school 10
Naturalization residences verified
8
Non-registration (new pupils placed in school)
6
Found on street, taken home
13
Left town
2
Employment cards
18
Tardy
18
Factories and stores visited
4
Found at home, taken to school
1
Suspensions
5
Disturbance at schools 20
2
Destroying private property
1
Taken to court-1 placed on probation
1
Corporal punishment
581
Yours very respectfully, Albert D. Cate, Attendance Officer.
112
TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
REPORT OF HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Mr. W. B. Atwell, Supt. of Schools.
Dear Sir :-
Herewith is submitted the annual report of the Principal of the High School.
Number of Pupils
For the year Sept. 1916 to date the attendance in school has been as follows:
Boys
Girls
Total
Graduate pupils
1
1
2
Fourth Year pupils
40
69
109
Third Year pupils
50
54
104
Second Year pupils
56
82
138
First Year pupils
87
99
186
Total
234
305
539
As has been said in these reports for many years, this is the largest number of pupils ever in attendance upon the High School. I do not know that we ought to be surprised at this, for Wakefield is a growing town and besides, is no exception to the fact that the value of high school education is almost universally recognized. It would be more surprising if the school did not grow. It seems safe to say that for many years to come we shall find an increasing number of the youth of the town in attendance upon the high school.
In this connection it is interesting, and encouraging, too, to note that while the Wakefield High School has seen a generous increase in attendance this year, in many high schools of the State the atten- dance has either remained stationary or fallen off. The most common explanation of this situation is the unwonted prosperity of the country and the ease with which labor, even of youth, has been absorbed.
The Present Situation
Last spring, the school authorities determined to continue the arrangement of last year, by which the three upper classes were re- quired to come to school in the forenoon and the first year class in the afternoon. In my report last year, I said :-
"The time actually spent in school by the upper classes has been reduced to four and a half hours, and by the first year class to four and a quarter hours. At a time when the tendency is to in- crease the length of the school day rather than diminish it, it seems as though we were turning backwards the hands of the clock."
Of the three elements essential to a good school-viz. teachers, time, room, we are equipped with only the first in anything like an ade-
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
113
quate degree. Teachers, we have. Of time, we have not more than two-thirds enough and of room there is an absolute shortage of any- where from 25 to 50 per cent.
The lack of room became evident to those who attended the demonstration of school work of the first year class and Commercial Department under the auspices of the Parent-Teachers' Association. It seemed as though the building was almost entirely utilized on that evening, but when it was announced that there were still 250 members of the school who were not in attendance, the question naturally arose, where could you put them if they were here?
Teachers Time Room
With only the first, is your school adequately equipped?
Communication
(The following is self explanatory.)
May 8, 1916.
My dear Mr. Boardman :-
I remember that on one occasion some time ago, you asked me, "What would you have different in the High School to make it better?" May I suggest the following-not all in my own language but things culled from my reading.
(1) Realize that the "social and athletic activities are quite as fundamental as the strictly academic activities." Sports including all members of the school are more wholesome than other school games. Debating societies, English club, Science club, etc, would come under this head.
(2) "The school opportunities offered students should be extended so as to include more hours in the day and more weeks in the year". There is a large fund of available student energy which goes to waste because High School students do not organize their time well. Any- one who is at all acquainted with the afternoon activities of High School pupils knows that there is much waste time that ought to be recovered.
(3) "Vocational guidance for pupils is essential."
(4) "Supervised study is more important than recitation."
This would involve lengthening the school day materially, to six hours or more.
(5) "Devices must be adopted for economizing the time of students preparing for practical life." The efforts to secure economy should always be coupled with a recognition of high scholarship. "Ex- cess credit for high grade work, rapid promotion for the best students, are among the most obvious and legitimate devices for securing the right kind of economy."
114
TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
I take it that this means the elimination of marking time. Our practice of allowing Seniors in the Commercial Department to go to work in the spring as soon as ready is in line with this idea. If a pupil can get ready for college in three years; i. e. if he is capable of doing ordinary four years' work in three, it ought to be arranged so that he can take advantage of his ability.
(6) There should be Science courses and courses in Civics and the practical arts. The course of study should be rich in the subjects that have long been traditional; it should be rich in new courses.
The significant feature about the above statement lies in the fact that the old-fashioned subjects are not thrown overboard, but that new subjects are added.
I think that if the above were to be attempted, we should soon find that our accommodations would be prohibitive of any expansion. Of the above items, the fulfillment of Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 6 depends direct- ly upon enlarged accommodations, not only of building but of grounds as well.
Supervised Study
The fourth item in the above, I should like to call to your im- mediate attention at somewhat greater length.
There is always more or less discussion concerning the desira- bility of home study. It is undoubtedly true that much of the time spent on home study (so called) is wasted. Our youth has not been taught to study. There has been precious little opportunity to teach him. The primary object of supervised study is to train pupils in proper habits of study. Hopeful experiments in this direction are being attempted in various parts of the country. Those in Everett (Washington) and Houghton (Michigan) High Schools are notable efforts and bid fair to make a valuable contribution to contemporary experience in school administration.
Principal Erickson of Houghton says :- "Our plan, briefly stated, is that we divide the day into five periods of eighty minutes each. Each period is divided into two parts, the first forty minutes being devoted to the recitation and the remainder to study under the direction of the teacher. The length of the school day is from 8.00 A. M. to 12.00 M. and from 1.30 P. M. to 4.10 P. M. We do not pretend to do away with home study but we try to reduce it to a mini- mum.
The advantages of supervised study are numerous. It is al- most generally conceded that high-school students do not know how to study to advantage. This is not because the grade teacher has not tried to teach them, but because she has not had an opportunity to see that her instructions were carried out. Neither is it because the high school teacher has neglected that phase, but because the studying
115
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
has always been done in her absence. Under the old plan of assembly study periods, one teacher was in charge of 150 pupils, so that if she maintained good order that was practically all that could be expected of her. She could not devote her entire time to helping pupils, and even if she could, she would not be capable of giving advice in a dozen different subjects. Under the supervised plan, each teacher has her class of about twenty studying the same subject, in which she is an expert. In the smaller room with a few students there is less to distract the mind of the shiftless boy, and he will do something simply because everybody else is doing it.
The logical place for the study period is after the recitation. Under the old system the studying was done just before the recitation and was nothing more than cramming. Now the lesson is prepared twenty-four hours before it is recited."
In speaking of the relative merits of home study and supervised study, Mr. Roberts of the Everett (Washington) High School in an article in the School Review for December 1916, writes :- "We came to feel that a considerable share of the home study was likewise inef- fective and futile. By letters to the parents and patrons, by special tests, by supplication and adjuration, efforts to secure the two hours of home study necessary for strong work were made, but in vain. As teachers, we realized that the finest intellectual atmosphere existed in many homes, but for the most part, home study was ineffective. In many cases, poor light, family conversation, the performance of home duties, the ebb and flow of the family life effectually cut off the student from quiet, effective study. Again, the pupil was caught by some diffi- culty, father and mother could not help; and after considerable flound- ering about, the time was wasted and nothing done. In many other cases the pupils were out of the home every night and no effective study resulted.
"With this feeling, therefore, of helplessness in the face of poor lesson preparation, we approached the problem of reorganization with these broad purposes before us: to render our work more valuable by improving the quality of instruction and by improving the quality of material covered; to bring the pupil and teacher together in another and more helpful relation; to make of the recitation hour something more vital than a quizzing and testing time; to demonstrate that in our work the teacher had not become an automatic recitation-receiving device and a machine lesson-assigning apparatus; and, summing it all up, to secure vivid, lasting, and solid results by securing purposeful, directed, economical study.
"In order to secure the proper amount of supervised study it was necessary to lengthen the school day from four hours and fifty-five minutes to six hours and forty-five minutes. This meant a continuous session from 9.00 A. M. to 3.45 P. M., with a forty-five minute lunch period at noon. While the day seems long, it disposes of the grave
116
TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
question involving the economical use of an expensive school plant that was occupied less than five hours per day."
What is the attitude of parents to this arrangement? Princi- pal Roberts testifies-"On the whole, parents approve of the plan, since they realize the advantages of study with more favorable sur- roundings for study than the home afforded. Two criticisms of parents have reached me : one that the double-period plan made it more difficult to keep the children at home evenings, for they no longer had so many lessons to prepare, and the other that this plan permitted the parents to take the children with them to their places of social recre- ation without a sense of sinning against their children's future welfare by taking them from their studies. Aside from the longer day, a large proportion of the students offer hearty approval of the plan, and the reasons most often assigned are the privileges of efficient help, saving time, more time for outside activities, better grades earned, etc. "The double-period plan certainly calls the bluff of the bright ras- cal who has been giving about ten minutes daily to each lesson, and pas- sing. Having nothing else to do, he studies throughout the period and does excellent work in spite of himself."
Were it possible for us to find the time, it would be well, I be- lieve, to make a trial of this plan in the first year class for a year or two and then introduce it throughout the entire school. However, any possible action is out of the question at present owing to the im- possibility of lengthening our school day.
Other Recommendations
The first item in the above letter has been discussed somewhat at length in past reports, especially that referring to Athletic activi- ties. I would like to call again to your attention the advisability of employing some suitable person to direct all the play-ground activities of the schools of the town. The second item has been referred to in the preceding paragraph on "Supervised Study.". With such a school day in force, as suggested there, there would be much greater likelihood of a proper organization of pupils' time and consequent reduction of waste.
The last item also covering introduction of Science Courses and Courses in Civics and Practical Arts has been canvassed in previous reports and courses in household arts, manual training, and market gardening, outlined.
Final Conclusion
In reply to the question as to what more is needed to make the High School better, the briefest answer that I can give is
(a) More time, (b) More room.
Meet these needs and the way opens for growth and improve- ment. Fail to meet them and the school will mark time.
117
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
PARENT-TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION
During the past year a flourishing Parent-Teachers' Association has been formed. Monthly meetings have been held at which both formal and informal talks have been given on topics connected with the intimate life of the school. On one evening, a demonstration of school work was given to the public during which regular classes were în session. The possibilities for good of such an organization are large.
MASSACHUSETTS HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
During the year an association for control of interscholastic Ath- Jetics was formed under the name of the Massachusetts High School Athletic Association. One hundred and ten schools of the Common- wealth have joined, of which number Wakefield is one. The governing body of the Association is known as the Executive Board, and con- sists of three principals of schools belonging to the Association. Among the rules governing eligibility for participation in interschool contests are the following which I commend to your attention.
Section 1. A pupil shall have been a member of some Secondary School for the three months next preceding the contest, unless entering directly from an elementary school.
Section 2. In case a pupil enters one Secondary School from an- other during the school year, he shall be allowed to represent the lat- ter school only in case his previous record conforms to these eligibility rules and his family has changed its residence to the town or city in which the new school is located.
Section 3. (a) A pupil shall maintain, from the beginning of the school year up to the end of the week preceding the contest, a passing grade in at least three-sixteenths of the work required for a diploma.
(b) A pupil shall also have maintained a passing grade in the same amount of work for the semester or half year immediately pre- ceding.
ATHLETICS
Athletic activities of our school cover the following fields: Cross- country, track, (indoor and outdoor), hockey, and baseball (both Fall and Spring). Much wider interest in athletics is being shown than for several years past. The effort to enlarge the number of partici- pants in sports is worthy of commendation. The cross-country team succeeded for the second year in winning the championship of New England, running at Worcester Academy and also in making a very commendable showing at Cornell University, competing with many of the best teams of the country.
118
TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
COLLEGE ENTRANCE CERTIFICATE BOARD, ETC.
Beginning with the year 1919, no certificates for entrance will be accepted by Mt. Holyoke, Smith, Wellesley, and Vassar Colleges. All candidates for entrance will be required to take four comprehen- sive examinations. The results of these examinations together with the school record will determine entrance.
The right to certificate graduates into college has been ex- tended for an additional three years by the Worcester Polytechnic In- stitute and Dartmouth College.
MISCELLANEOUS
Voluntary Gymnastics work under direction of Miss Carroll is given four or five, periods per week to the freshman girls. The front hall is utilized for this work.
A debating society, composed of Freshman girls, meets Tuesdays for an hour before school opens. Much interest is being taken in the club.
"How to Study and What to Study" by Sandwick is the title of a little book recommended for the use of all the pupils in school.
The members of the school contributed nearly $40 toward the purchase of the library site on the corner of Main and Avon streets.
The efforts of the English Department to influence the reading of the youth of the town is not altogether without avail. For two years, just before Christmas, a list of books worth while for young people to own has been published in the local paper. A poll of the English classes a few weeks ago showed that two-thirds of 129 pupils represented had received books as Christmas presents. The books re- ceived were of unquestioned excellence, including volumes of poems and sets of Shakespeare's works.
The following graduates continued their education beyond high school graduation :-
Daniel J. Duggan
Harvard College
Louise E. Sheldon
Boston University
Salem Normal
Doris E. Vint
Harriet S. Woodman
Boston University
Marguerite Carter
Bradford Academy
Arthur Esner
Mass. Inst. Technology
Ruth E. Hillsgrove
Salem Normal
Charles T. Kirk
Huntington School
William D. Macleod
Mass. Inst. Technology
George H. Moncrieff
Mt. Herman School
Frank Reid
Rhode Island State College
Curtis L. Taggart
Tufts College
William W. Wanamaker
Walter B. Winship
Thelma Bridge, 1915
Catherine R. Parsons
West Point Military Academy
Princeton Preparatory School
Mt. Holyoke College
Wakefield High School (graduate)
119
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
GRADUATION EXERCISES, WAKEFIELD HIGH SCHOOL
CLASS OF 1916. Town Hall, Thursday, June Twenty-Second.
Overture and March Chorus-Daybreak Oration (Salutatory Rank)
G. F. Wilson
The Meaning and Purpose of an Education Arthur Joseph Coakley
Oration-The Ordinary Man Eugene Joseph Sullivan
Chorus-The Skippers of St. Ives
Roeckel
Joseph C. Lincoln
Recitation-An Abandoned Elopement Ida Frances Walsh
Semi-Chorus-(a) A Southern Hush Song Lynn
(b) Venetian Carnival
Bronte"
Oration-(Honor Rank) Should the United States Enter the Great War William Donald Macleod
Declamation-Oratory Beecher
1
Thomas Francis Kenney
Chorus-The Miller's Wooing
Fanning
Recitation-The Littlest Rebel People
Lucy Frances Arnold
Oration and Valedictory-The Rights of Labor Daniel Joseph Duggan
Presentation of Diplomas Class Song March.
Mr. Charles H. Howe Music by Marjorie Sweetser
120
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TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
MOTTO :- I SERVE CLASS SONG
Louise Emeline Sheldon
Now four short, fleeting years are past, We've loved them, every one; Those ties must break which bind us fast Our high school days are done.
Oh, shall these years be e'er forgot As through life's maze we roam? We'll treasure them, whate'er our lot, Where'er we make our home.
The happy years of joyous youth By fortune's hands are blessed; Each day reminds us of the truth, Our school days are the best.
O God of Love and Tenderness, Watch o'er us as we go; Protect our steps, illume our path, And guard us here below.
SENIOR CLASS - 1916
College Course
Daniel Joseph Duggan
Sarah Rebecca Frankel
Eugene Joseph Sullivan Louise Emeline Sheldon
Marjorie Sweetser Doris Elaine Vint Louise Adams Whitten Harriet Stanton Woodman
General Course
Helen Gertrude Bailey Mildred Louise Barstow
Dorothy Hazel Beals
Mary Alice Brown
William Donald Macleod
Vyleda Josephine Maxwell
Marguerite Carter
Arthur Joseph Coakley
Mae Margaret Collins Arthur Esner George Russell Goodwin
Paul Hurst Heywood Ruth Elizabeth Hillsgrove
Mary Lillian Hurley Charles Thomas Kirk
Joseph Francis Kirk Harry Law
Catherine Cronin Lenners
Mary Margaret Burnes
George Harold Moncrieff Mildred Victoria Munn
Frank Reid Curtis Learoyd Taggart
Helen Irvine Thistle
Doris Verne
George VanNess Wallace, Jr.
William Wesley Wanamaker . Walter Boit Winship
121
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Commercial Course
Lucy Frances Arnold George Henry Bolton Bertha Florence Brehaut Bartholmew Clines, Jr. Nora Frances Curran
Ray Oliver Cutter George Francis Donegan
Helen Campbell Stewart
Maurice William Donovan
John Joseph Sullivan
Elsie Gertrude Grant
Ruth Lillian Thresher
Mary Emily Heustis
Harold Thomas Thrush
Ethel Maude Husson
Ida Frances Walsh
Mary Hazel Kelly
Myrtle Susan Webber
Marion Beatrice Kenney
Gertrude Pearl Witham Everett Drury Whitney
Edith May Whittle
HIGH SCHOOL STATISTICS
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
Dec.
Dec.
Dec.
Dec.
Dec.
Dec.
No. Graduated
71
65
70
70
69
*109
Aver. age at grad.
18 5-12 18 3-12 18 3-12 18 9-12 18 6-12 18 5-12
Senior Class
72
67
70
81
69
102
Size when entered
142
125
122
146
135
168
Junior Class
78
81
90
84
119
98
Size when entered
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